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 LIBRARY I 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF j 
 

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LIFE 
 
 DSIIL 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 § 1. The family from whicli I am derived is 
 not an ignoble one, but hath descended all 
 along from trie priests ; and as nobility among 
 several people is of a diliereiit origin, so with 
 us to be of the sacerdotal dignity, is an indi- 
 catior. of the splendour of a family. Now, I 
 3m not only sprung from a sacerdotal family 
 i'n genord, hut from the first of the twenty- 
 four ■" courses ; and as among us there is not 
 only a considerable difference between one 
 family of each course and another, I am of 
 the chief family of that first course also ; nay, 
 farther, bv jiiy mother I am of the royal blood; 
 for tlie ciiildren of Asamoneus, from wliom 
 that family was derived, had both the office 
 of the high priesthood, and the dignity of a 
 kir.g, for a long tinje together. I will accord- 
 ingly set down my progenitors in order. IVIy 
 grandfather's father was named Simon, with 
 the addition of Psellus : he lived at tlie same 
 time with that son of Simon the high piiiest, 
 who first of all the high priests was named 
 HyrcaTius. This Simon Psellus had nine 
 sons, one of whom was Matthias, called Eph- 
 lias; he married the daughter of Jonathan 
 the high priest; wliich Jonathan was the first 
 of the sons of Asamoneus, who was high 
 priest, and was the brother of Simon tlie high 
 priest also. This Matthias had a son called 
 
 '♦ We may hence correct the error of the [^atin conv 
 of the second t)ook Ag;iinst A))ion, s^jt. 8 (for thl- 
 Giet'k 13 there lost), which says, tliere were then oiil;- 
 four tribes or cmirses of tiie p'rie ti:, in it ad of twenty- 
 fou?. N'or is this testimony to be disregarded, ;i< if 
 Josephus there eoi tradicted what he had aifirined )iere; 
 because even the account there given better agrees to 
 twenty-four than to four courses, while lie says that eat h 
 of those courses contained above .501 'O men, which, mul- 
 tiphed by only four, will make not m<)ro than 'iO.oi! 
 priests; whereas the number 120,00' i, ;is m.ultiplied by 
 I'l, seems much the most probable, they being about 
 one tenth of the whole people, even after the captivity. 
 See K.^ra ii. o&—Zi'i\ Nehem. vii. .59 12; : Esd. v. 
 S4, 2."> , with E/.ra ii. tJ 1 ; Xthcm. vii {If!; ! Esd. v. 41. 
 Nor wdl this comniun readm;.; or notion of but four 
 courses of priests, agree wiih Joseplius's own further a - 
 I'Ttion elsewhere I Antiii. ^- v"- ch. xiv. sect. 1), that 
 Paviil's parti tio;i of the priests into twenty-four courses, 
 had continued to that day. 
 
 IVIatthias Curtus, and tliat in the first year o( 
 the government of Hyrcanus : his son's name | 
 was Joseph, born in the ninth year of the 
 reign of Alexandra : his son Matthias was 
 born in the tenth year of tlie reign of Arche- | 
 laus; as was I born to Matthias in the fust ■ 
 year of the reign of C;iius Caesar. I have ; 
 three sons : Hyrcanus, the eldest, was born 
 in the fourth year of the reign of Vespasian, j 
 as was Justus born in the seventh, and 
 Agrippa in the ninth. Thus have I set down 
 the genealogy of my fauiily as I have foimtl 
 it described f in the public records, and so \ 
 bid adieu to those who calumniate me [as of j 
 a lower original]. 
 
 2. Now, my father Matthias was not only 
 eminent on account of his nobility, but had a 
 higher commendation on account of !iis right- 
 eousness ; and was in great reputation in Je- 
 rusalem, the greatest city we have. I was 
 myself brought up with my brother, whose 
 name was IMattl.ias, for he was my own bro- 
 ther, 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. Moreover, when 
 I was a child, and about fourteen years of 
 age, I was comniended by all for the love I 
 had to learning ; on which account the high 
 priests and principal men of the city came 
 then frequently to me together, in order to 
 know my o|)inion about the accurate under- 
 standing 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 Sad- 
 ducees, and the third that of the Essens, as 
 we have frequently told you ; for I thought 
 that by this means I might choose the best, if 
 I were once acquainted with thein all ; so I 
 
 f An eminent example of the care of the .lev;s alxiut 
 their genealoijies, especially as to the p.-iciU. -See A jj.iinst 
 Apion, b. i. sivU ?• 
 
 761 
 
Till': LIFK or FLAVIUS JOSEPHLS. 
 
 contented myself witli hard fare, and under- j 
 went great difliculties, and went through iheni ' 
 all. Nor did 1 content myself with these 
 trials only ; but when I was infonned that 
 one, whose name was Banus, lived in the 
 desert, and used no otlier 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 in those things, and continued 
 with him three years.* So when I had ac- 
 complished my desires, I returned back to the 
 city, being now nineteen years old, and began 
 to conduct myself according to tlie rules of the 
 sect of the Pharisees, which is of kin to the 
 sect of the Stoics, as the Greeks call them. 
 
 3. But when I was in the twenty-sixth 
 year of my age, it happened that I took a 
 voyage to Rome j and this on the occasion 
 which I shall now describe. At the time 
 when Felix was procurator of Judea, there 
 were certain priests of my acquaintance, and 
 very excellent persons they were, whom on a 
 small and trifling occasion he had put into 
 bonds, and sent to Rome to plead their cause 
 before Caesar. These I was desirous to pro- 
 cure deliverance for ; and that especially be- 
 cause I was informed that they were not un- 
 mindful of piety towards God, even under 
 their afflictions j; but supported themselves 
 with figs and nutkf 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 six hundred 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 providence, prsvented the 
 rest, and were taken up into the other ship ; 
 and when I had thus escaped, and was come 
 to Dicearchia, which the Italians call Puteoli, 
 
 * When Josephus here savs, that from sixteen to 
 nineteen, or for tliree years, he made trial of the three 
 Jewish sects, the Pharisees, the Saddiicees, and the 
 Esscns, and yet says presently, in all onreopics, that he 
 6taid besides with one particular ascetic, called Bantw, 
 «■«{' auTu, viith him, and this still before he was nineteen, 
 there is little room left for his trial of the three other 
 sects. I suppose, tliereforc, tliat for Taj' auru, with him, 
 the old reading mighl»be xaj' cciimi, with them ; which 
 is a very small emendation, and takes away the dilfi- 
 culty before us. Nor is Dr Hudson's conjecture hinted 
 at by Mr. Hall in his preface to tlie Doctor's edition of 
 Josephus at all improbable, that this Uanus, by this his 
 description, mi(jht well be a follower of John the Bap- 
 tist, and that Irom him Josephus might easily inibilR' 
 BUfch notions, as afterwards prejured him to have a fa- 
 vourable opmioa of Jesus Christ himseli', who was at- 
 tested to by John the Baptist. 
 
 t We may note here, that religious men among the 
 Jews, or at least those that were priests, were sometimes 
 ascetics .ilso, and, like D.tniel and his companions in 
 Babylon (L)an. i. H — \H), ale no (lesh, butj^* utuI nuts, 
 iSiC. only. This was like the 4r£e?»y'«. "f austere did 
 of the Christian ascetics in Passion-Week. Constitut. 
 V. 18. 
 
 I It has been thought the number of Paul and his 
 companions on ship-board (Acts xxvii. oK), which arc 
 *76 in our copic's, are too many ; whereas wij find here, 
 that Josephus and his companions, a very few yejirs 
 after th« other, were ak>out 000. 
 
 I became ac(]uainted with Aliturius, an actor 
 of plays, and much beloved by Nero, but a 
 Jew by birth ; and through liis interest became 
 known to I'ojjpea, Cissar's wife ; and took 
 care, as soon as p«»sihle, to entreat her to 
 procure that the priests might be set at liber- 
 ty ; and when, besides, this favour, I had ob- 
 tained many presents from Poppea, 1 return- 
 ed home again. 
 
 4. And now I perceived innovations were 
 already begun, and that tiiere were a great 
 many very much elevated, in hopes of a re- 
 volt from the Romans. I therefore endea- 
 voured to put a stop to these tumultuous per- 
 sons, and persuaded them to change iheir 
 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 mannejr, to bring 
 on the dangers of the most terrible mischiefs 
 upon their country, upon tlieir families, and 
 upon themselves. And this I said with vehe- 
 ment eihortatioD, because I foresaw that the 
 end of such a vvar would be most unfortunate 
 to us. But I could not persuade them ; for 
 the madness of desperate men was quite toe 
 hard for me. 
 
 5. I was then afraid, lest, by inculcating 
 these things so often, 1 should incur their 
 hatred and their suspicions, as if I were ol' 
 our enemies' party, and should run into the 
 danger of being seized by them and slain, 
 since t'ney were already possessed 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 
 pnncipal of the band of robbers were put to 
 death, when I abode among the high priests 
 and tlie chief of the Pharisees ; but no small 
 fear seized upon us when we saw the people 
 in arms, while we ourselves knew not wiiai 
 we should do, and were not able to restrain 
 the seditious. However, as the danger was 
 directly upon us, we pretended that we were 
 of the same opinion with them ; but only ad- 
 vised 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. 
 
 6. But, ui)on his coming and fighting, he 
 was beaten, and a great many of those that 
 were with liim fell ; and this disgrace which 
 Gessius [with Cestius] received, became the 
 calamity of our v. hole nation ; for those that 
 were fond of the war were so far elevated w ith 
 this success, that they had hopes of finally con- 
 (juering the Romans. Of which war another 
 occasion was ministered ; which was this :— 
 Tliose that dwelt in the neighbouring cities of 
 Syria seized upon such Jews as dwelt among 
 them, wiili their wives and children, and slew 
 them, when tiiey had not the least occasion of 
 
J 
 
 THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 3 
 
 complaint against them ; for they did neither 
 attempt any innovation or revolt from the 
 Romans, nor had they given any marks of 
 hatred or treacherous designs towards the Sy- 
 rians : but what was done by the inhabitants 
 of Scythopolis was the most impious and most 
 highly criminal of all;* forwhen the Jews, their 
 enemies, came upon them from without, they 
 forced the Jews tiiat were among them to bear 
 arms against their own countrymen, which it 
 is unlawful for us to do ; f and when, by their 
 assistance, they had joined battle with those 
 who attacked tliem, and had beaten them, af- 
 ter that victory they forgot the assurances they 
 had given these their fellow-citizens and con- 
 federates, and slew them all ; beini; in number 
 many ten thousands [13,000]. The like mis- 
 eries 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 men- 
 tion 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. 
 
 7. So when Gessius had been beaten, as 
 we have said already, the principal men of 
 Jerusalem, seeing that the robbers and inno- 
 vators had arms in great plenty, and fearing lest 
 they, while they were unprovided with arms, 
 should be in subjection to their enemies, which 
 also came to be the case afterward, — and, be- 
 ing informed that all Galilee had not yet re- 
 volted 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 excel- 
 lent cliaracters, 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 reserved for 
 the most courageous men that the nation had 
 [than to be kept tliere] : for that it had been 
 resolved, That those our best men should al- 
 ways have their arms ready against futurity ; 
 but still so, that they should wait to see what 
 the Romans would do. 
 
 8. When I had therefore received these in- 
 structions, I came into Galilee, and found the 
 people of Sepplioris in no small agony about 
 their country, by reason that the Galileans had 
 resolved to plunder it, on account of the friend- 
 ship they had with the Romans ; and because 
 they had given their right hand, and made a 
 league with Cestius Gallus, the president of 
 Syria: but I delivered them all out of the 
 fear they were in, and persuaded the multi- 
 tude to deal kindly with them, and permitted 
 
 * See Jewish War, b. ii. ch. xviii. sect. 3. 
 
 t The Jews might collect this unlawfulness of fighting 
 against their brethren from that law of Moses (Levii. 
 XIX. 16), " Thou sh It not stand against the blood of thy 
 tieighbour;"and that (ver. 17)-, " 'I'houshalt not avenge, 
 nor bear any grudge, against the children of thy peoiiTe ; 
 but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;" as well 
 as from many other places in the Hentxiteuch ami Pro- 
 (a^ts> See Antiq. b. viii. ch. viii. sect. 5. 
 
 them to send to those that were their own hos- 
 tages with Gessius to Dora, which is a city of 
 Phoenicia, as often as they pleased ; though 1 
 still found the inhabitants of Tiberias ready to 
 take arms, and that on the occasion follow- 
 ing :— 
 
 9. 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 Ga- 
 malus, and Compsus the son of Coinpsus (for 
 as to Compsus's brother Crispus, 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 allegiance to the Romans 
 and to the king; but Pistus, who was guided 
 by his son Justus, did not acquiesce in that 
 resolution, otherwise he was himself naturally 
 of a good and virtuous character : but the se- 
 cond faction was composed of the most igno- 
 ble persons, and was determined for war. But 
 as for Justus, the son of Pistus, who was the 
 head of the third faction, altliongh he pre- 
 tended to be doubtful about going to war, yet 
 was he really desirous of innovation, as sup- 
 posing that he should gain power to himself 
 by the change of affairs. He therefore came 
 into the raidst 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, it had olHained the principal 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 fi^ther ; but bad retamed it until 
 Felix was procurator of Judea ; but he told 
 them, that now they had been so unfortunate 
 as to be made a present by Nero to Agrippa, 
 junior ; and that, upon Sepphoris's submission 
 of itself to the Romans, that was become the 
 capital city of Galilee, and that the royal trea- 
 sury and the archives were now removed from 
 them." 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 the time for them tq 
 take arms, and join with the Galileans as 
 their confederates (whom they might com- 
 mand, and who would now willingly assist 
 them, out of the hatred they bare to the peo- 
 ple of Sepplioris; because they preserved their 
 fidelity to the Romans), and to gathera great 
 number of forces, in order to punish them." 
 And, as he said this, he exhorted the multi- 
 tude [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 lo 
 
 * That this Herod Agrippa, the father, wa? of old 
 called a Great King; as here, :ippears by his coins st»Il 
 remaining ; to whah Haveramip refers us- 
 
4. THE LIFE OF FEAVIUS JOSKl'HUS. 
 
 tlu'ir ii(lv;intai:;c, and tliis l)y liis cTafliiicss and v ho at Iliis liinc was procurator of l!ie kin^- 
 liis fallacifs, for Ik- was not iniskilful in the tloni, wliich tlie kiiiff and In's sister had in- 
 learning of the Greeks; and in dependence trusted him withal, while they were <roiic to 
 on that skill it was that he undertook to write Kerylus with an intenlion of metting (Jessius. 
 a history of ihese afl'aiis, as aiinin;/, by this M'hen Varus had received these lettersof I'hi. 
 way of haranguing, to disguise tlie trulh ; but lip, and had learned that he was preserved, he 
 as ro this man, and how ill were his character ^ was very uneasy at it, as snpjHising that he 
 and conduct of life, and how he and his bro^ i should appear useless to the king and )n's sis- 
 ther were, in great measure, the authors of • ter, now Philip was come. He therefore pro- 
 our destruction, I :Jiall give the reader an ac- | duced the carrier of the letters l)efore the 
 count in the progress of my narration. So ] multitude, and accused him of forging the 
 when Justus had, by his persuasions, prevail- same ; and said, that he spake falsely when he 
 ed with till- citizens of Tiberias to take arms, 'related that Philip was at Jenisakm, lighting 
 nay, and had forced a great many so to do among the Jews against the Romans. Ho he 
 against their wills, he went out, and set the slew him. And when this freedman of Phi- 
 villages that belonged to Gadara and Hippos i lip did not return again, Philip was doubtfu} 
 on fire; which villages were situated on the 
 borders of Tiberias, and of the region of Scy- 
 thopolis. 
 
 10. And this was the state Tiberias was 
 now ill ; but as for Gischala, its affairs were 
 thus : — When Jolui, the son of Levi, saw 
 some of the citizens much elevated upon their 
 
 what should be the occasion of his stay, and 
 sent a second inessenger 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 
 revolt from (lie Romans, he laboured to re- I up by the Syrians that were at Caesarea, and 
 strain them; and entreated them that they had great expectations; for they said that 
 would keep their allegiance to them ; but he Agrippa would be slain bv the Romans for the 
 could not gain his jnirpose, although he did ' crimes which the Jews had committed, and 
 his endeavours to the utmost ; for the neigh- that he should himself take the government, 
 bouring people of Gadara, Gabara, and So- ' as derived from their kings; for Varus was, 
 gana, with the Tyrians, got together a great , by the confession of all, of the royal faniilv, 
 army, and fell upon Gischala, and took Gis-!as being a descendant of Sohemus, who had 
 chala by force, and set it on fire; and when enjoyed a tetrarchy about Libanus ; for which 
 they had entirely demolished it, they returned reason it was that he was puffed up, and kept 
 home. Upon which John was so enraged, the letters to himself. He contrived also that 
 that he armed all his men, and joined battle ; the king should not meet with tliose writings, 
 with the people forementioned ; and rebuilt by guarding all the passes, lest any one should 
 Gischala afier a manner better than before, I escape, and inform the king what had been 
 and fortified it with walls for its future secu- done. He moreover slew many of the Jews, 
 rity. in order to gratify the Syrians of Ca-sarc a. He 
 
 11. But Ganiala persevered in its allegi- had a mind also to join with the 'I'rachonites 
 
 ance to the Romans for the reason following 
 — Philip, the son of Jacimus, who was their 
 governor under king Agrijipa, had been un- 
 expectedly preserved -.vhen the royal palace at 
 
 n Batanea, and to take up arms and make an 
 assault upon the Baliylonian Jews that were 
 at Ecbatana; for that was the name they went 
 bv. He therefore called to him twelve of the 
 
 Jerusalem had been besieged ; but, as he fled I Jews of Ca'sarea, of the best character, and 
 aivay, had fallen into another danger; and i ordered them to go to Ecbatana, and inform 
 that was, of being killed by Manahem, and ' their countrymen who dwelt there, That Varus 
 the robbers that were with him ; but certain | hath heard that " you intend to march against 
 IJahylonians, who were of his kindred, and j the king; but, not believing that report, he 
 
 were then in Jerusalem, hindered the robbers 
 from executing their design. So Philip staid 
 there four days, and fled away on the fifth, 
 having disguised himself with fictitious hair, 
 that he might not be discovered ; and when 
 he was come to one of the villages to him be- 
 longing, but one that was situated at the bor- 
 ders of the citadel of Gamala, he sent to some 
 of those that were under him, and command 
 
 hath sent us to persuade you to lay down your 
 arms; and that this compliance will be a sign 
 that he did well not to give credit to those that 
 raised tlie re])ort concerning you." He also 
 enjoined them to send seventy of their prin- 
 cipal 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 
 
 ed them to conic to him ; but God himself i designs of innovation at all, they persuiided 
 
 hindered that his intention, and this for his 
 own advantage also ; for had it not so hap- 
 pened, he had certainly perished; for a fever 
 having seized u))on hiin immetliately, he wrote 
 to Agrippa anil IJernice, ami gave them to 
 
 them to send the seventy men also ; who, not 
 at all suspecting what would come, sent them 
 accordingly. So these seventy went down 
 to C;rsarea, together with tlie twelve amlias- 
 sadors ; where Varus met them with the king's 
 
 one of his freedmen to carry them to Varus | forces, and slew them all togetJier with th» 
 
 "V 
 
THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPIIUS. 
 
 (twelve] aml)assa(1ors, and made an expedi- 
 tion ;igaiii.~v the Jews of Ecbatana. But one 
 there vvas vf t!ie seventy who escaped, and 
 made haste to inform the Jews of their com ■ 
 iiijv; upon which they took their arms, witii 
 iheir wives and children, and retired to the 
 citadel at Gamala, leaving tlieir own villages 
 full of all sorts of good things, and having 
 inaiiv ten thonsands of cattle therein. When 
 Pliilip was informed of these tilings, he also 
 came to the citadel of Gamala ; and when he 
 was come, the multitude cried aloud, and de- 
 sired him to restmiL' the government, and to 
 make an expedition against Varus and the 
 ^vriaus of Cxfisarea; for it was reported that 
 they had slain the king. But Philij) restrain- 
 ed their zeal, and jjut them in mind of the 
 benefits the king had bestou ed upon them ; 
 and told them how powerful tile Romans 
 were, and i.aid it was iwt for their advantage 
 to make v,ar with them ; and at length he 
 prevailed with tliein. But now, when the king 
 was acquainted with Varus's design, which w-as 
 to cut Oil' the Jews of Ciesarea, being many 
 ten thousands, with their wives and chilih-en. 
 
 give us leave, but were at length entirely over- 
 come by us, and were induced to be of our 
 opinion. So Jesus the son of Sapjihias, one 
 of those whom we have already mentioned as 
 the leader of a seditious tumult of mariners 
 and poor people, prevented us, and took witii 
 him certain Galileans, and set the entire pa- 
 lace on fire, and thought he sliouKI get a great 
 deal of money thereby, because he saw some 
 of the roofs gi't with gold. Tliey also jjlun- 
 dercd a great deal of the furniture, which was 
 done witliout our approbation ; for, after vv 
 had discoursed with Capellus and the princi 
 pal men of the city, we departed from Beth- 
 maus, and went into the Upper Galilee. But 
 Jesus and his party slew all the Greeks that 
 were inhabitants of I'iberias, and as many 
 others as were their enemies before the war 
 began. 
 
 13. When I understood this state of t' ings, 
 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 plundered it. They 
 consisted of candlesticks made of Corinthian 
 
 and all in one day, he called to him P^quiculus I brass, and of royal tables, and of a great 
 ;\i(>dius, and sent him to be Varus's succes- i quantity of uncoined silver ; and I resolved to 
 
 sor, as we have elsewhere related. But still 
 Philip kejit possession of the citadel of Ga- 
 «nala, and of the country adjoining to it, which 
 thereby continued in their allegiance to tlie 
 Romans. 
 
 1 2. Now, as soon as I was come into Ga- 
 lilee, and had leanv.d this state of tilings by 
 the information of such as told me of them, 
 I wrote to the sanhedrim at Jerusalem about 
 them, and required their direction what I 
 should do. I'lieir direction was, that I should 
 continue there, and that, if my fellow-legates 
 
 preserve whatsoever came to my hand for the 
 king. So 1 sent for ten of the principal men 
 of the senate, aii<l i'or Capellus the son o' 
 Antyllus, and committed the furniture to 
 them, with this charge, I'hat they should part 
 with it to nobody else but to myself. From 
 thence I and my fellow-legates went to Gis- 
 chala, to John, as desirous to knov/ his inten- 
 tions, and soon saw that he was for innova- 
 tions, and had a mind to the principality, foi 
 he desired me to give him authority to carry 
 oH' that corn which belonged to Caesar, and 
 
 were willing, I should join with them in the I lay in the villages of Upper Galilee; and he 
 care of Galilee. But those my fellow-le^^'ates, ' pretended that he would expend what it came 
 liavintr sotten great riches from those tithes : to in building the walls of his own city. But 
 
 which as priests were their dues, and were 
 given to them, determined to return to their 
 own country. Yet when 1 desired them to 
 stay so long, that wa might first settle the 
 {3ul)lic att'airs, they complied with me. So I 
 removed, together witii them, from the city of 
 Sepphovis, and came to a certain village called 
 
 when I perceived what he endeavoured at, and- 
 what he had in his mind, I said I «ould not 
 permit him so to do ; for that I thouglit either 
 to keep it for the Romans or for myself, now 
 I was entrusted with the jjublic ailairs there 
 by the people of Jerusalem : but, when he was 
 not able to |)revail with me, he betook himself 
 
 Bethinaus, four furlongs distant from Tibc- to my fellow-legates; for tbey had no sagacity 
 jias ; and thence I sent messengers to the se- i in providing for futurity, and were very ready 
 nate of Tiberias, and desired that the prin-!to t;ike bribes: so he corrupted them with 
 cipal men of the city would come to me : and I money to decree, That all that corn which was 
 when they were come, Justus himself being I within his province siiould be delivered to 
 also with them, 1 told them that I was sent to | him; while 1, who was but one, was outvoted 
 them by the jieople of Jerusalem as a legate, ; by two, and held my tongue. Then did John 
 together with these other priests, in order to : introduce another cunning contrivance of his ; 
 persuade them to demolish that house which ! for he said that those Jews who inhabited Ca?-- 
 Herod the tetrarch had built there, and which sarea Philippi, and were shut up by the order 
 had the figures of living creatures in it, al- | of the king's deputy there, had sent to him to 
 though our laws have forbidden us to make 1 desire him, that, since they h.ul no oil that 
 any such figures-, and 1 desired that they was pure for their use, he would provide a 
 would give us leave so to do immediately, suflicient quantity of such oil for them, lest 
 But for a good while Capellus and the prin- | they should be forced to make use of oil that 
 dpal men belonging to t!ie city would not j came from the Greeks, and thereby transgrtss 
 
(5 
 
 THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 tlieir own laws. Now this was said by John, 
 not out of his regaitl to reh'gion, but out of 
 his most flagrant desire of gain ; for lie knew 
 that two sectaries were sold with them of C;e- 
 sarea for one drachma; l)ut that at Gischala 
 fourscore sectaries were sold for four sectaries : 
 so he gave order that all the oil which was 
 there shoidd be carried away, as having my 
 permission for so doing ; which yet I did not 
 grant him voluntarily, but only out of fear 
 of tlie multitude, since, if I had forbidden 
 him, I should have been stoned by them. — 
 M'hen I had therefore jiermitled this to be 
 done by John, he gained vast sums of money 
 by this his knavery. 
 
 14. But when I had dismissed my fellow- 
 legates, and sent them back to Jerusalem,- 1 
 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 multitude to allow 
 them money as pay, and told them it was better 
 for them to give them a little willingly rather 
 than to [be forced to] overlook them when 
 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, 1 dismissed them, and 
 charged them neither to make an expedition 
 against the Romans, 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 friend- 
 ship. Accordingly, I made them my friends 
 and companions as I journeyed, and set them 
 to judge causes ; and with tliiir approbation 
 it was that I gave my sentences, while I en- 
 deavoured not to mistake what justice re- 
 quired, and to keep my hands clear of all 
 bribery in those determinations. 
 
 15. I was now about the thirtieth year of 
 my age ; in which time o-f life it is a hard 
 thing for any one to escape the calumnies of 
 the envious, although he restrain liimself from 
 fulfilling any unlawful desires, especiidly 
 where a person is in great authority. Yet did 
 I preserve every woman free from injuries; 
 and as to what presents were oll'ered me, I 
 despised them, as not standing in need of 
 them ; nor indeed would I take those tithes, 
 which were due to me as a priest, from those 
 that brought them. Yet do I confess, that I 
 took par' of the spoils of those Syrians which 
 inhabited the cities that adjoined to us, when 
 I had cotujuered them, and that I sent them 
 to my kindred at Jerusalem ; although, when 
 I twice took Sepphoris by force, and Tiberias 
 four times, and Gadara once, and when I had 
 subdued and taken John, who often laid 
 treacherous snares for me, I ilid not ))iinish 
 I " ith dcathi cither him or any of the people 
 
 fore-named, as the progress of this discours«? 
 will show. And on tiiis account, I suppose, 
 it was that God,* who is never unac<piainted 
 with those that do as they ought to do, deli- 
 vered me still out of the hands of these my 
 enemies, and afterwards preserved me when I 
 fell into those many dangers which I shall 
 relate hereafter. 
 
 16". Now the multitude of the Galileans 
 had that great kindness for me, and fidelity 
 tome, that when their cities were taken by 
 force, and their wives and children carried 
 into slavery, they did not so <leeply lament 
 for their own calamities, as they were solici- 
 tous for my preservation. But when John 
 saw this, he envied me, and wrote to me, de- 
 siring that I would give him leave to come 
 down, and luake use of the hot baths of Tibe- 
 ri;is for the recovery of the health of his body. 
 Accordingly, I did not hinder him, as having 
 no suspicion of any wicked designs of his; 
 and I wrote to those to whom 1 had commit- 
 ted the administration of the affairs of Tibe- 
 rias by name, that they should ]>rovide a lodg- 
 ing for John, and for such as should come 
 with him, and should procure him what ne- 
 cessaries soever he should stand in need of. 
 Now at this timo my abode was in a village 
 of Galilee, which is named Cana. 
 
 17. But when John was con.e to the city 
 of Tiberias, he persuaded the men to revolt 
 from their fidelity to me, and to adhere to 
 him ; and many of them gladly received that 
 invitation of his, as ever fond of innovations, 
 and by nature disposed to changes, and de- 
 lighting in seditions ; but they were chiefly 
 Justus and his father Pi.Uus that were earnest 
 for their revolt from me, and their adherence 
 to John. But I came upon them, and pre- 
 vented them ; for a messenger had come to 
 me from Silas, whom I had made governor 
 of Tiberias, as I have said already, and liad 
 told me of the inclinations of the people 
 of Tiberias, and advised me to make haste 
 thither; for that, if 1 made any delay, the 
 (it) would come under another's jurisdiction. 
 Upon the receipt of this letter of Silas, I took 
 two hundred men along with me, and travel- 
 led all night, having sent before a messenger 
 to let the people of Tiberias know that I was 
 coming to them. When I came near to tlie 
 city, which was early in the morning, the 
 multitude 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 account for 
 what 1 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, 
 
 • Our ,IosC))hus shows, botli here and everywhere, 
 that he was a most rrlipioiis person, anit one tliat had a 
 • 'eep sense of {iod and his providence upon his mind; 
 and ascribed nil his numerous and wenderfid esi-aju's 
 and preservations, in times of danpcr. to Oo<l's lilcs^ing 
 him, and taking care of hnn ; and this on aei'ount of his 
 .nets of pi.ty, jiistii-c, humanity, and c.acity •" the 
 J<'w» his brctlirtn. 
 
J- 
 
 THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 riaving dismissed the guards I had about me, 
 excepdng one, and ten armed men that were 
 with him, I attempted to make a speech to 
 the multitude of the people of Tiberias; and 
 standing on a certain elevated place, I entreat- 
 ed 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 suspected by those that should be 
 tlieir governors hereafter, as if they were not 
 likely to be faithful to them neither. 
 
 1 8. 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 esca[>e my enemies there ; for John 
 had chosen the most trusty of those armed 
 men that were about him out of those thou- 
 sand 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 tliose that were 
 sent came as they were ordered, and they had 
 executed what they came about, had I not 
 leaped down from the elevation I 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 guid- 
 ed by him down to the lake, where I seized a 
 ship, and got into it, and escaped my enemies 
 unexpectedly, and came to Taricheat. 
 
 19. Now, as soon ss the inhabitants of that 
 fity understood the perfidiousnes? of the peo- 
 ple of Tiberias, they were greatly provoked 
 at them. So they snatched up their arms, 
 and desired me to be their leader against 
 them ; for they said they would avenge their 
 commander's cause upon them. They also 
 carried the report of what had been done to 
 me, to all the Galileans, and eagerly endea- 
 voured to irritate them against the people of 
 Tiberias, and desired that vast numbers of 
 them would get together, and come to them, 
 tliat they might act in concert with their com- 
 mander, what should be determined as fit to 
 be done. Accordingly, the Galileans came 
 to me in great numbers, from all parts, with 
 their weapons, and besought me to assault 
 Tiberias, to take it by force, and to demolisii 
 it, till it lay even with the ground, and then 
 to make slaves of its inhabitants, with their 
 wives and children. Those that were Jose- 
 jihus's friends also, and had escaped out of 
 Tiberias, gave him the same advice. But I 
 did not comply with them, thinking it a ter- 
 rible thing to begin a civil war among them ; 
 for I thought that this contention onght not 
 to proceed farther 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 othrr than that we 
 shc'uld destroy one another by our mutual 
 seditions ; and by saying this, 1 put a stop to 
 the anger of the Galileans. 
 
 20. But now John was afraid for himself, 
 since his treachery had proved unsuccessful ; 
 so he took the armed men that were about 
 him, and removed from Tiberias to Gischala, 
 and wrote to me to apologize for himself con- 
 cerning what had been done, as if it had been 
 done without his approbation j and desired 
 me to have no suspicion of him to his disad- 
 vantage. 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. 
 
 21. But now another great number of the 
 Galileans came together again with their wea- 
 pons, as knowing the man, how wicked and 
 how sadly perjured he was, and desired me 
 to lead them against him, and promised me 
 tliat they would utterly destroy both him and 
 Gischala. Hereupon I professed that I was 
 obliged to them for their readiness to serve 
 me ; and that I would more than requite 
 their good-will to ma. However, I entreated 
 them to restrain themselves ; and begged of 
 them to give me leave to do what I intended, 
 which was to put an end to these troubles 
 without bloodshed ; and when I Iiad prevailed 
 with tlie multitude of the Galileans to let me 
 do so, I came to Sepphoris. 
 
 22. But the inhabitants of this city having 
 determined to continue in tiieir allegiance to 
 the Romans, were afraid of my coming to 
 them ; and tried, 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, tlie cajjtain of those rob- 
 bers who were in the 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 eight 
 hundred, and fight with us. Accordingly he 
 complied with what they desired, ujion the 
 promises they had made him, and was desi- 
 rous ^n^ fall upon us when we were impre- 
 pared lor him, and knew nothing of his com- 
 ing beforehand : so he sent to me, and desired 
 that I would give him leave to come and 
 salute me. When I had given him that leave, 
 which I did without the least 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 ap- 
 proaching, one of those with him deserted 
 him, and came to me, and told me what he 
 had undertaken to do. When I was informed 
 of this, I went into the market-place, and 
 pretended to know nothing of his treacherous 
 purpose. I took with me many Galileans 
 tliat were armed, as also some of those of 
 Tiberias ; and, when 1 had given orders that 
 all the roads should be carefully guarded, I 
 charged the keepers of the gates to give ad-, 
 mittance to none but Jesus, when he came, 
 with the principal of his men, and to exclude 
 t!ie itst ; and in case they aimed to force 
 
THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 tlu'insL'lvcs in, to use sliipcs [in order to ropel 
 them]. Accordingly, tlio^e tiiat had receive*! 
 sucli a charge did as lliey were bidden, and 
 Jesus came in with a few others ; and wiieii 
 I liad ordered him to throw down his arms 
 immediately, antl told him, that if he refused 
 so to do, he n;is a dead man, he seeing armed 
 men standing all round uhoiit liiui, was terri- 
 fied, and conjplied ; and as for th(jse of his 
 followers that were excluded, when they were 
 informed that he wjs seized, tliey ran away. 
 I then called Jesus to me by himself, and 
 told him, that " I was not a stranger to that 
 treacherous design he had against me, nor 
 was 1 ignorant by whom he was sent for; 
 that, however, I would forgive iiim what he 
 had done already, if he would repent of it, 
 and be faithful to me iiereal'ter. " And liius, 
 upon his promise to do all tliat I desiied, I 
 let him go, and gave him leave to get those 
 whom he had formerly had with him together 
 again. But 1 threatened the inhabitants of 
 Seiiphoris, that, if they would not leave oil 
 tlieir ungrateful treatment of me, 1 would 
 punish them sufficiently. 
 
 23. At this time it was that two great 
 men, who were under the jurisdiction of the 
 king [Agrippa], came to me out of the region 
 of 'I'raclionitis, bringing their horses and tlieir 
 arms, and carrying with them tlieir 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 accord- 
 ing to his own inclinations, 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 1 iiad pacified the mul- 
 titude, 1 provided for the men that were come 
 to us whatsoever it was tliey wanted, accord- 
 ing to their usual way of living, and that in 
 great plenty also. 
 
 2-i. Now king Agrippa sent an army to 
 make themselves masters of the citadel of 
 Ganiala, and over it EijuicuUis Modius; but 
 the f«ices that were sent were not enow to 
 encompass the citadel quite round, but lay 
 bel'oie it in the open places, and b.-sieged it. 
 liut when Ebutius the decurioii, who v\as in- 
 trusted with the government of the grtat plain, 
 heard tliat 1 was at Simonias, a village situ- 
 ated in the confines of Galilee, and was dis- 
 tant frmn liim sixty furlongs, he took a hun- 
 dred horsemen that were with him by night, 
 and a certain number of footmen, about two 
 bit'-idred, and brought the inhabitants of the 
 
 " Josrphiis's opinion is lieie well wortli noting : — 
 That cveiy one is to V>e l>errailteil to worship (.ml ai- 
 cinding to Ins own conscience, ami is nut to be coin- 
 ^x'lk'd 111 mattes of religion; as one may lieic observe, 
 on tlie contrary, tliat the rest of the Jews were still tor 
 oblig iig all those wiio niairied Jewesses to be circinicis- 
 ert, and bicoinc Jews ; .ind were ready to destroy all Ihat 
 noi'.! 1 n.t siibniit to do so. See sect. 31, aiid Luke 
 ix. 54. 
 
 city Gibca along with him as auxiliaries, and 
 marched in the night, and came to the village 
 where I abotle. U|)on this 1 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 de- 
 pentlitig upon his hurseniea ; but we would 
 not come down ; for when 1 was satisfied of 
 the advantage that his horse would have if we 
 came down into the idaiii, while we were al; 
 foolir.cn, 1 resolved to join battle with the ene- 
 my where 1 was. Now Ebulius and his party 
 made a courageous opposition for some time. 
 l)ut when he saw that his horse were useless 
 to him in that jilaee, he retired back to thi 
 city Gibea, having lost tliree of his men in 
 the figlit. So I followed him diiectly with 
 two thousand armed men ; and when 1 was 
 al the city IJesara, that lay in the confines of 
 Ptolemais, but twenty furlongs from Gibea, 
 where Eiiutius abode, I placed my armed 
 men on the outside of the village, an<l gavi- 
 orders that they siiould guard tiie passes vii'.h 
 great care, that the enemy might not distiiib 
 us-until we shouKl have carried off the corn, 
 a great fjnantity of whii-h lay there: it belong- 
 ed to iiernice the queen, and had been gathereii 
 together out of the neighbouring villages into 
 Besara : so 1 loaded my camels and asses, a 
 great number of which I bad brought along 
 with me, and sent the corn into Galilee. 
 When 1 had done this, I oH'ered Ebutius 
 battle; but when he would not accejit of the 
 offer, for he was terrified at our readiness and 
 courage, I altered my rou'e, and marched to- 
 wards Neopolitanus, 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 Scylho- 
 poHs intrusted to his care by the enemy ; and 
 when 1 had hindered him from doing any 
 fartlier mischief to Tiberias, I set myself to 
 make [irovision for the afl'airs of Galilee. 
 
 25. But when John, the son of Levi, who, 
 as we before told you, alM>de at Gisciiala, was 
 informed how all things had succeeded to my 
 inind, and that I was much iu favour wiiii 
 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 lioping, 
 that if he could iiifiauie those that were under 
 me to hate nie, he should put an end to the 
 prosperity 1 was in, he tried to persuade the 
 inhabitants of Tiberias, and of Sei)))horis (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 he 
 of his party ; and told them that he would 
 command tiiem b tter than I did. As for 
 the peojile of Se|;phoris, who belonged to 
 neither of us, because tliey tiad chosen to be 
 in subjection to the Romans, they did no> 
 
 ~V 
 
THE LliE OF FI.AVILS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 comply with his proposal ; and for those of 
 I'lbcrias, tlicy liiil not indeLHl so far comply 
 as to make a revolt from under ine, l)iit they 
 ;i^jteed lo be hi'; friends, while the inhabitants 
 ot' G.ibara did go over to Jalui ; uiid it was 
 Simon that ])ersuaded them so to do, one who 
 was both the ])iinci|)al man in the eily and a 
 l)articular friend and coin|)anion of John. It 
 is true, these ilid not openly own the making 
 a revolt, because they were in jjfreat fear of 
 the Galileans, and had frequent experience of 
 the good-will they bore to me ; yet did they 
 jnivately watch for a proper opportunity to 
 hiy snares for me ; and indetd 1 thereby came 
 into the greatest danger on the occasion fol- 
 lowing, 
 
 '20". There were some bold young men of 
 the village of Dab iritia, who observed that 
 the wife of Ptolemy, the king's procurator, 
 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 sul)ject to 
 the king and <jueen, into the jurisdiction of 
 the llomans ; and fell upon thein on a sud- 
 den, and obliged the wife of Ptolemy to Hy 
 away, and plundered all :!ie carriages. 'I'hey 
 also came tome to Taricheje, with four mules' 
 loading of garments, and other furniture ; and 
 the weight of the silver they brought was not 
 small ; and there were five hundred pieces of 
 goki also. Now I had a mind to preserve 
 these spoils for Ptolemy, who was my coun- 
 tryman ; 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 kc])t, in order to rebuild the walls of Jeru- 
 salem with them when luey 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 neighbour- 
 hood of Tiberias, and told the people that 1 
 was going to betray their country to the llo- 
 mans, and that I used deceitful language to 
 them, when I said that what had been thus 
 gotten by rapine should be kept for the re- 
 building of the walls of the city of Jerusalem ; 
 aUljough I had resolved to restore these spoils 
 again to their former owner; and indeed they 
 were herein Viot mistaken as to my intentions; 
 foi when 1 had gotten clear of theni, I sent 
 
 • How Josephiis could say here that the Jewish luws 
 lorhaiie them to •• spoil even their enemies," while yet 
 a litlii' betori' liis time, our baviour had mentioned it 
 !Ls 'iii'ii a current maxim with them, " Tlxm shalt love 
 thy non;hboiir, ajid hate thine enemy" (Matt. v. 4.)), is 
 Worth our imiiiiiy. 1 take it that .losephus, having 
 bifn now for many years an Ebionite Christian, had 
 learned this interpretalion of the law of Moses from 
 Christ, whom he owned for the true Messiah, as it fol- 
 lows in the suecee<lini; verses, which, though lie mi),'ht 
 not lend in --t. Matthew's gospel, yet miyht he have read 
 much the snine espositioii in rhcir own Ebionite or 
 Na/.arenc gospel iuielf; of which improvemeuU made 
 by Joscphus, after he was b(ii)me a Christian, we have 
 alveady had several exaiTii)le4 in this his Life, sect, o, l.'>, 
 14, lu, -1, '.' ; and shall luive many muie therein be- 
 fore iis conclusion, as well as we have tlicin eUewherc 
 Ui all h,s later wriiiniis. 
 
 for two of the principal men, Dassioii, and 
 jjaimeusthe son of I.,evi, persons that were 
 among the chief friends of ihr king, and com- 
 manded them to take the furniture that had 
 been plundered, and to send it to him ; and 
 1 threatened that 1 would order them to be 
 , ])ut to death by way of punishment, if they 
 discovered this my command to any other 
 ! person. 
 
 I 27. Now, when all Galilee was filled with 
 I this rumour, that tlieir couniry was about to 
 1 be betrayed by me to the Remans, and when 
 ! all men were exasperated a;^ainst ine, and 
 ' ready to bring mo to puni anient, the inhabi- 
 j tants of TarichejE did also ilKiiiselvcs sujipose 
 I that what the young men said v^as true, ami 
 ; persauded my guards and armed men to leave 
 line when I was asleep, and to come presently 
 i to the hippodrome, in order there to take 
 counsel against me their commander ; and 
 I when they had prevailed with them, and they 
 ] were gotten together, they found there a great 
 ! company assembled already, \. ho all joined in 
 I one clamour, to bring the man who was so 
 I wicked to them as to betray iliem, to his due 
 I liunishmenl ; and it was Je-iis, the son ot 
 I Sapphias, who principally set them on. He 
 I was ruler in Tiberias, a wicked man, and nat- 
 I urally disposed to make disturbances in mat- 
 ters of consequence ; a seditious person he 
 was indeed, and an innovator l)ejond every 
 body else. lie then took the laws of ?.ioses 
 into his hands, and came iiu^i the midst of the 
 people, and s.iid, " O my fi llow-citizens ! if 
 I you are not disposed to hale Josephus on 
 your own account, have re-^jard, however, to 
 these laws of your country, which your coin- 
 mander-in-chief is going to betray ; hate him 
 , therefore on both these accounts, and bring 
 the man who hath acted thus insolently, to liis 
 I deserved punisl;ment." 
 
 I '2S. When he had said this, and the tnulti- 
 
 tude had openly applauded him for what he 
 
 ' hatl said, he took some of the armed men, and 
 
 made haste away to the house in wiiicli I 
 
 lodged, as if he would kill me immediately, 
 
 while 1 wa.-> wholly insensible of al! till this 
 
 disturbance happeneii ; and by reason of the 
 
 pains 1 had been taking, was fallen fast 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 
 
 I citizens made upon me, awaked me and told 
 
 i me of the danger 1 was in, and desired me to 
 
 I let him kill me, that I might die bravely and 
 
 ' like a general, before my enemies came in, 
 
 and forced me [to kill myself] or killed mu 
 
 themselves. Thus did he discourse to me ; 
 
 but 1 committed the care of my life to God, 
 
 and iT!ade haste to go out to the multitude. 
 
 j Accordingly, I put on a black garment, and 
 
 hung my sword at my neck, and went by 
 
 ' such a different way to the hippodrome, 
 
 i wherein 1 tiiought none of my adversaries 
 
 1 would meet me; so I appeared among there 
 
 "V 
 
10 
 
 TIIK LIFE or I'LAVIUS JOSEI'HUS. 
 
 ©n the sudden, and fill down flat on the earth, 
 and b<'dcwL'd tlie {ground with my tears : then 
 I si>i'ine<l totlieni ail an ohjoc-t of compassion; 
 and when 1 perceived the diange tlivit was 
 made in the multitude, I tried to divide their 
 opinions before the armed men should return 
 from my house ; so I granted tliem that I 
 had been as wicked as tliey supposed me to 
 be ; hilt still I entreated them to let me first 
 inform tliem for what use I had kept that 
 money which arose from the plimder ; and 
 tliat they might then kill me, if tliey pleased : 
 and, upon the multitude's ordering me to 
 speak, the armed men came upon ine, and 
 when they saw me, they ran to kill me ; l)ut 
 when the nudtitude bade them hold fheir 
 hands, they complied ; and cxi)ected that as 
 "soon as I shoidd 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 allowed to kill nie. 
 
 '29. When, therefore, silence was made by 
 the whole multitude, I spake thus to thein : 
 — " () 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 
 ^Tai icliea?] was a city of great hosjjitality, and 
 filled with abundance 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 wails about it, out 
 of this money, for whicJi you are so angry 
 ■with me, while yet it was to bo expended in 
 l)uilding your own walls." Upon my saying 
 this, the people of Taricheae and the strangers 
 cried out, That " they gave me thanks; and 
 desired me to he of good courage," although 
 the Galileans and the people of Tiberias con- 
 tinued in their wrath against ine, insomuch 
 that there arose a tumult among them, while 
 some threatened to kill me, and some bade me 
 not to regard tliem ; but v. hen 1 promised 
 them that I would build them walls at Tibe- 
 rias, and at other cities that wanted them, 
 they gave credit to what I promised, and re- 
 tiuncd every one to his own home. So I 
 escaped the ft)rementioned danger, beyond all 
 my hopes ; and returned to my own house, 
 accompanied with my friends, and twenty 
 armed men also. 
 
 30. However, these robbers and other au. 
 thorsof this tuimdt, who were afraid on their 
 own account, lest I should punish them for 
 what they had done, took six hundred armed 
 men, and came to the bouse wlicre I abode, 
 in order to set it on fire. When this their in- 
 sidt was told me, 1 thouglit it indecent for 
 juetorun away, and I resolved to expose my- 
 self to danger, and to act with some boldness ; 
 so I gave order to shut the doors, and went 
 up intr) an upper room, aiul desired t4iat they 
 would send in some of their men to receive 
 the money [from the spoils] ; for I told them 
 ihev would then have no occasion to be angry 
 
 with nie ; and when they had sent in one of 
 the boldest of them ;'.ll, 1 had him whipped 
 severely; and I commanded that one of his 
 hands should be cut ol!', and luing about his 
 neck ; and in this case was he put out to those 
 that sent him. At which procedure of mine 
 they were greatly ail'ri;;liteil, and in no small 
 consternation ; and were afraid that they shotild 
 themselves be served in like manner, if they 
 stayed there; for they sujjjiosed that 1 had in 
 the house more armed meri tlian they had them- 
 selves ; so they ran away inmiediately, while 
 I, by the use of thi^ stratagem, escaped this 
 their second treacherous design against me, 
 
 ,31. IJut there were still some that irritated 
 the nudtitude 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 !o tlie religion of those 
 to whom they fled for safety ; they spake re- 
 proachfully of them also, and said, that they 
 were wizards, and such as called in the Ro- 
 mans upon them. So the multitude was soon 
 deluded by such plausible pretences as were 
 agreeable to their own inclinations, and were 
 prevailed on by them ; but when I was inform- 
 ed of this, I instructid the multitude again, 
 that those who fled to them for refuge ought 
 not to be persecuted : ] also laughed at the 
 allegation about witchcraft; * and told them 
 that the Romans would not maintain so many 
 ten thousand soldiers, if they could overcomt 
 tlveir enemies by wirnvds. U|)on my saying 
 this, the people assemcd for a while; but they 
 returned again afterwards, as irritated by some 
 ill people against the great men ; nay, they once 
 made an assault upon the house in which they 
 dwelt at TaricheK, in order to kill them ; 
 which, when I was informed of, I was afraid 
 lest so horrid a crime should take eil'ect, and 
 nobody else would make that city their refuge 
 any more. I therefore came myself, and some 
 others with me, to the house where these great 
 men lived, and locked the doors, arid had 2 
 trench drawn from their house leading to the 
 lake, and sent forabhip, and embarked there- 
 in with them, and sailed to the cotdines of 
 Hippos : 1 also paid them the value of their 
 horses; nor in such a (light could I have their 
 horses brought to them. 1 then dismissed 
 them ; and l)egged of them earnestly that they 
 woidd courageously bear this distress which 
 bel'fU 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 ene- 
 my's country ; yet did I think it more eligible 
 that they should jierish among the Romans, 
 if it shouhl so happen, than in the country 
 that was under my jurisdiction. However, 
 they escaped at length, and king Agrippa for- 
 gave them their oliences; and this was the 
 conclusion of what concerned these men. 
 
 • llore wc ni.iy observe iln.- vulgar Jewish notion of 
 witclicnirt ; l>iit that uur .losi'jihus was tuo wise to give 
 uiiy cutuilcJiiuicc tu it. 
 
 ~v. 
 
THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 11 
 
 S2. But as for the inhabitants of the city of 
 riberias, they wrote to the king, and desired 
 liim 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 ; but when I came to them, they 
 desired me to build their walls, as I had pro- 
 mised them to do ; for tliey 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 \vork ; but 
 on the third day, when I was gone to Tari- 
 ciiese, which was thirty furlongs distant from 
 Tiberias, it so fell out, that some Roman horse- 
 men were discovered on their march, not far 
 from the city, which made it to be supposed 
 that the forces were come from the king; up. 
 on which they shouted, and lifted up tlifir 
 voices in commendations of the king, and in 
 reproaches against me. Hereupon one came 
 j-unning to me, and told me what their dispo- 
 sitions were ; and 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 mul- 
 titude of soldiers ; and indeed, w henever I 
 sojourned at that city, I never took any par- 
 ticular 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 men, be- 
 sides some friends, and was doubtful 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 tiiose 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 pjrmit tlie 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 con-, 
 sidered, therefore, how to get clear of these 
 forces by a stratagem ; so I immediately plac- 
 ed those my friends of 'J'aricheae, on whom I 
 could best confide, at the gates, to watcii thost- 
 very carefully who went out at those gates ; 1 
 also called to me the heads of families, and 
 bade every one of tliem to seize upon a ship, * 
 <o go on board it, and to take a master rtith 
 
 • In this section, as well as in the 18 and 3.3, tho?c 
 Kinall vessels thai sailed on tlie sea of fialilee, arc called 
 by Joscphus N^ss, and XlKoia., and 'S.xxifcii; i- c. plainly 
 ships; so I'hit we need not wonder at our Evangelists, 
 who still call them shins ; nor ought we to reiider ilieni 
 bnats, i\3 some do. Their number was in all 230, as we 
 lc:irn from our author elsewhere. Jewish War, b. ii. eh. 
 xxi. «'i.'t. S. 
 
 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 al- 
 ready mentioned, and sailed for Tiberias. 
 
 33. But 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 changed their minds, and 
 threw down their weapons, and met me with 
 their wives and children, and made acclama- 
 tions to me with great commendations; foi 
 they imagined that I did not know their for- 
 mer inclinations [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 ofl' the land, that the people of Ti- 
 berias might not perceive that the ships bad 
 no men on board ; but I went nearer to the 
 peojjle in one of the ships, and rebuked them 
 for tlieir folly, and that they were so fickle as, 
 without any just occasion in the world, to re- 
 volt from their fidelity to me. However, i 
 assured them that 1 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 forementioned, I 
 put them on board a ship, and sent them away 
 to Taricheae, and ordered them to be kept in 
 prison. 
 
 34. And by this stratagem it was tliat I 
 gradually got all the senate of Tiberias into 
 my power, and sent them to the city foremen- 
 tioned, with many of the principal men among 
 the populace ; and those not fewer in number 
 than the other : but, when the multitude saw 
 into what great miseries they had brought 
 themselves, they desired me to punish the au- 
 thor of this sedition : his name was Clitus, a 
 young man, bold and rash in his undertak- 
 ings. 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, 1 
 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 timor- 
 ousness of the soldier should appear to the 
 people of Tiberias; — so I called to Clitus 
 himself, and said to him, " Since thou deserv- 
 est to lose both thine iiands for thy ingrati- 
 tude 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 liim one of his hands, 
 it was with difficulty that I granted it. So, 
 in order to prevent the loss of both his hjinds, 
 he willingly took his sword, and cut oti' his 
 own left hand ; and tliis put an end to the 
 sedition. 
 
 ~V 
 
12 
 
 Tin: LITE or FLAVILS JOSKIMIUS. 
 
 S5. Now tlif nun of Tiberias, after I was 
 pniK" to Tarichi'a;, perccivt'tl wliat stratagem I 
 li:u! lisc'il against tlicm, and tlicy admired liow 
 J had put an end tu tliuir foolish sedition, 
 without shedding of blood. But now, wIil-u 
 I liad sent for some of tliose niuhiiudes of 
 the- [leople of Tiberias out of prison, anion 
 
 37. Now there was one Jusepli, the son o^ 
 a female physician, who excited a great many 
 young men lo join with him. He also inso- 
 lently addressed iiimself to the principal per- 
 sons at Gamala, and peisiiaded tiiem to revolt 
 from the king, anil take u]) arms, and gavo 
 them hopes that they should, by Ids means, 
 
 vhom were Justus and his father Pistus, I i recover their liberty : and soine thev forced 
 
 made them to sup with me ; and during our 
 bUiiper-time I said to them, that I knew the 
 power of the Romans was superior to all 
 others ; but did not say so [jiublicly] because 
 of the robbers. So 1 advised them to do as 
 I <lid, and to wait for a ))roper opportunity, 
 and not to be uneasy at my being their com- 
 mander ; for that they could not expect to have 
 ani)l!)>jr who would use the like moderation 
 that I had done. I also put Justus in mind 
 liovv the Galileans had cut off his brother's 
 liands before ever 1 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 GaiTiala, in a sedition 
 tliey raised against the Babylonians, after the 
 departure of Philip, slew Chares, who was a 
 kinsman of Philip, and witlial how they had 
 wisely punished Jesus, his brother Justus's sis- 
 ter's husl)and [with deatii]. When I had said 
 this to them during supper-tiine, I in the morn- 
 ing ordered Justus, and all the rest that were in 
 prison, to be loosed out of it, and sent away. 
 36. But before this, it happened that Piii 
 15]), the son of Jacimus, went out of the cita- 
 del of Gamala upon the following occasion : 
 When Philip had been informed that Varus 
 w;!s i)ut out of his government by king Agrip- 
 pa, and that Equiculus 3Iodius, 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 
 received these letters, he was exceedingly glad, 
 and sent the letters to the king and (jueen, who 
 were then about Derytus. 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 hrirsemen to conduct Philip 
 to him ; and when he was come, he saluted 
 liim very obligingly, and showed him to the 
 Roman commanders, and told them that this 
 was the man of whom the report had gone 
 about as if he had revolted from the Romans. 
 He also bid him to take some horsemen with 
 Iiim, and to go quickly to the citailel of Ga- 
 mala, and to bring out thence all his tlomes- 
 tics, and to restore the Babylonians to IJalanea I 
 again. He also 
 all ))Ossible care that none of his subject 
 
 into the service ; and those that would not 
 acijuiesce in what they had resolved on, they 
 slew. They also slew Chares, antl wi:h liiin 
 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, ar.d work- 
 men to raise up the walls of their city ; nor 
 did 1 reject either of their requests. The 
 region of Gaulanitis did also revolt from the 
 king, as far as the village Solyiiia. I also 
 built a wall about Seleucia and Soganni, 
 which arc villages naturally of very great 
 strength. INIoreover, I, in like manner, walled 
 several villages of Upper Galilee, though they 
 were very rocky of themselves. Their names 
 are Jamnia, and IMeroth, and Achabare. I 
 also fortitied, in the Lower Galilee, the cities 
 Tariche£B, Tiberias, Sepphoris, and the vil- 
 lages, the cave of Arbela, Bersobe, Selamin, 
 Jotapata, Capharccho, and Sigo, and Japha, 
 and Blount Tabor. * I also laid up a great 
 quantity of corn in these places, anil arms 
 withal, that might be for their security after 
 ward. 
 
 ;5S. But the hatred that John, the son ot 
 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 Siseniia, and 
 about a hundred armed men, to Jerusalem, to 
 Simon, the son of Gamaliel, f in order to per- 
 suade him to induce the commonalty of Jeru- 
 salem to take from me the government over the 
 Galileans, and to give their suffrages for con- 
 fetring that authority upon him. 'i'his Simon 
 was of the city of Jerusalem, and of a very 
 nol)le family, of the sect of the I'harisees, 
 which are supposed to excel others in the ae- 
 Tcurate knowledge of the laws of their coun- 
 try. He was a man of great wisdom anil 
 reason, and capable of restoring public aH'airs 
 by his prudence, when they were in an ill 
 posture. He was also an old friend and con^- 
 panion of John ; but at that tinie he liad a 
 diflerence with me. When therefore he had 
 
 • Tart of these foriifleations on Mount TaUor may 
 • , ■■ ■ 1 . . 1 he those still ifiiianimi', .-ukI wliich were seen lattlv b\ 
 
 ive It Inmm charjre totakeiM^_ ^,,,„,„,,^.,_ see tfis Travi-ls, p. ll'J. 
 
 t This liamaliel mav be the ver>' s-iine that is inen- 
 cl.niil/l I.M .riiiltv of n,-iLin<r nnv ini.matinn | tioned hy the rabbins in the Mishiia, In .liiiliasin. ajiil i.i 
 shouUl De guilty ot making any mnoxation. \ ,,^^^^^ j^j^^jj^ ^s is observcit in the Latin notes. Mc 
 Accordingly, upon these ihrections from the i mijjht he also that fiamalici II., whose grandfather was 
 king, he mule haste to do what he wa,, com- I <';•"""''>''••, "il'" ,'* mentioned in Acts v. 31 :_an.l a- 
 liiunded. I Vrul at tlie voar 1 11). 
 
THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 13 
 
 rercivet! such an exhortation, he persuaded 
 the higli priests, Ananus, and Jesus the son 
 of Gamala, and some others of the same se- 
 ditious faction, to cut me down, now I was 
 growing so great, and not to overlook me 
 while I was aggrandizing myself to the heiglit 
 of glory ; and he said that it would be for the 
 advantage of the Galileans if I were deprived 
 of my government there. A nanus also, and 
 his friends, desired them to make no delay 
 about the matter, lest I should get the know- 
 ledge (jf what was doing too soon, and should 
 come and make an assault upon the city will) 
 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. 
 
 39. When Simon heard Ananus say this, 
 he desired that the messengers woidd conceal 
 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 charg- 
 ed him that they should send presents to Ana- 
 nus and his friends ; for, as he said, theV 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 espel me out of Galilee, 
 without making the rest of the citizens ac- 
 quainted with what they were doing. Ac- 
 cordingly they resolved to send men of dis- 
 tinction 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 Siinon, the hwt of tiiem, was of the young- 
 est of the high priests. These had it given 
 them in charge, that, when they were come to 
 tlie 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 
 Uiey four were all born at the same place ; and 
 if they should say, it was because I was well 
 versed in their law, they should reply, that 
 neither were they unacquainted with the prac- 
 tices of their country ; but if, besides these, 
 they should say they loved me because I was 
 a piiest, they should reply, that two of these 
 were priests also. 
 
 40. Now, when they had given Jonathan 
 and his companions these instructions, they 
 gave them forty thousand [drachmae] out of 
 the public money : but when they heard that 
 there was a certain Galilean that then sojourn- 
 
 • This Jonathan is also taken notice of in the Latin 
 norcs, as the same that is mentioned bv tlie rabbins iii 
 *'orta Wdsis 
 
 ed at Jerusalem, whose name was Jesus, who 
 had about him a hand of six hundred armed 
 men, they sent for him, and gave him three 
 months' pay, and gave him orders to follow 
 Jonathan and his companions, and be obedi- 
 ent to them. They also gave money to three 
 hundred 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 companions went out with 
 them, having along with them John's brother 
 and a hundred 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 op- 
 posed them, they should kill me, and fear 
 nothing ; for that it was their command for 
 them so to do. They also wrote lo John 
 to make all ready for fighting me, and gave 
 orders to the inhabitants of Sepphoris, and 
 Gabara, and Tiberias, to send auxiliaries to 
 John. 
 
 41. 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 com- 
 panion of mine, told him of it), I was very 
 much troubled, as discovering thereby that my 
 fellow-citizens proved so ungrateful to me, as, 
 out of envy, to give order that I should be 
 slain ; ray 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 "^o 
 home. Upon hearing this, they were all very 
 sorry, and desired me, ivith tears in their eyes, 
 not to leave tN>tvi to be destroyed ; for so they 
 thought they should be. if I were deprived of 
 the command over then. : but as I did not 
 grant their request, but was taking care of my 
 own safety, the Galileans, out of tlieir dread 
 of the consequence of my departure, that they 
 should then be at the mercy of the robbers, 
 sent messengers overall Galilee to inform them 
 of my resolution to leave them. Whereupon, 
 as soon as they heard it, they got together in 
 great numbers, from all parts, with their wives 
 and children ; and this they did, as it apjieared 
 to me, not more out of their affection to me, 
 than out of their fear on their own account ; 
 for, while I staid with them, they supjjosed 
 that they should suffer no harm. So thev all 
 came into the great plain, wherein I lived, the 
 name of which was Asochis. 
 
 42. But wonderful it was what a dream I 
 saw that very night ; for when I had betaken 
 myself to my bed, as grieved and disturbed at 
 the news that had been written to me, it seem- 
 ed to me, that a certain person stood by me, f 
 
 t This I t;ike to bo the first of Josephiis's remarkable 
 or divine dreams, which were predictive oi" the gieaf 
 things th t afterwards came to pas,, ; of which sie iiiove 
 in the note on Antiq. b. lii. cliap. vui. sect, y, Tl.e 
 other is in the War b. iii. ch. viii. sect. S. 9. 
 
 r 
 
J' 
 
 14 
 
 THE LITE or rLAVIUS JOSEPH L.-^. 
 
 and said, " O Joseplius ! leave otl' to afflict 
 Uiy sodi, and put away all fear; for what now 
 grieves tliee will rciulcr thee very consiiieia- 
 ble, Hiul in all respects most happy; for tliou 
 shaft get over not only these difticiiiiies, but 
 many otliers, with great success. However, 
 f)e not cast down, fiut remember that tliou art 
 to light with the Romans." When I had seen 
 tliis dream, I got up with an intention of go- 
 ing down to the plain. Now, wlien the whole 
 multitude of the (jalileans, 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 tlieir enemies, nor to go away 
 and iH-'miit their country to be injured by 
 them ; but, when 1 did not comply with their 
 entreaties, they coir.pelled me to take an oath, 
 that I would stay with them : they also cast 
 abundance of reproaches upon the people of 
 Jerusalem, that they would not let their coun- 
 try enjoy peace. 
 
 43. When I heard this, and saw what sor- 
 row the people were in, I was moved with com- 
 jiassion to them, and thought it became me to 
 undergo the most manifest hazards for the sake 
 of so great a multitude ; so I let them know 
 1 would stay with tl)em ; and when I had 
 given order that five thousand of them should 
 come to me armed, and with provisions for 
 their maintenance, 1 sent the rest away to 
 tlieir own homes ; and, when those five thou- 
 sand were come, I took them, together with 
 three thousand of the soldiers that were with 
 ine before, and eighty horsemen, and marched 
 to tfie village of Chabolo, situated in the con- 
 fines of Ptolemais, and there kept my forces 
 together, pretending to get ready to fight with 
 Placidus, wlio was come with two cohorts of 
 I footmen, and one troop of horsemen j and was 
 i 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 furlongs from that vil- 
 I lage ; and now we frequently brought out our 
 1 forces as if we would fight, but proceeded no 
 i farther 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 
 j did he not remove from the neighbourhood 
 
 of Ptolemais. 
 ' 44. About this time it was that Jonathan 
 
 ! and his fellow-legates came. They were sent, 
 IS we have said already, by Simon, and Ana- 
 ; nus, the high priest ; and Jonathan contrived 
 \ how he might catch me by treachery ; for he 
 durst not make any attempt upon me openly. 
 I So he wrote methe following epistle: — " Jona- 
 j than and those Uiat are with him, and are sent by 
 the people of Jerusalem to Josephus, send 
 greeting. We are sent by the principal men 
 of Jerusalem, wlio have heard that John of 
 Gischala hath laid many snares for thee, to 
 rebuke him, and to exliort him to be subject 
 
 to thee hereafter. We are also desirous !• 
 consult with thee about our common concerns, 
 and what is fit to be done. We, tlierelore, 
 desire tl)ee to come to us quickly, and to 
 bring oidy a few men with thee ; for this vil- 
 lage will not conUn'n a great number of soldiers." 
 Thus it was tliat they wrote, as expecting one 
 of these two things; either that 1 shoidd con)c 
 without 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 Le a 
 public enemy. Now it was a fiorseman who 
 brought the letter, a man at other times bold, 
 and one that had served in the army under 
 the king. It was the second hour of the 
 niglit that he came, when I was feasting with 
 my friends and the principal of the Galileans. 
 This man, upon my servant's telling me 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, " This letter is sent thee by 
 those tliat 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 letter in my hands as I received it, 
 and fell a-talking with my guests about other 
 matters; but a few hours afterwards, I got 
 up, and, w hen I had dismissed the rest to go 
 to their beds, I bid only four of my intimate 
 friends to stay ; and ordered my servant to get 
 some wine ready. I also opened the letter 
 so, that nobouv could perceive it; and under- 
 standing thereby presently the purport of the 
 writing, I sealed it up again, and ajjpeared as 
 if I had not ytt read it, but only held it 
 in my hands. 1 ordered twenty drachms 
 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 bt 
 caught chiefly by that means ; and I saiti to 
 him, " If thou wilt but drink witJi us, thou 
 slialt have a drachma for every glass thou 
 drinkest." So he gladly embraced this pro- 
 posal, 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 intrusted with, but discovered them with- 
 out 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 1 heard tliis, I w rote back 
 this answer : — " Josephus to Jonathan, and 
 those that are with him, sendeth greeting. 
 Upon the information that you are come in 
 health into Galilee, 1 rejoice, and this esjuci- 
 ally, because 1 can now resign the caie 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 1 con- 
 fess 1 ought not only to come to you as fw 
 
THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEFHUS. 
 
 cs Xalolh, but farther, and tliis without your 
 commands: but I desire you to excuse me, 
 because 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 Clia- 
 bolo. Do you, tlierefore, on the receipt of 
 this epistle, come hither to me. Fare you 
 well." 
 
 45. When I had written thus, and given 
 the letter to be carried by the soldier, I sent 
 along with him thirty of the Galileans of the best 
 characters, and gave them instructions to salute 
 those ambassadors, but to say nothing else to 
 them. I also gave orders to as many of those 
 armed men, whom I esteemed most faithful to 
 me, to go along with th.e others, every one with 
 him whom he was to guard, lest some conversa- 
 tion might pass between those whom I sent and 
 those who were with Jonathan. So those men 
 went [to Jonathan]. But, when Jonathan and 
 his partners had failed in this their first at- 
 tempt, they sent me another letter, the contents 
 whereof were as follows : — '* Jonatlian, and 
 Uiose with him, to Josephus, send greeting. 
 We require thee to come to us to the village 
 Gabaroth, on the tliird 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 salut- 
 ed the Galileans whom I sent ; and came to 
 Japha, which was the largest village of all 
 Galilee, and encompassed with very strong 
 walls, and had a great number of inhabitants 
 in it. There the multitude of men, with their 
 wives and children, met them, and exclaimed 
 loudly against them ; and desired them to be 
 gone, and not to envy them the advantage of 
 an excellent commander. With these clamours 
 Jonathan and his partners were greatly pro- 
 voked, although they durst not show their 
 anger openly ; so they made them no answer, 
 but went to other villages. But still the same 
 clamours met them from all the people, who 
 said, " Nobody should persuade them to have 
 any other commander besides Josephus." So 
 Jonathan and his partners went away from 
 tlietn without success, and came to Seppho- 
 ris, the greatest city of all Galilee. Now the 
 men of that city, who inclined to the Romans 
 in their sentiments, met them indeed, but nei- 
 ther praised nor reproached me ; and when 
 they were gone down from Sepphoris to 
 Asochis, the people of that place made a cla- 
 mour 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 Gabara, John met them with 
 three thousand armed men ; but, as I under- 
 stood by their letter that they had resolved to 
 fight against me, I arose from Chabolo, with 
 tliree thousand armed men also, but left in my 
 camp one of my fastest friends, and came to Jo- 
 tapata, as desirous to be near them, the distance 
 
 •\ , 
 
 being no more than forty furlongs. Whence 
 I wrote thus to them : — " If you are very de- 
 sirous that I should come to you, you know 
 there are two hundred and forty cities and 
 villages in Galilee: I will come to any uf 
 them which you please, excepting Gabara and 
 Gischala, — the one of which is John's native 
 city, and the other in confederacy and friend- 
 ship with him." 
 
 46. 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 consul- 
 tation, they took counsel together 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 know- 
 ledge of my being adjudged to be an enemy 
 by the Galileans, might tliemselves also con- 
 firm that determination. He said also, that 
 when this w^s done, even those Galileans who 
 were well atl'ected to me, would desert me, out 
 of fear. When John had given them this coun- 
 sel, what he had said was very agreeable to 
 the rest of them. I was also made acquainted 
 with these aflairs about the third hour of the 
 night, by 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 two hundred 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 letters about them . I also sent 
 Jeremias himself, one of my friends, with six 
 hundred armed men, to the borders of Galilee, 
 in order to watch the roads that led from this 
 country to the city Jerusalem ; and gave him 
 charge to lay hold of such as travelled with 
 letters about them, to keep the men in bonds 
 upon the place, but to send me the letters. 
 
 47. When I had laid these commands upon 
 them, 1 gave them orders, and bid them take 
 their arms and bring three days' provision 
 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 that not a sol- 
 dier which they did not know should mingle 
 himself among thein. 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 assist me : many Qthers of tb« 
 
J^' 
 
 16 
 
 THE LIFK OP FLAVIL'S JOSICI'HL S. 
 
 multitude also out of the village, ran along 
 with ine ; but as soon as I liail taken my 
 place, ami Ijcgan to speak to them, tliey all 
 made nii acclamation, and called nie the Be- 
 nefactor and Saviour of the country ; and 
 vvlien I had made them my acknowledge- 
 iiKMits, and thanked them [foi' their atl'ection 
 to me], i also advis'.d them to figlit with no- 
 body,' nor to spoil the country, hut to pitch 
 their tents in the plain, and be content with 
 their sustenance they had brought with them ; 
 for I told the:n 1 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 apjjointed to 
 watch the road, ; 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 matters 
 to any body. 
 
 48. Now, as soon as Jonathan and his com- 
 panions heaid 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 no way unlike a cita- 
 del ; so they privately led a l)and of armed 
 men therein, and shut all the other doors but 
 one, which they kept open, and they expecteil 
 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 besides me come in, 
 but should exclude others ; as supposing that, 
 by this means, they should easily get me 
 under their power : but they were deceived 
 in their expectation, for I perceived what 
 snares they had laid for me. Now, as soon 
 as I was got oti" my journey, I took up my 
 lodgings over against them, and pretended to 
 be asleep ; so Jonathan and his party, think- 
 ing 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 
 uppearance, there was a cry made by the Gali- 
 leans immediately, declaring their good opi- 
 nion of me as their governor; and they made 
 a clamour against Jonathan and his partners 
 for coming to them when tlicy had sulfered 
 no harm, and as though they would overturn 
 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 myself. When I heard 
 of this, I did not fear to go down into the 
 midst of them ; I went therefore myself down 
 presently, to bear what Jonaihan and his 
 
 • Josephus's directions to his soldiers here are much 
 vhc same that Juhn the B:ipUst gave (Luke iii. H) :— 
 " Do violence to no m;m, neither accuse .my falsely, 
 and be content with your w.iges." Whence Dr. Hudson 
 confirms this conjcctiire, that Joscjihus, in sonic things, 
 was, even now, ;■. sollower of John the Hap'.ist, which is 
 oi> way improbib'e. See the note on •uci. 2. 
 
 conipanions 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 was owing to me for my good 
 government of them. 
 
 •10. When Jonathan and his compaiiions 
 hciird this, they were in fear of liieir own 
 lives, and in d:inger lest they should be as- 
 saulted by the (Jalilcans on my account; so 
 they contrived how they might run away; but 
 as they were not able to get od', 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 accla- 
 mations, 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 dis- 
 turbed at their enemies, if any sudden insult 
 should be made upon them ; a«d then, in the 
 first place, I put Jonathan and his p;.rtiiers in 
 mind of their [former] letter, and after «,.;?» 
 manner they had written to me, and declared 
 they were sent by the common consent of the 
 people of Jerusalem, to make up the ditt'er- 
 ences I had with John, and how they had 
 desired me to come to them ; and as I spake 
 thiis, I public'/ showed that letter they liad 
 written, till , y could not at all deny what 
 they had dc"'.', the letter itself convicting them. 
 1 then said, " O Jonathan ! and you that are 
 sent with him as his colleagues, if I were to 
 be judged as to my behaviour, compared with 
 that of John's, and had brought no more than 
 two or three witnesses,! good men and true. 
 it is plain you had been forced, upon the exa- 
 mi nation of their characters beforehand, to 
 discharge the accusations : that, therefore, you 
 may be informed that I have acted well in the 
 aliairs of Galilee, I think three witnesses too 
 few to be brought by a man that hath done 
 as he ougl't to cio ; so I gave you all these 
 for witne-,ses. Inquire of them | how I have 
 lived, and whether I have not behaved myself 
 with all decency, and after a virtuous manner 
 among them. And I farther conjure you, O 
 Galileans ! to hide no part of the truth, but 
 to sjieak before these men as before judges, 
 whether I have in any thing acted otherwise 
 than well." 
 
 50. 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 
 
 t We here learn the practice of the Jews, in the dayt 
 of Josoiilms, to in((Uire into the characters of witni'>!,'c* 
 beiore ilicy were admitted; and that their number ought 
 to be three, or two at the least, also exactly As in ihe law 
 of Moses, iind in the Apostolical CionsuuiUous, h. ii. 
 ch. xxxvii. See Horeb Covenant llevived, page 97, 9S. 
 
 t This appeal to the whole body of the liahlcans by 
 Jo*e|ihus, anil the testimony they gave him of integrity 
 Ml Ins conduct as their governor, is very like that apiieai 
 and testimony in the ciise of the prophet Samuel \ I 
 Sam. xii. 1 — .i'l ; and pcrhaus wa* done by Josejihus in 
 imitation of him 
 
"V 
 
 THE LIFE OF ELAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 1" 
 
 me to contiiuie so to do hereafter ; 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 epis- 
 tles which had )>een sent by Jonathan and his 
 colleagues, and which those whom I had ap- 
 pointed to guard the road had taken, and sent 
 to me. These were full of reproaches and of 
 lies, as if I had acted more like a tyrant than 
 a governor against them ; with many other 
 things besides therein contained, which were 
 no better indeed than impudent falsities. I 
 also informed the multitude how I came by 
 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. 
 
 51. 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 restrain- 
 ed the anger of the Galileans, and said, that 
 " I foi'gave Jonathan 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 I 
 had said this, I let them go, altiiough 1 knew 
 they would do nothing of what they had pro- 
 mised. But the multitude were very much 
 enrnged against them, and entreated me to 
 give them leave to punish them for their inso- 
 lence ; yet did I try all methods to ])ersuade 
 them to spare tlie men ; for I knew that every 
 instance of sedition was pernicious to the pub- 
 lic welfare. But the multitude was too angry 
 with tliem to be dissuaded ; and all of them 
 went immediately to the house in which Jona- 
 than and his colleagues abode. However, 
 vhen I perceived that their rage could not be 
 restrained, 1 got on horseback, and ordered 
 the multitude to follow me to the village So- 
 gane, which was twenty furlongs off Gabara; 
 and by using this stratagem, I so managed 
 tnyself, as not to appeal' to begin a civil war 
 amongst them. 
 
 52. But when I was come near Sogane, I 
 caused the multitude to make a halt, and ex- 
 horted them not to be so easily provoked to 
 anger, and to the inflicting such punishments as 
 could not be afterwards recalled : 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 
 Jerusalem, ami should make a complaint before 
 the people, of such as raised seditions in the 
 country. And I said to tliem, that " in case 
 they be moved with what you say, you shall de- 
 sire the community to write to me, and to enjoin 
 me to continue in Galilee, and to order Jona- 
 than and his colleagues to dejjart out of it." 
 When 1 had suggested tlicse instructions to 
 them, and while tliey were getting thcmseJves 
 
 ready as fast as they could, I sent tjiem on 
 this errand the third day after they had been 
 assembled : I also sent five hundred anned 
 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 Samaria 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 to Jerusa- 
 lem. I also went myself, and conducted the 
 old men as far as the bounds of Galilee, and 
 set guards in the roads, that it might not be 
 easily known by any one that these men were 
 gone. And when 1 had thus done, I went 
 and abode at Japha. 
 
 53. Now Jonathan and his colleagues, hav- 
 ing failed of accomplishing what they would 
 have done against me, sent John back to 
 Gischala, but went themselves to the city of 
 Tiberias, exprcting it would submit itself 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 expectation. But Silas, who, as 
 I said, had been left curator of Tiberias by 
 me, informed 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 occasion : Jonathan and his col- 
 leagues had been at Tiberias, and had jier- 
 suaded 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 them- 
 selvse, and came to me ; and when they had 
 saluted me, they said that I was a happy man 
 in having behaved myself so well in tlie go- 
 vernment of Galilee ; and they congratulated 
 me upon t\w 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 farther, that it was but 
 just that they should prefer my friendship to 
 them r<.ther than John's, and tliat they would 
 have immediately gone home, but that they 
 staid that they might deliver up John into my 
 power ; and when they said this, they toot 
 their oaths of it, and those such as are most 
 tremendous amongst us, and such as I did not 
 think fit to disbelieve. However, they desired 
 me to lodge somewhere else, because the next 
 day was the Sabbath ; and that it was not fit 
 the city of Tiberias sliould be disturbed [ou 
 that day]. 
 
 54. So I suspected notliing, and went away 
 to Tarichea ; yet did I withal leave some to 
 make inquiry Ln tlie city how matters went, 
 and whether any thing was said about me : I 
 also set many persons all tlie way that led 
 from Tarichea; to Tiberias, that they might 
 commiMiicate from one to an/)ther, if tJiev 
 
 li 
 
IS 
 
 TIIF, LITE or FLAVIUS JOSEPIIGS. 
 
 learned any news (Voin those lliat were left in 
 the city. On the next day, tlierefore, tliey 
 all ratne into the I'roseueha ; • it was a large 
 edifice, and capable of receiving a great nuin- 
 Ikt of people ; tiiither Jonathan went in, and 
 l!i(nigli ho durst not openly speak of a revolt, 
 yet did he say that their city stood in need of 
 u belter governor than it liien hail. Hut Jesus, 
 wl'.o was the ruler, made no scruple to speak 
 out, and said openly, " O fellow-citizens ! it 
 is better for you to be in subjection to four 
 than to one ; and those such as are of high 
 birth, and not without reputation for their 
 wisdom ;" and iiotrited to Jonathan and his 
 colli agues. Upon his saying this, Justus came 
 in and commended him for what ho had said, 
 and persunued some of the peo|)le to be.of 
 iiis tiiind also. Ikit the multitude were not 
 pleased with what was said, and had certainly 
 gone into a tumult, unless the sixth liour, 
 which was now come, had dissolved the as- 
 sembly, at which hour our laws require us to 
 go to dinner on Sabbath-days; so Jonathan 
 and his colleagues put off tlicir council till the 
 next day, and went ofi' without success. When 
 1 was informed of these nfiairs, I determined 
 to go to tiie city of Tiberias in the iT'orning. 
 Accordingly, on the next day, about the first 
 hour of the day, I caine from TarichfiV, and 
 founil the multitude already assembled in the 
 Froseucha ; but on what account tlicy were 
 gotten together, those that were assembled did 
 r.ot know. But when Jor.atlian and his col- 
 leagues saw me there unexpectedly, they 
 were in disorder; after which they raised a 
 report of their own contrivance, that Koman 
 liorsemen were seen at a place called Union, 
 in the borders of Galilee, thirty furlongs dis- 
 tant from the cily. Upon ^vhich report, Jo- 
 nathan and his colleagues cunningly exhorted 
 me not to neglect this matter, nor to sufiVr 
 tlie land to be spoiled by the enemy. And 
 this tliey said with a design to remove ir.e out 
 of the city, under the pretence of the want of 
 extraordinary assistance, while they might dis- 
 pose the city to be my enemy. 
 
 55. 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 I was not care- 
 ful of their security. I therefore went out ; 
 but, when I was at the place, 1 found not the 
 least footsteps of any enemy ; so I returned as 
 fast as ever I could, and four.d the whole 
 council assembled, and the body of the peo- 
 jile gotten together, and Jonathan and his col- i 
 leagues bringing vehement accusations against j 
 me, as one who had no concern to ease them ] 
 
 • It is worth noting here, that there was now a prwit 
 Proscui-ha, or pkice of prayer, in the city of Tibi-rias 
 itself, though Mich Prostiicl:a u^cil to be out of cities, 
 an the 8>ii;i(;i!''ue!t were wiiliin tlicm. of them, set I.e 
 Mojnii- on I'olycurji's Epistle, page 7'i- It is also worth 
 our reiTiark, that the Jews, m iIk- days of Josiphiis, 
 iiiSii tu illneattlic sixth hour, or iiooi'i: anil ih.vt, in 
 olic>Li('iM:e to their nutioni of the law uf Moses ^ilso. 
 
 of the burdens of war, and as one that lived 
 luxuriously. And as they were discoursinjf 
 thus, they produced four letters as written lo 
 them, from some people that lived at the bor- 
 ders of (jalilee, imploring that tliey would 
 come to their assistance, for that there was an 
 ariny of Homans, both horsemen and foot- 
 men, who would come and lay waste the coun- 
 try on tlie tiiird day ; they desired them also 
 to make haste, and not to overlook them. — 
 When the people of Tiberias 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 couii- 
 frymei). Hereupon I said (for I understood 
 the meaning of Jonathan and his colleagiu^s) 
 that I wi'.s ready to coni|)ly with what tliev 
 proposed, and without delay to march to the 
 «ar which they spake of, yet did I advise 
 them, at the same time, that since these let- 
 ters declared that the Romans would make 
 their assault in fourseveral places, theyshouM 
 part their forces info five bodies, and make 
 Jonathan and his colleagues generals of each 
 body of them, because it was fit for brave men 
 not Lilly to give counsel, but to take tlie jjlace 
 of leaders, and assist their countrymeti when 
 such a necessity pressed them ; for, said I, it 
 is not possible for me to lead tnore than om; 
 party. This advice of mine greatly ]ilease>1 
 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. 
 
 36. Now there was one whose name was 
 Ananias (a wicked man he was, and very mis- 
 chievous) ; he proposed that a general religi- 
 ous fast -f should be ajjpointed the next day 
 for all the ])eople, and gave order that at the 
 same hour tiiev should come to the same place, 
 without any weapons, to make it manitest be- 
 fore God, that wliile they i;btained his assist- 
 ance, they thought all these weajious useless. 
 'J'his he said, not out of jiiety, but that they 
 might catch me and my friends unarmed. 
 Now, I was heieu])ou forced to comply, lest 
 I should a))pear to despise a proposal that 
 tended to piety. As soon, therefore, as wo 
 were gone home, Jonathan and his colleagues 
 wrote to John to come to them in the mom. 
 ing, 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 ilo all they desired to do. — 
 When John had received tliis letter, he resolv- 
 ed to comply with it. As for myself, on the 
 next day, 1 ordered two of the guards of uij 
 body, wiiom 1 esteemed the mo^t courageous 
 and most faitiiful, to hide daggers under tlieir 
 
 + One may observe here, that this Irxy-fharisec, Ana- 
 nias, ;is «i' h,ive scvn he was (seit. i;l , li«>k upo liun 'C 
 appoint a fast at Tiberias, and was t Ucyeil ; tliot.gli ui 
 decti >t was not out of rtiiginn, bot kjiavisii |<or>o%' 
 
THE LIFE OF FLAViUS JOSEPIIUS 
 
 10 
 
 g:ij-iin;iils, and to go along with me, that we 
 might defend oui=eives, if any attack should, 
 be made upon us by our enemies. I also my- j 
 self took my breastplato, and girded on my 1 
 sword, so that it might he, as far as it was pos- | 
 sible, concealed, and came into tlie Proseucha. i 
 
 i7. No« Jesus, who was the ruler, com-] 
 manded that they siiould exclude all that came j 
 with me, for he kept the door himself, and | 
 suO'ered none but his friends to go in. Audi 
 while we were engaged in the duties of the 
 d.iy, and had betaken ourselves to our pray- i 
 ers, Jesus got up, and inquired of me what 
 w as become of the vessels that were taken out 
 of the king's palace w!:en it was burnt down, 
 [and] of tliat uncoined silver : and in whose 
 possession they now were ? This he said, in 
 order to drive away time til! John should come. 
 I said that Cajjellus, and the ten principal men 
 of Tiberias, had then) all ; and I told him that 
 they might ask theni whether 1 told a lio or 
 jiot. And when they said they had them, he 
 asked me, What is become of those tvventy 
 pieces of gold which thou didst receive upon 
 the sale of a certain weight of uncoined mo- 
 ney ? I replied, that I had given them to 
 those ambassadors of theirs, as a maintenance 
 for them, when tliey were sent by them to Je- 
 rusalem. So Jonathan and his colleagues said 
 ,hat 1 tiad not done well to pay tilt ambassa- 
 dors out of the public inoiiey. And when 
 the multitude were very angry at thetn 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 peo- 
 ple to a greater rage against the men, I said, 
 " But if I have not done well in paying our 
 ambassadors out of the public stock, leave oiT 
 your anger at me, for 1 will repay the twenty 
 pieces of gold myself." 
 
 58. When I had said this, Jonathan and 
 his colleagues held their peace ; but the peo- 
 ple were still more irritated against them, 
 upon their openly showing tlieir unjust ill-will 
 to me. When Jesus saw this change in the 
 people, he ordered them to depart, but desired 
 the senate to stay, for that they cotdd not 
 examine things of such a nature in a tumult ; 
 and as the people were crying out that they 
 ivould not leave me alone, there came one 
 and tflld Jesus and his friends ])rivate!y, that 
 John and his armed men vere at hand : where- 
 upon Jonathan and his colleagues, being able 
 to contain themselves no longer (and perhaps 
 the pioviilence of God hereby jjrocuring my 
 deliverance, for, had not this been so, 1 liud 
 certainly been destroyed by John), said, " O 
 you people of Tiberias ! leave oil' this inquiry 
 about the twenty pieces of gold ; for Josephus 
 bath not deserved to die for tliem ; but he 
 hath deserved it by his desire of tyrannizing, 
 and by cheating the multitude of the Gali- 
 'eans with his sjjeeches, in order to gain the 
 dominion over them." Wlien he had said 
 tliis, they presently laid hands upon me, and 
 
 endeavoured to kill me : but as soon as those 
 tiiat 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 Jonallian ; ai'd so 
 they snatched me from the violence of my 
 enemies. 
 
 59. But as I was gone out a little way, I 
 was just upon meeting John, wiio was marcli- 
 ing with his armed men. So I was afraid of 
 him, and turned aside, and escaped by a nar- 
 row passage to the lake, and seized on a ship, 
 and embarked in it, and sailed over to Tari- 
 chea». So, beyond my expectation, I escaped 
 this dangei. Whereupon I presently sent for 
 the chief of the Galileans, and told them after 
 what manner, agamst all faith given, I had 
 been very near to destruction from Jonathan 
 and his colleagues, and the [)eople of Til)erias. 
 Upon which the multitude of the Galileans 
 were very angry, and eiicoiuaged me to delay 
 no longer to make «ai' uptin them, but to 
 permit them to go against John, and utterly 
 to destroy him, as well as Jonathan and his 
 colleagues. However, I restrained them, 
 though they were in suoi a rage, and desired 
 them to tarry a while, liU we should be in- 
 formed what orders those ambassadors that 
 were sent by tliem to the city of Jerusaleirj 
 should bring thence; for I told them that it 
 was best to act according to tlieir deterniina- 
 tion ; whereupon they were prevailed on. At 
 which time also, John, when the snares he 
 had laid did not take etiect, returned ijack to 
 Gischala. 
 
 60. Now, in a few days those ambassadors 
 whom we had sent, came back again and in- 
 formed us that the people were greatly pro- 
 voked at Ar.anus, and Simon the son of Ga- 
 maliel, and their friends ; that, without any 
 public determination, they had sent to Gali- 
 lee, and had done their endeavours that I 
 might be turned out of the government. The 
 ambassadors said fartlier, that the people were 
 ready to burn their houses. They also brought 
 letters, whereby the chief men of Jerusalem, 
 at the earnest petition of the people, confirm- 
 ed me in the government of Galilee, and en- 
 joined Jonathan and his colleagues to return 
 home quickly. When I had gotten these 
 letters, 1 came to tlie village Arbela, where I 
 procured an assembly of the fJalUeans to meet, 
 and bid the ambassadors declare to them tiie 
 anger of the people of Jerusalem at what had 
 been done by Jonathan and his colleagues, 
 and howmucli they hated their wicked doings, 
 and iiow they had confirmed me in the go- 
 verinnent of their country, as also what relat- 
 ed to the order they had in writing for Jona- 
 than and liis colleagues to return home. So 
 I inmiediately sent them the letter, and bid 
 him tliat carried it to inquire, as well as he 
 could, bow they intended to act [on Lliii occa- 
 sion]. 
 
 •^^ 
 
20 
 
 THE i,irj: or flaviu-s .H)si:i'I1us. 
 
 61. Now when they liad rci-civcd tliat let- 
 ter, and were thereby greatly disturbeil, they 
 sent for John, and for tlic senators of 'i'ibe- 
 rias, and for tlie princiiial men of the Gaba- 
 rens, and jironosed to hold a council, and de- 
 sired them to consider what was to be done 
 l)y them. However, the governors of Tibe- 
 rias were greatly disposed to kee[) the govern- 
 ment to themselves ; 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 tliem ; for they pretended 
 falsely that so I had tlireatened to do. Now 
 John was not only of their opinion, but ad- 
 vised them, that two of them should go to 
 accuse me before the multitude [at Jerusa- ' 
 leml, that I do not manage the allairs of, 
 Galilee as I ought to do; and tliatthcy would 
 easily persuade the peoi)lc, because of their 
 dignity, and because the whole multitude are! 
 very mutable. — When, therefore, it apjicared | 
 that John iiad suggested the wisest advice to 
 them, they resolved that two of them, Jona- ! 
 than and Anmias, sliould go to the peojile of 
 Jerusalem, and the other two [Simon and ' 
 Joazar] should be left behind to tarry atTibe- | 
 rias. They also took along with them a hun- 
 dred soldiers for their guard. 
 
 62. However, the governors of Til)erias 
 took care to have their city secured with walls, I 
 and commanded their inhabitants to take their ; 
 arms. They also sent for a great many sol. ' 
 diers from John, to assist tliem against me, if 
 there should be occasion for them. Now 
 John was at Gischala. Jonathan, tlierefore, j 
 and those that were with him, when they were ! 
 departed from Tiberias, and as soon as they j 
 were come to Dabaritui, a village tl)at lay in | 
 the utmost parts of Galilee, in the great plain, ' 
 tiiey, about midnight, fell among tlie guards ' 
 1 had set, who both coinm:'.iided them to lay 
 ■iside their weapons, and kept them in bonds 
 upon the [)iace, as I had charged them to do. 
 This news was written to me by Levi, who 
 had the command of that guard committed to 
 him by me. Hereupon I said nothing of it 
 for two days; and, pretending to know no- 
 thing about it, I sent a message to the ijcojjle 
 of Tiberias, and advised them to lay their 
 arms aside, and to dismiss their men, that they 
 might go home; but supposing that Jona- 
 than, and those that were with him, were al- 
 ready arrived at Jerusalem, they made re- 
 proachful answers to me; yet was I not terri- 
 lied thereby, but contrived another stratagem 
 Hgainst them ; for I did not think it agreeable 
 with i)iety to kindle the fire of war against the 
 citizens. As I was desirous to draw those 
 men away from Tiberias, 1 chose out ten 
 thousand <>f the best of my armed men, and 
 divided them into three bodies, and ordered 
 them to go privately, and lie still as an am- 
 bush, in the villages. 1 also led a tliousand 
 into another village, wliich lay indeed in the 
 mountains, as did tlie others, but only four 
 
 furlongs distant from TiberJHs; and gave 
 ortlers, that when they saw my signal, they 
 slioidd come down immediately, while 1 my- 
 self lay witli my soliliers in the sight of every 
 body. Hereupon tlie people of Tiberias, at 
 the sight of me, came running out of the city 
 per|)etually, and abused me greatly. Nay, 
 their madiiOss was come to that height, that 
 they iiKide 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 my 
 self in a pleasant humour upon the sight oi 
 this madness of theirs. 
 
 6:5. And now being desirous to catch Simon 
 by a wile, and Joazar willi him, I sent a mes- 
 sage 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 
 witli tliem. Accordingly Simon was deluded, 
 on account of his imprudence, and out of the 
 hopes of gain, and did not delay to coine ; 
 but Joazar, suspecting snares were laid for 
 him, staid behind. So when Simon was come 
 out, and his friends with him for his guard, 
 I met him, and saluted him with great civi- 
 lity, and professed that I was obliged to him 
 for his coming up to me; but a little while 
 afterward I walked along witli him, as though 
 1 would say something to him by himself; 
 and when 1 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 waj t« 
 conquer me (for my armed men were already 
 fled away), I saw the posture of my all'airs; 
 and encouraging those that were with me, 1 
 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 'I'iberia.'J 
 thought that their city was taken by force, 
 and so threw down their amis for fear ; and 
 implored, they, their wives, and children, that 
 I would spare their city. So I was overjier- 
 suaded by their entreaties, and restrained the 
 soldiers from the vehemency with which they 
 pursued thtni ; while I myself, upon the conv 
 ing on of t!ie 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 ])rovisions for his jourrey thither. 
 
 64. But on the next day, I brought ter 
 thousand armed men with me, and came to Ti- 
 bi«ias. i then sent for the principal ni^n of llw 
 
THE LJl'E OF FLAVILS JOSEPIIUS. 
 
 multitude into tlie public place, and enjoined 
 them io tell me who were the authors of the 
 revolt ; and wlien they told me who the men 
 were, I sent tliem bound to the city Jotapata; 
 but, as to Jonathan and Ananias, I freeil them 
 fiom their bonds, and gave them provisions 
 for their journey, together with Simon and 
 Joazar, and five hundred armed men who 
 should guard them ; and so T sent them to 
 Jerusalem. The people of Tiberias also came 
 to me again, and desiied that I would forgive 
 lliem for what they liad 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 besought me to ))re- 
 serve what spoils remained upon the pluntier 
 of the city, for those that had lost them. 
 Accordingly, I enjoined those that h;id 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 spiendid than ordi- 
 nary, I asked him whence he had it ; and when 
 he replied that he had it out of tlie plunder 
 of the city, I had him punished with stripes; 
 and I threatened all the rest to inflict a severer 
 punishment upon them, unless they produced 
 before us whatsoever they had plundered ; and 
 wlien a great many spoils were brought to- 
 gether, I restored to every one of Tiberias 
 what they claimed to be their own. 
 
 G5, And now 1 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 
 3thers 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. Tliese men do like those 
 who compose forged deeds and conveyances ; 
 and becau'ic they are not brought to the like 
 punishment with them, tliey have no regard 
 to truth. When, therefore, Justus undertook 
 to write about these facts, and about the 
 Jewish war, that he miglit 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, 1 am under a 
 necessity to make my liefence ; and so I shall 
 say what I have concealed til! now ; and let 
 no one wonder that I have not told the world 
 these things a great while ago; for although 
 it be necessary foi a historian to write the 
 truth, yet is such a one not boiuid severelv 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, O Justus ! thou most saga- 
 cious of writers (that 1 may address myself 
 to him as if he were here present), for so thou 
 boastest of thyself, that I and the Galileans 
 have been tlie authors of that sedition which 
 thy country engaged in, both against the Ro- 
 in;uis 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. Accordingly, 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 Commentaries of Vespasian, 
 the cmj.ieror ; as also how- the inhabitants of 
 Decapolis came clamouring to Vespasian at 
 Ptokmais, and desired that thou, who wast 
 the author [of that war], mightst be brought 
 to punishment ; and thou hadst certainly been 
 piuiished at the command of Vespasian, had 
 not king Agrippa, who l,ad power given him 
 to have thee jjut to death, at the earnest en- 
 treaty of his sister Bernice, changed the pu- 
 nishment from death into a long imprison- 
 ment. Thy political administration 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 Ro- 
 mans ; plain signs of which I shall produce 
 presently. I have also a mind to say a few 
 things to the rest of the peo])le of Tiberias on 
 thy account ; and to demonstrate to those 
 that light upon this histoiy, that you bare no 
 good-will, neither to the Romans nor to the 
 king. To be sure, the greatest cities of Gali- 
 lee, O Justus! w-ere Sepphoris, and thy coun- 
 try Tiberias ; but Sepphoris, situated in the 
 very midst of Galilee, and having many vil 
 lages about it, and able w ith ease to have )>ecn 
 bold and troublesome to the Romans, if they 
 had so pleased, — yet did it resolve to con- 
 tinue faithful to those their masters, and at 
 the same time excluded me out of their citv, 
 and prohibited all their citizens from joining 
 with the Jews in the war ; and, that they might 
 he out of danger from me, they, bv 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 Ces- 
 tius Galius, who was then president of Syria, 
 and so had me in contempt, though I was then 
 very powerful, and all were greatly afraid of 
 me ; and at the sanie time that the greatest 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 liave it thought they would bear arms 
 agj'.inst the Romans ; but as for thy country, 
 O Justus ! situated upon the lake of Gene- 
 sareth, and distant from Hippos thirty fur- 
 longs, from Gadara sixty, and from Scytho- 
 polis, which was imder the king's jurisdiction, 
 a hundred and twenty ; when tliere w-as no 
 Jewish city near, it might easily have pre- 
 served its fidelity [to the Romans] if it had so 
 pleased them to do; for the city and its peo- 
 ple had plenty of weapons ; but, as thou say- 
 est, I was t/ie?i the author [of their revolt ; 
 and pray, O Justus ' w ho was that author tif. 
 
 r 
 
THE LIFE OF FLA VI US JOSEPHUS. 
 
 irnvardi t — for thou knowest that I was in the 
 power of the Hoiiinns before Jerusalem was 
 hesiegeil, and before tlie same time Jota));ita 
 was taken by force, as well as many other for- 
 tresses, and a great many of the Galileans 
 fell in the war. Ii was therefore then a pro- 
 jier time, when you were certaiidy freed from 
 any fear on my account, to throw away your 
 weapons, and to demonstrate to tiie king and 
 to the liomans, that it was not of cljoice, but 
 us forced by necessity, that you fell into the 
 war against them ; but you staid till Vespasian 
 came himself as far as 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 complied with the king's sup- 
 plication for you, and had excused your mad- 
 ness. It was not I, therefore, who was the 
 author of this, but your own inclinations lo 
 war. Do not you remember how often I got 
 you under my power, and yet put none of you 
 to tleath ? Nay, you once fell into a tumult 
 one against another, and slew one hundred 
 and eighty-tive of your citizens, not on ac- 
 count 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 two thousand of the 
 people of Tiberias during the siege of Jeru- 
 salem, some of whom were slain, and the rest 
 caught and carried captives ? But thou will 
 pretend that thou didst not engage in the war, 
 since thou didst flee to the king ! Yes, indeed, 
 thou didst flee to iiim ; but I say it was out of 
 fear of me. Thou sayest, indeed, that it is 1 
 who am a wicked man. But then, for what 
 reason was it that king Agrippa, v\ ho procur- 
 ed thee thy life when thou wast condenmed to 
 die by Vespasian, and who besUued so much 
 riches upon thee, did tw ice afterward put thee 
 in bonds, and as often obliged thee to run 
 away from thy country, and, w hen he had once 
 ordered thee to be put to death, he granted 
 thee a pardon at the earnest desire of Ber- 
 nice ? And when (after so many of thy wick- 
 ed pranks) he had made thee his secretary, he 
 caught thee falsifying his epistles, and drove 
 thee away from liis sight. But I shall not 
 "inijuire accurately into these matters of scan- 
 dal against thee. Yet cannot I but wonder 
 at thy impudence, when thou hast the assur- 
 ance to say, that thou hast better related these 
 affairs jof the war] than have all the others 
 that have wiitteii about them, whilst thou didst 
 not know what was done in Galilee; for thou 
 wast tlien at Berytus with the king; nor didst 
 thou know how much the Romans suUercd at 
 the siege of Jotapata, or what miseries they 
 brought ujjon us; nor couldsl thou learn by 
 inquiry what I did during that siege myself; 
 for all those that nnght alloid such informa- 
 tion were (juite destroyed in that siege. But 
 |»crhaps tliou wdt say, thou hast written of 
 
 what was done against the people of Jerusa- 
 lem exactly. But how should that be ;■ for 
 neither wast thou coiu'erned in (hat war, nor 
 hast thou read the conmieiitaries of CcCsar; 
 of which we have evident proof, because thou 
 hast contradicted those commentaries of C'a'sar 
 in thy history. But if thou art so hardy as 
 toalHrm that thou hast written that history bet- 
 ter than all the rest, why didst lliou not pub- 
 lish thy history while the emperors Vesjjasian 
 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 f for thou hast had it written 
 these twenty years, and then mightst thou 
 have had the testimony of thy accuracy. But 
 now when these men are no longer with us, 
 and thou thinkest thou canst nut he conlra- 
 dicied, liioii venturest to publish it. But tlien 
 I uas not in like manner afraid of my own 
 writing, but I oH'ered my books to theem))er- 
 ors themselves, when the facts were almost 
 under mens' eyes ; for I was conscious to my- 
 self that I had observed the truth of the facts; 
 and as I expected to have their attestation to 
 them, so I was not deceived in such expecta- 
 tion. iMoreover, I immediately |)resented my 
 history to many other persons, some of whom 
 were concerned in the war, as was king Agrip- 
 pa and some of his kindred. Now tlie em- 
 peror Titus was so desirous that the know ledge 
 of these all'airs should be taken from these 
 books alone, that he subscribed hi.s own hand 
 to them, and ordered that they should be pub- 
 lished ; and for king Agiippa, he wrote me sixty- 
 two letters, and attested to the truth of « hat 
 I had therein delivered ; two of which letters 
 I have here subjoined, and thou mayst there- 
 by know their contents: — " King Agrippa to 
 Josephus, his dear friend, sendeth greeting. 1 
 have read over thy book with great pleasure, 
 and it appears to me that thou hast done it 
 much more ai cnrately, and with greater care, 
 than have the other writers. Send ir.e the rest 
 of these books. Farewell, my dear fiieiid." 
 " King Agrippa to Josephus, his dear friend, 
 sendelh greeting. It seems by what thou hast 
 written, tliat thou staiulest in need of no in- 
 struction, in oriler toour intbrination from the 
 beginning. However, when thou comest to 
 me, I will inform thee of a great many things 
 which thou dost not know." So when this 
 history wa5perfected, Agrippa, neither Ijy vvay 
 of (Littery, which was not agreeable to hiin, 
 nor by wav of irony, as thou wilt say 'for he 
 was entirely a stranger to such an evil dispo- 
 sition of miiui), but he wrote this by way of 
 attestation to what was true, as all that read 
 hi-.tories may do. Aiul so much shall be said 
 conteniing Justus, * which I am obliged to 
 add by w ay of digression. 
 
 ♦ The iliar.ictfr of this liistorv- of Justus of TilH-tiia. 
 the rival of our .loM-phiis, w [li li is now lost, witf: its 
 only rLinaiiiiiip Inujiueiit, aie -jiven us bya\ev\al;!* 
 critic, I'lioUxs, \Ai.: itUiU tlial liistoiv. It u lU tlie Mi 
 
THK Lll'i:: OF I'LAVIUS JOSErilUS. 
 
 23 
 
 6C. Now, when 1 had settled tiie aflairs of' upon the people of Sepphoris, and took the 
 Tilitrias, and had assembled my friends as a I city by force. Tiic Galileans took this op- 
 sanhedrim, I consulted what I should do as to ) portuiiity, as thinking they had riow a proper 
 John : wiiereitpon it appeared to be the opin-| time for sKewinj; tiieir hatred to thern, since 
 iuii of all the Galileans that I should arm I they l)ore ill-will to that city also, 'riiey then 
 them all, and march against John, and punish ! exerted themselves, as if they would destroy 
 him as the author of all the disorders that had I them all utterly, vvith those that sojourned 
 bajipcned. Yet was not I pleased with their , there also. So they ran upon them, and set 
 determination; as purposing to compose these | their houses on tire, as tinding them without 
 troubles without bloodshed. Upon this I ex- I inliabitan.ts ; for tlie men, out of fear, ran to- 
 borted them to use the utmost care to learn gether to the citadel. So the Galileans car- 
 the names of all tliat were under John; which ried oft" every tiling, and omitted no kind or 
 when they had done, and I thereby was ap-- desolation m iiieh they could bring upon their 
 ))rized who the men were, I published an edict, j countrymen. When I saw this, I was ex- 
 wherein I otJ'ered security and my right hand Iceedingly troublid at it, and commanded them 
 to such of John's party as had a mind to re- i *o leave oft", and put them in mind that it was 
 pent ; and I allowed twenty days' time to such iiot agreeable to piely to do such things to 
 
 their countrymen : but since tliey neither 
 
 as would take this most advantageous course 
 for themselves. I also threatened, that unless 
 they threw down their arms, I would burn 
 
 would hearken to what I exhorted, nor to 
 what I commanded them to do (for the liairiil 
 
 their houses, and expose their goods to public '. they bore to the people there was too hard t'or 
 sale. When the men heard of this, they were | my exhortations to thein), I bade those n)v 
 in no small disorder, and deserted John ; and [ friends, w ho wore most faithful to me, and 
 to the numl)er of four thousand threw down ! uerc about me, to give out reports, as if the 
 their arms, and came to me So that no others | Romans were falling ujion the other jiart of 
 staid with John but his own citizens, and about I the city with a great army; and this I did, 
 fifteen hundred straiurers that came from the i that, bv such a report Ijein';; spread abroad, 1 
 iiietrojjolis of Tyre ; and when John saw that might rtstram t!ie violence of tlie Galileans, 
 he had been outwitted by my stratagem, he I and preserve the city of Sepphoris. And at 
 continued afterward in liis own country, and ; length this stratagem had its effect ; for, upon 
 was in great fear of me. ! hearing this report, they v. ere in fear for them . 
 
 67. iJut about this time it was that the peo- selves, and so they left oft" ])lundering, and r m 
 jile of Sepphoris grew insolent, and took up away ; and this more es|)ecially, because tliey 
 arms, out of a confidence they had in the saw me, their general, do liio same also ; for, 
 strength of their walls, and because they saw that 1 inigiit cause this report to be believed, 
 me engaged in other affairs also. So they I pretended to be in fear as well as they. — 
 sent to Cestius Gailus, who was president of Thus were the inhabitants of Sc])phoris un- 
 Syria, and desired that he would either come expectedly preserved by this contrivance of 
 quickly to them, and take their city under his mine. 
 
 protection, or send them a garrison. Accord- ; 68. Nay, indeed, Tiberias had like to liave 
 ingly Gallus promised them to come, but did been ])lundered by the Galileans also upon the 
 not send word when he would come: and following occasion: — The chief men of the 
 when I had learned so much, I took the sol- senate wrote to the king, and desired that he 
 disrs ii;.at were with me, and made an assault \voulil come to them, and take possession of 
 
 tliiir city. 'i'he king promised to come, and 
 co',ie nf his Bibliotheca. and rvms thus :—" I have react „ roio a'letter in answer to theirs, and gave it 
 (savs l^noliusl tlie (.hroiiology ol .lustus of 1 ibcrias, i- i ■ i i i i 
 
 Tvliose title is this, [7'/i£ C/ndiio/n/ry of] the Kin-^'s iii\ '"' ""f "' '"s bed-chamber, whose name was 
 Judah. which sucreeded nne aiiiMcr.' I'his .i_.)usnisj t'ispus, and who was bv birth a Jew, to carry 
 came Oiit ot the city of Tiberias in (iaii lee Me begins -. . -r-. • •,,-, i' /-^ i-i i , " 
 
 his history from Moses, anil ends it not till the ,lcath of "■ '" ^ ibenas. W lien tlie Galileans knew tli.il 
 AKiipi-a, "the sevtiitli [ruler] of the tatiuly of Heiod, tliis man carried such a letter, thcv cauplit him 
 and the !;ist kiiiL'of the Jews; wliu tookrlhcrfovoriiiiieiil : ..., I i.,.„ i. i- , i , ' , 
 
 jmWrClaudius, had it augmented under N.-To, and .stdl'"><l IJ' ought him to me; but as soon as tlie 
 
 niiire augmented by Vesi>a..ia)i. He died ni the third whole multitude heard of it, :hey were en- 
 
 iZ:^'i:;'r{j:^::^t^rJ^::^^';;:t;.. !^ra::i^-s^'i^ -'<i ^^^--^ themseues to their arm. 
 
 affairs tnat were most n^•ee^sary to be insisted on ; and i So a great manv of them got tO"-ether fro:ii 
 
 SlfrU^a^J^wrb^Jtl^^t'nia^s^uhetsU,:;;! | ^'1 'i"-'-- ^'^ '"^^^ '^^'^ ^"^ '^-^^ '- ''- -'> 
 tioii of the uiipearaixe of C'liri>t, or wliat thin s lia|)- i Asocliis, where I then lodged, and inade hea\ v 
 i>ened to him, <;r of the woudeilal works that he did. clamours, and called the city of 'i'iberias 'h 
 He was Die son ot a certain Jew, whose name wns I'ls- 1 . i /• • . , ■ • 
 
 tus. He was a man, as he is dcseribinl bv Josephus, of I traitor to them, anil a friend to the king ; and 
 a most inofligate eli raeier; a slave bothto money and ! desired leave of me to :ro dou n and utterly de- 
 to pleasures. In piihlie aflairs he was oiiiiosite to Jose- : . -» r i i i i-i -n -i, ' 
 
 lituis; and it is lelatfd, that he laid many nlots against | *'"■">■ '* 5 ''■"' '^''">" '"^'"^ ^"^ '"^'^ lll-will to tliv 
 him; but that Josephus, Ihough he had his en.mv ' people of "i'iberias as thev did to lliose of Sep- 
 ffcciuently under his power, did onlv reproaeh him in : ,^1, ,, .; ' 
 
 words, iuid so let liini go without farther i>uni^hment. I'"""^- 
 
 Hesa\salso, that ti.e liistory whieh ti is man wrote is 69. When I heard this, I was in doubt w li--.l 
 for tlie main fabviloiiM, and I lueliv as to tliosenart-s wliere . j 1 1 •. . 1 i 1 . i ■ , 
 
 he describes the Uoniin war witli the Jews, iid the tak- 1 '" ^"' ^'"^ licsitaled by what means i migl.t 
 in,' of Jeruoaiem." i deliver Tiberias from the rage of tlic Galj- 
 
~v. 
 
 u 
 
 THK L!li; Ol' FI.AVIUS JOSKl'HUS. 
 
 loans ; for I could not dctiy that those of 'I'i- 
 herins had written to the kiiipj, and invited liiin 
 to coine to diem ; for hi^ letters to them, in 
 answer thereto, would fully prove the truth of 
 that. So I sat a lonjf time musing with my- 
 seli, and then said to them, " I know well 
 eiKJUgli that the ])eo|)le of Tiberias have of. 
 iViided ; nor sliall I forbid you to plunder the 
 city. However, such tilings ought to be done 
 with discretion ; for they of Til)erias have not 
 been tlie only betrayers of our liberty, but 
 many of the most eminent ])atriots of the 
 Galileans, as they pretended to be, have done 
 the same. Tarry therefore till I shall thor- 
 oughly find out those authors of our danger, 
 and then you shall have them all at once under 
 your power, witii all sucli as you shall your- 
 selves bring in also." Upon my saying this, 
 I pacified the multitude, and they left off their 
 anger, and went their ways ; and I gave or- 
 ders that he who brought the king's letters 
 should l)e put into bonds; but in a few days 
 I preten(U><l that I was obliged, by a necessary 
 atthir of in\ own, to go out of the kingdom. 
 I then called Crispus [."rivately, and ordered 
 '•)im to make the soliiier tluU kept him drunk, 
 and to run away to tJie king. So when Ti- 
 berias was in danger of being utterly destroy- 
 ed a second time, it cscajjed the tianger by my 
 skilful management, and tire care tliat 1 had 
 for its preservation. 
 
 70. Al)out this tinw it was that Justus, the 
 son of I'istus, without mv knowledge, ran 
 away to the king; tiie occasion of which 1 
 will here relate. Upon the beginning or the 
 war l)etween the Jews and the itomans, tin; 
 people of Tiberias resolved to submit to the 
 king, and not to revolt from the Romans ; 
 while Justus tried to persuade them to betake 
 themselves to their arms, as bemg himself de- 
 sirous of innovations, and having hopes of 
 obtaining the government of Galilee, as wtll 
 as of his own country [Tiberias] also. Yet 
 did he not olitain what he hoped for, because 
 the Galileans bore ill-will to those of Tiberias, 
 and this on account of their anger at what 
 miseries they had sufi'ered from them before 
 the war ; thence it was that they would not 
 endure that Justus shoukl be their governor. 
 I myself also, who had been intrusted by the 
 community of Jerusalem «itli the govern- 
 ment of Galilee, did frequently come to that 
 degree of rage at Justus, that 1 had almost 
 resolved to kill liim, as not able to bear his 
 mischievous disposition. He was tlierefore 
 much afraid of me, lest at length iny passion 
 should come to extremity ; so he went to the 
 king, as sujiposing tliat he would dwell better 
 and more saiely with Jiim, 
 
 71. Now «-hen il)e people of Sepplioris 
 had, in so surprising a manner, esca|)ed their 
 first danger, they sent to festius Gallus, and 
 desired liim to come to them immediately, and 
 take possession of their city, or else to send 
 forces sutiicient to repress all their enemies' 
 
 incursions upon them; and at tJie last Uiey 
 did prevail with Gallus to send them a consi- 
 derable army, both of horse and foot, which 
 came in the night-time, and which they ad- 
 mitied into the city. But when the country 
 round about it v\'as harassed by tlio Roman 
 army, I took those soldiers that were about 
 me, and came to Garismc, where I cast uj) a 
 bank, a good way of)' the city Sepphoris ; and 
 when I was at twenty furlongs distance, J 
 came upon it by night, and made an assault 
 upon its walls with my forces : and when 1 
 had ordered a considerable number of my sol- 
 diers to scale them with ladders, I became 
 master of the greatest part of the city. But 
 soon after, our unac(juaintedness with the 
 places forced us to retire, after we had killed 
 twelve of the Roman footmen, and two horse- 
 men, and a few of the people of Sepphoris, 
 with the loss of only a siiijjle man of our own. 
 And when it afterwards came to a battle in 
 the plain against tlie Jiorsemen, and we had 
 undergone the dangers of it courageously for 
 a long time, we were beaten ; for upon the 
 Romans encompassing 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 liad 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, wlio 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 winch led to 
 Cana, and that wliich led to the fortress 
 Gamala, that he might hinder their inhabits 
 ants from getting provisions out of Galilee. 
 
 72. As soon as I had got intelligence of 
 this, I sent two thousand armed men, and a 
 captain over them, whose name was Jerenn'ah, 
 who raised a bank a furlong oil' Julias, near 
 to the river .Jordan, and did no more than 
 skirmisii with the enemy ; till I took three 
 thousand soldiers myself, and came to them. 
 But on the next day, when I had laid an am- * 
 bush in a certain valley, not far from the 
 banks, 1 provoked those that belonged to the 
 king to come to a battle, and gave orders to 
 my own soldiers to turn their backs ujjon 
 them, until they should have drawn the ene- 
 my away from their camp, and brought them 
 out into the field, which was done accord- 
 ingly ; for Sylla, supposing txiat our party did 
 really run away, was ready to pursue them, 
 when our soldiers that lay in ambush took 
 tlicm on their backs, and ])Ut them all into 
 great disoider. I also immediately made n 
 Midden turn ^^ilh my own forces, and met 
 those of the king's parly, and ))ut them to 
 flight. And I had perlomied great things 
 that day, if a certain fate liad not l>een my 
 hinderance ; for the horse on which I rode, 
 and ii|>on whose back I fought, fell into a 
 (piagiiiire, and tlircw me on the ground ; ai"' 
 
THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 I Yrns bruised on my \vris% and carried into a 
 village named Cepliarnome, or Capernaum. 
 When my soldiers heard of this, tlicy were 
 afraid I had \)€vn worse hurt than I was ; 
 and so they did not go on with their pursuit 
 any farther, but returned in verj- great con- 
 cern for me, I tliervfore sent for the physi- 
 cians, and wliile I was under tlieir hands, I 
 continued feverish that day; and as the pJiy- 
 sicians directed, I was tliat night removed to 
 Tarii-heje. 
 
 11'. When Sylla and his party were in- 
 formed what hap|>ened to nie, they took cou- 
 rage again ; and understanding that the watch 
 was negligently kept in cur camp, they by 
 night placed a body of horsemen in ambush 
 ?eyond Jordan, and when it was day they 
 ."revoked us to fight ; and as we did not re- 
 fuse it, but came into the plain, their horse- 
 men appeared out of Uiat ambush in which 
 they had lain, ;iiid 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 
 tJiat some armed men were sailed from Ta- 
 richeae to Julias, they were afraid, and retired, 
 
 74. It was not now long before Vespasian 
 came to Tyre, and king Agripjja with him ; 
 but the Tyrians began to speak reproachfully 
 of the king, and called him an enemy to the 
 Romans ; for Uiey said that Philip, the gene- 
 ral of his anny, had betrayed the royal palace 
 and the Roman forces that were in Jerusa- 
 lem, and tliat it was done by his command. 
 When Vespasian heard of this report, he re- 
 buked the Tyrians for abusing a man who 
 was both a king and a friend to the Romans ; 
 but he exhorted the king to send Philip to 
 Rome, to answer for wliat he had done before 
 Nero But when Philip was sent thither, he 
 did not come into the sight of Nero, for he 
 found him vei-y near deatli, on account of the 
 troubles that tlien happeneti, and a civil war ; 
 and so he returned to tlie king. But when 
 Vespasian was come to Ptokmais, tlie chief 
 men of Decapolis of Syria made a clamour 
 against Justus of Tiberias, because he had 
 set tlieir villages on fire : so Vespasian de- 
 livered him to tlie king, to be put to death by 
 tljose under the king's jurisdiction ; yet did 
 the king [only] put him into bonds, and con- 
 cealed what he had done from Vespasian, as I 
 have before related. But the people of Sep- 
 phoris met Vespasian, and saluted liim, and 
 liad forces sent him, with Plncidus their com- 
 mander : he also went up with them, as I 
 also followed them, till Vespasian 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 die 
 village Taricheas, and how from thence they 
 went to Jotapata, and how I was taken alive, 
 and bound, and how I was afterward loosed, 
 with all that was done by me in tlie Jewish 
 war, anil during tlie siege of Jerusalem, T 
 
 25 
 
 have accurately related tliem in the books 
 concerning the War of the Jews. However, 
 it will, I think, be fit for nie to add now an 
 account of tiiose actions of my life which I 
 have not related in that book of the Jewish 
 war, 
 
 75, For, wfien the siege of Jotapata was 
 over, and I was among the Romans, I was 
 kept with much care, by means of tlie great 
 respect that Vespasian showed me. More- 
 over, at his command, I married a virgin, who 
 was from among the captives of that country ; • 
 yet did she not live with me long, but was 
 divorced, upon my being freed from my bonds, 
 and my going to Alexandria. However, I 
 married anotJier wife at Alexandria, and was 
 thence sent, togetJier witli Titus, to the siege 
 of Jerusalem, and was frequently in danger 
 of being put to death, — while botli the Jew-s 
 were very desirous to get me imder their power, 
 in order to have me punished ; 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 uncer- 
 tain fortune of war, and returned no answer 
 to the soldiers' vehement solicitations 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 coiintrj', and said that he gave 
 me leave so to do ; but when my country was 
 destroyed, I thought nothing else to be of any 
 value which I could take and keep as a com- 
 fort ander my calamities j so I made this re- 
 quest to Titus, tliat 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 him the life of my brother, 
 and of fifty friends with him ; and was not 
 denied. When I also went once to the tem- 
 ple, by the permission of Titus, where there 
 were a great multitude of captive women ai>d 
 children, I got all those that I remembered, 
 as among my own friends and acquaintances, 
 to be set free, being in number about one 
 hundred and ninety ; and so I delivered them, 
 without their paying any price of reden'ption, 
 and restored tjiem to their former fortune; 
 and when I was sent by Titus Ca-sar with 
 Ccrealius, and a tliousand horsemen, to a cer- 
 tain village called Tliecoa, in order to know 
 whether it were a place fit for a camp, as I 
 came back, I saw many captives crucified j 
 
 Here Jiifcphus, a priest, honestlv confesses that ha 
 (lid that at the command of Vespasian, wliiih he liad 
 b'^or'.' told us was not lawful for a priest lo do bv the 
 law of Moses, Antiq. b. iii. ch. xii. seijr. 2. 1 meaai, tlic 
 taking a captive woman to wife. See also Agaiiust An. 
 pion, b. i. sett. 7. But he scenis to have betn quickly 
 
 nsible that his compliance with the commands of an 
 emperor would not excuse him, for he scon put her 
 auay, :is lieland justly obsenes here. 
 
 1 Uf this most remarkable clause, ajiii its most im- 
 portant consequences, see Essay on tlic Old Tt-staraent, 
 i>3Hc 195—190. 
 
26 
 
 THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 and remt-mbercd three of them as my former 
 acquaintance. I was very sorry at this in my 
 miml, and went with tears in my eyes to 
 Titus, and told him of them ; so lie imme- 
 diately commanded tliem to be taken down, 
 and to have the greatest care taken of them, 
 in order to their recovery ; yet two of tlicm 
 died under the j)liy!>ician's hands, wliile the 
 third recovered. 
 
 76. I5ut when Titus had composed the 
 troubles in Jiidea, and conjectured tluit 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 wlien we were come to 
 Rome, I had great care taken of me by Ves- 
 pasian ; for lie gave me an apartment in his 
 own house, which he lived in before he came 
 to thi empire. He also honoured me with 
 the privilege of a Roman citizen, and gave 
 me an annual pension ; and continued to 
 respect me to the end of his life, without any 
 abatement of his kindness to me; \\hich 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 persuaded two thousand men of that 
 country to join with him, was the occasion of 
 their niin ; but when he was bound by the 
 governor of that country, and sent to the em- 
 peror, he told him that I had sent him both 
 weapons and money. However, he could not 
 conceal his being a liar from Vespasian, who 
 condemned him to die ; 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 quan< 
 tiiy of laiul, as a free gift, in Judea; about 
 which time 1 divorced my wife also, as not 
 pleased with her behaviour, though rnjt till 
 she had been the mother of lliiee children ; 
 two of whom are dead, and one, whom I 
 named Hyrcanns, is alive. Af.er this I mar- 
 ried a wife who had lived at Crete, but a Jew- 
 ess by birth : a woman she was of eminent 
 parents, and such as were the most illustrious 
 in all the country, and whose character was 
 beyond that of most other women, as her fu- 
 ture life did demonstrate. By her I had t'.vo 
 sons; the eider's name was Justus, and the 
 next Sinionides, who was also named Agrippa: 
 and these were the circumstances of my do- 
 mestic aflairs, Hovvever, the kindness of the 
 emperor to me continued still the same ; for 
 when Vespasian was dead, Titus, who suc- 
 ceeded him in the government, kept up the 
 same respect for me which I had from his 
 father; and when I had frequent accusations 
 laid against me, l>e would not believe them : 
 and Domitian, who succeeded, still augment- 
 ed his resjiccts to me; for he punished those 
 Jews that were my accuseis ; and gave com- 
 mand that a servant of mine, who was a 
 eunuch, and my accuser, sluuild be punished. 
 He also made that country I had in Judea 
 tax free, which is a mark of the greatest ho- 
 nour 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 cha- 
 racter by them as they please; but to tlice, O 
 Epaphroditus,* thou most excellent of men ! 
 do 1 dedicate all this treatise of our Antiqui- 
 ties ; and so, for t!ie present, I here conclude 
 the whole. 
 
 • Of this Epaphroditus, «ee the uote ou the Prefaos 
 
 to the AnUquiiies. 
 
 "\. 
 
26 
 
 THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 and rcmtmhercd three of them as my former 
 acquaint.inee. I was very sorry at this in njy 
 mind, and went with tears in my eyes to 
 Titus, and told liim of them ; so he imme- 
 diately comnianticd tliem to be taken down, 
 and to have the greatest care taken of tliem, 
 in order to their reeovery ; yet two of tliem 
 died under the pliysician's Itands, wliile the 
 third recovered. 
 
 7G. I5ut when Titus had composed the 
 troubles in Jiidea, and conjectured tiiat 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 wlien we were come to 
 Rome, I had great care taken of me by Ves- 
 pasian ; for he gave me an apartment in his 
 own house, which he lived in before he came 
 to th« empire. He also honoured me with 
 the privilege of a Roman citizen, and gave 
 me an annual pension ; and continued to 
 respect me 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 persuaded two thousand men of that 
 country to join with him, was the occasion of 
 their ruin ; but when he was bound by tlie 
 governor of that country, and sent to the em- 
 peror, he told him that I had sent him both 
 weapons and money. However, he could not 
 conceal his being a liar from Vespasian, who 
 condemned him to die ; according to wMch 
 sentence lie was put to death. Nay, after 
 tliat, when those that envied my good fortune 
 did frequently bring accusations against mc, 
 by God's providence I escaped them all. I 
 
 also received from Vespasian no small quan« 
 tiiy of land, as a free gift, in Judea; about 
 which time 1 divorced my wife also, as not 
 pleased with her behaviour, though mrt till 
 she l)ad been the mother of three children ; 
 two of wiiom are dead, and one, whom I 
 named Hyrcanus, is alive. Af er tliis 1 mar- 
 ried a wife who had lived at Crete, but a Jew- 
 ess bv birth ; a woman she was of eudnent 
 parents, and such as were the most illustrious 
 in all tiie country, and whose character was 
 beyond that of most other women, as her fu- 
 ture life did demonstrate. By her I had two 
 sons ; the elder's name was Justus, and the 
 next Sirnonides, who was also named Agii])pa: 
 and these were the circumstances of my do- 
 mestic atVairs. However, the kindness of the 
 emperor to me continued still the same ; for 
 wlien Vespasian was dead, Titus, who suc- 
 ceeded him in the government, kept up the 
 same respect for me wliich I had from his 
 father; and when I had frequent accusations 
 laid against me, 1k! would not believe them : 
 and Domjtian, who succeeded, still augment- 
 ed his respects to me; for he punished those 
 Jews that were my accuseis; and gave com- 
 mand that a servant of mine, who was a 
 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 ho- 
 nour to him who hath it ; nay, Domitia, the 
 wife of Caesar, continued to do me kimlnesses: 
 And tliis is the account of the actions of my 
 whole life ; and let others judge of my cha- 
 racter by them as they please ; but to thee, O 
 Epaphroditus,* thou most excellent of men ! 
 do 1 dedicate all this treatise of our Antiqui- 
 ties; and so, for the present, I here conclude 
 the whole. 
 
 « Of this Epaphroditus, see the note ou the Prcfact 
 
 to the Antuiuitiei. 
 
26 
 
 THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. 
 
 and remtmbercd three of them as my former 
 ac(iiiaintance. I was very sorry at tins in my 
 
 also riH-eived from Vespasian no small quan- 
 tity of laiul, as a frte gilt, in Jiidea ; about 
 
 ;;;;;;!;■ ;.:.a--«,»i.h_.i,,s i„ '-y,':>^_^^\'i'±^'^i':'!:°:X^l't:!^Z':!i 
 
 n 
 
 'U5 
 
THE 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 PREFACE.' 
 
 § 1. Those who undertake to write histories, 
 do not, I perceive, take that trouble on one 
 and the same account, but for many reasons, 
 and tliose such as are verj' different one from 
 another; for some of them apply themselves 
 to this part of learning to show their 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 gra- 
 tify those that happened (o be concerned in 
 them, and on that account have spared no 
 pains, but rather gone beyond their own abi- 
 lities in the performance ; hut 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 ad- 
 vantage of posterity : nay, there are not a few 
 who are induced to draw their historical facts 
 out of darkness into liglit, and to produce 
 them for the benefit of llie public, on account 
 of the great importance of the facts them- 
 selves with v/hich they have been concerned. 
 Now of these several reasons for writing his- 
 tory, I must profess the two last were my own 
 reasons also; for since I wac myself interested 
 in that war which we Jews had with ths Ro- 
 mans, and knew myself it9»particu]ar actions, 
 and what conclusion it had, I was forced to 
 give the liistory of it, because I saw that 
 others perverted the truth of those actions in 
 their writings. 
 
 2. Now I have undertaken the present 
 work, as thinking it will appear to all the 
 Greeks f worthy of their study; for it will 
 contain all our antiquities, and tlio constitu- 
 tion of our government, as interpreted out of 
 the Hebrew Scriptures ; and indeed I did for- 
 merly intend, when I wrote of the war, \ to 
 explain who the Jews originally were, — wliat 
 fortune^ they had been subject to, — and by 
 
 • This preface of Josephiis is excellent in its kind, 
 and hichly worthy the repeated perusal of the leader, 
 before he set about the perusal of the work its-Mf. 
 
 + That is, all the Gentiles, both Greeks and Romans. 
 
 i We niay seasonably note here, that Jo^ephus wrote 
 his Seven Books of the Jewish War, long before he 
 wroce these his Antiquities. Those books of the War 
 were published about A. D. 75 ; and these Antiquities; 
 A. D. 93, about eighteen years later 
 
 wliat legislator they had been instructed in 
 piety, and the exercise of other virtues,— 
 what wars also they had made in remote age?, 
 till they were unwillingly engaged in this last 
 witli the Romans ; but because this work 
 would take up a great compass, I 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, E grew weary, and 
 went on slowly, it being a large subject, and 
 a difficult thing to translate owr history into 
 a foreign, and to us unaccustomed language. 
 However, some persons there were who de- 
 sired to know our history, and so exhorted 
 me to go on with it; and, above all die rest, 
 Epaphroditus, § a man who is a lover of all 
 kind of learning, but is principally delighted 
 with the knowledge of liistory ; and tiiis on 
 account of his having been himself concerned 
 in great affairs, and inany turns of fortune, 
 and having shewn a wonderful vigour of an 
 excellent nature, and an immoveable virtuous 
 resolution in them all. I yielded to this inan's 
 persuasions, who always excites such as have 
 abilities in what is useful and acceptable, to 
 join their endeavours with his. I was also 
 asham.ed myself to permit any laziness of dis- 
 position to liave 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 foregoing motives, I 
 had others which I greatly reflected on ; and 
 these were, that our forefathers were willing 
 to communicate such things to others; and 
 that some of the Greeks took considerable 
 pains to know the affairs of our nation. 
 
 3. I found, therefore, that the second of 
 the Ptolemies was a king who was extraor- 
 dinarily diligent in what concerned learning 
 and the collection of books ; that he was also 
 
 § This Epaphroditus was certainly alive m the third 
 year of Trajan, A. D. 1(10. See the note on the first 
 book Against Anion, sect. 1. Who he uas we do not 
 know; for as to Epaphroditus, the frse<i-niaii of Nero, 
 and afterwarils Domitian's secretary, who was put to 
 i death by Domitian, in the tlth or l.'ith year of his 
 1 reign, he covild not be alive in the third of Trajan. 
 
2S 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIIK JEWS. 
 
 peculiarly amoitious t» procure a trnnslation 
 of our law, ami of the constitution of our 
 goviTiiini'Dt tlieroin contained, into tlii' Greek 
 tongue. Now Kleazar, tlie liigli priest, one 
 not inferior to any other of tliat dignity 
 among us, did not envy the forcnamed king 
 the participation of tiiat advantage, wliieh 
 otherwise he would for certain have denied 
 him, but that he knew tlie custom of our 
 nation was, to hinder notiiing of what we 
 esteemed ourselves from being communicated 
 to others. Accordingly, I thought it became 
 me botli to imitate the generosity of our high 
 priest, and to suppose tiiere might even now 
 be many lovers of learning like the king ; for 
 he did not obtain all our writings at that time; 
 but those who were sent to Alexandria as.in- 
 terpreters, gave him only the books of the 
 law, while there were a vast number of other 
 matters in our sacred books. Ti ey indeed 
 contain in them the history of five thousand 
 years ; in wliich time happened many strange 
 accidents, many cliances of war, and great 
 actions of tht commanders, and mutations of 
 the form of our government. Upon the 
 whole, a man that will peruse this history, 
 may principally learn from it, that all events 
 succeed well, even to an incredible degree, 
 and the reward of felicity is proposed by God; 
 but then it is to those that follow his will, and 
 do not venture to break his excellent laws ; — 
 and that so far ai men any way apostatize 
 from the accurate observation of them, what 
 was practicable before, becomes impractica- 
 ble ; * and w hatsoever 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 man- 
 ner worthy of him ; and hath not ever ascrib- 
 ed to him such operations as become his 
 power, and liath not preserved his writings 
 from those indecent fables which others have 
 framed, althougli, by the great distance of 
 time when he lived, he might have securely 
 forged sucli lies; for he lived two thousand 
 years ago; at wliich vast distance of ages the 
 poets themselves have not been so liardy as to 
 fix even tlie generations of their gods, much 
 less the actions of their men, or tlieir own 
 laws. As I proceed, therefore, I shall accu- 
 rately describe what is contained in our re 
 cords, in the order of time that belongs t( 
 lliem ; for 1 have already proinised so to do 
 throughout this undertaking, and this without 
 adding any thing to \»li:it is therein contained, 
 or t:ikiMg away any thing therefrom. 
 
 4. 15ut because almost all our constitution 
 depends on the wisdom of iVIoses, our legisla- 
 tor, I cannot avoid saying somewhat concern- 
 ing him befureliand, tJiough I sliall do it brief- 
 
 « Josojilnis here plainly alludes to tlie famous Gretk 
 |):<>\ crb : If <■<)(! lie willi us, every thing that ia iiniios 
 lihli- buLuincs pus.siblc. 
 
 ly ; I mean, because otherwise those that read 
 my book may wonder how it coines to pas* 
 that iiiv discourse, which promises an account 
 of Imws and historical facts, contains io much 
 of philoso^iliy. 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 pl<ice 
 should consider die divine nature, and upon 
 the contemjilation 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; neillier could 
 the legislator himself have a right mind with- 
 out such a contemplation ; nor would any 
 thing he should write tend to the promotion 
 of virtue in his readers; I mean, unless tliey 
 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 inevit- 
 able miseries. Now when Moses was desirous 
 to teach this lesson to his countrymen, he did 
 not begin the establishment of iiis laws after 
 the same manner that other legislators did ; I 
 mean, upon contracts and other rites between 
 one man and another, but by raiding their 
 minds upwards to regard God, and his crea- 
 tion of the vt'orld ; 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 reli- 
 gion, he easily persuaded them to submit in 
 all other things; for, as to other legislators, 
 they followed fables, and, by their discourses, 
 transferred the most reproachful of human 
 vices unto tlie gods, and so afforded wicked 
 men the tnost plausible excuses for their 
 crimes ; but, as for our legislator, when he had 
 once demonstratid that C-od was possessed of 
 perfect virtue, he supposed tliat men also 
 ought to strive after the participatjoii of it; 
 and oil those wlio did not so think and so 
 believe, he inflicted tlie severest punishments. 
 I exhort, therefore, my readers to examine 
 this whole undertaking in that view ; for 
 thereby it will appear to tliem that there is 
 notiiing therein disagreeable either to the ma- 
 jesty of God, or to his love to mankind ; for 
 all things have liere a reference to the nature 
 of tlie universe; while our legi-lator speaks 
 some things wisely, but enigmatically, and 
 otliers under a decent allegory, but still ex- 
 plains such things as required a direct expli- 
 cation plainly and expressly. However, those 
 that have a mind to know the reasons of every 
 thing, may find here a very curious philoso- 
 phical theory, which I now indeed shall wave 
 the exjilication of; but if God at^'ord me time 
 for it, I will set about writing it, f after I 
 
 t As to this intended work of Josciihus, ooiioeniing 
 the rcnsons <i" many of the Jewish laus, and what iitu- 
 losoiilii<al or allrporiial sen.-t- Ihey would bear, Uu- )(«;« 
 of which work is by stiiiie of the lianuxl not miiih r»» 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 S9 
 
 have finished the present work. I shall now 
 betake myself to the history before me, after 
 I have first mentioned what Moses says of die 
 
 creation of tJie world, which I find described 
 in the sacred books after the manner follow. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THREE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND 
 THIRTY-THREE YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE CREATION TO THE DEATH OF ISAAC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WORLD, AND THE 
 DISPOSITION OF THE ELEMENTS. 
 
 § 1. In the beginning God created tlie hea- 
 ven and the earth ; but when the eartli 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 
 ■A\e whole mass, and separated the liglit 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, Tlie 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 expo- 
 sition till that time. After this, on the second 
 Jay, 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 
 ^o the earth, and fitted it for giving moisture 
 and rain, and for affording the advantage of 
 dews. On the 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 motions and 
 courses, that the vicissitudes of the seasons 
 might be clearly signified. And on the fifth 
 
 gretted, I am inclinable in part to Fabrjcius's opinion, 
 ap. Havereamp, p. 63, 64, that " we need not doubt 
 but, amonc; some vain and frigid conjectures derived 
 |Tom Jewish imaginations, Joseplius would Iiave taught 
 us a greater number of excellent and useful things, 
 wliich perhaps nolxidy, neither among the Jews nor 
 among the t hristiaiis, can now inform us of; so tliat 1 
 vouldgive 4 great deal to ftnd it still e^^t^t." 
 
 day he produced the living creatures, both 
 those that swim and those that fly ; the former 
 in the sea, the latter in the air : he also sorted 
 them as to society and mixture, for procrea- 
 tion, 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 re- 
 lease from the labour of such operations ; — 
 whence it is that we celelirate a rest from our 
 labours on that day, and call it the Sabbath ; 
 which word denotes rest in the Hebrew tongue. 
 2. Moreover, Moses, after the seventh day 
 was over, * begins to talk philosophically ; 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, f This man was called Adam, which 
 in the Hebrew tongue signifies one Uiat is red, 
 because he was formed out of red earth, com- 
 pounded together ; for of that kind is virgin 
 and true earth. God also presented the living 
 creatures, when he had made them, according 
 to their kinds, botli male and female, to Adam, 
 who gave them those names by which they are 
 still called. But when he saw Uiat Adam had 
 
 * Since Josephus, in his Preface, sect. 4, says, that 
 Moses wrote some things enigmatically, some allegori- 
 cally, and the rest in plain words, since in his account 
 of the first chapter of Genesis, and the first three verses 
 of the second, he gives us no hints of any mystery 
 at all ; but when he here comes to ver. 4, &c. he says 
 that Moses, after the seventh day was over, began to 
 talk philosophically, it is not very improbaljle that he 
 undersiood the rest of the second and the third chap- 
 ters in some enigmatical, or allegorical, or philosophical 
 sense. The change of the name of God, just at this 
 place, from Elohim to JeTiovah Elohirn ; from God to 
 Lord God, in the Hebrew, Samaritan, and Septuagint, 
 does also not a little favour some such tliange in the 
 narration or construction. 
 
 t We may observe here, that Josephus supposed man 
 to bt' compounded of spirit, soul, and body, with St 
 Paul, I Thes, v. 25, and the rest of the aiicients : he 
 elsewhere savs also, that the blood of animals was for- 
 bidden to be' eaten, as havii^g in it soul and spirit. Aji 
 ti . b. iii. chap, xi- sect Z. 
 
30 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THI-: JEWS. 
 
 no female companion, no society, for tlicrc 
 was no such created, and that he wondered at 
 tlie oilier animals whidi were male and female, 
 he laid liim asleep, and took away one of his 
 ribs, and out of it formed the woman ; where- 
 upon Adam knew her when she was brought 
 to him, and acknowledged that she was made 
 out of himself. Now a woman is called in 
 the Hebrew tongue /sayj; but the name of 
 this woman was Eve, which signifies the mo- 
 Uier of all living. 
 
 S. Wcses says farther, that God jjlantcd 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, he commanded them to take 
 care of the plants. Now the garden was wa- 
 tered by one river, * which ran round about 
 the whole earth, and was parted into four 
 parts. And Phison, which denotes a multi- 
 tude, running into India, makes its exit into 
 the sea, a;u' is by the Greeks called Ganges. 
 Euphrates also, as well as Tigris, goes down 
 into the Red Sea. ■*• Now the name Euphra- 
 tes, 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 tlie east, which the Greeks call Nile. 
 
 4. God therefore commanded that Adam 
 and his wife should eat of all the rest of the 
 plants, but to abstain from the tree of know- 
 ledge ; and foretold to them, that, if they 
 touched it, it would prove their destruction. 
 But wl.'ile all the living creatures had one 
 languaj^e, | at that time th.j serpent, which 
 
 • Whence this strange notion came, %vhich yet is noi 
 peculiar to Joscnhus, but, as Dr. Hudson says here, is 
 derived from older authors, as if four of the greatest 
 rivers in the world, running two of them at va.st dis- 
 tances from the other two, by some means or otlicr wa- 
 tered paradise, is hard to say! Only, since Josephus has 
 alroridy appeared to allegorize this history, and take no- 
 tice that these four names had a particular signification ; 
 Phison for Ganges, a mv/titut/c; I'hroth for Euphrates, 
 eitlior a dispcrilon or ajlower ; Diglath for Tigris, what 
 is swift, with iiarroumess ; and Geon for Nile, tiliat 
 arises from t/ie east, — we perhaps mistake hiro when 
 we suppose lie Uterally means those for rivers; tspeeiaW 
 ly as to Geon or Nile, which arises from the east, while 
 he very well knew the literal Nile arises from thesouth; 
 though what farther allegorical sense he had ill view, is 
 now, I fear, impossible to be determined. 
 
 f By the Ued Sea is not here meant the Arabian Gulf, 
 wliich alone we now call by that name, but all that South 
 Sea, which included the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, 
 as far as the East Indies ; as Uetand and Hudson here 
 truly note, from tlie old geographers. 
 
 X Hence it appears that Josephus thought several, at 
 least, of the brute animals, particularly the scrjicnt, 
 could speak before the Fall. And 1 thiiik few of the 
 more jierfect kinds of those animals want the orgaas (-f 
 spec-ch at this dav- Many inducements there are also 
 to a notion, that ihe prcst'nt state they arc in is not their 
 original state; and that their capacities have been oim'C 
 much greater than we now see them, and are eiiiabk^ of 
 being restortil to their former condition. Hut as to this 
 most ancient, and authentic, and prob.-ibly allegorical 
 aecount ( f that grand allau o; Jic rail o» out first pa- 
 rcnti, I have somewhat more to say in way ot tvnicc- 
 turc, but being only a conjecture, I omit it : only thus 
 f;u-, th.at the imputation of the sin of our first parents 
 to their posterity, any farther than as some way the 
 eiusc or cnvaiion of man's mortality, seems almost cii- 
 
 tlicn lived together 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 diaoboyed them, tliey 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 
 w.Ts the knowledge of good and evil ; which 
 knowledge when they should obtain, they 
 would lead a happy life, nay, a life not infe- 
 rior to that of a god : by which means he 
 overcame the woman, and persuaded her to 
 despise the cominand of God. Now when 
 she had tasted of that tree, ajid was pleased 
 with its fruit, she persuaded Adam to make 
 use of it also. Upon this they perceived 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 co- 
 vered themselves witii fig-leaves ; and tying 
 these before them, out of modesty, tliey 
 thought they were happier than they were 
 before, as they had discovered what they were 
 in want of. But v.hen God came into the 
 garden, Adiim, who was wont before to come 
 and converse with him, being conscious 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, " 1 had before determined about 
 you both, how you might lead a happy life, 
 without any afijiction, and care, and vexation 
 of soul ; and that all things which might con- 
 tribute to your enjoyment and pleasure should 
 grow up by my providence, of their own ac- 
 cord, Viitlunu your own labour and pains- 
 taking ; which state of labour and pains-tak- 
 ing 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 
 hast disobeyed my commands ; for thy silence 
 is not the sign of thy virtue, but of thy evil 
 conscience." However, Adam excused his 
 sin, and entreateii God not to be angry ai him, 
 and laid the blame of what was done ujion 
 his wife ; and said that he was deceived by 
 her, and thence became an offender ; while she 
 again accused the serpent. But God allotted 
 him punishment, because he weakly submitted 
 to the counsel of his wife; and said, the ground 
 should not henceforth yield its fruits of its 
 own accord, but that when it should be ha- 
 rassed by their labour, it should bring fortli 
 some of its fruits, and refuse to bring forth 
 others. He also made Eve liable to the in- 
 
 tircly groundless ; and that both man, and the other sub- 
 ordinate creatures, are hereafter to be dcliverc<I from the 
 curse then brought upon them, and at Lost to be deliver- 
 ed from that boiidagc of corruption, Rom. viii. I'J — 2a. 
 
r^" 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 31 
 
 conveniency of breeding, and the sharp pains 
 of bringing forth children, and this because 
 she persuaded Adam with the same arguments 
 uherewitli the serpent had persuaded l)er, and 
 had thereby brought him into a calamitous 
 condition. He also deprived the serpent of 
 speech, out of indignation at liis malicious 
 disposition towards Adam. Besides this, he 
 inserted poison under his tongue, and made 
 him an enemy to men ; and suggested to them 
 that they should direct their strokes against 
 his head, that being the place %vherein lay his 
 mischievous designs towards 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 himself 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. 
 
 COXCERXING THE POSTERITY OF ADAM, AND 
 •niE TEN GENERATIONS FROM HliM TO THE 
 DELUGE. 
 
 § 1. Adam and Eve had two sons ; the elder 
 of tliem was named Cain ; which name, when 
 it is interpreted, signifies a posicssion. The 
 younger was Abel, which signifies sorrow. 
 Tliey 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 vir- 
 tue ; and his employment was that of a shep- 
 herd. But Cain was not only very wicked 
 in other respects, but was wholly intent upon 
 getting; ami he first contrived to plough the 
 grouml. He slew his brother on tlie occasion 
 following :— They !iad resolved to sacrifice to 
 God. N'ow Cain brouglit 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 tlie latter oblation,* 
 when he was honoured with what grew natur- 
 ally of its own accord, than he was with what 
 was the invention of a covetous man, and got- 
 ten by forcing the ground ; whence it was that 
 Cain was very angry that Abel was preferred 
 by God before liim ; and he slew his brother, 
 and hid his dead body, thinking to escape dis- 
 covery. But God, knowing what had been 
 done, came to Cain, and asked him what was 
 become of his brother, because he liad not seen 
 
 • St John's aooount of the reason wliv God accepted 
 the sacrifice of ALel, and rejected that of Cam; as also 
 why Cain slew Abel, on account of that his acceptance 
 witti Cod,— is much better than this of Josephus: I 
 mean, because " Cain was of tlie evil one, and slew his 
 brother. And wherefore slew he him ? Because his 
 own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." 1 
 John iii. li!. .losephus's reason seenii to be no better 
 CJiiUt 4 pliarisaical notion or tradition. 
 
 him of many days, whereas he used to observe 
 them conversing together at other tiines. 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 bro- 
 ther's disappearing; but when he was pro- 
 voked 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 return, God convicted Cain, as 
 having been the murderer of his brother; and 
 said, '• I wonder at thee, that thou knowest 
 not what is becoine of a man whom thou thy- 
 self hast destroyed." God therefore did not 
 indict the punishment [of deatli] upon him, 
 on account of his offering sacrifice, and there- 
 by making supplication to him not to be ex- 
 treme in his wrath to him ; but he made him 
 accursed, and threatened his posterity in the 
 seventh generation. He also cast him, to- 
 gether with his wife, out of that land. And 
 wlien he was afraid, that in wandering about 
 he should fall among wild beasts, and by that 
 means perish, God bid liim 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. 
 
 2. And when Cain had travelled over many 
 countries, he, with his wife, built a city, named 
 Nod, wliich is a place so called, and there he 
 settled his abode ; where also he had children. 
 However, he did not accept of his punish-- 
 ment in order to amendment, but to increase 
 his wickedness; for he only aimed to procure 
 every thing that was for his own bodily plea- 
 sure, though it obliged liim to be injurious 
 to his neighbours. He augmented liis house- 
 hold substance with much wealth, by rapine 
 and violence ; he excited his acquaintance to 
 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 wlierein men lived before; 
 and was the author of measures and weights. 
 And whereas they lived innocently and gene- 
 rously 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 iMalaliel ; whose 
 son was Mathusela ; whose son was Lamech ; 
 who had seventy-seven cliildren 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, exercised 
 himself in music ;j- and invented the psaltery 
 
 t From this Jubal, not improl>ablv, came Ji;bel, the 
 trumpet of jobel or jubilee ; that large and loud musical 
 
32 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEMS. 
 
 aiwl tlie )inri>. But Tuhii), one of his cliil- 
 ilriM! by the other wile, exceeded all men in 
 stroiigll), and was very export and fanums in 
 martial iitrJormances. He procured wliat 
 tended to the pleasnrcs of the body by tliat 
 method ; and first of all invented the art of 
 making brass. Lamech was al:-A) the father 
 of a daughter, whose name was Nuainah j 
 an<l because In was so skilful in matters of 
 divine revelation, that he knew he was to be 
 punished for Cain's murder of his brother, Ue 
 made that known to his wives. Nay, even 
 while Adam \vas alive, it came to pass that 
 the i)osterity of Cain became exceeding wicked, 
 every one successively dying one after ano- 
 ther, more uiiked than the former. They 
 were intolerable in war, and vehement in 
 robberies ; and if any one were slow to mur- 
 der people, yet was he bold in his profligate 
 behaviour, in acting unjustly, and doing in- 
 juries for gain. 
 
 3. 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 tied away on account of his 
 murder, was solicitous for posterity, anii hixt 
 a vehement desire of cliildren, lie being tiro 
 hundred and thirty years old ; after wliich 
 time he lived other seven hundred, and tlien 
 died. He had indeed many other children,* 
 but Seth in particular. As for the res-t, it 
 would be tedious to name them ; I will there- 
 fore only endeavour to give an account of 
 those that proceeded from Seth. No%v this 
 Seth, when he was brought up, and came to 
 those years in which he could discern what 
 was good, bec,'iin>e a virtuous man ; and as 
 he was himself of an excellent character, so 
 did he leave children behind hi;n who imitat- 
 ed his virtues. + All tbeie ))roved to be of 
 good dispositions. They also inhabited the 
 same country without disseifsions, and in a 
 happy contlition, wiiliout any misfoitunes 
 falling upon them till they died. They also 
 Were the inventors of that peculiar sort of 
 wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly 
 bodies, and their order. Arid that their in- 
 ventions might not be lost before they were 
 sufBciently known, upon Adam's prediction 
 that the world was to be destroyed at one 
 time by the force of fire, and at another time 
 by the violence and quantity of water, they 
 made two pillars ; \ the one of brick, the other 
 
 instrument, used in proclaiming the liberty at the year 
 of jubilee. 
 
 • I'lie number of Adam's children, as says the old 
 tradition, was thirty-tliree sons, and twenty-three daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 i What is here said of Seth and his posterity, that 
 they were very (;ood and virtuous, and at the same tin.e 
 very happy, without any considcralile mislortunes, for 
 seven (^iiicrations [see eh. ii. sect. I, before; anil eti. ui. 
 sect. 1, heii-aftcr] is exaellv agr.-cal-lo lo tin- slatr orHie 
 world aiul ibe eondiict of l^rovidenee in all tlie liist .ii^is. 
 
 t Of JoMiilius's mistake here, when betook Sctli Ihe 
 son of .Ailaiii for Selli or Sesostris, king of Kgvpl, the 
 crecter of tins pillir in the land of Siriad, >eo Kssav on 
 the Old Testmni'Ut, Appendix, p. l.iJ), Kid. Althiiugh 
 tlio main of this r«latron niiglu be tru», and Adam 
 
 SOOK I 
 
 of stone : they inscribed their discoveries on 
 them both, that in case the pillar of brick 
 should be destroyed by the Hood, the pillar of 
 stone mi^ht remain, and exhibit those disco- 
 veries to mankind ; ;iiid also inform them fliat 
 there was another pillar of brick erectetl by 
 them. Now this remains in the land of Si- 
 riad to this day. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONCERNING THE FLOOD; AND AFTER WHAT 
 JIANNEU NOAH WAS SAVED IN AN ARK, WITH 
 HIS K/NURED, AND AFTERWARDS DWELT IN 
 THE PLAIN OF SHINAU. 
 
 § 1. Now this posterity of Seth continued to 
 esteem God as the Lord of the universe, and 
 to have an entire regard to virtue, for seven 
 generations; but in process of time they were 
 perverted, and forsook the practices of their 
 forefathers, and did neither ])«iy those honours 
 to God which were appointed them, nor hod 
 th-ey any concern to do justice towards men. 
 But for what degree of zeal they had former- 
 ly shown for virtue, they now showed by their 
 actions a double degree of wicketlness ; where- 
 by they made God to be tlieir ene7ny ; fol 
 many angels J of God accompanied with wo- 
 men, and begat sons that jjroved unjus', and 
 despisers of all that was good, on account of 
 tJve confidence they had in their own strength, 
 for the tradition is, TIrat these mtrn did wlial 
 resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians 
 call gi;mts. But Noah was very uneasy at 
 what they did ; and, being displeased at their 
 conduct, persua<led them to change their dis- 
 ]>ositioiis and their acts for the belter; — l)ut, 
 seeing that they did not yield to hiin, but 
 were slaves to their wicked pleasures, he was 
 afraid they would kill him, together with his 
 wife and children, and those they had mar- 
 ried ; so he departed out of that land. 
 
 2. Now God loved this man for his right- 
 eousness ; yet he not only conden>netl those 
 other men for their wickedness, but determin- 
 ed to destroy the wliole race of mankind, and 
 to make another race that should be pure fron» 
 wickedness; and cutting short their lives, and 
 making their years not so many as they for- 
 merly lived, but one hundred and twenty 
 only, II he turned the dry land into sea; and 
 
 might foretell a conflagration and a deluge, which all 
 aniiqiiity witnesses to be an ancient tradition; nay, 
 Seth's i>osterity might engrave their inventions in astro- 
 nomy on two such pillars, yet it is no way cre»liblc that 
 they could survive the deluge, which has Imried all such 
 pilliirs and edifices far under ground, in the sediment of 
 Its watc'i-s ; especially since the like pillars of the Egyp- 
 tian Siih or Sesostris were extant after the lltxKl, in the 
 land of ^iiiiiil, and (HTliaps ill the days of Jos*'phus 
 al;(i, as is shown in the place here rcftrrtnl to. 
 
 § This notion, that the fallen angels were, in some 
 sense, the fathers of tlie old giants, was the constant 
 oi>inion of antimiity. 
 
 U Josephus here supposes, that the life of these 
 for of them only Uo 1 understand him, was no* 
 
ANTIQUITIES OT THE JEWS. 
 
 38 
 
 thus were all these men destroyed : but Noah 
 alone was saved ; for God siigy;csted to him 
 the folloiving contrivance and way of escape : ' 
 — That he sliould make an aik of four stories! 
 high, three hundred* cubits long, fifty cubits- 
 broad, and thirty cubits high. Accordingly 
 he entered into tliat 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 sorts 
 of living creatures, the male and liis female, 
 for the preservation of their kinds; and otiiers 
 of them by sevens. Now this ark had firm 
 walls, and a roof, and was braced with cross 
 beams, so thai it could not be any way drown- 
 ed or overborne by the violence of the water ; 
 and thus was Noah, with his family, preserved. 
 Now he was the tenth from Adam, as being 
 the son of Lamech, whose father was Matliu- 
 sala. He was the son of Enoch, the son of 
 Jared ; and Jared was the son of Maialeel, 
 who, with many of his sisters, were the chil- 
 dren of Cainan, the son of Enos. Now Enos 
 was the son of Setii, the son of Adam. 
 
 3. Tliis calamity happened in the six hun- 
 dre^lth year of Noah's government [age], in 
 the second monlli,f called by the Macedonians 
 Dius, but by the Hebrews Marcliesuan ; for so 
 did they order their year in Egypt; but Clo- 
 ses appointed that Nisan, which is the same 
 with Xanthicus, should be the first month for 
 their festivals, because he brought them out 
 of Egypt in that month : so that tin's month 
 began the year as to all the solemnities they 
 observed to the honour of God, although he 
 preserved the original order of the months as 
 to selling and buying, and other ordinary af- 
 fairs. Now he says that this flood began on 
 the twenty-seventh [seventeenth] day of the 
 forementioned month ; and this was two thou- 
 sand six Iiundred and fifty-six [one thousand 
 six hundred and fifty-six] years from Adam, 
 the first man ; and the time is written down 
 in our sacred books, those who then lived hav- 
 ing noted down,^ with great accuracy, both 
 the births and deaths of illustrious men. 
 
 reduced to 120 years; which is confirmed bv the frag- 
 ment of Enoch, sect. 10, hi AuthenU Rec. Part 1. p. 26,s. 
 For as to tlie rest of mankind, Josephus himself con- 
 fesses their lives were mueh longer than 120 years, for 
 many generations after the flood, as we shall see pre- 
 sently ; and he says they were gradually shortencil till 
 the days of Moses, and then fixed [for some UmeJ at 
 12' I, chap. vi. sect. 5. Nor indeed need we suiipose 
 that etiher Enoch or Josephus meant to interpret these 
 120 years for the life of men before the Flood, tot* 
 different from the 12.) years of God's patience [perhaps 
 while the ark was preparing] till the Deluge; which I 
 take to be the meaning of God, when he threatene<l this 
 wicked world, that if they so long continued impeni- 
 tent, their days should be no more than 12ii vears. 
 
 • A cubit is about twenty-one English inches. 
 
 + Josephus here truly determines, that the vearat the 
 Flood began about the autumnal equinox. As to what 
 day of the month the Flood began, our Hebrew and Sa- 
 maritan, and perhaps Josephus^ own aipv inore righ'ly 
 idaced It on tlie 17th day, instead of the' 27th, as here ; 
 tor Josephus agrees with them as to the distance of 15n 
 days, to the 17th day of the 7th month ; as Geu. vii. ult. 
 with viii. 3. 
 
 J Josephus here takes notice, that these ancient gene- 
 (rfogies were first set down by those that then li\ ed, and 
 
 4. For indeed Seth was born when Adait 
 was in his t^\o Iiundred and thirtieth year, 
 who lived nine hundred and thirty years. 
 Seth begat Enos in his two hundred and 
 fifth year; wlio. when he had lived nine hun- 
 dred and twelve years, delivered the govern- 
 ment to Cainan his son, whom he had in his 
 hundred and ninetieth year ; he lived nine 
 hundred and five years. Cainan, when he 
 had lived nine hundred and ten years, had his 
 son Maialeel, who was born in his hundred 
 and seventieth year. This Maialeel, havmg 
 lived eight hundred and ninety-five years, died, 
 leaving his son Jared, whom he begat when he 
 was in his hundred and sixty-fifth year. He 
 lived nine hundred and sixty-two years; and 
 then his son Enoch succeeded him, who was 
 born when his father was one hundred and 
 sixty-two years old. Now he, when he liad 
 lived three hundred and sixty-five years, de- 
 parted, and went to God ; whence it is that 
 they have not written down his death. Now 
 Matlmsala, the son of Enoch, who was born to 
 him when he was one hundred and sixty-five 
 years old, had Lamech for his son when he 
 was one hundred and eighty seven years of 
 age ; to whom he delivered the government, 
 when he liad retained it nine hundred and 
 sixty, nine years. Now Lamech, when be had 
 governed seven hundred and seventy-seven 
 years, appointed Noah, his son, to be ruler of 
 the people, wlio was born to Lamech when he 
 was one hundred and eighty-two years old, 
 and retained the government nine hundred 
 and fifty years. These years collected to- 
 gether, make up the sum before set down ; 
 but let no one inquire into the deaths of these 
 men, for they extended their lives along to- 
 gether with their children and grandchildren ; 
 but let him have regard to their births only, 
 
 5. When God gave the signal, and it began 
 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, aftei 
 one hundred and fifty days (that is, on the 
 seventeenth day of the seventh month) it then 
 ceasing to subside for a little while. After this 
 tiie ark rested on the top of a certain moun- 
 tain in Armenia ; which, when Noah under- 
 stood, he opened it ; and seeing a small piece 
 of land about it, he continued quiet, and con- 
 ceived some cheei^ul hopes of deliverance; 
 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, 
 
 from them were transmitted down to nosteritv ; which 
 1 suppose to be the true account of that matter. Foi 
 there is no reason to imagine that men were not taught 
 to read and write soon after they were taught to spca.-; 
 and perhaps all bv the Messiah himself, who, v.nder the 
 Father, was the Creator or Ciovernor of mankind, and 
 who frequcntlv. in those early days, appeared to Uiom. 
 
 -T 
 
34 
 
 ANTIQUITIICS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 atid wlietlier lie might go out of the ark with ■ 
 safctv ; but the raven, finding ail the land . 
 still jverllowed, returned to Nr)ah ngaiii. , 
 And after seven days he sent out a dove, to 
 know till." state of the ground ; which came 
 baik to liim covered with mud, and bringing | 
 an olive branch. Hereby Noah learned that; 
 the earth was become clear of the flood. So 
 after he had staid seven more days, he sent 
 the living creatures out of the ark ; and both he 
 and his family went out, when he also sacrific- 
 ed to God, and feasted with his companions. 
 However, the Armenians call this place (A^r*- 
 SaTti^in*) Tlic Place of Descent ; for liie ark 
 being saved in that place, its remains arc 
 shown there by the inhabitants to this day. 
 
 6. Now all the writers of barbarian histo- 
 ries make mention of this flood and of" this 
 ark ; among whom is Berosus t-!)e Chaldean ; 
 for when he is describing the circumstances 
 of the flood, he goes on thus: — " It is saitl 
 there is still some part of this ship in Arme- 
 nia, at the mountain of tiie Cordya>ans ; and 
 that some people carry ofl" pieces of the bitu- 
 men, which they take away, and use chiefly 
 as amulets for the averting of mischiefs." 
 Hieronymus the Egyptian, also, who wrote 
 the Pliccnician Antiquities, and IMnaseas, 
 and a great many more, make mention of the 
 same. Nay, Nicolaus of Damascus, in his 
 iiincty-sixtli book, hath a particular relation 
 about them, \\ here he speaks thus : — " There 
 is a great inoiuilain in Armenia, over IMinyas, 
 called Baris, upon which it is reported that 
 many who fled at the time of the Deluge were 
 saved ; and that one who was carried in an 
 ark came on slicre 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, the legislator of the Jews, 
 wrote." 
 
 7. But as for Noah, he was afraid, since 
 God had determined to destroy mankind, lest 
 he should drown the earth every year ; so he 
 oflcred burnt -ofleiings, and besought God 
 that Nature might hereafter go on in its for- 
 mer 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 punished the wicked, he would of his 
 
 * This ATo?«r;;j,o», or P/iuv q/' Oescenl, is the pro- 
 1)01 rcmlcriiig of the Aniiciiiiin name ol' iliis very eity. 
 It is called in I'tolemy Naxiiaiia, ami by Moses t'liorcii- 
 c^l^i5, tlic Annciiiaii historian,. /(/s/ifiidn ; but at Itic 
 plai'c Itself, Navlillsheumi, whieli signifies The Jirst 
 place of descent ; «iul is a lasting monument of llie pie- 
 bcrvaiion of Noah in the ark, upon the top of that 
 mountain, at whose foot it was built, as the first eity or 
 l.mii alter ti.e Klood. Sec Anticj. b. xx. eh. ii. si-et. 3 ; 
 and Moses Choreiieiuis, who also says elsewhere, that 
 another town was reUitcd by iradiiioii to iiavo been 
 called Scroll, or The Place of Disiiersion, on aeeoun'. of 
 the dispersion of Xisuthrus's or Noah's sons, from 
 tiiciice first made. Whether any rcmairs of this ark be 
 (till preserved, as the jwople of the emintry suppose, I 
 eaunot eefLainly lell. Mons. Tourncfurt had, iiol very 
 loiii; since, a iiiin I to see the pl.aec him-ell", but met 
 with too great dangers and dillieulties to \enture through 
 tliein. 
 
 goodness spare (he remainder, and such as lie 
 liad hitherto jutlged (it to be delivered from 
 so severe a calamity ; for that otherwise these 
 last must be more miserable than the Hrst, 
 and that they must be condemned to a worse 
 condition than the others, unless they be suf- 
 fered to escape entirely; thai is, if they be 
 reserved for another diluge, while (hey must 
 be afflicted -villi 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 efl'ects of his 
 wrath ; that men might he permitted to go on 
 cheerfully in cultivating 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 inight attain to the like length of 
 days and old age which the ancient peojile 
 had arrived at before. 
 
 8. When Noah had made tlicse siijiplica- 
 tions, God, who loved the man for his riglit- 
 eousness, granted entire success to his prayers, 
 and said, that it was not he who brought die 
 destruction on a polluted world, but that they 
 underwent that vengeance on account of'liieir 
 own ^^ickedness; and that he had not brought 
 men into the world if he had himself deter- 
 mined to destroy them, it being an instance 
 of greater wisdom not to have granted them 
 life at all, than, after it was granted, to pro- 
 cure their destruction ; *' but the injuries," 
 said he, " they oflered to my holiness ;uid vir 
 tue, forced me to bring this punishment upon 
 them; but I will leave oil' tor the time to 
 come to require such punishments, the ellects 
 of so great wrath, for their future wicked ac- 
 tions, and especially on account of thy pray- 
 ers ; but if I shall at any time send temi)ests 
 of rain in an extraordinary manner, be not 
 aliVighted at the largeness of the showers, for 
 the waters shall no more overspread the earth. 
 However, I require you to abstain from shed- 
 ding the blood of men, and to keep yourselves 
 ptire iVom minder ; and to punish tliose thai 
 coinmit any such thing. 1 permit you to 
 make use of all (he other living creatures at 
 your pleasure, and as your appetites lead you; 
 for I have made you lords of them all, both 
 of those that walk on the iand, and those that 
 swim in the waters, and of those that fly in 
 the regions of the air on high — excepting 
 (heii blood, for (herein is (he life : but I will 
 give you a sign that 1 have left off my anger, 
 by my bow" [whereby is meant the rainbow, 
 for they determined that the rainbow w.-is the 
 bow of God] ; and when God had said and 
 promised thu^, he went away. 
 
 9. Now when Noah had lived three liiin. 
 dred and fifty years after ilie Flood, and tliat 
 all that time liapjiily, he ilicd, having lived 
 the number of nine hundred and hfly years: 
 but let no one, upon comparing (he lives ol 
 the ancients with our lives, and with the few 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 36 
 
 years which we now live, think that what we 
 have said of them is false ; or make the 
 shortness of our lives at present an argu- 
 ment tliat neither did they attain to so long 
 a duration of life; for those ancients were 
 beloved of God, and [lately] made hy God 
 himself; and because their food was then 
 filter for the prolongation of life, might well 
 live so great a number of years; and besides, 
 God alibrded them a longer time of life on 
 account of their virtue, and the good use tliey 
 made of it in astronomical and geometrical 
 discoveries, wliich would not have afforded 
 the time of foretelling [the periods of the 
 stars] unless they had lived six hundred years; 
 for the Great Year is completed in that inter- 
 val. Now I have for witnesses to what I 
 have said, all those that have written Antiqui- 
 tie'i, both among the Greeks and barbarians ; 
 for even ^Manetho, wlio wrote the Egyptian 
 History, and Berosus, who collected the Chal- 
 dean Monuments, and Mochus, and Hes- 
 ti«us, and besides these, Hieronymus the 
 Egyptian, and those who composed the Phoe- 
 nician History, agree to what I here say : 
 Hesiod also, and Hecataeus, Hellanicus, and 
 Acusilaus ; and besides these, Ephorus and 
 Nicolaus relate that t;e ancients lived a thou- 
 sand years : but as to these niatters, let every 
 one look upon them as he thinks fit. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 CONCERNING THE TOWER OF LABYLON, AND 
 THE CONFCSION OF TONGUES. 
 
 § 1. Now the sons of Noah were three, — 
 Shem, Japhet, and Ham, born one hundred 
 years before the Deluge. These first of all 
 descended from the mountains into the plains, 
 and fixed their habitation there; and persuad- 
 ed 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 venture to follow tlieir examples. Now the 
 plain in which tliey first dwelt was called Shi- 
 nar. God also commanded them to send co- 
 lonies abroad, for the thorough peopling of the 
 earthj — that they might not raise seditions 
 among themselves, but might cultivate a great 
 part of the earth, and enjoy its fruits after a 
 plentiful manner: but they were so ill in- 
 structed, that they did not obey God ; for 
 which reason they fell into calamities, and 
 v/ere made sensible, by experience, of what 
 sin they had been guilty; for when they flour- 
 ished with a numerous youth, God admonish- 
 ed them again to send out colonies ; but they, 
 imagining the prosperity they enjoyed was not 
 derived from the favour of God, but suppos- 
 ing that their own power was the proper cause 
 of the plentiful condition they were in, did 
 
 not obey him. Nay, they added to this their 
 disobedience to the diTine will, the suspicion 
 tliat they were therefore ordered to send out 
 separate colonies, that, being divided asunder, 
 they might tlie more easily be oppressed. 
 
 2, 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 ascribe it to God, 
 as if it was through his means they were 
 happy, but to believe that it was their own 
 courage which procured 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 pov.cr. He 
 also said he would be revenged on God, if he 
 should have a mind to drown tlie world again ; 
 for that he would build a tower too high for 
 the waters to be able to reach! and that he 
 would avenge himself on God for destroying 
 their forefathers ! 
 
 3. Now the multitude were very ready to fol- 
 low the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem 
 it a piece of cowardice to submit to God ; and 
 tliey built a tower, neither sparing any pains, 
 nor being in any degree negligent about the 
 work ; and, by reason of the multitude of 
 hands employed in it, it grew very high, 
 sooner than any one could expect ; but the 
 thickness 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 real- 
 ly was. It was built of burnt brick, cement. 
 ed together with morlar, made of bitumen, 
 that it might not be liable to admit water. 
 When God saw that they acted so madly, ho 
 did not resolve to destroy them utterly, since 
 they were not grown wiser by the destruction 
 of the former sinners ; but he caused a tu- 
 mult among them, by producing in them di. 
 vers languages; and causing that, througli tlie 
 multitude of those languages, they should not 
 be able to understand one another. Tiie place 
 wherein they built the tower is now called 
 Babi/lon ; because of the confusion of that 
 language which they readily understood be- 
 fore ; for the Hebrews mean by the word Ba- 
 bel, 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 
 one his peculiar language ; and for this reason 
 it was that the city was called Dcbi/lon." But 
 as to the plain of Shinar, in the country of 
 Babylonia, Hestiajus mentions it, when he 
 says thus : — " Such of the priests as were sav- 
 ed, took the sacred vessels of Jupiter Enya- 
 lius, and came to Shinar of Babylonia." 
 
 jT 
 
36 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS Ol' IHK JKWS. 
 
 BOOK r. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AFTER WHAT MANNER THE POSTERITY OI 
 NOAH SENT OUT COLONIES, AND INHABIT- 
 ED THE WHOLE EARTH. 
 
 After this they were dispersed abroad, on 
 account of their languages, and went out by 
 colonies everywhere ; and eacli colony took 
 possession of that land which they light 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 inhabited the islands : and some of 
 those nations do still retain the denominations 
 which were given them by their first founders; 
 l)ut some have lost them also; and some have 
 only admitted certain changes in them, that 
 they miglit be the more intelligible to the in- 
 habitants ; and they were the Greeks who be- 
 came 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 govermnent over them, as if they 
 Were a people derived from themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW EVERY NATION WAS DENOMINATED FT.OM 
 THEIR FIRST INHABITANTS. 
 
 5 1. Now they were the grand-cliildren of 
 NocJ), in honour of whom names were im- 
 posed 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 Tainus and Amanus, they 
 proceeded along Asia, as far as the river Ta- 
 nais, and along Europe to Cadiz ; and selthng 
 themselves on the lands which they liglit upon, 
 which none had inhabited before, they called 
 the nations by their own names; for Gonier 
 founded those whom the Greeks now call Ga- 
 latians [Galls], but were then called Gomer- 
 ites. 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 
 cime the Madeans, who are called Medes by 
 the Greeks; but from Javan, Ionia and all 
 the Grecians are derived. Thobel founded 
 the Thobelitcs, who are now called Iberes; 
 and the Mosocheni 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 iruiy inform tho&e 
 
 that arc able to understanff, that so was tlie 
 entire nation once called. Thiras also called 
 those whom he ruled over, Thirasians ; hut 
 the Greeks changed the name into Thracians. 
 And so many were the countries that had the 
 children of Japhet for their inhabilants. Ot 
 tlie three sons of Gomer, Aschanax founded 
 the Aschanaxians, who are now called l)y tht 
 Greeks Hheginians. So did liiphath found 
 the Kipheans, now called Paphlagonians ; and 
 Thrugramma the Thrugrammeans, who, as 
 the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians. 
 Of the three sons of Javan also, the son of 
 Japhet, Elisa gave name to the Eiiseans, who 
 were his subjects; they are now the iEolians. 
 Tharsus to the Tharsians ; for so was Cilicia 
 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 change put 
 for the theta. Cethimus possessed the island 
 Cethima ; it is now called Cyprus : and from 
 that it is that all islands, and the greatest part 
 of the sea-coasts, are named Ccthim by the 
 Hebrews: and one city there is in Cyprus 
 that has been able to preserve its denomina- 
 tion ; it is called Citius by those who use the 
 language of the Greeks, and has not, by the 
 use of that dialect, escaped the name of Ce- 
 thim. And so many nations have the children 
 and grand-children of Japhet possessed. Now 
 when I have premised somewhat, which per- 
 haps the Greeks do not know, I will return 
 and explain what I have omitted ; for such 
 names are pronounced here after the manner 
 of the Greeks, to please my readers ; for our 
 own country language does not so pronounce 
 them : but the names in all cases are of one 
 and the same ending ; for the name we here 
 pronounce Noeas, is there Noah, and in every 
 case retains the same termination. 
 
 2. The children of Ham possessed the land 
 from Syria and Amanus, and the mountains 
 of Libanus, seizing upon all that was on its 
 sea coasts and as far as the ocean, and kce[>- 
 ing 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 theirdenominationsenlire: 
 for of the Cour sons of Ham, time has not at 
 all hurt the name of Chus ; 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 
 Mesraites is preserved in their name; for all 
 we who inhabit this country [of Judea] call 
 Egypt Rlestre, and the i'.gyptians Mestreans. 
 Phut also was the founder of Libyia, and 
 called the inhabitants I'hutites, from himself: 
 there is also a river in the country of the 
 Moors which bears that name ; whence it is 
 that we may see the greatest part of the Gre> 
 cian historiographers mention that river and 
 the adjoining country by the appellation of 
 Phut '. but tlie name it has now, has been by 
 
s 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 change given it from one of the sons of Mes- 
 raini, who was called Lybyos. We will in- 
 ibnii you presently what has been the occasion 
 wliy it has 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; 
 Eviias, who founded the Evileans, who are 
 c.dkd Getuli ; Sabathes founded the Sabath- 
 ens; they are now called by the Greeks, Asta- 
 borans; Sabactas settled the Saliactens ; and 
 Ragmus the Ragmeans ; and he had two sons, 
 tlic one of whom, Judadas, settled the Juda- 
 deans, a nation of tlie western Ethiopians, 
 and left them his name ; as did Sabas to the 
 Sabeans. But Nimrod, the son of Chus, staid 
 and tyrannized at Babylon, as we have already 
 informed you. Now all tin children of iVIes- 
 raim, being eight in number, possessed the 
 country from Gaza to Egypt, though it re- 
 tained the name of one only, the Philistim ; 
 for the Greeks call part of that country Pa- 
 lestine. As for the rest, Ludieim, and Ene- 
 mim, and Labim, who alone inhabited in Li- 
 bya, and called the country from himself, 
 Nedim, and Phethrosim, and Chesloim, and 
 Cephthorim, we know nothing of them be- 
 sides their names ; for the Ethiopic war, * 
 which we shall describe hereafter, was the 
 cause that those cities were overthrown. The 
 sons of Canaan were these : Sidonius, who 
 also builtacity of the same name; it is called 
 by the Greeks, hidon ; Amathus inhabited in 
 Amathine, which is even now called Amathe 
 by the inhabitants, although the Macedonians 
 named it Epiphania, from one of his poste- 
 rity : Arudeus possessed the island Aradus : 
 Arucas possessed Arce, which is in Libanus; 
 — but for the seven others, [Eueus], Clietteus, 
 Jebuseus, Amorreus, Gergesus, Eudeus, Sin- 
 eus, Samareus, we have nothing in the sacred 
 books but their names, for the Hebrews over- 
 threw their cities; and their calamities came 
 upon them on the occasion following: — 
 
 3. Noah, when, after the Deluge, the earth 
 was re-settled in its former condition, set 
 about its cultivation ; and when he had plant- 
 ed it with vines, and when the fruit was ripe, 
 and he had gathered the grapes in their sea- 
 son, and the wine was ready for use, he of- 
 fered sacrifice, and feasted, and, being drunk, 
 he fell asleep, and lay naked in an unseemly 
 manner. When his youngest son saw this, 
 he came laughing, and showed him to liis bre 
 thren ; but they covered their father's naked- 
 ness. And when Noah was made sensible of 
 
 * One observation ought not here to be neglected, 
 with reg ml to that Ethiopic war, which Moses, as ge- 
 neral of the EgN'ptians, put an end to, Antiq. b. ii. chap. 
 X , and alxjut which our late writers seem very much 
 unconcerned; viz. That it wasawnrof that consequence, 
 as to occasion the removal or tlcstruotion of six or se- 
 ven nations of the postentv of Mitzraim, with their 
 cUies. which Josephus would not have said, if he had 
 aot had ancient records to justify those his assertions, 
 'Jxiiigh those records be now all lost. 
 
 .37 
 
 what had been done, he prayed for prosperity 
 to his other sons ; but for Ham, he did not 
 curse him, by reason of his nearness 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. 
 
 4. Shem, the third son of Noah, had five 
 sons, who inhabited the land that began at 
 Euphrates, and reached to the Imiian Ocean ; 
 for Elam let'f behind him the Elamites, the 
 ancestors of rlie Persians, Ashur lived at 
 the city NiiK ve ; and named his subjects As- 
 syrians, who became the most fortunate na- 
 tion, beyond others. Arphaxad named the 
 Arphaxadites, who are now called Chaldeans. 
 Aram had the Aramitos, which the Greeks 
 call Syrians; as Laud founded the Latidites, 
 which are now called Lydians. Of the four 
 sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and 
 Damascus ; this country lies between Pales- 
 tine and Celesyria. Ul founded Armenia; 
 and Gather the Bactrians ; and Mesa the 
 Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini. 
 Sala was the son of Arphaxad ; and his son 
 was Heber, from whom they originally called 
 the Jews Hebrews.-j- Hcber begat Joctan and 
 Phaleg: he was called Plialeg, because lie 
 was born at the dispersion of the nations to 
 their several countries ; for Phaleg, among 
 the Hebrews, signifies division. Now Joctan, 
 one of the sons of Heber, had these sons, 
 Elmodad, Saleph, Asermoth, Jera, Adoram, 
 Aizel, Dccla, Ebal, Abimael, Sabeus, 0[)hir, 
 Euilat, and Jobab. These inhabited from 
 Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asia 
 adjoining to it. And this shall suffice con. 
 cerning the sons of Shem. 
 
 5. I will now treat of the Hebrews. The 
 son of Phaleg, whose father was Heber, was 
 llagau ; whose son was Serug, to whom was 
 born Nalior; his son was Terah, who was the 
 father of Abraham, who accordingly was the 
 tenth from Noah, and was born in the two 
 hundred and ninety-second year after the 
 Deluge ; for Terah begat Abrani in his se- 
 ventieth year. Nahor begat Haran when he 
 was one hundred and twenty years old ; Na- 
 hor was born to Serug in his hundred and 
 thirty-second year; Ragau had Serug at one 
 hundred and thirty ; at the same age also Pha- 
 leg had Ragau ; Heber begat Plialeg in his 
 hundred and thirty-fourth year; he himself 
 being begotten by Sala when he was an hun- 
 dred and thirty years old, whom Arphaxad 
 
 + That the Jews were called Hebrews, from this theii 
 progenitor Hel)er, our author Josephus here rightly af- 
 firms ; and not from Abram the Hebrew, or passenger 
 over Euphrates, as many of the moderns suppose. .Shem 
 is aUo called the father of all the children of Heber, or 
 of all the Hebrews, in a history long before Abram pass- 
 ed over Euphrates (Gen. x. 21), though it must be con- 
 fessed that (Gen. xiv. 15), where the original says they 
 tohl Ahram the Hebrew, the Septuagint renders it the 
 piissenger, 5-!»«Trf- But this is spoken only of .Abram 
 nimseif, who had then lately passed over Euphrates; 
 and IS another signification of the Hebrew word, taken 
 as an ajjpellative, and not as a proper name. 
 
3« 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Iiad for liis son at tlie hundred and tliirty- 
 fif'tli year of liis age. Aiphaxad was the son 
 of" .Siieni, and l>orn twelve years after the 
 Deluge. Now Abram liad two hretliren, 
 Nalior and Haraii : of tho'ie Ilaian left a son, 
 Lot; as also Sarai and INIilclia his daughters, 
 and died among the Chaldeans, in a city of 
 the Clialdeans, calk'd Ur ; and liis monument 
 is shown to this day. Tliese married tiieir 
 nieces. Nahor married Milcha, and Ahrain 
 inairie<i Sarai. Now Tcrah haling Clialdca, 
 on account of his mourning for Haran, they 
 all removed to Haran of ^Mesopotamia, where 
 Tcrah died, and was buried, when he had liv- 
 ed to be two hundred and five years old ; for 
 the life of man was already, by degrees di- 
 minished, and became shorter tli:in before, till 
 the birth of Moses ; after whom tJie term of 
 huitian life was one hundred and twenty years, 
 God determining it to the length that Moses 
 happened to live. Now Nahor had eiglit sens 
 by Milcha; Uz and Buz, Keniuel, Cliesed, 
 Azau, Pheldas, Jadelph, and Bethuel. These 
 were all the genuine sons of Nahor; for Teba 
 and Gaam, and Tachas, and Maaca, were 
 born of Reuma his concubine; but Bethuel 
 bad a daughter, Rebecca, — and a son, Laban. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW ABRAM OUa FOREFATHER WENT OUT OF 
 THE LAKD OF THE CHAI.UEANS, AND LIVED 
 IN THE LAND THEN CALLED CANAAN, BUT 
 NOW JUDEA. 
 
 § 1. Now .\bram havinj no son of iiis 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, 
 and at the command of God went into Ca- 
 naan, and therein he dwelt himself, and left 
 it to his posterity. He was a person of great 
 sagacity, both for understanding all things 
 and persuading his hearers, and not mistaken 
 in his opinions; for wliich reason lie began to 
 have higher notions oC 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 jjublibh this notion, That there 
 was but one God, the Creator of the i, inverse; 
 and that, as to other [gods], if tlioy contri- 
 buted any thing to the happiness of men, that 
 each of them a!!'orded it only according to his 
 appointment, and not by their own power. 
 This his o|)inion uas derived from the irregu- 
 lar phenomena that were visible both at land 
 and sea, as w'ell as those that happen to the 
 sun and moon, and all the heavenly bodies, 
 thus : — " If [said he] these bodies had power 
 of their own, they would certainly take care 
 of their own regular motions; but since they 
 do not preserve such regularity, they make it 
 
 plain, tJiat in so fur as they co-operate to our 
 advantage, they do it not of their own abili- 
 ties, but as they are subservient to Him that 
 commands them ; to whom alone we ought 
 justly to ofler our honour and llianksgiving." 
 l"or which doctrines, when the Chaldeans and 
 other people of Mesopotamia raised a tumult 
 against liim, he thought fit to leave that coun- 
 try ; and at the command, and by the assist- 
 ance of God, he came and lived in the land 
 of Canaan. And when he was there settled, 
 he built an altar, and performed a sacrifice to 
 God. 
 
 '2. Berosus mentions our father Abram 
 without naming him, when he says thus: — 
 " In the lentil generation after the Flood, 
 there was among the Chaldeans a man right- 
 eous and great, and skilful in the celestial sci- 
 ence." But Ilecataus does more than barely 
 mention him ; for he composed and left be- 
 hind him a book concerning him. And Ni- 
 colaus of Damascus, in the fourth book ot 
 his history, says thus : — " Abram reigned at 
 Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with 
 an army out of the land above Babylon, call- 
 ed the land of the Chaldeans. But after a 
 long time he got him uj), and removed from 
 that country also with his peo))le, 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 Da- 
 mascus; and there is shown a village named 
 from him, T/ie Habitation of Abram. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THAT WHEN THERE MAS A FAMINE IN CANAAN 
 ABRAM WENT THENCE INTO EGYPT; AND AF- 
 TER HE HAD CONTINUED THERE A WHILE, 
 HE RETURNED BACK AGAIN. 
 
 § I. Now, after this, when a famine had in- 
 vaded the land of Canaan, and Abram had 
 discovered that ihe Egyptians were in a flour- 
 ishing condition, he was disposed to go down 
 to them, both to partake of the plenty they 
 enjoyed, and to become an auditor of their 
 pi iests, and to know what they said concern- 
 Jng the gods; designing either to follow them, 
 if they had better noiions than he, or to con- 
 vert 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 uretended to be her brother, and direct- 
 cu Her in a dissembling «ay to pretend the 
 same, for he said it would be for their benefit 
 Now, as soon as he came into Egypt, it liap- 
 
 _r 
 
"\_ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 39 
 
 pened to Abram as he supposed it would ; for 
 the fame of his wife's beauty was greatly talk- 
 ed of, for which reason Pharaoh tlie king of 
 Egvpt would not be satisfied with what was 
 reported of her, but would needs see her him- 
 self, and was preparing to enjoy her; but God 
 put a stop to his unjust inclinations, by send- 
 ing upon him a distemper, and a sedition 
 against his government. And when he in- 
 quired of the priests, how he might be freed 
 from rtiese calamities, they told him that this 
 his miserable condition was derived from the 
 wrath of God, upon account of his inclina- 
 tions 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 hh 
 affections on her, as desiring an affinity with 
 nim 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 con- 
 spicuous than they had been before. 
 
 2. For whereas the Egyptians were former-, 
 ly addicted to different customs, and despised 
 one another's sacred and accustomed rites, and 
 were very angry one with another on that ac- 
 count, Abram conferred with each of them, 
 and, confuting the reasonings they made use 
 of, every one for their own practices, demon- 
 strated 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 communicat- 
 ed to them arithmetic, and delivered to them 
 tlie science of astronomy ; for, before Abram 
 came into Egypt, they were unacquainted with 
 those parts of learning; for that science came 
 from th« Chaldeans into Egypt, and from 
 thence to the Greeks also. 
 
 3. As soon as Abram was come back into 
 Canaan, he parted the land between him and 
 Lot, upon account of the tumultuous behavi- 
 our of their shepherds, concerning the pastures 
 wJiereiu they should feed their flocks. How- 
 ever, he gave Lot his option, or leave, to 
 choose which lands he would take ; and he 
 took himself what the other left, which were 
 the lower grounds at the foot of the moun- 
 tains ; and he himself dwelt in Hebron, which 
 is a city seven years more ancient than Tanis 
 of Egypt. But Lot possessed the land of the 
 plain, and the river Jordan, not far from the 
 city of Sodom, which was then a fine city ; 
 but is now destroyed by the will and wrath of 
 God ; — the cause of which I shall show in its 
 proper plane hereafter. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SODOMITES BY FUF 
 ASSYRIAN WAR. 
 
 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 tlieir youth. Tiitre 
 were five kings that managed the affairs of 
 this country : Ballas, Barsas, Senabar, and 
 Sumobor, with the king of Bela ; and each 
 king led on his own troops ; and th» Assy- 
 rians 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 Sodom- 
 ites, who submitted to this slavery twelve 
 years ; and so long they continued to pay 
 their tribute : but on the thirteenth year they 
 rebelled, and then the army of the Assyrians 
 came upon them, under their conmianders 
 Amraphel, 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 Asphaltites, as it is called. However, 
 concerning this lake we shall speak more 
 presently. Now wiien 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 tiie 
 Sodomites. 
 
 CHAPTER X- 
 
 HOW ABUAM FOUGHT WITH THE ASSYRIANS, 
 AND OVERCAME THtJI, AND SAVED THE 
 SODOMITE PRISONERS, AND TOOK lUOM THE 
 ASSYRIANS THE PREY THEY HAD GOTTEN. 
 
 § 1. When Abram heard of their calamity, 
 he was at once afraid for Lot his kinsman, 
 and pitied the Sodomites, liis friends and 
 neighbours; and thinking it proper to afibrd 
 them assistance, he did not delay it, but 
 marched hastily, and the fifth niglit 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 they 
 
 ^ 
 
J- 
 
 40 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE lEWS. 
 
 BOOK 1 
 
 roiild not fight, ran away. Ahrani pursued 
 after tlicni, till on tlio sccoiiiJ day he drove 
 them in a body unto Iloha, a place helonir-. 
 ing to Damascus ; anil tlien hy deinnnstrated 
 that victory does not de|)eiul on multitude 
 and the number of hands, but the alacrity and 
 courage of soldiers overcome tlie most nume- 
 rous bodies of men, while he got the victory 
 over so great an army with no more than 
 three hiuulred and eigliteen of his servants, 
 and three of his friends: but all those that 
 fled returned home ingloriously. 
 
 2. So Abrani, when he had saved the cap- 
 tive Sodomites who liad been taken by the 
 Assyrians, and Lot also, his kinsman, return- 
 ed home in peace. Now the king of Sodom 
 met him at a certain place, wliich they called 
 Tlie King's Dale, where Melchisedec, king 
 of the city Salein, received him. That name 
 Signifies the righlcoKS Icing; and such he "as 
 witliout dis))ute, insomuch tliat, on this ac- 
 count, he was made the priest of God : how- 
 ever, they afterward called Salem Jerusalem. 
 Now this Melchisedec supplied Abram's army 
 in an hospitable manner, and gave them provi- 
 sions 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 So- 
 dom desired Abram to take the prey, but en- 
 treated that lie might have those men restored 
 to hiin whom Abram had saved from the As- 
 syrians, because tliey belonged to him; but 
 Abrani would not do so ; nor would make 
 any other advantage of that prey than what 
 his servants had eaten ; but still insisted that 
 he should afford a part to his fiiends that had 
 assisted him in tlie battle. The first of them 
 was called Eschol, and then Enner, and 
 Mambre. 
 
 3. And God cominendcd his virtue, and 
 said, Thou slialt not, however, lose the rewards 
 thou hast deserved to receive by such thy glo- 
 rious actions. He answered. And what ad- 
 vantage w ill it be to me to have such rewards, 
 when 1 have none to enjoy them after me ? — 
 for he was hitherto childless. And God pro- 
 ndsed that he should have a son, and that his 
 posterity should be very numerous, insomuch 
 that their nun-.ber should be like the stars. 
 When he heard that, he ofl'ered a sacrifice to 
 Cod, as he commanded him. The manner 
 of the sacrifice was this : — He took an heifer 
 of three years old, ai:d a she-goat of three 
 years old, and a rawi in like manner of three 
 years old, and a tuitle dove and a pigeon ;• 
 and as he was enjoined, he divided the three 
 former ; but tlie birds he did not divide. After 
 which, before he built his alt^ir, where the 
 
 • It is wrifth noting here, Ihacd'od rciiuireil no other 
 tacrificcs under t!ie law of Muses, than v.\m were taktii 
 ftoni these five kinds of aidinals which he here re<iuiiod 
 of Abram. Nor did the Jews fcid upon aiiv uiher do- 
 nicstie animals than the Ihiec here iiuiiinl, 'as KeUiiul 
 obaCTv«iun Anli)). b. iv eh. v sect. 4. 
 
 birds of prey flew about, as desirous of blood, 
 a divine voice came to him, declaring that 
 their neigliliours would he grievous to his 
 posterity uhen they shoidd lie in Egypt, for 
 four hundred years.f during which time they 
 should be afilicted ; but afterwards should 
 overcome their enemies, sliould conquer the 
 Canaanites in war, and possess tlieniselves of 
 their land, and of their cities. 
 
 4. Now Abram dwelt near the oak called 
 Ogyges, — the place belongs to Canaan, not 
 far from the city of Hebron : but being un- 
 easy at his wife's barrenness, lie entreated 
 God to grant that he might have male issue; 
 and God required of him to be of good cou- 
 rage ; 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 JVIesopota- 
 mia, the gift of children. Accordingly .Sarai, 
 at God's command, brought to his bed one of 
 her handmaidens, a woman of Egyptian des- 
 cent, in order to obtain children by her; and 
 when this handmaid was with cliild, she tri- 
 umphed, and ventured to affront Sarai, as if 
 the dominion were to come to a son to be 
 born of her : but when Abram resigned her 
 into the hand of Sarai, to punish her, she 
 contrived 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 go- 
 ing forward in the wilderness, and bid her re- 
 turn 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 miserable case was this, 
 that she had been ungrateful and arrogant to- 
 wards her mistress. He also told her, that if 
 she disobeyed God, and went on still in her 
 way, she should perish ; but if she would 
 return back, she sliould become the inother of 
 a son who should reign over that country. 
 These admonitions she obeyed, and returned 
 to her master and inistress, and obtained for- 
 giveness. A liitle while afterwards, she bare 
 Ismael, which may be interpreted Heard of 
 Goil, because God had heard his mother's 
 prayer, 
 
 5. Tlie forcmentioned son was born to 
 Abram when he was eighty-six years old : 
 but when he was niijety-iiine, God appeared 
 to him, and promised him that he should have 
 a son by Sarai, and commanded that his name 
 should lie 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 uar, from Sidon to Egypt. But he charg- 
 ed him, in order to keep his jiosterity 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 
 «ere born : the reason of whicJi circumcision 
 1 will explain in another place. And Abram 
 
 t .As to this affliotion of Abram's posterity for 4C0 
 yciin, tec- Antlq. b. ii. cli. ix. suc-L 1. 
 
 _y- 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 41 
 
 iiHjuirinir also concerning Ismael, whetlier 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, there- 
 fore, gave tlianks to God for those blessings; 
 and then he, and all his family, and his son 
 Ismael, were circumcised immediately, the 
 son being that day thirteen years of age, and 
 he ninety- nine. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 now GOD OVERTHREW THE NATION OF THE 
 SODOMITES, OUT OF HIS WBATH AGAINST 
 THEM FOU THEIR SINS. 
 
 § 1. About this time the Sodomites grew 
 proud, on account of their riches and great 
 wealth : they became unjust towards men, 
 and impious towards God, insomuch that 
 they did not call to mind the advantages they 
 received from him : they hated strangers, 
 and abused themselves with Sodomitical prac- 
 tices. God was therefore much displeased 
 at them, and determined to punish them for 
 their pride, and to overthrow their city, and 
 to lay waste their country, until there sliould 
 iii'ither plant nor fruit grow out of it. 
 
 "■l. When God had thus rosolved concern- 
 ing the Sodomites, Abraham, as he sat by the 
 oak of Mambre, at the door of his tent, saw 
 three angels; and, tliinking them to be stran- 
 gers, he rose up and saluted them, and de- 
 sired they would accept of an entertainment, 
 and abide with him ; to which when they 
 agreed, he ordered cakes of meal to be made 
 presently : and when he had slain a calf, lie 
 roasted it, and brought it to them, as they 
 sat imder 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 rind her become a 
 mother. Upon which the woman laughed, 
 and said that it was impossible she should 
 bear children, since she was ninety years of 
 age, and her hasband was an hundred. 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 ovenlirow of So- 
 dom. 
 
 3. When Abraham heard this, he was 
 grieved for the Sodomites; and he rose up, 
 and besought God for them, and entreated 
 him that he would not destroy the righteous 
 with the wicked. And when God had replied 
 that there was no good man among the So- 
 domites; for if there were but ten such men 
 among them, he would not punish any of 
 them lor their sins, Abraham held his peace. 
 And the angels came to the city of the So- 
 domites, and Lot entreated them to accept of 
 
 a lodging with him ; for he was a very gene- 
 rous and hospitable man, and one that had 
 learned to imitate the goodness of Abraham. 
 Now when the Sodomites saw the young 
 men to be of beautiful countenances, and 
 this to an extraordinary degree, and that they 
 took up their lodgings with Lot, they resolved 
 themselves to enjoy these beautiful boys by 
 force and violence ; and when Lot exhorted 
 them to sobriety, and not to offer any thing 
 immodest to the strangers, but to have re- 
 gard to their lodging in his house; and pro- 
 mised, that if their inclinations couid not be 
 governed, he would expose his daughters to 
 their lust, instead of these strangers — neither 
 thus were they made ashamed. 
 
 4. But God was much displeased at their 
 impudent behaviour, so that he both smote 
 those men with blindness, and condemned the 
 Sodomites to universal destruction. But Lot, 
 u|)on God's informing him of the future de- 
 struction of the Sodomites, went away, taking 
 with him his wife and daughters, who were 
 two, and still virgins ; for those that were be- 
 trothed* to them were above the thoughts of 
 going, and deemed that Lot's words were tri- 
 fling. God then cast a thunderbolt upon the 
 city, and set it on fire, with its inhabitants; 
 and laid waste the country with the like burn- 
 ing, as 1 formerly said when I wrote the Jew- 
 ish war.-j- But Lot's w ife continually turn- 
 ing 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, ar.d 
 settled in it. It is to this day called Zuar, 
 for that is the word which the Hebrews use 
 for a small thing. There it was that he lived 
 a m serable life, on account of his having no 
 company, and his want of provisions. 
 
 5. But his daughters, thinking that all 
 mankind were destroyed, approached to their 
 
 * These sons-in-law to Lot, as they ar? callcil (Gen. 
 xix. 12 — Mt, might be so styled because they were be- 
 trothed to Lot's daughters, though not yet married to 
 them. See the note on Antiq. b. xiv, ch. xiii. sect. 1. 
 
 1 Of the War, b. iv, ch. viii, sect. 4. 
 
 X This (lillav of salt was, we see here, standing in the 
 days of Josepluis ; and he had seen it. That it was 
 standing then, is also attested by Clement of Rome, 
 contemporary witli Josephus ; as also that it was so in the 
 next century, is attested by Irenaeus, with the addition 
 of an hypothesis, how it came to last so long, with all 
 its meriibers entire — Whether the account that some 
 modem travellers give be true, that it is still standing, 
 I do not know. Its remote situation, at the utmost 
 southern point of the Sea of Sodom, in the wild and 
 dangerous deserts of Arabia, makes it exceeding difficult 
 for inquisitive travellers to examine the plaee; and for 
 common reports of country people, at a distance, they 
 are not very satisfactory. In the mean time, 1 have no 
 opinion of Le Clerc's dissertation or hypotliesis about 
 this question, v.hic h can only be determined by eye-wit- 
 nesses. When Christian princes, so called, lay aside 
 their foolish and unchristian wars and quarrels, and send 
 a body of fit persons to travel over the east, and bring 
 us faithful accounts of all ancient monuments, and pro- 
 cure us cojiies of all ancient records, at present lost ;•- 
 mong us, we may hope for full satisfaction in such in- 
 quiries, but hardly before. 
 
42 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 CIlArTER XII. 
 
 fatlier,* though Jakin^r care not to be perceived, land that if lie thought fit to continue with him, 
 Tliis they did, that liunian kind might not lit- he should have what he wanted in iihtindance ; 
 telly tail. And tlioy bare sons: the son of but that if he designed to go away, he should 
 the elder was named Moab, which denotes one ' be honourably conducted, and have wliatso- 
 derived from his father. The younger bare | ever supply he wanted when he came thither. 
 Aminon, v liioh name denotes one derived ! Upon his saying this, Abraham told him that 
 from a kinsman. The former of whom was his pretence ol kindred to his wife was no lie, 
 tlie father of the iNIoabites, which is even still ^ because she was his brolhir's daiigliter; and 
 a great nation ; the latter was the father of the that he did not think himself safe in hi, tra- 
 Ammonites : and both of them are inh.ibitants vels abro;id, without this sort of tlissiinulation ; 
 of Celesyri.'u And such was the departure ' and that he was not the cause of his disterii- 
 of Lot from among the Sodomites. per, but was only solicitous for his o«n safety. 
 
 lie said also, that he was ready to stay with 
 
 . him. Whereupon Abimelecli assigned him 
 
 land and money ; and they covenanted to 
 
 live together without guile, and took au 
 
 oath at a certain well called Beersheba, which 
 
 CONCERNING ABIMEI. ECU; AND CONCERNING IS- may be inter])reled TliC Well of Utc Oath. And 
 
 WAEL.THE SON OE ABRAHAM; AND CONCERN- , SO it is n;:med by the people of tile couutr)- 
 
 INGTHEARABIANSjWHOWEREUlSrOSTEUITY. 1 untO this day. 
 
 I 2. Now in a little time .Abraham had a son 
 § 1. Abraham now removed to Gcrar of by Sar;di, as God had foretold to him, «hoin 
 Palestine, leading Sarah along with him, un- he named Isaac, which signifies Laughter; 
 der the notion of his sister, using the like dis- land indeed they so called him, because Sarah 
 simulation that he had used before, and this ^ laughed when God* said that she should bear 
 out of fear ; for he was afraid of Abimclech, ' a son, she not expecting such a tiling, as be- 
 thc king of that cour.try, who did also him- ling past the age of child-bearing, for she was 
 self fall in love with Sarah, and was disposed ninety years old, and Abraham an hundred; 
 to corrupt her; but he was restrained from so that this son was born to them both in the 
 satisfying his lust, by a dangerous distemper, last year of each of those decimal numbers 
 which befell him (rom God. Now when his And they circumcised him upon the eighth 
 physicians despaired of curing him, he fell a- | day. And from that time the Jews continue 
 sleep, and saw a dream, warning him not to I the custom of circumcising their sons within 
 
 that number of days. But as for the Arab- 
 ians, they circumcise after the thirteenth year, 
 because Ismael, the founder of their nation, 
 who was born to Abraham of the concubine, 
 was circumcised at that age ; concerning 
 whom I will presently give a particular ac- 
 count, with great exactness. 
 
 3. As for Sarah, she at first loved Ismael, 
 who was born of her own handmaid Hagar, 
 with an alVection not inferior to that of her own 
 son, for he was brought up, in order to succeed 
 in the government ; but when she herself had 
 born Isaac, she was not willing that Ismael 
 should l>e brought up with him, as being too 
 old for him, and able to do him injuries when 
 their father should be dead ; she therefore per- 
 suaded Abraham to send him and his mother 
 to some distant country. Now, at the first he 
 
 abuse the stranger's wife; and when he re- 
 covered, he told his friends tliat G( d had in- 
 Hicted that disease upon him, by way of pu- 
 nishment, for his injury to the stranger, and 
 in order to preserve the chastity of his wife; 
 for tliat she did not accompany him as his sis- 
 ter, but as his legitimate wife ; and that God 
 had promised to be gracious to him for the 
 time to come, if this person be once secure of 
 his wife's chastity. When he had said this, 
 by the advice of his friends, he sent for Abra- 
 ham, and bid him not be concerned about 
 his wife, or fear the corruption of her chastity ; 
 for that God took care of hiin, and that it was 
 by his providence that he received his wife 
 B^ain, without her suffering any abuse; and 
 he appealed to God, aiid to his wife's consci- 
 ence, and said that he had not any inclination 
 at first to enjoy her, if he had known she was ! did not agree to what Sarah was so zealous for. 
 Iris wife; but siiice, said he, thou ledst her and thought it an instance of the greatest bar- 
 
 about as thy sister, I was guilty of no oJlence, 
 lie also entreated him to be at peace with 
 bim, and to make God projiitious to him ; 
 
 • I sec no proper wicked intention in tlu-se daughters 
 of Lot, when in a case which appc.nrc.l to tl <.ni of un- 
 avoidable necessity, they procured themselves to be 
 with child bv their father. W itliout such an unavoid- 
 able necessity, incest is a horrid crime; but whether in 
 such a ca^e of necessity as they aiiprehciuk-d this to be, 
 according to Josephus, it was any such crime, I am not 
 sali>fied. In tlie mean time, their making their faiher 
 drunk, and their sohcitous «)ncc.-»lment of what they 
 did from him, shows that they dcs|iairetl of persuading 
 'inn loan action which, at tlie best, c-oulil not but be 
 • cry »u>pitious and >liocking to so good u man. 
 
 barity to send away a young cliildf and a wo- 
 
 t It is wcU worlji observation, that Ja^phus here 
 calls that principal uiiuci, who appeared to .Abrali.im 
 and foretold the birth rf Isa.ic, directly God; which 
 l>inj;ua(;e of Josephus here, prepares us to believe lho»e 
 other cxi>rcssions of his, that Jesus vat a uise nuiti, if 
 it he latrjut to volt him a man, Antiip b. xviii, chap, in, 
 sect. 5; and of (iod the iVurJ, in his homily con- 
 cfrning Hades, may he both genuine. Nor is the oihcr 
 expression of divine angel, ust-d presently, and before, 
 also of any other signiticition. 
 
 X Josephus here calls Ismael a young child or infant, 
 though he was about 1.) yeaisof age; ivs Judas calls him- 
 self and his brethren yo'urc men, when he was 47, and 
 had two children, Aiuicp D. ii, chap. sivt. h, and they 
 neic of much tJiu sainu i%>i as u a d.'uii»cl uf 1^ 
 
CHAP. XIII. 
 
 man unprovided of necessaries ; but at length 
 he agreed to it, because God was pleased witli 
 A'hat Sarah had determined ; so he deliTered 
 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 (ig-tree, 
 and went on farther, that so he might die while 
 she was absent. But a divine angel came to 
 her, and told her of a fountain hard by, and 
 oid her takfi care and bring up the child, be- 
 cause she should be very happy by the preser- 
 vation of Ismael. She then took courage, upon 
 the prospect of what was promised her, and, 
 meeting with some shepherds, by their care she 
 got clear of the distresses she had boon in. 
 
 4. 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, 
 Masaos, Chodad, Theman, Jetur, Naphesus, 
 Cadmas- These inhabited all the country from 
 Euphrates to the Red Sea, and called it Na- 
 batene. They are an Arabian nation, and name 
 their tribes from these, both because of their 
 own virtue, and because of the dignity of Ab- 
 raham their father. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CONCERNING ISAAC, THE LEGITIMATE SON OF 
 ABBAHAM. 
 
 § 1. Now Abraham greatly loved Isaac, as be- 
 ing his only begotten*, and given to him at the 
 borders of old age, by the favour of God. The 
 child also endeared liimself to his parents still 
 more, by the exercise of every virtue, and ad- 
 hering to his duty to his parents, and being 
 zealous in the worship of God. Abraha;n also 
 placed his own happiness in this prospect, that, 
 when he should die, he should leave this his son 
 in a safe and secure condition ; which accord- 
 ingly he obtained by the will of God ; who, be- 
 ing desirous to make an experiment of Abra- 
 ham's religious disposition towards himself, ap- 
 peared to him, and enumerated aUthe blessings 
 he had bestowed on him ; how he had made him 
 
 years old called a little child, Mark v. 59 — 12, five se- 
 veral times. Herod also is said by Josc^hus to be a very 
 young man at 2.i. S^ee the note tin Antiq. b. xiv, chap. 
 IX, sect. "2, and of the War, b. i, chap. x. And Aristo- 
 bulus is styled a ver>' little child at 16 ye^rs of ace, 
 Antiq. b. xv, chap, ii, sect. C, 7- Domitian is also called 
 by him a very young child, when he went on his (1 eniian 
 expedition at about 18 years of age, of the War, b. vii, I 
 chap, iv, sect. 2. Samson's wife, and Ruth, when thoy j 
 were widows, are called children, Antiq. b. v, chap, viii, ' 
 sev't. 6, and chap, ix, sect. 2, 3. 
 
 * Note, that both here and Heb. xi, 17, Isaac is called 
 Abraham's only begotten son, though he at the same 
 time had another son, Ismael. The .'-eptuagint expresses 
 the true meaning, by rendering the text tin: btlovai tun. . 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 43 
 
 superior to his enimes; and that liis son Isaac, 
 who was the principal part of his present hap- 
 piness, was derived from him ; and he said 
 tliat he required this son of his as a sacrifice 
 and holy oblation. Accordingly he command- 
 ed 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 towards 
 him, if he preferred what was pleasing to God, 
 before the preservation of his own son. 
 
 2. Now Abraham thought tliat it was not 
 right to disobey God in anything, but that he 
 was obTiged to serve him in every circumstance 
 of life, since all creatures that live enjoy their 
 life by his providence, and the kindness he be- 
 stows 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 servants, other- 
 « ise he should have been hi-ndered from his 
 obedience to God; and he took Isaac, togetlier 
 with two of his servants, and layingwhat things 
 were necessary for a sacrifice upon an ass, he 
 went away to tlie mountain. Now the two 
 servants went along with him two days; but 
 on the third day, as soon as he saw the moun- 
 tain, he left those servants that were witii 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- 
 wards built the temple, j- Now they ])ad 
 brought with them every thing necessary for 
 a sacrifice excepting (he 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 Wmself an oblation, he being abie to 
 make a plentiful provision for-men out of v.hat 
 they have not, and to deprive others of wliat 
 they already have, when they put too much trust 
 therein ; that therefore, if God pleased to be 
 present and propitious at this sacrifice, he 
 would provide himself an oblation." 
 
 3. As soon as the altar was prepared, and 
 Abraham had laid on the wood, and all [)iings 
 were entirely ready, he said to his son, " O 
 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 notl;ing 
 that could contribute to thy support for which 
 I was not greatly solicitous, nor any tlu"ng 
 wherein I thought myself happier than to see 
 thee grown up to man'sestate,and that I might 
 leave thee at my death the successor to my 
 dominion ; but since it was by God's will that 
 
 1 became thy father, and it is now his will that 
 
 t Here is a plain error in the copies, which say that 
 king David afterwards built the temple on this mount 
 Moriah, while it was certainly no other than king So- 
 lomon who built that temple, as indeed I'loconius cues 
 it from Joscj)hus. for it was for eert;iin Daviif, and no' 
 Solomon, who built the first altar there, as we learu 
 
 2 Sam. xxiv, 18, &c. 1 (.'hron. xjti, 22, inc. and AnUi, 
 b. \ii, chap. xiiL sect. 1. 
 
 \ 
 
■V 
 
 41 
 
 ANTIQUITES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 1 reliiKjuisli tlicc, bear this consecration to God I should leave behind them an everlasting name , 
 
 with a generous mind ; for I resign tiiee up to 
 God, \Oioliasliiought (it now to re(jiiire this tes- 
 timony ol" lionoiir to hiniself, on aecount of t!ie 
 favouis he hath conferred on me, in being to 
 nic a .supporter and defender. Accordingly 
 thou, my son, wilt now die, not in any common 
 way of going out of the world, but sent to 
 God, the Father of all men, beforehand, by 
 thy own father, in tlic nature of a sacrifice. I 
 sujjpose he thinks thee wortliy to get clear of 
 this world neitiier by disease, neither by war, 
 nor !>} any other severe way, by which death 
 usually comes upon men, but so that he will 
 receive thy soul with prayers and holy offices 
 of religion, and will \Aace thee near to him- 
 self, and thou wilt there be to n'.e a succoiirer 
 and supporter in my old age ; on wliich ac- 
 count 1 principally brought thee up, and thou 
 wilt thereby procure me God for my Com- 
 forter instead of thyself." 
 
 4. Now Isaac was of such a generous dis- 
 position as became the son of such a father, 
 and was pleased with this discourse ; and said 
 " That he was not worthy to be born at first, 
 if he siiould reject the determination of God 
 and of his l"^tlier, and should not resign him- 
 self up readily to both their pleasures ; since it 
 would have been unjust if he had not obeyed, 
 even if his lather alone h^d so resolved." So 
 he went immediately to the altar to be sacri- 
 ficed. 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 human blood that he was conni;and- 
 ed to slay his son, nor was he willing that he 
 should be taken away from him whom he liad 
 made his father, but to try t!ie temper of his 
 mind, whether he would be obedient to such 
 a command. Since, therefore, he now was 
 satisfied as to that his alacriiy, and the sur- 
 prising readiness he showed in this his piety, 
 he was delighted in having besto^ved such 
 blessings upon him ; and that he would rot 
 be wanting in all sort of concern about him, 
 and in bestowing other children upon him ; 
 and tliat his son should live to a very great 
 ' age ; that he should live a ha])py life, and be- 
 quealh a large principality to his children, 
 who should be good and legitimate." He 
 foretold also, that his family should increase 
 into many nations j* and that those patriarchs 
 
 • It seems both here, and in 0<h1's parallel blessing to 
 Jacob (cliap. xix. sect. I), Uiat .losephus had yt-t no no- 
 tion of the hidden meaning of that most important and 
 most eminent promise, '* In tliy sLe<l shall all the fami- 
 lies of the earth be bk-ssed ! He w.ith not, And to seeds, 
 as of many, but as of one; and to thy siiil, which is 
 Christ," (i:d. iii. IS. Nor is it any wonder, he bcinp;, I 
 think, as yet not a Christian ; and had he tx-en a Cliris- 
 tian, yet since he was, to be sure, till the latter part of his 
 ife, no more than an Kbionile Christian, who, alxwe 
 all the apostles, rejected and dc^piseil St. I'aid, it voidd 
 be no crcat wonder if he did not now folU)w his inter- 
 pretation. In the mean time, we have in etl'eet St. 
 Paul's exposition in the Testament of Ucviben, sect. 6, 
 In Authent. Ilec. Parti, p. .»(ii.', who cha pes his sons 
 " to worship the seed of Judah, who should die I'ur 
 
 that they should ol)t:iin the possession of the 
 land of Canaan, and be envied by all men. 
 When God had said this, he produced to 
 them a rain, which did not appear before, for 
 the sacrifice. So .Abraham and Isaac receiv- 
 ing each other unexpectedly, and having ob- 
 tained the promises of such great bIes•^ings, 
 embraced one another ; and wiien they had 
 sacrificed, tliey returned to Siirah, and lived 
 happily together, God dfl:ording them his as- 
 sistance in all tilings they desired. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 
 CONCEUNING SABAH, ABIIAHAM's WIFE; AND 
 HOW SHE ENDED llEU DAYS. 
 
 Now Sarah died a little while after, having 
 lived one hundred and twenty-seven years. 
 They buried her in Hebron; the Canaanites 
 publicly allowing them a burying-place : — 
 which piece of ground Abraham bought, for 
 four hundred shekels, of Ephron, an iidiabit- 
 ant of Hebron ; and both Abraham and his 
 descendants built themselves sepulchres in 
 
 that place. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 now THE NATION OF THE TROGLODYTES WERE 
 DEP.IVED lilOM ABRAHAM BY KETLHAH. 
 
 ABRAHAMafter this married Keturah, by whom 
 six sons were born to him ; men of cour- 
 age and of sagacious minds : — Zainbran, and 
 Jazar, and IMadati, and jMadian, and Josabak 
 and Sous. Now the sons of Sous were Saba- 
 than and Dadan ; — the sons of Dadan were 
 Latusim, and Assur, and Luom ; — the sons 
 of Madian were Ephas, and Ojihren, and 
 Anoch, and Ebidas, and Eldas. Now, for 
 all these sons and grandsons, Abraham con- 
 trived to settle their, in colonies; and they took 
 possession of Troglodytis, and the country of 
 Arabia the Happy, as far as it reaches to the 
 Red Sea. It is related of this Ophren, that 
 he made war against Libya, and took it ; and 
 that his graiidchildren, when they inhabited 
 it, called it (from his name) Africa; and in- 
 deed Alexander Polyhistor gives his attesta- 
 tion to what I licre say; who speaks thus : — 
 " Cleodemus the prophet, who was also call-. 
 
 them in vi.sihlcand invi,';ib!ewars ; and should !» among 
 'hem anetcm.d kini;." Nor is that obstrvatiim of a 
 learned forcii;ner of my acquain ance to be despised, 
 who takes notice, thai, as srrdi, in the plural, must 
 Ai^n\{y postti ill/ i &o tceri, in the singular, m.iy signify 
 either posttril'y, or a tingle jierion ; and that in thus 
 iiromise of all ualions being hanpy in the seed of .Vbra 
 iiam, or Isaac, or J.acoti &c. it Is always used in the sin 
 gular. To which I .shall add, that it'is a>mctnncs, as 
 It were, paraphrased by the son of Abraham, the son of 
 t>nvid,<^:c. which is capable of no such ambiguity 
 
'V 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 ed Malchiis, who wrote a History of the Jews, 
 in agreement with the History of Moses, tlieir 
 legislator, relates, that tliere were many sons 
 born to Abraham by Keturah ; nay, he names 
 three of them, Apher, and Surim, and Japh- 
 ran : that from Surim was the land of Assyria 
 denominated ; and that from the other two 
 (Aphcr and Japhran) the country of Africa 
 took its name; because these men were auxi- 
 liaries to Hercules, when ha fought against 
 Libya and Antaeus ; and that Hercules mar- 
 ried Aphra's daughter, and of her he begat a 
 son, Diodorus ; and that Sophon was his son ; 
 from wliom that barbarous people called So-- 
 pliacians were denominated," 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 HOW ISAAC TOOK REBEKA TO WIFE. 
 
 § 1. Now wlien Abraham, the father of Isaac, 
 \v'a\ r.-'solvcd 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 ancientest of his servants 
 to l)etroth her, after he had obliged him to 
 give him the strongest assurances of his fide- 
 lity ; — which assurances were given after tlie 
 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 presents to 
 those that were there as were in esteem, on 
 account that they either rarely or never were 
 ieen in tiiat country. The servant got thi- 
 ther not under a considerable time; for it re- 
 quires much time to pass through Mesopota 
 mia, 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 tiiere 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 suburbs, he 
 met a considerable number of maidens going 
 lo 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 tliat 
 tl;is marriage should be consummated ; and 
 that she might be made known to him by the 
 k\^u, That while others denied him water to 
 drink, she might give it him. 
 
 2. With this intention he went to tl)^ well, 
 and desired the maidens to give him some 
 water to drink : but while the others refused, 
 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 be- 
 haviour towards the stranger; and said. What 
 IS there tl'.at you will ever communicate to any 
 body, who have not so much as given the man 
 ^ome water .'' She then offered him water in 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 45 
 
 an obliging manner; and now he began to 
 hope that his grand affair would succeed ; but 
 desiring still to know the truth, he commend- 
 ed her for her generosity and good-nature, 
 that she did not scruple to afford a sufficiency 
 of water to those that wanted it, thou'xh it 
 cost lier some pains to draw it ; and asked 
 who were her parents, and wished them joy 
 of such a daughter. " And mayest thou be 
 espoused," said he, " to their satisfaction, in- 
 to 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,' says she, ' call me Re- 
 beka ; my father was Betliuel, but lie is dead; 
 and Laban is my brother; and, together with 
 my mother, takes care of all our family af- 
 fairs, and is the guardian of my virginity.' 
 When the servant he:ird 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 producing his brace- 
 lets, and some other ornaments whicli it was 
 esteemed decent for virgins to wear, he gave 
 them to the damsel, by way of acknowledg- 
 ment, 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 approach of 
 the night gave h:m not time to proceed far- 
 ther ; and producing his precious 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 helitved he 
 might guess at the humanity of her mothei 
 and brother, that they would not be displeas- 
 ed, 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 guess- 
 ed right as to the humanity of her parents ; 
 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. 
 3. As soon then as this was over, she in- 
 troduced the stranger ; and for the camels, 
 the servants of Laban brought them in, and 
 took care of them ; and he was himself brouglit 
 in to supper by Laban. And, after supper, 
 he suys to him, and to the mother of the dam- 
 sel, addressing himself to her, " Abraham is 
 the son of Terah, and a kinsman of yours ; for 
 Nahor, the grandfather of these childien, was 
 the brother of Abraliam, 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 \ip as his only heir. He could 
 indeed have had the most happy of all the 
 women in that country for him, but he would 
 not have his son marry anv of them ; but, out 
 
'S 
 
 46 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 of regard to liis own rclutions, lie desired him 
 to inatcli Ikto, wliose aU'tction and inclina- 
 tion 1 would not liave you despise ; for it 
 was by tlic yood plt-asure of God that other 
 acridents fell out in my journey, and that 
 tlierel)y I lighted upon your daughter and your 
 house ; for when 1 was near to the city, I saw 
 a great many maidens coming to a well, and 
 1 prayed that I might meet with this damsel, 
 which lias come to pass accordingly. Do 
 you, therefore, confirm that marriage, whose 
 espousals have been already tnade by a divine 
 api)earance ; and show the respect you have 
 for Abraham, who hath sent me with so much 
 solicitude, in giving your consent to the mar- 
 riage of this damsel." Upon this they un- 
 derstood it to be the will of God, atid greatly 
 approved of the ofier, and sent their daugh ■ 
 ter, as was desired. Accordingly Isaac mar- 
 ried her, the inheritance being now come to 
 him ; for the children by Keturah were-gone 
 to their own remote habitations. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CONCEaMNG THE DEATH OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 A LITTLE while after this, Abraham died. 
 He was a man of incomparable virtue, and 
 honoured by God in a manner agreeable to 
 his piety towards him. The whole time of 
 bis life was one hundred seventy and five 
 years; and he was buried in Hebron, with 
 his wife Sarah, by their sons Isaac and Is- 
 mael. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CONCERNING THE SONS OK ISAAC, ESAU AND 
 JACOB. OF TIIEIK NATIVITY AND EDUCA- 
 TION. 
 
 § 1. 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 answer- 
 ed, that Hebeka should bear twins ; and that 
 two nations should take the names of those 
 sons ; and that he who aj'piared the second 
 should excel the elder. Accordingly she, in 
 a little time, as God had foretold, bare twins; 
 the elder of whom, from his head to his feet, 
 was very rough and hairy; but the younger 
 vook hold cf his heel as they were in the birth. 
 Now the father loved the elder, who was 
 called Esau, a name agreeable to his rough- 
 
 • The birth of Jacob and Fsaii is here s,ii(l to be after 
 Abraham's death: it shoiilil have Iwen after .Sarah's 
 di alh The order of the narration in (Jciicsis, not al ■ 
 wi\s exactly acforiling to th«ordrrof lime, seems to 
 have li'd Joscphus into this ciror, as Dr. Ue.nard ol>- 
 •erves tirrc. 
 
 ness, for the Hel>rews call such an hairy 
 roughness [Esau f or] Seir ; but Jacob the 
 younger was best beloved by his mother. 
 
 2. Wlien there was a famine in the land, 
 Isaac resolved to go into Egypt, the land 
 there beitig gooil ; but he went to Gerar, as 
 God commanded him. Here Abiinelech the 
 king received hiin, because Abraham had for- 
 merly lived with him, and had been his 
 frietid ; and as in the beginning he treated 
 him exceeding kindly, so lie was hindered 
 froin cotitinuing in the same disposition to 
 the end, by his envy at him ; for when he 
 saw that God was with Isaac, and took such 
 gnat care of him, he drove him away from 
 him. Hut Isaac, when lie saw how envy had 
 changed the tem])er 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, iii order to 
 hinder the work ; and because he did not de- 
 sire to contend, the shepherds seemed to got 
 the better of him ; so he still retired, anil dug 
 another well ; and when certain oUier shep- 
 herds of Abimelech's began to ofler him vio. 
 lence, he left that also, and still retired ; thus 
 |)iirchasing security to himself by a rational 
 and prudent conduct. At length the kirig 
 gave him leave to dig a well witliout disturb, 
 ance. He named this well Uehoboth, which 
 denotes a large xjiacc ; but of the former wells, 
 one was called Escon, which denotes strife: 
 the other Sitenna, which name signifies en- 
 mitj. 
 
 3. It was now that Isaac's afiairs increased, 
 and his power was in a flourishing condition ; 
 and this from his great riches. But Abi- 
 melech, thinking Isaac throve in ojiposition 
 to him, while their living together made them 
 suspicious of each ether, and Isaac's retiring, 
 showing a secret eiimity aUo, he was afraid 
 that his former friendship with Isaac would 
 not secure him, if Isaac should endeavour 
 to revenge the injuries he had formerly offer- 
 ed him ; he therefore renewed his friendship 
 with him, and brought with him Philoc, one 
 of his generals. And when he had obtained 
 every thing he desired, by reason of Isaac's 
 good nature, who preferred the earlier friend-, 
 .■%l'.ip Abimelecli hud shown to himself and his 
 father to his later wratb against him, he re- 
 turtied home. 
 
 A. Now when Esau, one of the sons of 
 Isaac, whom the father printipally loved, was 
 now come to the age of forty years, he mar- 
 ried Adah, the daughter of Ilelon, and Aho- 
 libamuh, the daughter of Esebeon ; which 
 Ilelon and Esebeon were great lords among 
 the Canaanites, thereby t.iking upon himsell 
 the authority, and pretending to have domi- 
 nion over his own maninges, without so much 
 as asking the advice of his father; for liad 
 Isaac been the arbitrator, he iiad not given 
 
 \ Vox Seir in Josephus, the cohertnot! miniris lliut 
 wu read Ksau or Heir, which sienit'y Die same tliuu:- 
 
 -\ 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XVlll. 
 
 Iiiiii leave to marry thus, for he was not 
 pleased with contracting any alliance with the 
 people of that country ; hut not caring to be 
 uneasy to his son, by commanding him to put 
 away these wives, he resolved to be silent. 
 
 5. 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 dis- 
 order of his eyes, his very old age hindered 
 him from his worship of God [by sacrifice] ; 
 he bid iiim therefore to go out a 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 supporter 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 procure, be- 
 forehand, God to be merciful to him. 
 
 6. Accordingly Esau went out a hunting; 
 but Ruijc-kaf thinking it proper fo have the 
 supplication made for obtaining the favour of 
 God to Jacob and that without the consent 
 of Isaac, bid 1 in kill kids of the goats, and 
 prepare a sujjper. So Jacob obeyed his mo- 
 ther, according to all her instructions. Now 
 when the supper was got ready, he took a 
 goat's skin, 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 thinirs else alike, diflered 
 only in this thing. This was done out of his 
 fear, that before his father had made his sup- 
 plications, he should be caught in his evil 
 
 • T!ic supper of savoury meat, as we call it (Gen. 
 xxvii. -1), to be caught by hunting, was intended plainly 
 for a festival or a sacrifice; and upon tlie prayers that 
 were frequent at sacrifices, Isaac expected, as was tlicn 
 Usual in such eminent cases, that a divine impulse would 
 coine upon him, in order to the solemn blessing of his 
 son there present, and his foretelling his future behavi- 
 ■ our and fortune. Whence it must be, that when Isaac 
 I had unwittingly blessed Jacob, and was afterwards matle 
 I sensible of his mistake, vet did he not attemin to alter 
 it, how earnestly soever his affection for Ksau mi'^-ht in- 
 cline him to wish it might be altered, because he knew 
 that this blessing eanie not from himself, but from (iod, 
 and that an alteration was out of his jiowor. A seeor.d 
 afflatus then came upon him, and cnablett him to fore- 
 tel Esau's future behaviour and fortune also. 
 
 t Whether Jacob or his mother Rebeka were most 
 blameable in this imposition upon Isaac in his old age, 
 I cannot determine. However, the blessirg being de- 
 livered as a prediction of future events, by a divine im- 
 pulse, and foretelling things to befal to the posterity of 
 Jacob and Es.ui in future ages, was for certain provi- 
 dential ; and according to what Rebeka knesv to be the 
 purpose of Go<l, when he answered her inquiry, " before 
 the children were born" (den. xxv. '23), " that one iieo- 
 ple should be stronger than the other people ; and the 
 elder, Esau, .should serve the younger, Jacob." Whether 
 Isaac knew or remembered tliis old oracle, delivered in 
 our cojiies oi.Iy to Rebeka ; or whether, if he knew and 
 remembered it, he did not endeavour to alter the divine 
 det.rminati(ni, out of his fondness for his eld-.r and 
 worser son Esau, to the damage of his vour.ger and bet- 
 ter son Jacob; as Josephus elsewhere supjioses, Antiq. 
 1). ii. eh. vii. sect. .5, 1 cannot certainlv say. If so, this 
 might tempt Rebeka to contrive, and Jacob to put this 
 ini;iositio;i upon him. However, Josephus says here, 
 tliat it was Isaac, and not Rebeka, who inquired of God 
 at first, and received the forementioned oracle (sect. 1) ; 
 which, ii' it be the true reading, renders Isaac's proce- 
 dure nunc inexcusable. Nor w.-us it probably any thing 
 else that so much encouraged Esau formerly to marry 
 two Canaanitish wives, withinit his parents' consent, as 
 Isaac s unhappy fondness for him. 
 
 47 
 
 practice ; and lest he should, on the contrary, 
 provoke liis father to curse him. So he 
 brought in the supper to his father. Isaac 
 perceiving, liy the peculiarity of liis voice, who 
 he was, called his son to hitri, 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 secmest to 
 be Esau." So suspecting no deceit, he ate 
 the supper, and betook himself to his prayers 
 and intercessions with God : and said, " O 
 Lord of all ages, and Creator of all substance; 
 for it was thou that didst propose to my fa- 
 ther 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 thetn still 
 greater blessings, — do thou, therefore, con- 
 firm 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 pre- 
 serve 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 !" 
 
 7. Thus did Isaac pray to God, tliinking 
 his prayers had been made for Esau. He 
 had but just finished them, wlieii Esau came 
 in from hunting ; and when Isaac perceived 
 his mistake, he was silent: but Esau required 
 that he might be made partaker 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 " 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 ac- 
 counts, he and his posterity after him ; but 
 still should serve his brother." 
 
 8. Now the mother delivered Jacol), when 
 she was afraid that his brother would inflict 
 some punishment upon him, because of the 
 mistake about the prayers of Isaac ; for she 
 persuaded her husband to take a wile foi 
 Jacob out of Mesopotamia, of lier own kin- 
 dred, Esau having married already Basem- 
 math, the daughter of Ismael, without his fa- 
 ther's consent ; for Isaac dia not like the 
 Canaanites, so that he disapjiroved of Esau's 
 former marriages, which made him take Ba- 
 semmath to wife, in order to please him ; and 
 indeed he had a great aflection for her. 
 
X 
 
 4S 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 rOVCF.RNING JACOIl's FLIGHT INTO .MKSOPO- 
 TA.MIA, BY UKASON OF THE FEAU HL WAS 
 IN OF HIS BUOTHER. 
 
 § I. Now Jacob was sent by bis mother to 
 Mesopotamia, in order to marry L.iijan ber 
 brother's daiJgliter (whiel) marriage was per- 
 niilied by Isaac, on account of his obsequi- 
 ousness to the desires of his wife) ; and he 
 accordingly journeyed through the land of 
 Canaan ; and because lie haled the people of 
 that country, he would not loilge with any of 
 them, but took up his lodging in the open 
 air, and laid his head on a heap of stones 
 that he had gathered together. At which time 
 ne saw in his sleep such a vision standing by 
 him : — he seemed to see a ladder, tliat reached 
 from the earth unto heaven, and persons de- 
 scending upon the ladder that seemed more 
 excellent 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: — 
 
 2. " O J icob, it is not fit for thee, who 
 art the son of a good father, and grandson of 
 one who had obtained a great reputation for 
 his eminent virtue, to be dejected at thy pre- 
 sent circumstances, but to hope for better 
 times, for thou shalt have great abundance of 
 all good things by my assistance ; for I brought 
 Abraham hither, out of MesojioUimia, when 
 he was driven away by his kinsmen, and I 
 made thy father a happy man ; nor will I be- 
 stow a lesser degree of hap))iness on thyself; 
 be of good courage, therefore, and under my 
 conduct proceed on this thy journey, for the 
 marriage thou goest so zealously about shall 
 be consummated ; and thou shalt have chil- 
 dren of good characters, but their multitude 
 shall be innumerable ; and they shall leave 
 what they have to a still more numerous pos- 
 terity, to whom, and to whose posterity, I 
 give the dominion of all the land, and their 
 posterity shall fill tlie entire earth and sea, so 
 far as the sun beholds them ; but do not thou 
 fear any danger, nor be afraid of tlie many 
 labours ihou must undergo, for by my provi- 
 dence I will direct thee what thou art to do 
 in the time present, and still much more in 
 the time to come." 
 
 3. 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 on them 
 the prediction of such great benefits was 
 made. He also vowed a vow, that he would 
 ofler sacrifices upon them, if he lived and re- 
 turned safe ; and if he came again in such a 
 coniiition, he would give the tithe of what he 
 had gotten to God. He aLo judged the 
 place to be honourable, aiid gave it the name 
 
 of Bethel, wliich, m tlie Greek, is interpreted. 
 The House of GoiL 
 
 4. So he proceedeii on his journey to Ale- 
 sopotainia, and ht length caine to Haran , 
 and nieetiiig with shepherds in the suburbs 
 with boys grown up, and maidens sitting 
 about a certain well, he staid with ihein, as 
 wanting water to drink ; and biginning to 
 (!iscour-,e with them, he asked tlieni whether 
 tiiey knew such a one as Labaii, and whether 
 he was still alive. Now tl.ey all said they 
 knew hiin, for he was not so inconsiderable a 
 person as to be unknown to any of thun ; 
 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 thou mightcst learn more exactly 
 whatever thou desirest to know about that 
 family. \Viiile they were saying this the 
 damsel came, and t!;e other ihepherds 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 fa- 
 ther's afiairs. liut she, as pleased, after the 
 custom of children, with Jacob's coming, 
 Uokcd 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 supjily the wants he caiiio 
 about. 
 
 5. But Jacob was quite overcome, not so 
 much by their kindred, nor by that aifcction 
 wliich might arise thence, as by his love to 
 the damsel, and his surprise at her beauty, 
 which was so Hourishiiig, .js few of the women 
 of that iige could vie with. He said then, 
 " There is a relation between thee and me, 
 elder than either thy or my birth, if thou be 
 the daughter of Laban ; for Abraham was die 
 son of Terah, as well as Haran and Nahor. 
 Of the last of whom (Nahor) Bethuel tiiy 
 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 
 Ilebeka was sister to Laban thy father, both 
 by the same father and mother; I therefore 
 and thou are coiiv,in-germans ; and I am now 
 come to salute you, and to renew that aflinity 
 which is proper between us." Upon this the 
 damsel, at the mention of Rebeku, as usually 
 happens to young persons, wept, and tliat out 
 of the kindness she had for her father, and 
 embraced Jacob, she having learned an ac- 
 count of lltbeka from her father, ajid knew 
 that her parents loved to hear her named ; and 
 when she had sainted him, she s^iid tiiat " li^ 
 brought the most desirable and greatest plea- 
 sures to her father, with all their family, who 
 was always mentioning his mother, and always 
 thinking of her, and her alone ; and that this 
 will make thee equal in his eyes to any advan- 
 tageous circumstances whatsoever." Then 
 she bid him go to her father, und follow her 
 
 .r 
 
CHAP XIX. 
 
 «lii!e she conducted him to liim ; and not to 
 dt.'p! ive hitii of such a pleasure, by staying any 
 tongcT away from him. 
 
 6. \V'hen she had said thus, she hrouglit 
 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 ))lea- 
 sure to thetn by his unexpected coming. But 
 a little wliile afterward, Laban told liim that 
 he could not express in words the joy he had 
 at his coming; but still he inquired of him 
 tlie occasion of his coming, and why he left 
 his aged mother and father, when they want- 
 ed to be taken care of bv him ; and that he 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 and said ho would do this, if he would stay 
 with him some time, for he was not u illirig 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 
 lie had resolved to serve his father-in-law, that, 
 having given a specimen of his virtue, it might 
 be l)etter known what sort of a man he was : 
 and Jacob accepting of his terms, after the 
 time was over, he made the wedding-feast ; 
 and when it was night, without Jacob's per- 
 ceiving it, he put his other daughter into bed 
 would afford him all the assistance he want- ] to I im, who was both elder than Rachel, and 
 ed. Then Jacob gave him an account of the of no comely countenance : Jacob lay witli her 
 whole occasion of liis journey, and told him,, that night, as being both in drink and in the 
 " that Isaac had two sons that were twins, dark. However, when it was day he knew 
 himself and Esau ; who, because he failed of what had been done to him ; and he reproach- 
 his father's prayers, which by his mother's ed Laban for his unfair proceeding witii him ; 
 wisdom were put up for him, sought to kill who asked pardon for that necessity which 
 him, as deprived of the kingdom* which was forced him to do what he did ; for he did not 
 to he given him of God, and of the blessings give him Lea out of any ill design, but as 
 for which their father prayed ; and that this overcome by another greater necessity that, 
 was the occasion of his coming hither, as his notwithstanding this, nothing should hinder 
 motlier had coir.m mded him to do: for we him from marrying Rachel; but that when 
 are all (says he) brethren one to another ; but he had served another seven years, he would 
 our mother esteems an alliance with your fa- give him her whom beloved. Jacob subniit- 
 mi!y more than she does one with the families ted to this condition, for his love to the dam- 
 of the country; so I look upon yourself and sel did not permit him to do otherwise; and 
 3cd to be the supporters of my travels, and when another seven years were gone, he took 
 hink myself safe in my present circumstan- Rachel to wife. 
 
 ces. " I 8. Now each of tliese bad handmaids, }>\ 
 
 ". Now La'oan promised to treat him with their father's donation. Zilpha was hand- 
 great humanity, both on account of his an- maid to Lea, and ISilha to Rachel; by no 
 cestors, and particularly for the sake of bis means slaves*, but however subject to their 
 mother, towards whom, he said, lie would show mistresses. Now Lea was sorely troubled at 
 his kindness, even though she were absent, by her husband's love to her sister; and she ex- 
 taking care of him; for he assured him be pected she should be better esteemed if slie 
 would make him the head shepherd of his bare him children : so she entreated God per- 
 flock, and give him authority sufficient for petually; and when she bad born a son, and 
 that purpose; and when he should have a her husband was on that account better rtcon- 
 mind to return to his parents, be would send ciled to her, she named her son Reubel, be- 
 hiiii back with presents, and this in as honour- ; cause God had had mercij 'upon her, in giving 
 able a manner as the nearness of their relation , her a son; for that is the signification of this 
 should require. This Jacob heard gladly ; name. After some time she bare three more 
 and said he would willingly, and with plea- i sons ; Simeon, which name signifies thai Gad 
 sure, undergo any sort of pains while he tar- had hearkened to her prayer. 'I'hen she hart 
 ried with him, but desired Rachel to wife, as Levi, the cmijirmer of' their friendship. Aftei 
 die. reward of those pains, who was not only him was born Judah, which denotes than/is^iv- 
 on other accounts esteemed by him, but also ing. But Rachel, fearing lest the fruitfulness 
 because she was the means of his coming to! of her sister should make herself enjoy a lesser 
 him ; for be said be was forced by the love of share of Jacob's affections, put to bed to him 
 
 tlie damsel to make this pro]iosal. Laban i 
 was well pleased with this agreement, and 
 cons?nted to give the damsel to hi 
 dciirous to meet with any better son-in-law ; 
 
 • i!y this •• deprivation of the kingdom that wa>; to 
 be given Tsau of God," as tlie first-born, it appears that 
 Jns-phus thought that a " kingdom to l)e derived from 
 Oud" was due to him whom Isaac should bless as his 
 first-born; which I take to be that kiniidom v.hich was 
 expecved under the Mcssiali, 'vho therol'ore was to be 
 born of his posterity whom Isaac should so bless. Jacob, 
 therefore; by iibtai'iiiii^ this blessnig of the tirst-born, 
 Dccame the genuine heir of that kingdom, in opposition 
 to Ksau. 
 
 ^ _^ Here we have the difference between slaves for life 
 
 """ j and servants, sucli as wc now hire for a time agreed upon 
 not (111 both sides, Mud dismiss a"a:n after the time contraetcd 
 for i^ over, which are no slaves, but free men and fret 
 women. Accordingly, when the apostolical constitutions 
 forbid a clergyman to marry perpetual servants or sla\is, 
 b. vi, ch. xvii, it is meant inly of the former sort i as 
 we learn elsewhere from the same constitutions, ch. xlvii. 
 Ciiii. Ixxxii. But concerning these twelve sons of Jai-.b: 
 the reasons of their several iiamcs, and the times of their 
 sevei al births in the intervals here assigned, — their sever- 
 al excellent characters, their several faults a: d rc]ievit- 
 ance, the several accidents of their lives, with llicir se- 
 veral prophecies at their deaths, see the Testamei'ts of 
 these twelve patriarchs, still preserved at large in the 
 Authent. Rcc. part i, p. 294 — 14.1, 
 E 
 
)0 
 
 Ikt Iiandmaid Billm ; tiy whom Jacob liad 
 Dan : oi'u may iiiterptct that naniL- into the 
 Greek ton-^uf, a (Urine ju<tgmenl. Anil after 
 him Nepthahm, as it were, unconquerable in 
 straliiiicms, since Ilacliel tried to conquer the 
 fruitl'iilnes3 oJ' her sister by this str,il;igeTn. 
 Accordingly, I.ea toolc the same method, and 
 used a cnunter-str-itagein to that of lier sister ; 
 for slie pill to bed to liim lier own handmaid. 
 Jacob therefore liad by Zilpha a son, whose 
 name was Gad, whicli may be interpreted 
 fortune ; and after him Asher, wiiich may be 
 called a /lapp'/ »inn, because he added glory 
 to I,ca. Now Reubel, the eldest son of Lea, 
 bioiiglit a])pk'S of mandrakes* to his motlier. 
 Wlien Rachel saw them, she desired that she 
 would give her the apples, for she longed to 
 cat them ; but when she refused, and bid her 
 he 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 hus- 
 band 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 Zabuion, one 
 burn as a pledij,e of benevolence towards her ,- 
 and a daughter, Dina. After some time 
 Rachel had a son, named Josepli, which sig- 
 nified there should be another added to liim. 
 
 9. Now Jacob fed th.e flocks of Laban, his 
 father-in-law, all this time, beingtwenty years; 
 after which he desired leave of his father-in-law 
 to take his wives and go home ; ijut when his 
 father-in-law would not give him leave, hecoa- 
 trived to do it secretly. He made trial, there- 
 fore, 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, accord- 
 ing to their la^v*;, 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 Laban 
 know of it before-hand; but the reason why 
 Rachel took the images of the 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 recourse to these images, in order to ob- 
 tain his pardon. 
 
 10. Rut Laban, after one day's time, being 
 
 ANTJQUITIKS OF lllK JKW.S. B<>oK i 
 
 and on the seventh day overtook them, and 
 found them resting on a certain hill ; and then 
 indeed he did not meddle w ith tiu i», for it was 
 even. tide ; but God stood by him in a dream, 
 and warnetl him to receive his son-in-law and 
 his daughters in a peaceable manner; and not 
 to venture upon any thing rashly, or in wrath 
 to them, but to make a league with Jacob; 
 and lie told him, that if he despised their 
 small number, and attacked them in a hostile 
 manner, he would hiinself 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])endence whereupon he came 
 confidently to him, and began to accuse him ; 
 alleging that he had entertained him when he 
 was poor, and in want of all things, and had 
 given him plenty of all things whicli he had ; 
 ■' For," said he, " I have joined my daugh- 
 ters to thee in marriage, and supjiosed that thy 
 kindness to me would be greater than before; 
 but thou hast had no regard to either thy mo- 
 ther's relation 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 grandfather. Thou 
 hast treated me as an enemy, by driving away 
 my cattle ; and by persuading my daughters 
 to run away from their father; and by carr)-- 
 ing home those sacred paternal images which 
 were worshipped by my forefathers, and have 
 been honoured with the like worship which 
 they paid thein, by myself. In short, thou 
 hast done this whilst thou art my kinsman, 
 and iny sister's son, and the husband of my 
 daughters, and was hospitably treated by me, 
 and didst eat at my table." Wiien 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 reason- 
 able that, after so long time, ho should go back 
 to it. " Hut as to the jirey, of whose driving 
 away thou accusest me, if any other person 
 were the arbitrator, thou wouldst be found in 
 the wrong; 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, Uike 
 notice, that it is not through any evil practices 
 of mine that they follow me in my return 
 
 acquainted with Jacob's and 'hii daughters' j home, but from that just aflection which 
 departure, was much troubled, and pursued vvivcs naturally have to their husbands. They 
 after them, leading a band of men with him ; follow, therefore, not so properly myself an 
 
 their own children." And thus far of his 
 • I formerly explained these mandrakes, as we. with I , made, in order to clear himself 
 
 theSepiuagint, and Joscphus, render the Hebrew wiird I '^"""r-J' " '" '. i- i . ii i 
 
 DurfflfVn, of the Syrian Manx, with Ludol). has, Aulhent. [ot having acted inijustly. lo wliicli lie added 
 Uee. Part i, p. 4*0; but have sinc^ seen such .i very ] j , eomplaint anil accusation of Laban ; 
 probable account ni MS. ot my Icanied friend Mr. ,,., .^^ , ... i .i 
 
 .Samuel Harker, of what we still call Mandrakes, and saying, U liile 1 was Illy sister ;; son, and tliou 
 their description by ihc ancient naturalists and phy- |,;,{J^t uivcn me thy daughters in marriage, 
 Bieians, as inilines me to think these here rnentioncd " ■' . , , ,,..^ . ,.,„„ 
 
 werereaUy mandrakes, ,ind no other. thou hast worn me out with thy harsh com- 
 
 "V 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 mands, and detained me twenty years under 
 them. That, indeed, which was required in 
 •order to my marrying thy daughters, hard as 
 it was, I own to have been tolerable ; but as 
 to those tliat were put upon me alter those 
 marriages, they were worse, and such indeed 
 as an enemy would have avoided." For cer- 
 tainly Laban had used Jacob very ill ; for 
 when he saw that God w;is assisting to Jacob 
 in all that he desired, he promised him, that 
 of the young cattle which siiould be born, he 
 should have sometimes what was of a white 
 colour, and sometimes what should be of a 
 black colour ; l)ut wheti those that came to 
 Jacob's sliare proved numerous, he did not 
 keep his faith witli him, but said he would 
 give tliein to him the next year, because of 
 liis envying him the multitude of his ])os- 
 sessions. He promised him as before, because 
 he thought such an increase was not to be ex- 
 pected ; but when it appeared to be fact, he 
 deceived him. 
 
 11. But then, as to the sacred images, he 
 bid him seardi for them ; and when I^aban ac- 
 cepted of he offer, Ilacliel, being informed of 
 it, put tlio^e images into that camel's saddle 
 on which slie rode, and sat upon it; and said, 
 that her natural purgation liindered her rising 
 up : so Laban left off searching any farther, 
 not supposing that his daughter in such cir- 
 cumstances would approach to those images. 
 So l;e made a league with Jacob, and bound 
 it by oaths, tliat 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 confirmed with oaths also, which they 
 made upon certain mountaiiis, whereon they 
 erected a pillar, in the form of an altar: 
 whence that hill is called Gilead ; and from 
 thence they call that land the Land of Gilead 
 at this day. Now when they had feasted, 
 
 ANTIQUniKS OF THE JIOWS. 
 
 51 
 
 of his absence must have made up their dif- 
 ferences, was returning ; that he brought with 
 him his wives, and his children, with \\ hat pos- 
 sessions he had gotten ; and delivered himself, 
 widi what was most dear to him, into his hands; 
 and shoidd think it his greatest happiness to 
 partake together with his brother of what God 
 had bestowed upon him." So these messen- 
 gers told him this message. Upon vhich 
 Esau was very glad, and met his brothei with 
 four hundred men. And Jacob, when lie 
 heard that he was coming to ineet him with 
 such a number of men, was greatly afraid : 
 however, he committed his hope of deliver- 
 ance to God ; and considered how, in his pre- 
 sent circumstances, he might preserve himself 
 and those that were with him, and overcome 
 his enemies if they attacked him injuriously 
 He therefore distributed his company into 
 parts ; some he sent before the rest, and thi 
 otiiers he ordered to come close behind, thai 
 so, if the first were overpowered when his bro- 
 ther attacked them, they might have those that 
 followed as a refuge to fly unto. And when 
 he had put his company in this order^ he sent 
 some of them to carry presents to liis brother. 
 The presents were made up of cattle, and a 
 great number of four-footed beasts, of many 
 kinds, such as would be very acceptable to 
 those that received them, on account of their 
 rarity. Those who were sent went at certair 
 intervals of space asuiider, that, by following 
 thick one after another, they might appear to 
 be more numerous ; tliat Esau Eiight 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. 
 
 2. When Jacob had made these appoint- 
 ments all the day, and night came on, he inov- 
 ed on with his company; and, as they were 
 gone over a certain river called Jabboc, Jacob 
 after the making of the league, Laban return- | was left behind ; and meeting with an angel 
 
 ed home. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 tONCEKXINfi THK MEETING OF JACOB AND 
 ESAU. 
 
 § 1. Now as Jacob was proceeding on his 
 journey to tlie land of Canaan, angels appear 
 ed to him, and suggested to hiin good hope of 
 his future condition ; and that ))lace he named 
 the Camp of God. And being desirous of 
 knowing what his brothel's intentions were to 
 him, he sent messengers, to give him an exact 
 account of every tiling, as being afraid, on Re- 
 count of the eimiities between them. He 
 charged those that were sent, to say to Esau, 
 " J;.cob had thought it wrong to live toge- 
 tlier with him, while he was in anger against 
 him, and so had gone out of the country ; 
 and that he now, thinking the length of time 
 
 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 jileased with what had 
 happened to him, and not to suppose that his 
 victory was a small one, but that he had over- 
 come a divine angel, and to esteem the vic- 
 tory as a sign of great blessings that siiould 
 come to him ; and that his olfspring 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 (/>- 
 vine ayigcl. * Tiieseipromises were made at the 
 prayer of Jacob ; for when he perceived him 
 to be the angel of God, ne desired he would 
 signify to him what should befal him hDreafter. 
 
 • Perhaps this may be the projier meaning of the 
 word Israc'l . by the present aiio the < M Jerusalem ;.-;ial()i;v 
 of the Heljrew tongue. In tnc mean time, it iseertaiii 
 that the Hellenists of the first centu y, in Egvpt and 
 elsewhere, interpreted Isriiel to be a man seeing'uot/, as 
 is evident from the argument forccited. 
 
52 
 
 ANTiQurriKs or thi; jkws. 
 
 BOOK 1 
 
 Ami wlien llie angel hail said what is before 
 rt'lntcd, he (iisappearcd ; but Jacob was pleas, 
 ed with tliese things, and named the |)liiee 
 I'haniiel, wliich si>;nifies, thefaceof Ciiil. Now 
 when he felt pain, by this stru;;j;linjr, upon 
 his broad sinew, be abstained from eatin-j (hat 
 sinew liiniself afterward ; and for his sake it 
 is still not eaten by us. 
 
 fj. When Jacob understood that bis bro- i 
 ther was near, be ordered his wives to go be- 
 fore, eaeh by lierself, with the handmaids, that 
 they might see ilie actions of the inen as they 
 were fighting, if Ksan were so disposed. He 
 then went uj) to his brother Ksau, and bowed 
 ilown to him, who liad no evil design upon 
 him, but saluted him ; and asked him about 
 the company of the children and of the wo- 
 men ; 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 
 l)retending that tlie cattle were weary, Esau- 
 returned to Seir, for there was his place of 
 habiti'.tion ; he having named the place Rough- 
 ness, from his own hairy roughness. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 CONCF.KNING THH VIOLATION OF DFNA'S CHAS- 
 TITY. 
 
 § 1. Hi.RF.upON Jacol) came to the jilace, till 
 this day called Tents (Succoth; ; from whence 
 be went to Shecliem, which is a city of the 
 C'anaanites. Now as the Sheclicmites 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 
 ivhen Sliechem, the son of Hamor the king, 
 saw her, ho defiled her by violence ; and, be- 
 ing greatly in love with her, desired of his fa- 
 ther that he would procure the damsel to him 
 for a wife : — to which desire he condescended, 
 and canie to Jacob, desiring him to give leave 
 that his son Shccheni might, according to law, 
 marry Dina. But Jacob, not knowing bow 
 to deny the desire of one of such great dig- 
 nity, and yet not thinking it lawful to marry 
 bis daughter to a stranger, entreated him to 
 give him leave to have a consultation about 
 what be desired him to do. So the king went 
 away, in liopes that Jacob would grant him 
 this marriage. But Jicob informed his sons 
 of the defilement of their sister, and of the ad- 
 dress of llan.or; and desired iJiein to give 
 their advice what they should do. Upon this, 
 tlie greatest part said nothinjr, not knowing 
 what advice to give 
 
 city, slew all the males ;• as also the king and 
 liis son with tliem ; but spared the women, 
 and when they had done this with.out thrii 
 father's consent, they brought away their sis- 
 ter. 
 
 2. Now wliile Jacob was astonished at the 
 greatness of this act, and was severely blaming 
 bis sons for it, Goil stood by him, and l)id him 
 he of good courage ; but to purify his tents, 
 and to (ifiVr those sacrifices which he had vow- 
 ed to ofiir when he went tirst into iVIesopota- 
 mia, and saw his vi>,ioii. As lie was therefore 
 purifving his followers, he lighted upon the 
 godsof Laban (for he did not before know they 
 were stolen by Rachel) ; and lie hid them in 
 the earth, under an oak, in Sliechein ; and de- 
 parting thence, he olleud sacrifice at Bethel, 
 the place where he saw his dream, when he 
 went first into Mesopotamia. 
 
 3. And w hen he was gone tlience, and was 
 come over-against Ephrata, lie there buried 
 Rachel, who died in child-bed: she was the 
 only one of Jacob's kindred that had not the 
 honour of burial at Htbror. ; and w hen 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 w itii him. These 
 are all the children of Jacob, twelve males 
 and one female ; — of them eight were legiti- 
 mate, viz. six of Lea, and two of Racliel ; and 
 four were of the handmaids, tw;.i of each ; all 
 whose names have been set down already. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 HOW ISAAC DIED, AND WAS BCBItD IN HEBRO.V, 
 
 From tlience Jacob came to Hebron, a city 
 situate among t!ie Canaanites ; and there ii 
 was that Isaac lived : and so they livvd toge- 
 ther for a little while ; for as to Ilebeka, Ja- 
 cob did not find her alive. Isaac also died 
 not long after the coming of his son ; and 
 was buried by his sons, witli his wife, in He- 
 bron, where they had a monument belonging 
 to them from their forefathers. Now Isaac 
 
 • Of this slaughter of the Shechemites bv Simeon and 
 Levi, see Aiitheiit. Part I, p. .3i>;i, 418, 45'J— 4jy. But 
 \ihy Joscphus has omitted the circumcision of these 
 Shochoniitcs, as the occasion of their dciith ; .ind of Ja- 
 cob's great grief, as in the TtsUraent of Levi, J 5, I 
 oinnot tell. 
 
 t since Ilcnoni signifies the son of my snrrotr, and 
 Bciij.imin the son vf dnys, or one horn in t'.e fnlhei't 
 old age (ticn. xliv. '■Jm 1 siispect Jascphus's present copies 
 to be liere imperfect ; and supiiose thnt, in eorre-pond- 
 ence to other copies, he wrote th.it ILichcl called her 
 son's name Uenoni ; b t his father callitl him Ik-iijamin. 
 Gen. XXXV. 18. Asfr Henjiimin, as comn-.only explain- 
 But Sinieon and Levf, e<l, Ihe son of the right hand, it makes no sense at all, 
 - 1,1 ' and seems to be a gross nuKleni error only. Uic ^am- 
 
 tlic brethren of the damsel by tlic same mo- ; grifa,, alw.iys writes this name truly Benjamin, which 
 ther aL'reed between tliemselves upon the ac- probably is here of the same signification, onlv with the 
 .o. . , ■ .1 .- f , chaldce termination i/i, instead of im in the Hebrew, aj 
 
 tion following: It being now tlie time ol a ; ^^,^. j,^y^jnjj,j,pjj,p„,|,i„j,rt-l,erubim iiidiflcrently. Ac- 
 festival, when the Shechemites were employed i-ordingly. b<.lh the Testament of B.-njamin .sect. 2, p. 
 iisiMdi, 111.11 I t ^^^ j^^^^i^ ^^ Xuminum Mulatiime |p. I0.i9). write 
 
 in case and bastin., they tell upon tlie wattli j,^^, ^^,^^^ iJeiijamin; Ijut explain it not <'« sonqf th 
 wlioii they were asleep, and, coming into the , ri^iht lutnd, but the tun (ffdays 
 
 'V 
 
J- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 53 
 
 was a man who was beloved of God, and was I be exceeding old ; for when he had lived vir- 
 vouclisafed great instances of providence by tiiously one hundred and eiglity-fivo years, he 
 God, after Abraham his father, and lived to I then died. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS. 
 
 FIIO.M THE DEATH OF ISAAC TO THE EXODUS 
 OUT OF EGYPT. 
 
 CHAPTER T. 
 
 now ESAU AND JACOB, ISAAC's SONS, DIVIDED 
 THi;iR HABITATION ; AND ESAU POSSESSED 
 IDUJIEA, AND JACOB CANAAN. 
 
 § 1. After the death of Isaac, his sons di- 
 vided tlieir habitations respectively ; nor did 
 they retain what tliey had before ; but Esau 
 departed from the city of Hebron, and left it 
 to his brother, and dwelt in Seir, and ruled 
 over Idumea. He called the country by that 
 name from hiinself, for l»e was named Adom ; 
 which appellation he got on the following oc- 
 casion : — One day returning from the toil of 
 hunting very hungry (it was when he was a 
 child in age), he lighted on his brother when 
 he was getting ready lentile-pottage for his din- 
 ner, 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 his brotJier's 
 hunger, and forced him to resign up to him 
 his birthright; and he, being pinched with 
 famine, resigned it up to him, under an oath. 
 Whence it came, that, on account of the red- 
 ness of this pottage, he was, in way of jest, 
 by his cotemporaries, called Adom, for the 
 Hebrevvs call what is red Adom ; and this 
 was the name given to this country : but the 
 Greeks gave it a more agreeable pronuncia- 
 tion, and named it Idumea. 
 
 2. He became the fatiier cf five sons ; of 
 Ti'hom Jaus, and Jalomus, and Coreus, were 
 by one wife, whose name was Alibama; but 
 of the rest, Aliphaz was born to liim by Ada, 
 and Raguel l>y Basemmath : and these were 
 the sons of Esau. Aliphaz had five legiti- 
 mate sons ; Theman, Omer, Saphus, Go- 
 tham, and Kanaz; for Amalek was not legi- 
 timate, but by a concubine, wliose name was 
 Thamna. These dwelt in tiiat part of Idu- 
 mea which is called Gebalitis, and tliat deno- 
 minated from Amalek, Amalekitis ; for Idu- 
 
 mea was a large country, and did then pre- 
 serve the name of the whole, while in its seve- 
 ral parts it kept the names of its peculiar in- 
 habitants. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW JOSEPH, THE YOUNGEST OF JACOB'S SONS, 
 WAS ENVIED BY HIS BRETHREN, WHEN CEE- 
 TAJN DREAMS HAD FORESHOWN HIS FUTURE 
 HAPPINKS. 
 
 § 1. It happened that Jacob came to so great 
 happiness as rarely any other person had ar- 
 rived 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, botii for labouring with their 
 hands and enduring of toil ; and shrewd also 
 in understanding; and God exercised such a 
 providence over him, and such a care of his 
 happiness, as to bring him the greatest bless- 
 ings, even out of what appeared to be the 
 most sorrowful condition ; and to jnake him 
 the cause of our forefathers' departure out of 
 Egypt, him and his posterity. The occasion 
 was this: — W^hen Jacob had his son Joseph 
 born to him by Rachel, his father loved him 
 above the rest of his sons, both because of the 
 beauty of his body, and the virtues of liis 
 mind ; for he excelled the rest in prudence. 
 This affection of his father excited the enry 
 and the hatred of his brethren ; as did also 
 his dreams wliich he saw, and related to his 
 father and to them, wliich foretold his future 
 happiness, it being usual with mankind to 
 envy their very nearest relations sucli their 
 prosperity. Now the visions wliich Joseph 
 saw in his sleep were these: — 
 
 2. V>'hen they were in the middle of har 
 vest, and Joseph was sent by his father, with 
 
94 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 his bnnliren, to gather the fruits of the earth, 
 lie saw a vision in a drciini, but j;reatly ex- 
 ceeding the accustoinary appearunees that 
 come when wc arc asleep ; whieh, when lie 
 was got up, he toltl his brethren, that thiy 
 niif^ht jii(l;;e what it portended. He said, he 
 saw ti.e last nij;iit, that his «lieat-sheaf stood 
 still in the place where he set it, but that their 
 sheaves ran to bow down to it, as servants 
 bow down to their masters ; but as soon as tliev 
 perceived the vision foretold th t he should 
 obtain ])ower and great wealth, and that hi-> 
 power should be in opposition to them, they 
 gave no interj^retation of it to Joseph, as if 
 the dream were not by them understood : but 
 they prayed that no part of what they sus- 
 pected to be its meaning might come to jiass; 
 and they bare a still greater hatred to him on 
 that account. 
 
 3. But God, in opposition to their envy, 
 sent a second vision to Joseph, which was 
 ttiiich more wonderful tlian the former ; for 
 it seemed to him tliat the sun took with him 
 the moon and the rest of the stars, and came 
 down to the earth, and bowed clown to him. 
 He told the vision to his father, and that, as 
 suspecting nothing of ill-will from his breth- 
 ren, when they were there also, and desired 
 him to interpiet what it should signify. Now 
 Jacob was pleased with the dream ; for, con- 
 sidering the i)re(liction in his mind, and 
 shrewdly and wisely guessing at its meaning, 
 he rejoiced at the great things thereby signi- 
 fied, because it deciaretl the future happiness 
 of his son ; and that, by the blessing of CJod, 
 the time would come when he should be ho- 
 noured, and thought worthy of worship by his 
 parents and brethren, as guessing that the 
 moon and sun were like his mother and fa- 
 ther; the former, as she that gave increase 
 and nourishment to all things, and the latter, 
 he that gave form and other powers to them ; 
 and that the stars were like his brethren, 
 since they were eleven in number, as were 
 the stars thai receive their power from the 
 fcun and moon. 
 
 4. And thus did Jacob make a judgment 
 of this vision, and that a shrewd one also; 
 but these interpretations caused very great 
 grief to Joseph's brethren ; and they were 
 jfTected to him hereupon as if he were a cer- 
 tain stranger that was to have those good 
 tilings which were signified by the dreams, 
 and not as one tliat was a brother, with \\honi 
 it was probable they should be joint partakers; 
 and as they had been partners in the same 
 parentage, so should they be of the same 
 liappiiiess. 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 Shecheni, which 
 is a country good for fei-iting of cattle, and 
 for pasturage; there they fed their flocks, 
 without ac(|uainting their father with their 
 removal thither ; « hereupon he had melan- 
 
 choly suspicions about them, as being igno- 
 rant of his sons' condition, and receiving no 
 messenger from tlie flocks that could inform 
 him of the true state they were in ; so, because 
 he was in great fear about them, he sent Jo, 
 seph to the flocks, to learn the circumstances 
 his brethren were in, and to bring him won) 
 how they did. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW JOSIPH WAS THl'S SOLD BY HIS BKETHKEN 
 INTO KGVI'T, BY IIKA'ON OK TIIKIK IIATHED 
 TO HIM ; AND HOW HK THl KK CUKW KA- 
 MOtS AND M.LUSTUIOfS, AND HAD UlS BIl£- 
 THREN UNDEft HIS POWER. 
 
 § 1. 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 fa- 
 ther, but as at the presence of an enemy, and 
 one that by divine providence was delivered 
 into their hands; and they already resolved 
 t-o kill him, and not let slip the opportunity 
 that lay before them ; but when Keubel, the 
 eldest of them, saw them thus disposed, and 
 that they had agreed together to execute their 
 purpose, he tried to restrain them, showiug 
 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 related to them, but 
 much more flagitious and detestable to apjiear 
 to have slain their own brollier; by which 
 act the father must be treated unjustly in the 
 son's slaughter, and the mother* also be in 
 per])le.\ity while she laments that her son is 
 taken away from her, and this not in a natu- 
 ral way neither. So he entreated them to 
 have a regard to their own consciences, and 
 wisely to consider what mischief would betide 
 them upon the death of so good a child, and 
 their youngest brother; that tliiy would also 
 fear God, who was already both a spectator 
 and a witness of the designs th.ey had against 
 their brother; that he would love thtm if 
 they abstained from this act, and yielded to 
 repentance and amendment ; but in case they 
 proceeded to do the fact, all soits of punish- 
 ments wouUl overtake them from God for 
 this murder of their brother, since they pol- 
 luted his providence, which was everywhere 
 present, and which did not oveilook what was 
 done, either in deserts or in cities; for where- 
 soever a man is, there ought he to suppose 
 
 • We may liere obscr%'e, that in correspondence to 
 Joscpli's sicoiiU tircam, which iinplietl that Ins ii...ihcr, 
 whu was tlici) aKvc, as well as his f;i:lior, $liuulil itime 
 anil bow down t«i him, Josephvs ri-| :esciits her here 
 as sull alive after shi- was (load, for the decorum ot 
 Ihc dream that Torctold it ; as the interpretation of the 
 drtain du<» also m all our copieii. (ieiu xxxvii. lu. 
 
 ~v_ 
 
 -r 
 
J' 
 
 "V 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 that God is also. He told tliem farther, that 
 their consciences would be their enemies, if 
 they attempted to go through so wicked an 
 enterprise, vvliich they can never avoid, whether 
 it be a good conscience, or whether it be such 
 an one as thev will have within them when 
 once tlicy have killed their brother. H« 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 towards 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 pre- 
 servation : that the cause of killing him made 
 the act itself much worse, while they deter- 
 mined to take him off out of envy at his fu- 
 ture prosperity, an equal share of which they 
 would naturally partake vvhile he enjoyed it, 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. ^5 
 
 of Ismael, carrying spices and Syrian wares- 
 out of the land of Gilead to the Egyptians, 
 after Reubel was gone, advised 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. 'i'iiia, 
 therefore, was resolved on ; so they drew Jo- 
 seph up out of the pit, and sold him to the 
 merchants for twenty pounds.* He was now 
 seventeen years old : but Reubel, coming in 
 the night-time to the pit, resolved to save 
 Joseph, without the privity of his brethren ; 
 and when, upon his caliinj;: to him, he made 
 no answer, he was afraid that they had de- 
 stroyed him after he was gone; of wliich he 
 complained to his brethren ; but wlien they 
 had told him what they had done, Reubel 
 left off liis mourning. 
 
 4. When Joseph's brethren had done thus 
 to him, they considoretl what they should do 
 to escape the suspicions of their father. Now 
 they had taken away from Joseph the coat 
 
 since they were to him not strangers, but the which he had on when he came to them at 
 nearest relations, for they might reckon upon the time they let him down into the pit; so 
 what God bestowed upon Joseph as their they thought proper to tear that coat to pieces, 
 own ; and that it was fit for them to believe, I and to dip it into goat's blood, and then to 
 that the anger of God would for this cause be carry it and show it to their father, that he 
 
 more severe upon them, if they slew him who 
 was judged by God to be worthy of that pro- 
 sperity which was to be hoped for; and while, 
 by murdering him, they made it impossible 
 for God to bestow it upon him. 
 
 2. Reubel said these, and many other 
 things, and used entreaties to them, and 
 thereby endeavoured to divert them from the 
 murder of their brother ; but wlien he saw 
 that his discourse had not mollified them at 
 all, and that they made haste to do the fact, 
 he advised them to alleviate the wickedness 
 tl;ey were going about, in the manner of tak- 
 ing Joseph off; for as he had exhorted them 
 first, when they were going to revenge thein- 
 selves, to be dissuaded from doing it, so, since 
 
 might believe he was destroyed by wild 
 beasts ; and when they had so done, they 
 came to the old man, but this not till «hat 
 had happened to his son had already come to 
 his knowledge. Tlien they said that they 
 had not seen Joseph, nor knew what mishap 
 had befallen him ; but that they had found 
 his coat bloody and torn to pieces, whence 
 they had a suspicion that he bad 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 tl'.at 
 his son was only made a captive; but novv lie 
 laid aside that notion, and supposed that this 
 coat was an evident argument that he was 
 dead, for he well remembered that this was 
 
 ih« sentence for killing their brofiier had pre- the coat he had on when he sent him to his 
 '7ailed, he said that they would not, howevti, brethren ; so he hereafter lamented the lad as 
 be so grossly guilty, if they would be per- now dead, and as if he had been the father of 
 suaded to follow his present advice, which j no more than one, without taking any com- 
 
 would include what they were so eager about, 
 but was not so very bad, but, in the distress 
 thev were in, of a lighter nature. He begged 
 
 fort in the rest ; and so he was also affected 
 with his misfortune before he met with Jo- 
 seph's brethren, when he also conjectured that 
 
 of them, therefore, not to kill their brother I Joseph was destroyed by wild beasts. He 
 with their own hands, but to cast him into I sat down also clothed in sackcloth and in 
 the pit that was hard by, and so to let him heavy affliction, insomuch that he foimd no 
 die ; by which they would gain so much, that : ease when his sons comforted hiiT>, neither did 
 they would not defile their own hands with i his pains remit by length of time. 
 
 his blood. To this the yoimg men readily „ , „ . , 
 
 1 ij 11. 1 .1 1 1 1 .• 1 1 • ♦ 1 he Septuagint have twenty pieces of mid ; f.ic 
 
 agreed; so Reubel took the hid ami tied hini Testament of r.a.l thirty; the Helircw and Sa.naritmi 
 
 10 a cord, and let him down gently into the i twenty of silver; and the vulyar Latin thirty. What 
 
 -./.•. 1 1 , . II • ■ •. I was the true number aiul true sum, cannot thereforu 
 
 pit, for It had no water at all in it; vvho, | „jj^ Ijg l^„Q„.n. 
 
 when he had done this, went his way to seek 
 for such pasturage as was fit for feeding his 
 flocks. 
 
 3. But Judas, being one of Jacob's sons 
 also, seeing some Arabians, of the posterity 
 
 "V 
 
56 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OK TUll JEWS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 cOnckhning the signal chastity of joseih. 
 
 § I. Now Potipliar, an Ejiyptian, who was 
 cliic't" cook to kiii}^ INiaraol), l)oiif;lit Jost'))li 
 of till' imrcl:ants, who sold him to him. He 
 hail him in tin; greatL'sl honour, ami taught 
 him tho learning tiiat hccaiia' a fit-e man, 
 ami g:ive him have to make use of' a diet 
 betler than was allotted to slaves. He in- 
 ti listed aliH) tlie care of liis lioiise to him. So 
 he enjoyed these advantages, yet did not he 
 leave that virtue which he had before, upon 
 sucli a change of his condition ; but he de- 
 monstrated that wisdom was able to govern 
 the uneasy passions of life, in such as have it 
 in reality, and do not only juit it on for a 
 show, under a present state of prosjierity. 
 
 2. For when his master s wife was fallen 
 in love with him, both on account of his 
 beauty of body and his dexterous management 
 of aHairs; and supposed, that if she should 
 mukc it known to him, she could easily per- 
 suade him to come and lie with her, and that 
 he would look inon it as a piece of happy for- 
 tune that his mistress should entreat iiim, as 
 ••egariliiig that state of slavery he was in, and 
 not liis moral character, which continued after 
 his condition was changed ; so she made 
 known licr naughty inclinations, and spake 
 to him about lying «ith her. However, he 
 rejected her entreaties, not thinking it agree- 
 able to religion to yitjd so far to her, as to 
 do what would tend to the atl'ront and injury 
 of him that purchased him, and had vouch- 
 safed him so great honours. lie, on the con- 
 trary, exhorted her 'o govern that passion ; 
 and laid before hei 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 nothing contrary 
 to his mistress, he might well be excused in a 
 case where the contradiction was to such sort 
 of commands only. But this ojjposition of 
 Joseph, when she did not expect it, made her 
 still more violent in her love to him ; and as 
 klie was sorely beset with this naughty pas- 
 sion, so she resolved to compass her design 
 by a second attempt. 
 
 3. When, therefore, there was a public fes- 
 
 have given her no rcpulsr, liotli because of the 
 reverence lie ought to bear to her dignity wlio 
 solicited him, and bec.-iuse of the vehemence 
 of her passion, by which she was forced, 
 though she were his mistress, to condescend 
 beneath her dignity ; but that lie may now, 
 by taking more prudent advice, wipe oH" the 
 imputation of his former folly ; for, whethei 
 it were that he expected the repetition of 
 her solicitations she had now made, and that 
 with greater earnestness than before, for that 
 she had pretended sickness on this very ac- 
 count, and had preferred his convt rsatinn be- 
 fore the festival and its solemnity; or whether 
 he ojiposed her former discourses, as not be. 
 lieving she could be in earnest, she now gave 
 him sutlicient security, by thus repeating her 
 application, that she meant not in the least 
 by fraud to impose upon him ; and assured 
 him, that if he complied with her aH'ections, 
 he might expect the enjoyment of the advan- 
 tages he already had ; and if he were sidimis- 
 sive to her, he shouKl have still greater ad- 
 vantages ; but that he must look for revenge 
 and hatred from her, in case he rejected her 
 desires, and preferred the reputation of chas- 
 tity before his inistress ; for that lie would 
 gain nothing by such procetlure, because she 
 would then become his accuser, and would 
 falsely pretend to lur 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. 
 
 4. When the woman had said thus, and 
 even with tears in her eyes, neither did jiily 
 dissuade Joseph from his chastity, nor did 
 fear compel him to a compliance with licr ; 
 but he opposed I er solicitations, and did not 
 yield to her threatenings, and was afraid to 
 do an ill thing, and chose to undergo the 
 sliarpcst punishment rather than to enjoy his 
 present advantages, by doing what his own 
 conscience knew would ji.stly deserve that 
 he should die for it. He also put her in 
 mind that she was a married woman, and that 
 she ouglit to cohabit with her husband only ; 
 and tiesired her to suffer these considerations 
 to have more weight with her than the short 
 pleasure of lustful dalliance, which would 
 bring her to repentance afterwards, woulil 
 cause trouble to her, and yet wotild not amend 
 what had been done amiss. He .tIso sug- 
 gested to her the fear she woiiK! be in lest they 
 should be caught; and that the advantage of 
 concealment was iincerlain, and that only 
 while the wickedness was not known [would 
 
 again ; which opportunity being obtained, she 
 Used more kind words to liim than before; 
 
 tival coming on, in which it was the custom there be any quiet for them] ; but that she 
 for women to come to the public solemnity, might have the enjoyment of her hu>luiiid's 
 she pretended to her husband that she was 'company without any danger: and he told 
 sick, as contriving an opportunity for st)litude ' her, that in the con'pany of her husband she 
 and leisure, that she might entreat Jo^ejih mi^dit have great bohhicss from a good con- 
 
 science, both before (iod and before men : 
 nay, that she woulil act better like his mistress. 
 
 ind said that it had been good for hinn to and niake use of her aulliority over him belter 
 have yitlded to her first solicitation, and lo ' while she persisted in her chastity, than when 
 
 -v 
 
CHAP V. 
 
 tliey were botl) ashamed for what wickedness 
 they had been guihy of; and that it is much 
 bettor to depend on a good life, well acted, 
 and known to have been so, than upon tiie 
 iiopes of tiie concealment of evil practices. 
 
 5. Joseph, by saying this, and more, tried 
 to restrain the violent passion of the woman, 
 and to reduce her affections witiiin the rules 
 of reason ; but she grew more ungovernable 
 and earnest in the matter ; and since she des- 
 paired of persuading him, she laid her hands 
 ujjon him, and had a mind to force him. But 
 as soon as Joseph had got away from her an- 
 ger, leaving also his garment witli her for he 
 left that to her, and leaped out of her .namber, 
 she was greatly afraid lest he should discover 
 her lewdness to her husband, and greatly trou- 
 bled at the affront he had offered her ; so she 
 resolved to be beforehand with him, and to 
 accuse Joseph 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. Ac- 
 cordingly she sat sorrowful and in confusion, 
 flaming herself so hypocritically and angrily, 
 that the sorrow, which was really for her 
 being disappointed of her lust, might appear 
 to bt for the attempt upon her chastity ; so 
 tliat when her husband came home, and was 
 disturbed at the sight of her, and inquired 
 what was the cause of the disorder she was in, 
 she began to accuse Joseph : and, " O, hus- 
 band," said she, " mayst thou not live a day 
 longer if thou dost not pimish the wicked 
 slave who has desired to defile thy bed ; who 
 has neither minded who he was when he came 
 to our house, so as to behave himself with 
 modesty ; nor haj> 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 t'> abuse thy wife, and this at 
 the time of a festival, observing when thou 
 wouldst be absent. So that it now is clear 
 that his modesty, as it appeared to be formerly, 
 was only because of tlie restraint ho was in 
 out of fear of thee, but that he was not really of 
 a good disposition. This has been occasioned 
 Dy 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 govern- 
 ment of thy family, and was preferred above 
 thy eldest servants, might be allowed to touch 
 thy wife also." Thus when she had ended 
 her discourse, she shewed him his garment, 
 as it he then left it with her when he attempt- 
 ed to force her. But Potiphar not being able 
 to disbelieve what his wife's tears shewed, and 
 ivh.it his wife said, and vvhat he saw himself, 
 and being sedi;_ed by his love to his wife, did 
 not set himself al)out the examination of the 
 trulh; but taking it fur !;ran!ed tliat Ids wife 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 57 
 
 was a modest woman, and condemning Joseph 
 as a wicked man, he threw him into the male- 
 factors' prison ; and had a still iiiglier opinion 
 of his wife, and bare her witness that she was 
 a woman of a becoming modesty and chastity 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WHAT THINGS BEFEI. JOSEI'H IN PRISON. 
 
 § 1. 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 silently under- 
 went 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 in- 
 flicted tlie 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 afEiirs he had set him 
 alx)ut, and the dignity of his countenance, 
 relaxed his bonds, and thereby made his hea- 
 vy calamity lighter, and more supportable to 
 j him : he also permitted him to make use of 
 a diet better than that of the rest of the pri- 
 soners. Now, as his fellow- prisoners, when 
 their hard labours were over, fell to discours- 
 ing one among another, as is usual in such as 
 are equal sufferers, and to inquire one of ano- 
 ther, what were the occasions of their being 
 condemned to a prison: among them the 
 king's cup-bearer, and one that had been res- 
 pected by him, was put in bonds, on the king's 
 anger at him. This man was under the same 
 bonds with Joseph, and grew more familiar 
 with him ; and upon his observing that Joseph 
 had a better understanding than the rest had, 
 he told him of a dream he had, and des-ired 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. 
 
 2. He therefore said, that in his sleep he 
 saw tln'ee clusters of grapes hanging upon 
 three branches 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 
 I received it from him with a pleasant coun- 
 [ tenance. This, he said, was what he saw ; and 
 !he desired Joseph, that if he had any portion 
 I of understanding in such matters, he would 
 jtell him what this vision foretold: — who bid 
 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 liim 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 
 
 "^_ 
 
 ^ 
 
J- 
 
 68 
 
 ANTIQUITES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 UOOK II 
 
 coiifiilence amons; men ; and puts an end to 
 tlii'ir (juarrc'ls, takes away passion and grii-l' 
 out of tlic minds of llioni that use it, and makes 
 tliem elieerCul. " 'I'liou sayest that llion didst 
 S()ueeze this wine from tliree clusters of j^rapes 
 with thine hands, and that the king received 
 it : know, therefore, that this vision is for thy 
 good, and foretels a release from thy present 
 distress within the same number of days as 
 the branches had whence thou gatheredst thy 
 grapes in thy sleep. However, remember 
 what pros))erity I liave foretold thee when 
 tliou liast found it true by experience; and 
 wiicn thou art in autliority, do not overlook us 
 in this prison, wherein thou wilt le. ve us when 
 thou art gone to the place we havi foretold ; 
 for we are not in jirison for any cn'me ; but 
 for the sake of our virtue and sobriety are we 
 condemned to suffer the penalty of malefac- 
 tors, and because we are not willing to injure 
 him tliat has thus distressed us, though it were 
 for our own pleasure." The cup-bearer, there- 
 fore, as was natural to do, rejoiced to hear such 
 an interpretation of his dream, and waited tlie 
 Completion of wliat had been thus shown him 
 IjeforoUand. 
 
 3. But another servant there was of the 
 kins:, who had been chief baker, and was now 
 bjund in prison with tlie cup-bearer ; he also 
 was in good hope, upon Joseph's interpre- 
 tation of the other's vision, for lie had seen a 
 dream also ; so he desired that Joseph would 
 tell him what the visions he had seen the 
 night before might mean. They were these 
 that follow; — " Metliought," sa}s he, "I 
 carried throe baskets upon my head ; two were 
 fidl of loaves, and the third full of sweetmeats 
 and other eatables, such as are prepared for 
 kings ; but that the fowls came flying, and 
 eat them all up, and had no regard to my at- 
 tempt to drive them away ;" — and he expect- 
 ed a pretliction like to that of the cup-bearer. 
 But Joseph, considering and reasoning about 
 the dream, said to him, that he would willingly 
 be an interpreter of good events to iiim, and not 
 of such as his dream denounced to him; but he 
 told him that he iiad only tince days in all to 
 live, for that the [tliree] baskets signify, that on 
 the third day he should be crucified, and de- 
 vouredfcy fowls, while lie was not able to lielj) 
 himself. Now both these dreams had the same 
 several events that Joseph foretold they should 
 have, and this to botli the parties; for on tlie 
 thiril day l)c-rore inentioncd, when the king so- 
 lemnized his birth-day, lie crucified the cliief 
 b:iker, but set the Ijutler free fiom his bonds, 
 and restored liim to his former ministration. 
 
 4. But (jod 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 
 be had said to liim formerly; and C5od con- 
 trived this method of deliverance for him. 
 I'haraoli the king had seen in his sleep tlie 
 wme evening t\>o visions; and aftir ihc^m 
 
 had the interpretations of them both given 
 him. He had forgotten the latter, l)ut re- 
 tained the dreams themselves. Being tliere- 
 fore troubled at what he had seen, for it 
 seemed to him to be all of a melancholy na- 
 ture, the next day he called together the 
 wisest men among the Egy)>tians, desiring to 
 learn from them the interpretation of his 
 dreams. But when they hesitated about them, 
 tlie king was so much tlie more disturbed. 
 And now it was that the memory of Joseph, 
 and Ids skill in dreams, came into the mind 
 of the king's cii))-l)earer, when he saw the 
 confusion that Pharaoh was in ; so he came 
 and mentioned Jose|)h 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 ac- 
 cording to the interjiretation of .Joseph. 'J'hat 
 Joseph himself was laid in bonds by Potijihar, 
 who was his liead cook, as a slave; but, lie 
 said, he was one of the noblest of the stock 
 of the Hebrews; and said farther, his father 
 lived in great splendour. " If, therefore, 
 thou wilt send for him, and not despise him 
 on the score of his misfortunes, thou wilt 
 learn what thy dreams signify." So the 
 king commanded that they should bring Jo- 
 seph into his presence; and those who receiv 
 ed the command came and brought him with 
 them, h;iviiig taken care of his habit, that i 
 might be decent, as the king had enjoined 
 them to do. 
 
 5. But the king took him by the hand ; 
 and, " O young man," says he, '* for my ser- 
 vant bears witness that thou art at present tlie 
 best and most skilful ])crson I can consult 
 with ; vouchsafe me the same favours which 
 thou bestowedst on this servant of mine, and 
 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 flatter 
 me with lying words, or with what may please 
 me, although the truth should be of a melan- 
 cliolv nature. I'or it seemed to me that, as I 
 walked by the river, 1 saw kine fiit 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 belter than before, and not les> 
 miserably jiinched with famine. After ] 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 tlve foregoing, which 
 still did more afi'right and disturb j«ie : — I 
 saw seven ears of corn growing out of one 
 root, having their heads borne down by the 
 weight of the grains, and bending down with 
 the fruit, which was now ripe and fit for ren|>- 
 iii;: • and near these I saw seven other ears 
 
J- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 69 
 
 S 
 
 ff corn, meagre and weak, for want of rain, 
 whicli fell to eating and consuming those that 
 aero fit for reaping, and jJUt me into great 
 astonishment." 
 
 6. To which Josepli replied:— This dream," 
 said he, " O king, although seen under two 
 forms, signifies one and the same event of 
 things; for wlien thou sawest the fat kine, 
 which is an animal made for the plough and 
 for labour, devoured by the worser kine, and 
 tlie ears of corn eaten up by the smaller ears, 
 they foretel a famine, and want of the fruits 
 of the earth for the same number of years, 
 and equal with those when Egypt was in a 
 hap|)y state ; and this so far, that the plenty 
 of tliese years will be spent in the same num- 
 ber of years of scarcity, and that scarcity of 
 necessary provisions will be very difficult to 
 be corrected ; as a sign whereof, the ill-fa- 
 voured kine, when they had devoured the 
 better sort, could not be satisfied. But still 
 God foreshows what is to come upon men, 
 not to grieve them, but that, wlien they know 
 it beforehand, they may by prudence make 
 the actual experience of what is foretold the 
 more tolerable. If thou, therefore, carefully 
 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." 
 
 7. Hereupon the king wondered at the 
 discretion and wisdom of Joseph ; and asked 
 lim by what means he might so dispense the 
 foregoing plentiful crops, in the happy yeais, 
 as to make tlie miserable crops more tolerable. 
 Joseph then added this his advice ; To spare 
 the good crops, and not permit the Egyptians 
 .o spend them luxuriously ; but to reserve 
 wliat they would have spent in luxury beyond 
 their necessity, against t!ie time of want. He 
 also exhorted him to take the corn of the hus- 
 ban-dmen, and give them only so much as will 
 be sufficient for their food. Accordingly 
 Pharaoh being surprised at Joseph, not only 
 for his interpretation of tlie dream, but for 
 the counsel he had given him, entrusted him 
 with dispensing the corn ; with power to do 
 what he thought would be for the benefit of 
 the people of Egypt, and for the benefit of 
 the king, as believing that he who first disco- 
 vered this method of acting, would prove the 
 best overseer of it. Eut Joseph having this 
 power given him. by the king, with leave to 
 make use of his seal, and to wear purple, 
 drove in his chaiiot through all the land of 
 Egypt, and took the corn of die husbandmen,* 
 allotting as much to every one as would be 
 sufficient for seed and for food, but withotil 
 disco\eriiig to any one the i-eason wl»y lie did 
 so. 
 
 • That 13, bought it for Phara ih at a ver>' low price. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW JOSEPH, WHEN HE WAS BECOJIE FAMOUS 
 IN EGVri', HAD HIS BllETHREN IN SUBJEC- 
 TION. 
 
 § 1. 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 ot 
 wisdom ; for that name denotes Ike revealer 
 of secrets. He also married a wife of very 
 liigh quality ; for he married the daughter ot 
 Petephres,! one of the priests of Heliopolis : 
 she was a virgin, and lier name was Asenalli. 
 By her he had children before tlie scarcity 
 came on ; Manass' h, the elder, which signi- 
 fies forgetful, because his present happiness 
 made him forget his former mi.sfortunes ; and 
 Epliraim, the younger, which f\g\n([cs restored^ 
 because he was restored to the freedom of 
 his forefathers. Now after Egypt had hap- 
 pily passed over seven years, according to Jo- 
 seph's interpretation of the dreams, the famine 
 came upon them in the eighth year; and be- 
 cause this misfortune fell upon them when 
 they had no sense of it beforehand, \ they 
 were all sorely afflicted by it, and came run- 
 ning to the king's gates ; and he called upon 
 Joseph, who sold the corn to them, being be- 
 come confessedly a saviour to the ivhole mul- 
 titude 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, 
 wlio are naturally akin to one another, should 
 have assistance from those that lived in hap- 
 piness. 
 
 2. Now Jacob also, when he understood 
 that foreigners might come, sent all liis sons 
 into Egypt to buy corn ; for the land of Ca- 
 naan was grievously atBicted with the famine 
 and this great misery touclie<l tiie whole con- 
 tinent. He only retained Benjamin, v.ho 
 was born to him by Kiichel, and was of the 
 same mother with Joseph. These sons of 
 Jacob tlien came into Egypt, and applied 
 themselves to Joseph, wanting 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 advan 
 
 t This Potiplwr, or, as .losephus, Petephros, who was 
 now a pritst of On, or Heliopolis, is the same iiaine in 
 Josephus, and jicrhaps in Moses also, with him who is 
 before called head cook or capt.iiu of the guard, and to 
 whom Joseph was ■■■old. bee (Jen. xxxvii. 56, xxxix. 1, 
 witli xli. 50. They are also aihrraed to be out and the 
 same pers-m in the Testament of Joseph (seel. l')i for 
 he is there said to lia\ e married the daughter of his 
 master ami mistress- ISor is tliis a notion peculiar to 
 that testament, but, as Dr. Bernard confesses (note on 
 Antiq- b iL chap. iv. sect. 1>, common to Josephus, to 
 the Septuagini uilerpreters, and to other learned Jews 
 of old time. 
 
 % This entire ignorance of the Egyptians of these 
 years of famine betoie they came, tokl us before, as \> eSl 
 as here (etuip v. spot. 7), by Josephus, seems to me al- 
 most incicditile. It is in no other coiiy that I kiiow of. 
 
 J 
 
J- 
 
 60 
 
 AKTIQUITJKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IL 
 
 tapeons to tlic pcMons tlial paiil if, wlicii they 
 took care to luinour Joscpli also. Now wliun 
 lie "ell knew liis brelliren, tliey tlioii^litnolliiii;^ 
 of" liiin ; for lie was l)iif a yoiitli wlion he left 
 tlicin, and was now come to an a<^e so much 
 greater, that the lineaments of his face were 
 cliani^eii, and lie was not known by them : 
 besides tiiis, the greatness of the dignity 
 wherein lie ap])eared, suffered them not so 
 much as t-o suspect it was he. He now made 
 trial what sentiments tliey had about affairs of 
 the greatest conse(Hience ; for lie refused to sell 
 them corn, and said they were come as spies 
 of the ki;ig's affairs ; and tliat they came 
 from several countries, and joined tiieniselves 
 together, and iiretended that tliey were of 
 kin, it not being possible that a jirivate man 
 snould breed up so many sons, and those of 
 so great beauty of countenance as they were, 
 such an e<lucation of so many children being 
 not easily obtained by kings themselves. 
 Now this he did in order to discover what 
 concerned his father, and what happened to 
 liim after his own departure from him, and as 
 desiring to know what was become of Benja- 
 min bis brother ; for ho was afraid that they 
 had ventured on the like wicked enterprise 
 against him that they had done to himself, 
 and had taken him oft' also. 
 
 3. 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 accusations laid 
 against them, they made their defence by 
 Ueubel, the eldest of them, who now became 
 their s))okeKman : " We come not hitlier," 
 said he, " with any unjust design, nor in 
 order to bring any harm to the king's affairs; 
 we oniy want to be preserved, as supposing 
 }our humanity might be refuge for us from 
 tiie miseries winch our country labours un- 
 der, we having heard that you proposed to sell 
 corn not only to your own countrymen, but to 
 strangers also, and that you determined to 
 allow tliat corn, in orcler 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 another, plainly show. Our father's 
 name is Jacob, an Hebrew man, who liad 
 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 our brethren, 
 wlit'se name was Joseph, died, our affairs 
 changed for the worse; for our father could 
 not forbear to make a long lamentation for 
 him ; and we are in allliction, both by the 
 calamity of the death of our brother, and the 
 miserable slate of our aged father. \\'e are 
 now, tJiirefore, come to buy corn, having in- 
 trusteil the care of our father, and the piovi- 
 kIou Kur our family, to I5enj:imin, our young- 
 est brotlier; and if thoii sendest to v.ux Iwute, 
 
 thou may est learn whether we are guilty of 
 the least falsehood in what wc say." 
 
 4. And thus did Kcubel endeavour to per- 
 suade Joseph to have a Ijetter opinion of them. 
 Hut when he had learned from them that Ja- 
 cob was alive, and that his brother was not 
 destroyed by them, he for the jjresent put them 
 in prison, as intending to examine more into 
 their aft'airs when he shoidd be at leisure. 
 IJut on the third day he brought them out, 
 and said to them, " Since you constantly af- 
 firm that you are not come to do any harm 
 to the king's aflairs ; 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 injury here; and if, 
 when ye have carried corn to your fatJier, you 
 will come to me again, and bring your bro- 
 ther, whom you say you left there, along with 
 you, for this shall be by me esteemed an as- 
 surance 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 calamitv of Jo- 
 seph ; and said, ' They were fallen into this 
 misery as a ))unishment inflicted by God for 
 what evil contrivances they had against him.' 
 And Ileubil was large in his reproaches of 
 them for their too late repentance, whence no 
 profit arose to Jose))h ; and earnestly exhorted 
 them to bear with patience whatever they suf- 
 fered, since it was done by God in way of pu- 
 nishment, on his account. 'I'hus they spako 
 to one another, not imagining that Joseph un- 
 derstood their language. A general sadness 
 also seized on them at Reubel's words, and a 
 repentance for what they had done ; and they 
 condemned the wickedness they had ))erpetrat- 
 ed, for which they judged tl.ey wereju'-.tly \s\x- 
 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 wil- 
 ling that they should take notice of him, lie 
 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 bid them 
 take the corn they had bought, and go their 
 way. He also commanded his stewanl pri- 
 vily to put the money which they had brought 
 with them for the purchase of corn into their 
 sacks, and to dismiss them therewith ; wlu) 
 did what he was commanded to do. 
 
 5. Now when Jacob's sons were come into 
 the land of Canai'.n, they told their father what 
 had hapi>eiud to them in J^gypt, and that they 
 were taken to have come thither as spies upon 
 the king ; and how they said they were bre- 
 thren, and had left their eleventh brother with 
 their father, but were not believed ; and l:ow 
 
 • Tlic leason why Synii-on mi!;ht be selictfsl out cf 
 the rest for .losri>irs'|iii'M)mT, is plain in the Teslaincnl 
 of Syincon, vi/. tliat he wxs one • f ihc bil!<T«t of all 
 Ji'sfi'ih's broihroii iicainst him, sei't. t'; ivliiih <ip|.t'»r< 
 also m pan by the 'l'ts'.an.< nt of Zakiiloii. <icu 5 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 fil 
 
 tlit-y had left Synieon witli the governor, un- 
 til Benjamin should go thither, anil l)e a tes- 
 timonial of the truth of what they had said : 
 and tliey bogged of their father to fear nothing, ' 
 but to send tlie lad along with them. But; 
 Jacob was not pleased with any thing lu's sons , 
 had done ; and he took the detention of Sy- : 
 meon heinously, and thence thought it a fool-^ 
 Ish thing to give up Benjamin also. Neither 
 did he yield to Reubel's persuasion, tiiough 
 he begged it of him ; and gave leave that the 
 grandfather might, in way of requital, kill his i 
 own sons, in case any harm came to Benja- ! 
 min in the journey. So they were distressed, j 
 and knew not what to do : nay, there was an- | 
 other accident tiiat still disturbed them more, ' 
 — the money that was found iiidden 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, Ja- j 
 cob din* [not] still resolve to send Benjamin 
 with his brethren, although there was no re- ' 
 turning into Egypt unless they came with 
 what they had proinised. Now the misery i 
 growing every day worse, and his sons beg- 
 ging it of him, he had no other course to take 
 in liis present circumstances. And Judas, 
 who was of a bold temper on other occasions, 
 spake his mind very freely to him : " That it 
 did not become him to be afraid on account of 
 .'lis 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 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 
 Pharaoh, by his unreasonable fear about his 
 son Benjamin, but ought to take care of the 
 preservation of Symeon, lest, by attempting 
 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 rosin, as also turpentine and ho- 
 ney. f 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 w.is, that they might find their father 
 well, and no way afflicted with grief for them. 
 And this lamentation lasted a whole day; so 
 tliat tho old man was at last tired with grief, 
 and staid behind ; but they went on their way 
 for Egypt, endeavouring to mitigate their grief 
 for tlieir present misfortunes, with the hopes 
 of better success hereafter. 
 
 • The coherence seems to me to show that the nega- 
 ive particle is here wanting, which 1 have supplied in 
 ^rackets; anil I wonder none have hiUierto suspected 
 tiiat it ought to be supplied. 
 
 t Of the precious lialsam of Judea, and the turpen- 
 tiiM, ikse the uotc on Antiq. b. viii. ch. vi. sect. 6. 
 
 6. As soon as they came info Egypt, they 
 were brought down to Joseph* but here no 
 small fear disturljed thoni, lest they shoiild be 
 accused about llie price of the corn, as if they 
 had cheated .Joseph. Tliey then made a long 
 apology to Joseph's steward ; and told him, 
 that when tliey came home they found the mo- 
 ney 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 de- 
 livered 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 attend- 
 ance on the king. So tliey offered liim their 
 presents; and upon his putting the question 
 to them about their father, they answered, that 
 they found him well. He also, upon iiis dis- 
 covery that Benjamin was alive, asked whether 
 this was their younger brother? for he had 
 seen him. Whereitpon they said he was : he 
 replied, that the God over all was his protec-. 
 tor. But when his affection to him made him 
 slied tears, he retired, desiring he niigiit not 
 be seen in that plight by his brethren. Tlien 
 Joseph took them to supper, and they were set 
 down in the same order <»6 they used to sit at tlieir 
 father'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. 
 
 7. Now when after supper they had com- 
 posed themselves to sleep, Joseph commandtd 
 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 lie 
 did, in order to make trial of his brethren 
 whether they would stand by Benjamin when 
 he should be accused of having stolen tiie cup, 
 and should appear to be in danger ; or « hetiier 
 they would leave him, and, depending on their 
 own innocency, go to their father v\iihou 
 him. — When the servant had done as he was 
 bidden, the sons of Jacob, knowing iiotln'ng 
 of all this, went their way, and took Symeon 
 along with them, and had a double cause of 
 joy, lioth 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 Benjamin's sack. Upon 
 which unexpected attack of the horsemen they 
 were much disturbed, and asked what the rea- 
 son was that they came thus upon men, who 
 a little before had been by their lord thought 
 worthy of an honourable and hospitable re- 
 ception ! They replied, by calling them wick- 
 ed wretches, who had forgot that very hospi 
 table and kind treatment which Joseph had 
 given them, and did not scruple to be injuri- 
 ous to him, and to carry off that cup out ot 
 
 1 which he had, in so friendly a manner, drank 
 
 -\. 
 
 .r 
 
-T 
 
 G2 
 
 ANTIQUITIHS OF Till: JEWS. 
 
 to tlu'm, andnot renjanlinp tlii-ir riiuiHlship with 
 Josi'pli, no more tli.ii) tlio (limjTL'r tlii-y slioiild 
 l»o ill if tlii-y wore takL-ii, in comparison of tlic 
 unjust gain. IltTeiipon lie tlireateneil lliat 
 tlioy slioiilil l)c punislii'd ; for tlioii<;li tlit-y had 
 escaped tho kiiowloilj^c of liim who was hut 
 a servant, yt't liad they not escaped the know- 
 ledi^o of (Jod, i\or liad gone oll'witli wliat ihey 
 had stolen ; and after all, asked why we come 
 upon them ? as if they knew nothing of the 
 matter: and he told them that they should 
 immediately know it by their punishment. 
 Tliis, and more of the same nature, did the 
 servant say, in way of reproach to thcni : but 
 they being wholly ignorant of any tiling here 
 that concerned them, laughed at what he said ; 
 and wondered at the abusive language which 
 the servant gave them, when he was so liardy 
 as to accuse those who did not befcire so inucli 
 as retain the price of their corn, which was 
 found ill their sacks, but brought it agaiji, 
 though nobody <?isc knew of any such thing, — 
 so far were they from ollering any injury to 
 Josepli 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 to them- 
 selves of any crime, they spake with assurance, 
 and, as they thought, without any danger to 
 .nemselves also. The servants desired there 
 nii"ht be a search made; but they said the 
 punishment should extend to him alone wiio 
 should be found guilty of the theft. So they 
 ir-ade the search ; and, having searched all the 
 rest, they came last of all to Benjamin, as 
 knowing it was Benjamin's sack in which they 
 had hidden the cup, they having indeed search- 
 ed the rest only for a show of accuracy: so 
 tlie rest were out 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 
 (hat came after them for their hindering them, 
 while they might, in the mean while, have got- 
 ten a "■ood way on their journey. But as soon 
 as they had searched iJenjamin's sack, they 
 foimd tiie cup, and took it from him ; and ail 
 was changed into mourning and lainentation. 
 Thev rent their garments, and wept for the 
 punishment which their brother was to under- 
 go for his theft, and for the delusion they had 
 put on their father, when they promised they 
 would bring Benjamin safe to him. What 
 added to their misery was, that this melancho- 
 ly accident came unlortiinately at a time wiien 
 thty thought they had been gotten oil' clear: 
 but they confessed that this misfortune of their 
 brother, as well as the grief of their father for 
 him, was owing to themselves, since it was 
 they tliat forced their father to send him with 
 tliem, when lie was ave-rse to it. 
 
 8. The horsemen therefore took Benjamin 
 and bi ought him to Joseph, his brethren also 
 
 folluwing him; vvho, when he saw liim in 
 custody, and tlicm in the habit of motiriiers, 
 said, " How came you, vile wretchesas you arc, 
 to have such a strange notion of my kindness 
 to you, and of God's providence, as impudent- 
 ly to do thus to your benefactor, uho in such 
 an hospitable manner had entertained you?" 
 — Whereujton they gave up themselves to be 
 punished, in order to save Benjamin ; and 
 called to mind what a wicked cnterprize they 
 had been guilly of against Joseph. 'J'hey 
 also pronounced him more happy than them- 
 selves, if he were dead, in being freed from 
 the miseries of this life; and if lie were alive, 
 that he enjoyed the pleasure of seeing God's 
 vengeance upon tliem. Tliey said fartiier, that 
 they were the plague of their father, since ihey 
 should now add to his former aflliction for 
 Joseph, this other allliction for Benjamin. 
 Reiibel also was large in cutting them upon 
 this occasion. But Joseph dismissed them; 
 for lie said they had been guilty of no offence, 
 and that he would content himself wilh the 
 lad's punishment ; for he s;»id it was not a fit 
 thing to let him go free, for the sake of those 
 who had not ofl'endcd ; nor was it a fit thing 
 to punish them logetherwith him whohad been 
 guilty of stealing. And when he promised to 
 give them leave to go away in safety, the rest 
 of them were under great consternation, and 
 were able to say nothing on this sad occasion. 
 But Judas, "ho 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 i)reservatinn of his brother. 
 " * It is true," said he, " O governor, that we 
 have been very wicked wilh regard to thee, and 
 on that account deserve puiiLshment ; even all 
 of us may justly be punished, although the theft 
 were not committed by all, but only by one of 
 us, and he the youngest also: but yet there 
 remains some hope for us, wlio otherwise must 
 be under despair on his account, and this 
 from thy goodness, which promises us a de- 
 liverance out of our present danger. And 
 now I beg thou wilt not look at us, or at that 
 great crime we have been guilly of, but at thy 
 own excellent nature, and take advice of thine 
 own virtue, instead of that wrath thou hast 
 agiunst us ; which passion those that other, 
 wise arc of lower character indulge, as they 
 do their strength, and that not only on great, 
 but also on very triHing occasions. Overcoine, 
 Sir, that passion, and bo not subdued by it, 
 nor sutler it to slay those that do not other- 
 \i ise presume upon their own safety, but are 
 desirous to accejjt of it from thee ; for tliis is 
 iiot the first time that thou wilt bestow it on 
 us, but before, when we caine to buy corn, 
 
 • This oration seems to me too large, and too un- 
 usual a digression, to have iK-cn coiiipoNCil by Jiirtas on 
 this oirasion. It seems to me a spccvh or declamation 
 composed formerly, in the person of Judas, and in the 
 w.iv of oratorv, Ihiit lay by him, and which he thought 
 fit to insert oii this oecision. See two more such speech- 
 es or declamations, .\ntiii. b. vi. ch. xiv. sect. 4. 
 
chaP. vr. 
 
 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 famine. 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 un- 
 fortunate as to lose the advantage of that glori- 
 ousbenefaction which they received from thee. 
 This will 1)6 an instance of equal favour, 
 though bestowed after a different manner ; 
 for thou w ilt save those this way whom thou 
 didst feed the other; and thou wilt hereby 
 preserve alive, by thy own bounty, those souls 
 which thou didst not suffer to be distressed by 
 famine, it being indeed at once a wonderful 
 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 thy- 
 self and mayst be esteemed kind to others, be- 
 sides those who, on other accounts, stand in 
 need of thy assistance ; since it is indeed a 
 right thing to do well to those who are in dis- 
 tress for want of food, but still a more glo- 
 rious 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 
 deserving commendation to forgive such as 
 have been guilty of small offences, that tend 
 to a person's loss, and this be praiseworthy in 
 him that overlooks such offences, to restrain 
 a man's passion as to crimes which are capi- 
 tal to the guilty, is to be like the most excel- 
 lent nature of God himself: — and truly, as 
 for myself, had it not been that we had a 
 fatiier, who had discovered, on occasion of 
 the death of Joseph, how miserably he is al- 
 ways afflicted at the loss of his sons, I had 
 not made any words on account of the saving 
 of our own lives ; I mean, any farther than 
 as that would be an excellent character for 
 thyself, !o preserve even those that would 
 have nobody to lament them when they were 
 dead, but we would have yielded ourselves up 
 to suffer whatsoever thou pleasedst ; hut 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 enjoy- 
 ment of life) have regard to our father, and 
 take pity of his old age, on whose accoiuit it 
 is that we make these supplications to thee. 
 We beg thou wilt give us those lives \ihich 
 this wickedness of ours has rendered obnox- 
 ious 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, lie is 
 afflicted with care for us : but if he hear of 
 our deaths, and what was the cause of it, he 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 63 
 
 will on that account die an immature death; 
 and the reproachful 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 insensibility, 
 before the sad story of our end come abroad 
 into the rest of the world. Consider these 
 things in this manner, although our wicked- 
 ness does now provoke thee with a just desire 
 of punishing that wickedness, and forgive it 
 for our father's sake ; and let thy commiser- 
 ation of him weigh more with thee than our 
 wickedness. Have regard to the old age of 
 our father, who, if we perish, will be very 
 lonely while he lives, and will soon die him- 
 self 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 already that denomination ; 
 thou wilt then, by that denomination, be pre- 
 served of God, the Father of all, — by show- 
 ing a pious regard to which, in the case ol 
 our father, thou wilt appear to horiour 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 to take it away, 
 and so to resemble him entirely in charity ; 
 for it is good to use that power, which can 
 either give or take away on the merciful side ; 
 and w hen it is in thy power to destroy, to for- 
 get that thou ever hadst that power, and to 
 look on thyself as only allowed power for 
 preservation ; and that the more any one ex 
 tends 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 wt 
 dare not show ourselves alive to our father 
 without our brother, but here must we par- 
 take of one and the same catastrophe of his 
 life ; and so far we beg of thee, O 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, viz. 
 That our brother committed his fault when 
 he was young, and not yet of confirmed 
 wisdom in his conduct ; and that men natur- 
 ally forgive such young persons. I end 
 here, without adding what more I have to 
 say, that in case thou condemnest us, that o- 
 mission may be supposed to have hurt us, 
 and permitted thee to take the severer side ; 
 but in case thou settest us free, that this may 
 be ascribed to thy own goodness, of which 
 thou art inwardly conscious, that thou freest 
 
r; 
 
 ANTKiLllIKS OI- TU!; .IHWS. 
 
 UOOK IL 
 
 us from condomnaiion ; and lliat not by barely 
 juvscrvinj; lis, but by gr.iiiting lis such a fa- 
 vour us will make us iippoar more rigliifous 
 than we ri'aliy are, ami by wpri-se. tin;^ to 
 tliyst'lf more motives for our deliverance than 
 we are able to produce ourselves. If, there- 
 fore, thou resolvest to slay him, I desire thou 
 wilt slay me in iiis steal, 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 ihou 
 seest, am better prepared for either of those 
 sud'erings."* So Judas, being very willing 
 to undergo any thing whatever for the deliver- 
 ance of his lirother, cast liimself down at Jo- 
 seph's feet, and earnestly laboured to assuage 
 and \)acify his anger. All his brethren also 
 fell down before him, weeping and delivering 
 themselves up to des'ruciion for the prcserva- 
 ticn of the life of Benjamin. 
 
 10. But Joseph, as overcome now with -bis 
 alTeetions, and no longer able to personate an 
 an'Tv inan, commanded all that were present 
 to depart, that he might make himself known 
 to his brethren when they were alone ; and 
 when the rest were gone out, he made him- 
 self known to his brethren ; and said, " I 
 commend you for your virtue, and your kind- 
 ness to our brother : I find you better men 
 than I could have expected from what you 
 contrived about me. Indeed, I diii all this 
 to try your love to your brodier ; so I believe 
 you were not wicked by nature in what you 
 did in my case, but that all has happened ac- 
 cording to God's will, who has lunby i)ro 
 cured our enjoyment of what good things we 
 have ; and, if he continue in a favourable 
 disposition, of what we hope for hereafter. 
 Since, therefore, I know that our father is 
 safe and well, beyond expectaion, and 1 see 
 vou so well disposed to your brother, I will 
 no longer remember what guilt you seem to 
 liave had about me, but will leave oft' to hate 
 you for that your wickedness ; and do rather 
 return you my thanks, that you have concur- 
 ri-d with tl;e intentions of God lo bring things 
 to their present state. I would have you 
 also rather to forget the same, since that im- 
 prudence of yours is come to such a happy 
 conclusion, than to be uneasy and blush at 
 those your oH'ences. Do not, therefore, let 
 your evil intentions, when you condemned 
 me, and that bitter remorse which might fol- 
 low, be a grief to you now, because tho--e in- 
 tentions were frustrated. Go, therefore, your 
 way, rejoicing in what has happened by the 
 
 joys tlie good things that we now liHve. 
 Mring, therefore, with you our father, and 
 your wives and children, and all your kin- 
 dred, and remove your habitations hither; for 
 it is not proper that the persons dearest to mc 
 should live remote from me, now my aft'airs 
 are so prosperous, especially when they must 
 endure five more years of famine." \\ hen 
 Joseph fiad said this, he embraced his breth- 
 ren, who were in tears and sorrow ; but the 
 generous kindness of their lirotlier seemed to 
 leave among them no room for fear, lest they 
 should be punished on account of wliat they 
 had consulted and acted against him ; and 
 they were then feasting. Now the king, as 
 soon as he heard that Joseph's brethren were 
 come to hiin, was exceeding glad of it, as if 
 it had been a part of his own good fortune ; 
 and gave them waggons full of corn, and gold 
 and silver, to be conveyed to his father. Now 
 when they had received more of their brolher, 
 part to be carried to their father, and part as 
 free gifts to every one of themselves, Ueiija- 
 inin having still n;ore than the rest, tliey de- 
 parted. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE RE-MOVAL OF JOSEPH'S FATHER, WITH AI.l 
 HIS FAMILY, TO HIM, OS ACCOUNT OK THE 
 FAMINE. 
 
 § 1. As soon as Jacob came to know, by his 
 sons returning home, in what state Josejili 
 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, jointly with tlu.- king, and 
 had intrusted to his care aluiost all his afl'airs, 
 he did not think any thing lie was told to be 
 incredible, considering the greatness of the 
 works of God, and his kindness to him, al- 
 though that kindness had, for some late times, 
 been intermitted ; so he immediately and 
 zealously set out upon his journey to him. 
 
 2. When he came to the M'ell of the Oath 
 (IJeerslieba), he oU'ered sacrifice to God; 
 and being afraid that the liapi)iness there was 
 in Egypt might tempt his posterity 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 (iromised them; 
 as also being afraid, lest, if this descent into 
 Egvpt were made without the will of God, 
 
 Divine Providence, and inform your father his family might be destroyed there; out of 
 
 ol' it, kst he should be spent with cares for 
 you, and deprive me of the most agreeable 
 part of my felicity ; I mean, lest he should 
 die before lie comes into my sight, and en- 
 
 fear, withal, lest he should depart this life 
 before he came to the sight of Joseph, he fell 
 asleep, revolving these doubts in his mind. 
 
 3. 15ut God stood by liim, and called to 
 him twice by his name; and when he asked 
 • 111 all this speech of Judas we m.iy observe, that who he was, God said, " No, sure ; it is nof 
 JosciihnssiiU sniniDsed that di-ath as ifie i.\>iii>hment I j„^t that thou, Jacob, shouldst be unac- 
 oftlu:l-.ii.Kgy,.t inUiecUysof^^^^^^^^^^ ^.j^,, j,,^j q^ ^.j.^ j^as been ever 
 
^ 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 a protector and a helper to thy forefathers, 
 and after them to thyself; for when thy fa- 
 tlier would have deprived thee of the domi- 
 nion, I gave it thee ; and by my kindness it 
 was that, when thou wast sent into Mesopo- 
 tamia all alone, thou obtaiiiedst good wives, 
 and returnedst with many cliiidren, and much 
 wealth. Thy whole family also has been 
 preserved by my providence ; and it was 1 
 who conducted Joseph, thy son, whom thou 
 gavest up for lost, to the enjoyment of great 
 prosperity. I also made him lord of Egypt, 
 so that lie differs but little from a king. Ac- 
 cordingly, I come now as a guide to thee in 
 this journey; and foretel to thee, tliat thou 
 shalt die in the arms of Joseph : and I in- 
 form thee, that thy posterity shall be many 
 ages in authority and gloiy, and tliat I will 
 settle them in tlie land vvhich I have promised 
 them." 
 
 4. Jacob, encouraged by this dream, went 
 on more cheerfully for Egyi't with his sons, 
 and all belonging to them. Now they were 
 in all seventy. I once, indeed, thought it 
 best not to set down tlie names of this family, 
 especially becaiise of their difficult pronunci- 
 ation [by the Greeks] ; but, upon the whole, 
 I think it necessary to mention those names, 
 that I may disprove such as believe that we 
 came not originally from Mesopotamia, but 
 are Egyptians. Now Jacob had twelve sons ; 
 of these Joseph was coune tliitlier before. We 
 t\ill therefore set down the names of Jacob's 
 children and grandchildren. Reuben had 
 four sons — Anoch, Phallu, Assaron, Charmi; 
 Simeon had six — Jamuei, Jamin, Avod, Ja- 
 chin. Soar, Saul; Levi had three sons-— Ger- 
 som, Caath, Merari ; Judas had three sons — 
 Sala, Phares, Zer<ih ; and by Phares two 
 grandchildren — Esrom and Amar ; Issacliar 
 had four sons — Tliola, Pluia, Jasob, Samaron; 
 Zabulon 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. Raciiel had two sons, tlie 
 one of whom, Joseph, had two sons also, 
 Manasses and Ephraim. The other, Benja- 
 min, had ten sons — Bolau, Bacchar, Asabel, 
 Geras, Naaman, Jes, Ros, Wompliis, Ojijihis, 
 Arad. These fourteen added to the thirty- 
 three before enumerated, amount to the num- 
 ber forty-seven ; and this was the legitimate 
 posterity of Jacob. lie had besides, Ijy Bilhah, 
 the handmaid of Rachel, Dan and Nephthali; 
 wiiiih last had four sons that followed him — 
 Jesel, Guni, Issari, and Sellim. Dan had an 
 only -begotten son, Usi. If these be added 
 to those before mentioned, they complete the 
 number fifty-four. Gad and Aser were the 
 sons of Zilplia, who was the handmaid of Lea. 
 Tliese had with them. Gad seven — Saphoniah, 
 Augis, Sunis, Azabon, Aerin, Eroed, Ariel. 
 \ser had a daughter, Sarah, and six male 
 childien, whose names were Jonme, Isus, 
 Isoui^ Buris, Abar, and Melcliit;!. If we add 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TflE JEWS. 
 
 65 
 
 these, which are sixteen, to the fifty-four, the 
 forementioned niunber [70] is coni])leted,* 
 Jacob not being himself included in that 
 number. 
 
 5. When Joseph undei-stood that his fatlier 
 was coming, for Judas his brother was come 
 before him, and informed him of his approach, 
 he went out to meet him ; and they met to- 
 gether at Ilerooijolis. But Jacob almost 
 fainted away at this unexpected and great 
 joy ; however, Joseph revived him, being yet 
 not himself able to contain from being afi'ect- 
 ed 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 w ere 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 tiiem leave 
 to follow the same ; who told him they were 
 good shepherds, and had bten used to follow 
 no other employment but tiiis alone. Where- 
 by 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 tlie Egyptians ; for 
 the Egyptians are prohibited to meddle ivith 
 feeding of sheep. f 
 
 6. When Jacob was come to the king, and 
 saluted him, and wished all prosperity to his 
 government, Pharaoh asked hin) how old he 
 now was ; upon whose answer, that he was an 
 hundred and thirty years old, he admired Ja- 
 cob on account of the lengtli of his life. And 
 when he had added, that still he had not lived 
 so long as his forefathers, he gave him leave 
 to live with his children in Kc!ioi)olis; for 
 in that city the king's shepherds had their 
 pasturage. 
 
 7. However, the famine increased among 
 the Egyptians; and this heavy judgment 
 grew more oppressive to them, because nci- 
 tlier did the river overflow the ground, for it 
 did not rise to its former height, nor did God 
 send rain upon it ;| nor did they indeed make 
 
 » All the Greek copies of Josejilnis have the negative 
 particle here, tliat ,lac(ib himself was not reckoned one 
 of the seventy souls that caine into Kgypt ; bnt the old 
 Latin copies want it, anil directly i:ssufe us he was ont 
 of them. It is therefore hardly certain which of these 
 was Joscphub's true reailinp, since the number seventy 
 is made up without him if wo reckon Leah for one'; 
 but if she be not reckoned, Jacob must himself be one, 
 to eomiilete the nunilnr. 
 
 t Joscphus thought that the Egyptians hatett or de- 
 spised the employment of a shepherd in the days of Jo 
 seph; whereas Bishop Cumberland has shown that ihey 
 rather hated such Phoenician or Canaanite shepherds 
 that had long enslaved the Egyptians of old time. See 
 his Sanehoniatho, p. o6], o65. 
 
 J Ueland here puts the question, how Josephus coidd 
 complain of its not raining in Egypt during this famine, 
 while the ancients alTirm that it never dees naturally 
 rain there. His answer is, that when the ancien'; deny 
 thiit it rains in Egypt, they only mean the l!p)iei Egyi>< 
 above the Delta, which i'; called Egyjit in ihc strictVs' 
 
(i6 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF Tllli JKWS. 
 
 riie Irast provision for themselves, so ipnorant 
 were tliey wlial wiis to be done; but Joseph 
 sold tlieni corn for tlieir money. IJut ivlien 
 their money failed them, they bought corn 
 with their cattle antl their slaves ; and if any 
 of l!iom had a small piece of land, they gave 
 up that to purchase them food, !)y 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 he (irmly 
 assured to the king, excepting the lands of 
 the priests; for their country continued still 
 in their own possession. And indeed this 
 see famine made their minds as well as their 
 bodies slaves; and at length compelled them! 
 to procure a sufliciency of food by such dis- 
 lionourablc means. Hut when this misery 
 ceased, and the river overflowed the ground, 
 and the ground brought forth its fruits ])lcn- 
 tifully, Josc^)h came to every city, and ga- 
 thered the people thereto belonging together, 
 and gave them back entirely the land which, 
 bv their own consent, the king might have 
 jKjssessed alone, and alone enjoyed the fruits 
 ji' it. He also exhorted them to look on it as 
 every one's own possession, and to fall to 
 their husbandry with cheerfulness; and to 
 l)ay, 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 
 svhat was enj<iined them ; and by this means 
 Joseph procured to himself a greater autho- 
 rity among the Egyptians, aiid greater love 
 to the king from them. Now this law, that 
 they should pay the fifth part of thtir fruits 
 as tribute, continued until their later kings. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of THE DEATH OF JACOB AND JOSEPH. 
 
 § 1. Now when Jacob had lived seventeen 
 years in ICgypt, he fell into a disease, and 
 died in the jiresence cT his sons ; init not till 
 he made his jirayers for their enjoying pros- 
 perity, and till he had foretold to them pro- 
 phetically how every one of them was to d\^ell 
 in the land of Canaan. But this happened 
 many years afterward. He also enlarged up- 
 on the praises of Joseph ;-|- how he had not 
 
 tcii?e; but that in the Delta [and by consequence in the 
 Lower Egypt adjiiiiiing to itj, it iliil of old, and still 
 d.K-s. n-.iii somcllines. Sot the Note on Antiq. b. iii. 
 cli. i. Mft. n. 
 
 * Josriiluis supposes thAt Joscnh now rcstoretl the 
 Egyptians their lands again, upuntnc payment of a fiflh 
 {wil as tribute. It sceins to me rather tlint the \nuii 
 vas now c.nsidercil as Pharaoh's land, and this fifth 
 part a.-; its rent, to be paid lo him, as he was iheir land- 
 lord, and tUcy his tenants; and that the lands were not 
 iirojicrlv restored, .ind this fiflli part reverv.-<l a." tri- 
 'ji^ie only till the days of Sesostris. See Eiiay on the 
 Old Testament, Apixiid. 14s, M9. I 
 
 T As to this cnconiiuni upon Joseph, tis preparatory j 
 to Jacob's adopt inj; Epliraciii and Mrri^ssei int. h' 
 
 remembered the evil doings of his brethren to 
 their disadvantage ; nay, on the contrary, was 
 kind to them, bestowing upon them so many 
 benefit-f, as seldom are bestowed on men's 
 own benefactors. He then commanded his 
 own sons that they should admit Joseph's 
 sons, Epiiraim antl Manasses, into their num- 
 ber, and divide the laud of Canaan in com- 
 mon will) them; concerning whom we shall 
 treat hereafter. Howevir, he inade it his re- 
 quest that he migiit l)e buried at Hebron. .S:) 
 he died, when he had lived full a hundred 
 and fifty years, three only abated, having not 
 been behind any of his ancc-tors in piety to- 
 wards God, and ha\ing such a recompense 
 for it, as it was fit those should have who were 
 so good as the«t were. Lot Jose))h, by tic 
 king's permission, carried his fathei's dead 
 body to Hebron, and there buried it, at a 
 great expense. Now his brethren were at 
 first unwilling to return back «ith him, b>.>- 
 cause they were afraid lest, now tlieir father 
 was dead, he should punish them for their 
 secret practices against h.im ; since he was 
 now gone, for whose sake he Iiad been so 
 gracious to them. But he persuaded them to 
 fear no harm, and to entertain no suspi<-ions 
 of him : so he brought them along with him, 
 and gave them great possessions, and never 
 left off his particular concern for them. 
 
 2. Joseph also died when he had lived a 
 hundred and ten years ; having been a man 
 of admirable virtue, and conducting all his 
 affairs by the rules of reason ; and used his 
 authority with moderation, which was the 
 cause of his so great felicity among the Egyj>. 
 tians, even when he came from another coun- 
 try, and tliat in such ill circumstances also, 
 as we have already described. At length his 
 brethren died, after they had lived hap|)ily 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 liad Josijih made 
 them promise him u|)on oath ; but what be- 
 came of every one of these men, and by what 
 toils they got the possession of the land of 
 Canaan, shall be shown hereafter, when 1 
 have fi'rst explained ujion what account it was 
 that they left Egypt. 
 
 own family, and to be admitted for two tribes, which 
 Ik^cplius here iiuntioiis, all our eopies of (.eiiesis o:; ii 
 i( icii. siviii I : nor do we know whence he loi>k it, <>: 
 wheiJier tt be not his own embellishment oiily 
 
"V. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CONrr.RNING THE AFFLICTIONS THAT BF.FF.L 
 THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT, DURING I-OUK 
 HUNDRED YEARS. * 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 67 
 
 tliat tic would excel all men in virtue, anil ob- 
 tain a glory that would be ioniemt>t'rod through 
 all ages. Which thing was so feared by the 
 kiwr, that, according to this man's opinion, 
 lie 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 niidwivesf sliould watcli the la- 
 bours of the Hebrew women, and observe 
 what is born, for those were the women who 
 were enjoined to do the office of midwives to 
 them ; and by reason of their relation to the 
 king, would not transgress his commands. He 
 enjoiived also. That if any parents should dis- 
 obey him, and venture to save their male 
 children alivc,|| they and their families should 
 be destroyed. This was a severe affliction in- 
 deed to those that suffered it, not only as they 
 were deprived of their sons, and, while tluy 
 \\ere the parents themselves, they were oblig- 
 ed to be subservient to the destruction of I'lcir 
 own children, but as it was to be supposed to 
 tt-nd to the extirpation of their nation, while 
 upon the destruction of ihc-ir children, and 
 their own gradual dissolution, the calainity 
 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 be contrive ten thousani' 
 subtile devices for that end ; for this child, 
 whom the sacred scribe foretold, was brougli' 
 
 I. Now it liappencd 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. Tiiey 
 also became very ill affected towards the He- 
 brews, as touched with envy at their prospe- 
 rity ; for when they saw how the nation of 
 the Israelites flourished, and were become 
 eminent already in plenty of wealth, which 
 thev had acquired by iheir 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 
 crown being now come into another family, 
 they became very abusive o tiie Israelites, 
 and contrived manv ways of afflicting them ; 
 for they enjoinetl theai to cut a great number 
 of channels for the river, and to build walls 
 for their cities and ramparts, that they nught 
 restrain the river, and hinder its waters from 
 stagnating, upon its running over its own 
 banks : they set them also to build pyramids, j- 
 and by all this wore them out ; and forced | up and concealed from the observers appoint- 
 tliem to learn all sorts of mechanical arts, I ed by the king ; and he that foretold him did 
 
 and to accustom themselves to hard labour. 
 And fo;:r hundred years did they s])end under 
 these afflictions ; for they strove one against 
 the other which sho Id get the mastery, the 
 Egyptians desiring to destroy the Israelites 
 by these labours, and the Israelites desiring 
 to hold out to tlie end under them. 
 
 2. While the afi'airs of the Hebrews were 
 in this condition, there was this occasion offer- 
 
 not mistake in the consequences of his preser- 
 vation, vvliich were brought to pass after tlu- 
 manner following : — 
 
 3. A man, whose name was Amram, oiie 
 of tlie nobler sort of the Hebrews, was afraid 
 for his whole nation, lest it should fail, by liit 
 want of young men to be brought up here- 
 after, and was very uneasy at it, his wife be- 
 ing then with child, and he knew not what to 
 
 ed itself to the Egyptians, which made them do. Hereupon he betook himself to prayer 
 
 to God ; and entreated him to have compas- 
 sion on those men who had nowise transgress- 
 ed the laws of his worship, and to aHord them 
 deliverance from the miseries they at that !in)e 
 endured, and to render abortive their enemies' 
 hopes of the destruction of their nation. Ac- 
 cordingly God had mercy on him, and « is 
 moved by his supplication. He stood by him 
 in his sleep, and exhorted him not to despai/ 
 of his future favours. He said farther, tliai 
 
 5 Joscplius is clear tliat these midwives were Egyp- 
 liaiis, and not iiracliti's, as in our other copies: wliicii 
 is very probable, it being not easily to be supposed that 
 I'haraoh could triHt the Israelite midwives to execiire 
 so barbarous a command against their ovm nation. Con 
 suit, therefore, and correct hence, our ordinary eopio», 
 Kxod. i. l.i, 'ij. And, indeed, Joscphus keenis to have 
 had much completer copies of the Pentateuch, or other 
 authentic records now Inst, about the birth and actioiis 
 of Moics, than either our Hebrew, .Samaritan, or Greek 
 Bibles afford us, which enabled liim to be so large antj 
 particular about him. 
 
 II Of this grandfather of Sesostris, RamestestheOre-al, 
 who slew the Israelite infants, and of the inscription on 
 his obelisk, containing, in my opinion, one of the old- 
 est records of mankind, see Essay on the Old Test. Ap- 
 Uaul. p. 139, Hi, H7, 217— -'30.' 
 
 more solicitous for the extinction of our na 
 tion. One of those sacred scribes,) who art 
 very sagacious in foretelling future events tru- 
 ly, told the king, that about this time there 
 woidd a child be born to the Israelites, wlio, 
 if he were reared, would bring the Egyptian 
 dominion low, and would raise the Israelites; 
 
 • As to the affliction of Abraham's posterity for 40 
 years, see Antiq. Ijook i. chap. x. sect. 5 ; and as to whnt 
 cities ihey built in Egypt, under Pharaoh Sesostris, ami 
 of Pharaoh Sesostris's drowning in the Red Sea, ste 
 Essay on the Old Testament, Append p. I.'!-? — 16J. 
 
 t Of thii buiUlin.* of the pyramids of Egypt by the 
 Israelites, see Perizonius Orig. .-Eijyptiac. chap. xxl. It 
 IS not impossible they might' buiid one or more of the 
 small ones ; but the l.irge ones seem much later. Only, 
 if tliey l>e all bu It of stone, this docs not so well agree 
 wi'h tiic Israelites' l,ilx)urs, which are said to have been 
 in brick, and not in stone, as Mr. Sandys observes in his 
 Travels, p. I'JT, 12S. 
 
 t Dr. I5omard informs us here, that instcail of this 
 single priest or prophet of t!ie EgvDtians, without a 
 name in Josephus, the Targum of Jlih.ithan names the 
 two fair.ous antagonists of Moses, Jannes and Jambrcs. 
 .Nor is it at all unlikely that it might be one of these 
 who foreboiled so much misery to the Egyptians, ana 
 i<> nnirh haiipinoss to tlie Israelites, from tlie -rearing cf 
 Mosc*. 
 
I>« 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OI- fHE JEW'S. 
 
 BOOK 11 
 
 he iliil not for;.^ct their piety towards liim, and he believed that Cod would some way for 
 would always reward them for it, as he had certain procure the safety of the cliild, in or- 
 fornurly granted iiis favour to their forefathers, der to secure the truth ot !iis own predictions, 
 and made tliem increase from a few, to so Wiien they had thus dilermiiud, they made 
 •vreat a nniltitude. lie put him in mind, that :;n ark of bulrushes, after the manner of a 
 when Abraham was come ah)ne out of 3Ieso- cradle, and of a l)i{,'ness sufficient for an in- 
 potamia into Canaan, he iiad been made iiap- fant to be laid in, without bein;; too straitened : 
 py, not only in oilier respects, but that when j they then daubed it over with sh'me, which 
 his wife w s at fust barren, she was afterwards' would naturally keep out the water from en- 
 0\ Ilim enabled to conceive seed, and bear ; tcrin;^ between the bulrushes, and )uit the in- 
 tiim sons. Tliat he left to Ismael and to hisi fant into it, and setting it aftoat upon the ri. 
 
 posterity the country of Arabia; as also to his 
 sons by Ketura, Troglodytis; and to Isaac, 
 Canaan. That l)y my assistance, said he, he 
 did great exploits in war, which, unless you 
 be yourselves impious, you must still remem- 
 ber. As for Jacob, he became well known to 
 strangers also, by the greatness of that pros- 
 perity in which he lived, and left to his sons, 
 who caine into Egypt with no more than seven- 
 ty souls, while you are now become above six. 
 hundred thousand. Know, therefore, tliat I 
 sJiall provide for you all in common what is 
 for your good, and i)articnlarly for thyself 
 what shall make thee famous; for that cliild, 
 jut of dread of whose nativity the Egyptians 
 have doomed the Israelite children to destruc- 
 tion, 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 surjjris- 
 ing way, he shall deliver the Hebrew nation 
 from the distress they are under from the E- 
 gyptians. 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 favour to thee, and to thy 
 posterity. He shall also have such a brother, 
 that he shall himself obtain my priesthood, 
 and his posterity rhall have it after him to 
 the end of the world. 
 
 4. 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 child, but on 
 account of the great happiness that was to come 
 to him also. However, the mother's labour 
 was such as afibrded a confirmation to what 
 was foretold by God ; for it was not known 
 to those that watched her, by the easiness of 
 her ])ains, and because the throes of her deli- 
 very did not fall upon her with violence. And 
 now they nourished the child at home private- 
 ly for three months; but after that time Am- 
 ram, fearing he should be discovered, and by 
 falling under the king's displeasure, both he 
 
 ver, they Ijtt't its preservation lo iio(\ ; so the 
 river received the child, and carried him along. 
 Hut jVIiriam, the child's si^ter, jKissed along 
 upon the bank over against him, as her mother 
 had bid her, to see whither the ark would be 
 carried ; where God demonstrated that hu- 
 man wisdom was nothing, but that the Su 
 preme Being is able to do whatsoever he pleas- 
 es : 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 surprising 
 manner preserved, and obtain a prosperous 
 condition almost from the very midst of their 
 calamities; those, 1 mean, whose ilangers i- 
 rise by the appointment of God. And, in- 
 deed, such a providence was exercised in the 
 case of this child, as showed the power of 
 God. 
 
 5. Thermuthis v.as the king's daugliter. 
 She was now diverting herself by the banks of 
 the river ; and seeing a cradle borne along by 
 the current, she sent some tliat could swim, 
 and bid 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 w'as greatly in love with it, on account of 
 its largeness and beauty ; for God had taken 
 such great 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 resolutions, on 
 account of the dread of liis nativity, for the 
 destruction of the rest of the Hebrew nation. 
 Thermuthis bid them bring her a womau 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 iVIiriam was by when this hap- 
 pened, not to appear to be there on purpose, 
 but only as staying to see the child ; and she 
 said, " It is in vain that thou, O queen, call- 
 est for these women for Uic nourisliing 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, perha|)s it may admit the breast 
 
 and his child should perish, and so he should | of one of its own nation." Now since she 
 make the promise of God of none effect, he I seemed to speak well, Thcnuuthis bid her pro- 
 determined rather to intrust the safety and care cure such a one, and to bring one of those 
 of the child to God, than to depend on his Hebrew women that gave suck. So when she 
 own concealment of liim, w liicli he looked up- had such authority given her, she came back 
 on as a thing uncertain, and whereby both '■ and brought the mother, who was know n lo 
 the child, so ))rivately to be nourished, and i nobody there. And now the child gladly ad- 
 hitnsclf, should be in imminent danger ; but '. uiitted the breast, and seeined tu stick cIo«e Ir 
 
CHAP. X. ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 69 
 
 it ; and so it was, that, at the queen's desire, 
 the nursing ot the child was entirely intrusted 
 to the mother. 
 
 G. Hereupon it was that Tiiermuthis im- 
 posed thh name Mouses upon him, from what 
 had happened when he vvas put into the river; 
 for tlie E^^yptians call water ijy the name 
 of Mo, and such as are saved out of it, by tlie 
 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 greatness 
 of mind as for his contempt of difficulties, the 
 best of all the Hebrews ; for Abraham was his 
 ancestor, of the seventh generation. For Mo- 
 ses was the son of Amram, who was the son 
 of Caath, whose father, Levi, was the son of 
 Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, who was the 
 son of Abraham. Now Moses's understand- 
 ing became superior to his age, nay, far be- 
 yond that standard ; and « hen he was taught, 
 hediscovered 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 
 l)im 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 hap- 
 pened frequently, that those that met him as 
 he was carried along the road, were obliged 
 to turn again upon seeing 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 spec- how MOSES MADE war with THE ETHIOPIANS 
 tators, and made tJiem stay longer to look up- 
 on him. 
 
 ing the kingdom of Egypt. But when the 
 sajred scribe saw this (he was the same per- 
 son wlio foretold that his nativity would bring 
 the dominion of that kingdom low), he made 
 a violent attempt to kill him; and crying ou( 
 in a frightful manner, he said, " This, O 
 king! this child is he of whom God foretold, 
 that if we kill him we shall be in no danger ; 
 he himself affords an attestation to the predic- 
 tion of the same thing, by his trampling upon 
 thy government, and treading upon thy dia- 
 dem. 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 Hebrews 
 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 such his education. Yet because, if 
 ISIoses 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 thcni, 
 they abstained from killing him. 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 7. Thermuthis, therefore, perceiving him 
 
 § 1. Moses, therefore, when he was bon?, 
 and brought up in the foregoing manner, and 
 
 to be so remarkable a child, adopted him for : came to the age of maturity, made his virtue 
 her son, having no c^i'd of her own. And manifest to the Egyptians ; and showed thar 
 when one time she liad carried Moses to her he was born for the bringing them down, antl 
 father, she showed him to him, and said she ! raising the Israelites; and the occasion Iw 
 thought to make him her father's successor, ! laid hold of was this : — The Ethiopians, wba 
 if it should piease God she should have no are next neighbours to tlie Egyptians, made 
 legitimate child of her own ; and said to him, an inroad into their country, which they seized 
 " I have brought up a child who is of a di- ' upon, and carried oft' the eH'ects of the Egyp- 
 vine form,* and of a generous mind ; and as ! tians, who, in their rage, fought against them, 
 I have received him from the bounty of the i and revenged tlie affronts they had received 
 river, in a wonderful manner, I thought pro- ; from tliem ; but, being overcome in battle, 
 per to adopt him for my son, and the heir of [some of them were stain, and the rest ran 
 thy kingdom." And when she had said this, away in a shameful manner, and by that 
 
 she put the infant into her father's hands : so 
 he took iiim, and hugged him close to his 
 breast ; and on his daughter's account, in a 
 pleasant way, put his diadem u])on his head ; 
 but Moses threw it down to the ground, and, 
 in a puerile mood, he wreathed it round, and 
 trod upon it with his feet ; which seemed to 
 bring along witli it an evil presage concern- 
 
 * M'hat .losoiihus here says of the beauty of Moses, 
 tlwt he was of a divine form, is very liki,- what St- 
 Siejihcn savs of the same bcaiitv ; that Moses was beau- 
 tiful in the' sight of God, Acts vii. 2U. 
 
 means saved themselves ; whereupon the 
 Etiuopians followed after them in tlie pur- 
 suit, and tliinking that it would be a mark of 
 cowardice if they did not subdue all Egypt, 
 they went on to subdue the rest with greater 
 vehemence ; and when they had tasted the 
 sweets of the country, they never left off the 
 prosecution of the war ; and as the nearest 
 parts had not courage enough at first to fij;!it 
 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, 
 
 "V 
 
"X 
 
 70 
 
 ANTlCiUITlKS OF Till; JKWS. 
 
 BOOK li. 
 
 uikUt this s.a(i opiircssion, bt-took tliunisi'lvL-s 
 to tlit'ir oracles and proplu'cii's ; and when 
 God had given thcin thib counsel, to niiike 
 use of Moses tlic Hebrew, and take his assisl- 
 4nce, the king coniinandi-d his daugliter to 
 produce him, that he niigiit be the general* 
 of iheir army. Upon which, when slie iiad 
 made him swear he would do iiini no harm, 
 she delivered him to the king, and supposwl 
 his assistance would be of great advantage to 
 tliem. She witiial reproached the priest, who, 
 when they had before adnumished the l''gyi>- 
 tians to kill him, was not ashamed now to own 
 tlieir want of his help. 
 
 2. So INIoses, at the persuasion both of 
 Th''rmuthis and the king himself, cheerfully 
 undertook the business: and the sacred scribes 
 of both nations were glad ; those of the Egyp- 
 tians, that tliey should at once overcome their 
 enemies by Ids valour, and that by the same 
 ))iecc of management Moses would be slain; 
 but those of the Hebrews, that they shoulil 
 escape from the Egyptians, because Moses 
 was to be their general ; but Moses prevented 
 t' e enemies, and took and led his army before 
 tliose enemies were apprized of his attacking 
 tbcin ; for he did not march by the river, but 
 by land, where he gave a wonderful demon- 
 stration of his sagacity ; for when the ground 
 was difficult to be passed over, because of the 
 multitude of serpents (which it produces in 
 vast nuwibers, 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 mischief, and an unusual 
 fierceness of sight, some of wliich ascend out 
 of the ground unseen, and also ily in the air, 
 and so come upon men at unawares, and do 
 them a mischief), Moses invented a wonder- 
 ful stratagem to preserve the army safe, and 
 witliout liurt ; for he made baskets, like unto 
 aiks, of sedge, and filled them with ibes,-}- 
 and carried them along with them ; which 
 animal is the greatest enemy to serpents ima- 
 ginable, for tliey ily from them when they 
 come near them ; and as they fly thej' are 
 caught anil devoured by them, as if it were 
 done by the liarts ; but the ibes are tame 
 creatures, and only enemies to the serpentine 
 kind : but al)out these ibes I say no more at 
 present, since the Greeks themselves are not 
 
 • Tliis liistorv of Moses, a^ general of the Egj-ptinns 
 against the Kthiojiians, iswiiolly omitted in our Uibles; 
 but IS til us CI led by Irtiia'us, Irom Jostphus, and that 
 soon alter bis own a^c:— " Josephus says, that when 
 Moses was nourished in the king's palace, lie was ap- 
 poiiUcd pencral of tlie army ajjainst tlie Kthiopiaiis, and 
 coiKiuored tliem, when he married that king's daugh- 
 ter; because, out of hci afloclioii lor liini, she dcbveicd 
 the city up to him." .See the Kragincnts of Irena'us, 
 ap. ediL (iiab. p. <72. Nor jierliai.s did M- .SIcplicn 
 refer to any tiling else wlieii he said of Moses, bi'fore lie 
 was sent by God to the tsiaelit< 8, that lu; w;is not only 
 IcariK-i) in al) the uisdoiii of the Kgyjitians, but was 
 alio mighty in words .iml in deeds, Ai ts vii. i't' 
 
 + Hlinv spe.'iks of these birds ciUlcd Ibes; luid says, 
 " "I'he t^gvptians invoked them against the serpciiLs." 
 Hist. Nat ' book x. ch;i|>. 'M. Straiw speaks of this 
 uLind Meroe, and these rivers Asta)ius and Astaboras, 
 buoli nvi. p. 771, 786 ; and book xvii. p. H'2l. 
 
 iinacipiainted »ith lliis sort of liird. As i>oon, 
 therefore, as jMoses was come to the land 
 which was tlie breeder of these serpents, he 
 let loose the ibes, and by their means repel- 
 led the serpentine kind, and used them for his 
 assistants before the army came upon that 
 ground. When he hail therefore proceeded 
 thus on his journey, he came upon the Ktliio- 
 jiians before they expected him ; and, joining 
 biittle with them, he l)eat tliem, and deprivid 
 them of the hopes they had of success against 
 the Egyjjtians, and went on in overthrowing 
 ilieir cities, and indeed made a great slaugh- 
 ter of these Ethiopians. Now when the 
 Egyptian army had once tasted of this prtis- 
 perous success, by the means of Moses, they 
 did not slacken their diligence, insomuch that 
 the Ethiopians were in danger of being re- 
 duced to slavery, and all sorts of destruction ; 
 and at length tliey retired to Saba, whicli was 
 a royal city of Etliioj)ia, which Caiiibyses 
 afterwards named iVIeroe, after tlie name cf 
 his own sister. The place was to be besiegec' 
 with very great difficulty, since it w;is botli 
 encompassed by the Nile quite round, and 
 tlie other rivers, Astapus and Astaboras, made 
 it a very difficult thing for such as attem])ted 
 to pass over them ; for the city was situate 
 in a retired place, and was inhabited after the 
 manner of an island, being encompassed with 
 a strong wall, and having the rivers to guard 
 them froin tlieir enemies, and having grea/ 
 ramiiatts between the wall and the rivers, in 
 somuch, that wlien the waters come with the 
 greatest violence it can never be drowned ; 
 uhich ramparts make it next to impossible 
 for ereii such as are gotten over the rivers to 
 take the city. However, while Moses was 
 uneasy at the army's lying idle (for the ene- 
 mies durst not come to a battle), this acci- 
 dent happened; — Tharbis was the daughter 
 of the king of the Ethiopians: s!ie hap])ened 
 to see Moses as he led the army near the 
 walls, and fought with great courage; and 
 admiring the subtility of his undertakings, 
 and believing him to be the auttior of llie 
 Egyptians' success, u hen they had Le/brc de- 
 sijaiied of recovering their liberty, and to be 
 the occasion of the great danger the Ethio- 
 pians were in, when tJiey had before boasted 
 of their great achievements she fell deeply 
 in love uith him ; and upon tlie prevaliiicy 
 of that passion, sciit to hiiii tlie most faithful 
 of all her servants to discourse with him about 
 their m;irriage. He thei'eii])oii accejited tluj 
 otter, on condition she would procure the de- 
 livering up of tlie city ; and gave her the assur- 
 ance of an outh to take her to bis wife ; and 
 that wlicn he had once taken possession of 
 the city, he would not break his oath to her. 
 No sooner Wii* the agreement made, but it took 
 etlect immediately ; and when .Moses h;id cut 
 off the Ethiopians, he gave thanks to God, 
 and consummaied his marriage, and Led tlie 
 Egy;itians b;u'k to their own laud. 
 
cn.w. X.11. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 71 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 new MOSES FLED OUT OF EGYPT INTO MIDIAN. 
 
 § 1. Now tlie Egyptians, after tliey had been 
 ) reserved by INIoses, entertained a iiatred to 
 liim, and were very eager in compassing their 
 designs against liim, 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 
 shiin. The king Iiad also some intentions of 
 himself to the same purpoise, 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 instigated by 
 the sacred scribes, he was ready to undertake 
 to kill Woses ; but when he had learned be- 
 forehand what plots there were against him, 
 lie went away privately ; and because the 
 puljlic 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 despisetl that didiculty courageously ; 
 and' when he came to the city Midian, which 
 lay upon the lied Sea, and was so denomi- 
 nated from one of Abraham's sons by Ketu- 
 raii, he sat upon a certain well, and rested 
 himself there after his laborious 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 
 recommended his virtue, and afforded him an 
 opportunity of bettering his circumstances. 
 
 2. For that country having but little water, 
 the shepherds used to seize on the wells be- 
 fore others came, lest their ilocks should want 
 water, and lest it should be spent by others be- 
 fore they came. There were now come, there- 
 fore, to this well seven sisters that were vir- 
 gins, the daughters of Raguel, a priest, artid one 
 thought worthy by the people of the country of 
 great honour. Tliese virgins, who took care of 
 their father's flocks, which sort of work it was 
 customary and very familiar for women to do 
 in tlie country of the UVoglodytes, they came 
 first of all, and drew water out of the well in 
 a quantity sufUcient 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 overlooked 
 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 l>ent'tit from him, came to their father, 
 
 and told him how they had been affronted by 
 the she|)lierds, and assisted by a stranger, and 
 entreated that he would not let this generous 
 action be done in vain, nor go without a re- 
 ward. Now the father took it well from his 
 daughters that they were so desirous to re- 
 ward their benefaitor; and bid them bring 
 IVIoses into his |)resence, that he might be 
 rewarded as he deserved , and alien Moses 
 came, he told him what testimony his daugh- 
 ters bare to him, that he had assisted them ; 
 and that, as he admired him for his virtue, he 
 said that Moses had bestowed sucli his assist- 
 ance on persons not insensible of benefits, 
 but where they were both able and willing to 
 return t!ie kindness, and even to exceed the 
 measure of his generosity. So he made him 
 his son, and gave him one of his daugiiters in 
 marriage ; and appointed him to be the guard- 
 ian and superintendant over his lattie ; for of 
 old, all the wealth of the barbarians was in 
 those cattle. 
 
 CHAPTER XII, 
 
 CONCEKXIXG THE EL'RN'ING BUSH, AND THE 
 ROD OF M03FS. 
 
 § 1. Now Moses, when he had obtained the 
 favour of Jethro, for that was one of the 
 names of Raguel, staid there and fed his 
 flock ; but some time afterward, taking iiis 
 station at the mountain called Sinai, he drove 
 his flocks thither to feed them. Now this is 
 the highest of all the inountains thereabout, 
 and the best for pasturage, the herbage being 
 there good ; and it had not been before fed 
 u])on, because of the opinion men had that 
 God dwelt there, the slieplierds not daring to 
 ascend up to it ; and here it was tliat a won- 
 derful prodigy happened to Moses ; for a (ire 
 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 strangr 
 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 whilher 
 no man had ever come before, because the 
 place was divine ; and advised him to remove 
 a great way off from the flame, and to be con- 
 tented with what he had seen ; and though 
 he were himself a good man, and tlie off- 
 spring of great men, yet that he should not 
 pry any farther : and he foretold to him, that 
 he should have glory and honour among men, 
 by the blessing of God upon him. He alsc 
 commanded him to go away thence with con- 
 fidence to Egypt, in order to his being the 
 commander and conductor of the body of tlie 
 Ilebrpws. and to his delivering his own i^eo- 
 
V. 
 
 72 
 
 ANTKiUITJKS OF THE .JEWS. 
 
 pic from the injuries tlicy sufTi-red tlicre : 
 " I'or," said (iod, " tlicy shall inhabit this 
 li.i|>|)y land which your fori't'athiT Ahrahani 
 inhaliiti'd, and shall have the enjoyment of all 
 sorts of good tilings ; and thou, hy tliy pru- 
 dence, shalt guide them to those good things." 
 l?iit still he enjoined him, %vhen lie had brought 
 the Hebrews out of the land of Egyj)!, to come 
 to that place, and to ofl'er sacrifices of thanks- 
 giving there. Such were the divine oracles 
 ivliich were delivered out of the fire. 
 
 2. IJut Moses was astonished at what lie 
 saw, and much more at what he heard ; and 
 he said, " I think it would be an instance of 
 too great madness, () I.onl, for one of that 
 regard I bear to thee, to distrust thy jiower, 
 since 1 myself adore it, and know that it has 
 Ijeeil made manifest to my progenitors ; but 
 I am still in doubt how 1, who am a ])iivate 
 man, and one of no abilities, should eitlivr 
 persuade my own countrymen to leave the 
 country they now inhabit, and to follow me 
 to a land whither I lead them ; or, if tliey 
 Uiould be persuaded, how can 1 force Pha- 
 raoh to ])ermit them to depart, since they 
 augment their own wealth and prosperity by ' 
 the labours and works they put ujion them ?" 
 
 3. But God persuaded him to be ecu- 1 
 rageoiis on all occasions, and promised to be' 
 vith 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 
 bid 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 rolleil 
 itself round in its folds, and erected its head, 
 as ready to revenge itself on such as should 
 assault it ; after which it became a rod again 
 as before. After this God bid Moses to put' 
 Ills right hand info his bosoin : 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, ujiou ! 
 God's command, took some of the water thatj 
 vas near him, and poured it upon the ground, ' 
 and saw the colour was that of blood. Ujion 
 the wonder that Moses showed at these signs, ' 
 God exhorted him to be of good courage, I 
 and to lie assured that he would be the great- 
 est sup])ort to him ; and bid him make use of 
 those signs, in order to obtain belief among 
 all men, that " thou art sent by me, and 
 dost all things according to my commands 
 Accordingly I enjoin thee to make no ir.ore 
 delays, but to make haste to Egypt, and to 
 travel night and day, and not to draw out the 
 time, and so make 'he slavery of the Hebrews 
 and their sufferings to la.it the longer." j 
 
 4. Moses having now se.n and heard these 
 wonders that assured him of the truth of these ' 
 promises of God, liad no room left him todis- ' 
 believe them : he entreated him to grant him \ 
 that power when he should be in Egypt; and ^ 
 ^'ioiLght liiin to vouclisafeliim tile know ledge I 
 
 of liis own name ; and, since he had heard 
 and seen him, that he would also tell him his I 
 name, that when he odered sacrifice he might 
 invoke him by such his name in his oblations. 
 Whereupon God declared to liim his holy 
 name, which 1 ad never been discovered to 
 men before; concerning which it is not law- 
 ful for me to say anv more.* Now these 
 signs accompanied Moses, not then only, but 
 always when he jirayed for them : of all 
 which signs he attributed the finnest assent ic 
 the fire in the bush ; and believing that God 
 would be a gracious sujiporter tu him, he 
 hojied he should be al)le to deliver his own na- 
 tion, and bring calamities on the Egyptians. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 11. 
 
 HOW MOSES AND AARON RtTLUNED INTO 
 EGYPT TO PHAKAOH. 
 
 § 1. So Moses, when he understood that tlie 
 Pharaoh, in whose reign he fled away, was 
 dead, asked leave of Raguel to go to Egypt, 
 for the benefit of his own people: and he 
 took with him Zipporah, the daughter of Ua- 
 guel, 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 IIhU he ivas in a strange land; aim 
 Eleazer, th<it, bi/ llir atsislance pf the G'nl nj 
 his fathers, he had escaped from lite Egi/pliinis. 
 Now when they were near the holders, Aaron 
 his brother, l)y 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. Dut as they were go- 
 ing forward, the chief men among the He- 
 brews, having learned that they were coming, 
 met them; to whom Mo>=es declared the signs 
 he had seen ; and while they could not be- 
 lieve them, he inade them see them. So they 
 took courage at these surprising and unex- 
 ))ected siglus, and hoped well of their entire 
 deliverance, as believing now that God took 
 care of their preservation. 
 
 2. Since then I^Ioses 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 received thegovern- 
 
 • Thissiiiwrstitioiisff.-irofilisc vcring the n.iir.c with 
 four letters, wliirli of lalo wi> have l*t.n iiseil falsely to 
 l.ronimiice Jehovah, Imi sieiiis to have Ix-fii orifiinally 
 IHoiioiiiiecd Jaholi, or Jao, is never, 1 think, hc.ud of 
 ull this passape of Joscphiis; and tliis siipcrstition, in 
 not proiiouiieiiiB that name, has continiicil amuii;: the 
 Itabinieal Jews to this day flhoiigh whctlior thr Saiiia- 
 rilaiis and I'araiies observed it so early, dtK-snot ap|icar). 
 Joseplius also durst not set down tlic very words of the 
 ten eoniniaiuhnciits, ns wc shall seo hi-reafler, Ai.tiq. 
 book iii. eh. v. sect. 4; wliirh siiiHT>titious mIohcc, I 
 Ihiiik, h.-is yet not boon coiitiiuu.loviHi by'io Habl'Mis. 
 1 1 is however notloubt but IkHli tiaso o.iiiiious oon>ojt- 
 ineiils were lauf^Iit Joscphiis by tlie I'hari.sees ; a boily 
 ol" iiie^iat once very wicked and very sujierstitiuiu. 
 
■V 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 73 
 
 ment, and told him how much he had done 
 for ilye good of the Egyptians, when they 
 were despised by the Ethiopians, and tlieir 
 country laid waste by them ; and how he had 
 been the commander of their forces, and had 
 laboured for them, as if tliey had been his 
 own people 5 and he informed him in what 
 danger he had been during that expedition, 
 without having any proper returns 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 l:im of the authority of those com- 
 mands whicli he had given him. He also ex- 
 horted liim not to disbelieve what he told him, 
 nor to oppose the will of God. 
 
 3. But when the king derided Moses, he 
 made liim in earnest see the signs that were 
 done at mount Sinai. Yet was the king verj' 
 angry witii him, and called him an ill man, 
 wlio had formerly run away from his Egyp- 
 tian slavery, and came now back with deceit- 
 ful tricks, and wonders and magical arts, to 
 astonish liim. And when he had said tliis, 
 he commanded the priests to let him see the 
 same wonderful sights ; as knowing that the 
 Egyptians were skilful in this kind of learn- 
 ing, 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 tlie priests threw down tlieir rods, they 
 became serpents. But Moses was not daunt- 
 ed at it; and said, " O king, I do not myself 
 despise the wisdom of the Egyptians, but I 
 say that what 1 do is so mucli superior to 
 
 vhat these do by magic arts and tricks, as 
 divine power exceeds the power of man : but 
 
 1 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 ser- 
 pent. It obeyed him, and went all round, and 
 devoured the rods of the Egyptians, which 
 seemed to be dragons, until it had consum- 
 ed them all. It then returned to its own form, 
 and Moses took it into his hand again. 
 
 4. However, the king was no more moved 
 when this was done than before ; and being 
 very angry, he said that he should gain no- 
 thing by this his cunning and shrewdness against 
 the Egyptians; — and he commanded him 
 that was the chief task-master over the He- 
 brews, to give them no relaxation from their 
 ahours, but to compel them to submit to 
 
 greater oppressions than before ; and though 
 he allowed them chaff before for making 
 theirbricks, he would allow it them no long- 
 er ; but fie made them to work hard at brick- 
 making in the day-time, and to gather chaff 
 in the night. Nov? when their labour was 
 
 'thus doubled upon them, tliey laid the blame 
 I upon IMoses, because their labour and their 
 I misery were on his account become more se- 
 vere to them ; but Moses did not let his cour- 
 age sink for the king's threatenings ; nor did 
 he abate of his zeal on account of the He- 
 brews' complaints; but he supported himself, 
 and set his soul resolutely against them both, 
 ' and used his own utmost diligence to procure 
 ' liberty to fiis countrymen. So he went to 
 ; the king, and persuaded him to let the He- 
 , brews go to mount Sinai, and there to sacri- 
 fice to God, because God had enjoined them 
 I 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 obstruction in the way of the divine 
 commands, and so occasion his own suffering 
 such punishments as it was probable any one 
 that counterworked the divine commands 
 sljould undergo, since tlie severest afflictions 
 arise from every object to those that provoke 
 the divine wrath against tiiem ; 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 un- 
 friendly and adverse towards tliem. He said 
 farther, that the Egyptians should know this 
 f)y sad experience ; and that besides, the He- 
 brew people should go out of their country 
 without their consent. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CONCERNING THE TEN PLAGUES WHICH CAMK 
 Ul'ON THE EGYPTIANS. 
 
 § 1, But when the king despised the words 
 of Moses, and had no regard at all to them, 
 grievous plagues seized the Egyptians ; every 
 one of whicli I wi^l describe, both because no 
 such plagues did ever happen to any other 
 nation as the Egyptians now felt, — and be- 
 cause I would demonstrate 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 wrath, and avenge their iniquities upon 
 them. For the Egyptian river ran with bloody 
 water at the command of God, insomuch that 
 it could 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 no way different 
 from what it naturally used to be. As the king 
 therefore knew not what to do in these sur- 
 prising circumstances, and was in fear for the 
 Egyptians, he gave the Hebrews leave to go 
 G 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK It. 
 
 away ; but when llicplapue ceased, liechanged 
 liisiiiind again, ujidwuuld not siifl'crtiieni togo. 
 2. Uut when God saw tliat he was un- 
 grateful, and upon the ceasing of tliis calatn- 
 ity would not grow wiser, he sent another 
 
 was destitute of husbandmen for its culti- 
 vation ; but if any thing escaped destruction 
 from them, it was killed by a distemper which 
 the men underwent also. 
 
 4. But when Pharaoh did not even then 
 
 plague upon the Egyptians: — An innumer- I yield to the will of God, but, while he gave 
 able multitude of frogs consumed the fruit of j leave to the husbands to take their wives with 
 the ground ; the river was also full of them, 1 them, yet insisted that the children should be 
 
 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 
 oppression of these miseries, tlie king ordered 
 JMoses to take the Hebrews with him, and be 
 gone. Upon which the whole multitude of 
 tlie 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 plagi e, he forgot the cause of it, 
 and retained the Hebrews ; and, as though 
 he had a mind to try the nature of more such 
 judgments, he would not yet snfier Moses 
 and his people to depart, having granted that 
 liberty rather out of fear than out of any good 
 consideration.* 
 
 3. Accordingly God punished his falseness 
 with another plague, added to the former ; 
 for there arose out of the bodies of the Egyp- 
 tians an inaumerablequantity of lice, by which, 
 wicked as they were, they miserably perished, 
 as not able to destroy this sort of vermin 
 either with washes or with ointments. At 
 which terrible judgment the king of Egypt 
 was in disorder, upon the fear into which he 
 reasoned himself, lest liis jjeople 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 
 were only Moses, and not God, wlio punished 
 the Egyptians for the sake of the Ilebrews : 
 for he filled that country full of various sorts 
 of pestilential creatures, with their various 
 properties, such indeed, as had never come 
 into the sight of men before, by whose means 
 the men perished tliemselves, and the land 
 
 » Of thlsju(!ii-ial hardening the hcart.i. and blinding 
 *c tvcs of wiikcd men, or infatuating them, as a just 
 punishment for tlicir other wilful sins, to their own de- 
 (truction, «ee the uutc on Antiq. b. vii, ch. ix sect 6 
 
 left behind, God presently resolved to punish 
 his wickedness with several sorts of calamities, 
 and thojrt? worse than the foregoing, which yet 
 had so generally afHicted them ; for their bo- 
 dies had terrible boils, breaking forth with 
 blains, while they were already inwardly con- 
 sumed ; and a great part of the Egyptians per- 
 ished 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 suHer- 
 ed before, nor was it like to that which falls 
 in other climates in winter time.* but was larg- 
 er than that which falls in the middle of sjiring 
 to those that dwell in the northern 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 hail ; so that to the Egyptians all 
 hopes of the future fruits of the ground were 
 entirely lost. 
 
 5. One would think the forementioned ca- 
 lamities might have been sufficient for one that 
 was only foolish, without wickedncSis, to make 
 him wise, and to make him sensible what was 
 for his advantage. But Pharaoh, led not so 
 much by his folly as 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 bid Moses take the He- 
 brews away, with their wives and children, 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 ofl'er sacrifices to God of those 
 cattle ; and the tiine being prolonged on this 
 account, a thick darkness, without the least. 
 li.:5ht, spread itself over the Egyptians, where- 
 by 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 swallowed up by the dark cloud. 
 Besides this, when the darktiess, after three days 
 and as many nights, was dissipated, and when 
 Pharaoh did not still repent and let the Hebrews 
 go, Moses came to him and said, " How long 
 wilt thou be disobedient to the command of 
 God? for he etijoins thee to let the Hebrews 
 go ; nor is there any otlier way of being freed 
 from the calamities you are under, utiless you 
 do so." But the king was angry at what ho 
 said, and threatened to cut off his head if he 
 came any more to trouble hiin about these mat- 
 ters. Hereupon Moses said he would not 
 
 • As to this winter or spring hail near Eg)-pt and Ju- 
 dca, see the like on lli under and lightniuc there, ia 
 tlie note on Antiq. !>. vi> ch. v, sect. & 
 
"V 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 75 
 
 speak to liim any more about them, for that 
 lie himself, together with the principal men 
 among the Egyptians, should desire the He- 
 brews to go away. So when Moses had said 
 this, he w<>iit his way. 
 
 6. But when God hadsignified, that with one 
 more plague he would compel the Egyptians to 
 let the Hebrews go, he commanded Moses to 
 tell the people that they should have a sacrifice 
 ready, and that they should prepare them- 
 selves on the tenth day of the month Xan- 
 thicus, against the fourteenth (which month 
 is called by the Egyptians Pharmuth, and 
 Nisan by the Hebrews; but the ^Macedonians 
 call it Xanthicus) and that he should carry 
 away the Hebrews with all they had. Accord- 
 ingly, he liaving got the Hebrews readj" for 
 their departure, and having sorted the people 
 into tribes, he kept them together in one 
 place ; but when the fourteenth day was come, 
 and all weie ready to depart, they offered the 
 sacrifice, and purified their houses with the 
 blood, using bunches of hyssop for that pur- 
 pose ; and when they had supped, they burnt 
 the remainder of the flesh, as just ready to de- 
 part. Whence it is that we do still offer this 
 sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call 
 this festival Pasc/ia, which signifies the feast of 
 the jiassover ; because on that day God passed 
 Tis over, and sent the plague upon the Egyp- 
 tians ; 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. Accordingly he called for Loo- 
 ses, and bid them begone ; as supposing, that 
 if once the Hebrews were gone out of the 
 country, Egypt should be freed from its mise- 
 ries. They also honoured the Hebrews with 
 gifts;* some, in order to get them to depart 
 quickly, and others on account of their neigh- 
 bourhood, and the friendship they had with 
 them. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 HOW THE HEBREWS, UNDEIl THE CONDUCT OF 
 MOSES, LEFT EGYPT. 
 
 § 1. So the Hebrev»s went out of Egypt, 
 while the Egyptians wept, and repented that 
 they had treated them so hardly, — Now they 
 
 * These large presents made to the Israehtes, of ves- 
 sels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, were, as 
 Josephus truly calls them, gifts really given them ; not 
 lent them, as our English falselv renders them. They 
 were spoils required, not borrowed of them. Gen. xv, 
 14, Exod. iii, 22, xi, 2, Psal. cv, 37, as the same version 
 falsely renders the Hebrew word here used, Kxod. xii, 
 55, 36. God had ordered the Jews to demand these a.s 
 their pay and reward, during their long and bitter slav- 
 ery in Egypt, as atonements for the lives i.f the Egvp- 
 tians, and as the condition of the Jews' departure, and 
 of the Egyptians' deliverance from these terrible judg- 
 ments, which had they not: now ceased, they had soon 
 been all dead men, as they themsulves confess, eh. xii, 
 35. Nor was there any sense in borrowing or lending, 
 when the Israelites were finally cicparting out of the 
 land for ever. 
 
 took their journey by Letopolis, a place at that 
 time deserted, but where Babylon was built 
 afterwards, when Cambyses 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 w.-js a desert, they 
 eat 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 person, 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 un- 
 leavened bread. Now the entire multitude of 
 those that went out, including the women and 
 children, was not easy to be numbered; but 
 those that were of an age fit for war, were si* 
 hundred thousand. 
 
 2. They left Egypt in the month Xanthi- 
 cus, on the fifteenth day of the lunar month ; 
 four hundred and thirty years after our fore- 
 father Abraham came into Canaan, but two 
 hundred and fifteen years only after Jacob re- 
 moved into Egypt. f It was the eightieth 
 year of tlie 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. 
 
 3. 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. Accordingly 
 they took their w-eapons, and other v/arlike 
 furniture, and pursued after them, in order 
 to bring them back, if once they overtook 
 them, because they would now have no pre- 
 tence to pray to God a,ainst 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 difiicult to be travelled over, 
 not only by armies, but by single persons. 
 Now JMoses led the He))revvs this way, that 
 in case the Egyptians should repent and be 
 desirous to pursue after tiiem, they might 
 undergo the punishment of their wickedness, 
 and of tlie breach of those promises they had 
 made to them. As also he led them this way 
 on account of the Philistines, who had quar> 
 
 t Why our Masorete copy so groundltssly abrid^ei 
 this account in Exod. xii, 4(1, as to ascribe 430 vears to 
 the sole peregrination of the Israelites in Fgypt, when 
 it is clear even by that Ma<orete chronology else- 
 where, as well as from tlie express text itself, in the 
 Samaritan, Septuagint, and Josephus, that they sojourn- 
 ed in Egypt but half that time,— and that by conse» 
 quence, the other half of their peregrination was in the 
 Irsnd of Canaan, before they came into EgvpL, — is hard 
 to say. See Essay on the Old Testament, ip. 61', 65. 
 
 -T 
 
76 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIIK JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 rclli'*! wiili tiiem, and liated them of old, that 
 by all means they might not know of tlieir 
 departuie, for their country is near to that of 
 Kgypt ; and thence it was that Moses led 
 them nut along the road that tended to the 
 land of tlie I'hilistines, but he was desirous 
 that they shouK'. go tiirough the desert, that 
 so after a long journey, and after many 
 afflictions, 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 oiler him 
 sacritices. Now when the Egyptians had 
 overtaken the Hebrews, they prepared to 
 fight them, and by their multitude they drove 
 them into a narrow place ; for the nuniber 
 that pursued after them was six hundred cha- 
 riots, with fifty thousand Jiorsemen, and two 
 hundred thousand footmen, all armed. They 
 dlso seized on the passages by wliich they 
 miagined the Hebrews might fly, shutting 
 them up* between inaccessible precipices and 
 the sea ; for there was [on each side] a [ridge 
 of] mountains that tenuinated at the sea, 
 which were impassable by reason of their 
 roughness, and obstructed their flight; where- 
 fore tiiey there pressed upon tlie Hebrews 
 with their army, where [the ridges of] the 
 mountains were closed with the sea ; which 
 army they placed at the chops of the moun- 
 tains, that so they might deprive them of any 
 passage into the plain. 
 
 4. When the Hebrews, therefore, were 
 neither able to bear up, being thus, as it were, 
 besieged, because they wanted provisions, nor 
 saw any possible way of escaping ; and if 
 they should have thought of fighting, they 
 had no weapons ; they expected a universal 
 destruction, unless they delivered themselves 
 up to the Egyptians. 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 in- 
 
 • Take the main part of Relaiid's excellent note here, 
 which greatly illustrates Jo.^cphus, and the .Scripture, in 
 Ihis history, as follows: "[A traveller, says Ucland, 
 whose name was] Kncman, when he returned out of 
 Kgypt, told me that he went the same way from E^ypt 
 to mount .Sinai, which he supposed the Israelites ot old 
 travelled ; and that he found several mountainous 
 tracks, that ran down towards the Ited Sea. lie thought 
 the Israelites had proceeded as far as the di-sert of 
 KUiam (Kxod. xiii, 20), when they were commandcil by 
 G<xi to return back (Exod. xiv, 2J, and to pitch their 
 camp between Mifjdol and the sea; and that when they 
 were not able to tly, unless by sea, they were shut in on 
 each tide by mountains. He also thought we might 
 evidently learn hence, how it might be sjiid that the Is- 
 raelites were in Etham Ijcfore they went over the sea, 
 and yet might be said to have come into Ktliam after 
 ihey had passed over the sea also. Besides, he gave me 
 an account how he passe<l over a river in a boat nearthi 
 city Suei!, which he says must nec<ls be the HeroopoliL 
 of the ancients, since tnat city could not be situate any- 
 where else in that ncighlx)urhood." 
 
 As to the famous piLss.ige produced here by Dr. Iler 
 nard, out of llerixlotus, as the most ancient heatlieii 
 testimony of the Israelites coining from the lied 
 into I'alestinc, Uishop Cumberland has shown that it 
 belongs to the old Canaanilc or Hhcenician shephenLs 
 •nd their retiring out of llgyiU into Canaan or IMiu;- 
 nicia, long before the days uf Muses, banchonialhu, 
 p. 374. flie. 
 
 credulity prompted them to throw stones at 
 the prophet, wliile he encouraged them and 
 promised them deliverance ; and they resolved 
 that they would deliver themselves up to the 
 Egyptians. So there was sorrow and lamen- 
 tation among the women and children, who 
 had nothing but destruction before their eyes, 
 while they were encompassed with mountains, 
 the sea, and their enemies, and discerned no 
 way of flying from them. 
 
 5. But I\Ioses, though the multitude looked 
 fiercely at him, did not, however, give over 
 tiie care of tliem, but despised all dangers, 
 out of liis trust in God, who, as he had 
 atlbrded them the several' steps already taken 
 for the recovery of their liberty, which he had 
 foretold them, would not now sufTer them to 
 be subdued by their enemies, to be either 
 made slaves or be slain by them; and, stand- 
 ing in the midst of them, he said, " It is not 
 just of us to distrust even men, wlien they 
 have hitherto well managed our atliiirs, as il 
 they would not be the same men hereafter; but 
 it is no better than madness, at tliis time, to 
 despair of the providence of God, by whose 
 power all those things liaxe been performed 
 wliich he promised, when you expected no 
 such things : I mean all that I have been 
 concerned in for your deliverance and escape 
 from slavery. Nay, when we are in the ut- 
 most 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 encom- 
 passed within this narrow place, that he may 
 deliver us out of such difl'iculties as are other- 
 wise insurmountable, and out of which nei- 
 ther you nor your enemies expect you can be 
 delivered, and may at once demonstrate his 
 OA'n power and his providence over us. Nor 
 tloes Goil use to give his help in small diffi- 
 culties to those whom he favours, l)ut in such 
 caaes wliere no one can see how any iiope in 
 man can better their condition. Depend, 
 therefore, upon such a protector as is able to 
 make small things great, and to show that 
 this mighty force against you is nothing but 
 weakness, and be not allrighted at tJie Egyp- 
 tian army, nor do you despair of being pre- 
 served, Ijecause the sea before, and tlie moun- 
 tains behind, atlord you no opportunity for 
 flying; for even these mountains, if God so 
 please, may be made plain ground for you, 
 and the sea become dry land." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HOW THE SEA WAS DIVIDED ASUNDER KOR THB 
 HEBHKWS, WHEN THEY WERK PURSUED BV 
 THE EGVl'TIANS, A.\D SO GAVE THE.M AN 
 OPPORTUNITY OF ESCAPING FROM THE.M. 
 
 § 1. When ISIoses had said this, he led them 
 'to lie -la, while the Egyptians looked on; 
 
CHAP. XVI. 
 
 for they were within sight. Now these were 
 so distressed by the toil of their pursuit, that 
 they thought proper to put off fighting till the 
 next day. But when Moses was come to the 
 sea-shore, he took his rod, and made suppli- 
 cation to God, and called upon him to be 
 their helper and assistant ; and said, " Thou 
 art not ignorant, O Lord, that it is beyond 
 human strength and human contrivance to 
 avoid the difficulties we are now under ; but 
 it must be thy work altogether to procure de- 
 liverance to this army, which has left Egypt 
 at thy appointment. We despair of any 
 other assistance or contrivance, and have re- 
 course only to that hope we have in thee ; 
 and if there be any method that 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 deliverance, who are deeply sunk into a 
 disconsolate 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 themselves if tiiou com- 
 mandest them, and the sea also, if thou com- 
 mandest it, will become dry land. Nay, we 
 might escape by a flight through the air, if 
 thou shouldst determine we should have that 
 Way of salvation." 
 
 2. When Moses had thus addressed him- 
 self to God, he smote the sea with his rod, 
 which parted asunder at the stroke, and re- 
 ceiving those waters into itself, left the ground 
 dry, as a road and a place of flight for the 
 Hebrews. Now when Moses saw this ap- 
 pearance of God, and that the sea went out 
 of its own place, and left dry land, he went 
 first of all into it, and bid the Hebrews to 
 follow him along that divine road, and to re- 
 joice 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. 
 
 3. 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 destruction. But 
 when they saw that they were going a great 
 way without any harm, and that no obstacle 
 or difliculty fell in their journey, they made 
 haste to pursue them, hoping that the sea 
 would be calm for them also. They put their 
 horse foremost, 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 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 77 
 
 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. Thunder-bolts also were darted up- 
 on them ; nor was there any thing which 
 used to be sent by God upon men, as indica- 
 tions of his wrath, which did not happen at 
 this time ; for a dark and dismal night op ■ 
 pressed 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. 
 
 4. But the Hebrews were not able to con- 
 tain themselves for joy at their wonderful deli- 
 verance, and destruction of their enemies. Now 
 indeed, supposing themselves firmly deliver- 
 ed, when those that would have forced them 
 into slavery were destroyed, 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 ene- 
 mies 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 composed a song 
 unto God, containing his praises, and a 
 
 * Of these storms of wind, thunder and lightning, at 
 this drowning of Pharaoh's army, almost wanting in our 
 copies of Exodus, but fully extant in that of David, 
 Psal. Ixxvii. IP, 17, 18, and in that of Josephus here, 
 see E^ssay on the Old Test. Append, p. 154, 155. 
 
 + What some have here objected against this passage 
 of the Israelites over the Red Sea, in this one night, 
 from the common maps, viz. that this sea being here 
 about thirty miles broad, so great an army could not 
 pass over it in so short a time, is a great mistake. Mons. 
 Thevenot, an authentic eye-witness, informs us, that 
 this sea, for about five days' journey, is nowhere more 
 than about eight or nine miles over-cross, and in one 
 place but four or five miles, according to De Llsle's map, 
 which is made from the best travellers themselves, and 
 not copied from others. What has been further ob- 
 jected against this passage of the Israelites, and drown- 
 ing of the Egyptians, being miraculous also, viz. that 
 Moses might carry the Israelites over at a low tide with- 
 out any miracle, while yet the Egyptians, 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 ! Yet does 
 Artapanus, an ancient heathen historian. Inform us, 
 that this was what the more ignorant Memphites, who 
 lived at a great distance, pretended, though he con- 
 fesses, that the more learned Heliopolitans, who lived 
 much nearer, owned the destruction of the Egvptians, 
 and the deliverance of the Israelites, to have been mira- 
 culous ; and Dc Castro, a mathematician, who surveyed 
 this sea with groat exactness, informs us, that there is 
 no great flux or reflux in this part of the Kcd Sea, to 
 give a colour to this hypothesis ; nay, that at the ele\a- 
 tion of the tide there is little above half the height of a 
 rnan. See Essay on the Old 1 est. Append, p. 239, Sic 
 So vain and groundless are these and the like evasions 
 and subterfuges of our modern sceptics and unbelievers, 
 and so certainly do thorouijh inquiries and authentic 
 evidence disprove and confute such evasions and subter 
 fuges upon all occasions ! 
 
 V 
 
J~ 
 
 78 
 
 ANTIQUITES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 »OOK II 
 
 timnksgiving for liis kindness, in liexnmcter 
 Verse, • 
 
 5. As for myself, I have iKlivered every 
 l)art of tliis history as I found it in the sacred 
 books ; nor let any one wonder at the straniie- 
 ness of the nanation, if a way were discovered 
 to those men of old time, who were free from 
 the wickedness of the modern a^es, 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 IMacedonia, who yet lived, compar- 
 atively, but a little while ago, the Pamphylian 
 Sea retired and aH'orded them a jiassagef 
 through itself, when ihey had no other way 
 to go ; I mean, wlicn it was the will of God 
 to destroy the monarchy ©f the Persians : 
 
 • What that hexameter verse, in which Moses's tri- 
 umphant song is here said to be written, distinctly, 
 means, our present iiniorance of t]ie old Hebrew metre 
 or measure will not let us iletcrmine. Nor does it ap- 
 pear to me certain that even Joseptius hinisell" had a dis- 
 tinct notion of it, though he speaks of several sorts of 
 that metre or measure, Ixjth here and elsewhere. Antii). 
 book iv. ch. viii. sect. 4-1 ; and Ixxjk vii. ch.xii. sect- 3. 
 
 t Take here the origuial passages of the four old au- 
 thors that still remain, as to this transit of Alexander 
 the Great over the I'amphvlian Sea: I mean, of ( allis- 
 thencs, Strabo, Arrian, ard Appian. As to Callisthcncs, 
 who himself accompanied Alexander in this expedition. 
 Eustathius, inhisNcleson the third Iliad of Homer, 
 tas Dr Bernard here informs us) says. That " this Callis- 
 thcncs wrote how the Pamphylian Sea did not only open 
 k passage for Alexander, but, by rising and elevating its 
 Ba'ors, did pay him homage as its king." Strabo s account 
 is this (Gcog. l)Ook xiv, p. (jfed) : " Now about Phasdis 
 is that narrow p;u>sage, by the sea-side, through which 
 Alexander led his army. There is a nioui tain called 
 Climax, which adjoins to the Sea of Pamphvlia, leaving 
 a narrow passage on the shore, which, in caln> weather, 
 is bare, so as to Ise passable by travellers ; but when the 
 si'a overflows, it is coiered to a great degree by the 
 waves. Now then, the ascent by the mouiiuiins Ixring 
 round about and steep, in stiU weather they make use 
 of the road a3ong the coast ; but Alexander fell into the 
 winter season, and committing hirase'a' chietiy to fortune 
 he marched on before the waves reliied ; and so it hap- 
 pened that they were a whole day in journeying over it, 
 and were under water up to the navel." Arri'an's account 
 is this ;book i, p. "2, T'^) : " When Alexander removeil 
 from Pha-selis, he sent some part of his army over the 
 luountjou^ to Per^a; ubk'k toadtiie Ttuaeiaiusliawed 
 
 and this is confessed to be true by all that 
 liave written about the actions of Alexander; 
 but as to these events, let every one determine 
 as he pleases. 
 
 6. On the next day Moses gathered to- 
 gether the weapons of the E;jyptiaiis, which 
 were bronght to the camp of the Hebrews by 
 the current of the sea, and the force of the 
 winds assisting it; and lie conjectured that 
 this also hapjjened 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 ofler sacrifice to God, and 
 to render oblations for tlie salTation of the 
 multitude, as he was charged to do beforehand. 
 
 him. A diflicult way it was, but short. However he 
 himself conducted t(«)se that were with him by the sea- 
 shore. This road is in. passable at any other tune thr.n 
 when the north wind blows ; but if the south wind pre- 
 vail there is no passing by the shore. Now at this time, 
 after strong south winds, a north wind blew; and that 
 not without the Divine Providence (as Ixjlh heand they 
 that were with him suppo!-cd> and afforded him an easy 
 and quick passage." Appian, when he compares C»ar 
 and Alexander together (De Bel. Civil, book li, p. 522> 
 says, " That they lx)th dp|xrnded on their lx)ldnc» and 
 foitune, as much as on their .skill in war. As an instance 
 of which, .Alexander journeyetl over a country without 
 water, in the heat of summer, to the oracle of'[Jupiter] 
 Hanimon, and quickly pas.sed over the Bay of Pam- 
 phvlia, wlicn, by IJivine Providence, tlie sea v.as cot 
 off: — thus Providence restraining the sea on his ac- 
 count, as it had sent him rain when he travelled [ovei 
 the desert]." 
 
 N B. — Since, in the days of Joscphus, as he a.>siires »is, 
 all the more numerous original historians of Alexander 
 gave the account l;c has here set down, as to the provi- 
 dential going liaek of the waters of the Pamphylian Sea, 
 when he w.is going with his army t;) de^lroy the Persian 
 monarchy, which the forenamed authors iio« remaining 
 fully confirm, it is without all just foundation that Jo- 
 scphus is here blamed by some late writers for quoting 
 those ancient authors upon Uie present ixxasion ; nor 
 can the reflections of Plutarch, or anv other author later 
 than Joscphus, be in the Icist here alleged to contradict 
 him. Josephus went by all the evidence he then h.id, 
 and that evidence of the most authentic sort also. So 
 that whatever the m<:dems may think of the tJung itself, 
 there is heme not the least colour for finding fault with 
 Joscphus: he would rather have been muui to blame 
 tiad Kc omitted these quotations 
 
BOOK III. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF TWO YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE EXODUS OUT OF EGYPT, TO THE REJECTION 
 OF THAT GENERATION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW MOSES, WHEN HE HAD BBOUGHT THE 
 PEOPLE OUT OF EGITT, LED THEM TO MOUNT 
 SINAI; BUT NOT TILL THEY HAD SUFFER- 
 ED MUCH IN THEIK JOURNEY. 
 
 § 1. When the Hebrews had obtained such 
 a wonderful deliverance, the country was a 
 great trouble to them, for it was entirely 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 nutriment 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 
 nad travelled before, as their conductor had 
 bidden them : but when that was spent, they 
 were obliged to draw water out of wells, with 
 pain, by reason of the hardness 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,* which had that name from the bad- 
 ness of its water, for Mar denotes bitterness. 
 Thither they came afflicted both by the te- 
 diousness 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, al- 
 though it were not sufficient to satisfy so 
 great an army, did yet afford them some com- 
 fort, as found in such desert places; for they 
 beard from those who had been to search, that 
 there was nothing to be found, if they tra- 
 velled on farther. Yet was this water bitter, 
 
 » 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 Mo- 
 rath, all derived from the Hebrew Alar. He also takes 
 notice, that it is called The Bitter Fountain by Pliny 
 himself; which waters remai)i there to this day, and are 
 still bitter, as Thevenot assures us; and that there are 
 also abundance of palm-trees. See his Travels, part i, 
 chap, xxvi, p. I6C. 
 
 and not fit for men to drink ; and not only 
 so, but it was intolerable even to the cattle 
 themselves, 
 
 2. When Moses saw how much the people 
 were cast down, and that the occasion of it 
 could not be contradicted, for the people 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 capacities to be persuaded by rea- 
 son, blunted the courage of the men them- 
 selves, — he was therefore in great diffi- 
 culties, and made every body's calamity hif 
 own; for (they ran all of them to him, ano 
 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 bad- 
 ness and make it fit for drinking. And when 
 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 persuaded the Hebrews that God 
 had hearkened to his prayers, and had promis- 
 ed to render the water such as they desired it 
 to be, in case they would be subservient to 
 him in what he should enjoin them to do, and 
 this not after a remiss or negligent manner. 
 And when they asked what they were to do 
 in order to have the water changed for the bet- 
 ter, he bid the strongest men among them that 
 stood there, to draw up water-j- ; and told them, 
 
 t The additions here to Moses's account of the sweet- 
 ening of the waters at Marah, seems derived from somean- 
 cient profane author, and he such an author also as 
 looks less authentic than are usually followed by Jose- 
 phus. Pliilo has not a syllable of these additions, nor any 
 other ancienter writer that we know of. Had Josephus 
 written these his Antiquities for the use of Jews, he 
 would hardly have given them these very improbable 
 circumstances; but writing to Gentiles, that they might 
 not complain of his omission of any accounts of such 
 miracles derived from Gentiles, he did not think proper 
 to conceal what he had met with there about this mat- 
 ter: which procedure is perfectly agreeable to the char- 
 acter and usage of Josephus upon many occasions. This 
 note is, I confess, barely conjectural • and since Jos«»- 
 
 \_ 
 
so 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THH JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IIL 
 
 that when the greatcet part was drawn up, tlie 
 rcniainiiiT would bf fit to drink : so they la- 
 hoiirc'd at it till tlit- watt'r was so agitatetl and 
 purged as to In; tit to drink. 
 
 3. And now ri-movin;; from tiicnce they 
 
 count of their present uneasiness, to cast those 
 great and wonderful favours and gifts, which 
 they had <)!>taine(i of (»od, out of tlieir minds, 
 hut to expect deliverance out of those tlieir 
 present troubles which they could not free 
 
 came to Elim; which place looked well at a i themselves from, and this by the means of that 
 
 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 ; an<l tliev were ill grown 
 and creejjing trees, by the want ofvNater, for 
 the country aliout was all parched, and no 
 moisture sufficient to water them, and make 
 them hopi'fiil and useful, was derived to them 
 from the fountains, which were in number 
 twelve : they were rather a few moist places 
 than springs, which not bieaking out of the 
 ground, nor running over, could not suffici- 
 ently water the trees. And when they dug 
 into the sand, tliey met with no 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 again^t him ; and said that this 
 tlieir miserable state, and the experience 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 re- 
 lief, they were in a very desponding condition. 
 And by fixing their attention upon nothing 
 but their present misfortunes, they were hin- 
 dered 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 tlieir attempt to stone him, as the 
 direct occasion of their present miseries. 
 
 4. But as for Moses himself, while the 
 multitude were irritated and bitterly set a- 
 gainst 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 clam, 
 oured against him, and had stones in their 
 hands in order to dis[)atcli him. Now he was 
 of an agreeable presence, and very able to per- 
 suade the people by his speeches; according- 
 ly he began to mitigate their anger, and ex- 
 horted them not to be over-mindful of their 
 present adversities, lest they should thereby 
 suffer the benefits that had formerly been be- 
 stowed on them to slip out of their memor- 
 ies ; and he desired iliem by no means, on ac- 
 
 pliuH never tells us when his o\vii copy, tiken out of the 
 temple, had such additions, or when any ancient notes 
 supphed tliem : or indcc-d when they are derived from 
 Jewish, and when from Gentile anti(|uity, — we am po 
 no farUier than bare conjectures in such cases ; only the 
 notions of Jews were generally so ditVirent from those 
 of (Jentiles, that we may sometimes make no improbable 
 conjectures to which sort such additions Ixlmii;. See 
 also somewhat like llle^e additions in Jonphus's ac- 
 count of Klisha's making sweet the bitter and barren 
 ipriiig near Jericho. War. b. iv. ch. viii. sect. .". 
 
 Divine Providence which watched over them ; 
 seeing it is prolKible that God tries tlieir vir- 
 tue, and exercises their patience !)y these ad- 
 versities, that it may appear what fortitude 
 they have, and what memory tliey 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 appeareii they were not really- 
 good men, either in patience, or in remember- 
 ing what had been successfully done for them, 
 sometimes by contemning God and his com- 
 mands, when by those commands they left the 
 land of Egypt ; ami sometimes by behaving 
 themselves ill towards him who was the ser- 
 vant of God, and this when he had never de- 
 ceived them, either in what he said, or had or- 
 dered them to do by God's command. He 
 also put them in mind of all that had passed : 
 how the Egyptians were destroyed when they 
 attempted to detain them, contrary to the com- 
 mand 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 drinking ; 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 enemies 
 destroyed ; and that when they were in want 
 of wea|)ons, God gave them plenty of them : 
 — and so he recounted all the particular in- 
 stances, how when they were, in appearance, 
 just going to be destroyed, God bad saved 
 them in a surprising manner; that he had still 
 the same power ; and that they ought not even 
 now to desjiair of his providence over them ; 
 and accordingly he exhorted them to continue 
 quiet, and to consider that help would not come 
 too late, though it come not immediately, if 
 it be present with them before they suffer any 
 great misfortune; that they ought to reason 
 thus: that God delays to assist them, not be- 
 cause he has no regard to them, but because 
 he will first try their fortitude, and the plea- 
 sure they take in their freedom, that he may 
 learn whether you have souls great enough to 
 bear want of food, and scarcity of water, on 
 its account; or whether you 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 niore useful in their service. That 
 as for himself, he shall not be so much con- 
 cerned for his own preservation ; for if he die 
 unjustly, he shall not reckon it any affliction 
 but that he is concerned for them, lest, by 
 casting stones at him, they should be though 
 to condemn God himself, 
 
 .6. Hy this means Closes pacified the people, 
 and restrained them from stoning him, and 
 
J~ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 81 
 
 brought them to repent of what they were go- 
 ing to do ; and because he tliought the neces- 
 sity 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 tlieir hope of salvation : and he desired 
 that he would forgive what necessity had forc- 
 ed the people to do, since such was the nature 
 of mankind, hard to please, and very complain- 
 ing under adversities. Accordingly God pro- 
 mised he would take care of them, and att'ord 
 them the succour they were desirous of. Now 
 when Moses had heard this from God, he 
 came down to tlie multitude: 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 this 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 sup- 
 ply them with food. Upon which Moses re- 
 turned thanks to God for aflbrding them his 
 assistance so suddenly, and sooner than he 
 had promised them. 
 
 6. 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 
 .nformed them that this dew did not fall from 
 heaven after the manner they imagined, but 
 came for their preservation and sustenance. 
 So he tasted it, and gave them some of it, 
 that they might be satisfied about what he 
 .old them. They also imitated their conduc- 
 tor, 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 cori- 
 ander 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 
 
 * It seems to me, from what Moses (Exod. xvi, 18), 
 St. I'aul (2 Cor. viii. 15), and Josephus here, say, coin- 
 pared together, that the quantity of manna that fell 
 daily, and did not putrify. was just so much as came to 
 an ompir a-piece, through the whole host of Israel, and 
 no more. 
 
 "V. 
 
 come in too small a quantity, lest the weaker 
 might not be able to get their share, by rea- 
 son of the overbearing of the strong in col- 
 lecting it. However, these strong men, 
 when they had gathered more than the mea- 
 sure appointed for them, had no more than 
 others, but only tired themselves more in ga- 
 thering it, for they found no more than an 
 omer a-piece ; and the advantage they got by 
 what was superfluous was none at all, it cor- 
 rupting, both by the worms breeding in it, 
 and by its bitterness. So divine and wonder- 
 ful 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,-f- according to 
 what Moses then obtained of God, to send it 
 to the people for their sustenance. Now the 
 Hebrews call this food manna ; for the par- 
 ticle man, in our language, is the asking of a 
 question, IVkat is tlik 9 So the Hebrews were 
 very joyful at what was sent them from hea- 
 ven. Now they made use of this food for 
 forty years, or as long as they were in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 7. As soon as they were removed thence, 
 they came to Rephidim, being distressed to the i 
 last degree by thirst; and while in the fore- j 
 going days they had lit on a few small foun- 
 tains, but now found the earth entirely desti- 
 tute of water, they were in an evil case. 
 They again turned their anger against Moses; 
 but he at first avoided the fury of the multi- 
 tude, and then betook himself to prayer to 
 God, beseeching 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 tliem food was of no va- 
 lue 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 command- 
 ed him to smite the rock which they saw ly- 
 ing there, | with his rod, and out of it to re- 
 ceive plenty of what they wanted ; for he had 
 
 + This supposal, thatthesweet honey-dew or manna, 
 so celebrated ui ancient and modem authors, as falling 
 usually in Arabia, was of the very same sort with this 
 manna sent to the Israelites, savours more of Gentilism 
 dim of Judaism or Christianity. It is not improbable 
 that some ancient Gentile author, read by Josephus, so 
 thought; norwould he here contradict him ; though just 
 before, and Antiq. b. iv. ch. iii. sect 'i, he seems directly 
 to allow that it had not been seen before. However, this 
 food from heaven is here described to be like snow ; and 
 in Artapanus, a heathen wnter, it is compared to meal, 
 " like to oatmeal, in colour like to snow, rained down 
 by God" (Essay on the Old Test. Append, p. 1'59) ; but 
 as to the derivation of the word manna, whether from 
 man, which Josephus says then signified Ifhat is it ? or 
 from mannali, to divide, i. e. a dividend or portion 
 nllotted to every one, it is uncertain: 1 incline to the 
 latter derivation. This manna is called angels' food 
 (Hsal. Ixxviii. 26), and by our .»^aviour (John vi. 31, 
 &c.), as well as by Josephus here and elsewhere (Antiq. 
 b. iii. ch. v. sect. 5), said to be sent the Jews from 
 heaven. 
 
 X This rock is there at this day, as the travellers 
 agree, and must be the same that was there in the days 
 of Moses, as being too large to be brought thither by out 
 modem carriages. 
 
 . r 
 
82 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 taken caro tlmt drink should come to tlii-ni 
 without any hibour or pains-taking. M'hun 
 Woscs had received tliis coinniand from God, 
 he came to the people, wlio waited for him, 
 and looked upon him ; for they saw already 
 that he was coming apace from his eminence. 
 As soon as he was come, he told them that 
 God would deliver them from tlieir present 
 distress, and had granted them an unexpect- 
 ed favour ; and informed them, that a river 
 should run for tlieir sakes out of the rock ; 
 but they were amazed at that hearing, sup- 
 posing they were of necessity to cut the rock 
 in pieces, now they were distressed by their 
 thirst, and by tlieir journey — while Moses, 
 only smiting the rock with his rod, opened a 
 passage, and out of it burst water, and that 
 ill 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 
 niiglit well be exjiected where God was the 
 donor. They were also in admiration how 
 Moses was honoured by God ; and they made 
 grateful returns of sacrifices to God for his 
 providence towaids them. Now that Scrip- 
 ture which is laid up in the temple,* informs 
 us, how God foretold to Moses, that water 
 should in tliis manner be derived out of the 
 rock. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW THE AMALEKITF.S, AND THE NEIGKBOUE 
 ING NATIONS, MADE WAR WITH THE HE- 
 BREWS, AND WERE BEATEN, AND LOST A 
 GREAT PART OF TUEIR ARMY. 
 
 § 1. The name of the Hebrews began already 
 to be everywhere renowned, and rumours 
 about them ran abroad. This made the in- 
 habitants of those countries to be in no small 
 fear. Accordingly they sent ambassadors to 
 one another, and exhorted one another to de- 
 feud 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 a one as 
 had run away from slavery under the Egyp- 
 tians, lay in wait to ruin them ; which army 
 they were not, in common prudence and re- 
 gard to their own safety, to overlook, but to 
 crush them before tliey gather strenglli, and 
 
 • Note here, that the small book of Ihc princiiial 
 laws of Moses is ever said to be laid up in the holy house 
 itself; but the larger Pentateuch, as here, somewhere 
 within the limits of the temple and iU courts oiiJy. t^et 
 iDtiq. U V, ch. i. sm-L 17 
 
 come to be in prosperity ; and perhaps attack 
 them first in a hostile manner, as presuming 
 upon our indolence in not attacking tliem 
 before ; and that we ouglit to avenge our- 
 selves of tliem for what they have done in the 
 wilderness, but that tliis cannot be so well 
 done when they have once laid tlieir hands on 
 our cities and our goods : that those wfio en- 
 deavour to crush a j)ower in its fir;l rise, are 
 wiser than those that endeavour to put a stop 
 to its progress when it is become formidable ; 
 for tliese 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 liad sent 
 such ambassages to the neighbouring nations, 
 and among one another, they resolved to at- 
 tack the Hebrews in battle. 
 
 2. These proceedings of the people of 
 those countries occasioned peq)lexity and 
 trouble to INloses, who expected no such war 
 like preparations ; and when these nations 
 were ready to fight, and the multitude 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 «ho were tlioroughly well pre- 
 pared for it. Then, therefore, it was that 
 Moses began to encourage them, and to ex- 
 hort them to have a good heart, and rely on 
 God's assistance, by which they had been ad- 
 vanced into a state of freedom, and to hope 
 for victory over those who were ready to fight 
 with them, in order to deprive them of that 
 blessing : that they were to suppose their own 
 army to be numerous, wanting nothing, nei- 
 ther weapons, nor money, nor provijions, nor 
 such other conveniencies as, when men are in 
 possession 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 conveniencies 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, tilings 
 indeed that are in their own nature insuper- 
 able ; as also against mountains, and tliat sea 
 which afforded them no way for escaping ; yet 
 had all those difficulties been conquered by 
 God's gracious kindness to them. So he ex- 
 horted them to be courageous at this time, 
 and to look upon their entire prosperity to 
 depend on the present conquest of their ene- 
 mies. 
 
 3. And with these words did iNIoses encou- 
 rage the multitude, who then called together 
 the princes of tlieir tribes and their chief men; 
 both separately and conjointly. The young 
 men he charged to obey their elders, and the 
 ciders to hearken to tlieir leader So tlw 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 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 inmiediately lead them against their 
 enemies without the least delay, that no back- 
 vtrardness might be a liinderance to their pre- 
 sent resolution. So Moses sorted all that 
 were fit for war into different troops, and set 
 Joshua, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Eph- 
 raim, over them ; one that was of great cou- 
 rage, and patient to undergo labours ; of great 
 abilities 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 towards 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 a one as his reputation made 
 men expect from him ; and to gain glory by 
 the present expedition, in the opinion of those 
 under him, for his esploits in this battle. 
 He also gave a particular exhortation to the 
 principal men of the Hebrews, and encouraged 
 the whole army as it stood armed before him. 
 lAnd when he had thus animated the army, 
 both by his words and works, and prepared 
 every thing, he retired to a mountain, and 
 committed the army to God and to Joshua. 
 
 4. So the armies joined battle ; and it 
 came to a close fight, hand to hand, both sides 
 showing great alacritj', and encouraging one 
 another. And indeed while Moses stretched 
 out his hand towards 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 wei'e his own people worsted) 
 he bad his brother Aaron, and Hur their 
 sister Miriam's husband, to stand on each 
 side of him, and take hold of his hands, and 
 
 • This eminent circumstance, that while Moses's 
 hands were lift up towards heaven, the Israelites prevail- 
 ed, and while they were let down towards the earth, the 
 Amalekites prevailed, seems to me the earliest intima- 
 tion we have of the proper posture used of old in solemn 
 prayer, which was the stretching out of the hands [and 
 eyes] towards heaven, as other passages of the i>ld and 
 New Testament inform us. Nay, by the way, this pos- 
 ture seems to have continued in the Christian church, 
 till the clergy, instead of learning their jirayers by heart, 
 read them out of a book, which is in a great measure 
 uiconsistcnt with such an elevated posture, and which 
 seems to me to have been only a later practice, intro- 
 iivced under the corrupt state of the chinch ; though 
 the constant use of divine forms of prayer, praise, and 
 thanksgiving, appears to mo to have lx;en the practice 
 of God's peiiple, patriarchs, Jews, and Christians, in all 
 the )>ast ajjcs. 
 
 83 
 
 not permit his weaiiness 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 forefathers obtained 
 a most signal and most seasonable victory ; 
 for tlicy not only overcame those that fought 
 against them, but terrified also the neighbour- 
 ing nations, and got great and splendid advan- 
 tages, which they obtained of their enemies by 
 their hard pains in this battle : forwh.n 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 posperity, 
 not only for the present, but for the future 
 ages also; for they not only made slaves of 
 the bodies of their enemies, but subdued theii 
 minds also, and after this battle, became 
 trrible 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 wliat were the or- 
 naments of their armour, and other things that 
 served for use in the family, and for the fur- 
 niture of their rooms; they got also the prey 
 of their cattle, and of whatsoever uses to 
 follow camps, whea 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 perpet- 
 ually inured themselves to take pains, by 
 which tliey deemed every difficulty might be 
 surmounted. Such were the consequences of 
 this battle. 
 
 5. On the next day, Moses stripped the 
 dead bodies of their enemies, and gathered 
 together the armour of those that were fled, 
 and gave rewards to such as had signalized 
 themselves in the action ; and highly com- 
 mended Joshua, their general, who was attest- 
 ed to by all the army, on account of the 
 great actions he had done. Nor was anyone 
 of the Hebrews slain ; but the slain of the 
 enemy's army were too many to be enumerat- 
 ed. So Moses ofiered sacritices of thanks- 
 giving to God, and built an altar, which he 
 named The Lord the Coiujueror. He also 
 foretold that the Amalekites should utterly be 
 destroyed ; and that hereafter none of theiQ 
 should remain, because they fought against 
 the Hebrews, and this when they were in the 
 wilderness, and in their distress also. More- 
 over, he refreshed the army with feasting. 
 And thus did they fight this first battle with 
 those that ventured to oppose them, after they 
 were gone out of Egypt. But when Moses 
 
 .r 
 
64 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 had celebrated tTils fustival for the victory, he 
 puniiittc'd the Ilt-brews to rest for a few days, 
 and then he brought them out after the fight, 
 in order of l)attle ; for they had now many 
 soldiers in hght armour. And going gradu- 
 ally on, he came to mount Sinai, in three 
 months' time after they were removed out of 
 Egypt ; at which mountain, as we have be- 
 fore related, the vision of the Bush, and the 
 other wonderful appearances, had happened. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THAT MOSES KINDLY RECEIVED HIS FATHER- 
 IN-I.AW, JETllRO, WHEN HE CAME TO HIM 
 TO MOUNT SINAI. 
 
 Now when Raguel, Moses's father-in-law, 
 understood in what a prosperous condition his 
 aflairs were, he willingly came to meet him. 
 And Moses took Zipporah, his wife, and his 
 children, and pleased himself with his com- 
 ing. 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 procurer of 
 
 had him alone, he instructed him in what he 
 ought to do ; and advised him to lea«-'e tht 
 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 IVIoses could 
 take care of the safety of so many ten thou- 
 sands. " Be not, tlierefore," says he, " insen- 
 sible of thine own virtue, and what thou hast 
 done by ministering under God to the people's 
 preservation. Permit, therefore, the deter- 
 mination of coiiimon causes to be done by 
 others, but do thou re'-erve thyself to the atten- 
 dance on God only, and look out for methods 
 of preserving the multitude from tlieir pre- 
 sent distress. Make use of the method I 
 suggest to you, as to human afiiairs; and take 
 a review of the army, and appoint chosen 
 rulers over tens of thousands, and tlien over 
 thousands; then divide them into five hun- 
 dreds, and again into hundreds, and into 
 fifties ; and set rulers over each of them, who 
 may distinguish them into tliiriies, 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 denomi- 
 nated from the number of those over whom 
 they are rulers, but such as the whole multi- 
 tude have tried, and do approve of, as being 
 good and righteous men ;• and let those rulers 
 their deliverance, and their freedom. They ! decide the controversies ihey have one with 
 also praised their conductor, as him by whose another. But if any great cause arise, let 
 virtue it was that all things had succeeded so , them bring the cognisance of it before the 
 well with them. Raguel also, in his eucha- rulers of a higher dignity ; but if any great 
 ristical oration to Moses, made great enco- j difficulty arise that is too hard for even their 
 rniums upon the whole multitude: and he determination, let them send it to thee. By 
 could not but admire Moses for his fortitude, 1 these means two advantages will be gained ; 
 
 and that humanity he had shown in the deli- 
 very of his friends, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW RAGUEL SUGGESTED TO MOSES TO SET HIS 
 PEOPLE IN ORDER, UNDER THEIR RULERS 
 Ol THOUSANDS, AND RULERS OF HUNDREDS, 
 WHO LIVED WITHOUT ORDER BEFORE ; AND 
 HOW MOSES COMPLIED IN ALL THINGS WITH 
 HIS FATHER-IN-LAW'S ADMONITION. 
 
 § 1. The next day, as Raguel saw Moses in 
 the midst of a crowd of business (for he deter- 
 mined the differences of those that referred them 
 to him, every one still going to him, and sup- 
 posing that they should then only obtain jus- 
 tice, if he were the arbitrator; and those that 
 lost their causes thought it no harm wliile they 
 • hoiight they lost them justly, and not by par- 
 tiality) ; Raguel, however, said nothing to 
 liim at that time, as iu)t desiiouv to be any 
 hinderance to such as had a mind to make use 
 of the virtue of their coi ducior. But after- 
 ward he took him to himself, and when he 
 
 the Hebrews will have justice done them, 
 and thou wilt be able to attend constantly 
 on God, and procure him to be more favour- 
 able to the people." 
 
 2. 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 pretend 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 ; whence 
 we may learn the virtuous disposition of 
 Moses : but of such his disposition, we shall 
 have proper occasion to speak in other places 
 of these books. 
 
 • This maiircr of electing the judces and officers of 
 ihc Israelites by the testiinoniis and MilTragcs of (lie 
 pi-ople, Ixfoie they were orilaiiieil l>\ God, or by Most*, 
 ileser\is to be carefiillv noted, liev-ause it was tlie pal 
 lern ot the like manner of Uie ihoice and ordination of 
 Hishoiis, l'ii'sb\ters, and Dcacuns, lu the C'htutiac 
 eliurin. 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 85 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW MOSES ASCKNDED UP TO MOUNT SINAI, 
 AND RECEIVED LAWS FROM GOD, AND DE- 
 LIVERED THEM TO THE HEBREWS. 
 
 § 1. Now Moses called the multitude to- 
 gether, and told them that he was going from 
 them unto mount 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 habitation 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,* and is not only very diificult 
 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 without pain of the eyes : and be- 
 sides this, it was terrible and inaccessible, on 
 account of the rumour that passed about, that 
 God dwelt there. But the Hebrews removed 
 their tents as Moses iiad bidden thera, and 
 took possession of the lowest parts of the 
 mountain ; and were elevated in their minds, 
 in expectation that !\Ioses would return from 
 God with promises of the good things he had 
 proposed to them. So they feasted and wait- 
 ed for their conductor, and kept themselves 
 pure as in other respects, and not accompany- 
 ing with their wives for three days, as he had 
 before ordered them to do. And they pray- 
 ed to God that he would favourably receive 
 Moses in his conversing with him, and be- 
 stow some such gift upon them by which 
 they might live well. Tiiey also lived more 
 plentifully as to their diet; and put on their 
 wives and children more ornamental and de- 
 cent clothing than they usually wore. 
 
 2. 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 a one as 
 none had before seen, 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 became a mighty tem- 
 pest. There was also such lightning, as was 
 
 • Since this mountain, Sinai, is here said to be the 
 highest of all the mountains that are in that country, 
 it must be that now called St. Katherine's, which is one- 
 Ihird higher than that within a mile of it, now called 
 Sinai, as Mens. Thevenot infonns us, Travels, part i, 
 chap, xxlii, p. 168. The other name of it, Horeb, is 
 never used by Josephus, aud perhaps was its name among 
 the Egyptians only, whence the Israelites were lately 
 come, as snr.n was its name among the Arabians, Ca- 
 naanites, and other nations. Accordhigly, when (1 
 Kings ix, 8) the Scripture says that Elijan came to 
 Horeb, the mount of God, Josephus justly says (Antiq. 
 b. viii, chap, xiii, sect. 7), that he came to the mountain 
 called Sinai: and Jerome, here cited by Dr. Hudson, 
 lays, that he took this mountain to have two names, 
 Sinsi and Choreb. De Nomin. Heb p. 127 
 
 terrible to those that saw it; and thunder 
 with its thunder-bolts, were sent down, and 
 declared God to be there present in a graci- 
 ous 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 pro- 
 digious degree, for they were not such as 
 they were accustomed to ; and then the ru- 
 mour that was spread abroad, how God fre- 
 quented that mountain, greatly astonished 
 their minds, so they sorrowfully contained 
 themselves within their tents, as both suppos- 
 ing Moses to be destroyed by the divine 
 wrath, and expecting the like destruction for 
 themseFves. 
 
 3. When they were under these apprehen- 
 sions, Moses appeared as joyful and greatly 
 exalted. When they saw him, they were 
 freed from their fear, and admitted of more 
 comfortable hopes as to what was to come. 
 The air also was become clear and pure of its 
 former disorders, upon the appearance of 
 Moses ; whereupon he called togetlier the 
 people to a congregation, in order to their 
 hearing what God would say to them : and 
 when they where gathered together, he stood 
 on an eminence whence they might all hear 
 him, and said, " God has received me graci- 
 ously, O Hebrews, as he has formerly 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 thera 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 importance 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 
 Amram and Jochebed, but he who obliged 
 the Nile to run bloody for your sakes, and 
 tamed the haughtiness of the Egyptians by 
 various sorts of judgments ; he who provid- 
 ed a way through the sea for us ; he who 
 contrived a method of sending us food from 
 heaven, when we were distressed for want 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 par- 
 take of the fruits botli of the land and of the 
 sea ; he by whose means Noah escaped the 
 deluge ; he by whose means our forefather 
 Abraham, of a wandering pilgrim, was made 
 the heir of the land of Canaan ; he by vtiiosn 
 
J- 
 
 86 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JliWS. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 means Isaac was born of parents that were 
 very old ; lie hy wliose means Jacob was adorn- 
 ed with twelve virtuous sons; he by whose 
 means Joseph became a potent lord over the 
 Ej_'yplians : he it is who conveys these instruc- 
 tions to you by me as his interpreter. And 
 let tliem be to you venerable, anil contended 
 for more earnestly 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 fruiifid, the sea calm, and 
 the fruit of the womb born complete, as na- 
 ture requires; you will be also terrible to 
 your enemies: for 1 have been admitted into 
 the presence of Cf od, and been made a hearer 
 of his incorruptible voice ; so great is his con- 
 cern for your nation, and its duration." 
 
 4. When lie had said this, lie brought the 
 people, with their wives and cIiiUlreii,'so near 
 the mountain, that they might hear God him- 
 self speaking to them about the precepts which 
 they were to practise ; that the energ) of what 
 should be spoken might not be hurt by its 
 utterance by that tongue of a man, which 
 could but imperfectly deliver it to their un- 
 derstanding. And they all heard a voice that 
 c.iiTie to all of them from above, insomuch 
 that no one of these words escaped them, 
 which Moses wrote on two tables ; which it is 
 not lawful for us to set down directly, but 
 tlieir import we will declare.* 
 
 5. 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 crea- 
 ture to worship it ; — the third, That we must 
 not swear by God in a false matter ; — the 
 fourth, That we must keep the seventli 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 adul- 
 tery ; — the eight)). That we must not be guil- 
 ty of theft;— the ninth. That we must not 
 bear false vvitness ; — tlie tenth, That we must 
 not admit of the desire of any thing that is 
 another's. 
 
 6. Now when the niultitude had heard God 
 himself giving those precepts which Moses 
 had discoursed oi, 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. Accordingly he ap- 
 pointed such laws, and afterwards informed 
 them in what manner they sliould 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,f and ir,ake 
 there a distinct explication of them. 
 
 • of this anil .viothc-r like superstitions notion nf the 
 I'liarisees, winch Jowjihus I'oinplic-U with, see the note 
 on \ntin. b. ii. chap, xii, sect. i. 
 
 \ Tills other woik of Josephus, here referred to, 
 seems to Ik- that which docs not appear to ha\c hetn 
 ever publlslied, which yet he intended to publish, about 
 
 7. When matters were brought to this state, 
 Moses went up again to mount Sinai, of which 
 he had told them beforehand. He made hia 
 ascent in their sight; and while he staid there 
 so long a time (for he was absent from them 
 forty days), fear seized upon the Hebrews, 
 lest Moses should liave come to any harm ; 
 nor vsas there any thing else so sad, and that 
 so much troubled them, as this su]>posal that 
 Moses was perished. N<nv there was a va- 
 riety in their sentiments about it ; some say- 
 ing that he was fallen among wild beasts; 
 and those that were of this opinion were 
 chiefly such as weie ill-disposed to him ; but 
 others said that he was departed, and gone 
 to God; but the wiser sort were led by their 
 reason to embrace neither of those opinions 
 with any natisfactioii, thinking, that as it was 
 a thing that sometimes happens to men to 
 fall among wild beasts, and perish tliat way, 
 so it was probable enough that he might de- 
 part and go to God, on account of his virtue; 
 they therefore were quiet, and expected the 
 event : yet were they exceeding sorry upon 
 the supposal that they were depi ived of a go- 
 vernor and a protector, such a one indeed as 
 they could never recover again ; nor would 
 this suspicion give them leave to expect any 
 comfortable 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 I^Io- 
 ses had bidden them afore to stay there. 
 
 8. But when the forty days, and as many- 
 nights, were over, Moses came dow n, having 
 tasted nothing of food usually appointed for 
 the nourishment of men. His appearance 
 tilled the army with gladness, and he declared 
 to them what care God had of them, and by 
 what manner of conduct of their lives they 
 might live happily ; telling them, that during 
 these days of his absence he had suggested to 
 him also that he would have a tabernacle built 
 for him, into whicli 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 ta- 
 bernacle amongst us, and be present at our 
 prayers; as also, that the tabernacle sliould be 
 of such measures and construction as he had 
 shown him; and that you are to fall to the 
 work, and prosecute it ililigcntly. When he 
 had said this, he showed them the two tables, 
 with tlie ten commandments engraven upon 
 them, five upon each table; and the writing 
 was by the hand of God. 
 
 the reasons of many of the laws of Moses : of whicli »e» 
 the note on the Preface, sect. \. 
 
 "V. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONCERNING THE TABERNACLE WHICH MOSES 
 BUILT IN THE WILDERNESS FOR THE HO- 
 NOUR OF GOD, AND WHICH SEEMED TO BE 
 A TEMPLE. 
 
 § 1. Hereupon the Israelites rejoiced at what 
 they had seen and heard of their conductor, 
 and were not wanting in diligence according 
 to their ability ; for they brought silver, and 
 gold, and brass, and of the best sorts of wood, 
 and such as would not at all decay by putre- 
 faction ; 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 aforemention- 
 ed ; and fine linen and precious stones, which 
 those that use costly ornaments 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 at all dif- 
 fer from a moveable and ambulatory temple. 
 Now when these things were brought togetlier 
 with great diligence, (for every one was am- 
 bitious to further the work even beyond their 
 ability,) he set arcliitects 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 Aliriam, the sister 
 of their conductor; and Aholiab, the son of 
 Aliisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Now the 
 p ople went on with what they had under- 
 taken with so great alacrity, that Moses was 
 obliged to restrain them, by making procla- 
 mation, that what had been brought was suf- 
 ficient, as the artificers had informed him ; so 
 th(y fell to work upon the building of the 
 tatt^rnacle. Moses also informed them, ac- 
 001 ding to the direction of God, both what 
 the measures were to be, and its largeness ; 
 and how many vessels it ought to contain for 
 the use of tlie sacrifices. The women also 
 wei a 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. 
 
 2. Now when all things were prepared, the 
 gold, and the silver, and the brass, and what 
 wa? woven, Moses, when he had appointed 
 beforehand that there should be a festival, and 
 thai sacrifices should be offered according to 
 every one's ability, reared up the tabernacle ; * 
 and when he had measured the open court, 
 
 • Of this tabernacle of Moses, with its several parts 
 and furniture, see my description at large, chap, vi, vij, 
 Tiii, ix, X, xi, xii, liereto belonging. 
 
 fifty cubits broad and a hundred long, he set 
 up brazen pillars, 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 sil- 
 ver, but their bases were of brass : they re* 
 sembled the sharp ends of spears, and were 
 of brass, fixed into tiie 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 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 inclosure; but as for 
 the fourth side, which was fifty cubits in ex- 
 tent, and was the front of the whole, twenty 
 cubits of it were for the opening of tlie gates, 
 wherein stood two 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 suit- 
 ed to them ; and round them was drawn a 
 curtain of fine linen ; but to the gates them- 
 selves, which were twenty cubits in extent, 
 and five in height, the curtain was composed 
 of purple, and scarlet, and blue, and fine 
 linen, and embroidered with many and divers 
 sorts of figures, excepting the figures of ani- 
 mals. 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 construction of the 
 inclosure about the court of the tabernacle, 
 which was exposed to the open air. 
 
 3. As to the tabernacle itself, Moses placed 
 it in the middle of tliat court, with its front 
 to the east, that, wlien 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, Tlie one 
 of its walls was on the south, and the other 
 was exposed to the north, and on the back 
 part of it remained the west. It was neces- 
 sary 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 into a quadrangular figure, in 
 breadth a cubit and a half, but the tliickness 
 was four fingers ; they had thin plates of gold 
 affixed to them on both sides, inwardly and 
 outwardly : they had each of them two tenons 
 belonging to them, inserted into theit 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 accurately 
 
88 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS OF THE JF-WS. 
 
 BOOK 111 
 
 fitted one nnotlicr, insomuch that the joints 
 were invisible, unci both seemed to be one 
 entire and united wall. It was also covered 
 with Rold, both within and without. The 
 number of pillars was ecjual on the opposite 
 sides, and there were on each part twenty, 
 and every one of them had the third jjart of 
 a span in thickness ; so that the number of 
 tliirty cubits were fully made up between 
 them; but as to the wail behind, where the 
 six pillars made up together oidy nine cu- 
 bits, 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 
 other. 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 
 Oars that went through all the |)illars, 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 immoveable 
 continually. 
 
 4. As for the inside, Moses parted its length 
 into three partitions. At the distance of ten 
 cubits from the most secret end, Moses placed 
 four pillars, the workmanship 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 those pillars was the most 
 holy place ; but 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 imitation of 
 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 
 were, a Heaven peculiar to God ; but the 
 space of the twenty cubits, is, as it were, sea 
 and land, on which men live, and so this part 
 is peculiar to the priests only : but at the 
 front, where the entrance was made, they 
 placed pillars of gold, that stood on bases of 
 brass, in number seven ; but then they sjiread 
 over the tabernacle veils of fine linen and 
 purple, and blue, and scarlet colours, embroi- 
 dered. The first veil was ten cubits every 
 way, and this they spread over the pillars 
 which parted the temple, and kei)t the most 
 holy place co:icealed within ; and this veil 
 was that which made this part not visible to 
 any. Now the whole temple was called The 
 Iluly Place; but that p-irt which was within 
 
 the four pillars, and to which none were ad- 
 mitted, was called The Holy of Jlolifs. This 
 veil was very ornamental, and embroidered 
 with all sorts of flowers which the earth pro- 
 duces; and there were interwoven into it all 
 sorts of variety that might be an ornament, 
 excepting the forms of animals. Another 
 veil 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 downwaids half 
 the depth of the pillars, the other half aflTord- 
 ing an entrance for the priests, who crept un- 
 der it. Over this there was A veil of linen, 
 of the same largeness with the former: it was 
 to be drawn this way or that way by lords, 
 the rings of which, fixed to the texture of the 
 veil, and to the cords also, were subservient 
 to the drawing and undrawing of the veil, 
 and to the fastening it at the corner, that then 
 it might be no hinderance to the view of tlie 
 sanctuary, especially on solemn days ; but that 
 on other days, and especially when the wea- 
 ther was inclined to snow, it might be ex- 
 panded, and afl'ord a covering to the veil of 
 divers colours ; whence that custom of ours 
 is derived, of having a fine linen veil, after 
 the temi)le has been built, to be drawn over 
 the entrances ; hut 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 
 within one cubit 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 extended loosely down 
 to the ground, appearing like a triangulai 
 front and elevation at the gates, the eleventh 
 curtain being used for this very purpose. 
 'I'here were also other curtains made of skins 
 above these, which atl'orded covering and pro- 
 tection to those that were woven, both in hot 
 weather and when it rained ; and great was 
 the surprise of those who viewed these cur- 
 tjiins at a distimce, for they seemed not at all 
 to difler from the colour of the sky ; but those 
 that were made of hair and of skins, reached 
 down in the same manner as did tiie veil at 
 the gates, and ke|)t off the heat of the sun, 
 and what injury the rains might do ; and after 
 this manner was the tabernacle reared. 
 
 5. There was also an ark made, sacred to 
 God, of wood that was naturally strong, and 
 coukl not be corrupted. This was called Eron, 
 in our own langu;ige. Its construction was 
 thus ; Its length was five spans, but its breadth 
 and height was each of thein three spans. 
 It was covered all over with gold, both witli 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 in 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 con- 
 junction. 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 two images, which the Hebrews 
 call Cherubims : they are flying creatures, but 
 their form is not like to that of any of the crea- 
 tures 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 writ- 
 ten, five upon each table, and two and a half 
 upon each side of them : and this ark he plac- 
 ed in the most holy place. 
 
 6. But in the holy place he placed a table, 
 like those at Delphi : its length was two cu- 
 bits, and its 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 towards the table were wrought 
 into a square form. The table had a hollow 
 towards 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 
 oody of the work. Upon every one of the 
 feet was there 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 en- 
 tire 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 journej'ed. Upon 
 this table, which was placed on the north side 
 of the temple, 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 mea- 
 sure of the Hebrews, containing seven Athen- 
 ian cotyla; ; 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 Sab- 
 bath ; for we call the seventh day the Sab- 
 bath. But for the occasion of this invention of 
 placing loaves here, we will speak to it in an- 
 other place. 
 
 7. Over against this table, near the south- 
 ern wall, was set a candlestick of cast gold, 
 hollow within, being of the weight of one 
 hundred pounds, which the Hebrews call 
 Chincliares ; if it be turned into the Greek Ian- I 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 89 
 
 ■Y 
 
 guage, 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 it- 
 self on high from a single base, and spread it- 
 self into as many branches as there are pla- 
 nets, including the sun among them. It ter- 
 minated in seven heads, in one row, all stand- 
 ing parallel to one another; and these branches 
 carried seven lamps, one by one, in imitation of 
 the number of the planets. These lamps look • 
 ed to the east and to the south, the candle- 
 stick being situate obliquely. 
 
 8. Now between this candlestick and the 
 table, which, as we said, were within the sanc- 
 tuary, was the altar of incense, made of wood 
 indeed, but of the same wood of which the 
 foregoing vessels were made, 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 en- 
 compassing it round about, whereto belonged 
 rings and bars, by which the priests carried it 
 when they journeyed. Before this tabernacle 
 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 net-work ; for the ground underneath re- 
 ceived the fire from the hearth, because it had 
 no basis to receive it. Hard by this altar lay 
 the basins, and the vials, and the censers, and 
 the caldrons, made of gold ; but the other ves- 
 sels, 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 belonjilnsr. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CONCERNING THE GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS, 
 AND or THE HIGH-PRIEST. 
 
 § 1. There were peculiar garments appoint- 
 ed for the priests, and for all the rest, which 
 they call Cahanace [priestly] garments, as also 
 for the high-priests, which they call Cahanace 
 JiabhcB, 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 Ulachannse, which 
 means somewhat that is fast tied. It is a girdle, 
 composed of fine twined linen, and is put a- 
 bout the privy parts, the feet being to be in- 
 serted into them, in the nature of breeches ; 
 but above half of it is cut oft, and it ends at 
 the thighs and is there tied fast 
 H 
 
no 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 2. Over this lie wore a linen vestment, made 
 of fine flax (l(>iil>led : it is called Clttthnnc, and 
 denotes linen, for we rail linen by the name 
 of Clirthoiw. This vebtnient reaches down to 
 tlie Feet, and sits close to the body ; and has 
 sleeves that are tied fast to the arms ; it is 
 gilded to the breast a little above the elbows, 
 l)y a girdle often going round, four fingers 
 broad, but so loosely woven, tliaf you would 
 think it were the skin of a serpent. It is em- 
 broidered with flowers of scarlet, and purple, 
 and blue, and fine twined linen ; but the warp 
 vas nothing but fine linen. I'he beginning 
 of its circumvolution is at the breast; and 
 when it has gone often round, it is there tied, 
 and bangs loosely there down to the ancles : 
 I mean this, all the time the priest is not a- 
 bout any laborious service, for in this position 
 it appears in the most agreeable manner to the 
 spectators; but when he is obliged to assist 
 at the offering sacrifices, and to do the ap])oint- 
 ed service, that he may not be hindered in his 
 operations by its motion, he throws it to the 
 left, and bears it on his shoulder. Moses in- 
 deed calls this belt Abimelh ; but we have 
 learned from the Babylonians to call it Eniia, 
 for so it is by them called. This vestment 
 has no loose or hollow parts anywhere in it, 
 but only a narrow aperture about tlie 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 call- 
 ed Mnxsabazaiies. 
 
 3. 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 Masnaeniphthes : and 
 its make is such that it seems to be a crown, 
 being made of thick swathes, but the contex- 
 ture is of linen ; and it is doubled round many 
 times, and sewed together: besides which, a 
 j>iece of fine linen covers the wliole cap from 
 the upper part, and reaches down to the fore- 
 head, and hides the seams of the swathes, which 
 would otherwise appear indecently ; this ad- 
 heres closely upon the solid part of the head, 
 and is thereto so firmly fixed, that it may 
 not fall off during the sacred service about 
 •>he sacrifices. So we have now shown you 
 what is the habit of the generality of the 
 priests. 
 
 4. The high-priest is indeed adorned with 
 the same garments that we have described, 
 without abating one; only over these he puts 
 on a vestment of a blue colour. This also is 
 a long robe, reaching to his feet [in our lan- 
 "ua^e it is c-alled Mceir], and is tied round 
 with a girdle, embroidered with the same co- 
 lours and flowers as the former, with a mixture 
 of gold interwoven. To the bottom of which 
 gannent are bung fringes, in colour like 
 pomegranates, with golden bells,* by a curi- 
 ous and beautiful contrivance; so that be- 
 
 • TliP use of tjic«- golilni bflls at Itic liottoiti of the 
 i>igh-iii icst's lonu if.iriiiciit, sccins to me u have Ixjcn this: 
 
 ROOK fll 
 
 twcen two bells hangs a pomegranate, and be- 
 tween two pomegranates a bell. Now this 
 vesture was not composed of two pieces, nor 
 was it sewed together upon the shoidders and 
 the sides, but it vv;is one long vestment so 
 woven as to have an aperture for the neck ; 
 not an obliijue one, but parted all along the 
 breast and the Inick. A border also was sew- 
 ed to it, lest the aperture shoidd look too in- 
 decently • it was also parted where the hands 
 were to come out. 
 
 5. 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 wo- 
 ven to the depth of a cubit, of several colours, 
 with gold intermixed, and embroidered, but 
 it left the middle of th" breast uncovered : it 
 was made with sleeves also ; nor did it appear 
 ■to be at all dill'erently made from a short coat. 
 But in the void place of this garment there 
 was inserted a piece of the bigness of a span, 
 embroidered with gold, and the other colours 
 of the ejihod, and was called Essen [the breast- 
 plate], 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 but- 
 tons, having each end running to the sardo- 
 nyxes of gold, that they might be buttoned by 
 them. On these were engraven 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 breast-plate, 
 extraordinary 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 
 breast-plate itself, and they were set in ouches 
 of gold, that were themselves inserted in the 
 breast-plate, 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 
 
 That by shaking his parmcnt at the time of hisofltring 
 incense in the temple, on the great day of expiation, or 
 at other proi>cr pcnoils of his saercd nnnislrations there, 
 on the great festivals, the jiooplc might have notice of 
 it, and might fall to their own prayers at the tniic of in- 
 cense, or other proper pcriiMis ; aiid so the whole con- 
 greganon might at once olTer those common ])ravers 
 jointly with the high priest himself to the Almighty, 
 bee Luke i, 10, Rev. viii. 3, i. Nor probably Is the 
 son of Sirach to be otherwise understmx!, when he says 
 of Aaron, the first high-priest, Ecclus. xlv. 9. " Aeid 
 (iod enc(>mpas.>.cil Aaron v>ith pomegranates, and with 
 many golden 1r-11s 'lumd nlxiut, that as he went the c 
 mi,;ht be a sound, niul a noise made that might be hdr*. 
 in the temple, for a memorial to tlie cluldicn of hit 
 people.*" 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEW'S. 
 
 91 
 
 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 agite, 
 being the ninth of the whole number. Tlie 
 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 size, at the 
 edge of that part of the breast-plate which 
 reached to the neck, and inserted into the 
 very texture of the breast-plate, to receive 
 chains finely wrought, which connected them 
 with golden bands to the tops of the should, 
 ers, whose extremity turned backwards, and 
 went into the ring, on the prominent back 
 part of the ephod ; and this was for the secu- 
 rity of the breast-plate, that it might not fall 
 out of its place. There was also a girdle sew- 
 ed to the breast-plate, which was of the fore- 
 mentioned colours, with gold intermixed, 
 which, when it had gone once, round was tied 
 again upon the seam, and hung down. There 
 were also golden loops that admitted its fring- 
 es at each extremity of the girdle, and includ- 
 ed them entirely. 
 
 6. The high-priest's mitre v^as 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 em- 
 broidered, and round it was a golden crown 
 polished, of three rows, one above another ; 
 out of which arose a cup of gold, which re- 
 sembled the herb which we call Sacckarus ; 
 but those Greeks that are skilful in botany 
 call it Hi/oscyatnus. Now, lest any one that 
 has seen this herb, but has not been taught its 
 name, and is unacquainted with its nature, or, 
 having known its name, knows not the herb 
 when he sees it, I shall give such as these are a 
 description of it. 'I'iiisherb isoftentimesintall- 
 ness above three spans, but its root is like that 
 of a turnip (for he that should compare it there- 
 to 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 oft" when it is changing, in order to pro- 
 duce its fruit. This calyx, is of the bigness 
 of the bone of the little finger, but in the com- 
 pass of its aperture is like a cup. Tliis I will 
 farther describe, for the use of those that are 
 unacquainted with it. Suppose a sphere be 
 divided into two parts, round at the bottom, 
 but having another segment that grows up to 
 a circumference from tliat bottom ; suppose 
 it become narrower by degrees, and that the i 
 cavitv of that part grow decentij' smaller, and i 
 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 an hemi- 
 sphere, and that, as one may say, turned ac- 
 curately in a lathe, and having its notches ex- 
 tant 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 poppy. Of this was a crown made, as far 
 as from the hinder part of the head to each of 
 the temples ; but this Ephidis, for so this 
 calyx may be called, did not cover the fore- 
 head, but it was covered with a golden plate,* 
 which had inscribed upon it the name of God 
 in sacred characters. And such were the or- 
 naments of the high-priest. 
 
 7. Now here one may wonder at the ill- 
 will which men bear to us, and which they 
 profess to bear on account of our despising 
 that Deity which they pretend to honour ; 
 for if any one do but consider tlie fabric of 
 the tabernacle, and take a view of the gar- 
 ments of the high-priest, and of those vessels 
 which we make use of in our sacred minis- 
 tration, he will find that our legislator was a 
 divine man, and that we are unjustly re- 
 proached by others : for if any one do without 
 prejudice, and 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 accessi- 
 ble 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 in- 
 timated 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. 
 Tiie vails, too, which were composed of four 
 things, they declared the four elements; for 
 the fine linen was proper to signify the 
 earth, because the flax grows out of the earth; 
 the purple signified the sea, because that co- 
 lour is dyed by the blood of a sea shell-fish ; 
 
 * The reader ought to take notice here, that the very 
 Mosaic Petalon, or golden plate, for the forehead of llie 
 Jewish high-priest, was itself preserved, not oniy till the 
 daysof Joscphus, butof Origeii ; and that its inscription. 
 Holiness tn the Lord, was ui the Samaritan characters. 
 — SeeAntiq. b. viii, ch. iii, sect. 8, Essav on the Old 
 Test. p. 154, and Rcland. I)e Spol. Templi, p. ]5'>. 
 
 + When Josephus, both hare and chap. vi. sect. 4, 
 supposes the tabernacle to have been parted into three 
 parts, he seems to esteem the bare entrance to be a third 
 division, distinct from the holy and the most holy pluces; 
 and this the rather, be<ause in the temple afterward thorp 
 was a real distmt>t third part, which was called the Porch : 
 otherwise Josephus would contradict his own <leseription 
 of the tabernacle, which gives us a particular accouul of 
 no more than two parti. 
 
92 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIIK JKWS. 
 
 rlie blue is fit to Mignify the nir ; and the 
 scarli'l u'ill naturally hi- an indication of firt-. 
 Now llii' VLStiniiit of till- lii';ti.|)iit'Sl hoinj^ 
 made ol' linen, sif^niliud the earth ; the blue 
 denoted the sk.y, being lik»; lightning in its 
 pomegranates, and in the noise of the bells 
 resembling thunder. And for the e|)hod, it 
 showed that God had made the universe of 
 four [elements] ; and as for tlie gold inter- 
 woven, I KU))posc it related to the splendour 
 by which all things are enlightened. He 
 also apjioiiited the breast-plate to be placed 
 in the middle of the ei)iiod, to resemble the 
 earth, for that has the very middle place of 
 the world. And the girdle « Iiich enconipassed 
 the high-priest rotmd, signified the ocean, 
 for that goes round about and includes the 
 universe. Each of the saidonyxes declares 
 to us the sun and the moon ; those, I mean, 
 that were in the nature of buttons on the 
 higb-pricst's shoulders. And for the twelve 
 stones, whether we understand by them the 
 months, or whether we understand the like 
 number of the signs of that circle which the 
 Greeks call the Zodiac, vve shall not be mis- 
 taken in their meaning. And for the mitre, 
 which was of a blue colour, it seems to me 
 to mean heaven ; for liow othcnvise could the 
 name of God be inscribed upon it ? TLat it 
 was also illustrated with a crown, and that of 
 gold also, is because of that splendour with 
 which God is pleased. Let this explication* 
 suffice at present, since the course of my nar- 
 ration will often, and on many occasions, 
 aflbrd me the opportunity of enlarging upon 
 tiie virtue of our legislator. 
 
 CHAPTER vni. 
 
 OF THE PRIESTHOOD OF AARON. 
 
 § 1. When what has been described was 
 brought to a conclusion, gifts not being yet 
 presented, God appeared to Moses, and en- 
 joined hiin to bestow the high-priesthood upon 
 Aaron his brother, as upon him that best of 
 
 • This cxpliration of the mystical meaning of the 
 Jewish Uibeinr.cle and its vessels, witli the gariiu-nts of 
 the higli-iiricst, is taken out of I'hilo, and littcd to Ccn- 
 tile pliilosoiihieal notions. This may possibly be for- 
 given in Jews, ^'really verseil in heathen Itarniiig and 
 philosophy, as Philo had ever Ijccn, and as Jo.'Ci)hiis 
 nad long boon when he wrote these Antiquities. In the 
 mean tunc, it is not to be doubted, but in tlicir cdu- 
 catiou they must have both Icnnicd more Jewish inter- 
 pretations, sueh as we meet with in the Epistle of Har- 
 iiabas, in that to the Hebrews, and elsewhere among the 
 old Jews. Aecordingly when Josephus wrote his bonks 
 of the Jewish War, lor the use ol the Jews, at wliiih 
 time he was comparatively young, and less u>cd to (Un- 
 tile books, we tiud one sixx-imen of sueh a Jewish in- 
 terpretation ; for there (b. vii, eh. v, sect. !>,) he makes 
 the seven branches of the temp'.e-candlestiik, wiih 
 tlieir seven lamps, an emblem of the seven days of 
 creation and rest, which arc here emblems of the seven 
 planets. Nor certainly ought ancient Jewish en\blems 
 to be explained any other way than according to ancient 
 Jewish, mid not (ieutUe, notions. See of tlie \\ ar, b. 
 i, eh. xxxiii, sect. 2. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 them all deserved to obtain that honour, ot> 
 account of his virtue. And when he hud 
 gathered the multitude together, lie gave 
 them an account of Aaron's virttie, nutl of 
 ills good-will to them, and of the dangers he 
 had undergone for tJieir sakes. Upon viiich, 
 when they had given testimony to him in alt 
 respects, and showed their readiness to receive 
 him, IVIoses said to them, " O you Israelites, 
 this work is already brought to a conclusion, in 
 a manner most acceptable to God, and accord- 
 ing to our abilities. And now sitice 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 sacri- 
 fices, and to the prayers that are to be put up 
 for us; and indeed had the inquiry after sucfl 
 a person been left to me, 1 should liave 
 thought myself wortliy of this honour, both 
 because all men are naturally fond of them- 
 selves, and because I am conscious to myself 
 that I have taken a great deal of pains for 
 your deliverance ; but now God himself liaa 
 determined tliat Aaron is worthy of this ho- 
 nour, and has chosen him for his priest, as 
 knowing liim to be the most righteous person 
 among you. So that he is to put on the vest- 
 ments whicli are consecrated to God ; he is 
 to iiave 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 w ill 
 readily hear them, not only because he is 
 himself solicitous for your nation, but also 
 because he will receive them as ofl'ered by 
 one that lie hath himself cliosen to this 
 office, "t The Hebrews were pleased witli 
 what was said, and they gave their approba- 
 tion to him whom God had ordained ; for 
 Aaron was, of thein all, the most deserving 
 of this honour, on account of his own stock 
 and gift of prophecy, and his brother's virtue. 
 He had at that time four sons, Nadab, Abi- 
 hu, Eleazer, and Ithamar. 
 
 2. Now Moses commanded tliem to make 
 use of all the utensils which were more tfian 
 were necessary to the structure of the taber- 
 nacle, 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 inultitude together again, he or- 
 dained 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 Atlieiiian drachma;. J Where- 
 
 f It is well worth our observation, that the two prin- 
 cipal (jualifieations reciuiiiil in this section, for Iho con- 
 stitution of the lirst nigh-priest, (\iz. that he should 
 have an excellent character for virtuous and gocxl ai^ 
 tioiis; as also that he should haw the approbation of 
 the people,) are here iioicd bv Josephus, even where tlip 
 nomination Ix'longcd to iJcxI fiiniself ; which arc the very 
 same qualifications which the Christian religion n-quiies 
 in the choice of Christian bishops, priests, anil deacons; 
 as the Aiiostolieal Const ituLions inform us, b. ii.ehap. iii. 
 
 }; Thisweipht and \alue of the Jewish shekel, in the 
 davs of JoseiMius. equal to about 'Js. lUd. (torling, is, bv 
 
 "l 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VIM. 
 
 upon they readily obeyed what Moses had 
 commanded ; and the number of the offerers 
 was six hundred and five thousand five hun- 
 dred and fifty. 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. 
 
 3. Moses now purified the tabernacle and 
 the priests ; which purification was performed 
 after the following manner : — He commanded 
 them to take five hundred shekels of choice 
 myrrh, an equal quantity of cassia, and half 
 the foregoing weight of cinnamon and cala- 
 mus (tliis last is a sort of sweet spice) ; to 
 beat them small, and wet them with an hin of 
 oil of olives (an liin is our own country mea- 
 sure, and contains tvi'o Athenian choas, or 
 congiuses) ; then mix them together, and boil 
 them, and prepare them after the art of the 
 apothecary, 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 sacrifices. There were 
 also many, and those of various kinds, of 
 sweet spices, that belonged to the tabernacle, 
 and such as were of very great price, and were 
 brought to the golden altar of incense, the na- 
 ture of which I do not now describe, lest it 
 should be troublesome to my readers ; but in- 
 cense • was to be oflTered 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 candlestick, before 
 God, and the rest were to be lighted at the 
 evening. 
 
 4. Now all was finished. Besaleel and 
 Aholiab appeared to be the most skilful of 
 the workmen ; for they invented finer works 
 than what others had done before them, and 
 were of great abilities to gain notions of what 
 they were formerly ignorant 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 that was ended the first year since their 
 departure out of Egypt. But at the beginning 
 of the second year, on the month Xanlldcus, 
 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. 
 
 the learned Jews, owned to be one-fifth larger than were 
 their old shekels ; which determination agrees perfectly 
 with the remaining shekels that have Samaritan inscrip- 
 tions, coined generally by Siraon the Maccabee.about 230 
 years before Josephus published his Antiquities, which 
 iiever weigh more than 2s. 4|d., and comraouly but 2s. 
 4|d. See Keland De Nummis Samaritanorum, p. 18S. 
 
 * The incense was here offered, according to Jose- 
 phus's opinion, before sun-rising, and at sun -setting ; but 
 m the days of Pompey, according to the same Josephus, 
 the saciiifices were offered in the morning, and at the 
 ninth hour. Antiq. b. xiv, ch. iv, sect. 5. 
 
 t Hence we may correct the opinions of the modem 
 Rabbins, who say that only one of the seven lamps 
 burned in the day-time ; whereas our Josephus, an eye- 
 witneis, says there were three. 
 
 93 
 
 5. Now God showed himself pleased with 
 the work of the Hebrews, and did not permit 
 their labours to be in vain ; nor did he dis- 
 dain to make use of what they had made, but 
 he came and sojourned with them, and pitcli- 
 ed his tabernacle in tlie holy house. And in 
 the following manner 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 a 
 one as men might be able to discern any thing 
 tiirough it ; but from it there dropped a sweet 
 dew, and such a one as showed the presence 
 of God to those that desired and believed it, 
 
 6. 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 oi 
 the tabernacle, as God commanded him j 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 oflSces in my discourse about 
 sacrifices ; and therein shall inform men in 
 what cases Moses bid us offer a whole burnt- 
 offering, and in what cases the law permits us 
 to partake of them as of food. And when 
 Moses had sprinkled Aaron's vestments, him 
 self, and his sons, with the blood of the beasts 
 that were slain, and had purified them with 
 spring waters and ointment, they became 
 God's priests. After this manner did he con- 
 secrate them and their garments for seven 
 days together. The same he did to the taber- 
 nacle, and the vessels thereto belonging, botli 
 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 ability. Accordingly they contended 
 one with another, and were ambitious to ex- 
 ceed each other in the sacrifices which they 
 brought, and so fulfilled Moses's injunctions. 
 But as the sacrifices lay upon the altar, a sud- 
 den fire was kindled from among them of its 
 own accord, and appeared to the sight like 
 fire from a flash of lightning, and consumed 
 whatsoever was upon the altar. 
 
 7. Hereupon an affliction befel Aaron, con- 
 sidered as a man and a father, but was un- 
 dergone by him with true fortitude ; for he 
 had indeed a firmness of soul in such acci- 
 dents, and he thought this calamity came up 
 on him according to God's will : for whereas 
 he had four sons, as I said before, the two 
 elder of them, Nadab and Abihu, 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 Xo burn them, 
 nobody could quench it. Accordingly they 
 died in this manner. And 3Ioses bid their 
 father and their brethren to t.^ke up their 
 bodies, to carry them out of the camp, and to 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 bury tliem magnificently. Now the multi- 
 tude lamented them, and were deeply affected 
 at this tlieir death, which so unexpectedly be- 
 fel them. But Moses entreated their breth- 
 ren and their father not to be troubled for 
 them, and to prefer the honour of Go<l before 
 iheir grief about them ; for Aaron had already 
 put on his sacred garments. 
 
 8. But Moses refused all that honour which 
 he saw the multitude ready to bestow upon 
 him, and attended to nothing else but the ser- 
 vice of God. He went no more up to mount 
 Sinai ; but he went into the tabernacle, and 
 brought back answers from God for what he 
 prayed for. His habit was also that of a pri- 
 vate man ; and in all other circumstances he 
 behaved himself like one of the common peo- 
 ple, and was desirous to appear without dis- 
 tinguishing himself from the multitude, but 
 would have it known that he did nothing else 
 but 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. How- 
 ever, the laws he ordained were such as God 
 suggested to him ; so I shall now discourse 
 concerning that form of government, and 
 those laws. 
 
 9. I will now treat of what I before omit- 
 ted, the garment of the high-priest : for lie 
 [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, f which we told you before, tlie 
 
 * Of this strange expression, that Moses ' left it to 
 God to be present at his sacrifices when he pleased, and 
 when he pleased to be absent,' see the note on b. ii, 
 aganist Apion, sect. 16. 
 
 t These answer.s by the oracle of Urim and Thiira- 
 mim, which words signify light and perfection, or, as 
 the Septuagint render tliem, revelation and truth, and 
 denote nothing further, that I see, but the shining stones 
 themseh es, which were used, in this method of illumin- 
 ation, in revealing the will of God, after a perfect and 
 true manner, to his people Israel: 1 say, these answers 
 were not made by the shining of the precious stones, 
 after an awkward manner, iu the high-priest's breast- 
 plate, as the modern Rabbins vainly supjiose ; for cer- 
 tainly the shining of the stones might ))receiie or ac- 
 company the oracle, without itself delivering that ora- 
 cle (see Xntiq. b, vi, chap, vi, sect, i), but rather by an 
 audible \-oice from the mercy-seat between the cheVu- 
 bims. See Prideaux's Connect, at the year 3.14. This 
 oracle had been silent, as Josephus here informs us, two 
 hundred years before he wrote his Antiquities, or ever 
 since the days of the last good high-priest of the family 
 of the Maccabees, John llyrcanus. Now it is here very 
 well worth our observation, that the oracle before us was 
 that by which God appeared to be present with, and gave 
 directions to, liis people Israel as their king, all the while 
 they submitted to him in that capacity ; and did not set 
 over thera such indepenilent kings as govenied accord- 
 ing to their own wills and political maxims, instead of 
 divine directions. Accordingly we meet with this ora- 
 cle (besides angelic and prophetic admonitions) ail along 
 from the days of Moses and Joshua to the anointing of; 
 Saul, the first of the succession of the kings (Numb, i 
 xxvii, '_'!; lush, vi, C, A:c. ; xix, 50; Judges, i, 1; xviii, 4, 1 
 S, C, 3<', 51 ; XX, IS, i.j, 26', 27, ^8 ; xxi, 1, &c ; 1 Sam. i. 
 
 high-priest bare on his shoulders, which were 
 sardonyxes (and I think it needless to describe 
 their nature, they being known to every body), 
 the one of them shined out when God was 
 present at their sacrifices ; I mean that which 
 was in the nature of a button on his right 
 shoulder, bright rays darting out thence, and 
 being seen even by those that were most re- 
 mote ; which splendour yet was not before 
 natural to the stone. Iliis has appeared a 
 
 I 17, 18; lii, per tot. iv, per tot.) ; nay, till Saul's rejec 
 tion of the divine commands in the war with Amalek, 
 when he took upon him to act as he thought fit (1 Sam. 
 xiv, 3, 18, 19, 36, 37), then this oracle left Saul entirely 
 (which indeed he had seldom consulted before, 1 Sam. 
 xiv, 35 ; 1 Chron. x, 14 ; xiii, 3, Antiq. b. vii, ch. iv, 
 sect -') and accompanied David, who was anointed to 
 succeed him, and who consulted God by it frequently, 
 and complied with its directions constantly (1 Sam. xiv, 
 3", 41 ; XV, 2<) ; xxi), 13, 15; xxiii. 9, 10; xxx, 7, S, i8; 
 2 Sam. ii, 1 ; v, 19, 23 ; xxi, 1 ; xxiii, 14 ; I Chron xiv, 
 10, 14; Antiq. b. vi, chap, xii, sect. 3). Saul, indeed, 
 lung after his rejection by God, and when God had given 
 him up to destruction for his disobedience, did once al 
 terwards endeavour to consult God when it wa., too late 
 but God would not then answer him, neither by dreams 
 nor by Urim, nor by proi>heti (1 Sam. xxviii, 61. No 
 did any of David's successors, the kings of Judah, that 
 we know of, consult God by this oracle, till the very 
 Babylonish captivity itself, when those kings were at an 
 end; they taking upon them, I suppose, too much of 
 despotic power and royalty, and too little owning the 
 t5ou of Israel for the supreme King of Israel, though a 
 few of them consulted the prophets sometimes, and wera 
 answered by them. At the return of the two tribes, with 
 out the return of the kingly government, the restoration 
 of this oracle was expected (.Neh. vii, 1 3 ; 1 Esd. v, 40; 1 
 Mace iv, 46; xiv, 41). And indeed it may seem to have 
 been restored for some time after the Babylonish capti- 
 vity, at least in the days of that excellent high-priest, 
 John HyTcanus, whom Josephus esteemed as a king, a 
 priest, and a prophet; and who, he says, foretold seve- 
 j ral things that came to pass accordingly ; but about the 
 [ time of his death, he here implies, that this oracle quite 
 ceased, and not before. The follo» ing high-priest* now 
 putting diadems on their heads, and ruling according to 
 their own will, and by their own authority, hke the other 
 kings of the Pagau countries about theni ; so that while 
 the God of Israel was allowed to be the supreme King 
 of Israel, and his directions to be their autJientic guides, 
 God gave them such directions as their supreme king 
 and go\ enior; and they were properly under a theocracy, 
 by this oracle of Urim, but no longer (see Dr. Bernard's 
 notes here) ; though 1 confess 1 cannot but esteem the 
 high-priest Jaddu?s divine dream (Antiq. b. xi, chap. 
 viii, sect. 4), and the high-priest C'aiaphas's most remark- 
 able prophecy (John xi, 47 — ^''2), as two small remains or 
 specimens of this ancient oracle, which properlv belong- 
 ed to the Jewish high-priests: nor perhaps ought ween- 
 tirely to forget that eminent prophetic dream of our 
 Josephus himself (one next to a high-priest, as of the 
 family of the Asamoneans or Maccabees), as to the suc- 
 cession of Vespasian and I'itus to the Koman empire 
 and that in the days of Nero, and before either Galba, 
 Otho, or Vitellius were thought of to succeed him. (Of 
 the War, b. iii, chap, viii, sect. 9.) This, I think, may 
 well be looked on as the very last instance of any thing 
 like the prophetic Urim among the Jewish nation, and 
 jUbt preceded their fatal desolation: but how it could 
 possibly come to pass that such great men as Sir Jolui 
 Marshain and Dr. Spenser, should imagine that this 
 oracle of Urim and 1 nuinmim, with other practices as 
 old or older than the law of Moses, should have been 
 ordained in imitation of somewhat like them among the 
 Egy ptians, which we never hear of till the days of Dio- 
 dorus Siculus, iElian, and Mmiiionides, or little earlier 
 than the Christian era at the highest, is almost un<ic- 
 countable; while the main business of the law of Mose« 
 was evidently to pieserie the Israelites from the idola- 
 trous and superstitious practices of the neighbouring 
 Pagan nations; and while it is so undeniable, that the 
 evidence for the great antiquity of Moses's law is incom- 
 parably beyond that fur the like or greater antiqiiitv ot 
 such customs in Egypt or other nations, which indeed 
 is generally none at all, it is most absurd to dirive any 
 of Moses's laws from the iimtation of those heallu-n 
 practices. Such hypothi'scs demonstrate to us how far 
 inclination can prevail ov er cMdcnce, m even iouie oi 
 the most learned part of mankind. 
 
 "V. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 95 
 
 wonderful thing to such as have not so far 
 indulged themselves in philosophy, as to de- 
 spise Divine Revelation. Yet will I mention 
 wliat is still more wonderful than this: for God 
 declared beforehand, by those twelve stones 
 which the high-priest bare on his breast, and 
 win'cli were inserted into his breast-plate, 
 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's being present 
 for their assistance. Whence it came to pass 
 that those Greeks, who had a veneration for 
 our laws, because they could not possibly 
 contradict this, called that breast-plate the 
 (h-acle. Now this breast-plate, and this sar- 
 donyx, left off shining two hundred years be- 
 fore I composed this book, God having been 
 displeased at the transgressions of his laws. Of 
 which things we shall further discourse on a 
 fitter opportunity ; but I will now go on with 
 my proposed narration. 
 
 10. 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 themselves 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 peculiar to themselves, and 
 these tribe by tribe ; for the heads of the 
 tribes combined together, two by two, and 
 brought a waggon and a yoke of oxen. These 
 amounted to six, and they carried the taber- 
 nacle when they journeyed. Besides 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 two hun- 
 dred shekels, but the bowl cost no more than 
 seventy shekels ; and these were full of fine 
 ftour mingled with oil, such as they used on 
 .<he 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-offerings for every 
 day two bulls, and five rams, with lambs of 
 a year old, and kids of the goats. These 
 beads 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 ; 
 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, inso- 
 much that the Hebrews did not transgress 
 any of those laws, either as tempted in times 
 of peace by luxury, or in times of war by dis- 
 tress of affairs. But I say no more here con- 
 
 cerning them, because I have resolved to com- 
 pose anotlier work concerning our laws. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE MANNER OF OUK OFFERING SACRIFICES. 
 
 § 1. I WILL now, however, make mention of 
 a few of our laws which belong to purifica- 
 tions, and the like sacred offices, since I am 
 accidentally come to this matter of sacrifices. 
 These sacrifices were of two sorts ; of those 
 sorts one was offered for private persons, and 
 the other for the people in general ; and tliey 
 are done in two different ways : in the onr 
 case, what is slain is burnt, as a whole burnt- 
 offering, whence that name is given to it ; but 
 the other is a thank-offering, and is designed 
 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 per- 
 mitted 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 in- 
 wards in an accurate manner, and so lay them 
 to the rest to be purged by the fire, while 
 the priests receive the hides. This is the way 
 of offering a burnt-offering. 
 
 2. 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 fe 
 males. They also sprinkle the altar with their 
 blood; but they lay upon the altar the kid- 
 neys and the caul, and all the fsK, and the 
 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 ; 
 land what remains they burn. 
 I 3. The sacrifices for sins are offered in the 
 same manner as is the thank-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 lan;b, or 
 a female 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 tlie fat, togetlicr with the lobe ol the 
 
 r 
 
.J- 
 
 96 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 liver, to the altar, while the priests bear away 
 tlie hides and the flesh, and spend it in the 
 holy place, on the same day ;• for the law 
 docs not permit them to leave of it until tlie 
 rnornini;. Hut if any one sin, and is conscious 
 of it himself, hut hath nobody that can prove 
 it upon him, he ofVcrs a ram, the law enjoin- 
 ing lum so to do ; the flesh of which the priests 
 eat, as beft)re, in the holy place, on the same 
 day. And if the rulers oiler sacrifices for 
 their sins, they bring the .same oblations that 
 private men do ; only they so far ditfer, that 
 they are to bring for sacrifices a bull or a kid 
 of tite goats, both males. 
 
 4. Now the law requires, both in private 
 and public sacrifices, tiiat the finest flour be 
 also brouglit ; 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 an 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 mea- 
 sure, and is equivalent to two Athenian choas 
 (or congiuses). They bring the same quantity 
 of oil which they doof wine, and they pour the 
 wine about the altar; but if any one does not 
 offer a complete sacrifice of animals, 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 of- 
 fers, it must of necessity be all burnt. Now 
 the law forbids us to sacrifice any animal at 
 the same time with its dam : 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-otferings are consumed, together 
 with the animals that are sacrificed ; of whicl 
 it is not lawful to leave any part till the next 
 day, only the priests are to take their own 
 share. 
 
 CIIAPTER X. 
 
 CONCERNING THE KESTIVALS ; ANU HOW EACH 
 UAV OE SUCH EESTIVAL IS TO BE OUSEUVED. 
 
 § 1. 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 
 
 • What Rclaiul well ol>sor\ c-s liere, out of Joscjihus, 
 as coiri|)artHl wiih the law of Mosi-s, Lev. vii, I.i (that 
 the i-iitiDp of the saci ilicc the Baiue ilay it was ofl'erecl, 
 Bccnis to mean only Ix^lorc the iiiomiiiB of the next, al- 
 thoiij;li the latter part, i. r. the nij;lit, hi- in striitiicss 
 part of the next day, aceording to ihi- Ji-wish rtvkoniiif^) 
 IS greatly to lxM>bscTve(l upon other oiv.usions also, 'i'he 
 Jewish n.axiin, in such caass,, it seems, is this: I'hat t!ie 
 (lay goes Ixifore the night ; anri this ap|>ears tu me to be 
 the language both of llicUld and New Tcstani<;nt. Sim 
 also the note on Antiq. b. iv, eh. iv, sect. ^, and Uelnnd': 
 nute OQ b. Iv, chap. vUi, sect SiU. 
 
 of the day ; but on the seventh day, which is 
 called the SabbtUb, they kill two, and sacrifice 
 them in the same mamicr. At the new moon, 
 they both perform the daily sacrifices, and slay 
 two bulls, with seven lambs of the first year, 
 and a kid of the goats also, for the expiation 
 of sins; that is, if they have sinned through 
 ignorance, 
 
 2. Hut on the seventh month, which the 
 Macedonians call Hi/perberetanis, they mak< 
 an addition to those already mentioned, and 
 sacrifice a bull, a ram, and seven lambs, and 
 a kid of the goats, for sins. 
 
 3. On the tenth day of the same lunar 
 month, they fast till the evening ; and this day 
 they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven 
 lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, 
 besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; 
 tlie one of which is sent alive out of the limits 
 of the camp into the wilderness for tke scape 
 goat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the 
 whole multitude ; but the other is brought 
 into a j)lace of great cleanness within the li- 
 mits 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 
 this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, 
 and the fat, with the lobe of the liver, upon 
 the altar. The high-priest likewise presents 
 a ram to God as a burnt-ofl'ering. 
 
 4. Upon the fifteenth day of the same 
 month, when the season of the year is chang- 
 ing for winter, the law enjoins us to pitch ta- 
 bernacles 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 metro- 
 polis, because of the temple therein to be built, 
 and keep a festival for eight days, and ofl'ei 
 burnt-olierings, 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, witli the addition of the pome- 
 citron. That the burnt-offering on the first 
 of those days was to be a sacrifice of thirteen 
 bulls, and fourteen lambs, and fifteen rams, 
 with the addition of a kid of the goats, as an 
 expiation for sins: and on the t'ollouing 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 eiglnh day all work was laid 
 aside, and then, as we said before, they sacri- 
 ficed to God a bullock, a ram, and seven lambs, 
 with a kid of the goat^, for an expiation of 
 
 •V 
 
CHAP, XI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES 01' THE JEWS. 
 
 97 
 
 sins. Anil this is the accustomed solemnity 
 of the Heljiews, when they pitch their taber- 
 nacles. 
 
 5. In the month of Xanthicus, which is hy 
 us calletl \tsan, and is tlie beginning of our 
 yt-ar, on tiie fourteenth day of the lunar niontli, 
 when the sun is in Aries (for in this month it 
 was that we were delivered from bondage un- 
 der the Egyptians), tlie law ordained that we 
 should every year slay that sacrifice which I 
 hefore told you we slew when we came out of 
 Egypt, and which was called the Passover; 
 and so we do celebrate this passover in com- 
 panic'^, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice 
 till the day following. The feast of unleav- 
 ened liread succeeds that of the passover, and 
 falls on the lifteenth day of the month, and 
 continues seven days, wherein they feed on 
 jnleavened bread ; on every one of wliich 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 
 nil the rest, for sins ; for it is intended as a 
 feast for tlie priest on every one of those days. 
 But on the second day of unleavened bread, 
 which is the sixteenth day of the month, they 
 first partake of the fruits of the earth, for be- 
 fore that day they do not touch them. And 
 while they su|>pose it proper to honour God, 
 from whom they obtain this plentiful provision, 
 •n the first place, they oiTer the tirst-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 allar, to God ; and, casting one handful 
 of it upon the fire, they leave the rest for the 
 use of '.he priest; and after this it is that tliey 
 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-ofler- 
 ing to God. 
 
 6. When a week of weeks has passed over 
 after this sacrifice (which weeks contain forty 
 and nine days), on the fiftieth day, which is 
 I'entecost, but is called by the Hebrews Aatir- 
 Iha, which signifies PeiUecost, they bring to 
 God a loaf, made of wheat fiour, of two tenth 
 deals, with leaven; and for sacrifices they bring 
 two lambs ; and when they have oidy preseiit- 
 'd them to God, they are made ready for sup- 
 per for the priests ; nor is it permitted to leave 
 aoy thing of them till the day following. Tiicy 
 si-o slay three bullocks for a burnt-oireriiig, 
 Kid 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 ofier burnt- 
 olTi-rings; they also allow themselves to rest 
 on every one of them. Accordingly, the law 
 pre^iiribes in ihein all what kinds they are to 
 sa; rifive, and how tliey are to rest entirely, and 
 i:iii.-.t slay sacrifices, in order to feast upon 
 tiioni. 
 
 7. However, out of the common charges, 
 baked bread 'was set on the table of shew-i 
 
 bread \ without leaven, of twenty-four tenth 
 deals of flour, for so much is spent upon this 
 bread ; two heaps of these were baked ; tliey 
 were baked the day before the Sabbath, but 
 were brought into the holy place on the morn- 
 ing of the Sabbath, and set upon the holy ta- 
 ble, six on a heaii, oiie loaf still standing over- 
 against another ; where two golden cups full of 
 frankincense were also set upon tliem, and there 
 they remained till another Sabbath, and then 
 other loaves were brought in their stead, wlu'je 
 the loaves were given to the priests for tlieir 
 food, and the frankincense was burnt in that 
 sacred fire wherein all tlieir ofTerings were 
 burnt also ; and so otlier frankincense was sot 
 upon the loaves instead of what was there be- 
 fore. The L^''S'"] P'iest also, of his own 
 charges, offered a sacrifice, and tliat 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 morn- 
 ing, and the other half at night. The account 
 of these sacrifices I shall give more accurately 
 hereafter; but I think I have premised what 
 for the present may be sufficient concerning 
 them. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 or THE PURIFICATIONS. 
 
 § 1. Moses took out the tribe of Levi fr:>m 
 communicating with the rest of the people, 
 and set tliein apart to be a holy tribe; and 
 purified them by water taken from perpetual 
 springs, and with such sacrifices as were usu- 
 ally 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 covering the tabernacle, tbat 
 they might minister under the conduct of the 
 priests, who had been already consecrated to 
 God. 
 
 2. He also detennined concerning animals; 
 wliich of them might be used for food, atid 
 which they were obliged to abstain from; 
 whicfi matters, when this work shall give me 
 occasion, shall be farther explained ; and the 
 causes shall bt added, by which he was inovod 
 to allot some of them to be our food, and erv- 
 joined us to abstain from others. However, 
 lie entirely forbade us the use of blood for 
 food, and esteemed it to contain the soul aiwl 
 spirit. He also forb:ide us to eat t!ie flesh of 
 an animal that died of itself, as also the caut, 
 and the fat of goats, and sheep, and l)ulls. 
 
 3. He also ordered, tliat those whose bodier, 
 were afflicted with leprosy, and who had a 
 gonorrhrea, should not come into the citv ; • 
 
 * We may Iiere note, that .loscphus frequcntiv cnHs 
 the camp the ciiij, am! the court of the Mosaic t;:ljtiui- 
 ple a tniivl>\ ami tlie tabcniaclfc itself « />i/,7 hoincf., witf) 
 ailusion t'othe latter city, temple, and holy house, whic?' 
 he knew so well long aitemaicis. 
 I 
 
S6 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 nay, lie removed the wtiinen, when they hnd tioned time appointed for lliem, tliey perform 
 their natural piirf;atioiis, till the seventh day ; their sacrifices, the priests distribute them be- 
 afliT whirh he looked on them as pure, and fore God. 
 
 permitted them to come in ai,'ain. The law | fi. IJiit if any one suspect that his wife has 
 jierniits tliose also who liave taken care of fu- been guilty of adultery, he was to bring a 
 nerals to come in after the same manner, when tenth ileal of b;irley ilour ; they then cast one 
 this number of days is over ; but if any con- ! handful to God, and gave the rest of it to the 
 tinned longer than that number of days in a priests for food. One of the priests set the 
 state of pollution, the law appointed the of- | woman at the gates that are turned towards 
 fering two lambs for a sacrifice; the one of the temple, and took the veil from her head, 
 which they are to purge by fire, and for the and wrote the name of God on parchment, 
 other, the priests take it for themselves. In and enjoined her to swear that she had not at 
 the same manner do those sacrifice who have all injured her husl>and ; and to wish tliat, if 
 had the gonorrhoea. But he that sheds his she had violated her chastity, lier right thigh 
 seetl in his sleep, if he go down into cold wa- ' might be put out of joint ; that her belly might 
 ter, has the same privilege with those that have ' swell, and that she might die thus: but that 
 lawfully accompanied with their wives. And if her husband, by the violence of his affec- 
 for the lepers, lie suffered them not to come tion, and of the jealousy which arose from it, 
 into the city at al', nor to live with any others, had been rashly moved to this suspicion, that 
 as if they were in effect dead persons ; but if she might bear a male child in the tenth 
 any one had obtained, by prayer to God, the month. Now when these oaths were over, 
 recovery from that distemper, and had gained the priest wiped the name of GoD out of the 
 a healthful complexion again, such a one re- ' parchment, and wrung the water into a vial, 
 turned thanks to God, with several sorts of He also took some dust out of the temple (if 
 sacrifices; concerning which we will speak any happened to be there), and put a little of 
 hereafter. it info the vial, and gave it her to drink ; 
 
 4. Whence one cannot but smile at those , whereupon the woman, if she were unjustly 
 who say that Moses was himself afflicted with ' accused, conceived with child, and brought it 
 the leprosy when he fled out of Egypt, and to perfection in her womb : but if she had 
 that he became the conductor of those who broken her faith of wedlock to her husband 
 on that a'"J0untleft that country, and led them and had sworn falsely before God, she died 
 into the land of Canaan ; for, had this been in a reproachful manner : her thigh fell off 
 true, Moses would not have made these laws ' from her, and her belly swelled with a dropsy, 
 to his own dishonour, which indeed it was And these are the ceremonies about sacrifices, 
 more likely he would have opposed, if others and about the purifications thereto belonging, 
 had endeavoured to introduce them ; and this which Moses provided for his countrymen, 
 the rattier, because there are lepers in many ' He also prescribed the following laws to 
 nations, who yet are in honour, and not only them ; — 
 free from reproach and avoidance, but who 
 have been great captains of armies, and been 
 entrusted with high offices in the common- 
 wealth, and have had the privilege of enter- 
 ing into holy places and temples; so that no- 
 thing 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 § 1. As for adultery, Moses forbade it en- 
 for their credit and advantage, and have laid tirely, as esteeming it a happy thing that men 
 no manner of difficulty upon them. Accord- ' should be wise in the aflairs of wedlock ; and 
 in^ly, it is. a plain case, that it is out of vio- ' that it was profitable both to cities and fami- 
 lent prejudice only that they report these things I lies that children should be known to be ge- 
 about us ; but Moses was pure from any such nuine. He also abhorred men's lying with 
 distemper, and lived with countrymen who their mothers, as one of the greatest crimes; 
 were pure of it also, and thence made the j and the like for lying with the father's wife, 
 laws which concerned others that had thedis-'and with aunts, and sisters, and sons' wives, 
 temper. He did this fbr the honour of God ; as all instances of abominable wickedness, 
 but as to these matters, let every one consider I He also forbade a inan to lie with his wife 
 ,hem after what manner he pleases. when she was defiled by her natural purga- 
 
 5. As to the women, when they have born tion : and not to come near brute beasts ; nor 
 a child, Moses forbade them to come into the to approve of the lying with a male, which 
 temple, or touch the sacrifices, before forty } was to hunt after unlawful pleasures on ac- 
 days were over, supposing it to be a boy; but count of beauty. To those who were guilty 
 if she has born a girl, the law is that she can- 1 of such insolent behaviour, h j ordaii.ed death 
 not be admitted before twice that number of j for their punishment. 
 
 days be over ; and w hen after the before men ) 2. As for the priests, he prescribed to them 
 
 CHAPTER Xir. 
 
 SEVERAL LAWS. 
 
CHAP. Xlk 
 
 a double degree of purity : • for he restrained 
 them in the instances above, and moreover for- 
 bade ihein to marry harlots. He aUo forbade 
 them to marry a slave, or a captive, and sucii 
 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 lier. Whence it is 
 t'lat the high-priest is not to come near to one 
 that is dead, although the rest are not prohi- 
 biteil from coming near to their brethren, or 
 parents, or children, when they are dead; but 
 they are to be unblemished in all respects. 
 lie ordered that the priest, who hud any blem- 
 ish, should have his portion indeed among the 
 priests ; but he forbade him to ascend the al- 
 tar, or to enter into the holy house. He also 
 enjoined them, not only to observe purity in 
 their sacred ministrations, but in their daily 
 conversation, that it might be unblameable 
 also ; and on this account it is that those wlio 
 wear the sacerdotal garments are without spot, 
 and eminent for their purity and sobriety : nor 
 are tliey permitted to drink wine so long as 
 they wear those garments. •}• Moreover, they 
 offer sacrifices that are entire, and have no 
 dufect whatsoever. 
 
 3. And truly Moses gave them all these 
 precepts, being such as were observed during 
 liis own life-time; but though he lived now 
 in the wilderness, yet did he make provision 
 liow they might observe the same laws when 
 they should have taken the land of Canaan. 
 He gave them rest to the land from plough- 
 ing and planting every seventh year, as he had 
 prescribed 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 distinction in that respect between 
 their own countrymen and foreigiwrs : and he 
 ordained, 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 punisliment of which 
 was not capital, but they vvere punished by 
 tliis method of slavery. This year also re- 
 
 » These words of Josephus are remarkable, that the 
 (awgiver of the Jews required of the pnc^ts a double 
 degree of purity, in comparison of that roiiuireil of the 
 
 feojil..-, of V. hich he gives several instances imme liately. 
 t was for certain the case also among the fir^t Christians, 
 of the cl'.igy, in comparison of the laity, as the Aposto- 
 Ujal Constitutions and Canons everywhere inform us. 
 
 t We must here note with Reland, that the precept 
 given to the priests of not drinking wine while they wore 
 the sacred garments, is equivalent to their abstinence 
 from it all the while they ministered in the temple; be- 
 cause thev then always, and then only, wore those sacred 
 garments', which were laid up there from one time of 
 ministration to another. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 stores the land to its former possessors in the 
 manner following : — When the Jubilee is 
 come, which name denotes liberty, he that 
 sold the land, and he that bought it, meet to- 
 gether, and make an estimate, on one hand, 
 of the fruits gathered ; and, on the other hand, 
 of the expenses laid out upon it. If the fruits 
 gathered come to more than the expenses laid 
 out, he that sold it takes the land 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 re- 
 ceived, and the expenses laid out, prove equal 
 to one another, the present possessor relin- 
 quishes it to the former owners. Moses would 
 have the same law obtain as to those ....Aises 
 also which were sold in villages ; but he made 
 a different law for 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 in- 
 tervened, 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 de- 
 livered in writing to the Hebrews. 
 
 4. Now when this settlement of laws seem- 
 ed to be well over, Moses thought St at length 
 to take a review of the host, as thinking it 
 proper to settle the affairs of war. So he 
 charged 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 I,evites they were holy, and free 
 from all such burdens. Now when the peo- 
 ple had been numbered, there were found six 
 hundred thousand that were able to go to 
 war, from twenty to fifty years of age, besides 
 three thousand six hundred and fifty. Instead 
 of Levi, Moses took Manasseh, the son of 
 Joseph, among the heads of tribes ; and Eph- 
 raim instead of Joseph. It was indeed the de- 
 sire of Jacob himself to Joseph, that he would 
 give him his sons to be his own by adoption, 
 as 1 have before related. 
 
 5. 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 order ; and all sorts of artificers 
 were in the shops ; and it resembled nothing 
 so much as a city that sometimes was move- 
 able, and sometimes fixed. The priests had 
 the first places about the tabernacle ; then tha 
 Levites, who, because their whole multitude 
 was reckoned from thirty days old, were 
 twenty-three thousand eight hundred and 
 eighty males; and during the time that the 
 cloud stood over the tabernacle, they thought 
 proper to stay in the same place, as suppos- 
 ing that God there inhabited among them ; 
 but when that removed, they journeyed also. 
 
 ^ 
 
100 
 
 ANTiQuiTJi'-s or Tiir: ji;\vs. 
 
 BOOK Ilk 
 
 k 
 
 (5. ^Moreover, Moses was the iiivcntor of 
 tlic form of llii'ir ti'iMii|i('t, uliitli was niadi- 
 of silvor. lis di'scriplioii is iliis: — In lenglii 
 it «as liitic less than a ciil)it. It was eotn- 
 |>i)sf(l ol" a tiarrow lnl>e, soincu hat t)iii'ker 
 tlian a flute, but with so much hreadlh as was 
 sufliciont for acimissiMii of the Wreath of a 
 man's mouth : it eiifk-il in the form of a l>ell, 
 like common trum|K'ts. Its soiuut was called 
 in the IIe))rew ton;;iie jlsosra. Two of these 
 heinj; made, »>nc of them was soDiuleil wlien 
 they required the multitude to come to^^ether 
 to congregations. \V(>en the first of them 
 j;ave a signal, the heads of the tribes were lo 
 assemble, and consult about the aflairs to 
 tliem i)ro|)erly belonging ; but when they gave 
 the '-ignal by both of them, they called the 
 multitude together. Wiienever the talx.'rnacle 
 was removed, it was done in this solemn or- 
 der : — At the first alarm of the trurni>et, those 
 whose tents were on the east <}uarter jjrepared 
 to remove ; when flie 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 tl>e 
 tabernacle; when the third signal was given, 
 that part which bad their tents towards the 
 west put themselves in motion ; and at the 
 fourth signal those on the north did so like- 
 wise. 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 now it was that Moses offered that 
 sacril'ice whicli was called the Fussove>- in t/ic 
 H'i/derness, as the first he had ottered after 
 the departure out of Egypt. 
 
 CHAPTER, XIII. 
 
 now MOSI.S REMOVED FROM MOUNT SINAI, AND 
 CONUtlCTKD THi: PKOPLE TO THE ItOBDKRS 
 or THE CANAANITES. 
 
 A LITTLE while afterwards he rose up, and 
 went from mount Sinai; and, having pass- 
 ed through several mansions, of which we 
 will speak anon, he came to a place called 
 JIdzerotli, whi're the multilude began again lo 
 be mutinous, and to l)l:une Moses for the mis- 
 fortunes they had sull'ered in their travels; 
 and that when he had persuaded them to leave 
 a good land, tluy at once had lost that land, 
 and instead oJ' that ba|)py slate l;e had pro- 
 mised them, they were still wandering in their 
 present miserable condition, being alre.ulv in 
 want of water; and if the manna shou'd ha))- 
 peii to <'ail, they must then utterly perish. 
 Yet while they generally spake many am! 
 sore things against tlie man, there was one of" 
 them who exhorted them not to be unmind- 
 
 ful of MosL-s, and of what great pains he had 
 been at alnjut their common vf^^'y ; '""' l'"*' 
 to (les|)air of assistance from G<»d. 'J'he mul- 
 tilude thereupon l>ecame still more unruly, 
 and more mulinims against IMoses than Ik-- 
 fore. Hereupon IMoses, alll'ough lie was so 
 basely abused by them, encouraged them in 
 their despairing condition, and proniiseil that 
 he would procure them a great ijiiantity of 
 flesh-meat, and that not for a few days oiily, 
 but for many days. This they were not will- 
 ing to believe ; and when one of them asked 
 whence he could obtain such vast plenty of 
 what he promised, be replied, " Neither God 
 nor I, although vre hear such opprobrious lan- 
 guage from you, will leave off our labours 
 for you ; and this shall soon appear also." 
 As soon as ever be had said this, the whole 
 camp was filled with ijuails, and they stood 
 round about tliem, and g.'Jlhered them in great 
 niunbers. However, 'J was not long ere 
 God punished the Hebrews for their inso- 
 lence, and those reproaches they had i>sed to- 
 \vards him, for no small number of them 
 liied ; and still to this day the place retains 
 the memory of this destruction, and is named 
 Kibrolk-liaHuavah, which is. The Graves (^ 
 Lust. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 now MOSES SENT SOME PERSONS TO SEARtB 
 OUT THE LAND OF THE CANAANITES, AND 
 THE LARGENESS OF THEIR CITIES ; AND 
 FARTHER, THAT WHEN THOSE WHO Wi KE 
 SENT WERE RETURNED, AFfER FORTY DAYS, 
 AND RETORTED THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE 
 A MATCH FOR THEM, AND EXTOLLED THE 
 STUKNC.TH OF THE CANAANITES, THE MUL- 
 TITl 1)E WEKE DISTURBED, AND FELL INTO 
 DESPAIR ; AND WERE RESOLVED TO STONE 
 AlOSLS, AND TO RETURN BACK AGAIN INTO 
 EGYPT, AND SEUVi: THE EGYPTIANS, 
 
 § 1. When Moses had led the Hebrews away 
 from thence to a place called Panm, which was 
 near to the borders of the Canaanitcs, 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 t»o things that God detennined to 
 bestow npoii us, Liberty, and the J'ossession 
 of a Hapjjy (\)untry, the one of them ye al- 
 ready 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 Canaanitcs, and nothing can hinder the 
 acijuisition 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 inankiiul, 
 if tlicy were all galhcred together, could do 
 it. Let us therefore prepare ourselves fn 
 thcnork, for tlie Canuanites will not resi{;n 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 up their land to us without 6ghting, 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." 
 
 2. Whea Moses had said thus, the multi- 
 tude requited him with marks of respect; 
 and chose twelve spies, of the most eminent 
 men, one out of each tribe, who, passing over 
 all tbe land of Canaan, from the borders of 
 Egypt, •came to the city Ilamath, and to 
 mount Lebanon; and having learned the na- 
 ture of the land, and of its inhabitants, tliey 
 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 multitude to go to war. But 
 then they terrified them again witli the great 
 difficulty there was in obtaining it; that the 
 rivers were so large and deep lliat they could 
 
 ■ not be passed over ; and that the liills w ere so 
 high that they could not travel along for 
 them ; that tlie cities were strong witli walls, 
 and their firm fortifications round about 
 them. They lold tliem also, that they found 
 at Hebron tlie posterity of the giants. Ac- 
 cordingly those spies, who had seen the land 
 of Canaan, when they perceived that all these 
 difficulties were greater there than tliey had 
 met with since they came out of Egypt, they 
 were aflVighted at tliem tbemselves, and en- 
 deavoured to affi-ight the multitude also. 
 
 3. So they supposed, from what they had 
 heard, that it was impossible to get the pos- 
 session of the country. And when the congre- 
 gation was dissolved, they, their «ives and 
 children, continued tlieir lamentation, as if 
 God would not indeed assist them, but only 
 promised them fair. They also again blamed 
 Moses, and made a clamouragainst him and his 
 brother Aaron, the high-priest. According- 
 ly they passed that night very ill, and with 
 contumelious language against them ; but in 
 the morning they ran to a congregation, in- 
 tending to stone Moses and Aaron, and so to 
 return back into Egypt. 
 
 4. But of the spies, there were Joshua, the 
 son of Nun, of the tribe of Epinaim, and 
 Caleb of the tribe of Judah, that were afraid 
 of the conse<]uence, and came into the midst 
 of tliem, and stilled the luultimde, and de- 
 sired them to be of goofi courage ; and uei- 
 tlier to condemn God, as having (old (hem 
 lies, nor to hearken to tliose who had aMVight 
 t'd tlicin, by telling them what was not true 
 concerning the Canaanites, but to those that 
 encouraged them to hope for good success; 
 a.nd that they should gain possession of the 
 happiness promised them, because neither the 
 Jieight of mountains nor the depth of rivtr* 
 
 101 
 
 could hinder men of true courage from at- 
 tempting them, especially while God would 
 take care of them beforehand, and be assist- 
 ant to them. " Let us then go," said they, 
 " against our enemies, and have no suspicion 
 of ill success, trusting in God to conduct us, 
 and following those that are to be our lead- 
 ers." Thus did these two exhort them, and 
 endeavour to pacify the rage they were in. 
 But IMosesand Aaron fell on the ground, and 
 besought God, not for their own deliverance, 
 but that he would put a stop to what the peo- 
 ple 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. 
 
 HOW MOSES WAS DISPLEASED AT THIS, AND 
 FORETOLD THAT GOD WAS ANGKY, AND 
 THAT THEY SHOULD CONTINUE IN THE WIL- 
 DVUNESS tX)R FORTY YEARS, AND NOT, DtU- 
 ING THAT TIME, EITHER RETURN INTO E- 
 GVPT, OB TAKE POSSESSION OF CANAAN. 
 
 § 1. MosES came now boldly to the multi- 
 tude, and informed them that God was moved 
 at their abuse of him, and would inflict pu- 
 nishment upon them, not indeed such as they 
 deserved for their sins, but such as parents 
 inflict on their children, in order to their cor- 
 rection: 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 received 
 from him, and yet how ungrateful they had 
 been to him ; that just now they had been in- 
 duced, through the timorousness of the spies, 
 to think that their words were truer than his 
 own promise to them ; and that on this ac- 
 coimt, though he would not indeed destroy 
 tliem all, nor utterly exterminate their nation, 
 which he had honoured more than any other 
 part ol mankind, yet he would not permit 
 them to take possession of the land of Canaan, 
 nor enj-oy its happiness; but would make 
 them wander in (he wilderness, and live with- 
 out a fixed habitation, and without a city, for 
 forty years together, as a punishment for this 
 their transgression ; but that he hath promised 
 to give that land to our children, and that he 
 would make them the possessors of those good 
 things which, by yoiu" nngovcrned passions, 
 you have deprived yourselves of. 
 
 2. When Moses had discoursed thus to 
 (hem, according to the direction of God, the 
 multitude grieved, and were in affliction; and 
 eiitreatt'd Moses to procure their reconcilia- 
 •ion to God, and to permit them no longer tt 
 
 .y 
 
Vw 
 
 102 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 v.amlcr in ttie wilderness, T)»it to bestow cities 
 upon them; hut lie re))lie(l, tliat God would 
 not admit of any sucli trial, for that (>od was 
 not moved to this determination from any hu- 
 man levity or angxT, hut that he had judici- 
 ally condemned them to that punishment. 
 Now we are not to dishelieve that Moses, 
 who was but a sinj^le ))erson, pacified so many 
 ten thousands when they were in anger, and 
 converted them to a iriildness of temper; for 
 God was with him, and prepared the way to 
 his peisuasions of the multitude ; and as they 
 had often heen disobedient, they were now 
 scnsihle that such disohedtence was disadvan- 
 tageous to them, and that they had still there- 
 by fallen into calamities. 
 
 3. But this man was admirable for his vir- 
 tue, and powerful in making men give credit 
 to what he delivered, not only during the 
 time of liis natural life, but even there is still 
 no one of the Hebrews who does not act even 
 now as if Moses were present, and ready to 
 punish him if he should do any thing that is 
 indecent ; ivay, there is no one but is obedi- 
 ent to what laws lie ordained, although they 
 might be concealed in their transgressions. 
 There are also many other demonstrations 
 diat 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 ofVered their oblations, could 
 not partake of their own sacrifices, because 
 Moses had forbidden it, by somewhat in the 
 law that did not permit them, or somewhat 
 that had befallen them, which our ancient cus- 
 
 toms made Inconsistent therewith ; some of 
 these did not sacrifice at all, and olliers left 
 their sacrifices in an imperfect condition ; nay, 
 many were not able, even at first, so much as 
 to enter into the tenijjle, but went their ways 
 in this state, as jireferring a submission to the 
 laws of Moses before the fulfilling of their own 
 inclinations, even when they had no fear upon 
 them that any body could convict them, but 
 only out of a reverence to their own con- 
 science. Thus this legislation, which appear- 
 ed to he divine, made this man to be esteemed 
 as one suiniior to his own nature. Nay, far- 
 ther, a little before the beginning of this 
 war, when Claudius was emperor of the Ro- 
 mans, and Ismael was our high-priest, and 
 when so great a famine* was come upon us, 
 that one tenth deal [of wheat] was sold for four 
 drachma', and when no less than seventy cori 
 of flour were brought into the temjjlo, at the 
 feast of unleavened bread (these cori are 
 thirty-one Sicilian, but forty-one Athenian 
 medimni), not one of the priests was so hardy 
 as to eat one crumb of it, even while so great 
 a distress was upon the land ; 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 Mo- 
 ses have so great a force, that even those that 
 hate us do confess, that he who established 
 this settlement was God, and that it was by 
 the means of Moses, and of his virtue: but 
 as to tliese matters, let every one take them 
 as he thinks tit. 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE REJECTION OF THAT GENERATION, TO THE 
 DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 rilF. HGJIT OK THE HEBRKWS WITH THE CA- 
 NAAMTKS, MITHOUT THE CONSENT OE MO- 
 S1.S ; AND THEIH DEFEAT. 
 
 § 1. Now this life of the Hebrews in the 
 wilderness was so disagreeal)le and trouble- 
 some to them, and they were so uneasy at it, 
 
 that nllliou^h God had forbidden them to 
 nuildle with the Canaanites, yet could tley 
 not be pers\iaded to be obedient to the wortis 
 of Moses, and to he quiet ; but supi)Osiig 
 they should be al)le to beat their enemies, 
 even without his approbation, they accused 
 
 • This great famine in the days of Clauilius, is .igairi 
 mcnlioiic<r in Antiq. b. xx. eluii). ii. sift. 6; aii'l Act; 
 xi. 2S. 
 
 -r 
 
■V 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 him, and suspected that he made it his busi- 
 ness to keep them ia 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 account 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 pro- 
 cured them their liberty, and would be assist- 
 ing to them, now they were willing to take 
 pains for it. They also said that they were pos- 
 sessed of abilities sufficient for the conquest of 
 their enemies, although Moses should have a 
 mind to alienate God from them ; that, how- 
 ever, 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 themselves 
 to be deluded, and live according to his plea- 
 sure, as though God did only foretell what con- 
 cerns us out of his kindness to him, as if they 
 were not all the posterity of Abraham ; that 
 God made him alone the author of all the 
 knowledge we have, and we must still learn 
 it from him ; that it would be a piece of pru- 
 dence 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 de- 
 sert places they were still to expect things 
 would be worse with tiiem, they resolved to 
 fight with the Canaanites, as submitting only 
 to God, their supreme commander, and not 
 waiting for any assistance from their legisla- 
 tor. 
 
 2. 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 attack itself, or at 
 the great multitude that made it, and received 
 them with great courage. Many of the He- 
 brews were slain ; and the remainder of the 
 army, upon the disorder of their troops, were 
 pursued, and fled, after a shameful manner, 
 to their camp. Whereupon this unexpected 
 misfortune made them quite despond ; and 
 they hoped for nothing that was good ; as ga- 
 thering from it, that this affliction came from 
 the wrath of God, because they rashly went 
 out to war without his approbation. 
 
 3. But when Moses saw how deeply they 
 were affected with this defeat, and being afraid 
 lest the enemies should grow insolent upon 
 this victory, and should be desirous of gaining 
 still greater glory, and should attack them, be 
 resolved that it was proper to withdraw the 
 armv into the wilderness to a farther distance 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 103 
 
 from the Canaanites : so the multitude gave 
 themselves up again to his conduct ; for they 
 were sensible that, without his care for them, 
 tlieir affairs could not be in a good condition; 
 and he caused the host to remove, and he went 
 farther into the wilderness, 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 II. 
 
 T}IE SEDITION OF CORAH AND OF THE MULTI- 
 TUDE AGAINST MOSES, AND AGAINST HIS 
 BROTHER, CONCERNING THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 § 1. That which is usually the case of great 
 armies, and especially upon ill success, to be 
 hard to be pleased, and governed with diffi- 
 culty, did now befal the Jews ; for they be- 
 ing in number six hundred thousand, and, by 
 reason of their great multitude, not readily 
 subject to their governors, even in prosperity, 
 they at this time were more than usually an- 
 gry, both against one another and against 
 their leader, because of the distress they were 
 in, and the calamities they then endured. Such 
 a sedition overtook them, as we have not the 
 like example either among the Greeks or the 
 Barbarians, by which they were in danger of 
 being all destroyed, but were notvvithstandin<^ 
 saved by Moses, who would not remembe* 
 that he had been almost stoned to death by 
 them. Nor did God neglect to prevent their 
 ruin; but, notwithstanding the indignities they 
 had offered their legislator and the laws, and 
 their disobedience 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 theii 
 government, after it was over. 
 
 2. 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 Le- 
 vites, who were of the same tribe, and espe. 
 cially among his kindred, saying, " That it was 
 a very sad thing that riiey should overlook 
 Moses, while he hunted after, and paved tl.e 
 way to glory for himself, and by ill arts should 
 obtain it, under the pretence of God's com 
 
 "X 
 
 _r 
 
lOi 
 
 ANTIQUITirS OF Tlir, JKWS. 
 
 niaiul, while, contrary to the laws, he had | difjnity, and would not have produced Kuth a 
 given the priesthood to Aaron, not by the I one lis was inlerior to many otlurs, nor hare 
 common siiUV.ige of the n)ultiiii<le, hut by his | <:iven him that office; and that in case he had 
 <iwn vote, as bistowing dignities in a tyiaiini- judged it fit to Instcw it on Aiiron, he would 
 -al way on whom he pleased." He added, | have permitted it to the multitude to bestow 
 "That this concealed way of imposing on them I it, and not have left it to be bestowed by his 
 
 was harder to be Ixirne than if it had been 
 done liy an open force upon them, because 
 he did i>ow not only take away their |)Ower 
 without their consent, but even while they 
 Were unapprized of his contrivances again,! 
 tliem ; for whosoever is conscious to himself 
 t!iat he deserves any dignity, aims to get it by 
 persuasion, and not by an arrogant method of 
 violence; but those that believe it inipossil)le 
 to obtain those honours justly, make a show 
 of goodness, ami do not introduce force, but 
 by cunning tricks grow wickedly powerful : 
 that it was proper for the nuiltitiide to punish 
 such men, even while t1iey think ttuniselves 
 concealed in their designs, and not suB'er ilieni 
 to gain strength till they have them for their 
 open enemies. For wliat account," added 
 he, " is Moses able to give, why he has be- 
 stowed the priesthood on Aaron and his sons ? 
 for if God had determined to bestow that ho- 
 nour on one of the tribe of Levi, I am more 
 worthy of it than he is ; 1 myself being equal 
 to .Moses by my family, and superior to him 
 both in riciifcs and in age: but if God had de- 
 teniiined to bestow it on the eldest tribe, that 
 of Ueiiben might have it most justly; and then 
 IXr.lian, and Abiram, and [On, tlie son of] 
 I'etetli, would l)ave it ; for these are the old- 
 est men of that tribe, and potent on account 
 ot their great wealth also 
 
 3. Now Corah, when he said this, had a 
 mind to appear to take care of the public 
 welfare; but in reality he was endeavouring 
 to procure to have that dignity transferred by 
 the multitude to himself. Thus did he, out 
 of 3 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 liearers still 
 added to w hat tended to the scandals that were 
 c.ist upon Aaron, the whole army was full of 
 them. Now of these that conspired with 
 Corah, there were two hundred and fifty, and 
 tliosc of the principal men also, who were 
 pager to have the priesthood taken away from 
 Moses's brother, and to bring him into dis- 
 grace : nay, the multitude tliemselves were 
 
 own brother. 
 
 4. Now although Moses had a great whi)c 
 ago foreseen this calumny of Corah, and had 
 seen that tiie people were irritated, yet was he 
 not allrigiited at it; but being of good cour- 
 age, because he had given them right advice 
 about their affairs, and knowing that his bro- 
 tiier had been made partaker of the ))riesthuod 
 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 IoihI 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, " O Corah, both thou 
 and all these with thee (pointing to the two 
 hundred and fifty men) seem to be worthy of 
 this honour; nor do 1 pretend but that this 
 whole comjiany may he 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 otiice to my brother, because he ex- 
 celled others in riches, for thou excecdest us 
 both in the greatness of thy wealth ; * nor 
 indeed because lie 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 afTcciion, which ano 
 iher might yet have justly done ; for certainly 
 unless 1 had bestowed tiiis honour out of re- 
 gard to God, and to his laws, I had not i)assed 
 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 woulil not be 
 a wise thing for me, to expose myself to the 
 ilangtrs of ofl'ending, and to bestow the I'.appy 
 eini)loyment on this account upon another. 
 But 1 am above siicli base practices : nor 
 would God have overlooked this matter, and 
 seen himself thus despised ; nor would he 
 have suH'ered you to be ignorant of what you 
 were to do, in order to please him ; but lie 
 hath himself chosen one that is to perform 
 that sacred ofHce to him, and thereby freed 
 us from that care. So that it was not a thing 
 
 provoked to be seditious, and attempted to \ that 1 pretend to give, but only according to 
 stone jNIoscs, and gathered themselves toge- the dotcniiination of God ; I therefore propose 
 ther after an indecent mar.ner, with confusion it still to be contended for by such as please 
 and disorder. And now they all were, in a ; to put in for it, only desiring, tiiat he who has 
 tumultuous manner, raising a clamour before | bteii already preferred, and has already ob- 
 llie tabernacle of God, to jirosjcute the ty- | tained it, may be allowed now also to offer 
 rant, and to relieve the multitude from tluir | himself for a candidate. lie prefers your 
 fclavery under him who, under colour of the I peace, and your living without sedition, to 
 divine commands, laid violent inji.nctioiis up- iliis hoi.ourabie employment, although in truth 
 on ihein ; for that had it been (>od whochise • !<eland here takes notico, th.it .ilthongli our Bibles 
 one that was to perform the otiiie of a pi ie.,t, f'V '';'>■- "■ m.ih.i.K of th.-se .i.lies of tVi.;h yet that 
 ' ■ ' hnth tlie Jews and .Ntuhoii.iiietiuiii, OS UL'li u~ J(ut')>)iuo. 
 
 he Hould have raised a worthy person to thati.ir full of it- 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 it was with your approbation that he obtained 
 it; for tlioiiijh Goii were the donor, yet do vve 
 not otTend wlien we think fit to necipt it with 
 your good-will ; yet would it have been an in- 
 stance of impiety not to have tjskcn tliat ho- 
 nourable employment « hen he oilered it ; nay, 
 it had been exceedingly unreasonable, wlien 
 God had tlioujjlit 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 olier sacrifices to 
 him, and to have the direction of matters of 
 religion ; for it is absurd that Corah, "ho is 
 ambitions of this honour, should deprive God 
 of the power of giving it to whom he pleases. 
 Put an end, therefore, to your sedition and 
 disturbance 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, O 
 Corah, leave the judgment to God, and await 
 to see on which side he will give his determin- 
 ation upoH this occasion, but do not thou make 
 thyself greater than God. Do thou also come, 
 tliat this contest about this honourable employ- 
 ment may receive determination. And I sup- 
 pose we may admit Aaron widiout ofl'ence, to 
 oiler himself to this scrutiny, since he is of the 
 same lineagevvitii thyself,and hasdone nothing 
 in his priesthood that can be liiible to exception. 
 Come ye therefore together, and ofi'er your 
 incense in public before all the people; and 
 When you otter it, he whose sacrifice God shall 
 jccept shall be ordained to the priesthood, and 
 sliali be clear of the present calumny on Aaron, 
 as if I had granted hint that favour because 
 lie was niv brother. " 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW IHOSl-. THAT STIRRED UP THIS SEDITION 
 V.KiH: IJISTROYED, ACCORDING TO THE WILL 
 OK GOD; AND HOW AARON, MOSKS's UitO- 
 TIlf-.R, BOTH 111; AND HIS POSTLRITY, RE- 
 TAINKD THE PiUESTHOOD. 
 
 § 1. WiiE.N Slopes had said this, the multi- 
 tiide let't oft" the turbulent behaviour they had 
 indulged, and the suspicion they had of IMo- 
 ses, and commended what he had said ; for 
 those proposals were good, and were so es- 
 teiintd of the people. At that time therefore 
 they dissolved the assemblv ; but on the next 
 day they came to t'le congregation, in order 
 to be present at the sacrifice, and at the de- 
 termination that was to be made between 
 the candidates for the prie^tiioid. Now this 
 ;ongreg:ition proved a turL-ulent one, and 
 the iniiUitude were in great suspense in ex- 
 pectation of wliiit was to lie done; for some 
 of them would lutve been pleased if jMoses 
 had been couvicted of evil pr.;elices ; but the 
 
 105 
 
 wiser sort desired that they might be delivered 
 from the present disorder and disturbance: 
 for they were afraid, that if this sediiion went 
 on, the good order of their settlement woiihl 
 rather be destroyed ; but the w hole body of 
 the people do naturally delight in chimours 
 against their governors, and, by changing their 
 opinions upon the harangues of every speaker, 
 disturb the public tranquillity. And no»< Mo- 
 ses sent messengers for Abiram and Djthan, 
 and ordered them to come to the asseinbly, 
 and wait there for the holy offices that were 
 to be i)erformed. Put they answered the 
 messenger, that they would not obev his sum- 
 mons ; nay, would not overlook ^loses's be- 
 haviour, who was growing too great for them 
 l)y evil practices. Now when Woses heard 
 of this their answer, he desired the heads of 
 the people to follow him, and he went to the 
 faction of Dathan, not thinking it any fright- 
 ful thing at all to go to these insolent people; 
 so they made no opposition, but went along 
 with him. But Dathan, and Ids associates, 
 wlien 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 jMoses would do. They had also their 
 servants about theni to defend themselves, in 
 case Moses should use force against them. 
 
 2. But he came near, and lifted up his 
 hands to heaven, and cried out with a loud 
 voice, in order to he heard by the whole mu?- 
 titude, and said, '' O Lord of the creatiires 
 that are in the heaven, in the earth, and in the 
 sea ; for thou art the most auth.entic wiines.- 
 to what I have done, that it has all been done 
 by thy appointment, and that it was thou that 
 affordedst us assistance wlien we attempted 
 any thing, and shovvedst mercy on the Hebrews 
 in all their distresses, do thou come now, and 
 hear all that I say, for no actionn or thought 
 escapes thy knowledge; so that ihou wilt not 
 disdain to speak what is true, for my vindica- 
 tion w ithout any regard to the ungrateful im- 
 pulaiions of these men. As for what was 
 done before I was born, thou knowest best, as 
 not learning them by rep.ort, but seeing them, 
 and being present with them when they were 
 done ; but for what has been done of late, and 
 which these men, although they know t!;erfi 
 well enough, unjustly pretend to suspect, be 
 thou my witness. When I lived a private 
 quiet life, I left those good things, wliich by 
 my own diligence, and by thy counsel, I en- 
 ijoyed with Puiguel my fathar-in-law ; and J 
 [gave myself up to tiiis people, and underwent 
 imany miseries on their account. I also bore 
 j great labours at first, in order to obtain liber- 
 ty for them, and now in order to their preser- 
 vation ; and have always showed myself rendy 
 I to assist thein in every distiess of theirs. Now, 
 therefore, since I am suspected by those very 
 men whose being is owing to my labours, 
 'coinpthou, as it is reasonable to hope thou 
 
 J^ 
 
J- 
 
 1(>6 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 wilt; tlioii, I sny, wlio sliowedst tne that fire 
 at innunt Sinai ; and inadest inc to hear its 
 voice, and to see the several wonders vvliich 
 that place aH'orded ine ; thou who comnian- 
 dedst nie to go to Egypt, and declare tliy will 
 to this people ; thou who disturbedst the happy 
 estate of tlic f>gy])tians, and gavest us the op- 
 portunity of flying away from our slav'ery un- 
 der them, and madest the dominion of Pha- 
 raoh infeiior to my dominion ; thou wlio didst 
 make the sea dry land for us, when we knew 
 not whitiicr to go, and didst overwhelm the 
 Egyptians with those destructive waves which 
 had been divided for us ; thou who didst be- 
 stow upon us the security of weapons when 
 we were naked ; thou who didst make the 
 fountains that were corriipted to flow, so as 
 to be fit for drinking, and didst furnish us 
 witli water that came out of the rocks, when 
 we were in the greatest want of it j 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 goveri iTrtiit, — come thou, I say, O 
 Lord of the whole •^^orld, 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 justice from any of the He- 
 brews, and have never condemned a poor man 
 that ought to have been acquitted, on account 
 of one that was ricii ; and have never attempt- 
 ed to hurt this commonwealth. I am now 
 here present, and am suspected of a thing the 
 remotest from my intentions, as if I had given 
 the priestliood to Aaron, not at thy command, 
 but out of my own favour to him ; do thou at 
 this time demonstrate that all things are ad- 
 ministered by thy providence, and that no- 
 thing happens by chance, but is governed by 
 thy will, and thereby attains its end : as also 
 demonstrate that thou takest care of those that 
 iiave done good to tlie Hebrews; demonstrate 
 this, I say, by the punishment of Abiram and 
 Dathan, who condemn thee as an insensible 
 Being, and one overcome by my contrivances. 
 This wilt thou do by inflicting such an open 
 punishment on these men wlso so madly fly 
 in tlie 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 which 
 they tread upon open about them and con- 
 sume them, with their families and goods. 
 This will be a demonstration of thy power to 
 all men : and tliis method of their sufferings 
 will be an instruction of wisilom for those that 
 entertain propliane sentiments of thee. By 
 tliis means 1 shall be found a good servant, in 
 the precepts thou hast given i)y me. But if 
 the calumnies they have raised against me be 
 true, mayjt thou preserve these men from ev- 
 
 er}- evil accident, and bring all that destruc- 
 tion on me wliich I have imprecated upon 
 them. And when thou hast inflicted punish- 
 ment on those that have endeavoured to deal 
 unjustly with this people, bestow upon them 
 concord and peace. Save this multitude that 
 follow thy commandments, 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 punishment." 
 
 3. W'hen Moses had said this, «itli fears in 
 his eyes, the ground was moved on a sudden ; 
 and the agitation that set it in motion was like 
 that which the wind produces in waves of the 
 sea. Tlie people were all aflTrighted ; and the 
 ground that was about their tents sunk down 
 at the great noise, with a terrible sound, and 
 carried whatsoever 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 open- 
 ed itself about them, closing again, and l)e- 
 coming entire as it was before, insomuch that 
 such as saw it, afterward did not perceive that 
 any such accident had happened to it. Thus 
 did these men perish, and become a demon- 
 stration of the power of God. And truly, 
 any one would lament them, not only on ac- 
 count cf this calamity that befell them, which 
 yet deserves our commiseration, but also be- 
 cause their kindred were pleased with their 
 sufferings ; for they forgot the relation they 
 bare to them, and at the sight of this sad ac- 
 cident approved of the judgment 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, 
 
 4. And now Moses called for those that 
 contended about the priesthood, that trial 
 might be made who should be priest, and tliat 
 he whose sacrifice God was best pleased with 
 might be ordained to that function. There 
 attended two hundred and fifty men, who in- 
 deed were honoured by the people, not only 
 on account of the power of their ancestors, but 
 also on account of their own, in which they 
 excelled the others ; Aaron also and Corah 
 came forth, and they all oHered incense, in 
 those censers of theirs which they brought 
 with them, before the tabernacle. Hereup- 
 on so great a fire slione out as no one ever 
 saw in any that is made by the hand of man, 
 neit.cr in those eruptions out 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 terrible 
 flame, such as is kinrlled at the command of 
 God ; by whose irrui)tion on them, all tlie 
 Company and Corah hiniseir, were destroy- 
 
CHAI'. IV. 
 
 ed *, and this so entirely, that their very bo- 
 dies left no remains behind tliein. Aaron a- 
 lone was preserved, and not at all hurt bj' the 
 fire, because it was God that sent the fire to 
 burn tliose only who ought to be burned. 
 Hereupon Moses, after these men were de- 
 stroyed, was desirous that the memory of this 
 judgment might be delivered down to poster- 
 ity, and that future ages might be acquainted 
 with it ; and so he commanded Eleazar, the 
 son of Aaron, to put their censers near the 
 brazen altar, that they might be a memorial 
 to posterity of what tliese men suffered, for 
 supposing that the power of God might be 
 eluded. And thus Aaron was now no long- 
 er esteemed to have tlie luiestliood by the fa- 
 vour of Moses, but by tlie public judgment 
 of God ; and thus he and his children peace- 
 ably enjoyed that honour afterward. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HEBUEWS DUIUNG 
 THIRTY-EJGHT YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 § 1. However, this sedition was so far from 
 ceasing upon this destruction, that it grew 
 much stronger, and became more intolerable. 
 And the occasion of its growing worse was of 
 that nature, as made it likely the calamity 
 would never cease, but last for a long time ; 
 for the men, believing already that nothing is 
 done without the providence of God, would 
 have it that these things came thus to pass, 
 not without God's favour to Moses ; they 
 therefore laid the blame upon him, that God 
 was so angry, and tiiat this happened, not so 
 mucli because of the wickedness of those that 
 were punished, as because Moses procured 
 the punishment ; and that these men had been 
 destroyed without any sin of theirs, only be- 
 cause they were zealous about the divine wor- 
 ship ; as also, that he who had been the cause 
 of this diminution of the people, by destroy- 
 ing so many men, and those the most excel- 
 lent of them all, besides his escaping any pu- 
 nishment himself, had now given the priest- 
 hood to his brother so firmly, that nobody 
 could any longer dispute it with him ; for no 
 one else, to be sure, could now jjut in for it, 
 since he must have seen those that first did 
 so to have miserably perished. Nay, besides 
 this, the kindred of those tliat were destroyed 
 made great entreaties to the multitude to 
 ibate the arrogance of Moses, because it would 
 be safest for them so to do. 
 
 2. Now Moses, upon his hearing for a 
 
 * It appears here, and from the Samaritan Pentateuch, 
 and in effect, from the Psalmist, as also from the Apos- 
 tolical Constitutions, from Clement's first epistle to the 
 Corinthians, from Ignaiius's epistle to the Magnesians, 
 iiid from Euscbius, that Corali was not swallowed uji 
 with tlie Reubenitcs, but burned with the Levites of his 
 own tribe. See Essay on the Old Testament, p. G4, 65. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE .JEWS. 
 
 ]07 
 
 s 
 
 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 them, 
 and this lest he should imbitter the multi- 
 tude : he only desired the heads of the tribes 
 to bring their rods,f with the names of their 
 tribes inscribed upon them, and that he should 
 receive the prieslliood 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 tabernacle of 
 God, On the next day he brought out the 
 rods, which were known from one another by 
 those who brought them, they having dis- 
 tinctly 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 
 giown out of Aaron's rod, with ripe fruits 
 upon them ; they were almonds, the rod hav- 
 ing been cut out of that tree. Tlie 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 judg- 
 ment of God concerning them ; so that here- 
 after they applauded what God had decreed, 
 and permitted Aaron to enjoy the priesthood 
 peaceably. And thus God ordained him 
 priest three several limes, and he retained 
 that honour without farther disturbance. And 
 hereby this sedition of the Hebrews, which 
 had been a great one, and had lasted a great 
 while, was at last composed. 
 
 3. And now Moses, because the tribe of 
 Levi was made free from war and warlike ex- 
 peditions, 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 Hebrews, 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 Levites ; and permit them to en- 
 joy their suburbs, as far as the limit of two 
 thousand 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, 
 
 4. Accordingly he commanded the Levites 
 to yield up to the priests thirteen of their 
 forty-eight cities, and to set apart for them 
 
 f Concerning these twelve rods of the twelve tribes 
 of Israel, see St. Clement's account, much larger than 
 that in our Uibles, 1 Epist. sect. 15 ; as is Joscphu^.■s pre 
 sent account in come nieauiie larger alsi>. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
108 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 the tenth |)art of tlie titlics wliicli tliey every 
 year receive of the people ; as also, that it was 
 but just to oH'cr to God the first-fruits of the 
 entire product of the ground ; and that they 
 slioidd odir the first-horn of lliose four-footed 
 hcasts tl)at are ajjpointed for sacrifices, if it be 
 a male, to the priests, to be slain, that tiiey 
 and tlieir entire f.iinilies may eat tlicni in the 
 /)oIy ciiy ; but that the owners of tiioso first- 
 born wliich are not appointed for sacrifices in 
 the laws of our country, siiould bring a sliekcl 
 and a half in their stead : but for the first- 
 born of a man, five shekels : that they should 
 also have the first-fruits out of the shearing 
 of the slicep ; and that when any baked 
 bread-corn, and made loaves of it, they should 
 give somewhat of what tliey had baked to 
 them. Moreover, when any have made a sa- 
 cred vow, I mean those that are called ^^aza- 
 rucs, that suder tlieir hair to grow long, and 
 use no wine, when they consecrate their hair,* 
 and ofler it for a sacrifice, they are to allot 
 that hair for the priests [to be throw n into the 
 fire]. Such also as dedicate themselves to 
 Gcd, as a corban, which denotes what the 
 Greeks call a gift, when they are desirous of 
 being freed from tl^at 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 i>oor to (lay the appointed sum, 
 it shall be lawful for the priests to determine 
 that sum as they think fit. And if any slay 
 beasts at home for a private festival, but not for 
 a religious one, they are obliged lo bring the 
 maw and the cheek [or breast], and the right 
 slioulder of the sacrifice to the priests. With 
 dicse Moses contrived that the priests should 
 be plentifully maintained, besides what they 
 iiad out of those oH'erings for sins, which the 
 people gave them, as I have set it down in 
 the foregoing hook. He also ordered, that 
 out of every thing allotted for tlie priests, 
 tlieir servants [their sons], their daughters, 
 and tireir wives, should partake, as well as 
 tl'.emselves, excepting what can]e to them out 
 of the sacrifices that were oH'ered for sins ; 
 for of tliose none but the males of the family 
 of the i)riests might eat, and this in the tem- 
 ple also, and tliat the same day they were 
 offered. 
 
 5. When Mows had made tliese constitu- 
 tions, after the sedition was over, he removed, 
 I'jgetlier with the whole army, and came to 
 '.he borders of Idumea. lie then sent am- 
 bissciilors to the king of the Idumeans, and 
 tosired him Uy give him a ])assage through his 
 'ouiitry;and agreed to send him what hos- 
 tages he should desire, to secure him from an 
 injury. He desired liiin also, tliat he would 
 allow his army liberty lo buy provisions ; and, 
 if lie insisted upon it, he would pay down a 
 Ijricc for the very water they should drink. 
 
 K Orotius, on N'uinb, vi. IK, tak« notice that the 
 Grifk.- alo, a* well as the Jews, suineliiiie» eoii»c-T^tiil 
 tiu; itaiT uf their hciuU tu Itie 'OtLi. 
 
 But the king was not pleased with this ambas- 
 sage from Moses: nor did he allow a jiassage 
 for the armv, but brought his people armed to 
 meet i\Ioses, and to hinder them, in case tl;ey 
 should endeavour to force their passage. Up- 
 on wliich Moses consulted God by tlie oracle, 
 who would not have him begin the war first ; 
 and so he withdrew his forces, and travelled 
 round about through the wilderness. 
 
 6. Then it was that iNIiriam, the sister of 
 Moses, came to her end, liaving comjileted her 
 fortieth year f since she left E;;ypt, on the first 
 day \ of the lunar month Xanlhicus. Thev 
 then made a public funeral for her, at a great 
 ex|)ense. She was buried upon a certain 
 mountain, which they call Sin ; and when they 
 had mourned for her thirty days, INIoses puri- 
 fied the people after this manner : He brought 
 a heifer tliat had never been used to tlie plough 
 or to husbandry, that was complete in all its 
 parts, and entirely of a red colour, at a litile 
 distance from the camp, into a place perfecily 
 clean. This heifer was slain by the high-priest, 
 and her blood sprinkled with his finger seven 
 times before the tabernacle of God j after this, 
 the entire heifer was burnt in that state, to- 
 gether with its skin and entrails; and they 
 threw cedar-wood, and hys'.op, and scarlet 
 wool, into the midst of the fire; then a clean 
 man gathered all her ashes together, and laid 
 thein in a place perfectly clean. When there- 
 fore any persons were defiled by a deatl 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 seventh, and af- 
 ter that they were clean. This he enjoined 
 them to do also when the tribes should come 
 into their ow n land. 
 
 7. Now when this purification, which tlieir 
 leader made upon the mourning for his sister, 
 as it has been now described, was over, he 
 caused the army to remove and to marcli 
 through the wilderness and through Araliia ; 
 and when he came to a place which the Ara- 
 l)ians esteem their metropolis, which was for- 
 merly called Arce, but has now the name of 
 I'ctra, at tiiis phice, which was encompassed 
 with high mountains, Aaron went up one of 
 them ill the sight of the wliole 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 delivered them lo 
 Eleazar his son, to whom the high-priesdiood 
 belonged, because he was the elder brother; 
 and died while the multitude looked upon 
 him. He died in the same year "herein he 
 
 + Josephus hcrt (is«s this phrase " when the fortieth 
 year was tMtnpletcd," for when it was Ixguii ; as iUhs >L 
 i.iike, " when the day of I'e^iiefost was conipletMl," 
 Aols ii, I. 
 
 J Whether Miriam diefl, as .loseiihus's r.rtek eiipies 
 Imply, on ihc Hrsl day of the nioiUli, may lie doi.brc-', 
 because the Latin eoi'ies '>ay it was on the (enih. unil ko 
 say ihe Jewish ealeiutars al.'o, as Dr. Heii aid u^surw us. 
 It !s said her sepulchre is still exLnit near I'tira, the old 
 i-r-inral city of Arabia PcCra:a, al this da* ; as al.-o tluil 
 ut Aaron •not fur "It' 
 
 k 
 
AXTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 109 
 
 lost his sister, having lived in all a liundred 
 twenty and three years. He died on tiie 
 first day of that lunar month which is called 
 Oy the Aihenians HecaUmihfpon, hy the Mace- 
 donians LoiiS, but by the Hebrews Abba. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW MOSKS CONQITUED SIHON AND OG, KINGS 
 OF THE AMORITES, AND Dr.STROYKD THEIR 
 WUOI.K ARJIY, AND THEN DIVIDED THEIR 
 LAND 15Y LOT TO TWO TRIBES AND A HALF 
 OF THE HEBREWS. 
 
 § 1. The people mourned for Aaron thirty 
 days, and when this mourning was over, I\Io- 
 ses removed the army from that place, and 
 came to the river Arnon, which, issuing out 
 of the mountains of Arabia, and running 
 through all that wilderness, falls into the lake 
 Asphahitis, and becomes the limit l)etween the 
 land of the Moabites and the land of tlie 
 Amorites. This land is fruitful, and suffi- 
 cient to maintain a great number of men, 
 with the good things it produces. Moses 
 therefore sent messengers to Sihon, the kin:r 
 of tiiis country, desiring that he would grant 
 his army a passage, upon «liat security he 
 should please to require; he promised tliat lie 
 should be no way injured, neither as to that 
 country which Sihon governed, nor as to its 
 inhabitants; and that he would buy his provi- 
 sions at such a price as slioidd be to their ad- 
 vantage, even tliough he should desire to sell 
 them their very water. But Sihon refused liis 
 offer, and put his army into battle array, and 
 was preparing every thing in order to hinder 
 their passing over Arnon. 
 
 '2. When Moses saw that the Amorite king 
 was disposed to enter upon hostilities with 
 tliem, he thought he ought not to bear that 
 .nsult ; and, determining to wean the Hebrews 
 from their indolent temper, and prevent the 
 disorders which arose thence, which had been 
 the occasion of their fonner sedition (nor in- 
 deed were thev 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 also promised him the victory, 
 he was himself very courageous, and ready to 
 proceed to fighting. Accordingly he encou- 
 raged the soldiers ; and he desired of them 
 that they would take the pleasure of fighting, 
 now God gave tb.cm leave so to do. They 
 then upon the receipt of this permission, 
 wliich they so much longed for, put on their 
 wliole aimour, and set about the work with- 
 out delay. But the Amorite king was not 
 now like to himself when the Hebrews were 
 ready to attack him ; l)ut both he himself was 
 aft>i:;!!tcd at the Hebrews, and his army, 
 which licfore had sho« ed themselves to be of 
 good courage, were then foimd to be timor- 
 
 ous : so they could not sustain the first onset, 
 nor bear up against the Hebrews, but fled 
 away, as thinking this would aftord them a 
 more likely way for their escape than fighting; 
 for they depended upon their cities, which 
 were strong, from wliich yet they reaped no 
 advanUige when they were forced to fly to 
 them ; for as soon as the Heiirews 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 th.e rest, and ran away Id the 
 cities. Nowthe 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 ol 
 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 not be overtaken, they reached them 
 by their slings and their bows, so that many 
 were slain ; and those that escaped the slaugh- 
 ter were sorely wounded, and these were more 
 distressed with thirst than with any of those 
 that fought aginst them, for it was the sum- 
 n'.er 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 tliem, and 
 shot at them ; so that, what with darts and \\ hat 
 with arrows, they made a slaughter of them 
 all. Sihon 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 abundance 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 no way put a stop to 
 them, since all the fighting men were destroy- 
 ed. Such was the destruction which overtook 
 the Amorites, who were neither s;igacious in 
 counsel, nor courageous in action. Hereupor. 
 the Hebrews took possession of their l:ind, 
 which is a country situate between three rivers, 
 and naturally resembling an island : the river 
 Arnon being its southern limit; the river Jab- 
 bok detenr.ining 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, 
 
 3. When matters were 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 foui.d him al- 
 ready slain, yet did he resolve still to come 
 and fight 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 Uie river Jabbok, and over-ran the kin^r. 
 dom of Og. He overthrew their cities, and 
 slew all their inhabitants, who yet exceeded in 
 
 -T 
 
J- 
 
 "V 
 
 110 
 
 A.NTKiUITJra Ol' THK JHWS. 
 
 ridics all the men In that i)iirt of tliL' coiitiii- by words : hut he did not judge it prudent to 
 ent, on account of the goodness of the soil, fight against them, after they had such pros- 
 and the great quantity of their wealth. Now perous successes, and even becanie out o( ill 
 t)g had very few e(|u;Hs, either in the large- successes more hajjpy than before; but he 
 ness of his body or handsomeness of his a]i- thought to hinder tliern, if he could, from 
 pearance. He was also a man of great ac- growing greater, and so he resolved to send 
 tivity in tlie use of his hands, so that iiis ac- ambassadois to the iMidianite:> aliout them, 
 tions were not unetpial to the vast largeness. Now these Midianites knowing there was one 
 and hansdome ajipearance of his body; and I Balaam, who lived by Euphrates, and was the 
 men could easily guess at his strength and greatest of the prophets at that time, and one 
 magnitude when they took his bed at Rabbath, i that was in friendship with them, sent some 
 the royal city of the Annnonites ; its structure j of their honourable princes along with the 
 was of iron, its breadth four cubits, and its ambassadors of lialak, to entreat the prophet 
 length a cubit more than double thereto, j to come to them, tli;xi he might imprecate 
 However, his fall did not only improve the curses to the destructiv n of the Israelites. So 
 
 circumstances of the Hebrews for the present, 
 but by his death he was the occasion of fur- 
 ther good success to them ; for they presently 
 took those sixty cities which were encompass- 
 ed with excellent walls, and had been subject 
 to him ; and all got both in general and in par- 
 ticular a great prey. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONCERNING BALAAM THE PROPHET, AMD 
 JVHAT KIND OF MAN HE WAS. 
 
 § 1. Now Moses, when he had brought his 
 
 Balaam received the ambassadors, and treated 
 them very kindly ; and when he had supped, 
 lie inquired 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 ambassa- 
 dors, and told them that he was himself very 
 willing and desirous to comply willi their re- 
 quest, but informed them that God was oppo. 
 site to his intentions, even that God who had 
 raised him to great reputation on account ol 
 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; 
 army to Jordan, pitched his camp in the great \ and when he had given tl'.em that answer, he 
 plain over against Jericho. This city is a very dismissed the ambassadors. 
 
 happy situation, and very fit for producing 
 palm-trees and balsam ; and now the Israel- 
 ites began to be very proud of themselves, and 
 
 3. Now the Midianites, at the earnest re- 
 quest and fervent entreaties of Balak, sent 
 other ambassadors to Balaam, who, desiriii. 
 
 were very eager for fighting. Moses then, j to gratify the men, inquired again of God ; 
 after he had ottered for a lew days sacrifices i but he was displeased at this [second] trial, f 
 of thanksgiving to God, and feasted the peo- and bid him by no means to contradict the 
 
 pie, 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 fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 2. When Balak, the king of the Moabitcs, 
 who had from his ancestors a friendship and 
 league with the Midianites, saw how great 
 the Israelites were grown, he was much af- 
 frighted on account of his own and his king- 
 dom's danger ; for he was not acquainted 
 with this, that the Hebrews would not meddle 
 with any other country, but were to be con- 
 tented with the possession of the land of Ca- 
 naan, God having forbidden them to go any 
 farther.* So lie, with more haste than wis- 
 dom, resolved to make an attempt upon them 
 
 » What Jospphus here remarks is well worth our re- 
 mark in this place also, viz. That the Israelites were 
 never to nied lie with the Moabites or Aininonitos, or 
 any oilier people, but those iM-loiigiiii; to tlie l.iiiil of I vination, his waf;es of unriKbteousness (\imib. xxii, 7. 
 ( anaan, anil the countries of Sihon and ()« bcvond ,lor- 17, in, 37 ; 2 I'ct. ii, 15 ; Jude ,i, 11); which reward or 
 
 ambassadors. Now Balaam did not ima.ine 
 that God gave this injunction in order to de- 
 ceive him, so he went along with the ambas- 
 sadors ; but when the divine angel met him 
 in the way, when he was in a narrow passage, 
 and hedged in with a «all on both sides, the 
 ass on which Balaam rode understood that it 
 
 t Note, that Joseplius never supposes Balaam to be 
 an idolater, nor to stelt idolatrous enchantments, or to 
 prophesy falsely, but to be no other than an ill-disposed 
 prophet of the' true God; and intimates that Gods an- 
 swer the second time, permitting hint to go, was iron' 
 cal, and on design that he should bedeceivcil (which 
 sort cf deec) tion, by way of punishment for former 
 crimes, Josephus never scruples to admit, as ever 
 esteeming sucfi wicked men justly and providentially 
 deceived). Itut iierhaps we had belter keep here dote 
 to the text, whicli s;iys (Numb, xxiii, '.'II, I'l) that G. d 
 only permitted Halajim to go along with the ambas-a- 
 dors, in ease they e;ime and called him, or positively 
 msisted on his going along with them on any terms; 
 whereas Balaam seems out of impalience to h.ivc risen 
 up in the morning, .ind saddled nis ass, and nilher to 
 have called them, th.in staKi for their calling him; so 
 zealous does he seem to have lx;en for his rcw.-jrd of di- 
 
 dan, as far as the desert and luiplirales ; .uid that there 
 fore no other people had rciison to fear the coniiuestsof 
 the Israelites; hut that those countries given tfioin liy 
 God were their proper and iieculiar portion among the 
 n.iuons; and that all who enileavourcd to dispossess them 
 niiaht ■-•vcr be justly destroyeti by them. 
 
 wages the truly religious prophets of God never itHjuir- 
 ed nor acceiitcd, as our Josephus justly takes notice in 
 the cases of Samuel, .Vntiq. b. v, chap, iv, sect. 1, ajid 
 Daniel, .\iitiq. b. x, chap, xi, »cct. 3. See also Gen. 
 xiv. ii, 25 ; 2 Kings v, 13, IG, 26, 27 ; and AeUviii, 17 
 
 _r 
 
CHAP. VL 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 was a divine spirit thnt met him, and tlnust 
 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 Ba- 
 laam as acting unjustly to her ; that whereas 
 he had no fault to find with her in her former 
 service to him, he now inflicted stripes upon 
 her, as not understanding that she was hin- 
 dered from serving him in what he was now 
 going about, by the providence of God. And 
 when he was disturbed by reason of the voice 
 of the ass, which was that of a man, the an- 
 gel plainly appeared to him, and blamed him 
 for the stripes he had given his ass ; and in- 
 formed him that the brute creature was not 
 in fault, but that he was himself come to ob- 
 struct 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 declare nothing but what he 
 nimself should suggest to his mind. 
 
 4. When God had given him this charge, 
 he came to Balak ; and when the king had 
 entertained him in a magnificent manner, lie 
 desired him to go to one of the mountains to 
 take a view of the state of the camp of the 
 Hebrews. Balak himself also came to the 
 mountain, and brought the prophet along 
 with him, with a royal attendance. This 
 mountain lay otfer their heads, and was dis- 
 tant 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 
 tcing did presently conform. He then slew 
 the sacrifices, and offered them as burnt-ofJ'er- 
 ings, that he might observe some signal of 
 the flight of the Hebrews. Then said he, 
 ' Happy is this people, on whom God be- 
 stows the possession of innumerable 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 vir- 
 tue, and in the earnest prosecution of the 
 best rules of life, and of such as are pure 
 from wickedness, and will leave those rules 
 to your excellent children, and this out of the 
 regard that God bears to you, and the provi- 
 sion of such things for you as may render 
 you happier than any other people under the 
 sun. Yo\i shall retain that land to which he 
 tiath 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 suflSciently 
 numerous to supply the world in general, and 
 every region of it in particular, with inhabi- 
 tants out of your stock. However, O blessed 
 
 army ! wonder that you are become so many 
 from one father : and truly, the land of Ca- 
 naan can now hold you, as being yet compa- 
 ratively few; but know ye that the wiiole 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 con- 
 tinent, and that more in number than are the 
 stars of heaven. And when you are become 
 so many, 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 chil- 
 dren of your enemies have an inclination to 
 fight against you, and may they be so hardy 
 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." 
 
 5. Tlius 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 his confederates had invited 
 him, by the promise cf 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, "O Balak, if thou 
 rightly considerest this whole matter, canst 
 thou suppose that it is in our power to be si- 
 lent, or to say any thing, when the Spirit of 
 God seizes upon us ? — for he puts such words 
 as he pleases in ©ur mouths, and such dis- 
 courses 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 jour- 
 ney. 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, are en- 
 tirely unable to do it, or to forbear to utter 
 what God suggests to them, or to oflTer viol- 
 ence 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 
 suggested the decla-ation of those things to 
 mc : but now, because it is my desire to 
 oblige tliee thyself, as well as the Midianites, 
 whose entreaties it is not decent for me to re- 
 ject, go to, let us again rear other altars, and 
 offer the like sacrifices that we did before, that 
 I may see whether I can persuade God to 
 permit me to bind these men with curses. 
 
 -V 
 
 -r 
 
jr 
 
 112 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS OF TIIK JEWS. 
 
 Wliicit, «Iiin Hiilak liad a;j;rc<'(l lo, (lod would 
 not, cvfii M|)(Mi si'conil siiiTilicis, consent to 
 his i'iirsiii<; tliu Israc'litts. • Tlifii fell [{a- 
 laani iipoii liis I'licc-, nnd foii'told »liat cala- 
 mities would hi'lall llie several kings of the 
 nation'-, and the most eminent cities, some 
 of whicli of old were not so miicli as inha- 
 hited ; which events have come to pa^s amon<^ 
 the several (leople concerned, hoth in the fore- 
 going ages, and in ihib, till mv own memory, 
 both by ^ca and by land. From which com- 
 pletion of all these predictions that he made, 
 one may easily guess that the rest will have 
 tJ)eir completion in time to come. 
 
 6 Hut JJalak being very anp;ry that t!ie 
 Israelites were not cursed, sent away Balaam 
 without thinking him wortliy of any honour. 
 Whereupon, when he was just u))on his jour- 
 lu-y, in order to pass the Kujihratcs, he sent 
 for 15alak, and for the ]irinces of the Mi<lian- 
 ites, and spake thus to them : — " O lialak, 
 and you jMitlianites that are here present (for 
 I am obliged even witliout the will of God, 
 to gralil'y you), it is true no entire destruction 
 ran seize upon the nation of the Hebiews, 
 neither by war, nor by plague, nor by scar- 
 city 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 ])ermit any such calamity to come up- 
 on them whereby tiiey may all perish ; but 
 ionie small misfortunes, 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 
 tliem for a short space of time, you will ob- 
 tain it by following my directions : — Do you 
 therefore sot out tlie handsomest of such of 
 your daughters a^s are most eminent for beau- 
 ty, j- and proper to force and conquer the mo- 
 desty of those that behold them, and these 
 decked and trimmed to the highest degree you 
 arc 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 de- 
 sire 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 have persuaded them to leave 
 off their o!>edience to their own laws and the 
 n-orship of that God who established them, and 
 
 • Whrthcr Jospjihiis had hi his copy Ival two atten.pts 
 of Balaam mi all lo ciirsi' Nrail ; or wliutlur bv tlu-. Ins 
 twice (itrci II. i; s. cilii'C, lu- meant twitr l.i-si(Us'!li,it lir^t 
 tiincalrcu^j .luJKiomd, wluth yet is not vci; proliahle, 
 eaimot n.iw be crrUMi.ly ilctcrmincil. In'trir mean 
 time, all <rhot iHipii-s lu\e three such aticiniits of Ba- 
 laam to curse IliPin in ilu- prcsi-nt history. 
 
 \ Such a la-ce and <li-h:iit account of this pcr\crsion 
 of the Israi litis by llu- M iliamtc women, of which our 
 other cojiies give us but shml inliniaiions (Ni:nil). xxxi, 
 16; 'J IVt. 11, 15; Jiidc II ; llcv. ii. Ill, is prcscrvcil, 
 ai Rclaiul inforuLs us, in the S.iniaiiUin C'h.oniclc, in 
 Hhilo, ami in otliiT writings of the Jews, as well as hcie 
 by ioM'ijbiis. 
 
 D'KiKIV 
 
 lo worship the gods of the MidiatiiUs ar.<l 
 .MoabiUs ; for by this nuai.-. (iod will be 
 angry at them." J Accordingly, when Ha- 
 laam had suggested this counsel to tiiein, lie 
 went his way. 
 
 7. S<» when the iMidianitcs had setit their 
 daughters, as Balaam had exhorted them, the 
 Hebrew young men were alitind by their 
 Ix.'auty. and catne to discourse with them, and 
 besought them not to grudge them tlie enjov- 
 ment of their beauty, rior io deny tliein their 
 conversation. 'I'hese daughters of the Midi, 
 anitcs received their words gladly, and con- 
 sented to it, and staid with them ; but when 
 they had brought theiri to l)e tnamourtd of tliem, 
 and their inclinations to them were grown to 
 ripeness, they began lo think of dei)arting 
 from them : then it was that these men be- 
 came greatly disconsolate at the women's ile- 
 partiire, and they were urgent with them not 
 to leave them, but begged they would coiitU 
 line there, and become their wives ; and thev 
 promised thein they should be owned as mis 
 tresses of all they had. This they said with 
 an oath, and called God for the arbitrator of 
 what thty promised ; anil this with tears in 
 their eyes, and all other such marks of concern, 
 as might show how miseiable they thought 
 themselves without them, and so miglit move 
 their compassion for them. So the women, 
 as soon as they perceived they liad made 
 tbein their slaves, and had caught them 
 with their conversation, began to speak thus 
 to thcin : — 
 
 8. " O you illustrious young men ! we have 
 houses of our own at home, and great plent;, 
 of good things there, together with the na- 
 tural affectionate Io\e of our parents and 
 friends ; nor is it out of otir want of anj such 
 things that we came to discourse with you 
 nor did we admit of voiir invitation with de- 
 sign to prostitute the beauty of our bodies for 
 gain ; but taking you for brave and worthy 
 men, we agreed to your request, that we might 
 treat you with such honours as hospitality re- 
 quired : and now seeing you say that you 
 have a great aH'eciion for us, and are troubled 
 when you think we are departing, we are not 
 averse to your entreaties ; and if we may re- 
 ceive such assurance of your good-will as we 
 think can be alone sulticient, we will be glad 
 to leaii our lives with you as your wives; but 
 we are afraid that you will in time be weary 
 of our coinpiny, and will then abuse us, aiid 
 send us back lo our parents, after an ignomi- 
 nious inanncr." And they desired that they 
 would excuse them in their guardin;! against 
 that tlanger. But the young men professed 
 they woidd give them any assurance they 
 should desire ; nor did they at all contradict 
 
 } This pr!""l iriaxim, That (foil's iieople of Israel 
 i-oiilil iic\cr I),' hurl nor drstroycil, but uy drawing them 
 to sin aijHiiist ti:al, appears lo Ix- true, by the entire hi»- 
 torv of that jH-opIc, Ix.th in the Bible hikI in .li)>C|>hiis; 
 and IS often taken notice of In Ihcm I olh. Set in (mrti- 
 cnlar a most veinarkable Ammonite tettimony to llit* 
 pur|K>se, Judith V. 6 — ^l 
 
 r 
 
V 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 113 
 
 k. 
 
 what ihey 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 conduct of life as are en- 
 tirely different from all other men, * insomuch 
 that your kinds of food are peculiar to your- 
 selves, 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 any one 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, wherfcin they may live by themselves, 
 according to their own laws. 
 
 9. Now the young men were induced by the 
 fondness they had for these women, to think 
 they spake very well ; so they gave them- 
 selves up to what they persuaded them, and 
 transgressed their own laws ; and supposing 
 there were many gods, and resolving that they 
 would sacrifice 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 wo- 
 men would have them do, though in contra- 
 diction to their own laws; so far, indeed, that 
 this transgression was already gone through 
 the whole army of the young men, and they 
 fell into a sedition that was much worse than 
 the former, and into danger of the entire abo- 
 lition of their own institutions ; for when 
 once the youth had tasted of these strange cus- 
 toms, they went with insatiable inclinations 
 into them ; and even where some of the prin- 
 cipal men were illustrious on account of the 
 virtues of their fathers, they also were cor- 
 rupted together with the rest. 
 
 10. Even Zimri, the head of the tribe of 
 Simeon, accompanied with Cozbi, a Midiani- 
 tish woman, wlio was the daughter of Sur, a 
 man of authority in that country; and being de- 
 sired l)y his wife to disregard the laws of Mo- 
 ses, and to follow those she was used to, he 
 complied with her; and this both by sacridcing 
 
 * ^^'hat Josephus here puts into the mouths of these 
 Midianitc women, who came to entice the Israelites to 
 lewdness and idolatry, viz. that their worship of the 
 God of Israel, in opposition to their idol gods, implied 
 their living according to the holy laws which tlie true 
 (;od had given them "by Moses, in opposition to those 
 impure laws which were observed under Uieir false gods, 
 well deserves our tonsideiatiou; and gives us a substan- 
 tial reason for the great concern that was ever shown, 
 under the law of Moses, to preserve the Israelites from 
 idolatry, and in the worship of the true God; it being 
 of no less consequence than. Whether God's |x;ople 
 shou.d be govcrnetl by live holy la«s of the true Go I, or 
 by the iinpu:e laws derived froin Demons, under tlie I'a- 
 (jkn idolatrv. 
 
 after a mamner different from his own, and by 
 taking a stranger to wife. When things were 
 thus, Moses was afraid that mattets should 
 grow worse, and called the people to a con- 
 gregation, but then accused nobody by name, 
 as unwilling to drive those into despair who, 
 by lying concealed, might come to repen- 
 tance ; but he said tJiat they did not do what 
 was either worthy of tliemselves, 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 nol 
 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 so- 
 berly 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 endeavour, by saying this to correct 
 the young men, and to bring them to repen 
 tance for what they had done. 
 
 1 1. 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 tliem, 
 made them firm ; otherwise, if things had not 
 been thus, thou hadst often been punished be- 
 fore now, and hadst known that the Hebrews 
 are not easily put upon ; but thou shalt no» 
 have me one of thy followers in thy tyranni- 
 cal commands, for thou dost nothing else hi- 
 therto but, under pretence of laws, and ol 
 God, wickedly impose on us slavery, and gain 
 dominion to thyself, while thou deprivest us 
 of the sweetness of life, which consists in act- 
 ing according to our own wills, and is the 
 right of free men, and of those that have no 
 lord over them. Nay, indeed, this man is 
 harder upon the Hebrews than were the Egyp- 
 tians themselves, as pretending to punish, ac- 
 cording to his laws, every one's acting what 
 is most agreeable to himself; but thou tliyself 
 better deservest to sufl'er punishment, who 
 presumest to abolish what every one acknow- 
 ledges to be what is good for him, and aimest 
 to make thy single opinion to have more force 
 than that of all 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 thinkit fit to sacrifice; and 
 I think it right to come at truth by inquiring of 
 many people, and not like one that lives un- 
 der tyranny, to suffer the whole hope of my 
 life to depend upon one man ; nor shall any 
 one find cause to rejoice wlio declares himself 
 to have ii'.ore authority over my actions than 
 mvself." 
 
 K 
 
114 
 
 ANTKU ITIKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 12. Nil" ulit'ii Ziiiiii liail «ai(l these tilings, 
 a!u>iit uliat lie nnd some otiiers liad wickedly 
 done, the people lield tiieir pence, both out of 
 I'ear of what might come upon them, and he- 
 faiise ihi T saw (hat tlieir legislator was not 
 willing to bring his insolence In I'ore the pub- 
 lic any farther, or ojier.ly to conlend with 
 liim; for he avoided that, lest many shonld 
 iuiitafu the impudence of his language, an<l 
 thereby distur!) the miiltitiule. lJ|)o:i this the 
 assembly was dissolved. However, the mis- 
 chievous attempt had proceeded farther, if 
 Zimri had not been first slain, which came to 
 pass on the follo-.vicg occasion : — riiinear,, ,i 
 man in olhcr rcsjjccts better than the rest of 
 tlie yoiuig men, aiiJ also one that surjiassed 
 his contemporaries in the dignity of his fallu r 
 (for he was the son of Eleazer the high-priest, 
 and the grandson of [Aaron] IVIoses's bro"- 
 thcr), who was greatly troubled at what wjis 
 done by Zimri, he resolved in eari'.C5.t to infliL-t 
 punishment on him, before his unworth; l;e- 
 hnviour shoulrl grow stronger by impunitv, 
 and in order to prevent this transgression from 
 proceeding farther, whicli would happen if the 
 liiigleaders were not pu:)is!ied. He was of 
 so great magnanimity, botli in strength of 
 mind and body, that wlien he undeitook any 
 very dangerous attemi-'t, he did not leave it 
 oil till he overcame it, and got an entire vic- 
 tory. So he came into Ziniii's tent, and slew 
 /liin with his javelin, and with it he slew 
 I'ozbi also. Upon which all those young 
 Uicn that had a regard to virtue, and aimed 
 to do a glorious action, imitated Phincas's 
 boldness, and slew those that were found to 
 be guilty oi' the same crin.e with Zinui. Ac- 
 cordingly, many of tho e that had transgressed 
 peiiihed by the magnai.'imous valour of these 
 \o;ingmen, and the rest all perished by a plague, 
 whicli ilistcmper God himself inflicted upon 
 lliem. So that all those their kindred, who, 
 instead of hindering them from such wicked 
 actions, as they ought to have done, had ])<.r- 
 suaded them to go on, were esteetued by God 
 as partners in their wickedness, and died. 
 Accordingly, there perished out of the army 
 no fewer than fourteen' ^twenty-four] thcu- 
 sand at this time. 
 
 IS. 'I'his was the cause why Moses was 
 pro', okcd to send an army to destrov the ]\Ji- 
 dianites, concerning v. hicii expedition we shall 
 speak presently, when we have first related 
 what we liave omitted ; for it is but just not 
 to pass over our legislator's due encomiuu), 
 on account of Iris conduct here, l>ecause, al- 
 tliougl) this liala.'un, who was sent for by the 
 Midianites to cur^e the Hebrews, and when 
 be was hindered from doing it by divine pro- 
 »idtr.ce, did t^till suggest that advice to lliem, 
 
 • Tlie iniHtuke in all .losoplnss's copicfi, Greek and 
 f i.ti.i, ulileh ha%c here four eeii lli<>iivaii<l, instead of 
 t Mill \ -four OiDUsand, isso flagiant, that oiirvt-ry learn- 
 rtl iilnon, licniard and lliickoii, Imve put Ihc latter 
 iii.nix-r ilirfcily into the texL 1 rliecue lather to jiut 
 t ill bt. ckelii. 
 
 by making use of wliich our enemies had well 
 nigh corrupted the whole niullitude of the 
 Hebrews with their wiles, till some of them 
 were deeply infected with their opinions; yet 
 (lid he do him great honour, by setting down 
 his prophecies in writing. .And while it was 
 in his ijower to claim this glory to himself, 
 anil m.-ike men believe they were his own pre- 
 diciions, there being no one that could be a 
 witness ag^iinst him, and accuse him for so 
 doing, he still gave his attestation to him, 
 and did him ihe honour to make mention e( 
 him on this account. IJut let every one think 
 of these matters as he pleases. 
 
 CHAPTEIl VII. 
 now tut: hkbrkws koight with thk hidi 
 
 A.SITES, A.ND OVEIICA.ME TIIE.M. 
 
 § 1. Now Moses sent an artry against the 
 land of Pllidian, for the causes forementioned, 
 in all twelve thousand, taking an equal num- 
 ber out of every tribe, and appointed Phiiuas 
 for their commander ; of which Phir;eas we 
 made mention a little before, as he that iiad 
 guarded the laws of tho Hebrews, and had 
 inflicted punishment on Zimri when he had 
 transgressed them. Now the MIdianites per- 
 ceived beforehand how the Hebrews were 
 coming, and would suddenly be up<Mi thein : 
 so they assembled their army together, and 
 fnytifitd the entrance.-) into their country, and 
 'here awaited the enemy's coming. AVhen 
 !iey were come, and they had joined batile 
 -V itii them, an immense multitude of the i\Ii- 
 dianites fell ; nor could they be numbered, 
 they were so very many : and among them 
 fell ail tljcir kings, five in iuim!)er, viz. Evi, 
 Zur, Ueba, Hur, and Hekem, who was of the 
 same name with a city, the chief ai:d capital 
 of all Aialiia, which is still now so called by 
 the whole Arabian nation, ylrcccm, from the j 
 nanio of the king that built it ; but is by the 
 Greeks called J'ctru. Now when the enemien 
 were discomfited, the Hebrews spoiled their 
 country, and took a great jirey, and destroyed 
 the liun that were its inhabitants, together 
 with the women; only they let the virgins 
 alone, as INloses had comm.-.nded Phineas to 
 do, who indeed came b.ick, bringing with 
 him an army that had received no hanr, nnd 
 a great deal of prey ; fifty-two thou>ai!d 
 beeves, seventy-five thousand six hundred 
 ^.heep, sixty thousand asses, with an in;mcnse 
 (jiiantity of gold and silver fuinilure, which 
 Ihe Midianites made use of in their houses ; 
 for tliiy were so wealthy, that they were very 
 luxurious. 'J'here wereiiUo let] cajilive about 
 thirty-two thousand virgins.-}- So Mosis parted 
 
 t 'I'lic slauRliler of nil the Midiaiiite woiiirn ihat ti.nd 
 prostiliiti-il llicm>elvi-s to ihe lewd Israplilt-s, a;id ih« 
 presirv.ilion r f those that li:iil not Ikhii i;iiilty llu-ieiii 
 tile la:>t uf uhii.)' wi-ri; uo fewer lliau thirty-lwo lliuii 
 
 ^_- 
 
"V 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 the prey into parts, and gave one fiftieth part 
 to Eleazer and the two priests, and another 
 liFiietU part to the Levitcs ; and distributed 
 the rest of the prey among the people. After 
 which tliey lived happily, as having obtained 
 an abnndanee of good things by their valour, 
 and there being no misfortune that attended 
 them, or hindered tlieir enjoymciU of that 
 hajjpiness, 
 
 2. But Moses was now grown old, and 
 appointed Joshua for his successor, both to 
 receive directions from God as a prophet, 
 and for a commander of the army, if thev 
 should at any time stand in need of sucli a 
 one ; and tiiis was done by the conunand of 
 God, that to him the care of the public 
 should be committed. Now Joshua had been 
 instructed in all tiiose kinds of learninsi 
 which concerned the laws and God liimself, 
 and Moses had been his instructor. 
 
 3. At this time it was that the two tribes 
 of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Ma- 
 nasseh, abounded in a multitude of cattle, as 
 well as in all other kinds of prosperity; whence 
 tliey had a nieefing, and in a body came and 
 besought Moses to give tlicni, as their pecu- 
 liar portion, that land of the Amorites vvliich 
 they 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 Canaauites, and invented 
 this provision for tlieir cattle as a haiulsonje 
 excuse for avoiding that war, he called them 
 arrant cowards, and said they had only con- 
 trived a decent excuse for that cowardice; 
 and that tliey had a mind to livu in luxury 
 and ease, wiiile all the rest were labourin<'- 
 with great pains to obtain the land they were 
 desirous to have ; and that they were not 
 willing to march along, and undergo the re- 
 maining hard service, whereby they were, 
 under the divine promise, to pass over Jordan, 
 and overcome those our enemies which God 
 had showu them, and so obtain their land. 
 
 sand, bath here anil Numtj. xx\i, 15, 10, 17, .-\, in, 4G, 
 and b(i:!i by the particular couiiiiand of lioii, aie lii^iilv 
 remarkable, and show that, even in nations otht-rwise 
 for their wiokedness dDonietl to ilfsfruetion, the inno- 
 cent were sometimes particulaily ri\.A pirn idomially 
 taken care of, and delivered from th.it I'tsnuction"; 
 which directly implies, that it was the wi^'ki-diiL-s of rhe 
 nations of Canann, and nothing else, that o.i.isioned 
 tl-.eir exeisimi. See Gen. xv, !6; 1 .^am. w. IS, .).). 
 Aiiost. t'onstit b. viii, ch. xii, p. li 2 In On- lirst of 
 which places, Uie reason of the delay of the p> ni^hmcnt 
 ut tfce Amorites is given, because " theii iniijuily was 
 not yet full." In the second, :-.:n.il is ordered to go and 
 " tcstvoy the sinners, the Amalckite-i;" plainly implv- 
 ni(, mat they were therefore to Ije destroyed, because 
 tliey were sinners, and not otherwise. In the third, the 
 le son is giv..-ji wh> kin.o A;;^ig \vas not to he siKired, 
 vi/,. bejiu.o :■( \\\^ former erneity: •' As thy sword hath 
 ie,.ide;jie (Mohrewi Houienehildiess. sosl>all thy u-.other 
 be made childless among nomcn hy the Hebrews." In 
 L'le 1js( pUiie, the a|<>siles, or their amanuensis Cle- 
 men', gaxe lh\s reribon for the necessity of the coming 
 of Christ, lh.;r •• men h.id forraeriv perverted both the 
 p,.s.ti-. e l.ivv, and -hat of nature; and had cus.t out of 
 Iheir mind the meui.iry of the Kkiod, the bundng of 
 S.iduiii, he p-ii^ues of the f^vpcians. and the jiaughl- r 
 of Ihe udiabila'iL-. of l-ale-inie," as signs of Ihc mostj 
 »maznig im;.ei.;ten( e and insen.sitijlity, under the pi:- i 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 115 
 
 But these tribes, when they saw that Moses 
 was angry with tliem, and when they coidd 
 not deny but he had a just cause to be dis- 
 pleased at their petition, made an apology foi 
 themselves ; and said, that it was not on ac 
 count of their fear of dangers, nor on account 
 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 there- 
 by might be more expedite, and ready to un- 
 dergo difficulties, and to tight battles. Tliev 
 added tliis also, that when they had biiill 
 cities, wherein they inight preserve their chil- 
 dren, and wives, and possessions, if he would 
 bestow them upon theia, they would go along 
 with the rest of the army. Hereupon Moses 
 was jilcased with what they said; so he called 
 for Eleazer, the high -priest, and Joshua, and 
 the ciiief of the tribes, and permitted these 
 tribes to possess the land of the Amorites; 
 but upon this condition, that they should 
 join with their kinsmen in the war until all 
 things were settled. Upon which condition 
 they took possession of the country, and bniit 
 them strong cities, and put into them their 
 children, and their wives, and whatsoever else 
 they had th.at might be an impediment to the 
 labours of their future inarches. 
 
 4. Moses also now built those ten cities 
 which were to be of the number of the forty- 
 eight [for the Levites] ; three of which he al 
 loted to those that slew any person involunta- 
 rily, and fled to them ; and he assigned the 
 same time for their banishment witii tiiat of 
 the life of that high-priest under whom the 
 slaughter and flight haj)pened ; after wl)icli 
 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, hy this law kill the manslayer, if thev 
 caught him without the bounds of the city to 
 wliich he fled, though this permission was not 
 granted to any other person. Now the cities 
 which were set apart lor this flight were these : 
 Uezer, at the borders of Arabia; Ilamoth, of 
 the land of Gilead ; and Golan, in the land 
 of Hashan. There were to be also, by IMoses's 
 command, three other cities allotted for the 
 habitation of these fugitives out of the citic* 
 of the Levites, but not till after they should 
 be in possession of the land of Canaan. 
 
 5. 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 Zelophehad, who 
 left no male cliildren, I)ut left daughters ; and 
 asked him whether these daughters might in- 
 herit 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 marriage 
 to men of another tribe, tliey shall leave t!uir 
 inheritance in their father's tribe. Ai;d (hen it 
 was that Moses ordained, that every one's in- 
 heritance should conti:iue in iiis> own ttibe. 
 
 ^ 
 
116 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CIIAl'TER VIII. 
 
 Tin: POLITY SnCTTI.l'.n IIY MOSES ; AND HOW HE 
 DI.SAl'IM'AUll) niOM AMONG MANKIND. 
 
 § I. M'iii:n fi)rty years were coinplcfcd, with- 
 in tliirty tiays, IVIosos iratlicrcil the congrega- 
 tion together near Jordan, wlierc tlie city 
 Al)ila now stands, a phice full of palm-trees; 
 and all the people being come together, he 
 spake thus to them : — 
 
 2. " O you Israelites and fellow-soldiers, 
 who have been partners witli me in this long 
 and uneasy journey ; since it is now tlie will 
 of God, and the course of old age, at a hun- 
 d-red and twenty, retinires it that I should 
 depart out of this life ; and since God has 
 forbidden me to be a patron or an assistant to 
 you in what remains to be done beyond Jor- 
 dan, I thouglit it reasonable not to leave off 
 my endeavours even now for your happiness, 
 but to do my utmost to procure for you the 
 eternal erijoyment of good things, and a me- 
 morial 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 children 
 after you, and then let me thus go out of the 
 world; and I cannot but deserve to be believ- 
 ed by you, both on account 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. O 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 ; towards 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 misfortunes, 
 nor cease to be happy : you will tl)en 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 woi>ld have you 
 to follow : — nor do you prefer any other con- 
 stitution of government before the laws now 
 given you ; neither do you disregard that way 
 of divine worsliip which you now liavc, nor 
 change it for any other form : and if you do 
 this, you will be the most courageous of all 
 men, in undergoing the fatigues of war, and 
 will not be easily conquered by any of your 
 
 • Josejihus here, in this one sentence, sums up his 
 nutini) ot Moses's very long anil very serious exhortji- 
 tions in the book of Oeiiteronomy ; and his words ate 
 »<) true, and of such inipnrtiince, tnnt they deserve to be 
 had in constant renicnibraniT, both by Jews nml (hris- 
 tjans: — " O children of Nracl ! there is l)ut one miufcc 
 of happinesi for all mankind, — llicfiivuw of Hud." 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 enemies ; for while God is present with you 
 to assist you, it is to be tX|)L'cted that you will 
 he able to despise the ojiposition of all man- 
 kind : and great rewards of virtue are pro- 
 ))()sed for you, if you preserve that viriua 
 through your whole lives. Virtue itself is 
 indeed the princi|>al and the first reward, and 
 after that it bestows abundance of others ; so 
 tliat your exercise of virtue towards other men 
 will make your own lives liappy, anil render 
 you more glorious than foreigners can be, and 
 procure 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 revelation, I have 
 ordained for you ; that is, in case you withal 
 meditate upon the wisdom 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 vir- 
 tues of your commanders, who will take care 
 of what is for your advantage ; and that Got!, 
 who has been till now your leader, and by 
 whose good-will I have myself been useful (o 
 you, will not put a period now to his provi- 
 dence over you, l)ut, as long as you desire to 
 have him your Protector in your pursuits af- 
 ter virtue, so long will you enjoy his care over 
 you. Your liigh-priest also Eleazar, 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 advices 
 you will continue to be happv : to whom do 
 you give ear without reluctance, as sensible 
 that all such as know well how to be govern- 
 ed, will also know how to govern, if they be 
 promoted to that authority themselves ; and 
 do not you esteem liberty to consist in op. 
 posing such directions as your governors think 
 fit to give you for your practice, — as at pre- 
 sent indeed you place your liberty in nothing 
 else but abusing your benefactors ; which er- 
 ror if you can avoid for the time to come, 
 your affairs will be in a better condition that 
 they liave hitherto been ; nor do you ever in- 
 dulge such a degree of passion in these mat- 
 ters as you have oftentimes done when you 
 have been very angry at me; for you know 
 that I have been oftener in «langer of death 
 from you than from our enemies. What 1 
 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 worki, to bring 
 this to your remembrance, in order to leave 
 you offended at me, since, at the time when I 
 underwent those hardships from vou, I was 
 not angry at you ; but I do it in ortler to make 
 you wiser hereafter, and to teach you that this 
 will be for your security : I mean, that you 
 never be injurious to those that preside ovet 
 you, even when you are become rich, as you 
 will be to a great degree when you have pass- 
 ed over Jordan, and arc in possession of the 
 land of Canaan. Since, when you shall t>avi 
 
 ^- 
 
 ^ 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 once proceeded so far by your wealth, as to a ' 
 contempt and disregard of virtue, you will ] 
 also forfeit the favour of God ; and when you 
 have made him your enemy, you vfill bei 
 beaten in war, and will have the land which 
 yon 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, en- 
 tirely 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. Wlience 
 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. 1 also do farther 
 exhort you, to overthrow their altars, and 
 their groves, and whatsoever temples they have 
 among them, and toburn all such, their nation, 
 and their very memory with fire ; for by this 
 means alone the safety of your own hai)py 
 constitution can be firmly secured to you. 
 And in order to prevent your ignorance of 
 virtue, and the degeneracy of your nature 
 into vice, I have also ordained you laws, 
 by divine suggestion, and a form of govern- 
 ment, which arc so good, that, if you regu- 
 larly observe them, you will be esteemed of 
 all men the most happy." 
 
 3. When he had spoken thus, he gave them 
 the laws and the constitution of government 
 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 conductor, because they remem- 
 bered what a number of dangers he had pass- 
 ed through, and what care he had taken of 
 their preservation : they desponded about wliat 
 would come upon them after he was dead, and 
 thought they should never have another go- 
 vernor like him ; and feared that God would 
 then take less care of them when Moses was 
 gone, who used to intercede for them. They 
 also repented of what they had said to liim in 
 the wilderness 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 af- 
 fliction. 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 congregation was dissolved at that time. 
 
 4. Accordingly, I shall now first describe 
 tliis form of government which was agreeable 
 to the dignity and virtue of Moses ; and shall j 
 thereby inform those that read these Antiqui- 
 ties, what our original settlements were, and | 
 •hall then proceed to the remaining histories. | 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 117 
 
 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 \ihat 
 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 accidentally scattered in 
 their delivery, and as he upon inquiry had 
 learned them of God. On which account 1 
 have thought it necessary to premise this ob- 
 servation beforehand, lest any of my own 
 countrymen 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 
 IMoses left concerning our common conversa- 
 tion and intercourse one with another, I have 
 reserved that for a discourse concerning our 
 manner of life, and the occasions of those 
 lav^•s ; which I propose to myself, with God's 
 assistance, to write, after I have finished t!ie 
 work I am now upon. 
 
 5. When you have possessed yourselves of 
 the land of Canaan, and have leisure to en- 
 joy 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 Canaan, and this si- 
 tuate in the most agreeable place for its good- 
 ness, and very eminent 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 to- 
 gether 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. 
 
 6. He that blasphemeth God, let him be 
 stoned, and lei him hang upon a tree all tliat 
 day, and then let him be buried in an igno- 
 minious and obscure manner. 
 
 7. 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 t'ais three times in a year, that the y 
 may give thanks to God for his former beiie- 
 
 * This law, both here and Exod. xx, 25, 26, of not 
 going up to Gort's altar by ladder-steps, but on an accli- 
 vity, seems not to have belonged to the altar of the ta- 
 bernacle, which was in all but three cubits high, Exod. 
 xxvii, t ; nor to that of Ezekiel, which was expressly to 
 be gone up to by steps, xliii, 17 ; but rather to occasional 
 altars of any considerable altitude and largeness ; as also 
 probably to Solomon's altar, to which it is here applied 
 by Josei')hiis, as well as to that in Zorobabel's and He- 
 lod's temple, which were, I think, all ten cuiiits high. 
 See 2 Chron. iv, 1, and Antiq. b. viii, chap, iii, sect. 7. 
 The reason why these temples, and these only, were to 
 have this ascent on an acclivity, and not by steps, is ob- 
 vious ; that before the invention of stair , such as we 
 now use, decency could not be otherwise provided for 
 in the loose garments which the priests wore, as the law 
 required. See Lamy of the Tabernacle and Temple, 
 p. 114. 
 
^ 
 
 118 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS Ol' THE JKWS. 
 
 BOOK. ly 
 
 fits, and mny entreat him for tlioso tlicy shall this hearing what they command llu-tn to do, 
 want Iieri-aftiT ; and 1ft tlu'in, hy this means, ' lliat so tiii-re may always be wiihin iheir minds 
 niriiiitaiii a fiiendly fDrrispoiidence witli one- th;il intention of the laws «hieli they have 
 aiiollierhv such meetings and feastiii'^ togctlier ' despised and broken, and iiave thereby been 
 
 for it is a good thing for those that are of the the causes of their own mischief. Let the 
 
 same stock, and under llie same institution of children also learn the laws, as the first thing 
 laws, not to be unacqiiaiufed with each other; they are taught, which will lie the best thing 
 which acquaintance will be maiulained hy thus they can be taught, and will be the cause of 
 conversing together, atid by seeing and talk-] tlieir future felicity. 
 
 in" with one another, and so renew ing the me- 
 morials of this union ; for if tiiey do not thus 
 converse together continually, they will ap- 
 pear like niere strangers to one another. 
 
 8. Let there be taken out of your fruits a 
 tenth, besides that w liich yon have allotted to 
 "ive to the priests and Levites. This you 
 may indeed sell in tlie coiuitry, but it is to be 
 used in those feasts and sacrilices that are to 
 be celebrated in the holy city : for it is fit that 
 you sliould enjoy those i'ruits of the earth 
 which God gives you to possess, so as may be 
 to the honoui of the donor. 
 
 9. You are not to olfer sacrifices out of 
 the hire of a wom;m who is a iurlot, * for the 
 Deity is not pleased w ith any thing that arises 
 from such abu:,es of nature ; of whicli sort 
 none cati 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. 
 
 10. Let no one blaspheme those gods which 
 .>ther cilies esteem such ;■)■ nor may any one 
 steal what belongs to strange temples ; nor take 
 awav the gifts that are dedicated to any god. 
 
 11. Let not any one of you wear a gar- 
 ment made of woollen and linen, for tJiat i-. 
 appointed to be for the piiests alone. 
 
 12. When the multitude are assembled to- 
 irrther unto the holy city for s.icrificing every 
 
 1 3. 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 
 cotnes on, gratitude being in its own nature 
 a just thing, and serving not only by way of 
 return for |)ast, but also by way of invitation 
 of future favours. They are also to inscribe 
 the principal blessings they have received 
 fiom God upon their doors, and sliow the 
 same remembrance of them upon their arms ; 
 as also they are to bear on their forehead and 
 their arm those wonders which declare the 
 powii of God, and his good-will towards 
 them, i!:at God's readiness to bless them mny 
 appe.ii everywhere conspicuous about them.§ 
 
 It. J-tt there be seven men to judge in 
 every city,|| and these such as have been be- 
 fore most zealous in the exercise of virtue and 
 righteousness. Let every judge have two 
 officers allotted him out of tlie tribe of Levi. 
 Let those that are chosen to judge in the se- 
 veral 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 towards those in high offices 
 among men should jirocure men's fear aid 
 reverence towards God. Let those that judge 
 be permitted to determine according as ihey 
 
 sevemh year, at the Feast of Tabernack's, let think to be right, unless any one can siiov 
 the hi^h-priest stand upon a high desk, w hence that they have taken bribes, to the pervernon 
 
 le may be heard, and let him read the laws 
 i to all the people ; f and let neither the women 
 nor the chiidre.i be hinilered from hearing, 
 i:o, nor the servants neither ; for it is a good 
 tiling that those laws should be engraven in 
 their souls, and preserved in their i\ieinories, 
 tliat so it may not be pos-ible to blot them 
 out ; fcr by this means ihey will not be guilty 
 of sin, when they cannot plead ignoiance of 
 what the laws have enjoined them. The laws 
 also will have a greater authority among them, 
 as foretelling what they will sutler if they 
 break tlieiu . and iinpriniing in their souls by 
 
 • The hire of public or secret harlot* iva? given tn 
 Venus III Syria, a.s Luciaii li. forms us, i». ST^ ; ai.il .igftirst 
 Kline suoh vile practice of llif oM iilolatcrs, this law 
 iceiiis to have l>i.-en iiiadL-. 
 
 + The AiKKtolical Coiistitutioiis, b. li, ch.-.p. xxvi, 
 sei-t. .>l, expiiund Uiis law of Mo.sf» (Kxoil. xxii, i-'S), 
 •• I'hou tbii;! not revile or blaspliuiiic thrgoiU," of ma- 
 Ostr.ite.; which is a nii:ch more probali.e espiLMtion 
 ;haii this of J.iscplius, of heathen gu<l>, .la here, auil 
 
 .B.-.insl .Apion. b. ii. sc.-t. .> I. snrn ;..l«r< «pp..,i:u-<t lor .ii.all vines. n>ic-«.l >>l lur 
 
 1 Whai book of ihu law was thus piibliily read, set- tiflhrr.- in Ihi: miKitr.. R;bbiii.: whuh m.-lcm It.. 
 
 ihenou-ou AnU.). b. x. i-lup. v, «.-et. a, and I Kid. ix, ! bm>«.i;alwa>» but oi very btUt duuiority u**x;iiij;aii«. 
 
 of justice, or can allege any other accusation 
 against them, whereby it may ajipcar that they 
 have passed an unjust sentence; for it is not 
 fit that causes sliouhl be opeidy detcrminet 
 out of regard to gain, or to the dignity of the 
 suitoi-s, but that the judges should esteem w Uai 
 
 § Wliolhor these phyLicterics, and other Jewish in«- 
 nuuials of the law Uere n-.ciiuoncil "oy JcK*phiis, and by 
 Mo.-.es (lie-idcj the friiigi-son the bonlf.sof iheir ^ar- 
 menus, .Num. xv, ,)7l, were litL-ialiy nicLint by Owl, I 
 much ((uestion. That they have Ixvn loi fi oU;erve<l by 
 ihe lliarisCL-s and UiiDniKal Jews, is ci-riaiii ; liowever, 
 .he Karaites, who receive not tlieuiuvritteii tiadilii-ii-s of 
 the elders, but keep clo.se to the writluii law, with Jt* 
 rome and tirotius, Uiiiik iliev wi-.c not literally to be 
 iiiulcrstood ; as l<irn.iril jind lleU.iuI here take iioiii.f. 
 Nor indeed do I reinemlK-r tli.ir, ciUicr in tlie ane v.ilcr 
 iMioksof the Old Tcsumivnt, or in the bo: k.s we vad 
 Apocrypha, there are any signs of suih liler^d o!to<.r»a- 
 lions .nppoarirg among the Jews, though their real or 
 mystical .-iunifivation, i. t. tliL- con»laut itiiic;i.braii.>. 
 and oliservation of the laws of (io<l by Moat-, Ix- f e- 
 quentlv ini-uleattsl in all the sacrcil • rii.ngs. 
 
 H Here, as well a< ilsewlicrv, seei. .^M, of his lift', 
 •ect. 4, :>iul if ItiL- War, b. ii, eh. xx, sjvt j, a.e b-..l 
 li'es aniiDinu-d for small cities. in>lC!ul of <ii'<-»» 
 ^ ■ " - • • ■ tern lt..l>- 
 
 IKUU 
 
 logout J(»ei>liiu. 
 
CHAP. VIII 
 
 is riglit before all other things, otherwise God 
 will by that rriLans be despised, and osteenied 
 inferior to those, the dread of whoso power 
 has occasioned tlie unjust sentence; for jiis- 
 tii-e is the power of God. He, therefore, that 
 gratifies those in great dignity, supposes them 
 more potent tlian God himself. But if these 
 judges be unable to give a just sentence about 
 the causes that come before them (which case 
 is not unfrequerit in human affairs), let them 
 send the cause undetermined to the holy city, 
 and there let the liigh-|)riest, the prophet, and 
 the sanhediim, determine as it shall seem 
 good to them. 
 
 15. But let not a single witness be credit- 
 ed ; but three, or two at the least, and those 
 such whose testimony is confirmed by their 
 good lives. But let not the testimony of wo- 
 men 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 tiieir soul; since it is pro- 
 liable that they may not speak truth, either out 
 of hope of gain, or fear of punishment. But 
 if any one be believed to have borne false wit- 
 ness, let him, when he is convicted, suffer all 
 the very same punishments which he against 
 uliom he bore witness was to have suffered. 
 
 1 G. If a murder be committed in any place, 
 and he that did it be not found, nor is there 
 any suspicion upon one as if he had hated the 
 man, anil so had killed hiui, let there be a 
 very diligent inquiry made after the man, and 
 re« ards proposed to any one who will discover 
 liini ; but if still no information can be pro- 
 cured, let the magistrates and senate of those 
 cities that lie near the place in which the 
 murder was committed, assemble together, 
 and measure the distance from the place 
 where the dead body lies; then lei the ma- 
 gistrates of the nearest city thereto purchase 
 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 ihe head of the 
 heifer; and they shall openly declare that 
 their hands are innocent of this murder, and 
 that they have neither done it tliemselvcs, nor 
 been tissisting to any that did it. They sliall 
 also lieseech God to be merciful to them, that 
 no such horrid act m.iy any more be done in 
 that land. 
 
 17. x\ristocracy, and the way of living un- 
 der it, is the host constitution : and may you 
 never have any inclination to any other form 
 of government ; and may you always love 
 that ibrm, and have the laws for your gover- 
 
 * ! h.nve never oljserved elsewhere, that in the Jew- 
 
 i<]\ (^in eminent, women wyre not ailinittcd as legal wit- j 
 ni.>M-s ill o»iurts of justice. None of our copiis of ihc ; 
 IViitateuch s.-iy a woril of it. It is very probable, how- ' 
 vvff, th.it this was the exoLisitioii of the' Scribes ami | 
 I'ii irisees, and Ule practici; of the Jews in tlie dayi of j 
 •o«.'l>hu« I 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ill) 
 
 nors, and govern all your actions according 
 to them ; for you need no supreme governor 
 I)Ut God. But if you shall desire a king, let 
 iiiin be tme of your own nation ; let him be 
 always careful of justice and other virtiies 
 perpetually ; 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 irinl- 
 titude of liorscs, whereby he may grow too 
 proud to submit to the laws. And if he af- 
 fect any such things, let him be restrained, 
 lest lie become so potent that his state be in 
 consistent with your welfare. 
 
 i8. Let it not be esteemed lawful to re- 
 move boundaries, neither our own, noi- of 
 those with whom we are at pe.ice. Have a 
 care von do not take those land-marks awav 
 whicli are, as it were, a divine and unshaken 
 limitation of riglits made by God himself, to 
 last for ever ; since this going beyond limits 
 and gaining ground upon others, is the occa- 
 sion of wars and seditions ; for those that re- 
 move boundaries are not far off an attempt 
 to subvert the laws. 
 
 19. He that plants a piece of land, the 
 trees of whicli produce fruits before the fourth 
 year, is not to bring thence any first-fruits to 
 God, nor is he to make use of that friiit him- 
 self, for it is not produced in its proper sea- 
 son ; for when Nature has a force ^)ui 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 tiie 
 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 feasting with 
 his friends, with the orphans, and the widows. 
 But on the fifth year the fruit is his own, 
 and he mav u.ie it as : ■ pleases. 
 
 20. You are not to m)w with setnl a piece 
 of land which is planted with vine? ; for it 
 is enough that it sujijily nourishment to that 
 plant, and be not harassed by ploughing a!-o. 
 You are to plough your land with oxen, ai>d 
 not to oblige other animals to come under the 
 same yoke with them, but to till your land 
 with tiiose beasts that are of the same kind 
 witJ) eacli oilier. Tiie seeds are also to l>c 
 pure, and witliout mixture, and not to lie 
 compounded of two or tliree sorts, since Na- 
 ture docs not rejoice in the union of tilings 
 tlial are not in their own nature alike : nor 
 arc you to permit l>easts of different kinds to 
 gender together, for there is reason to fear 
 that this unnatural almse may extend from 
 beasts of diili'rent kinds to men, though it 
 takes its first rise from evil practices about such 
 smaller tilings. Nor is any thing to be al. 
 lowed, by imitation whereof any degree of 
 subversion may creep into the con.stir.iiimi ; 
 nor do the laws neglect small mallei-,, but 
 
120 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 provide that cvon tliose may be inaiiagud after 
 an unlilaiiieal>le manner. 
 
 21. Let not tliose that reap and gather in 
 the corn that is reajied, gather in the glean- 
 ings also, but let them rather leave some 
 handfuls for those that are in want of the ne- 
 cessaries of life, that it may be a supjiort and a 
 siipi)lv to them, in order to their subsistence. 
 In like manner when they gather their grapes, 
 let thein 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 advantage a- 
 rising 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 
 wil. provide that the land shall more willing- 
 ly produce what shall be for the nourishment 
 of its fruits, in case you do not merely talce 
 care of your own advantage, but have regard 
 to the support of others also : nor are yuu to 
 muzzle tlie mouths of the oxen when they 
 tread the ears of corn in the thrashing-floor; 
 for it is not just to restrain our fellow -labour- 
 in"' 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 be- 
 in"' 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 
 tiiem ; for it is unjust, 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 bashfulness, are 
 unwilling to touch these fruits, let them be 
 encouraged to take of them (I mean, those 
 that are Israelites) as if th'-y were themselves 
 the owners and lords, on account of the kin- 
 dred 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 is not to be deemed as idly spent, which 
 any o»ic out of kindness communicates to an- 
 other, since God bestows plenty of good things 
 on men, not only for themselves to reap the ad- 
 vantage, but also to give to others in a way of 
 generosity ; and he is desirous, by this means, 
 to make known to others his peculiar kind- 
 ness to the people of Israel, aiul iiow freely 
 he communicates happiness to them, while 
 thev abundantly communicate out of their 
 great superfluities to even these foreigners al- 
 so. But for him that acts contrary to this 
 la«*-, Itt him be beaten with forty stripes, save 
 
 one, • by the public executioner ; let him un- 
 dergo this punishment, which is a inost igno. 
 minious one fur 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 experience of the affile, 
 tions in Egypt, and of those in the wilder- 
 ness, to make provision for those that are in 
 the like circumstances ; and while you have 
 now obtained plenty yourselves, through the 
 mercy and providence of God, to distribute 
 of the same plenty, by the like sympatljy, to 
 such as stand in need of it. 
 
 22. liesides 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 ; f to wo- 
 men also that are widows, and to childrt'n that 
 ate orphans. But as to the ripe fruits, let them 
 carry that which is ripe first of all into the 
 temple ; and w hen they have blessed God for 
 that land which bare them, and wliicli he had 
 given them for a possession, when they have al- 
 so 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 tlie festivals, 
 and when he is about to go home, let him 
 stand before the holy house, and return thanks 
 to God, that he hath delivered them from the 
 injurious treatment they had in Egyjit, and 
 hath given them a good land, and a large, and 
 lets them enjoy the fruits thereof; and when 
 he hath 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. 
 
 23. 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 corrui>t 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 persons themselves, to govern those their 
 aH'ections, And farther, no one ought to mar- 
 ry a harlot, whose matrimonial oblations, aris- 
 ing from the prostitution of her body, God 
 will not receive; for by these means the dis- 
 
 • This jienaltj- ot ' forty stripes, save one," here mcn- 
 tioncil, and seet. i!3, was fixe times iiillictcti on .St P^ul 
 himself l)v the Jews, 2 for. xi. S4. 
 
 t Josfii>ii!s's iijaiii and cxjircss inlcrjirctation of thu 
 law of >fi>sc<, Oeut. xiv, '-'K, T); xxvi, 1-.', Are. tl.attnc 
 Jfws were bound every third year to pay th'ec tithes, 
 lh.1t to tJie Levites, tli.it for siierificvs at Jerusalem, and 
 this for iJic ind (jent. itie widow, and the orph^uis, is 
 fully eonfiimeil by ilie praetii-e of good old Tobit, evi-n 
 when 111- w:'s a wiptivc in .Ai-vria, against theojmiions o' 
 the Habbuis. Tobit, i. 6, 7. '8- 
 
 _r 
 
■^ 
 
 CHAP. VI n. 
 
 positions 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 
 ber, and let him make use of such indications* 
 to prove his accusation as be is furnished with- 
 al ; 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 ob- 
 tain a sentence in her favour, that she had not 
 been guilty, let her live with her husband 
 that accused her^ and let him not have any 
 farther power at all to put her away, unless 
 she give him very great occasions of suspicion, 
 and such as can be no way contradicted ; but 
 for him that brings an accusation and calumny 
 against his wife in an impudent and rash man- 
 ner, 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 people, let her be stoned, because 
 she did not preserve her virginity till she were 
 lawfully married ; but if she were the daugh- 
 ter 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 his 
 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 belov- 
 ed be the younger by birth than another born 
 of the other wife, but endeavours to obtain 
 the right of primogeniture from his father's 
 kindness to his mother, and would thereby 
 obtain a double portion of his father's sub- 
 sUmce, for that double portion is what I have 
 allotted him in the laws, — let not this be per- 
 mitted ; for it is unjust that he who is the eld- 
 er by birth should be deprived of what is due 
 to him, on the father's disposition of his estate, 
 because his mother was not equally regarded 
 by him. He that hath corrupted a damsel 
 espoused to another man, in case he had her 
 consent, let both him and her be put to death, 
 for they are both equally guilty j the man, be- 
 cause 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 corrupt- 
 ed, either for pleasure or for gain. However, 
 ;'f a man light on a woman when she is alone, 
 and forces her, where nobody was present to 
 
 * These tokens of vivgiiiity, as the Hebrew and Sep- 
 tuagint style them, DeiiU xxii. 15, 1", -0, seem to me 
 very dift'erent from what our later interpreters suppose. 
 They appear rather to have been such close linen gar- 
 ments as were never put oft' virgins, after a certain age, 
 till they were married, but before witnesses, and wjiicli, 
 while they were entire, were certain e^ idences of such 
 virginity. See these, Antiq. b. vii, chap. viii. sect. 1; 
 2 Sam. xiii. 18; Isa. vi. 1. Josephus here determines 
 nothing what were these particular tokens of virginity 
 or of corruption : i>erliaps he thought lie could not c-asily 
 describe them to the htathe; .s, without saying what tliey 
 might have thought a breach of modesty ; which seem- 
 ing breach of modesty laws canirat always wholly avoid. , 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 121 
 
 come to her assistance, let him only be put 
 to death. Let him that hath corrupted a vir- 
 gin not yet espoused, marry her ; but if the 
 father of the damsel be not willing tlrat she 
 should be his wife, let him pay fifty shekels 
 as the price of her prostitution. He that de 
 sires to be divorced from hiswife for any cause-j- 
 whatsoever (and many such causes happen 
 among men), let him in writing give assurance 
 that he will never use lier as his wife any more ; 
 for by this means she may be at liberty to 
 marry \nother husband, although before this 
 bill of drv'orce be given, she is not to be per- 
 mitted so to do : but if she be misused 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 hus- 
 band die, and leave her without children, let 
 his brother 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 inheritance; 
 for this procedure will be for the benefit of 
 the public, because thereby families will not 
 fail, and the estate will continue among the 
 kindred : and this will be for the solace of 
 wives under their aflfliction, that they are to 
 be married to the next relation of their for- 
 mer husbands ; but if the brother will not 
 marry her, let the woman come before the se- 
 nate, 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 reason 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 san- 
 dals of the brother, and shall spit in his face, 
 and say. He deserves this reproachful treat- 
 ment from her, as having injured the memory 
 of tlie deceased ; — and then let him go away 
 out of the senate, and bear this reproach upon 
 him all his life long; and let her marry to whom 
 she pleases, of such as seek her in marriage 
 I3ut now, if any man take captive, either a vir- 
 gin, or one tliat 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 betake herself to feasting and matri- 
 mony ; for it is good for him that takes a wo- 
 man, in order to have children by her, to be 
 complaisant to her inclinations, and not mere- 
 ly to pursue his own pleasure, while he hath 
 
 t These words of Josephus are very like those of the 
 Pharisees to our Saviour upon this very subject, Matt, 
 xix. 5, " Is it iawful for a man to put away his wife 
 for evei-y cause ?" 
 
 t Here it is supposed that this captive's husband, if 
 she were before a married woman, was dead before, or 
 rather was slain in this very battle; otherwise it wouW 
 have been adultery in him that married her 
 
l'^2 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 no regard to whnt is agreeable to her ; but 
 when tliirty days are past, as tlie lime of 
 inouriiiii;;, for so many are sufficient to prud- 
 ent persons for hmienling the dearest friends, 
 tlien let tlieni proceed to the marriage ; but 
 in case, when l)e 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. 
 
 '2'1. As to those young men tiial despise 
 their parents, and do not ])ay tliem honour, 
 but offer them affronts, eitlier because they 
 are asliamed of them, or think themselves 
 wiser than they, — in tlie first place let their 
 parents admonish them in words (for they are 
 by nature of authority sufficient for becoming 
 their judges), and let them say thus to them : 
 — That tliey cohabited together, not for tl>e 
 sake of pleasure, 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 should 
 want ; — and say farther to him, " That when 
 f.iou wast born, we took thee up with gladness, 
 and gave God the greatest thanks for thee, 
 and brought tliee up with great care, and 
 spared for nothing that apjieared useful for 
 thy preservation, 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 contempt of us ; — 
 reform thyself, and act more wisely for the 
 time to come ; considering that God is dis- 
 pleased with those that are insolent towards 
 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 tlieir child- 
 ren ; and on such the law inflicts inexorable 
 punishment; of which punishment mayst thou 
 never have the experience 1" Now if the in- 
 solence of young men be thus cured, let them 
 escape the reproach wliich their former errors 
 deserved ; for by this me.ms the lawgiver will 
 appear to be good, and parents happy, while 
 they never bcliold either a son or a daughter 
 brought to punishment ; but if it happen that 
 these words and instructions, conveyed by them 
 in order to reclaim the man, appear to be use- 
 less, then the offender renders the laws impla- 
 cable enemies to tlie insolence he has offered 
 his parents ; let him tlierefore l)e brought 
 forth* l)y these very parents, out of the city, 
 with a multitude following him, and there let 
 him be stoned ; and wlien he has continued 
 there for one whole day, that all the jieople 
 may see him, let Iiim be buried in the night; 
 and thus it is that we bury all whom the laws 
 
 • Sec Horod the Great insisting on the execution of 
 this law, with relation to two of his own sons, before the 
 judges at Bcrytus, Antiq. b. xvi. fh. xi. st-ct. 2. 
 
 condemn to die, upon any account whatso- 
 ever. Let our enemies that fall in battle be 
 also burieil, nor let any one dead body lie 
 above the ground, or suffer a punishment be- 
 yond what justice requires. 
 
 25. Let no one lend to any one of the He- 
 brews upon usury, neither usury of what is 
 eaten or what is drunken ; for it is not just to 
 make advantage of the misfoi tunes of one of 
 thy own countrymen: but whfn thou hast 
 been assistant to his necessities, tin'nk it thy 
 gain, if thou obtainest their gratitude to thee; 
 and withal that reward which will come to 
 thee from God, for thy humanity towards him. 
 
 26. Those who have borrowed either silver 
 or any sort of fruits, whether dry or wet (I 
 mean this, when the Jewish affairs shall, by 
 the blessing of God, be to their own mind), let 
 the borrowers bring them again, and restore 
 them with pleasure to those wlio 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 concerning 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 protection of the law; 
 and if he that gave the pledg>' be rich, let the 
 creditor retain it till what he lent be paid him 
 again ; but if he be poor, let him that takei 
 it return it before tiie going down of the sun, 
 especially if the pledge be a garment, that the 
 debtor may have it for a covering in his sleep, 
 God himself naturally showing mercy to the 
 poor. It is also not lawful to take a mill-stone, 
 nor any utensil thereto belonging, for a pledge, 
 that the debtors may not be deprived of instru- 
 ments to get their food withal, and lest they 
 be undone by their necessity. 
 
 27. Let death be the punishment for steal- 
 ing a man ; but he that hath purloined 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 were only breaking in at the wall. Let 
 him that hath stolen cattle pay fourfold what 
 is lost, excepting t!ie case of an ox, for which 
 let the thief pay fivefold. Let him that is so 
 
 j])oor that he cannot pay what mulct is laid 
 upon him, be his servant to whom he was ad- 
 judged to pay it. 
 
 28. 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 
 bouse, and if, on account of his good-will to 
 his master, and his natural affection to his wife 
 and children, be will be his servant still, let 
 him be set free only at the coming of the year 
 of jubilee, which is the fiftieth yenr, and let 
 him then take away wiih him his cliildren and 
 wife, and let them l)e free also 
 
 "V 
 
 -r 
 
i" 
 
 •V 
 
 ! CHAP. VI ri. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 123 
 
 L'9. If any one find gold or silver on the 
 road, let hiin 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 another. And the same rule 
 is to be observed in cattle found to have 
 wandered away into a lonely place. if the 
 owner be not presently discovered, let him 
 that is the finder keep it with himself, and 
 appeal to God that he has not purloined what 
 belongs to another, 
 
 SO. It is not lawful to pass by any beast 
 that is in distress, when in a storm it is fallen 
 down in the mire, but to endeavour to pre- 
 serve it, as having a sympathy with it in its 
 pain. 
 
 31. It is also a duty to shew 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. 
 
 32. In like manner, let no one revile a per- 
 son blind or dumb. 
 
 S3. If men strive together, and there be no 
 Instrument of iron, let him that is smitten be 
 avenged immediately, by infiicting the same 
 punishment on him that smote In'm ; but if 
 when he is carried home he lie sick many 
 days, and then die, let him that smote him es- 
 cape punishment ; but if he that is smitten es- 
 cape death, and yet be at great expense for 
 his cure, tiie smiter shall pay for all that has 
 been expended during the time of his sickness, 
 and for all that he has paid the physician. He 
 that kicks a woman with child, sotliat the wo- 
 man miscarry,* let him pay a fine in money, 
 as the judges shall determine, as having dimin- 
 ished 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. 
 
 34. Let no one of the Israelites keep any 
 poison f 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 mis- 
 chief that he would have brought upon them 
 for whom the poison was prepared. 
 
 35. He that maimeth any one, let him im- 
 dergo the like himself, and be deprived of the 
 same member of wliich he hath deprived the 
 other, unless he that is maimed will accept of 
 
 • Pliilo and others appear to have understood this law 
 (Exod. xxi. 22, 2.3) better than Josephus, who seeni< to 
 allow, that though the infant in the mother's woiiiU, 
 even after the mother were quick, and so the infant hail 
 a rational soul, were killed by the stroke \i\r.m the m!> 
 ther, yet if the mother escaped, the o^londer should on- 
 ly be tiued, and not put to death; while the law seems 
 rather to mean, that if the infant in that case be killed, 
 though the mother escape, the offender must be put to 
 death; and not only when the mother is killed, as Jo- 
 sephus understood it. It seems this was the exposition 
 of the Pharisees in the days of Josephus. 
 
 f What we render a witch, according to our modem 
 notions of witchcraft, Exod. xxii. 1», Philo and Jose- 
 phus understood of a poisoner, or mie who attempted, 
 uv secret and unlawful drugs or philtia, to take away the 
 sensea or tlie lives of men. 
 
 money instea<l of it ;f for the law makes the 
 sufferer the judge of the value of what he 
 hath suffered, and permits him to estimate it, 
 unless he will be more severe. 
 
 3ff. Lot hini that is the owner of an ox 
 which pusheth with his horn, kill him : but if 
 he pushes and gores any one in tlie thrashing- 
 floor, let him be put to deith 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 occa- 
 sion of the ox's having killed a man. But if 
 the ox have killed a man-servant, or a maid- 
 servant, let him be stoned ; and let the own- 
 er of the ox pay thirty shekels § to the mas- 
 ter 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. 
 
 37. Let tliose that dig a well or a pit, be 
 careful to lay planks over them, and so keep 
 them shut up, not in order to hirider any per- 
 sons 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 shut up, and perish, lot 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 pcrish.ing. 
 
 38. Let him that has received any thing in 
 trust for another, take care to keep it as a sa- 
 cred 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 im- 
 mense sum of gold, and this where he cannot 
 be convicted of it by any body ; for it is fit 
 that a man's own conscience, which knows 
 what he hath, should, in all cases, ol)Iige him 
 to do well. Let this conscience be his wit- 
 ness, and make him always act so as may pro- 
 cure him commendation from others; but let 
 him chiefly have regard to God, from whorh 
 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 
 withnl, let him come before the seven judges, 
 and swear by God tliat nothing hath been lost 
 willingly, or with a wicked intention, and 
 that ho liatii not made use of any part there- 
 of, and so let him depart without blame ; but 
 if he hath made use of the least part of what 
 was committed to him, and it be lost, let him 
 be condemned to rei)ay all that he had re- 
 ceived. After the same manner as in these 
 
 X This permission of redeeming this penalty with mo- 
 ney IS not in our copies, Exod. xxi. 24, 2j ; Lev. xxiv 
 20; Deut. xix. 21. 
 
 ^ We may here note, that thirty shekels, the pnce 
 our Saviour was sold for by Judas to the Jews, Miith. 
 xxvj, i.'i, and xxvii, .), was the old value of a bought 
 servant or slave among tliat people. 
 
124 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 tnists, it is to be, if any one defraud those 
 that undorgo bodily labour for liim. And let 
 it be always n.-nieniberi'd, that we are not to 
 defraud a poor man of bis wages; as being 
 sensible that God 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. 
 
 39. You are not to punish children for the 
 faults of their parents, but on account of their 
 own virtue rather to vouchsafe them commis- 
 eration, because they were born of wicked pa- 
 rents, than hatred, because they were born of 
 bad ones: nor indeed ought we to impute tlie 
 sin of children to their fathers, wliile young 
 persons indulge themselves in many practices 
 different from what they have been instructed 
 in, and this by their proud refusal of such in- 
 struction. 
 
 40. Let those that have made themselves 
 eunuchs be had in detestation ; and do you a- 
 void any conversation w itii them who have de- 
 prived themselves of their manhood, and of 
 that fruit of geiieration which God has given 
 to men for the increase of their kind : let such 
 be driven away, as if they had killed their 
 children, since they beforehand have lost w hat 
 should procure them ; for evident it is, that 
 while their soul is become efTeminate, they 
 have withal transfused that efleminacy to their 
 body also. In like manner do you treat all 
 that is of a monstrous nature when it is looked 
 on ; nor is it lawful to geld men or any other 
 animals.* 
 
 41. Let this be the constitution of your 
 political laws in time of peace, and God will 
 be so merciful as to preserve this excellent set- 
 tlement free from disturbance : and may that 
 time never come which may innovate any 
 thing, and change it for the contrary. But 
 since it must needs happen that mankind fall 
 into troubles and dangers, either undesigned- 
 ly or intentionally, come let us make a few 
 constitutions 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 obliged 
 to go to seek what is to be done, and so be 
 unprovided, and full into dangerous circum- 
 stances. May you be a laborious people, and 
 exercise your souls in virtuous actions, and 
 thereby possess and inherit the land without 
 wars ; while neither any foreigners make war 
 upon it, and so afflict you, nor any internal 
 sedition seize upon it, whereby you may do 
 things that are contrary to your fathers, and 
 so lose the laws which they have otablished : 
 and may you continue in tlie observation of 
 
 • Ttiis law against castration, even of brutes, is said 
 to be so rigorous elsewhere, as to inllict ilealh on hnn 
 that do«s it; which seems only a Pharisaical interpreta- 
 tion in the days of Josephus of that l.iw, Lev. xxi. iO, 
 and xxii. 21 : only we may hence observe, that the Jews 
 could then have no oxen which are gelt, but only bulls 
 and cows, in Judea. 
 
 those laws which God hath approved of, and 
 hath delivered to you. I^t all sort of war- 
 like operations, whether they befal you now 
 in your own time, or hereafter in the times of 
 your posterity, be done out of your own bord- 
 ers ; but when you are about to go to war, 
 send ambassages 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 weajjons of war; and assure 
 them thereby, that although you have a nu- 
 merous 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 lieu- 
 tenant under him, one that is of the greatest 
 courage among you ; for these different com- 
 manders, 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, com- 
 posed of all such as have extraordinary 
 strength of body and hardiness of soul ; but 
 do you send away the timorous part, lest they 
 run awav in the time of action, and so afford 
 an advantage to your enemies. Do you also 
 give leave to those that have lately built them 
 houses, and have not yet lived in them a year's 
 time; and to those that have planted them 
 vineyards, and have not yet been partakers of 
 their fruits, — to continue in their own coun- 
 try ; as well as those also who have betrothed, 
 or lately married them wives, lest they have 
 such an atl'ection for these things that they be 
 too sparing of their lives, and, by reserving 
 themselves for these enjoyments, they become 
 voluntary cowards, on account of their wives. 
 
 42. 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 en- 
 gines, do not you render the land naked by 
 cutting down trees that bear fruit, but spare 
 them, as considering tliat 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 them- 
 selves into another land. When you have 
 beaten your enemies in battle, slay those that 
 have fought against you ; but preserve the oth- 
 ers alive, that they may pay you tribute, ex- 
 cepting the nation of the Canaanites ; for as to 
 that jjeople, you must entirely destroy them. 
 
 43. Take care, especially in your battles. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 that no woman use the habit of a man, nor 
 man the garment of a woman, 
 
 44. Tliis was the form of political govern-- 
 ment whicli was left us by Moses. IMoreover, 
 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 deli- 
 vered blessings to them, and curses upon those 
 that should not live according to the laws, but 
 should transgress the duties that were deter- 
 mined for them to observe. After this, he 
 read to them a poetic song, which was com- 
 posed in hexameter verse ; and left it to them 
 in the holy book : it contained a prediction of 
 what was to come to pass afterward ; agreea- 
 bly whereto all things have happened all along, 
 and do still happen to us; and wherein he 
 has not at all deviated from the truth. Ac- 
 cordingly, he delivered these books to the 
 priests, j- with the ark ; into which he also put 
 the Ten Commandments, written on two ta- 
 bles. 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 mis- 
 chief they did tliem when they were in the 
 wilderness; and that, when they had got pos- 
 session of the land of the 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 ris- 
 ing sun, not far from the city of Shechem, be- 
 tween the two mountains, that of Gerizzim, 
 situate on the right hand, and that called 
 £bal, 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 happi-. 
 uess also ; and when these last put up the like 
 prayers, the former praised them. After this, 
 curses were denounced upon those that should 
 transgress those laws, they answering one ano- 
 ther 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 lie was ready to die, he wrote these 
 blessings and curses upon the altar, on each 
 side of it;^ where he says also the people 
 
 » These laws seem to be those above mentioned, sect. 
 i , of this chapter. 
 
 + What laws were now delivered to the priests, see 
 the note on Antiq. b. iii, chap, i, sect. 7. 
 
 t Of the exact place where this altar was to be built, 
 whether nearer moun* Gerizam or mount Ebal. accord- 
 
 125 
 
 stood, and then sacrificed and offered burnt- 
 offerings ; though after that day tliey never 
 offered upon it any other sacrifice, for it was 
 not lawful so to do. These are the constitu- 
 tions of Moses; and the Hebrew nation still 
 live according to them. 
 
 45. On the next day, Mos(|; called the peo. 
 pie together, with the women and children, to 
 a congregation, so as the very slaves were pre- 
 sent 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 fbr any motive whatsoever, think any 
 thing ought to be preferred to these laws, and 
 so might transgress tiiem ; that in case any one 
 of their own blood, or any city, should at- 
 tempt to confound or dissolve their constitu- 
 tion of government, they should take venge- 
 ance upon them, both all in general, and each 
 person in particular; and when they had con- 
 quered them, should overturn their city to the 
 very foundations, and, if possible, should not 
 leave the least footsteps of such madness : but 
 that if they were not able to take such venge- 
 ance, they should still demonstrate that what 
 was done was contrary to their wills. So the 
 multitude bound themselves by oath so to do. 
 
 46. Moses taught them also by what means 
 their sacrifices might be the most acceptable 
 to God ; and how they should go forth to war, 
 making use of the stones (in the high-priest's 
 breast-plate) for their direction, § as I have 
 before signified. Joshua also prophesied wliik 
 Moses was present. And when Moses had 
 recapitulated whatsoever 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 de- 
 clared to him, " That if they transgressed 
 that institution for the worship of God, thev 
 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 temple should be burnt ; 
 that they should be sold for slaves, to such 
 men as would have no pity on them in their 
 afflictions ; that they would then repent, when 
 that repentance would no way profit them un- 
 der their sufferings. Yet," said he, " will that 
 God who founded your nation, restore your 
 cities to your citizens, with their temple also ; 
 and you shall lose these advantages, not once 
 only, but often," 
 
 ing to Josephus, see Essay on the Old Testament, p. 168 
 —171. • 1 a 
 
 Ij Dr. Bernard well observes here, how unfortunate 
 this neglect of consulting the Urim was to .Joshua him- 
 self in the case of the Gibeonites ; who put a trick upon 
 him and ensnared him, tdgeiher with the rest of the 
 Jewish rulers, with a solemn oath to preserve them, con- 
 trary to his commission to extirpate all the Canaanites, 
 root and branch ; which oath he and the other rulers 
 never durst break. See Scripture Politics, p. bfy, 5fi; and 
 this snare they were brought into because they " did 
 not ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord," Josh.' ix, H 
 
 _i 
 
i'JG 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 47. Now when Moses had encouraged Jo- 
 shua to luad out tlic army against the Ca- 
 tiaanites, by tilhng him thut God would as- 
 sist liini iu all his tiixlertakings, and had 
 blessed the whole multitude, he said, " Siiu'e 
 I am going to my forefathers, and God has 
 determined that this should he the day of my 
 departure to them, I return him thajiks while 
 I am still alive and j)resenl wiili you, for that 
 providence he hath exercised over you, which 
 hath not only delivered us from the nuseries 
 we lay under, but hatli bestowed a state of 
 prosperity upon us ; as also, that he hath as- 
 sisted me in the pains I took, and in all the 
 contrivances 1 had in my care about you, in 
 order to better your condition, and hath on all 
 occasions showed himself favourable to us; or 
 rather he it was who first conducted our af- 
 fairs, and brouglit them to a hajjiiy conclu- 
 sion, by making use of me as a vicarious ge- 
 neral under him, and as a minister in those 
 matters wherein he was willing to do you 
 good: on which account 1 think it jjroper to 
 bless that Divine Power which will take care 
 of you for the time to come, and this in order 
 to repay that deot which I t)we Jiim, and to 
 leave behind me a memorial that we are 
 obliged to worship and honour him, and to 
 Veej) those laws which are the most excellent 
 gift of all those he hath already bestowed up- 
 on us, or which, if he continue favourable to 
 us, he will bestow upon us hereafter. Cer- 
 tainly 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 con- 
 sequence of the neglect of these his laws, which 
 he, who is your Creator, hath given you !" 
 
 48. When Moses had spoken thus at the 
 end of his life, and had foretold what would 
 befal 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 lament- 
 ed 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 
 tliat 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 
 lamentation of the multitude, from wliat hap- 
 
 • Since Josenhus assures us here, ,is is most naturally 
 to be suiipusc-il, ami as tlic Septuacint gives ilie text 
 (DcuU xxxiii, (J), that Moses blfsseil everyone if lite 
 trilMis of Israel, it is evident that Simeon was not omit- 
 Icvl in Icis co<>y, as it unhappily now is, both iu our He- 
 brew and Samaritan copies. 
 
 pencd to the legislator himself; for aUhoug!i 
 he was always persuaded that he ought not to 
 l)e cast down at the approach of death, since 
 the undergoing it was agree.ible to the will of 
 God and the law of nature, yet what the peft- 
 pie did so overbore him, that he wept him- 
 self. Now as he went thence to the place 
 where he was to vanish cut of their sight, 
 they all followed after him weeping; l>ut 
 Moses bt'ckoned with his hand to those that 
 were remote from him, and hade them stay 
 behind in quiet, wl.ilc he exhorted those that 
 were near to him that they would not render 
 his departure so laine;. table. Wherr-iipon they 
 thought they ought to grant him that favour, 
 to let him depart, according as iie himself de- 
 sired ; so they restrained themselves, though 
 weeping still towards one another. All those 
 who accompanied him were the senate, and 
 Eleazer the liigh-priest, and Joshua their com- 
 mander. Now as soon as they were come to 
 the mountain called Ab-^rim (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 dismissed tlie senate; 
 and as he was going to embrace Eleazer and 
 Joshua, and was still discoursing with them, 
 a cloud stored over him on the sudden, and he 
 disappeared in a certain valley, although be 
 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. 
 
 49. Now Moses lived in all one hundred 
 and twenty years ; a third part of which time, 
 abating one iiionth, he was the people's ruler; 
 and lie died on the last month of the year, 
 which is called by the Macedonians JJ^strus, 
 but by us Adar, 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 ijualifications, he had such a full 
 couunand of his passions, as if he hardly had 
 any such in his soul, aiid 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 pro- 
 nounced, you wouUl think you heard the 
 voice of God himself. So the people mourn- 
 ed for him thirty days ; nor «lid ever any 
 grief so deeply affect tlie Hebrews as did this 
 upon the death of Moses ; nor were those 
 that had experienced his conduct the only 
 persons that desired him, but tjiose also that 
 perused the laws he left behind him had a 
 strong desire after him, and by iJiem ga- 
 thered the extraordinary virtue he was mas- 
 ter of. And this shall sufhce for the decla- 
 ration of the manner of the death of Mose* 
 
BOOK V. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SIX YEARS. 
 FROM THE DEATH OF MOSES TO THE DEATH OF ELI. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW JOSHUA, THE COMMANDER OF THE HE- 
 BREWS, MADE WAR WITH THE CANAANITES, 
 AND OVERCAME THEM, AND DESTROYED 
 THEJI, AND DIVIDED THEIR LAND BY LOT 
 TO THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL. 
 
 § 1. When Moses was taken away from 
 among men, in the manner already described, 
 and when all tlie solemnities belonging to the 
 mourning for him were finished, and the sor- 
 row for him was over, Joshua commanded 
 the multitude to get themselves ready for an 
 expedition. He also sent spies to Jericho, 
 to discover what forces they had, and what 
 were tiieir 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 gover- 
 nors of the tribe of Gad, and [the half tribe 
 of ] Manasseh, for half of this tribe had been 
 permitted to have their habitation in the coun- 
 try of the Amorites, which was the seventh 
 part of the land of Canaan,* he put them in 
 mind what they had promised Moses ; and he 
 exhorted them that, for the sake of the care 
 that Moses bad 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 promised ; 
 so he took fifty thousand of them who follow- 
 
 • The Amorites were one of the seven nations of 
 Canaan. Hence Ueland is willing to suppose that Jo- 
 Bephus did not here mean that their land beyond Jordan 
 was a seventh part of the whole land of Canaan, but 
 meant the Amorites as a seventh nation. His reason is, 
 that Josephus, as well as our Bible, generally distinguish 
 the land beyond Jordan from the land of Canaan ; nor 
 am it be denied, that in strictness they were different : 
 yet after two tribes and a half of the twelve tribes came 
 to inherit it, it might in a general way altogether be well 
 included under the land of Canaan, or Pafestine, or Ju- 
 dea ; of which we have a clear example here before us 
 in Josephus, whose words evidently imply, that taking 
 the whole land of Canaan, or tliat 'inhabited by all the 
 twelve tribes together, and parting it into seven parts, 
 the part lieyond Jordan was in quantity of grouna one 
 seventh part of the whole. And this well enough agrees 
 to Rcland's own map of that country, although this 
 .and l)eyond Jordan was so peculiarly fiiiitful, and good 
 for pasturage, as the two tribes and a half took notice 
 (Numb, xxxii, 1,4, IC), that it maintained about a fifth 
 part of the whole people. 
 
 ed him, and he marched from Abila to Jor- 
 dan, sixty furlongs. 
 
 2. Now when he had pitched his camp, the 
 spies came to him immediately, well acquaint- 
 ed with the whole state of the Canaanites ; 
 for at first, before they were at all discovered, 
 they took a full view of the city of Jericlio 
 witiiout disturbance, and saw which parts of the 
 walls were strong, and which parts were other- 
 wise, 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 sup- 
 posed they were only strangers, who used to 
 be very 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 considering how to get 
 away, information was given to the king as 
 he was at supper, that there were some per- 
 sons come from the Hebrews' camp to view 
 the city as spies, and that they were in the inn 
 kept by Rahab, and were very solicitous that 
 they might not be discovered. So he sent 
 immediately some to them, and commanded 
 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 
 Rahab understood that these messengers were 
 coming, she hid the spies under stalks of 
 flax, wliich were laid to dry on the top of her 
 house ; and said to the messengers that were 
 sent by the king, that certain unknown strang- 
 ers had supped with her a little before sun- 
 setting, and were gone away, who might easi- 
 ly be taken, if they were any terror to the city, 
 or likely to bring any danger to the king. So 
 these messengers being thus deluded by the 
 woman,f and suspecting no imposition, went 
 their ways, without so much as searching the 
 inn ; but they immediately pursued them a- 
 
 + It plainly appears by the history of these spies, 
 and the inn-keeper Rahab's deception of the king of 
 Jericho's messengers, by telling them what was false, iu 
 order to save the lives of the spies, and yet the great 
 commendation of her faith and good works in the New 
 Testament (Heb. xi. 51 ; James ii. 25), as well as by 
 many other parallel examples, both in tlie Old Tuitn 
 
128 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 '~S 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 long lliose roads which tliey most probahly 
 siii>|>ose(l thc-iii to have gone, and tliose parti- 
 cularly which lud to the river, hut could hear 
 no tidings of them ; so they left ofl" the |)ains 
 of any farther pursuit. But when the tumult 
 was over, Uahab brought the men down, and 
 desired thein as soon as they should have ob- 
 tained 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 undergone for their sakes; 
 for that if she had been caught concealing 
 them, she could not have esca])ed a terrible 
 destruction, she and all her family with her, 
 and so bid them go homej and desired tliem 
 to swear to her to preserve her and her fann"- 
 ly wiien 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 l)y 
 those divine miracles of which slie had been 
 informed. So these spies ackncwledged tliat 
 tliey owed her thanks for what she had done 
 already, and withal swore to requite lier kind- 
 ness, not only in words, but in deeds ; but 
 they gave her this advice, 'i'hat 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 He- 
 brews might know her house, and take care to 
 do her no harm • for, said tbey> we will in- 
 form him of this matter, because of the con- 
 cern thou hast had to preserve us ; but if any 
 oiie 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 displeas- 
 ed with lis, 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 whatso- 
 ever they had done in their journey to this 
 city. Joshua also told Eleazar the high- 
 priest, and the senate, wiiat the spies had 
 sworn to Rahab ; wlio confirmed what had 
 been sworn. 
 
 3. Now while Joshua, the commander, was 
 in fear about their passing over Jordan, for 
 the river ran witli a strong current, and could 
 not be passed over with bridges, for there ne- 
 ver had been bridges laid over it hitherto; and 
 
 ment and in Josephiis, that the best men did not then 
 scruple to deceive tiuise puljlie enemies who might just- 
 y be destroyed; as also might det-eivc ill men in order 
 to save hie, and deluer tin Miselves from the tyranny of 
 their unjust oppressDr.-, and this l)y telhiig direct false- 
 hoods; I mean, all this where no oath was demanded 
 of thoin, otherwise they never durst venture on such a 
 procedure. Nor was Joscphus himself of any other o- 
 pinicui or practice, as I shall remark in the note on An- 
 tiq. b. ix, chap, iv, sect. 3. And ot)scrve, that 1 still 
 call this woman Uahab, an inn-keeper, not a harlot ; 
 tlie whole history, both in our conies, and eypecially in 
 Josephus, implying no more. It was indeed so fre- 
 quent a thing, that women who were inn-ktn jiers were 
 also harlots, or maintairuis of harlots, that the word 
 commonly used for real harlots wits usually given them. 
 See 1). Uerruird's note here, and Judges xi. I ; and An- 
 tiq. b. v. eh. vii. sect. 8. 
 
 while he suspected, that if lie should attempt 
 to make a bridge, that tlieir eneniies would 
 not allbrd him time to perfect it, and for fer- 
 ry-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 mamier following : — The priests went 
 first of all, having the arit with them ; then 
 went the Levites bearing the tabernacle and tlie 
 vessels which belonged to the sacrifices ; after 
 which the entire multitude followed, accord- 
 ing to their tribes, having their children and 
 their wives in the midst of them, as being a- 
 fraid for them, lest they should be borne away 
 by the stream. But as soon as the priests had 
 entered the river first, it appeared fordable, 
 tlie depth of the water being restrained, and 
 the sand a])pearing at the bottom, because the 
 current was neither so strong rior so swift as 
 to carry it away l)y its force ; so they all |)assed 
 over the river without fear, finding it to Ik- in 
 the very same state as God had foretold he 
 would put it in ; but the priests stood still in 
 the midst of tlie river till the multitude 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 cur- 
 rent 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. 
 
 4. So the Hebrews went on farther fifty 
 furlongs, and pitched their camp at the dit^ 
 tanee of ten furlongs from Jericho : btit Jo- 
 shua built an altar of those stones which all 
 the heads of the tribes, at the command of th* 
 prophet, had taken out of the deep, to be after- 
 wards a memorial of the division of the stream 
 of this river, and upon it oflered sacrifice to 
 God ; and in that place celebrated the pass- 
 over, and had great jileiity of all the things 
 which they wanted hitherto ; for they reaped 
 the corn of the Canaanites, which was now 
 ripe, and took other things as prey ; for then 
 it was that their former food, which was man- 
 na, and of which they had eaten forty years, 
 failed them. 
 
 5. Now while the Israelites did this, and the 
 Canaanites did not attack them, but kept 
 themselves quiet within their own walls, Jo- 
 shua resolved to besiege them ; so on the firs, 
 day of the feast [of the passovcr], the priests 
 carried the ark round about, with some part 
 of tlie armed men to be a guard to it. Tiiese 
 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 return- 
 ed to the camp ; and when they had done 
 this for six days, on the seventh Josliua ga- 
 thered the armed men, and all the i>eople to 
 
 J 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 129 
 
 gether, and told them these good tidings, That 
 the city should now be taken, since God 
 would on that day give it them, by the fall- 
 ing down of the walls, and this of their own 
 accord, and without their labour. However, 
 he charged them to kill every one they should 
 take, and not to abstain from the slaugh- 
 ter of their enemies, either for weariness or for 
 pity, and not to fall on the spoil, and be there- 
 by diverted from pursuing their enemies as 
 they ran away ; but to destroy al' the animals, 
 and to take nothing for their own peculiar ad- 
 vantage. He commanded them also to bring 
 together all the silver and gold, that it might 
 be set apart as first-fruits unto God out of this 
 glorious exploit, as having gotten them from 
 the city they first took ; only that they should 
 save Raliab and her kindred alive, because of 
 the oath which the spies had sworn to her. 
 
 6. When he had said this, and had set his 
 army in order, he brought it against the city : 
 so they went round the city again, the ark go- 
 ing before them, and tlie 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. 
 
 7. So they entered into Jericho, and slew 
 all the men that were therein, while they were 
 affrighted at the surprizing overthrow 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, 
 — nothing afforded them assistance, but they 
 all perished, even to the women and the child, 
 len ; and the city was filled with dead bo- 
 dies, and not one person escaped. They al- 
 so burnt the whole city, and the country 
 about it ; but they saved alive Rahab, witli 
 her family, who had fled to her inn ; and 
 when she was brought to him, Joshua owned 
 to her that they owed her thanks for her pre- 
 servation of the spies : so he said he would 
 not appear to be beliind her in his benefaction 
 to her ; whereupon he gave her certain lands 
 immediately, and had her in great esteem ever 
 afterwards. 
 
 8. And if any part of the city escaped the 
 fire, he overthrew it from the foundation ; and 
 he denounced a curse * against its inhabitants, 
 
 * Upon occasion of this devoting of Jericho to de- 
 struction, and the exemplary punishment of Achar, who 
 brol<e that cfterem or avathema, and of the punishment 
 of the future bveaker of it, Hiel (1 Kings xvi, 34), as al- 
 so of the punishment of Saul, for lireaking the lilie che- 
 rem ox anathema , against the Amalekites (I Sam. xv), 
 we may observe what was the true meaning of that law 
 Lev. xxvii, 28) : " None devoted, which shall be devot- 
 ed of men, shall be redeemed ; but shall surely be put 
 to death ;" i. e. whenever any of the Jews' public ene- 
 mies had been, for tlieir wickedness, solemnly devoted 
 to destruction, according to the divine command, as 
 were generally the seven wicked nations of Canaan, and 
 those sinners the Amalekites (1 Sam. xv, 18), it was ut- 
 terly unlawful to permit those enemies to be redeemed ; 
 but they were to be all utterly destroyed. See also Num. 
 vUi, '2, 3. 
 
 if any should desire to rebuild it : how, upon 
 liis laying the foundation of the walls, he 
 should be deprived of his eldest son; and up- 
 on finishing it, he should lose his youngest 
 son. But w^hat happened hereupon, we shall 
 speak of hereafter, 
 
 9. Now there was an immense quantity of 
 silver and gold, and besides those of brass also, 
 tfiat was heaped together out of the city when 
 it was taken, no one transgressing the decree, 
 nor purloining for their own peculiar advan- 
 tage ; which spoils Joshua delivered to the 
 priests, to be laid up among their treasures. 
 And thus did Jericho perish. 
 
 10. But there was one Achar, \ the son [of 
 Charmi, the son] of Zebedias, of the tribe of 
 Judah, who, finding a royal garment woven 
 entirely of gold, and a piece of gold that 
 weighed two hundred shekels ;| and thinking 
 it a very hard case, that what spoils he, by 
 running some hazard, had found, he must give 
 away, and ofTer 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 only be concealed from his fel- 
 low-soldiers, but from God himself also. 
 
 11. Now the place where Joshua pitched 
 his camp was called Gilgal, which denotes li- 
 berty;^ 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. 
 
 12. Now, a few days after the calamity that 
 bfcfel Jericho, Joshua sent three thousand 
 armed men to take Ai, a city situate above 
 Jericho ; but, upon the sight of the people of 
 Ai, with them they were driven back, and lost 
 thirty-six of their men. When this was told 
 the Israelites, it made them very sad, and ex- 
 ceeding 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 
 believed 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; 
 
 ■f- That the name of this chief was ikk Achan, as in 
 the common copies, but Achar, as here in Josephus, 
 and in the Apostolical Constit. b. vii, ch. ii, and else- 
 where, is evident by the allusion to that name in the 
 curse of Joshua, " Why hast thou troubled us ? — the 
 Lord shall trouble thee;" where the Hebrew word al 
 hides only to the name Achar, but not to Achan. Ac- 
 cordingly, this Valley of Achar, or Achor, was and is a 
 known place, a little north of Gilgal, so called from the 
 days of Joshua till this day. See Josh, vii, 26; Isa. 
 Ixv. Ill ; Hos. ii, 15 ; and Dr. Bernard's notes here. 
 
 X Here Dr. Bernard very justly observes, that a few 
 words are dropped out of Joseph us's copies, on account 
 of the renetition of the word shekels; and that it ought 
 to be read thus ;— " A piece of gold that weighed fifty 
 shekels, and one cf silver that weighed two hundred 
 shekels," as in our other copies, Joshua vii, 21. 
 
 § I agree here with Dr. Bernard, and approve of Jo- 
 sephus's interpretation of Gilgal for libeity. See Josh 
 v 9. 
 
 "\. 
 
 J~ 
 
130 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 so tJiey put sackcloth over tlicir garments, and 
 continued in tears and lamentation all the day, 
 witliout the least inquiry after food, but laid 
 what had happened greatly to heart. 
 
 13. Wlien Joshua saw the army so much 
 afflicted, and possessed with forebodings of 
 evil as to their wliolc expedition, he used free- 
 dom with God, and said, " We are not come 
 thus far out of any rashness of our own, as 
 thougli we thought ourselves able to subdue 
 this land with our own weapons, but at the 
 instigation of Moses thy servant for this pur- 
 pose, because thou hast promised us, by many 
 signs, that thou wouldst give us this land for 
 a possession, and tliat thou wouldst make our 
 army always superior in war to our eneniies, 
 and accordingly some success has already at- 
 tended upon us agreeably to tliy 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 fore, 
 told us, cannot be depended on by us; and 
 our future expectation troubles us tlie more, 
 because we have met with such a disaster in 
 this our first aUempt; but do thou, O IjOrd, 
 free us from these suspicions, for thou art 
 able to find a cure for these disorders, by giv- 
 ing us victory, which will both take away the 
 grief we are in at present, and prevent our 
 distrust as to what is to come." 
 
 14. 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 ; that " things conse- 
 crated to me have been impudently stolen from 
 me," and that " this has been the occasion 
 why this defeat had happened to them ;" and 
 that when they should search out and punish 
 the oHender, he would ever take care they 
 should have the victory over their enemies. 
 This Joshua told the people : and calling for 
 Eleazar the high-priest and the men in au- 
 thority, he cast lots, tribe by tribe ; and when 
 the lot showed that this wicked action was 
 done by one of the tribe of Judah, he then 
 again jiroposed the lot to the several families 
 thereto belonging ; so the truth of this wick- 
 ed action was found to belong to the family 
 of Zachar ; and when the iixjuiry was made, 
 man by man, they took Achar, who, upon 
 God's reducing him to a terrible extremity, 
 could not deny the fact : so he confessed the 
 theft, and produced what he had taken in the 
 midst of tliem, whereupon he was innnediate 
 ly put to death ; and attained no more than to 
 be buried in the night in a disgraceful man- 
 ner, and such as was suitable to a condemned 
 malefactor. 
 
 15. When Joshua had thus jjurified tlie 
 host, he led them against Ai : and having by 
 night laid an ambush round about the city, 
 ne 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 supposing that they were pursuing 
 their enemies, and despised them, as though 
 the case liad 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 ex- 
 cited them to fight ; so they ran suddenly into 
 the city, the inhabitants being upon the walls, 
 nay, others of them being in jierplexity, 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 discomfited them, and made 
 them run away; and when they were driven 
 towards the city, and thought it had not been 
 touched, as soon as they saw it was taken, and 
 perceived it was burnt, with tlieir 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 « omen, and servants, 
 and an immense quantity of other furniture. 
 The Hebrews 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 soldiers. 
 16. But the Giheonites, who i-nhabited very 
 near t6 Jerusalem, when they saw what mise- 
 ries had happened to the inhabitants of Jeri- 
 cho, and to tliose 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 ; for 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 peo- 
 ple of Cephirah and Kiriathjearim, who were 
 their neighbours, to join in league with them; 
 and told them, tliat neither could they them- 
 selves avoid the danger they were all in, if 
 the Israelites should prevent them, and seize 
 upon them ; so when they had persuaded 
 them, they resolved to endeavour to escape 
 the forces of the Israelites. Accordingly, 
 upon their agreement to what they proposed, 
 they sent ambassadors to Joohua to make a 
 league of friendship with him, and those such 
 of the citizens as were best approved of, and 
 most cajiabie of doing what was most advan> 
 tageous to the multitude. Now these ambas- 
 sadors thouglit it dangerous to confess them- 
 selves to be Canaanites, but thought they 
 might, by this contrivance, avoid the danger, 
 namely, by saving that they bare no relation 
 to the Canaanites at all, but dwelt at a very 
 great distance from them : and they said fur- 
 ther, that they came a long way, on account 
 of the reputation he had gained for his virtue .• 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 131 
 
 and as a mark of the truth of what they said, 
 they showed hhn the habit they were in, for 
 that their clothes were new when they came 
 out. but were greatly worn by the length of 
 time they liad been on tlieir journey ; for in- 
 deed they took torn garments, on purpose 
 that tiicy might make liim beh'eve so. So 
 they stood in the midst of tlie people, and 
 said that they were sent by the people of 
 Gibeon, and of the circumjacent cities, which 
 were very remote from the land where they 
 now were, to make such a league of friend- 
 sliip 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, tliey were to 
 have the jfossession of the land of Canaan 
 hestovved upon tliem, tliey said tliat they were 
 very glad to hear it, and desired to be admitted 
 into the number of their citizens. Thus did 
 these ambassadors speak J and showing them 
 the m.ii ks of their long journey, they entreat- 
 ed the Hebrews to make a league of friend- 
 ship witli them. Accordingly Joshua, be- 
 lieving wluit they said, that they were not of 
 the nation of the Canaanites, entered into 
 friendship with them ; and Eleazer the higii- 
 priest, with tiie senate, sware to tliem that 
 tliey would esteem them their friends and as- 
 sociates, and would attempt nothing that 
 should be unfair against them, the multitude 
 also assenting to the oailis that were made to 
 tliem. So these men having obtained 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 part of Canaan, he understood that the 
 Gibeonites 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 tiiey had jnit 
 upon him ; but they alleged, en their own 
 behalf, that they liad no other way to save 
 themselves but that, and were therefore forced 
 to have recourse to it. So he called for Ele- 
 azar the liigh-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 tliem to be 
 SO: — and this was the method by which these 
 men found safety and security under the 
 calamity that was ready to overtake them. 
 
 17. 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 together, and 
 make war against them. Now when the Gib- 
 eonites saw these kings, wliich were four, be- 
 sides the king of Jerusalem, and perceived 
 that they had pitched their camp at a certain 
 fountain not far from their city, and were 
 getting ready for the seige of it, they called 
 upon Joshua to assist them ; for such was their 
 case, as to expect to be destroyed by these 
 Canaanites, but to suppose they should be 
 
 saved by those that came for the destruc- 
 tion 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 ene- 
 mies as they were going up to the siege ; and 
 when he had discomfited them he followed 
 them, and pursued them down the descent 
 of the hills. The place is called Beth-horon ; 
 where he also understood that God assisted 
 him, which he declared by thunder and thun- 
 der-bolts, as also by the falling of hail larger 
 than usual. Moreover, it happened that the 
 day was lev.gthened, * that the night might 
 not come on too soon, and be an obstruction 
 to the zeal of the Hebrews in pursuing their 
 enemies J insomuch, that Joshua took the 
 kings, who were hidden in a certain cave at 
 Makkedah, and put thein to death. Now, 
 that the day was lengthened at this time,- and 
 was longer than ordinary, is expressed in the 
 books laid up in the temple. f 
 
 IS. These kings which made war with, and 
 were ready to fight the Gibeonites, being 
 thus overthrown, Joshua returned again to 
 the mountainous parts of Cana .n ; and when 
 he had made a great slaughier of the people 
 there, and took their prey, he caine to the 
 camp at Gilgal. And now there went a great 
 fame abroad among t!ie neighbouring people, 
 of the courage of the Hebrews ; and tliose that 
 heard what a number of men were destroved, 
 were greatly affrighted at it j so tl-.e kings that 
 lived about mount Libanus, who were Can- 
 aanites, and those Canaanites that dwelt in 
 the plain country, with auxiliaries out of the 
 land of the Philistines, pitched their camp at 
 Btrotii, a city of the Upper Galilee, not far 
 from Cadesh, which is itself also a place in 
 Galilee. Now the number of the wliole ar- 
 my was three hundred thousand armed foot- 
 men, and ten thousand horsemen, and twenty 
 thousand chariots; so that the multitude of 
 the enemies affrighted botii Joshua himself 
 and the Israelites j and they, instead of being 
 
 * Wliether this lengthening of the day, by the stand- 
 ing stiU of the sun and moon, were physical and rt-al, by 
 the miracnloiis stoppage of the diurnal motion of the 
 cartn for about half a revolution, or whether only ap- 
 parent, by aerial phosphori imitating the sun and moon 
 as stationary so long, while clouds and the night hid the 
 real ones, and tliis parhelion or mock sun affording sutfi- 
 tient light for Joshua's pursuit and complete victory 
 ("which aerial phosphori in other shapes have been more 
 than ordinarily common of late yeais) cannot now be 
 determined : philosophers and astronomers will naturally 
 incline to this latter hypothesis. In the mean time, the 
 fact itself was mentioneil in the bcwk of Jasher, now lose. 
 Josh. X. 13, and is confirmed by Isaijdi (xxviii. 21), Ha- 
 bakkuk (iii. 11), and by the son of Sirseh ( Ecclus. xh i. 
 i). In the 18th Psalm of Solomon, ver. uli. it is also 
 said of the luminaries, with relation, no doubt, to this 
 and the other miraculous standing still and going hack, 
 in the days of Joshua and Hezekiah. " Thi^ have not 
 wandered, from the day that he createil themf'they have 
 not forsaken their way, from ancient generations, un- 
 less it were when G<xt cnjometl them [so to do] by the 
 command of his servants." See Authent. Rec. part i. n. 
 1.54. ' ' 
 
 t Of the l)ooks laid up in the temple, sec the note o.i 
 Antlq. b. iii, chap. ' sect.. 7. 
 
 X- 
 
132 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 full of hopes of good success, were supcrsti- 
 tiously tiniorous, witli the great terror with 
 whicli they were stricken. Whereupon God 
 upbraided them with the fear they were in, 
 and asked them, whether tliey desired a great- 
 er help than he could aflbrd them ; and pro- 
 mised them that they should overcome their 
 enemies ; and withal charged them to make 
 their enemies' horses useless, and to burn their 
 chariots. So Joshua became full of courage 
 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 believed by those that heard it. He also 
 went on in 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, Josliua slew their horses, 
 and burnt their chariots, and passed all over 
 their country without opposition, no one dar- 
 ing to meet him in battle ; but he still went 
 on, taking their cities by siege, and again kill- 
 ing whatever he took. 
 
 19. The fifth year was now past, and there 
 was not one of the Canaanites remained any 
 longer, excepting some that had retired to 
 places of great strength. So Joshua removed 
 his camp to the mountainous country, and 
 placed the tabernacle in the city of Shiloh, for 
 that seemed 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 Shechem, together 
 with all the people, and raised an altar where 
 Moses had beforehand 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 sacri- 
 ficedj and denounced the [blessings and the] 
 curses, and had left them engraven upon the 
 altar, they returned to Shiloh. 
 
 20. And now Joshua was old, and saw that 
 the cities of .'le 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 themselves, which being 
 built round about, the natural strength of the 
 places on which the cities stood, seemed cap- 
 able of repelling their enemies from besieg- 
 ing them, and of making those enemies des- 
 pair of taking them ; for when the Canaan- 
 ites 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 gathered the people together to a con- 
 gregation at Shiloh ; and when they, with 
 great zeal and haste, were come thither, lie 
 observed to them what prosperous successes 
 
 ♦ Of the siliiRtlon of this altar, see Essay on the Old 
 TeiUuiieut, p. 170, I71. 
 
 tliey had already had, and what glorious things 
 had been done, and those such as were worthy 
 of that Ciod who enabled them to do thosu 
 things, and worthy of the virtue of those laws 
 which they followetl. 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 were, that confided 
 in their own power, and fought with them, 
 was utterly destroyed ; so that not so much 
 as any of their posterity remained ; 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 the in- 
 habitants had in them thereby, he thouglit it 
 reasonable that those tribes that came along 
 with them from beyond Jordan, and had par- 
 taken of the dangers they had undergone, be- 
 ing their own kindred, should now be dis- 
 missed 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 extraor- 
 dinary virtue, who should measure the land 
 faithfully, and without any fallacy or deceit 
 should inform them of its real magnitude. 
 
 21. Now Joshua, when he had thus spoken 
 to them, found that the multitude approved 
 of his proposal. So he sent men to measure 
 their country, and sent with them some geo- 
 metricians, who could not easily fail of know- 
 ing the truth, on account of their skill in that 
 art. He also gave them a 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 ex- 
 ceeding fit to produce fruit, which yet, if they 
 were compared to other parts of the country, 
 might be reckoned exceedingly fruitful; yet ii 
 it be compared with tlie fields about Jericho, 
 and to those that belong to Jerusalem, will 
 appear to be of no account at all ; and al- 
 though it so falls out that these people have 
 but a very little of this sort of land, and that 
 it is, for the main, mountainous also, yet does 
 it not come behind other parts, on account 
 of its exceeding goodness and beauty ; foi 
 which reason Joshua thought the land for tlie 
 tribes should be divided by estimation of its 
 goodness, rather than the largeness of its mea- 
 sure, it often happening, that one acre of some 
 sort of land was equivalent to a thousand o- 
 ther acres. Now the men that were sent, 
 [ which were in number ten, travelled all about, 
 and made an estimation of the land, and in 
 the seventh month came to him to the city of 
 1 Shiloh, where they had set up the tabernacle. 
 I 22. So Joshua took both Eltazar and the 
 senate, and with them the heads of the tribes, 
 and distributed tlie Und to the nme tribes, 
 j and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, appointing 
 I the dimensions to be according to the large- 
 
 y 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 ness of each tribe. So when he had cast lots, 
 Judah had assigned him by lot the upper part 
 of Judea, reaching as far as Jerusalem, and 
 its breadth extended to the Lake of Sodom. 
 Now in the lot of this tribe there were the cit- 
 ies of Askelon and Gaza. The lot of Si- 
 meon, which was the second, included that 
 part of Idumea which bordered upon Egypt 
 and Arabia. As to the Benjamites, their lot 
 fell so, that its length reached from the river 
 Jordan to the sea ; but in breadth it was 
 bounded by Jerusalem and Bethel ; and this 
 lot was the narrowest of all, by reason of the 
 goodness of the land ; for it included Jericho 
 and the city of Jerusalem. The tribe of E- 
 phraim had by lot the land that extended 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 Man- 
 assen had the land from Jordan to the city 
 Dora ; but its breadth was at Bethshan, which 
 is now called Scythopolis ; and after these 
 was Issachar, which had 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 Genesareth, and that which 
 belonged to Carmel and the sea. The tribe 
 of Aser had that part which was called tlie 
 Valley, for such it was, and all that part which 
 lay over-against Sidon. The city Arce be- 
 longed to their share, which is also named 
 Actipus. The Naphthalites received the east- 
 ern 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 mountain ; 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-set- 
 ting, and were bounded by Azotus and Dora ; 
 as also they had all Jamnia and Gath, from 
 Ekron to that mountain where the tribe of 
 Judah begins. 
 
 23. 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 Amorites, which itself was so 
 called also from one of the sons of Canaan, 
 to the two tribes and a half, as we have shown 
 already. But the parts about Sidon, as also 
 those that belonged to the Arkites, and the 
 Amathites, and the Aradians, were not yet 
 regulary disposed of. 
 
 24. But now was Joshua hindered by his 
 age from executing what he intended to do 
 (as did tho"^ that succeeded him in the go- 
 vernment, 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 Canaanites in the land that 
 had been divided to them by lot ; tiiat Moses 
 had assured them beforehand, and they might 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 133 
 
 rest fully satisfied about it, that their own se- 
 curity and their observation of their own laws 
 depended wholly upon it. Moreover, he en- 
 joined them to give thirty-eight cities to the 
 Levites, for they had already received ten in 
 the country of the Amorites; and three ot 
 these he assigned to those that fled from the 
 man -slayers, who were to inhabit there; for 
 he was very solicitous that nothing 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 
 the«i 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, be- 
 sides a multitude of cattle, whose numbei 
 could not be told. 
 
 2.5. After this was over, he gathered tlie 
 army together to a congregation, and spake 
 thus to those tribes that had their settlement 
 in the land of the Amorites, beyond Jordan, 
 — for fifty thousand of them had armed them- 
 selves, and had gone to the war along with 
 them : — " Since that God, who is the Father 
 and Lord of the Hebrew nation, has now 
 given us this land for a possession, and pro- 
 mised to ])reserve 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 occa- 
 sions, 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 s( 
 much now as may make you slower in assist- 
 ing us another time. We, therefore, return 
 you our thanks for the dangers you have un- 
 dergone 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 tlie enjoyments of your own happiness for 
 our sakes, and have laboured for what we 
 have now, by the good-will of God obtained, 
 and resolved not to enjoy your own prosperity 
 till you had afforded us that assistance. How- 
 ever, you have, by joining your labour 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 towards you, and a mind will- 
 ingly disposed to make a requital of your kind- 
 ness to us, in what case soever you shall de- 
 sire it, for you have not omitted any thing 
 which Moses beforehand required of you, nor 
 have you despised him because he was dead 
 I and gone from you, so that there is nothing 
 
J' 
 
 134. 
 
 ANTIQUITIF.S OF THE JEWS. 
 
 to diminish Uint pratiiiidc which wc out' to 
 you. Wc ihiTcron- dismiss yon joyl'iil to your 
 own inhi'iitiinces ; anil wf t-iitrfal you to sup- 
 pose, tiiat there is no limit to be set to the iu- 
 tiinate relation tliat is between us; anil tliat 
 you will not iuui-rino, because this river is iu- 
 teiposeil between us, that you are of a dill'er- 
 ent race from us, nnd not Hebrews; for we 
 are all the posterity of f Snihain, both we tliat 
 inhabit here, and you that inhabit there; and 
 it is the same God that brought our forefatJiers 
 and yours into the world, whose worshij) and 
 form of government we are to take care of, 
 whicli he has ordainetl, and are most carifuily 
 to observe ; because, while you continue in 
 those laws, God will also show himself merci- 
 ful and assisting to you ; but if you imitate 
 the other nations, and forsake those l:iws, he 
 will reject your nation." When Joshua had 
 spoken thus, ai:d saluted them all, both those 
 ill authority one by one, and tlie whole multi- 
 tude in connnon, he himself staid where he 
 was; but the people conducted those tribes 
 on their journey, and that not without tears in 
 their eyes ; and indeed they hardly knew liovv 
 to part one from the other. 
 
 26. Now w hen the tribe of Reuben, and that 
 of Gad, and as many of the IManassites as 
 i'ollowed them, were passed over the river, they 
 built an altar on the banks of Jordan, as a.mon- 
 ument to posterity, and a sign of their relation 
 to those that sliould inhabit on the other side. 
 But when those on the other side heard that 
 those who had been dismissed had built an 
 altar, but did not hear with what intention they 
 built it, but supposed it to be by way of inno- 
 vation, and for the introduction of strange gods, 
 they did not incline to disbelieve it ; but think- 
 ing this defamatory report, as if it were built 
 for divine worship, was credible, they apjiear- 
 etl in arms, as though they would avenge them- 
 selves on those that built the altar ; and tliey 
 were about to pass over the river, and to pun- 
 ish them for their subversion of the laws of 
 their country ; for they did not think it (it to 
 regard them on account of their kindred, or 
 the dignity of those that had given the occa- 
 sion, but to regard the will of God, and the 
 manner wherein he desired to be woishippcd ; 
 so these men put themselves in array for war. 
 But Joshua, and lOleazer the high-priest, and 
 the senate, restrained them ; and persuaded 
 them first to make trial by words of their in- 
 tention, and afterwards, if they found that 
 their intention was evil, then only to jiroceed 
 to make war upon them. Accordingly, they 
 sent as ambassailors to them Phineas the son of 
 Eleazer, and ten more persons that were in 
 esteem among the Iltlirews, 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 tliese ambassadors 
 were passed over, unii were come to them, and 
 .1 Ci)ngregatioii was assembled, Phineas stood 
 up and said, That the oli'ence they had been 
 
 ~^. 
 
 guilty of was of too heinous a nature to be 
 punished l)y words alone, or l)y them only to 
 be amended for the future, yet that they did 
 not so look at the heinoiisness of their trans> 
 gression as to luive recourse to arm^, and to 
 a battle for their ])unishment immediately ; 
 but that, on account of their kindred, and the 
 proI)ability there was fliat they might he re- 
 claimed, they took this method of sending an 
 ambassage to them : " That when we liave 
 learned the true reasons by which you have 
 been moved to build this altar, we may nei- 
 ther seem to have been too rash in assaulting 
 you by our weajions of war, if it prove that 
 you made tiie altar for justifi.Tble reasons, and 
 may then justly punish you if the accusation 
 prove true; for we can hardly suppose that 
 you, who iiave been acquainted with the will 
 of God, and have been hiartrs of tliose 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 that 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 imitate the wicked practices of the Ca- 
 naanites. Now this will appear to have been 
 a small crime if you repent now, and proceed 
 no farther in your madness, but pay a due 
 reverence to, and keep in mind the laws of 
 your country ; but if you jiersist in your sins, 
 we will not grudge our pains to preserve our 
 laws ; but we will pass over Jordan and de- 
 fend th.em, and defend God also, and shall 
 esteeio of you as of men no way diil'ering from 
 the Cftnaanites, but shall destroy you in the 
 like manner as wc destroyed them ; for do not 
 you 'imagine that, because you are got over 
 the river, you are got out of the reach of 
 God's power ; you are everywhere in places 
 that belong to him, and impossible it is to 
 over-run his power, and the luinishment he 
 will bring on men thereby ; but if you think 
 that your settlement here will beany obstruc- 
 tion to your conversion to what is good, no- 
 tliing need hinder us from dividing the land 
 anew, anil leaving tiiis old land to be for the 
 feeding of sheej) ; but you will do well to 
 return to your duty, and to leave oH" these 
 new criines ; 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 tliat it is 
 better for you to be conquered by words, than 
 to continue in ycur purpose, and to experience 
 deeds and war therefore." 
 
 27. When Phineas had discoursed thus, 
 the governors of the assembly, and the whole 
 multitude, began to make an apjiology for 
 themselves, concerning what they were ac- 
 cused of; and tlicy said, That Uiey neithei 
 would depart from the relation they bare to 
 
 r 
 
"\_ 
 
 CHAT. II. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 135 
 
 them, nor had they built the altar by way of 'sons. He was buried in the city of Timnah, 
 innovation; that they owned one and the of the tribe of Ephraim. * About the same 
 same common God with all the Hebrews, time died Eleazer the high-priest, leaving the 
 and that brazen altar which was before the high-priesthood to his son Phineas. His mo- 
 tabernacle, on which they would offer their ! nument also, and sepulchre, are in the city of 
 sacrifices ; that as to the altar they had raised, Gabatha. 
 on account of which they were thus suspect- 
 ed, it was not built for worship, " but that it 
 might be a sign and a monument of our re- 
 lation to you for ever, and a necessary caution 
 to us to act wisely, and to continue in the 
 laws of our country, but not a handle for 
 transgressing them, as you su^^pect : and let 
 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 wortliy of perdition, in case 
 tliey attempt to bring in new rites, and sucli 
 as are different from our usual practices." 
 
 28. 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 offer- 
 ed sacrifices of thanksgiving 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 Shechera. 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 be- 
 stowed 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 towards them ; and told them that 
 the Deity would continue their friend by no- 
 thing else but their piety ; and that it was 
 proper for him, now that he was about to de- 
 part out of this life, to leave such an admo- 
 nition to them ; and he desired that they would 
 keep in memory this liis exhortation to them. 
 
 29. So Joshua, when he had thus dis- 
 coursed to them, died, having lived a hun- 
 dred and ten years ; forty of which lie lived 
 with Moses, in order to learn what might be 
 for his advantage afterwards. He also be- 
 came their commander after his death for 
 twenty-five years. He was a man that wanted 
 not wisdom nor eloquence to declare his in- 
 tentions to the people, but very eminent on 
 both accounts. He was of great courage and 
 magnanimity in action and in dangers, and 
 very sagacious in ))rocuring the peace of the 
 people, and of great virtue at all proper sea- 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW, AFTER THE DEATH OF JOSHUA THEIR 
 COMMANDER, THE ISRAELITES TRANSGRESSED 
 THE LAWS OF THEIR COUNTRY, AND EXPE- 
 RIENCED GREAT AFFLICTIONS ; AND WHEN 
 THERE WAS A SEDITION ARISEN, THE TRIBE 
 OF BENJAMIN WAS DESTROYED, EXCEPTING 
 ONLY SIX HUNDRED MEN. 
 
 § 1. After the death of Joshua and Eleazer, 
 Phineas prophesied,f that according to God's 
 will they should commit the government to 
 the tribe of Judah, and that this tribe should 
 destroy the race of the Canaanites ; for then 
 the people viere concerned to learn what was 
 the will of God. Tliey also took to their as- 
 sistance the tribe of Simeon ; but upon this 
 condition, that when those that had been tribu- 
 tary to the tribe of Judah should be slain, they 
 should do the like for the tribe of Simeon. 
 
 2. 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 Lwd of Bezek, for Adoni in the 
 Hebrew tongue signifies Lord. Now they 
 hoped to have been too hard for the Israel- 
 ites, because Joshua was dead; but when the 
 Israelites iiad joined battle with them, I mean 
 the two tribes before mentioned, they fought 
 gloriously, and slew above ten thousand of 
 them, and put the rest to flight ; and in the 
 pursuit they took Adonibezek, who, when his 
 
 • Since not only Prooopiiis and Siiidas, but an earlier 
 author, Moses Chorenensis (p. .i2, 53), and perhaps from 
 his original author Mariba (Jatina, one as old as Alex- 
 ander the Great, sets down the famous inscription at 
 Tangier concerning the old Canaanites driven out of 
 Palestine by Joshua, take ii here in that author's own 
 words: " VVe are those exiles that were governors of 
 the Canaanites, but have Ijeen driven away by Joshua 
 the robber, and are come to inhabit here." See the note 
 there. Nor is it unworthy of our notice « hat Moses 
 Chorenensis adds (p. 53), and this upon a diligent exa- 
 mination, i-ir. that " one of those eminent men among 
 the Canaanites came at the same time into Amienia, 
 and founded the Genthunian family or tribe ; and that 
 this was confirmed by the manners of the same family 
 or tribe, as being like those of the Canaanites." 
 
 + By propliesy'mg, when spoken of a high-priest, Jo- 
 sephus, hou\ here and frequently elsewhere, 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 Josenhus, and of the 
 same country, made use of this style, wnen he says that 
 " Caiaphas being high-priest that year, prophesied that 
 Jesus should die for that nation, arid not for that nation 
 only, but that also he should gather together in one the 
 children of God that were scattered abroad" (xl, 51, 52), 
 he may possibly mean, that this was revealed to the 
 high-priest by an extraordinary voice from between the 
 cherubims, when he had his breast-plate, or Urim and 
 Thummim, on before; or in the most holy placeof tht 
 tem|ile, which was no other than the oracle of Urim and 
 Thummim. Of which above, in the note on Aniiq. 
 b. iii, chap, viii, sect. d. 
 
136 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 fingers and toes were cut ofT by them, sai<l, 
 " 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 do 
 die same to seventy-two kings,"* So they 
 carried liim alive as far as Jerusalem ; and 
 when he 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 Jerusalem; and when they 
 had taken the lower city, wiiich was not un- 
 der a considerable time, they slew all the inha- 
 bitants ; but the upper city was not to be taken 
 without great difficulty, through the strength 
 of its walls, and the nature of the place. 
 
 3. For which reason they removed their 
 camp to Hebron ; and when they had taken it, 
 they slew all tlie inhabitants. There were 
 till then left the race of giants, who had bo- 
 dies so large, and countenances so entirely 
 different from other men, that they were sur- 
 prising to the sight, and terrible to the hear- 
 ing. The bones of these men are still shown 
 to this very day, unlike to any credible rela- 
 tions of other men. Now they gave this 
 city to the Levites as an extraordinarv re- 
 ward, with the suliurbs of two thousand 
 cities; but the land thereto belonging they 
 gave as a free gift to Caleb, according to the 
 injunctions of Moses. This Caleb was one of 
 the spies which Moses sent into the land of 
 Canaan. They also gave land for habitation 
 to the posterity of Jethro, the Midianite, who 
 was the father-in-law to Moses ; for they had 
 left their own country, and followed them, and 
 accompanied them in the wilderness. 
 
 4. Now the tribes of Judaii and Simeon 
 took the cities which were in the inoiintainous 
 oart of Canaan, as also Askelon and Ashdod, 
 
 * This great number of seventy-two reffidi, or small 
 kings, over whom Adonil)ezek had tyrannized, and for 
 which he was pimished according to the lex lalionis, as 
 well as the thirty-one kin-is of fanaan subdued by Jo- 
 shua, and named in one chapter (Josh, xii), and thirty- 
 two kings, or royal auxiliaries to Benhadad king of 
 Syria (i Kings xx, I ; Antiq, b. viii, chap, xiv, sect. I), 
 intimate to us what wiis the ancient foini of govern- 
 ment among several nations before the monarchies be- 
 gan, viz. that every city or large town, with its neigh- 
 bouring villages, was a distinct government by itself; 
 which IS the more remarkable, because this was eei- 
 tainly the form of eecksiastical government that was 
 settletl by the apostles, and preserved ihroughout the 
 Christian church m the first ages of t hrisliaiiity. Mr. 
 AdcUson is of opinion, that " it winild certainly l)e for 
 the good of mankind to have all the mighty cniiiircs 
 and monarchies of the world cantoned out into petty 
 slates and principalities, uhich, like ^o many large f.uni- 
 lies, might lie under the ol)>er\ation of their proper 
 governors, so that the care of the prince might extend 
 itself to everv individual person under his iirotection ; 
 though he despairs of such a scheme lieing brought 
 about, and thinks that if it were, it would quickly bede- 
 stroyed." Remarks on Italy, 4to, p. 151. Nor is it 
 until to be observed here, tluit the Annenian records, 
 tliough they give us the history of thirt;,-iiine of their 
 ancientest heroes or governors' after the Flood, before 
 the days of Sardanapalus, had no projier king till the 
 fortieth, Parjerus. See Moses Chorenensis, p. 55, And 
 that Almighty God does not approve of such absolute 
 and tyrannical monarchies, any one may learn that 
 reads Deut. xvii, 14 — i.'0, and 1 Sam vii'i, 1 — i':'; al- 
 though, if such kings are set up as own hini for their 
 supreme king, and aim to goveni accoriling to his laws, 
 he hath admitted of them, and protected them and 
 their stibjects in all generations. 
 
 of those that lay near the sea ; but Gaza and 
 Ekron escaped them, for they, lying in a flat 
 country, and having a great number of cha- 
 riots, sorely galled those that attacked them : 
 so these tribes, when they were grown very 
 rich by this war, retired to their own cities, 
 and laid aside their weapons of war, 
 
 5. But the Benjamites, to whom belonged 
 Jerusalem, permitted its inhabitants to pay 
 tribute. So they all left oft', the one to kill, 
 and the other to expose thetnselves to danger, 
 and had titne to cultivate 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, per- 
 mitted the Canaanites to live in peace. 
 
 6. However, the tribe of f^jjliraim, when 
 they besieged Bethel, made no advance, nor 
 performed any thing worthy of the time they 
 spent, atid of the pains they took aI)out that 
 siege ; yet did they persist in it, still sitting 
 down before the city, though they endured great 
 trouble thereby : but, after some time, they 
 caught one of the citizens that came to them 
 to get necessaries, and they gave him some 
 assurances, 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. Ac- 
 cordingly, he that thus betrayed the city was 
 jireserved with his family ; and the Israelites 
 slew all the inhabitants, and retained the city 
 for themselves. 
 
 7. After this, the Israelites grew effeminate 
 as to fighting any more against their enemies, 
 but applied themselves to the cultivation of 
 the land, which producing them great plenty 
 and riches, they neglected the regular dispo- 
 sitioti of their settlement, and indulged them- 
 selves in luxury and pleasures ; nor were they 
 any longer careful to hear the lavxs that be- 
 longed to their political government : where- 
 upon God was provoked to anger, and put 
 them in mind, first, how, contrary to his di- 
 rections, they had spared the Canaanites ; and, 
 after that, how those Canaanites, as o])portu- 
 nity served, used them very barbarously. But 
 the Israelites, though they were in heaviness 
 at these admonitions from God, yet were they 
 still very unwilling to go to war ; and since 
 they got large tributes froin the Canaanites, 
 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 
 tields, in order to get wealth ; which great in- 
 dolence of theirs brought a terrible sedition 
 upon them, and they proceeded so tar as to 
 fight one against another, from the following 
 occasion : — 
 
 8. There was a Levite, • a man of a vul- 
 
 • Josephus's early date of this history, before the be- 
 giiinnig of the Judges, or when there was no king in 
 
 ■^- 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 gar family, that belonged to the tribe of Eph- 
 raim, and dwelt therein : this man married a 
 wife from Bethlehem, which is a place belong- 
 ing 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 l)e did not 
 meet with the like return of affection from 
 her, for she was averse to him, whicli did more 
 inflame his passion for her, so that they quar- 
 relled one with another perpetually ; and at 
 last the woman was so disgusted at these quar- 
 rels, that she left her husband, and went to 
 her parents in the fourth month. The hus- 
 Vand 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 wliich the woman rode ; and when they 
 were near Jerusalem, having gone already 
 thirty furlongs, the servant advised them to 
 take up tiieir lodgings somewhere, lest some 
 misfortune should befal them if they travelled 
 in the night, especially since they were not 
 far off enemies, that season often giving rea- 
 son for suspicion of dangers from even such 
 as are friends ; but the husband was not pleas, 
 ed with this advice, nor was he willing to take 
 up his lodging among strangers, for the city 
 belonged to the Canaanites, but desired ra- 
 ther to go twenty furlongs farther, and so to 
 take their lodgings in some Israelite city. 
 Accordingly, he obtained his purpose, and 
 came to Gibeah, a city of the tribe of Ben- 
 jamin, 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 in 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 wa^ 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 acci- 
 dentally met together, took him in to lodge 
 with him. Now certain ypung men of the 
 inhabitants of Gibeah, having seen the woman 
 in the market-place, and admiring her beauty, 
 
 Israel (Judges xix, 1), is strongly confirnied by the large 
 number of Benjamites, botli in the days of Asa and 
 Jehoshaphat (1' Chron. xiv, 8; and xvi, 17), who yet 
 were here reducetl to six hundred men ; nor can those 
 numbers be at all supposed genuine, if they were re- 
 duced so late as the end of the Judges, where our other 
 fouies place this reduction. 
 
 137 
 
 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 kin- 
 dred, and that they would be guilty of horrid 
 wickedness if they suffered themselves to be 
 overcome by their pleasures, and so offend 
 against their laws, they despised his righteous 
 admonition, and laughed him to scorn. They 
 also tiireatened 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 liis 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 theii 
 lust upon her, than to abuse his guests, sup- 
 posing 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 liave her, he entreated 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 day-break. So she came to the place 
 where she had been entertained, under great 
 affliction at what had happened ; and was very 
 sorrowful upon occasion of what she had sut 
 fered, and durst not look her husband in tlie 
 face for shame, 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 supposed that his wife was 
 only fast asleep, and, thinking nothing of a 
 more melancholy nature had happened, endea- 
 voured to raise her up, resolving to speak com- 
 fortably to her, since she did not voluntarily 
 expose herself to these men's lust, but was 
 forced away to their liouse ; but as soon as he 
 perceived she was dead, he acted as prudently 
 as the greatness of his misfortunes would ad- 
 mit, 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 triL>es of those 
 that were the causes of his wife's deadi, and 
 of the violence they had offered to her. 
 
 9. Upon this the people were greatly dis 
 turbed at what they saw, and at what they 
 heard, as never having had tlie experience ol 
 such a thing before ; so they gathered them- 
 selves to Shiloh, out of a prodigious and a 
 just anger, and assembling in a great congre- 
 gation before the tabernacle, they immediate- 
 ly resolved to take arms, and to treat the in 
 M 
 
138 
 
 ANTIQUITIES Oi-' THE JEWS. 
 
 Iial)it<ints of Gibeah as cneiiiics; but the se- 
 nate restrained tliein from doing so, and per- 
 suaded tlieni, that tliey ought not so hastily 
 to make war uiion i)eople of the same nation 
 with tlicm, before tiiey discoursed them by ] 
 words concerning the accusation hiid against 
 them ; it being part of their law, tliat tliey ' 
 should not bring an army against foreigners 
 themselves, when they ap])ear to have been 1 
 injurious, without sending an ambassage first, 
 and trying thereby whether they will repent [ 
 or not : and accordingly they exhorted them j 
 to do what they ought to do in obedience 
 to their laws, that is, to send to the inha- 
 bitants of Gibeah, to know whether they 
 would deliver up the offenders to them, and, { 
 if they deliver them up, to rest satislied witli! 
 the punishment of those offenders; but if 
 tliey despised the message that was sent iheni, 
 to ])unish tliem, by taking u]) arms against j 
 them. Accordingly they sent to tlie inhabi- 
 tants of Gibeah, and accused the young men '■ 
 of the crimes committed in the afl'air of the | 
 Levite's wife, a:id required of thein those 
 that had done what was contrary to the law, 
 that they might be punished, as having just- 
 ly deserved to die for what they had done ; 
 but the inhabitants of Gibeah would not de- 
 liver up the young men, and thought it too | 
 reproachful to them, out of fear of war, to , 
 submit to other men's demands upon them ; 
 vaunting themselves to be no way 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. 
 
 10. When it was related to the Israelites 
 what the inhabitants of Gibeah had resolved 
 upon, they took their oath that no one of them 
 would give his daughter in marriage to a Ben- 
 jamite, but make war with greater fury against 
 them than we have learned our forefathers 
 made war against the Canaanites ; and sent 
 out presently an army of four hundred thou- 
 sand against them, while the Benjamites' ar- 
 my was twenty-five thousand and six hundred ; 
 live hundred of whom were excellent at sling- 
 ing stones with their left hands, insomuch that 
 when the battle was joined at Gibeah the Ben- 
 jamites beat the Israelites, and of them there 
 fell two tiiousand men ; and probably more 
 had been destroyed had not the night came on 
 and prevented it, and broken of]' the fight ; so 
 the Benjamite'i returned to the city with joy, 
 and the Israelites returned to their camji in a 
 great fright at what had happened. On the 
 next day, when they fought again, tiie Ben- 
 jamites bi'at them ; and eighteen thousand of 
 the Israelites were slain, and the rest deserted 
 their camp out of fear of a greater slaughter. 
 So they came to Bethel,* a city that was near 
 
 • Josephiis seems liere to have made a small mistake, 
 When lie took the Hebrew word lietli-Kl, whieh <lenotes 
 the liouse of OotI, or llw labtrnitcle, Judg. xx, IK, for 
 the proper iianie of a pUu.t, Ucthcl, it no way npjiearing 
 
 their camp, and fasted on die next day ; and 
 besought God, by Phineas the high-priest, 
 that his wrath against them might cease, and 
 that he wouhl be satisfied with these two de^ 
 feats, and give them the victory and power 
 over their enemies. Accordingly God pro- 
 mised them so to do, by the prophesying of 
 Phineas. 
 
 1 1. 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 Ben- 
 jamites, who retiring upon 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 
 other 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 run- 
 ning out together with them, as willing to 
 bring their enemies under. However, when 
 they were a great way from the city, the He- 
 brews ran away no longer, but turned back 
 to fight them, and lifted U]) the signal they 
 had agreed on to tliose that lay in ambusn, 
 who rose up, and with a great noise fell upon 
 the enemy. Now, as soon as ever they per- 
 ceived themselves to be deceived, they knew 
 not what to do ; and when they were driven 
 into a certain hollow place which was in a val- 
 ley, they were shot at by those that encom- 
 passed them, till they were all destroyed, ex- 
 cepting six hundred, which formed themselves 
 into a close body of men, and forced their 
 passage through tlie midst of their enemies, 
 and fled to the neighbouring mountains, and, 
 seising upon them, remained there; but the 
 rest of them, being about twenty-five thou- 
 sand, were slain. 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 de- 
 gree, that they sent twelve tiiousand 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, except- 
 ing four hundred virgins. To such a degree 
 had they proceeded in their anger, because 
 they not only had the suflering of the Le- 
 vite's wife to avenge, but the slaughter of 
 their own soldiers. 
 
 12. However, they afterward were sorry 
 for the calamity they had brought upon the 
 Benjamites, and appointed a fast on that ac- 
 count, although they supposed those men had 
 sutl'ered justly for their ofl'ence against the 
 laws ;. so they recalled by their ambassadors 
 those six liundred which had escaped. These 
 had seated tiiemselvcs on a certain rock called 
 
 that the talicniacie was ever at Uetliel ; only so far rt is 
 true, that Shiloh, the place of the lAlx^rnaele in the days 
 of tlie Judijes, wiu. not far fioni Bethil. 
 
CHAP. Ill 
 
 Riinmon, which was in the wilderness. So the 
 ambassadors lamented not only the disaster 
 that had befallen the Benjamites, but them- 
 selves also, by this destruction of tlieir kin- 
 dred ; and persuaded 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 Benjamin 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 four 
 hundred virgins of Jabesh Gilead for wives ; 
 but as to the remaining two hundred, they de- 
 liberated about it how they might compass 
 wives enough for them, and that they might 
 have children by them j and whereas they had, 
 before the war began, taken an oath, that no 
 one would give his daughter to wife to a Ben- 
 jamite, 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 perish- 
 ing; and that perjury was then a sad and dan- 
 gerous thing, not when it is done out of ne- 
 cessity, but when it is done with a wicked 
 intention. But when the senate were affright- 
 ed at the very name of perjury, a certain per- 
 son told them that he could show tliem 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 daughters ac- 
 company us : let then the Benjamites be al- 
 lowed to steal away, and marry such women 
 as they can catch, while we will neither in- 
 cite them nor forbid them ; and when their 
 parents take it ill, and desire us to inflict pu- 
 nishment upon them, we will tell them, tliat 
 they were themselves the cause of what had 
 happened, by neglecting to guard their daugh- 
 ters, and that they ouglit not to be over-an- 
 gry at the Benjamites, since that anger was 
 permitted to rise too high already." So the 
 Israelites were persuaded to follow this ad- 
 vice, and decreed, That the Benjamites should 
 be allowed thus to steal themselves wives. 
 So when the festival was coming on, these 
 two hundred Benjamites lay in ambush be- 
 fore the city, by two and three together, and 
 waited for the coming of the virgins, in the 
 vineyards and other places where they could 
 lie concealed. Accordingly the virgins came 
 along playing, and suspected nothing af 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 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 139 
 
 them : by this means these Benjamites got 
 them 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 pe- 
 rishing, saved in the manner fore-mentioned, 
 by the wisdom of the Israelites : and accord- 
 ingly it presently flourished, and soon in- 
 creased to be a multitude, and came to enjoy 
 all other degrees of happiness. And such was 
 the conclusion of this war. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW THE ISRAELITES AFTER THIS MISFORTFNK 
 GREW WICKED, AND SERVED THE ASSYRIANS; 
 AND HOW GOD DELIVERED THEM BY OTH- 
 NIEL, WHO RULED OVER THEM FORTY YEARS. 
 
 § 1. Now it happened that the tribe of Dan 
 suffered in like manner with the tribe of Ben- 
 jamin ; 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 Ca- 
 naanites despised them, and brought together 
 an aiTTiy, not because they expected to suffer 
 by them, but because they had a mind to 
 have a sure prospect of treating the Hebrews 
 ill wlien they pleased, and might thereby for 
 the time to come dwell in their own cities the 
 more securely ; they prepared therefore their 
 chariots, and gathered their soldiery together, 
 their cities also combined together, and drew 
 over to them Askelon and Ekron, which were 
 within the tribe of Judah, and many more of 
 those that lay in the plain. They also forced 
 the Danites to fly into the mountainous coun- 
 try, and left them not the least portion of the 
 plain country to set their foot on. Since then 
 these Danites were not able to fight them, 
 and had not land 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 Liba- 
 nus, and the fountains of the Lesser 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 to be good and 
 exceeding fruitful, tliey acquainted their tribe 
 with it, whereupon they made an expedition 
 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, 
 
 2. The Israelites grew so indolent, and 
 unready of taking pains, that misfortunes 
 came heavier upon them, which also proceed- 
 ed in part from their contempt of the divine 
 worship ; for when they had once fallen off 
 from the regularity of their political govern- 
 ment, they indulged themselves farther in liv-. 
 ing according to their own pleasure, and ac- 
 cording to their own will, till they were fuJl 
 
 "\ 
 
140 
 
 ANTKIUITIES OF THK JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 of the CTil doings tliat were common aiiiong 
 the Canaaniti'S. God tliercCore was angry 
 with tlicin, and tlivy lost that their lia|)i)y stale 
 which lliey liad obtained l)y iiinuiiitrahlo la- 
 liours, by their luxury ; for wlien Ciiuslinii, 
 \ing of the Assyrians, had made war against 
 them, tliey lost many of their soldiers in the 
 • battle, and when they were besieged, they 
 were taken by force ; nay, there m ere some, 
 who, out of fear, voluntarily siibuiitted to liim, 
 and though the tribute laid ui)0i) tiiein was 
 more than they could bear, yet did tliey pay 
 it, and underwent all sort of oppression for 
 eighv vears ; after which time they were freed 
 from the'in in the following manner : — 
 
 3. There was one whose name was Othniel, 
 the son of Kenar. of the tribe of Judaii, an 
 active man and of great courage. He had 
 an admonitiou 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 as- 
 sist 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 gar- 
 rison wliich Chushan had set over them ; but 
 when it was perceived that he had not failed 
 in his first attempt, more of the people came 
 to his assistance ; so they joined battle with 
 the Assyrians, and drove them entirely before 
 them, and coinpelled them to pass over Eu- 
 phrates. Hereupon Othniel, who had given 
 such proofs of his valour, received from the 
 multitude authority to judge tlie people: and 
 when he had ruled over them forty years, he 
 died. 
 
 CHATTER IV. 
 
 HOW OUR PEOPLE SERVED THE MOARITES EIGH- 
 TEEN YEARS, AND WERE THEN DELIVERED 
 FROM SLAVERY liY ONE EHUD, WHO IIETALN- 
 ED THE IWJIINION EIGHTH YEARS. 
 
 § 1. When Othniel was dead, the affairs of 
 the Israelites fell again into disorder : and 
 while they neither paid to God the honour 
 due to him, nor were obetlient to tiie laws, 
 their alHictions increased, till Eglon, king of 
 the Moabites, did so greatly despise thein on 
 account of the disorders of their political go- 
 vernment, that he made war upon them, and 
 overcame them in several battles, and made 
 the most courageous to submit, and enti-rely 
 subdueci their army, and ordered them to pay 
 him tribute. And when he had built in'm a 
 royal palace at Jericho,* lie omitted no me- 
 
 • It appears by the sacred history (Jiidg. i, 16; iii, 
 15), lliai Ki;loirs pavilion or palace was at the city of 
 
 thod whereby he might distress them ; and in- 
 deed he rtduccil them to poverty for eigiiteen 
 years. liut « hen God had once taken pity 
 of tlij Israelites, on account of their afHic- 
 tions, and was moved to compassion by their 
 supplications put uj) to him, lie freed them 
 from the hard usage they had nitt with under 
 the i\Ioabites. Tliis liberty he jjrocured for 
 them in the following manner:^ 
 
 a. There was a young man of the tribe of 
 Ikiijamin, whose name was Ehud, the son of 
 Gera, a man of very great courage in bold 
 unilertakings, 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 in-^inuated 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 dag- 
 ger on his right thigh secretly, and went into 
 him : it was then summer time, and the mid- 
 dle 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 ottered 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 tliey 
 were now alone, the king having bid his ser- 
 vants that attended him to go their ways, be- 
 cause he had a mind to talk with Ehud. He was 
 now sitting on his throne; and fear seized upon 
 Ehud lest he should miss his stroke, and not 
 give him a deadly wound ; so he raised him- 
 self up, and said he had a dream to impart to 
 him by the command of God ; upon whicl« 
 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, 
 
 3. 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 country, that should 
 sound trumpets of ranis' horns ; for it was our 
 custom to call the people together by them. 
 Now the attendants of Eglon were ignorant of 
 what misfortune had befallen him for a great 
 w hile ; but, towards the evening, fearing some 
 uncommon accident had happened, they en- 
 tered into his parlour, and when they found 
 him dead, they were in great disorder, and 
 
 the demolished cit)'. Accordingly Josephus says it wa» 
 a! Jericho, or rather in tliat fine liuiitry of ])alm-trccs, 
 upon, or near to, the s.anic spot of ground on which Je- 
 richo had formerly stooi!, and on which it was rehiiilt 
 by iliel, 1 Kind's x\i. .11. Unr other eopii':, that a\uiU 
 
 Hahn'irtcs, as the place wInVe Jericho luid stood is ! >'s proper name Jericho, and call it the City of I'alni- 
 eai.td after its destruction by Joshua, that it, at or near | Trees only siwalv hcie more .-wx-uritelv tliaii Josephus 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 141 
 
 knew not what to do ; and before the guards 
 could be got togetlicr, the multitude of the 
 Israelites came upon them, so that some of 
 them were slain immediately, and some were 
 put to flight, and ran away toward the coun- 
 try of Moab, in order to save tliemselves. 
 Their number was above ten thousand. Tiie 
 Israelites seized upon the ford of Jordan, and 
 pursued 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 them- 
 selves from slavery, under the Moabites. 
 Ehud also was on tliis account dignified with 
 the government over all the multitude, and 
 died after he had held the government eighty 
 years. * He was a man worthy of commen- 
 dation, even besides what he deserved for the 
 forementioned act of his. After him Sham- 
 gar, the son of Anath, was elected for their 
 governor, but died in the first year of his go- 
 vernment. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW THE CANAANITES BROUGHT THE ISRAEL- 
 ITES CNDER SLAVERY FOR TWENTY YEARS ; 
 AFTER WHICH THEY WERE DELIVERED £Y 
 BARAK AND DEBORAH, WHO RULED OVER 
 THEiM FOR FORTY YEARS. 
 
 5 1. And now it was that the Israelites, tak- 
 ing no warning by their former misfortunes 
 to amend their manners, and neither worship- 
 ping 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 Ha- 
 zor, a city that was situate over the lake Se- 
 mechonitis, and had in pay three hundred 
 thousand foot-men, and ten thousand horse- 
 men, with no fewer than three thousand cha- 
 rtots. Sisera was the commander of all his 
 army, and was the principal person in the 
 king's favour. He so sorely beat the Israel- 
 ites when they fought with him, that he or- 
 dered them to pay tribute. 
 
 2. So they continued to undergo that hard- 
 ship for twenty years, as not good enough of 
 themselves to grow wise by their misfortunes. 
 God was willing also hereby the more to sub- 
 
 • These eighty years for the government of Ehud 
 are necessary to Josephus's usual large numbers between 
 the exodus and the building of the temple, of five hun- 
 dred and ninety-two, or six hundred and twelve years, 
 but not to the smallest number of four hundred and 
 eighty years (1 Kings, vi, 1) ; which lesser number Jo- 
 sephus seems sometimes to have followed. And since 
 in the beginning of the next chai)ter, it is said by Jose- 
 
 fhus, that there was hardly a breathing time for the 
 sraelites before Jabin came antl enslaved them, it is 
 highly probable that some of the conies in his time had 
 here only eight years instead of eighty ; as had tliat of 
 Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolyc. L iii, and this most 
 probably from his copy of Josephus. 
 
 due their obstinacy and Ingratitude towards 
 himself: so when at length they were become 
 penitent, and were so wise as to learn that 
 their cahimities arose from their contempt of 
 the laws, they besouglit Deborah, a ceitain 
 prophetess 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 Canaan- 
 ites. So God granted them deliverance, and 
 chose them a general, Barak, one tliat was of 
 the tribe of Naphtali. Now Barak, in the 
 Hebrew tongue, signifies Lightning. 
 
 3. So Deborah sent for Barak, and bade 
 him choose out ten thousand young men togc 
 against the enemy, because God had said that 
 that number was sufficient, and promised them 
 victory. But when Barak said that he would 
 not be the general unless 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 wo- 
 man, and I do not reject it !" So they collected 
 ten thousand men, and pitched their camp at 
 Mount Tabor, where, at the king's command, 
 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 enemies, that they were 
 resolved to march ofT, had not Deborah re- 
 tained thorn, and commanded them to fight 
 the enemy that very day, for that they should 
 conquer tliem, and God would be their assist- 
 ance. 
 
 4. So the battle began ; and when they 
 were come to a close fight, there came down 
 from heaven a great storm, with a vast quan- 
 tity of rain and hail, and the wind blew the 
 rain in the face of the Canaanites, and so 
 darkened their eyes, that their arrows and 
 slings were of no advantage to them, nor 
 would the coldness of the air permit the sol- 
 diers to make use of their swords ; while this 
 storm did not so much incommode the Is- 
 raelites, because it came in their backs. They 
 also took such courage, upon the apprehension 
 that God was assisting them, that they fell 
 upon the very midst cf their enemies, and 
 slew a great number of them ; so that some 
 of them fell by the Israelites, some fell bj 
 their own horses, which were put into disor- 
 der, 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 wo- 
 man whose name was Jael, a Kenite, who re- 
 ceived him, when he desired to be concealed ; 
 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 his tem- 
 ples into the floor ; and when Barak came a 
 little afterward, she showed Sisera nailed to the 
 (jround : and thus was this victory gained by 
 
J 
 
 142 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 a woman, as Deborah liail foretold. liarak 
 also fouf^lu witli Jal)iii at Ilazor; and when 
 lie met with hiin, he slew liiiii : and when tlie 
 general was fallen, liarak overthrew the city 
 to the foundation, and was tlie cununandcr 
 of the Israelites for forty years. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW THE MIDIANITES AND OTHER NATIONS 
 EOl'GHT AGAINST THE LSKAEI.ITES, AND 
 BEAT THEM, AND AKEI.ICTEI) THEIR COUN- 
 TRY FOR SEVEN YEARS. HOW THEY WERE 
 DELIVERED BY GIDEON, WHO RULED OVER 
 THE MULTITUDE FOR EORTY YEARS 
 
 § 1. Now when Barak and Deborah were 
 dead, whose deaths happened about tiie same 
 time, afterwards the IMidianites called the 
 Anvalekites 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 cariied off the prey. Now when 
 they had done this for three years, the multi- 
 tude of the Israelites retired to the mountains, 
 and forsook the plain country. They also 
 made themselves hollows under ground, and 
 caverns, and preserved therein whatsoever had 
 escaped their enemies ; for the Midianites 
 made expeditions in harvest-time, but permit- 
 ted 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. 
 
 2. Gideon also, the son of Joash, one of 
 the principal persons of the tribe of Manas- 
 seh, brought his sheaves of corn privately, 
 and thrashed them at the wine-press; for he 
 was loo fearful of their enemies to thrasli them 
 openly in the thrashing-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 im- 
 mediately replied, " A mighty indication of 
 God's favour to me, that I am forced to use 
 this wine-press instead of a thrashing-floor !" 
 But the appearance exhortetl him to be of 
 good courage, and to make an attempt for the 
 recovery of their liberty. He answered, that 
 it was impossible for him to recover it, be- 
 cause the tribe to which he belonged was by 
 no means numerous ; and because he was but 
 young himself, and too inconsiderable to think 
 of sucii great actions ; but the other promised 
 hin), that God would supply what he was de- 
 fective in, and would afford the Israelites vic- 
 tory under liis conduct, 
 
 3. Now, therefore, as Gideon was relating 
 litis to bomo young men, they believed him. 
 
 and immediately tlicre was an army of ten 
 thousand men got ready for fighting. But 
 God stood by (jideon in his sleep, and told 
 him, tliat mankind were too fond of them, 
 selves, and were enemies to such as excelled 
 in virtue. Now tJiat 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 themselves to fight their enemies, but 
 might confjuss that it was owing to his assist- 
 ance, 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 tumultuously, 
 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 suggest- 
 ed to him, there were found three hundred 
 men that took water with their hands tu- 
 multuously ; so God bid 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. 
 
 4. 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, bid 
 him take one of his soldiers, and go near to 
 the Midianites' tents, for 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 
 that one of them was telling to his fellow-sol- 
 dier 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 a 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 ex- 
 plained 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 hurley was all of it allowed to be 
 of t!ie vilest sort of seed, and that the Israel- 
 ites were known to be the vilest of all the 
 people of Asia, agreeably to the seed of bar- 
 ley, and that what seemed to look big among 
 the Israelites was this Gideon and the army 
 that was with him ; " and since thou sayesl 
 thou didst see the cake overturning our tents, 
 I am afraid lest God hath granted tlie vic- 
 tory over us to Gideon." 
 
 5. When Gideon had heard this dream, 
 good hope and courage came upon him ; and 
 he commanded hi', soldiers to arm tliemselves, 
 and told them of this vision of their enemies. 
 They also took courage at what was told 
 them, and were ready to perform what ho 
 should enjoin them ; so Gideon divided h(« 
 army into three parts, and brought it out 
 
 "V 
 
 .r 
 
J' 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 143 
 
 about the fourth watch of the night, each 
 part containing a hundred men : they all 
 bare empty pitchers and iiglited lamps in 
 their hands, that their onset might not be 
 discovered by their enemies. They had also 
 each of them 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 contained 
 in one circle. Now when the Hebrews did 
 as they were ordered beforehand, upon their 
 approach to their enemies, and, on the signal 
 given, sounded with their rams* horns, and 
 brake their pitchers, and set upon their ene- 
 mies with their lamps, and a great shout, and 
 cried, " Victory to Gideon, by God's assist- 
 ance," 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 slain by their ene- 
 mies, but the greatest part by their own sol- 
 diers, on account of the diversity of their Ian • 
 guage ; and when they were once put kito 
 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 Israel- 
 ites, 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 en- 
 compassed them, and slew them all, with 
 their kings, Oreb and Zeeb ; but the remain- 
 mg captains led those soldiers that were left, 
 which were about eighteen thousand, and 
 pitched their camp a great way off the Israel- 
 ites. However, Gideon did not grudge his 
 pains, but pursued them with all his army, 
 and joining battle with them, cut off the whole 
 enemies' army, and 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 Arab- 
 ians, about a hundred and twenty thousand ; 
 and the Hebrews took a great prey, gold, and 
 silver, and garments, and camels, and asses ; 
 and when Gideon was come to his own coun- 
 try of Ophrab, he slew the kings of the Mi • 
 dianites. 
 
 6. However, the tribe of Ephraim was so 
 displeased at the good success of Gideon, that 
 they resolved to make war against him, ac- 
 cusing him because he did not tell them of 
 his expedition against their enemies : but Gi- 
 deon, as a man of temper, and that excelled 
 in every virtue, pleaded, that it was not the 
 result of his own authority or reasoning, tliat 
 made him attack 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 
 cooling their passions, he brought more ad- 
 Vantage to the Hebrews, than by the success 
 
 he had against these enemies, for he thereby 
 delivered them from a sedition which was a 
 rising among them ; yet did this tribe after- 
 wards suffer the punishment of this their in- 
 jurious treatment of Gideon, of which we will 
 give an account in due time. 
 
 7. Hereupon Gideon would have laid down 
 the government, but was over-persuaded to 
 lake it, which he enjoyed forty years, and dis- 
 tributed justice to them, as tiie people came 
 to him in their differences; and what he de- 
 termined was esteemed valid by all ; and when 
 he died, he was buried in his own country of 
 Ophrah. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THAT THE JUDGES WHO SUCCEEDED GIDEON 
 MADE WAR WITH THE ADJOINING NATIONS 
 FOR A LONG TLME. 
 
 § 1. Now Gideon had seventy sons that were 
 legitimate, for he had many wives; but he 
 had also one that was spurious, by his concu- 
 bine Drumah, whose name was Abimelech, 
 who, after his father's death, retired to She- 
 chem to his mother's relations, for they were 
 of that place ; and when he had got money ot 
 such of them as were eminent for many in- 
 stances of injustice, he came with them to 
 his father's house, and slew all his brethren, 
 except Jotham, for he had the good fortune 
 to escape and be preserved ; but Abimelech 
 made the government tyrannical, and consti- 
 tuted himself a lord, to do what he pleased, 
 instead of obeying the laws ; and he acted 
 most rigidly against those that were the pa- 
 trons of justice. 
 
 2. Now when, on a certain time, there was 
 a public festival at Shechem, and all the mul- 
 titude was there gathered together, Jotham his 
 brother, whose escape we before related, went 
 up to Mount Gerizzim, which hangs over the 
 city Shechem, 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 hu- 
 man voice, and there was an assembly of them 
 gathered together, they desired that tne fJg- 
 tree would rule over them ; but when that 
 tree refused so to do, because it was content- 
 ed to enjoy that honour which belonged pe- 
 culiarly 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 of that honour 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 government; 
 and when the olive-tree liad done the same, 
 the brier, whom the trees had desired to take 
 
 "X_ 
 
v. 
 
 144 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 the kingdom (it is a sort of wood good for 
 firing;, it [jroinisud to take the government, 
 and to be zealous in the exercise of it; but 
 that then they must sit down under its sha- 
 dow, and if they should plot against it to de- 
 stroy 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 bless- 
 ings from Gideon, they overlooked Abime- 
 lech, when he over-ruled 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 pri- 
 vately in the mountains for three years, out 
 of fear of Abimelech. 
 
 3. A little while after this festival, the She- 
 cliemites, who had now repented tliemseWes 
 of having slain the sons of Gideon, drove Abi- 
 melech away both from their city and their 
 tribe ; whereupon he contrived how he might 
 distress their city. Now at the season of vin- 
 tage, the people were afraid to go out and 
 gather their 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, hav- 
 ing his armed men and his kinsmen with him ; 
 so the Shechemites desired that he would allow 
 them a guard during their vintage ; where- 
 upon 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 ven- 
 tured to curse Abimelech openly ; and the 
 magistrates laid ambushes in places about the 
 city, and caught many of Abimelech's follow- 
 ers, and destroyed them. 
 
 4. Now there was one Zebul, a magistrate 
 of the Shechemites, that had entertained Abi- 
 melech. He sent messengers, and informed 
 him how much Gaal had irritated 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 Abimelech 
 laid ambushes and himself lay with them. 
 Now Gaal abode in the suburbs, taking little 
 care of himself; and Zebul 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 
 shadows of huge stones : and v»hen they were 
 come nearer, Gaal perceived what was the re- 
 ality, and said, 'I'hey were not shadows but 
 men lying in ambush. Then said Zebul, 
 " Didst not thou reproach Abimelech for cowar- 
 dice ? why dost thou not then show how very 
 courageous thou art thyself, and go and fight 
 him ?" So Gaal, being in disorder, joined 
 battle with Abimelech, and some of liis men 
 
 fell ; whereupon he fled into the city, and took 
 his men with him. Hut Zebul managed his 
 matters so in the city, that he procured them 
 to expel Gaal out of the city, and this by ac- 
 cusing him of cowardice in this action with 
 the soldiers of Abimelech. Hut Abimelech, 
 when he had learned that the Sliechemites 
 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 hinder 
 the citizens from returning in again, while the 
 rest pursued those that were scattered abroad, 
 and so tliere was slaughter everywhere; and 
 when he had overthrown the city to the very 
 foundations, for it was not able to bear a siege, 
 and had sown its ruins with salt, he proceed- 
 ed on with his army till all the Shechemites 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 pre- 
 pared to build a wall about it : and when Abi- 
 melech knew tlieir intentions he prevented 
 them, and came upon them with his forces, 
 and laid faggots of dry wood round the place, 
 he himself bringingsomeofthem, and byhisex- 
 ample encouraging the soldiers to do the same. 
 And when the rock was encompassed round 
 about with these faggots, they set them on fire, 
 and 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 and 
 children, in all about fifteen hundred men, and 
 the rest were a great number also. And such 
 was the calamity which fell upon the Sheche- 
 mites ; and men's grief on their account had 
 been greater than it was, had they not brought 
 so much mischief on a person w ho had so well 
 deserved of them, and had they not themselves 
 esteemed this as a punishment for the same. 
 
 5. Now Abimelech, when he had aH'right- 
 ed the Israelites with the miseries he had 
 brought upon the Sliechemites, seemed open- 
 ly to aflect greater authority than he now had, 
 and appeared to set no bounds to his violence, 
 unless it were with the destruction of all. 
 Accordingly he marched to Thebes, and took 
 the city on the sudden ; and there being a 
 great tower therein, whereunto the whole 
 multitude fled, he made preparation to besiege 
 it. Now as he was rushing with violence 
 near the gates, a woman threw a piece of a 
 mill-stone upon his head, upon which Abi- 
 melech fell down, and desired his armour- 
 bearer to kill him, lest his death should l>e 
 thought to be the woik of a woman ; — who 
 did what he was bid to do. So he underwent 
 this death as a punisliment for the wickedness 
 he had perpetrated agaijist his brethren, and 
 his insolent barbariiy to the Shechemites. 
 Now tlie calamity that happened to ihot.e She- 
 chemites was according to the prediction of 
 
 "V 
 
-X 
 
 XTlIAV. VII. 
 
 Jotliam. However, the army that was with 
 Abimelech, upon his fall, was scattered a- 
 •broad, and went to their o-.vn homes. 
 
 6. Now it was that Jair the Gileadite,* of 
 the tribe of Manasseh, took tlie government. 
 He was a man hap)3y in other respects also, 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 lib 
 
 monite [kingi, complaining of his unjust pos- 
 session of their land. But that king sent a 
 contrary message ; and complained of the ex- 
 odus of the Ibraelites out of Egj-pt, and de- 
 sired him to go out of tlye land of the Amor- 
 ites, and yield it up to him, as at first his pa- 
 but particularly in his cliildren, who were of i ternal inheritance. But Jephtha returned this 
 a good character. They were thirty in num- answer: That he did not justly complain of 
 
 ber, and very skilful in riding on horses, and his ancestors about the land of the Amoritos, 
 were intrusted with (he government of the ■ and ought rather to thank them that they lef' 
 
 cities of Gilead. He kept the government the land of the Ammonites to them, since 
 
 twenty-two years, and died an old mari^ and 
 he was buried in Camon, a city of Gilead. 
 
 7. And now all tlie affairs of the Hel)rews 
 were managed uncertainly, and (ended to dis- 
 order, 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 xvhen they had taken 
 all Perea, they were so insolent as to attempt 
 
 Moses could have taken it also; and that nei- 
 ther would he recede from that land of their 
 own, which God had obtained for them, and 
 they had now inhabited [abov-e] tliree liun- 
 dred years, but would fight vvith them about it. 
 10. And when he had given tiiem this an- 
 swer, he sent the ambassadors away. And 
 v.hen he had prayed for victory and had vow- 
 ed to perform sacred offices, and if he came 
 
 to gain the possession of all the rest : but the ; home in safety, to offer in sacrifice what living 
 Hebrews, being now amended by the calami- creature soever should first meet him;* he 
 ties they had undergone, betook themselves 'joined battle with the enemy, and gained a 
 to supplications to God ; and brought sacri- great victorj', and in his pursuit slew the ene- 
 fices to bim, beseeching him not to be too se- mies all along as far as the city Minnith. He 
 vere upon them, but to be moved by their then passed over to the land of the Ammonites, 
 prayers to leave off his anger against them, and overthrew many of their cities, and took 
 So God became more merciful to them, and their prey, and freed his own people from that 
 
 was ready to assist them. 
 
 8. When the Ammonites had made an ex- 
 pedition into the land of Gilead, the inhabi- 
 tants of the country met them at a certain 
 mountain, but wanted a commander. Now 
 there was one whose name was Jephtha, who, 
 both on account of his father's virtue, and on 
 account of that army which he maintained at 
 liis own expenses, was a potent man : the Is- 
 raelites therefore sent to him, and entreated 
 him to come to their assistance, and promised 
 him the dominion over them all his life-time. 
 But he did not admit of their entreaty; and 
 accused them, that they did not come to his 
 assistance when he was unjustly treated, and 
 this in an open m inner by his brethren ; for 
 they cast him off, as not having the same mo- 
 ther with the rest, but born of a strange mo- 
 ther, that was introduced among them by his 
 father's fondness ; and this they did out of a 
 contempt of his inability [to vindicate him- 
 self]. So he dwelt in the country of Gikad, 
 as it is called, and received all that came to 
 him, let them come from what pi ce soever, 
 and paid them wages. However, when they 
 pressed him to accept the dominion, and sware 
 they would grant him the government over 
 them all his life, he led them to the war. 
 
 9. And when Jephtha had taken immediate 
 care of their affairs, he placed his army at the 
 city Miseph, and sent a message to the Am- 
 
 • Our present copies of Josephus all omit Tola a- 
 mong the judges, though the other copies have him next 
 after .'Vbimclech, ami allot twenty-three years to his ad- 
 ministration (Judges X. 1, 2) ; yet do all Josephus's 
 commentators conclude, that in Josephus's sum of the 
 years of the judges, his twenty-three years are included: 
 —hence we are to eonftss, that somewhat has been here 
 lost oiit of his copies. 
 
 slavery which they had undergone for eighteen 
 years. But as he came back, he fell into a 
 calamity no way correspondent to the great ac- 
 tio-ns he had done ; for it was his daughter 
 that came to meet him ; she was also an only 
 child and a virgin : upon this Jephtha heavily 
 lamented the greatness of his aflliction, 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 be- 
 fal her was not ungrateful to her, since she 
 should die upon occasion of her father's vie 
 tory, and the liberty of her fellow -citizens : she 
 only desired her father to give her leave, for 
 two months, to bewail her youth with her fel 
 low-citizens; and then she agreed, that at the 
 fore-mentioned time he might do with her ac 
 cording to his vow. Accordingly, when that 
 time was over, he sacrificed his daughter as a 
 burnt-offering, offering such an oblation as was 
 neither conformable to the law nor acceiitable 
 to God, not weighing with himself what opin 
 ion the hearers would have of such a practice. 
 11. Now the tiibe of Ephraim fought 
 against him, because he did not take them 
 along with him in his expedition against the 
 Ammonites, but because he alone had the 
 prey, and tlie glory of what was done to hinr»- 
 self. As to which he said, first, that they were 
 
 * Josephus justly condemns Jephtha, as do the Apo* 
 tolic;il Constitutions, b. vii. ch. xxxvii. for his rash vow, 
 whether it were for sacrificing his daughter, as Josephus 
 thought, or for dedicating her, who was his only child, 
 to perpetual virginity, at the tabernacle or elsewhere, 
 which 1 rather suppose. If he had vowed her for a sac- 
 rifice, she ought to have been redeemed. Lev. xxvii. 1 
 —8 ; but of the se.ise of ver. 28, 29, as relating cot to 
 things \ owed to God, but devoted to desU-uction, see {ht 
 note on Autiq. b. v, ch. i. sect, 8. 
 M 
 
146 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 not ignorant how liis kindred had fonglit 
 against liiin, and that wlicn they were invited, 
 they did not come to his assistance, whereas 
 they ought to liave come qiiickly, even before 
 they were invited. And in the next place, tliat 
 tliey were going to act unjustly ; for wliile 
 tliey had not courage enough to fight tlieir 
 enemies, they came Jiastily against their own 
 kindred : and lie tlireatened them tliat, with 
 God's assistance, he wouM inflict a punish- 
 ment 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 tJiem ; and wlien tht-y were 
 beaten, he pursued tliem, and seized on the 
 passages of Jordan by a part of his army which 
 he had sent before, and slew about forty-two 
 thousand of them. 
 
 12. So when Je^htha had ruled six years, 
 he died, and was buried in his own country, 
 Scbee, which is a place in the land of Gilead. 
 
 13. Now, when Jephtha was dead, Ihzan 
 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 be- 
 hind liim, giving the daughters in marriage 
 to husbands, and taking wives for his sons, 
 lie did nothing in the seven years of his ad- 
 ministration that was worth recording, or de- 
 served a memorial. So he died an old man, 
 and was buried in his own country. 
 
 14. When Ibzan was dead after this man- 
 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. 
 
 15. Abdon also, the son of Hilel, of the 
 tribe of Ephraim, and born at the city Pyra- 
 tiion, was ordained their supreme governor 
 after Helon. He is only recorded to have 
 been happy in his children ; for the public af- 
 fairs were then so peaceable, and in such se- 
 curity, that neither did he perform any glori- 
 ous action. He had forty sons, and by them 
 left thirty grand-children j and he marched in 
 state with tliese seventy, who were all very 
 skilful in riding horses ; and he left them all 
 alive after him. He died an old man, and 
 obtained a magnificent burial in Pynatlion. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCERNING THE FORTITLDE OF SAMSON, AND 
 WHAT MISCHIEI-S HE BKOUGHT UPON THE 
 PHILISTINES. 
 
 § 1. After Abdon was dead, the Philistines 
 overcame the Israelites, and received tribute 
 of them for forty years ; from which distress 
 they were delivered after this manner : — 
 
 2. There was one Maiioah, a person of 
 such great virtue, that he had few men his 
 equals, and without dispute the principal per- 
 
 son of his country. He had a wife celi'hrat- 
 ed for her beauty, and excelling her contem- 
 Ijoraries. He had no children ; and, being 
 uneasy at his want of posterity, he entreated 
 God to give them seed of their own bodies to 
 succeed tliein ; 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 
 unineasurably jealous of her. Now, when his 
 wife was once alone, an apparition was seen 
 by her : it was an angel of God, and resem- 
 Wed a young man, beautiful and tall, and 
 brought her the good news, that she should 
 have a son, born by God's providence, that 
 should be a goodly child, of great strength; 
 by whom, when he was grown up to man's 
 estate, the Philistines should benfllicted. He 
 exhorted her also not to poll his hair, and 
 that he shculd avoid all other kinds of drink 
 (for so had God commanded), and be entirely 
 contented with water. So the angel, when 
 he had delivered that message, went his way, 
 his coming having been by the will of God. 
 
 3. Now the wife informed her husband 
 when he came home of what the angel had 
 said, who showed so great an admiration of 
 the beauty and tallness of the young man that 
 had appeared to her, that her husband was 
 astonislieil, and out of himself for jealousy, 
 and such suspicions as are excited by tliat 
 passion ; but she was desirous of having her 
 husband's unreasonable sorrow taken away ; 
 accordingly she entreated God to send the 
 angel again, that he might be seen by hei 
 husband. So the angol came again by the fa- 
 vour of God, while they were in the suburbs, 
 and appeared to her when she was alone with- 
 out her husband. She desired the angel to stay 
 so long till sin- might bring iier husband ; and 
 that request being granted, she goes to call 
 Manoah. When he saw the angel he was not 
 yet free from suspicion, and he desired him 
 to inform him of all that ho had told his wife; 
 but when he said it was sufficient that she a- 
 lone knew what he had said, he then request- 
 ed of him to tell who he was, that when 
 the child was born tliey niight return him 
 thanks, and give him a present. He replied 
 that he did not want any present, for that he 
 dici not bring them thj good news of the birth 
 of a son out of the want of any thing ; and 
 when .MaiKiah had entreated him to stay, and 
 partake of his hospitality, he did not give his 
 consent. However, he was persuaded, at the 
 earnest request 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 bid 
 his wife boil it. M'hen all was ready, the an- 
 gel enjoined him to set the loaves and tlie 
 
 • I can discover no reason whv Manoah and his wile 
 came so o<iiistaiitly into tlicse suburljs to prav for child- 
 ren, but l)w.ausc Uii're v..iS a synagogue or place of d> 
 votion in tho^e tnbiirtM. 
 
"V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAi'. vm. 
 
 flL'si), but without the vessels, upon the rock ; 
 whicli when they had done, he touched the 
 flesh with the rod which he had in his liand, 
 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 ve- 
 hicle. 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 appeared to them for 
 their benefit. 
 
 4. So the woman proved with child, and 
 was careftil to observe the injunctions that 
 were given her ; and they called the child, 
 when he was born, Samson, which name sig- 
 nifies one that is strong. So the child grew 
 apace; and it appeared evidently that he would . 
 be a prophet, * both by the moderation of his 
 diet, and the permission of his hair to grow. I 
 
 5. Now when he once came with his pa- 
 rents to Timnath, a city of the Philistines, 
 when there was a great festival, he fell in love ; 
 with a maid of that country, and he desired I 
 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 j 
 Israel ; yet because this marriage was of God, I 
 who intended to convert it to the benefit of' 
 the Hebrews, he over-))ersuaded them to pro- ' 
 cure her to be espoused to him ; and as he 
 %vas continually coming to her 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. 
 
 6. And when he was going another time 
 to the damsel, he lit upon a swarm of baes 
 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 attempt to give 
 them any disturbance- Now as they were 
 drinking merrily and playing, Samson said, 
 as was usual at such times, " Come, if I pro- 
 pose you a riddle, and you can expound it in 
 these 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 ambi- 
 tious to obtain the glory of wisdom, together 
 with the gains, desired him to propose his 
 riddle : he said, " That a devourer produced 
 sweet food out of itself, though itself were 
 very disagreeable :" — and when they were not 
 
 • Here, by a prophet, Joscphus seems only to mean 
 one that was bom by a particular pio^ idence, lived af- 
 ter the manner of a Nazarite devoted to God, and was 
 to have an extraordinary commission and strength from 
 Cod for the judging and avenging his people Israel, 
 without any proper prophetic leveUtions at aJl 
 
 147 
 
 able, in three days' time, to find out tlie mean- 
 ing of the riddle, they desired the damsel to 
 discover it by the means of her husband, and 
 tell it them ; and tliey threatened to burn hei 
 if she did not tell it them. So when the dam- 
 sel entreated Samson to tell it her, he at first 
 refused to do it ; but when she lay hard at 
 him, and fell into tears, and made his refu- 
 sal 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 car- 
 ried away three honey combs, and brought 
 them to her. Thus he, suspecting nothing of 
 deceit, informed her of all, and slie revealed 
 it to those that desired to know it. Tlien on 
 the seventh day, whereon tliey were to ex- 
 pound the riddle proposed to them, they met 
 together before sun-setting, and said, " No- 
 thing is more disagreeable than a lion to those 
 that light on it ; and nothing is sweeter than 
 honey to those that rr.ake use of it." To 
 which Samson made this rejoinder: " No- 
 thing is more deceitful than a woman, for such 
 was the person that discovered my interpreta- 
 tion 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 be- 
 tween them, 
 
 7. 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 
 being almost ripe enough for reaping, he 
 caught three hundred foxes, and joining light- 
 ed torches to their tails, he sent them into the 
 fields of the Philistines, by which means the 
 fruits of the fields perished. No r 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, who had been 
 the occasion of their misfortunes, 
 
 8. 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 inilicting punishments 
 upon them while they paid their tribute, and 
 this only on account of Samson's offences. 
 They answered, thai 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 tliem- 
 selves, came to the rock with three thousand 
 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 tliey 
 
 ,iold him they were come to take him, ani to 
 
us 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ftOOK V 
 
 the laws of his country, and altered his own 
 regular way of living, and imilated the strange 
 customs of foreigners, which tiling was the 
 beginning of iiis miseries ; for lie fell in love 
 with a woman that was a 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 his 
 strength, by which he became unconquerable 
 to his enemies. Accordingly, when they 
 were drinking, 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 excel- 
 led others in strength. Samson, in order to de- 
 lude Delilah, for he had not yet lost his senses, 
 replied, that if he were bound with seven 
 such green withs of a vine as might still be 
 wreathed, he should be weaker than any other 
 man. Tlie woman said no more then, but 
 told this to the rulers of the Philistines, and 
 hid certain of the soldiers in ambush within 
 the house ; and when he was disordered in 
 drink and asleep, she bound him as fast as 
 possible with the withs ; and then upon her 
 awakening him, she told him some of the peo- 
 ple were upon him ; but he broke the withs, 
 and endeavoured to defend himself, as though 
 some of the people were upon him. Now 
 this woman, in the constant conversation Sam- 
 son had with her, pretended that she took it 
 very ill that he had such little confidence in 
 her affections to him, that he would not tell 
 her what she desired, as if she would not con- 
 to the hands of his enemies, but aiford him ! ce-dl what she knew it was for his interest to 
 help under his affliction, and deliver him from have concealed. However, he deluded her 
 the misfortune he was under. Accordingly I again, and told her, that if they bound hira 
 
 deliTer h!m up to them, and put him into their 
 power; so they desired him to bear this wil- 
 lingly. Accordingly, when he had received 
 assurance from them upon oath, that they 
 would do him no other harm than only to de- 
 liver him into his enemies' hands, he came 
 down from the rock, and put himself into the 
 power of his countrymen. Tlien 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 action there performed by Samson, 
 though of old it had no particular name at 
 all, the Pliilistines, who had pitched their canij) 
 not far off, came to meet them with joy and 
 shouting, as having done a great tiling, and 
 gained what they desired; but Samson bioke- 
 his bonds asunder, and catching up the jaw- 
 bone of an ass that lay down at his feet, fell 
 upon his enemies, and smiting them with his 
 jaw-bone, slew a thousand of them, and put 
 the rest to flight and into great disorder. 
 
 9. Upon this slaughter Samson was too 
 proud of what ne had performed, and said 
 that tln"s did not come to pass by the assist- 
 ance 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 besought him that he would not be angry 
 at any thing he had said, nor give him up in 
 
 God was moved with his entreaties, and raised 
 him up a plentiful fountain of sweet water at 
 a certain rock ; whence it was that Samson 
 called the place the Jaw-bone,* and so it is 
 called to this day. 
 
 10. After this fight Samson held the Phi- 
 listines in contempt, and came to Gaza, and 
 took up his lodgings in a certain inn. When 
 the rulers of Gaza were informed of his coin- 
 ing 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 
 contrivances against him, arose about mid- 
 night, and ran by force upon the gates, with 
 tlieir 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 over Hebron, and there laid them down. 
 
 11. However, he at length -f- transgressed 
 
 » This foiinLiin, callcil Lchi, or the jaw-bonf, is still 
 in being, as travellers assure us, .ind was known by 
 this very name in the days of Joseplius, and has been 
 known by the same name in all tjiuse jwist ages. See 
 Antiq. b. vii, chap, xii, sec-t. 4. 
 
 t See this Justly observed in the Apostolical Consti- 
 tulions, b. vii. chap, xxxvii, that Samson's prayer was 
 beard, but that it was before this Yui transgression. 
 
 with seven cords, he should lose his strength. 
 And when upon doing this, she gained no- 
 thing, he told her the tliird 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 Delilah'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 con- 
 tinuance of my hair." When she had learn- 
 ed tluis much, and had deprived hiin of his 
 hair, she delivered 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 tiiem. 
 
 12. 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 feast- 
 ing together (now the room wherein they wer« 
 had its rojf supported by two pillars) ; so they 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 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 re- 
 venge 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 pil- 
 lars ; and as soon as he came to them, he rush- 
 ed with force against them, and overthrew the 
 house, by overthrowing its pillars, with three 
 thousand 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 Is- 
 raelites twenty years. And indeed this man 
 deserves to be admired for his courage and 
 strength, and magnanimity at his death, and 
 that his wrath against his enemies went so far 
 as to die himself with them. But as for his 
 being ensnared by a woman, that is to be 
 ascribed to human nature, which is too weak 
 to resist the temptations to that sin ; but we 
 ought to bear him witness, that in all other 
 respects he was one of extraordinary virtue, 
 Eut his kindred took away his body, and bu- 
 ried it in Sarasat, his own country, with the 
 rest of his family. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW UNDER ELl'S GOVERNMENT OF THE IS- 
 RAELITES, EOOZ MARRIED RUTH, FROM 
 WHOM CAME OBED, THE GRANDFATHER OF 
 DAVID. 
 
 § 1. Now after the death of Samson, Eli the 
 nigh-priest was governor of the Israelites. 
 Under him, when the country was afflicted 
 with a famine, Elimelech of Bethlehem, 
 which is a city of the tribe of Judah, being 
 not able to support his family under so sore 
 a distress, took witli him Naomi his wife, and 
 the children that were born to him by her, 
 Chilion and Mahion, and removed his habi- 
 tation into the land of Moab ; and upon the 
 happy prosperity of his affairs there, he took 
 for his sons wives of the IMoabites, Orpah for 
 Chilion, and Ruth for Mahion. 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 con- 
 dition, now those that were dearest to her were 
 dead, on whose account it was that she had 
 gone away from her own country, she return- 
 ed to it again, for she had been informed it 
 was now in a flourishing condition. 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 in- 
 sisted upon it, she wished them a more happy 
 wedlock than they had with h<ir sons, and that 
 
 149 
 
 they might have prosperity 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. Accordingly Orpah 
 staid behind ; but she took Ruth along with 
 her, as not to be persuaded to stay behind her, 
 but would take her fortune with her, whatso- 
 ever it should prove. 
 
 2. When Ruth vi'as come with her mother- 
 in-law to Bethlehem, Booz, who was nearof kin 
 to Elimelech, entertained her ; and when Na- 
 omi was so called by her fellow- citizens, ac- 
 cording to her true name, she said, "You might 
 more truly call me Mara." Now Naomi signi- 
 fies in the Hebrew tongue hajijnriess, and 5la- 
 ra, Sorrow. It was now reaping time j 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 Booz's field; and after some time Booz 
 came thither, and when he saw the damsel he 
 enquired of his servant that was set over the 
 reapers, concerning the girl. The servant had 
 a little before enquired about all her circum- 
 stances, and told them to his master, who kind- 
 ly embraced her, both on account of her affec- 
 tion to her mother-in-law, and her remem- 
 brance of that son of hers to whom she had 
 been married, and wished that she might ex- 
 perience a prosperous condition ; 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 it in charge to that servant who was 
 over the reapers, not to hinder her when she 
 took it away, and bade him give her her din- 
 ner, and make her drink when he did the like 
 to the reapers. Now what corn Ruth receiv- 
 ed of him, she kept for her mother-in-law, 
 and came to her in the evening, and brought 
 tlie ears of corn with her ; and Naomi had 
 kept for her a part of such food as her neigh- 
 bours had plentifully bestowed upon her 
 Ruth also told her mother-in-law what Booz 
 had said to her; and when the other had in 
 formed 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 Booz's maid-servants. 
 
 3. It was not many days before Booz, after 
 the barley was winnowed, slept in his thrash- 
 ing-floor. When Naomi was informed of this 
 circumstance, she contrived it so that Ruth 
 should lie down by him, for she tliought it 
 might be for their advantage 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 consist- 
 ent with her duty to contradict any command 
 of her mother-in-law. And at first she lay 
 concealed from Booz, as he was fast asleeu j 
 but when he awaked about midnight, and per- 
 ceived a woman lying by him, he asked who 
 
■"~\ 
 
 150 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OV THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 she was ; — and when slic told him lier name, 
 and dcsiri'd tliat lie «lion> she o^»ned for her 
 lord 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 
 bid her take as niucli barley as she was able 
 to carry, and go to her mother-in-law before 
 anv body there should see that she had lain 
 djwn by him, because it was but ])riident to 
 avoid any reproach that might arise 011 that 
 account, especially when there had been no- 
 thing 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 whctlier he wants to take thee 
 to wife : if he says he does, thou shall follow 
 him; but if hf? refuse it, I will marry thee, 
 according to the law." 
 
 4. When she had informed her mother-in- 
 law of this, they were very glad of it, out of 
 the hope they had that IJooz would make pro- 
 vision for them. Now about noon Booz went 
 down into the city, and gathered the senate 
 together, and when he had sent for Ruth, he 
 called for her kinsman also; and when he 
 was come, he said, " Dost not thou retain the 
 inheritance of ElimelecJi and his sons?" He 
 confessed that he did retain it, and that he did 
 as he was permitted to do by the laws, be- 
 cause he was their nearest kinsman. Then 
 said Booz, " Thou must not rememlier the 
 laws 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 Booz, who was himself of kin to those 
 •liat were dead, as alleging that he had a wife 
 already, and cliildren also; so Booz called 
 the senate to witness, and bid the woman to 
 loose his shoe an(l spit in his face, according 
 to the law ; and when this was done Booz 
 married Ilutli, and they 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 he 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 dominions to his sons for one-and-twenty 
 generations. I was therefore obliged to re- 
 late this history of Ruth, because I had a 
 mind to demonstrate the power of God, who, 
 without diUiculty, can raise those that are 
 of ordinary parentage to dignity and splen- 
 dor, to which lie advanced David, though he 
 Wire born of such mean parents. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONrEHN'ING THK ntRTH OF SAMfEL; AND HOW 
 HE FORI/rOI.U THE CALAMITY THAT UEKEL 
 THE SONS OF ELi. 
 
 § 1. And now upon the ill state of the af- 
 fairs of the Hebrews, they made war again 
 ui)on the Philistines. The occasion was this • 
 Eli, tlie high-priest, had two sons, Huphni 
 and Phineas. These sons of Eli were guilty 
 of injustice towards men, and of impiety to- 
 wards God, and abstained from no sort of 
 wickedness. Some of their gifts they carried 
 off, as belonging to the honourable employ- 
 ment they had ; others of them they took a- 
 way by violence. They also were guilty of 
 impurity with the women that came to wor- 
 ship God at the tabernacle', obliging some 
 to submit to their lust by force, and entic- 
 ing 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 punishments 
 upon tiiem for what they had done. The 
 multitude took it heinously also: and as soon 
 as God had foretold wliat calamity would be- 
 fal Eli's sons, \\ hich he did both to Eli him- 
 self and to Samuel tl.e prophet, who was yet 
 but a child, he openly showed his sorrow for 
 his sons' destruction. 
 
 2. I will first (lispatdi 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. Elcanah, a Levite, one of a 
 middle condition among his fellow-ciiizens, 
 and one that dwelt at Ramathaim, a city of 
 the tribe of Ephraim, married two wives, 
 Hannah and Pcninnah. He had children by 
 the latter; but he loved the other best, al- 
 though she was barren. Now Elcanah came 
 with his wives to tlie city Shiloh to sacrifice, 
 for there it was fhdt tiie tabernacle of (lod 
 was fi.xed, as we have formtrly said. Now 
 when, after he had sacrificed, he distributed 
 at that festival jiortions of the flesh to his 
 wives and children, and when Hannali saw 
 the other wife's children sitting round about 
 their mother, she fell into tears, and lamented 
 herself on account of her barrenness and lone- 
 someness; and tutlering her grief to prevail 
 over her husband'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 shoidd 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 prayejs a long time, Eli, the high-priest, 
 for he sat there before the tid)ei nacle, bid her 
 J j;o away, think'ng site had been disordered 
 
CHAP. XI. 
 
 with wine ; but when she said she had drank 
 water, but was in sorrow for want of cliildren, 
 and was beseeching God for them, he bid her 
 be of good cheer, and told her that God would 
 send her children. 
 
 3. So she came to her husband full of 
 hope, and eat 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 tiioy gave tiie 
 name of Samuel, which may be styled one that 
 was asked of God. They tiierefore came to 
 the tabernacle to offer sacrifice for the birth 
 of the child, and brought their tithes witji 
 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. Accordingly his 
 hair was suffered to grow long, and his drink 
 was water. So Samuel dwelt and was brought 
 up in the temple. But Elcanah had other 
 sons by Hannah, and three daughters. 
 
 4. Now when Samuel was twelve years old, 
 he began to prophesy : and once when lie was 
 asleep, God called to him by his name; and 
 he, supposing he had been called by the high- 
 priest, came to liim : but when tlie higli-priest 
 said he did not call him, God did so thrice. 
 Eli was then so far illuminated, that he said 
 to him, " Indeed, Samuel, I was silent now 
 as well as before : it is God that calls thee ; 
 do thou therefore signify it to him, and say I 
 am here ready." So when he iieard God 
 speak again, he desired him to speak, and to 
 deliver what oracles he pleased to him, for he 
 would not fail to perform any ministration 
 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 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 worship, 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 perdition of his 
 sons; but the glory of Samuel increased 
 more and more, it being found by experience 
 that whatsoever he prophesied came to pass ac- 
 cordingly.* 
 
 « Although there had beeji a few occasional prophets 
 before, yet was this Samuel the first of a consiant suc- 
 cession of prophets in the Jewish nation, as is implied 
 in St. Peter's words. Acts iii "Ji: " V'ea, and all the 
 prophets, from Samuel, and those that follow after, as 
 many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of those 
 days." See also Acts xiii. 20. The others were rather 
 BOmetimes called righteous men, Matth. x. 41 ; xiii. 17. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HEUEIN IS DECLARED WHAT BEFEL THE SONS 
 OF ELI, THE ARK, AND THE PEOPLE ; AND 
 HOW ELI HIMSELF DIED MISERABLY. 
 
 § 1. Aboct 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 four thousand of the Hebrews, and 
 pursued the rest of their multitude to their 
 camp. 
 
 2. So the Hebrews being afraid of the 
 worst, sent to the senate, and to the hirrh- 
 priest, and desired that they would bring the 
 ark of God, that by putting tliemselves in ar- 
 ray, when it was present with them, they 
 might be too hard for their enemies, as not 
 reflecting that he who had condemned them 
 to endure these calamities was greater than the 
 ark, and for whose sake it was that this ark 
 came to be honoured. So tlie ark came, and 
 the sons of the high-priest with it, havino- re- 
 ceived a charge from their father, that if they 
 pretended to survive the taking of tlie ark, 
 they should come no more into his presence ; 
 for Phineas officiated already as high-priest, 
 his father having resigned liis 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 coming to the Israelites ; however, 
 the upshot did not prove agreeable to the ex- 
 pectation 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 thirty thousand men, amoncr 
 whom were the sons of the high-priest ; but 
 the ark was carried away by the enemies. 
 
 3. When the news of this defeat came to 
 Shiloh, with that of the captivity of the ark 
 (for a certain young man, a Benjamite, wlio 
 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 mourn- 
 ful cries, and supposed that some strange 
 thing had befallen his family. So he sent for 
 the young man ; and when he understood 
 what had happened in the battle, he was not 
 mucii uneasy as to his sons, or what was told 
 liim witliai about the army, as having before- 
 hand known by divine revelation that thoae 
 
J~ 
 
 t5? 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 tilings would Iiappcn, and having himself de- 
 clared them befiireiiand, — for what sad things 
 come iiiiexpectecllv they distress men tlie most ; 
 but as soon as [he heard] the ark was carried 
 captive by tlieir enemies, he was very much 
 grieved at it, because it fell out quite dilTerent- 
 ly from what lie expected ; so he fell down from 
 his throne and died, having in all lived ninety- 
 eiglit years, and of them retained the govern- 
 ment forty. 
 
 4. On the same day his son Phineas's wife 
 died also, as not able to survive the misfor- 
 tune of her husl>and ;. for they told her of her 
 husband's death as she was in labour. How- 
 ever, the bare a son at seven months, who 
 lived, and to whom they gave the name of 1- 
 
 BOOK V» 
 
 cabod, vvhicli name signifies disgrace, — and 
 this because the army received a disgrace at 
 this time. 
 
 5. Now Eli was the first of tlie family of 
 Ithaniar, the oilier son of Aaron, that had the 
 government; for tlie family of Eleazar offi- 
 ciated as high-priest at first, the son still re- 
 ceiving that honour from the father which E- 
 leazar becjiieathed to his son I'liineas; after 
 wlwm Abiezer his son took the honour, and 
 delivered it to his son, whose name was Buk- 
 ki, from whom his son Ozi received it ; after 
 whom Eli, of whom we have been speakings 
 had the priesthood, and so he and his posteri- 
 ty until the time of Solomon's reign ; bm 
 then the posterity of Eleazar reassumed it. 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THIRTY-TWO YEARS. 
 FROM THE DEATH OF ELI TO THE DEATH OF SAUL. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION THAT CAME UPON THE PHI- 
 LISTINES, AND UPON THEin LAND, BY THE 
 WRATH OF GOD, ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR 
 HAVING CARRIED THE ARK AV.AY CAPTIVE; 
 AND AFTER WHAT MANNER THEY SENT IT 
 BACK TO THE HEBREWS. 
 
 § 1. When the Philistines had taken the ark 
 of the Hebrews captive, as I said a little be- 
 fore, they carried it to the city of Ashdod, 
 and put it by tlieir own god, wlio was called 
 Dagon, * 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 aik, for he lay along, 
 as having fallen down from the basis where- 
 on he had stood : so they took him up and 
 set him on his basis again, and were much 
 troubled at what had hajipened ; and as they 
 frequently came to Dagon and found him still 
 lying along, in a posture of adoration to tlie 
 ark, they were in very great distress and con- 
 fusion. At length God sent a very destruc- 
 tive disease upon the city and country of 
 Ashdod, for they died of the dysentery or 
 Hux, a sore distemjier, that brought death 
 upon them very suddenly ; for before the soul 
 
 • Dagon, a famous maritime god or idol, is generally 
 (upposed to have been lUcc a niuu above the uavel, and 
 tikti a tinh beneath it. 
 
 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 entirely 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 cala- 
 mities, 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 happened Cor their good; they 
 therefore sent to the people of Askelon, and 
 desired that they would receive the ark among 
 them. This desire of the people of Ashdod 
 was not disagreeable to those of Askelon, so 
 they granted them that favour. But when they 
 had gotten the aik, they were in the same mi- 
 ser.ible condition ; for the ark carried along 
 with it the disasters that the people of Ashdod 
 had suffered, to those who received it froro 
 them. Those of Askelon also sent it away 
 from themselves to others ; nor did it stay a- 
 mong those others ne ther ; for since they were 
 ))ursued by the same disasters, they still sent 
 it to the neighbouring cities; so that the ark 
 went round, after this manner, to the five 
 cities of the Philistines as though it exacted 
 these disasters as a tribute to be paid it for 
 its coming amonjj them. 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 163 
 
 2. When those that had experienced these 
 miseries were tired out with them, and when 
 those that lieard 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 metliod how 
 they might get free from it : so the governors 
 of the five cities, Gath, and Ekron, and As- 
 kelon, as also of Gaza, and Asiidod, met to- 
 gether, and considered 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 miseries 
 tliey 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 ascrib- 
 ing the cause of their miseries to it, because 
 it could not have such power and force up- 
 on 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 revolutions 
 of time, produces such mutations in the bodies 
 of men, in the earth, in plants, and in all 
 things tiiat grow out of tlie earth. But the 
 counsel that prevailed over those already de- 
 scribed, was that of certain men, who were 
 believed to have distinguished themselves in 
 former times for their understandmg and pru- 
 dence, and who, in their present circumstan- 
 ces, 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 distem- 
 pers as they were not able to bear up against. 
 They also would have them make five golden 
 mice like to those that devoured and destroyed 
 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 ; f 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 
 
 » Spatiheim informs us here, that upon the coins of 
 Teneuos, and those of other cities, a field-mouse is en- 
 graven, together with Apollo Smintheus, or Apollo, the 
 driver away of Jidd-mice , on account of his being sup- 
 posed to have' freed certain tracts of ground from those 
 mice; which coins show how great a judgment such 
 mice have sometimes been, and how the deliverance 
 from them was then esteemed the effect of a divhie 
 power ; which observations are highly suitable to this 
 historv. 
 
 f This device of th: Philistines, of having a yoke of 
 kine to draw this earl, into which they put the ark of 
 the Hebrews, is teatly illustrated by Sanchoniatho's 
 account, under his ninth generation, that Agrouerus, or 
 Agrotes, the husbandman, had a much worshipped statue 
 and temple, carried about by one or more yoke of oxen, 
 or kine, in Phoenicia, in the neighbourhood of these 
 Philistines. See Cumberland's Sanchoniatho, p. 27 and 
 247 i am' Essay on the Old Testament, App. p. 172. 
 
 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 vfay 
 to the Hebrews, and ascended to their coun- 
 try, they should suppose that the ark was the 
 cause of their misfortunes; but if they turned 
 into another road, they said, " We will pursue 
 after it, and conclude that it has no such force 
 in it." 
 
 3. So they determined that these men spake 
 well ; and they immediately confirmed 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 
 ways; but the kine went the right way, and 
 as if some persons had driven them, while the 
 rulers of the Philistines followed after them, 
 as desirous 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 Bethshemesh, 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-tiine, and all the inhabi- 
 tants being then in the fields gathering in 
 their fruits, they left off the labours of theil 
 hands for joy, as soon as they saw the ark, 
 and ran to the cart, and taking the ark dowr>, 
 and the vessel that had the images in it, and 
 the mice, they set them upon a certain rock 
 which was in the plain ; and when they had 
 oflfered a splendid sacrifice to God, and feast- 
 ed, they offered the cart and the kine as a 
 burnt-offering : and when the lords of the 
 Philistines saw this, they returned back. 
 
 4. But now it was that the ^vrath of God 
 overtook them, and struck seventy persons \ 
 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 vil- 
 lage wept for these that had thus suffered, 
 and made such a lamentation as was 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 acknow. 
 ledged 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 Kirjath- 
 jearim, a city in the neighbourhood of Beth- 
 
 i These seventy men, being not so much as Levites, 
 touched the ark in a rash or profane manner, and were 
 slain by the hand of God for such their rashness and 
 profaneness, according to the divine threatenings, Numb. 
 IV, 15, 20 ; but how our other copies come to add such 
 an incredibie number as fifty thousand in this one town 
 or small city, I know not. See Dr. Wall's Critical Note* 
 on 1 Sam. vi 19 
 
 "V. 
 
 -T 
 
151 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 sIkmiicsIi. Ill this city lived one Abiiiadab, 
 l)y bittli a Levile, and who was {^really coin- 
 niended fur his ligliteoiis and relij;ious course 
 of life ; so they hroujrht tlie ark to his l)ouse, 
 as to a ))lace fit for God himself to abide in, 
 since therein did inhahit a righteous man. Ilis 
 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 Kirjatlijearim, liaving been but four months 
 with the riiilistines. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE EXPEDITION OF THE PHILISTINES AGAINST 
 THE HElillEWS, AND THE HEBREWS' VICTORY 
 UNUER THE CONDUCT OF SAML'EL THK PRO- 
 PHET, WHO WAS THEIR GENERAL. 
 
 5 1. Now while the city of Kirjathjearira had 
 the ark with them, tlie w hole body of tlie peo- 
 ple betook themselves all that time to offer 
 prayers and sacrifices to God, and appeared 
 greatly concerned and zealous about his wor- 
 ship. So Samuel the prophet, seeing how 
 ready they were to do their duty, thought this 
 a projier time to speak to them, while they 
 were in this good disposition, about the reco- 
 very of their liberty, and of the blessings that 
 accompanied the same. Accordingly he used 
 such words to them as he thought were most 
 likely to excite that inclination, and to per- 
 suade them to attempt it : " O you Israelites," 
 said he, " to whom the Philistines are still 
 grievous enemies, but to whom God begins to 
 be gracious, it behoves you not only to be de- 
 sirous of liberty, but to take the proper me- 
 thods to obtain it. Nor are you to be con- 
 tented with an inclination to get clear of your 
 lords and masters, while you still do what will 
 procure your continuance under them. i3e 
 righteous then, and cast wickedness out of 
 your souls, and by your worship supplicate 
 the Divine Majesty with all your hearts, and 
 persevere in 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 over yo.ir enemies: which bless- 
 ings 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 pron)iscd to grant these bless- 
 ings by those means, but by being good and 
 righteous men ; and if you will be such, I will 
 be security to you for tlie performance of 
 God's promises.'' When Samuel had said 
 thus, the multitude applauded his discourse, 
 and were pleased with his exhortation to them, 
 and gave their consent to resign tliemselves up 
 to do what was pleasing to God. So Samuel 
 gathered them together to a certain city called 
 Mizjieh, which, in the Hebrew tongue, signi- 
 fies a u-atch-towar / there tliey drew » ater, and 
 
 V 
 
 poured it out to God, and fasted all day, and 
 betook themselves to their prayers. 
 
 2. This their assembly did not escape the 
 notice of the Philistines: so when they had 
 learned that so large a company had met to- 
 gether, they fell upon the Hebrews «ith a 
 great army and mighty forces, as hoping to 
 assault them when they did not expect it, nor 
 were prejjared for it. This thing aH'rightcd 
 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 obedient], our enemies 
 are making an expedition 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 af- 
 ford us upon thy prayers to him, weshalt obtain 
 deliverance from the Philistines." Hereupon 
 Samuel bade them be of good cheer, and pro- 
 mised them that God would assist them ; and 
 taking a sucking lainb, he sacrificed ii for the 
 multitude, and besought God to hold his pro- 
 tecting hand over them when they should fight 
 with the Philistines, and not to overlook them, 
 nor suii'er them to come under a second mis- 
 fortune. Accordingly God hearkened to his 
 prayers, and accepting their sacrifice with a 
 gracious 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 circumstan- 
 ces, as neither having their weapons with them, 
 nor being assembled there in order to fight, 
 liut things so fell out, that they would hardly 
 liave been cretlited though they had been fore- 
 told by any body ; for, in the first place, God 
 disturbed their enemies with an eartkquake, 
 and moved the ground under them to such a 
 degree, that he caused it to trenilile, and made 
 them to shake, insomuch that by its trembling, 
 he made some unable to keep their feet, and 
 made them fall do«ii, and, by opening its 
 chasms, he caused that others should be hur- 
 ried 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 lie made 
 them (iy and return home naked. So Samuel 
 
 • This Is the first place, so far as I remember, in these 
 .\nti<|uiiies, where Jusephtis begins to cill hit nation 
 Jews, he having hitherto usually, if not constantly, call- 
 eil them either Hebrews or Irsaelitcs. The settmd pliU> 
 ■oon followt, ie« alio ch. iii, sect. A 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 155 
 
 with the multitude pursued them to Bethcar, 
 a place so called ; and there he set up a stone 
 as a boundary of their victory and their ene- 
 mies' flight, and called it the Sto7ie of Power, 
 as a signal of that power God had given them 
 against their enemies. 
 
 3. So the Philistines, after this stroke, made 
 no more expeditions against the Israelites, but 
 lay still out of fear, and out of remembrance 
 of what had befallen them : and what courage 
 the Philistines had formerly against the He- 
 brews, that, after this victory, was transferred 
 to the Hebrews. Samuel also made an expe- 
 dition against the Pliilistines, and slew many 
 of them, and entirely humbled their proud 
 hearts, and took from them that country, 
 which, when they were formerly 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 
 remains of the Canaanites were at this time 
 in friendship with the Israelites. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW SAMUEL, WHEN HE WAS SO INITKM WITH 
 OLD AGE THAT HE COULD NOT TAKE CARE 
 OF THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS, INTRUSTED THEM 
 TO HIS SONS ; AND HOW, UPON THE EVIL 
 ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT BV 
 THEM, THE MULTITUDE WERE SO ANGRY, 
 THAT THEY REQUIRED TO HAVE A KING TO 
 GOVERN THEJi, ALTHOUGH SAMUEL WAS 
 MUCH DISPLEASED THEREAT. 
 
 § 1. But Samuel the prophet, when he had 
 ordered the affairs of the people after a con- 
 venient manner, and had appointed a city for 
 every district of them, he commanded them to 
 come to such cities, to have the controversies 
 that they had one with another determined in 
 them, he himself going over those cities twice 
 in a year, and d</ing them justice; and by 
 riiat means he kept them in very good order 
 for a long time. 
 
 2. But afterwards he found himself op- 
 pressed with old age, and not able to do what 
 he used to do, so he committed the govern- 
 ment 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 dis- 
 tricts 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 dispositions with 
 their parents ; but sometimes perhaps good 
 and moderate, though born of wicked parents; 
 and sometimes showing themselves to be wick- 
 ed, though born of good parents : for these 
 rnen 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 determin- 
 ations not according to truth, but according 
 to bribery, and turned aside to luxury, and a 
 costly way of living; so that as, in the first 
 place, they practised what was contrary to the 
 will of God, so did they, in the second place, 
 what was contrary to the will of the prophet 
 their father, who had taken a great deal of 
 care, and made a very careful provision that 
 the multitude should be righteous. 
 
 3. But the people, upon these injuries 
 offered to their former constitution and go- 
 vernment by the prophet's sons, were very un- 
 easy at their actions, and came running to the 
 prophet who then lived at the city liamah, 
 and informed him of the transgressions of his 
 sons ; and said That, as he was himself old al- 
 ready, and too infirm by that age of his to over- 
 see 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 Philistines, who ought to be punish- 
 ed for their former oppressions. These words 
 greatly afflicted Samuel, on account of his in- 
 nate love of justice, and his hatred to kingly 
 government, for he was very fond of an aris- 
 tocracy, as what made 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 revolved these notions in his mind. 
 
 4. While he was thus disposed, God ap 
 peared to him, and comforted hiin, saying, 
 That he ought not to be uneasy at what the 
 multitude desired, because it was not he, but 
 Himself whom they so insolently 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 repentance yet 
 could not undo what was thus done for fu- 
 turity : that they would be sufficiently rebuked 
 for their contempt, and the ungrateful con- 
 duct they have used towards me, and towards 
 thy prophetic office. " So I command thee 
 to ordain them such a one as I shall name be- 
 forehand to be their king, when thou hast first 
 described what mischiefs kingly government 
 will bring upon them, and openly testified 
 before them into what a great change of affairs 
 they are hasting." 
 
 5. When Samuel had heard this, he called 
 the Jews early in the morning, and confessed 
 to them that he was to ordain them a king; 
 but he said that he was first to describe to 
 them what would follow, what treatment thev 
 would receive froin their kings, and with how 
 many mischiefs they must struggle. " For 
 know ye," said he, " that, in the first place, 
 they will take your sons away from you, anJ 
 
J- 
 
 150 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ISUOK Vl 
 
 they will command some of them to be driv- 
 ers of flu'ir chiiriots, and some to be their 
 liorscnii'ii, and tliu guards of their body, an<l 
 others of ihem to be runners before them, and 
 ca|)tains of tliousands, and captains of hun- 
 dreds; they will also make them their artific 
 ers, makers of armour, and of chariots, and of 
 instruments; they will n^ake them their hus- 
 bandmen also and the curators of their own 
 fields, and the diggers of their own vineyards ; 
 nor will there be any tiling which they will 
 not do at tlieir commands, as if they were 
 slaves bought with money. They will also 
 api)oint your daughters to be confectioners, 
 and cooks, and bakers ; and these will be o- 
 biiged to do all sorts of work which women 
 slaves that are in fear of stripes and torments 
 submit to. They will, besides this, take a- 
 way your possessions, 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 king, and will become no way superior 
 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 deliver- 
 ance from your kings; but he will not ac- 
 cept your prayers, but will neglect you, and 
 permit you to sufler the punishment your evil 
 conduct has deserved." 
 
 6'. But the multitude was still so foolish as 
 to be deaf to these predictions of what would 
 befal them ; and too peevish to suffer a de- 
 termination which they had injudiciously 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 per- 
 emptorily insisted on their resolution, and de- 
 sired him to ordain them a king immediately, 
 and not to trouble himself with fears of what 
 would liappen hereafter, for that it was ne- 
 cessary they should have with them one to 
 fight their battles, and to avenge them of their 
 enemies, and that it was no way absurd, when 
 their neighbours were under kingly govern- 
 ment, 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 reso- 
 lute, he said, " Go you every one home for 
 the present; when it is fit 1 will send for 
 you, as soon as I shall have learned from 
 God who it k that he will give you for your 
 king." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE APPOINTMI.NT OF A KING OVER THE IS- 
 RAELITES, WHOSi; NAME WAS SAUL; AND 
 THIS BY THE COMMAND OV GOD. 
 
 § 1 . There was one of the tribe of Benjamin, 
 a man of a good family, and of a virtuous dis- 
 position : 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 preferable to what was visible 
 in him : they called him Saul, Now this 
 Kish had some fine she-asHes that were wan- 
 dered 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, he went 
 to other tribes; and when he found them not 
 there neither, he determined to go his way 
 home, lest he should occasion any concern to 
 his father about himself; but when his ser- 
 vant that followed him told him as they were 
 near the city of Ilamah, 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 afi'air of their asses, he replied, 
 That if they should jio to him, they had no- 
 thing to give him as a reward for his pro- 
 phecy, for their subiisteiice-moncy was spent. 
 The servant answered, that he had still the 
 fourth part of a shekel, and he would present 
 him with that ; for they were mistaken out of 
 ignorance, as not knowing that the prophet 
 received no such reward.* So they went t« 
 him ; and when they were before the gates, 
 they lit upon certain maidens that were go- 
 ing to fetch water ; and they asked them 
 which was the prophet's house. They show- 
 ed them which it was; and bid them make 
 haste before he sat down to supper, for he had 
 invited many guests to a feast, and that he 
 used to sit dow n before those that were invit- 
 ed. Now Samuel had then gathered many 
 together to feast wiili him on this very ac- 
 count ; for while he every day prayed to God 
 to tell him beforehand whom he would make 
 king, lie had informed him of this man the 
 day before, for that he would send him a cer- 
 tain young man out of the tribe of Benjamin 
 about this hour of the day ; and he sat on the 
 top of the house in expectation of that time's 
 being come. And when the time was com- 
 pleted, became down and went to supper; 
 60 he met with Saul, and God discovered to 
 him tliat this was he who should rule over 
 them. Then Saul went up to Samuel and 
 
 • Of this great mistake of Saul and his servant, as If 
 a true proiihet of Goil »-ouUl accept of a gift or present, 
 for foretelling what was desired of h'm, see the note on 
 b. iv. vli. vi. sect. 3. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE .TEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 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 himself 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 family 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 were invited, 
 which were seventy in number;* and lie 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 staid with 
 the propliet, he and his servant, and slept with 
 him. 
 
 2. Now as soon as it was day, Samuel raised 
 up Saul out of his bed, and conducted him 
 homeward ; and wlien he was out of the city, 
 he desired him to cause his servant to go be- 
 fore, but to stay behind himself, for that he 
 had somewhat to say to him, when nobody else 
 was present. Accordingly, Saul sent away 
 his 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 king, by the ordin- 
 ation of God, against the Philistines, and for 
 avenging the Hebrews for what they have 
 suffered by them ; of this thou shalt have 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 
 tliou wilt see carrying three loaves of bread, 
 the second carrying a kid of the goats, and the 
 tiiird will follow them carrying a bottle 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 tliou shalt come to a place called Ra 
 cheVs Momiment, where thou shalt meet with 
 those that will tell thee tliy asses are found ; 
 after this, when tiiou comest to Gabatha, thou 
 shalt overtake a company of prophets, and thou 
 shalt be siezed with the divine spirit,f and 
 prophesy along with them, till every one that 
 
 # It seems to me not improI>able that theie seventy 
 guests of Samuel, as here, wi:h himself at the head of 
 them, were a Jewish sanhedrim, and that hereby Sam- 
 uel intimated to Saul that these seventy-one were to be 
 his constant counsellors, and that he was to act not like 
 a sole monarch, but with the advice and direction of 
 these seventy-one members of that Jewish sanhedrim 
 upon all occasions, which yet we never read that he 
 consulted afterward. 
 
 t An instance of this divine fury we have after this in 
 Saul, chap. v. sect. V, 5; 1 Sam. xi. 6. See the like. 
 Judges iii. 10, vi. 34, xi. 29, xiii. 25, and xiv. 6 
 
 157 
 
 sees thee shall be astonished, and wonder, and 
 say, Whence is it that the son of Kish has ar- 
 rived 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 bless- 
 ings." When Samuel had said this, and fore- 
 told these things, he sent the young man away. 
 Now all things fell out to Saul according to 
 the projihecy of Samuel. 
 
 ,3. But as soon .is Saul came into the house 
 of his kinsman Abner, whom indeed 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 such things are 
 heard, they are not easily believed ; nor did he 
 think it prudent to tell those things to him, al- 
 though he appeared very friendly to him, and 
 one whom he loved above the rest of his re- 
 lations, considering, I suppose, what human 
 nature really is, that no one is a firm friend, 
 neither among our intimates nor of our kind- 
 red ; nor do they preserve that kind disposi- 
 tion when God advances men to great pros- 
 perity, but they are still ill-natured and en- 
 vious at those that are in eminent stations. 
 
 4. Then Samuel called the people together 
 to the city Mizpeh, and spake to them in th« 
 words following, which he said he was to speak 
 by the command of God : — That when he had 
 granted them a state of liberty, and brought 
 their enemies into subjection, they were be- 
 come unmindful of his benefits, and rejected 
 God that he should not be tlieir king, as not 
 considering that it would be most for their ad- 
 vantage to be presided over by the best of be- 
 ings, 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 
 tlie lust of power, but will not endeavour so to 
 preserve the race of mankind as his own work- 
 manship and creation, which, for that very 
 reason, God would take care of. " But since 
 you have come to a fixed resolution, and this 
 injurious treatment of God has quite prevailed 
 over you, dispose yourselves by your tribes and 
 sceptres, and cast lots." 
 
 5. When the Hebrews had so done, tlielot 
 fell upon the tribe of Benjamin ; and when 
 tlie lot was cast for the families of this tribe, 
 that which was called Matri was taken ; and 
 when the lot was cast for the single persons 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]. 
 
J' 
 
 158 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF Till: JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V» 
 
 produce liim bufore liieiii. So when lliey had 
 learned of God the place where Saul was 
 hidden, they sent men to brinj^ 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 majes- 
 tic. 
 
 6. Then said the prophet, " God gives you 
 this man to he your king : see how he is 
 higher than any of the people, and worthy of 
 
 this dominion." So as soon as the people to assist them they would fight j but if that 
 had made acclamation, God save llie A'iiig, the assistance were impossible to be obtained 
 prophet wrote down what would come to pass ' from them, they said they would deliver 
 in a book, and read it in the hearing of the tliemselves up to sufi'er whatever he pleased 
 king, and laid up the book in the tabernacle j to inflict upon them. 
 
 of God, to be a witness to future generations 2. So Nahash, contemning the multitude of 
 of what he had foretold. So when Samuel ' the Gileadites and the answer they gave, al- 
 had finished this matter, he dismissed the mul- I lowed them a respite, and gave them leave to 
 titude, and came himself to the city Ramah, send to whomsoever they pleased for assis- 
 for it was his own country. Saul also went tance. So they immediately sent to the Is- 
 away to Gibeoh, where he was born ; and raelites, city by city, and informed them what 
 many good inen tlicre were who paid him the ; Nahash had threatened to do to them, and 
 resp ct that was due to him j but the greater | what great distress t!iey were in. Now the 
 part were ill men, who despised him and de- people fell into tears and grief at the hearing 
 rided the others, who neitlier did bring him of what the ambassadors from Jabesh said ; 
 presents, nor did they in atl'ection, or even in and the terror they were in permitted them to 
 words, regard to please hiui. I do nothing more ; but when tlie messengers 
 
 were come to the city of king Saul, and de- 
 clared the dangers in wliichthe inhabitants of 
 ^~~~ Jabesh were, the people were in the s;une af- 
 
 fliction as those in the other cities, for they la- 
 C11.\PTER v. mented the calamity of those related to them; 
 
 and when Saul was returned from his hus- 
 saul's expedition against the nation of bandry into Uie city, he found liis fellow-citi- 
 THE A.MMONiTi-.s, AND vicTOKY OVEB THEM, zens weeping; and when, upon inquiry, he 
 AND 'lUi; bi'OiLS IIK TOOK EttOM THEM. , had learned the cause of tlie confusion and 
 
 sadness they were in, he was seized wiiJi a 
 5 1. After one month, tlie war which Saul divine fury, and sent away the ambassadors 
 iiad with Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, from the inhabitants of Jabesli, and promised 
 obtiiined him respect from all tlio people ; for them to come to their assistance on the third 
 this Nahash liad dune a great deal of mischief ilay, and to beat tlieir eneniics before sun-ris- 
 to the Jews that lived biyond Jordan by the ing, that the sun upon its rising might see 
 expedition he liad made against them with a that tliey had already conquered, and were 
 great and warlike army. He also reduced^ • Taki here Thetxlorefs note, cited by Dr. Hudson, 
 tlieir cities into slaveiy, and that not only by — " llctli.tt <'x(xiscs hi.- >hul(l to l)ie ciiumy with hit 
 
 , 1 • ,1 r _ .1, .„„ ..!,;.. I. iw.' ,i;,t 'eft liaiid, 1 hereby hi(le> Ins left eye, :ind looks at the 
 
 subdumg them for the present, winch lie did ^^^^^^ ,.,'^ h.sn^htcie: he therefore tltat plucks out 
 by force and violence, but by weakening tliem that we' makes men lueicss in war.* 
 
 and immediately went away and hid himself, by subtilty and cunning, that they might not 
 I suppose that it was because he would not be able afterward to get clear of the slavery 
 have it thought that he willingly took the go- they were under to him : for lie ptit out the 
 "ernment upon him ; nay, he showed such a right eyes* of those that either delivered 
 degree of connnand over himself, and of mo- themselves to him upon terms, or were taken 
 desty, that while the greatest part are not by him in war ; and this he did, that w hen 
 able to contain their joy, even in the g-aining their left eyes were covered by their shields, 
 of small advantages, but pre-,eiitly show them- they mi^lit be wholly useless in war. Now ^ 
 selves publicly to all men, this man did not when the king of the Ammonites had served 
 only show nothing of that nature, when he , those beyond Jordan in this manner, he led 
 was appointeil to be the lord of so many and' his army against those that were called Giletd- i 
 so great tribes, but crept away and concealed 1 ilcs ; and having pitched his camp at the me- j 
 himself out of the sight of those he was to I iropolis of his enemies, which was the city ol \ 
 reign over, and made tiiem seek him, and that Jabesh, lie sent ambassadors to them, com- | 
 wiUi a good deal of trouble. So when the manding them either lo deliver themselves up, 
 people were at a loss, and solicitous, because on condition to have their right eyes plucked 
 Saul disappeared, the piophet besought God | out, or to undergo a siege, and to have their 
 to show where the voting man was, and to cities overthrown. lie gave them their choice, 
 
 Whether tliey would cut off a small member 
 of their body, or universally perish. — How- 
 ever, the Gileadites were so ali'righted at these 
 ofl'ers, 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 respite, that they 
 might send ambassadors to their countrymen, 
 and entreat their assistance; and if they came 
 
 ■^_ 
 
 _-r 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 159 
 
 Creed from the fears they were under; but lie 
 bid some of tJiem stay to conduct them the 
 right way to Jabesh. 
 
 3. So being desirous to turn the people to 
 this war against the Ammonites by fear of the 
 losses they should otherwise undergo, and 
 that tliey might die more suddenly be gather- 
 ed togetlier, 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 
 whitliersoever 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 
 Bezek ; and he found the number of those 
 that were gathered together, besides that of 
 the tribe of Judah, to be seven hundred thou- 
 sand, while those of that tribe were seventy 
 thousand. So he passed over Jordan and pro-- 
 ceeded in marching all that night, thirty fur- 
 longs, and came to Jabesh before sun-rising. 
 So he divided the army into three companies; 
 and fell upon their enemies on every side on 
 the sudden, and when they expected no such 
 thing ; and joining battle 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 commen- 
 dation of him to all the Hebrews : and he 
 thence gained 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 con- 
 tent himself with having saved the inhabitants 
 of Jabesh only, but he made an expedition in- 
 to the country of the Ammonites, and laid it 
 all waste, and took a large prey, and so re- 
 turned to his own country most gloriously : 
 so the people were greatly pleased at these ex- 
 cellent performances of Saul, and rejoiced that 
 they had constituted him their king. They 
 also made a clamour against those that pre- 
 tended he would be of no advantage to their 
 affairs ; and they said. Where now are these 
 men ? — let them be brought to punishment, 
 with all the like things that multitudes usual- 
 ly say when they are elevated with prosperity 
 against those that lately had despised the au- 
 thors of it ; but Saul, althougli he took the 
 good-will and the affection 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, v/hich 
 God had given them, with the blood and 
 slaughter of those that vvere of the same lineage 
 with themselves ; and that it was more agree- 
 able to be men of a friendly disposition, and 
 so to betake themselves to feasting. 
 
 4. And when Samuel had told them that 
 he ought to confirm the kingdom to Saul by 
 a second ordination of him, they all came to- 
 gether to the city of Gilgal, for thither did he 
 command them to come. So the prophet a- 
 
 nointed Saul with the holy oil in the signt of 
 the multitude, and declared him to be king 
 the second time ; and so the government of 
 the Hebrews was clianged into a regal govern- 
 ment ; for in the days of Moses and his dis- 
 ciple Joshua, who was their general, they 
 continued 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 re- 
 turned to their former government, they then 
 permitting themselves to be judged by him 
 who appeared to be the best warrior and most 
 courageous, whence it was that they called 
 this interval of their government the Judges. 
 
 5. Then did Samuel the prophet call ano- 
 ther assembly also, and said to them, " I so- 
 lemnly adjure you by God Almighty, who 
 brought tliose excellent brethren, I mean Mo- 
 ses and Aaron, into the world, and delivered 
 our fathers from the Egyptians, 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 thai was cruel or un- 
 just? or what have I done out of lucre or 
 covetousness, or to gratify others ? Bear wit- 
 ness 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 blame- 
 less ; 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 presence." But they cried out, tha* 
 no such thing had been done by him, but 
 that he had presided over the nation after a 
 holy and righteous manner. 
 
 6. 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 behoves you to remember, that 
 our grandfather Jacob came down into Egypt, 
 by reason of a famine, with seventy souls onl) 
 of our family, and that their posterity multi- 
 plied there to many ten thousands, whom the 
 Egyptians brought into slavery and hard op- 
 pression ; that God himself, upon the prayers 
 of our fathers, sent Moses and Aaron, who 
 were brethren, and gave them power to deli- 
 ver 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 over- 
 come the Ammonites and the Moabites, and 
 last of all the Philistines ; and these things 
 
J' 
 
 160 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 have been acliievcd under tlie conduct of 
 Jeplitlia and Gideon. Wliat madness there- 
 fore possessed you to fly from God, and to 
 desire to be under a king? — yet have I or- 
 dained him for king whom he cliose for you. 
 However, that 1 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 before, I moan a winter storm 
 'n 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 tJic 
 descent of hail, as attested the truth of all 
 that the prophet had said, insomuch that they 
 were amazed and terrified, and confessed they 
 bad sinned, and had fallen into that sin through 
 ignorance ; and besought the prophet, as one 
 that was a tender and gentle fatlier to them, 
 to render God so merciful as to forgive this 
 their sin, which they had added to those other 
 offences whereby they had affronted him and 
 transgressed against him. So he promised 
 them that he uould beseech God, and per- 
 suade him to forgite them these their sins. How- 
 ever, he advised them to be righteous, and to 
 be good, and ever to remember the miseries 
 that had befallen them on account of their 
 departure 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 judgments would come from God upon 
 tliera, and upon their king: ;ind when Sam- 
 uel had thus prophesied to the Hebrews, he 
 dismissed them to their own homes, having 
 confirmed the kingdom to Saul tlie second 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW THE PHILISTINES MADE ANOTHER EXPE- 
 DITION AGAINST THE HF.BIltWS, AND WEBE 
 BEATEN. 
 
 § 1. Now Saul chose out of the multitude 
 about three thousand men, and he took two 
 tiiousand of tliem to be the guards of his own 
 body, and abode in the city Bethel, but be 
 gave the rest of them to Jonathan his son, to 
 be the guards of his body ; and sent him to 
 Cibeah, where he besieged and took a certain 
 garrison of the Philistines, not far from Gil- 
 gal ; for the Philistines of Gibeah had beaten 
 
 • Mr. ndand observes here, and proves eUcwherc in 
 his note on Antiq. b. in, eh. i. sect. 6, ilut although 
 thuiutcr atiil li),'htiiiiig with us usually happen in sum- 
 mer, yet ill I'itlestine ami Syria tliey are ihicfly con- 
 fiiieil t(i winter. Josephus takes notice of the same 
 tiling a(;aiu,War, b. iv, di. iv beet. b. 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 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 instrument of iron, or at all to make use 
 of any iron in any case whatsoever ; and on 
 account of this prohibition it was that the 1ms- 
 bandinen, if they had occasion to sharpen any 
 of their tools, whether it were the coulter or 
 the spade, or any instrument of husbandry, 
 they came to the Philistines to do it. Now 
 as soon as the Philistines heard of this slaugh- 
 ter of their garrison, they were in a rage about 
 it, and, looking on this contempt as a terrible 
 afl'ront offered them, they made war against 
 the Jews, with three hundred thousand foot- 
 men, and thirty thousand chariots, and six 
 thousand horses; and they pitched their camp 
 at the city Michmash. "VVhen Saul, the king 
 of the Hebrews, was informed of this, he went 
 down to the city Gilgal, and made proclama- 
 tion over all the country, that ihey 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 not so great but they 
 might hazard 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 them- 
 selves in caves, and in dens under ground , 
 but the greater part fled into the land beyond 
 Jordan, which belonged to Gad and Reuben. 
 2. But Saul sent to the prophet, and called 
 him to consult with him about the war and 
 the public affairs ; so he commanded him to 
 stay there for him, and to piepare 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,j- as the prophet sent 
 
 t Saul seems to have staid till near the time of the 
 evening sacrifice, on the seventh day, which Samuel the 
 prophet of Go<l had appointed him, but not till the end 
 of that dav, as he ought to have done ; aiid Samuel ap- 
 pears, bv delaying to come till the full time of the even 
 ing sacrifice on that se\enthday, to have tried him (who 
 seems to have been already for some time declining 
 from his strict and boundeii subordination to God and 
 his prophet ; to have taken lifeguards for himself and 
 his son, which was entirely a new thing in Israel, and 
 savoured of a d istrust of t i od's pro\ iileuee ; and to lia\ e 
 affcoled more than he ought, that independent autho 
 rity which the pagan kings took to themselves) ; Sa 
 miiel, 1 say, seems to have here triid Saul, whether he 
 woul.l ■itay till the priest came, who alone could law- 
 fully offer the s.-icrifiit'S, nor would boldly and profanely 
 usurp the priest's ollice, which he venturing upon, waj 
 justly rcjectetl for his profancness. Sec .AposL Constic 
 b. ii, ch. xxvii. And, indeed, since Saul nad accepted 
 kingly power, which naturally Ixjcomes ungo>-eniable 
 and tyrannical, as GihI foretold, and the experience of 
 all ages has showii, the di\ine settlement by Moses had 
 soon been laid aside under Uie kings, had not (iod, by 
 keephig strictly to his laws, and stncrely executing the 
 thrcatenings therein CMiitaineil, rcsir.iincj Saul and other 
 kings in some degree of obKlieiicc to himself; nor was 
 even this severity sulficiciu t4) re>train most of the fu- 
 ture kings of Israel and Judah from the grossi-st idola- 
 trv and impiety. Of the advanta^ of which strictne&(, 
 in' the observing divine laws, and inlUcting tiicir threat- 
 ened (leiialties, see AiiUq. b. vi, chap, xii, sect. 7; tSiA 
 Against Apion, b. ii, sect on, where Ji>sephus speaks of 
 that matter; though it must be noted that it seems, at 
 least in three instancis, that good men did not alwayf 
 immediately appto\e of s-uch divine severity. Thcr« 
 I setnu to be one instance. 1 Sam. vi. 19, "0; aoothci 
 
 ^ 
 
 J' 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JKAVS. 
 
 161 
 
 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 sol- 
 diers, he took the sacrifices and offered them ; 
 and when he heard that Samuel was 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 staid 
 till his coming, which being appointed accord- 
 ing to the will of God, he had prevented him 
 in offering up those prayers and those sacrifi- 
 ces that he should have made for the multi- 
 tude, and that he therefore had performed 
 divine offices in an ill manner, and had been 
 rash in performing them. Hereupon Saul 
 made an apology for himself, and said that he 
 had waited as many days as Samuel had ap- 
 pointed him ; that he had been so quick in of- 
 fering his sacrifices, upon account of the ne- 
 cessity he was in, and because his soldiers were 
 departing from him, out of tlieir fear of the 
 enemy's camp at Michmash, the report being 
 gone abroad that they were coming down up- 
 on him to Gilgal. To which Samuel replied, 
 " Nay, certainly, if thou hadst been a right- 
 eous man,* and hadst not disobeyed me, nor 
 slighted the commands which God suggested 
 to me concerning the present state of affairs, 
 and hadst not acted more hastily than the pre- 
 sent circumstances required, thou wouldst have 
 been permitted to reign a long time, and thy 
 posterity after thee." So Samuel, being griev- 
 ed at what happened, returned home ; but 
 Saul came to the city Gibeah, with his son 
 Jonathan, having only six hundred men with 
 him ; and of these the greater part had no 
 weapons, because of the scarcity of fron in 
 that country, as well as of those that could 
 make such weapons : for, as we showed a little 
 before, the Philistines had not suffered them 
 to have such iron or such workmen. Now 
 the Philistines dirided their army into three 
 companies, and took as many roads, and laid 
 waste the country of the Hebrews, wliileking 
 Saul and his son Jonathan saw what was done, 
 but were not able to defend the land, having 
 
 I Sam. XV, II ; and a third, 2 Sam. vi, 8, 9; Antiq. b. 
 VI, ch. vii, seut. 5; ; though they all at last acfjuiesced 
 m the divine conduct, as knowing tliat God is wiser 
 than men. 
 
 * By this answer of Samuel, and that from a divine 
 commission, wnidi is fuller in 1 ham. xiii, 14; and by 
 that parallel note in the Apostolical Constitutions j.ist 
 now quoted, concerning the great wickedness of Saul in 
 venturnig, even under a seeming necessity of affairs, to 
 USU1-J1 the priest's ofUce, and offer s.icritice without the 
 pr!e«t, we ate in some degree able to answer that ques- 
 tion which 1 liave ever thought a very hard one, viz. 
 Whether, if there were a city or country of lay Christ- 
 ians wilhiiut any clergyman, it were lawful for the laity 
 alone to baptize, or celebrate the eucharist, &c. or in- 
 deed whether they alone could ordain themselves either 
 bishops, priests, or deacons, for the due performance of 
 Biieh sacerdotal ministrations; or whether they ought 
 not rather, till they procure clergymen to come among 
 them, to confine themselves within those bounds of 
 piety and Christianity which tielong alone to the laity ; 
 such particularly as are recommended in the tirst book 
 of the Anostolical Constitutions, v\hich peculiarly con- 
 cern the laity, and are intimated in Clement's undoubt- 
 ed epistJe. sect. iO. To which latter opinion I incUne 
 
 ^. 
 
 no more than six hundred men vvitli 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 enemy's camp, and make 
 a tumult and a disturbance 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 
 catnp was upon a precipice which had tliree 
 tops, that ended in a small but sharp and long 
 extremity, while there was a rock that sur- 
 rounded theiii, like lines made to prevent the 
 attacks of an enemy. There it so happened, 
 that the out-guards of the camp were neglect- 
 ed, because of the security that here arose 
 from the situation of the place, and because 
 tliey thought it altogether impossible, not on- 
 ly to ascend up to the camp on that quarter, 
 hut so much as to come near it. As soon, 
 therefore, as they came to the camp, Jonathan 
 encouraged his armour-bearer, and said to 
 him, " I.,et 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 Philis- 
 tines saw them, they said 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 immediately 
 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 tiie nature of 
 the place till they were able to fight with their 
 enemies. So they fell upon them as tliey were 
 asleep, and slew about twenty of them, and 
 thereby filled them with disorder and surprise, 
 insomuch that some of them tlirew away their 
 entire armour and fled; but the greatest part, 
 not knowing one another, because they were 
 of diflerent nations, suspected one another to 
 be enemies (for they did not imagine there 
 were only two of the Hebrews that cainc up), 
 and so they fought one against anotlier ; and 
 some of them died in the battle, and some, aa 
 they were flying away, were thrown down 
 from the rock headlong. 
 
 3. Now Saul's watchmen told the king that 
 the camp of the Philistines ivas in confusion: 
 O 
 
1G2 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VL 
 
 then lie inquired whether any body was gone 
 away from tlic army ; and when lie heard that 
 his son, and with him his armour-hearer, were 
 ahsent, he bade the hijrii jjriest take tlie gar- 
 ments of liis high-priesthood, and ])ro|)liesy to 
 him what success tiiey sliould have ; who said 
 that they sliould get tlie victory, and prevail 
 against their enemies. So he went out after 
 the Pliiiistincs, 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 
 liim. When, tiierefore, the number of the 
 Hel>rews that came to Saul amounted to 
 about ten thousand, 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, wliether out of ignorance, or 
 whether out of joy for a victory gained so 
 strangely (for it frequently happens that jicr- 
 sons so fortunate are not then able to use their 
 reason consistently), as he was desirous to 
 avenge himself, and to exact a due punish- 
 ment of the Philistines, he denounced a curse* 
 upon the Hebrews : That if any one put a 
 stop to his slaughter of the enemy, and fell 
 on eating, and left off the slaughter or the 
 pursuit before the niglit came on, and obliged 
 tliem so to do, he should be accursed. Now- 
 after Saul had denounced this curse, since they 
 were now in a wood belonging to tlie tribe of 
 Ephraim, which was thick and full of bees, 
 Saul's son, who did not hear his father de- 
 nounce that curse, nor hear of the approbation 
 the mullitude gave to it, broke oil' a piece of 
 a honey-comb, and ate part of it. '3ut, in tlie 
 mean time, ae was informed 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 in this 
 prohiiiiiion, because, had they taken some food, 
 tliey had pursued tlie enemy wiih greater vi- 
 gour and alacrity, and had both taken and 
 slain many more of their enemies. 
 
 4. AVlien, therefore, they had slain many 
 ten thousands of the Pliilislines, they fell up- 
 on spoiling the camp of the Philistines, but 
 not till lute in the evening. Tiiey also took 
 a great deal of jirey and entile, and killed 
 them, and ate them with their blood. This 
 was teld to the king by the scribis, 'hat tlie 
 multitude were sinning against God as they 
 Eiicriticed, and were eating before the blood 
 was well washed away, and the flesh was made 
 clean. Then did Saul give order that a great 
 stone sliould be rolled into the midst of them, 
 
 • Tills ra.sh vow or curec of Saul, which losephus says 
 W.1S coi:firine<l bv the people, iUid yet not exctutea, I 
 suppose 1 riiicipiiUy tieeausc .lonalhan did not know of 
 it. isxery remarkable; it being of the cssenee of the 
 obligation of all laws, that Ihry he siifrieienlly known 
 n' d proniiilgaled, otlicrwie the coiuluet of Providenec, 
 as to the sacrciliiess of mleinn caths ami vows, in God's 
 refusing lo all^wel by I'riin till this breach of Sanl's 
 vow or ci rse was understood and set rinlil, and (iod 
 propitiated bv pnblic prajer, is here very reniarU.\blc, 
 <i. indcLd it istvery wher-' else in the Old 'l'c»tauienU 
 
 and he made proclamation that tliey should 
 kill their sacrifices upon it, and not fvnd upon 
 the flesh with the blood, for that was not ac- 
 ceptable to God. And when all the ])copIc 
 did as the king commanded them, Saul erect- 
 ed an altar there, and offered burnt-oH'cring* 
 upon it to God.-I- This was the first altar that 
 Saul built. 
 
 5. So when Saul was desirous of leading 
 his men to the enemy's cam]) before it was 
 day, iri order to plunder it, and when tlie sol- 
 diers were not unwilling to follow him, but 
 indeed showed great readiness to do as he 
 commanded them, tlie king called Aliitub the 
 high-priest, and enjoined him to know of God 
 whether he would grant them the favour and 
 permission to go against the enemy's canij), in 
 order to destroy those that were in it ; and 
 when the priest said that God did not give 
 any answer, Saul replied, " And not witliout 
 some cause docs God refuse to answer what 
 we inquire of him, while yet a little while ago 
 lie declared to us all that we desired before- 
 hand, 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 
 his 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 means 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 oflence." So when the multitude 
 cried out to him so to do, 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 hir. 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 answer was this ; 
 " O father, I have done nothing more than 
 that yesterday, without knowing of ihe curse 
 and oath thou liadst denounced, while I was 
 in pursuit of the enemy, 1 tasted of a honey- 
 ct)inl).*' But Saul sware that he would slay 
 him, and prefer the observation of liis oath 
 before all the ties of birtii and of nature; aid 
 Jonathan was n( t dismayed at this threatening 
 of death, but, oillring liiniself to it generous- 
 ly, and undauntedly, he said, " Nor do 1 de- 
 sire you, fatlier, to spare me : death will be lo 
 me very acceptable, when it proceeds from tliy 
 piety, and after a glorious victory ; for it is the 
 greatest consolation to me that I leave the 
 Hebrews victorious over the Philistines." — 
 Hereupon all the people were very sorry, and 
 
 t Here we Un\e still more inibcntiims of Saul's aflce- 
 tation of ili-spotio power, and of his entrenching up<iu 
 the priesihiHrtI, .mJ niakiiu; and eiulea\ouriiig loixt- 
 cutc a ra-h vow or curse, without consulting Samuel c 
 Ihe sanhedrim. In this view il is .also that I look upon 
 tbi> erection of a new aU.^^ by Saul, and his offering ot 
 bun t-offeriiigs hii'ise'lf upon it, and not as any projwr in- 
 stance of devoUou or religion, with other comiiitntator*. 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEV/S. 
 
 ^-, 
 
 163 
 
 greatly afflicted for Jonathan ; and they sware 
 that they would not overlook Jonathan, and 
 see him die, who was the author of their vic- 
 tory. By whicli means they snatclied 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. 
 
 6. So Saul, having slain about sixty thou- 
 sand of the enemy, returned home to his own 
 city, and reigned happily : and he also fought 
 against the neighbouring nations, and subdued 
 the Ammonites, and Moabites, and Philistines, 
 and Edomites, and Amalekites, as also the 
 king of Zobah. He had three male children, 
 Jonathan, and Isui, and Melchishua ; with 
 Merab and Miclial his daughters. He had 
 also Abner, his uncle's son, for the captain of 
 his host : that uncle's name was Ner. Now 
 Ner, and Kish the father of Saul, were bro- 
 thers. Saul had also a great many chariots and 
 horsemen, and against whomsoever he made 
 war he returned conqueror, and advanced the 
 affairs of the Hebrews to a great degree of 
 success and prosperity, and made tlicni supe- 
 rior to other nations ; and he made such of 
 the young men as were remarkable for tall- 
 nes3 and comeliness the guards of his body. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Saul's war with the amalekites, and con- 
 quest or THEM. 
 
 § 1. Now Samuel came unto Saul, and said 
 to him, that he was sent by God to put him in 
 mind that God had preferred him before all 
 others, and ordained him king; that he there- 
 fore ought to be obedient to him, and to sub- 
 mit to his authority, as considering, 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 Amalek- 
 ites did the Hebrews 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 tliat country which is now 
 their own, I enjoin thee to punish the Ama- 
 lekites, by making war upon them ; and, 
 when thou hast subdued tliem, to leave none 
 of them alive, but to pursue them through 
 every age, and to slay them, beginning witli 
 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 reserve any of them for your 
 own advantage and possession, but to devote 
 ' them universally to God, and, in obedience 
 I to the commands of IMoses, to blot out the 
 name of Amalek entirely." * 
 
 I * The reason of this severity Is (Ustiiicily given 
 
 I 'i. Sam. x.v> 1 ) ; " Go. and uUeiljf destroy tli» siimeis. 
 
 2. So Saul promised to do what he was 
 commanded ; and supposing Uiat his obedience 
 to God would be shown, not only in making 
 war against the Amalekites, but more fully in 
 the readiness and quickness of his proceedings, 
 he made no delay, but immediately gathered 
 together all his forces ; and when he had num- 
 bered them in Gilgal, \ie found them to be 
 about four hundred thousand of the Israelites, 
 besides the tribe ot Judah, foi- that tribe con. 
 tai'ued by itself thirty thousand. Accordingly 
 Saul made an irruption into 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 miscliief, by open fighting, 
 but might fall upon them unexpectedly in the 
 ways, and might thereby compass them round 
 about, and kill them. And when he had joined 
 battle with the enemy, he beat them ; and pur- 
 suing them as they fled, he destroyed them all. 
 And when that undertaking had succeeded, ac- 
 cording as God had foretold, he set upon the ci- 
 ties of the Amalekites; he besieged them, and 
 took them by force, partly by warlike machines, 
 partly by mines dug under ground, and partly 
 by building walls on the outsides. Some they 
 starved out with famine, 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 tlierein either barbar- 
 ously 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 dangerous not to obey. He 
 also took Agag, the enemies' king, captive; 
 — tlie beauty and tallness of whose body l,e 
 admired so much, that he thougiit him worthy 
 of preservation : yet was not tliis done how- 
 ever according to the will of God, but by 
 giving way to human passions, and suffering 
 himself to be moved with an unseasonable com- 
 miseration, in a point where it was not safe 
 for him to indulge it ; for God hated the nation 
 of the Amalekites to such a degree, that he 
 commanded Saul to have no pity on even tliose 
 infants which we by nature chiefly compassion- 
 ate ; but Saul preserved their king and gover- 
 nor from the miseries vvhich the Hebrews 
 brought on the people, as if he preierred the 
 fine appearance of the enemy to the memory 
 of what God had sent him about. The mul- 
 titude were also guilty, together with Saul ; 
 for they spared the herds and the flocks, and 
 took them for a prey, when God had command- 
 ed they should not spare them. Tliey also 
 carried off with them the rest of their wealth 
 and riches; but if there were any tiling that 
 was not worthy of regard, that they destroyed. 
 
 the Amalekites :" nor indceil do we ever meet with these 
 Amalekites but as very cruel aiiil blooily people, and 
 particularly seeking to injure and utterly to destroy the 
 nation of Israel, i^^ee Kxoil. xvil, S — 16; Num. xiv, 45 ; 
 Deut XXV, 17—19; Juitg. vi, o, G; 1 Sam. xv, 53 ; 
 Psal. Ixxxiii, 7 ; and, above all, the most barbarous ot 
 all crueltiet, lliatof H.. man the Agagite. or one of the 
 posterity of \gag, the old king of the Amalekites, Esth. 
 , ui, 1 — 15. 
 
161 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 with sacrifices, bill with good and wi(h right- 
 eous men, who are such ii> rollow his ivill and 
 his hiws, and never think that anv tJiing 
 is well (lone hy tliein liut \vhcn tliey do it an 
 God liad commanded them : ttint lie then 
 looks ii[»on himself as allroiited, not when any 
 one does not sacrifice, hut when anv one ap- 
 pears to be disobedient to him. But that 
 from those who do not obey him, nor pay him 
 that duty which is the alone true and accep- 
 table worship, he will not kindly accc])t their 
 oblations, be those they offer ever so many and 
 so fat, and be the presents they make him ever 
 so ornamental, nay, though they were made ot 
 {:;old and silver themselves, but he will reject 
 them, and esteem them instances of wicked- 
 ness, and not of piety. And that he is delight- 
 ed with those that still bear in mind this one 
 tin'n;^, and tliis only, how to do that, whatso- 
 ever 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. \\licrcfore take notice, that thou art 
 under the wrath of God, for thou hast de- 
 spised and neglected what he commanded 
 thee. How dost thou then suppose that he 
 will respect a sacrifice out of such things as 
 he hath doomed to destruction ? unless per- 
 hajjs thou dost imagine that it is almost all 
 one to offer it in sacrifice to God as to destroy 
 it. Do thou therefore expect that thy king, 
 .lom will be taken from thi'C, and tiiat autlio- 
 rity which thou hast abused by sucli insolent 
 behaviour, as to neglect that God who be- 
 stowed it upon thee." Then did Saul con. 
 fess that he had acted unjustly, and did not 
 deny that he had sinned, because he had traiis- 
 gressed the injunctions of the prophet ; but 
 ood-natured, before they are a- • lie said that it was out of a dread and fear ol 
 produce other sins. As soon the soldiers, that he did not prohibit and re- 
 tlierefore as God had rejected the intercession strain them when they seized on the prey, 
 of the prophet, and it plainly appeared he " But forgive mo," said he, "and be merci- 
 would not change his mind, at break of day l"ul to me, for 1 will be cautious how I offend 
 Samuel came to Saul at Gilgal. When the for the time to come." He also entreated 
 king saw him, he ran to him, and embraced the prophet to go back with him, that he 
 hiin, and said, '• I return thanks to God, «ho might offer his thank-ollerings to God ; but 
 hath given me the victory, for I have perform- Samuel «ent home, because he saw that God 
 ed every tiling that he hath commanded nio." would not be reconciled to him. 
 To which Samuel rei)lied," How is it then that 5. But then Saul was so desirous to re- 
 I hear the bleating of the sheep and the low- I tain Samuel, that he took hold of his cloak, 
 ing of the greater cattle in the camp ?" Saul and because the vehemence of Samuel's de- 
 made answer, That the people had reserved I parture made the motion to l)e violent, the 
 them for sacrifices ; but that, as to the nation cloak was rent. Upon which the prophet 
 of the Amalekites, it «as entirely destroyed, ' said, that after tbe same manner should the 
 as he had received it in command to see done, | kingdom be rent from him, and tiiat a good 
 and that no one man was left ; but that he had | and a just man should t.ike it ; that God per- 
 saved alive Uie king alone, and brought him to ' severed in what he had decreed about him; 
 him, concerning whom, he said ihey would ad- J that to be mutable and changeable in wliat is 
 vise together wliat should be done with him. I determined, is agreeable to human passions 
 liut liie prophet said, " God is not delighted . only, but is not p^rceable to Uie Divine Power 
 
 3. But (vhcn Saul had conquered all these 
 Amalekites that reached from iVlu:>ium of 
 Kgyi-l to the Red Sea, lie laid waste all tlie rest 
 of the enemy's country : but for the nation of 
 the Shechemites, he did not touch them, al- 
 though they dwelt in the very middle of the 
 country of IVIidian ; for before the battle, Saul 
 had sent to them, and charged them to depart 
 thence, lest they should be partakers of the 
 miseries of the Amalekites ; for he had a just 
 occasion for saving them, since they were of 
 the kindretl of Raguel, Moses's fat lier-in-law. 
 
 4. 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 conquer and 
 overcome their enemies by that power which 
 he gave them, and then that he himself should 
 be so grossly despised 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 not'.iing that ho 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 re- 
 conciled 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 
 ware, they 
 
 ■^. 
 
J 
 
 CHAP. vni. 
 
 Hereupon Saul said that he had been wick- 
 ed ; but that wliat was done could not be un- 
 done : he therefore desired liim to iionour him 
 so far, that the multitude might see tiiat he 
 would accompany liim in vvorshipjiing God. 
 So Samuel granted him that favour, and went 
 with him and worshipped God. Agag also, 
 the king of tlie Amalekites, was brought to 
 him; and when the king asked, How bitter 
 death was? Samuel said, "As tiiou hast 
 made many of the Hebrew motliers to lament 
 and bewail the loss of tlieir cliildren, so shalt 
 thou, by thy death, cause thy mother to la- 
 ment ihee also." Accordingly he gave order 
 to slay hiin imniediatly at Gilgal, and then 
 went away to the city Kamah. 
 
 CHAPTER Vni. 
 
 HOW, UPON SAUI.'S TRANSGRESSION OF THE 
 prophet's commands, SAMUEL ORDAINED 
 ANOTHER PERSON TO BE KING PRIVATELY, 
 WHOSE NAME WAS DAVID, AS GOD COMMAND- 
 ED HIM. 
 
 § 1. Now Saul being sensible of the miser- 
 able condition he had brought himself into, 
 and that he had made God to be his enemy, 
 he went up to his royal palace at Gibeali, 
 which name denotes a hiU, and after that day 
 he came no more into the presence of the pro- 
 phet. And when Samuel mourned for him, 
 God bid him leave oft' his concern for him, 
 and to take the holy oil, and go to Kethlehem 
 to Jesse the son of Obed, and to anoint such 
 of his sons as he should show him ff)r their 
 future king. But Samuel said, he was afraid 
 lest Saul, when he came to know of it, should 
 kill him, either by some private method or 
 even openly. But upon God's suggesting to 
 him a safe way of going thither, he came to 
 the forementioned city ; and when they all sa- 
 luted him, and asked what was the occasion 
 of his coming, he told them, he came to sacri- 
 fice to God. When, therefore, he had gotten 
 the sacrifice ready, he called Jesse and his 
 sons to partake of those sacrifices ; and when 
 he saw his eldest son to be a tall and hand, 
 some 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 providence ; 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 kingdom, 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 come- 
 ly in that respect ; I mean one who is beauti- 
 ful in piety, and righteousness, and fortitude. 
 
 ANTIQUITUOS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 165 
 
 and obedience ; for in them consists the come- 
 liness of th.e soul." When God had said this, 
 Samuel bade Jesse to show him all his sons. 
 So he made five others of his sons to come to 
 him; of all of whom Eliab was the eldest, 
 Aminadab the second, Shammah the third, 
 Nathaniel the fourth, Rael the fifth, and 
 Asain the sixth. And when the prophet saw 
 that tiifse were no way 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 whether 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, Sa- 
 nmel bade them call him immediately, for 
 that till he was come they could not possibly 
 sit down to the feast. Now, as soon as his 
 father had sent for David, and he was come, 
 he appeared to be of a yellow complexion, of 
 a sharp sight, and a comely person in other 
 respects also. This is he, said Samuel pri- 
 vately 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 tlie presence of David, and anointed 
 him, and whispered him in the ear, and ac- 
 quainted him that God chose him to be their 
 king; and exhorted him to be righteous, and 
 obedient to his commands, for that by this 
 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 Philistines; 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 glorious name, and leave such a name 
 to his posterity also. 
 
 2. So Samuel, when he bad given him 
 these admonitions, went away. But the Di- 
 vine Power departed from Saul, and removed 
 to David, v> ho, upon this removal of the Di- 
 vine Sjiirit to him, began to prophesy ; but 
 as for Saul, some strange and demoniacal dis- 
 orders came upon him, and brought upon 
 him such sufibcations 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, they advised them to 
 inquire for such a 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 hiin.* According, 
 ly Saul did not delay, but coiTimanded them 
 to seek out such a man ; and when a certain 
 
 • Spanheiin takes notice here that the Greeks hac 
 such singers of hymns ; aiirt that usually children oi 
 youths were picked out for that service; as also, tlia' 
 those called singers to the harp, diii the same that Ua 
 \'id did here, i. e. join their own vocal and instrumeiita» 
 music together 
 
T 
 
 166 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 standcr-f)y said th.it lie had seen in the city of 
 Ik'tiik'hem a son of Jesse, who was yet no 
 more tlian a child in age, but comely and 
 beautiful, and in other respects one that was 
 deseiviiig of great regard, wlio was skilful in 
 playing on the liar]), and in singing of hymns 
 [ami 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 hiin, as liaving heard an 
 advantageous character of his comeliness and 
 liis valour. So Jesse sent his son, and gave 
 bim presents to carry to Saul ; and when he 
 was come, Saul was pleased with him, and 
 made him his armour-bearer, and had him in 
 very great esteem ; for he charmed his pas- 
 sion, and was the only physician against the 
 trouble he had from the demons, whensoever 
 it was that it came upon him, and this by re- 
 citing of liymns, 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 
 liis sight and company , which stay, that he 
 might not contradict Saul, he granted. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW THK PHILISTINES MADE ANOTHER EXPE- 
 DITION AGAINST THE HEBREWS, UNDER THE 
 REIGN OF SAUL ; AND HOW THEY WERE 
 OVEUCOME BY DAVID'S SLAYING GOLIATH 
 IN SINGLE COMBAT. 
 
 § 1. Now the Philistines gathered themselves 
 together again, no very long time afterward ; 
 and having gotten together a great army, they 
 made war against the Israelites ; and liaving 
 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 own camp upon a certain hill, he 
 forced the Philistines to leave their former 
 camp, and to encani)) themselves upon such 
 another hill, over-ag.iinst 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 Pliilistines, whose 
 name was Goliath, of the city of Gatli, a man 
 of vast bulk, for he was of four cubits and a 
 epan in taliness, and had about him weapons 
 suitable to the largeness of his body, for he 
 had a breast-plate on that weighed live thou- 
 sand shekels : he had also a helmet and greaves 
 of brass, as large as you would naturally sup- 
 pose 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 six hundred shekels; and many fol- 
 lowed him to carry his armour. Wherefore 
 
 this Goliath stood between the two armies, as 
 they were in battle-array, and sent out a loud 
 voice, and said to Saul and the Hebrews, " I 
 will free you from fighting and from dan- 
 gers ; for what necessity is there tliat 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 conque 
 ror shall belong ; and certainly it is much 
 better and more prudent to gain what you de- 
 sire 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 ene- 
 my in the same words, till Saul and his army 
 were therewith terrified, while they put them- 
 selves in array as if they would figlit, but did 
 not come to a close battle. 
 
 2. Now while this war between the He- 
 brews and the Philistines was going on, Saul 
 sent away David to his father Jesse, and con- 
 tented himself with those three sons of his 
 whom he had sent to his assistance, and to be 
 partners in the dangers of the war : and at 
 first David returned to feed his sheep and his 
 flocks ; but after no long time he came to the 
 camp of the Hebrews, as sent by his father, 
 to carry provisions to his brethren, and to 
 know what they were doing ; while Goliath 
 came again, and challenged them and re- 
 proached them, that they had no man of va- 
 lour among them that durst come down to 
 fight him ; and as David was talking with his 
 brethren about the business for which his fa- 
 ther had sent him, he heard the Philistine re- 
 proaching and abusing the army, and had in- 
 dignation at it, and said to his bretliren, " I 
 am ready to tight 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 bid him go to his flocks, and to his fa- 
 ther. So he was abashed at his brother's 
 words, and went away, but slill 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 tlte king 
 asked what he had to say, he replied, " O 
 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 Mill 
 bring liim under me, as tall and as great as 
 he is, till he shall be sufliciently lauglied at, 
 and thy army shall get great glory w hen lie 
 shall be slain by one that is not yet of man's 
 estate, neither fit for lighting, nor capable of 
 being intrusted with the marshalling an aiiny, 
 or ordering a iialtle, but by one that looks like 
 a child, and is really no elder in age than b 
 child." 
 
 "V 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 167 
 
 3. Now Saul wondered at the boldness and 
 alacrity of David, but durst not presume on 
 liis ability, by reason of his age ; but said, he 
 must on tiiat account be too weak to fight 
 with one that was skilled in the art of war. 
 " I undertake this enterprise," said David, 
 " in dependence on God's being with me, for 
 I have had experience already of his assist- 
 ance ; for I once pursued after and caught a 
 lion tliat assaulted my flocks, and took away 
 a lamb from them, and I snatched the lamb 
 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 
 blaspliemed our God, who yet will reduce him 
 under my power." 
 
 4. However, Saul prayed that the end 
 might be, by God's assistance, not disagree- 
 able 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 burden- 
 ed with his armour, for he had not been ex- 
 ercised to it, nor had he learned to walk with 
 it ; so he said, " Let this armour be thine, O 
 king, who art able to bear it ; but give me 
 leave to fight as thy servant, and as I 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 
 towards Goliath. But the adversary seeing him 
 come in such a manner, disdained him, and 
 jested upon him, as if he had not such wea- 
 pons 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 wliich he replied, " No, not for 
 a dog, but for a creature worse than a dog." 
 This provoked Goliath to anger, who there- 
 upon cursed him by the name of God, and 
 threatened to give his flesh to the beasts of 
 the eartli, and to the fowls of the air, to be 
 torn in pieces by them. To whom David an- 
 swered, " Thou comest to me with a sword, 
 and with a spear, and with a breast-plate ; but 
 I have God for my armour in cominj; against 
 thee, who will destroy thee and all thy army 
 by my hands ; for I will this day cut off tliy 
 head, and cast the other parts of thy body to 
 the dogs ; and all men shall learn that God 
 is the protector of the Hebrews, and 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 Phili^tine being retarded by the weight 
 of his armour, when he attempted to meet 
 David in haste, came on but slowly, as de- 
 ipising him, and depending upon it that he 
 
 should slay him who was both unarmed and 
 a child also, without any trouble at ail. 
 
 5. 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 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 Go- 
 liath 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 Philistines 
 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 com- 
 mitted themselves to an ignominious and in- 
 decent 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 Gath, and to the gates 
 of Ekron ; so that there were slain of the Phi- 
 listines thirty thousand, and twice as many 
 wounded. But Saul returned to their camp, 
 and pulled their fortifications to pieces, and 
 burnt it ; but David carried the head of Go- 
 liath into his own tent, but dedicated his 
 sword to God [at the tabernacle]. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SAUL ENVIES DAVID FOR HIS GLORIOUS SUC- 
 CESS, AND TAKES AN OCCASION OF ENTRAP- 
 PING HIM, FROM THE PROMISE HE MADE 
 HIM OF GIVING HIM HIS DAUGHTER IN MAR- 
 RIAGE ; BUT THIS UPON CONDITION OF HIS 
 BRINGING HIM SIX HUNDRED HEADS OF THE 
 PHILISTINES. 
 
 § 1. Now the women were an occasion of 
 Saul's envy and hatred to David ; for they 
 came to meet their victorious army with cym- 
 bals and drums, and all demonstrations of 
 joy, and sang thus; the wives said, that " Saul 
 has slain his many thousands of tlie Philis- 
 tines :" the virgins replied, that " David has 
 slain his ten thousands." Now, when the 
 king heard them sniging thus, and that he 
 had himself the smallest share in their com- 
 mendations, and the greater number, the ten 
 thousands, were ascribed to the young man 
 and wiien he considered with himself tha» 
 j there was nothing more wanting to David 
 [after such a miglity applause, l)iit the king 
 idom, he began to be afraid and sus;:iciou3 
 ' of David. Accordingly he removed him 
 . from the station he was in before, for he 
 , was his armour-bearer, whicli, out of fear 
 
 ? 
 
168 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 t:i>oinctJ to liiin mucli too noar u station for 
 Iiim ; ami so lie mudu liim t"i|it:iiii over a tiiou- 
 sand, and bestowed on liim a post better in- 
 deed in itself, but, as lie tlioiiglit, more for 
 liis own security ; for lie liaii a mind to send 
 liinj against the enemy, and into battles, as 
 lioping lie would be slain in sucli dangerous 
 conflicts. 
 
 2. IJiit David had God going along with 
 him whithersoever he went, and accordingly 
 he greatly prospered in his undertakings, and 
 it was visible that he had mighty success, in- 
 somuch that Saul's daughter, who was still a 
 virgin, fell in love with him ; and her affec- 
 tion so far prevailed over her, that it could mind whether what was j)roposed was pos- 
 not be concealed, and her father became ac- sible, or was difficult or not, he and his com- 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 of his father's house, but only some revenge 
 on the Philistines, and indeed six hundred of 
 their heads, than which a more desirable 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 hia 
 daughter, viz. that she should be married to 
 a man of that character, and to one who had 
 a testimony as having conquered his enemies. 
 3. When these words of Saul were brought 
 to David, he was pleased with them, and sup- 
 posed that Saul was really desirous of this af- 
 finity with him ; so that without bearing to 
 deliberate any longer, or casting about in his 
 
 quaintcd with it. Now Saul heard this glad- 
 ly, as intending to make use of it for a snare 
 against David, and he ho])ed that it would 
 prove the cause of destruction and of hazard 
 to him ; so he told those that informed him 
 of his daughter's affection, that he would wil- 
 lingly give David the virgin in marriage, and 
 said, " I engajre myself to marry my daughter 
 to him if he will bring me six hundred heads 
 of my enemies, • supposing that when a re- 
 ward so ample was proposed to him, and 
 when he should aim to get him great glory, 
 by undertaking a thing so dangerous and in- 
 credible, he would immediately set about it, 
 and so perish by the Philistines; and my de- 
 signs 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 order to his servants to 
 try how David would relish this proposal of 
 marrying 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: — " Seemeth it to you a light 
 thing to be made the king's son-in-law? It 
 does not seem so tome, especially when I am 
 one of a family 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 marriage ; but I desire 
 only such a son in-law as hath in him for- 
 titude, and all other kinds of virtue," of which 
 he saw David was possessed, and tliat his de- 
 sire was to receive of him, on account of his 
 marrying his daughter, neither gold nor sil- 
 ver, nor that he should bring such wealth out 
 
 * Josophus says thrit-e in this chapter, ajid twice after- - , .,, . . • , .„ i, „„ i ,;,„ 
 
 wariis, chap. xi. sect. '-', and b. vii, ch. i, sect. 1, 1. c. five small good-will, to contrive how to have him 
 times 'ill ail, that S;iul re.nilml not a bare hiimlrril of ij^iji^.j ^ow, because he loved the young 
 the fiircikins (il tin- I'liili, lines, l)u( six luiinlred of their , i , ■ i- i ■ • .' i 
 
 Ss Til' -cptuaMM.t have r.uiforr.kliis reverenced him for his virtue, he 
 
 riacand Arabu iJii .' Ncjw tliat iticse were not /ur«iin,«, informed him of the secret charge his father 
 witli our othcri'<>|.ii-s, but /irarfj, with Joscjilius's copy, „:.,„„ „„,l ...(,.,f lil« int..nllniis were con- 
 
 seems somewhat probable, from 1 Sam. xxix. 1 ; where had given, and what Ins intentions wcrt con- 
 all copies i«iy that it w;i8 Willi the heads of such Philis- cerniii" him. However, he .idviscd him to 
 Unes Uuit Uavid might reconcile himself to his i.iasler, | ^^j.^ ^^^.^ .^_^^, _^^ ,^^^^^^^ j,,^. ,,^.^j j^^.^ f^^ j,,^ 
 
 panions immediately set ujion the enemy, and 
 went about doing what was proposed as tlie 
 condition of the marriage. Accordingly, be- 
 cause it was God who made all things easy 
 and possible to David, he slew many [of the 
 Philistines], and cut oft" the heads of six hun- 
 dred of them, and came to tlie king, and by 
 showing him these heads of the Philistines, 
 required that he might have his daughter in 
 marriage. 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 appear tc 
 have acted treacherously by him, in putting 
 him upon what was in a manner impossible, 
 in order to have him slain, he gave liiin his 
 daughter in marriage : her name was MichaL 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW DAVID, UPON SAUL's I.AYI.NG SNARES FOn 
 HIM, DID Yl T ESCAPE THE DANGEP.S HE WA3 
 IN, BY THE AFFECTION AND CAUE OF JONA- 
 THAN, AND THE CONTRIVANCES OF HIS WIFE 
 MICHAL; AND HOW HE CAME TO SAilLEL 
 THE PROPHET. 
 
 § 1. However, Saul was not disposed to per- 
 severe long in the state wherein he was; for 
 when he saw tiiat David was in great esteem 
 both with God and with the multitude, he 
 was afraid ; and being not able to conceal his 
 fear as concerning great things, his kingdom 
 and his life, to be deprived of either of which 
 tvas a very great calamity, he resolved to have 
 David slain ; and commanded his son Jona- 
 than 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 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. XI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 169 
 
 lie wouUl salute Jii'i fatlier, and, if he met vvitli 
 a favourable opportunity, he would discourse 
 witli lilni 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 thingh to 
 tlie multitude, and had been a benefactor to 
 himself, on ac«)unt of which he ought in rea- 
 son to obtain pardon, had he been guilty of 
 the greatest crimes: and " I will then inform 
 thee of my father's resolution." According- 
 ly David complied with such an advantageous 
 advice, and kept himself tlien out of the 
 king's sight. 
 
 2. On the next day Jonathan came to Saul, 
 as soon as he saw him in a cheerful and joy- 
 ful disposi<ion, and began to introduce a dis- 
 course about David : " What unjust action, 
 O father, either little or great, hast thou 
 found so exceptionable in David, as to induce 
 tliee 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 tlie Hebrews from reproach and de- 
 rision, which they underwent for forty days 
 together, when he alone had courage enough 
 to sustain the challenge of the adversary, and 
 after that brougiit as many heads of our ene- 
 mies as he was appointed to bring, and had, 
 as a reward for the same, my sister in mar- 
 riage ; insomuch that liis 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 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, 
 lie cast them out, and procured rest to thy 
 soul from their incursions : and, in the se- 
 cond place, hath avenged us of our enemies ; 
 for it is a base tiling to forget such benefits.' 
 So Saul was pacified with these worils ; and 
 sware 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 Jo- 
 nathan sent for David, and brought him good 
 news from his father, that he was to be pre- 
 served. He also brought him to his father ; 
 and David continued with the king as for- 
 merly. 
 
 3. About this time it was that, upon the 
 Philistines making a new expedition against 
 the Hebrews, Saul sent David with an army 
 to fij;!it with them; and joining battle with 
 them he slew many of tliem, and after his vic- 
 tory he returned to the king. But his recep- 
 tion by Saul was not as he expected upon 
 such success, for he was grieved at his pros- 
 
 perity, because he thought he would he more 
 dangerous to him by having acted so glorious, 
 ly : 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 bis hand, he ordered him to charm 
 him with playing on his harp, and with sing- 
 ing 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. 
 
 4. 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 Miciial, David's wife, the 
 king's daughter, understood what her fathei 
 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 vvere depriv- 
 ed of him ; and she said, — " Let not the sun 
 find tJiee here when it rises, for if it do, that 
 will be the last time it will see thee : fly away 
 then while the night may afford the opportuni- 
 ty, and may God lengthen it for thy sake I 
 for know this, that if ray father find thee, thou 
 art a dead man." So she let him down by a 
 cord out of the window, and saved him ; and 
 after she had done so, she fitted up a bed fot 
 him as if he were sick, and put under the 
 bed-clothes a goat's liver;* and when her fa- 
 ther, 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 believe, 
 by the leaping of the liver, which caused the 
 bod-clothes to move also, that David breathed 
 like one that was asthmatic. So when those 
 that were sent told Saul that David had no» 
 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 un- 
 covered the bed, and found out the woman's 
 contrivance, 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 threatened 
 to kill her, she lent him her assistance foi 
 his preservation, out of fear; for which her 
 assistance she ought to be forgiven, because 
 it was not done of her own free choice, but 
 out of necessity : " For," said she, " I do not 
 suppose that thou wast so zealous to kill thy 
 
 * Since the modern Jews have lost the signification 
 of tlie Hebrew word here used, ccbir ; and since the 
 Ixxii, as w ell as Jo'iephiis, render it the liver of ihe goat r 
 and since this rendering and Joscphiis's account, are 
 here so much more clear and probable than those of o- 
 thcis, it is almost unaccountable that our commenta- 
 tors should so much as liesitatc about its true interpre- 
 tation. - ^ 
 
170 
 
 ANTIQUITJKS Ol' TIIK JKWS. 
 
 enemy, as thou wast that I Bhotikl be fnved." 
 Accordingly San! forg.ive the damsel ; but 
 l)a\id, wlii'ii he had escaped this danger, came 
 to the propliet 'Samuel to Uamah, and told 
 him «liat snares the king had laid for him, 
 and how he was very near to death by Saul's 
 throwing a sj)ear at him, although he had 
 iH'en no way guilty with relation to him, nor 
 had he been cowardly in his battles with his 
 enemies, but had succeciled well in them all, 
 by God's assistance ; which thing was indeed 
 the cause of Siiid's liatred to David. 
 
 5. When the ])ro|)liet 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 proi)het, he sent sol-, 
 diers to him, and ordered 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 
 Spirit, and began to prophesy ; which when 
 Saul heard of, he sent others to David, vvlio 
 prophesying in like manner as did the first, he 
 again sent others ; which tliird sort prophesy- 
 ing also, at last he was angry, and went thi- 
 ther in great haste himself; and when he was 
 just by the place, Samuel, before he saw him, 
 made him prophesy also. And when Saul 
 came to him, lie was disordered in mind,* and 
 under the vehement agitation of a s])irit ; and, 
 putting off his garments,! he fell down, and 
 lay on the ground all that day and night, in 
 the presence of Samuel and David. 
 
 6. And David went thence, and came to 
 Jonathan, tlie 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 ottended against 
 him, yet he was very zealous to get him killed. 
 Hereupon Jonathan exhorted 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 
 
 • These violent and wilil agitations of Saul seem to 
 IDC to Jiave been no other than dc.noniacal ; and that 
 the same demon whith usc<l to seize .him, since he was 
 forsaken of God, and wliicli the divine hymns and 
 psa'nra which were sung to the harp by David used to 
 expel, was now in a judicial way brought upon him, not 
 only in order to disappoint his intentions against inno- 
 cent David, but to exiio-e hnn to the laughter and con- 
 tempt ot ail that saw him, or heard of those agitations ; 
 •uch violent and wild agitations tieing never observed In 
 true prophets when they were under tlic inspnalion of 
 tlie Spirit of (.od. Uiir other copies, which wiy the 
 Spirit of God came upon him, seem not so right here as 
 Josephu.s's copy, which mentions nolhiii)! of liod at all. 
 Nor docs Josephus seem to ascribe this impulse ami 
 ecstacy of Saul t<i any other than to his eld demoniacal 
 spirit, which on allaeiouiits appears the most piobable. 
 Nor does the former description of ^-aul's real in.<'piration 
 by the Divine Spirit, J bam. x, 9 — 12; Atitiq. b. vi, 
 chap, iv. Sift, i, which was before he was become wick- 
 ed, well agree with the descriplJons before us. 
 
 i What it meant by Saul's l\ing down naked all that 
 dt\y, and all that night, 1 Sam. xix. 'Ji, anil whether 
 an> more than laying a-xdc his royal app.'irel, or upper 
 garments, as Jokcphus secius to understand it, is by no 
 nu'aii^ certain, bee tlie uoie on Antiit b vtii, ch. 14, 
 tod. X 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 I on him, and take courage ; tbr that his fa 
 ther had no such intentions, since he would 
 have ac(|uainted him with that matter, and 
 
 I have taken his advice, had it been so, as he 
 used to consult with liim in conunon when he 
 
 I acted in other atlairs. But David sware to 
 
 , liiin that so it was ; and he desired him rather 
 to believe him, and to provide tor his safely, 
 than to despise what he, with great sincerity, 
 told him : that he would l)elieve what he said, 
 when he should either see him killed himself, 
 or learn it upon inquiry from others : and that 
 the reason why his fatlier did not tell him of 
 these things, was this, that he knew of the 
 friendship and atl'ection that he bore towards 
 him. 
 
 7. Hereupon, when Jonathan found that 
 this intentioti of S:iul was so well attested, he 
 asked him what he would liave him do for 
 hinT ? To which Daviil replied, " I am sen- 
 sible that thoii art willing to gratify me in 
 every thing, and procure me what 1 desire. 
 Now, to-morrow is the new moon, and I was 
 accustomed to sit down then with the king at 
 supper : now, if it stem good to thee, 1 will 
 go out of the city, ami conceal myself private- 
 ly there; and it Saul ir,quire why I am ab- 
 sent, tell him that 1 am gone to my own city 
 Bethlehem, to keep a festival with my own 
 tribe ; and add this also, that thou gavest me 
 leave so to do. And if he say, as is usually 
 said in the case of friends that are gone abroail, 
 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 asure sign that he hath some designs against 
 nic. Accordingly thou shah inform me of thy 
 father's inclinations ; and that, out of pity to 
 my case and out of ihy friendship for me, as 
 inst.incesof whicli friendship thou hast vouch- 
 safed to accept of the assurances of my love 
 to thee, ami to give the like assurances to me, 
 that is, those of a master to his servant ; but 
 if thou discoverest ony wickedness in me, do 
 thou prevent tliy father, and kill me thyself." 
 
 8. But Jonathan heard these last words 
 with indignation, and promised to do what he 
 desired of him, and to inform him if his fa- 
 ther's answeis implicil any thing of a melancho- 
 ly nature, and any enmity against him. And 
 that he might the more tirinly depend upon 
 him, he took him out into the open field, into 
 the pure air, and sware that he would neglect 
 nothing that might tend to the preservation of 
 David; and he said, " I appeal to that God, 
 who, as thou seest, is dillused everywhere, and 
 knovveth this intention of mine, before I ex- 
 plain it in wiirds, as the witness of this my 
 covenant with thee, tiiat 1 «ill not leave oH 
 to make fi'/ijuent trials of the purpose of my 
 lather till I learn whether there be any luiking 
 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, whe- 
 ther he be gently or peevishly disposed ; for 
 
 'V 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 171 
 
 tliis God Iiimself knows, tliat 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 he 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 
 bast now received, to them." When he had 
 thus sworn, he dismissed David, bidding him 
 go to a certain place of that plain wherein he 
 used to perform his exercises ; for that, as 
 soon as he knew the mind of his father, he 
 woiiltl come thither to hiin, with one servant 
 only ; " and if," says he, " I shoot three darts 
 at t!ie mark, and then hid my servant to carry 
 these three darts away, for they are before him, 
 .^know thou that there is no misciiief to be 
 feared from my father; but if thou hearest 
 tne say the contrary, expect the contrary from 
 the king. However, thou shalt gain security 
 by my means, and slialt by no means suffer 
 any harm; but see thou dost not forget what 
 I have desired of thee in tlie time of thy pros- 
 perity, and be serviceable to my children." 
 Now David, when lie had received these as- 
 surances from Jonathan, went his way to the 
 ()1ace appointed. 
 
 9. But on the next day, which was the new 
 moon, the king, when he had purified himself, 
 as the custom was, came to supper; and when 
 there sat by him his son Jonathan on his right 
 hand, and Abner, 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 coidd not be present ; 
 but when he saw that he was not there the se- 
 cond day of the month neither, he inquired 
 of his son Jonathan why the son of Jesse did 
 not come to the supper and L'je feast, neither 
 the day before nor that day. So Jonathan 
 said that he was gone, according to the agree- 
 ment between them, to his own city, where 
 his tribe kept a festival, and that by his per- 
 mission : that he also invited him to come to 
 their sacrifice; " and," says Jonathan, " if thou 
 wilt give me leave, I will go thither, for thou 
 knowest the good-will that I bear him ;" and 
 then it was that Jonathan understood his fa- 
 ther'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 shewed 
 he had no regard to himself, or to his mother, 
 and would not be persuaded of this, — that 
 while D.ivid is alive, their kingdom was not 
 secure to them ; yet did he bid him send for 
 him, that he might be punished -. and when 
 Jonathan said, in answer, " What hath he 
 done that thou wilt punish him ?" Saul no 
 longei contented liimself to express his anger 
 ill bare words, but snatched up his spear, and 
 
 leaped upon him, and was desiro'is to kill him. 
 lie did not indeed do what he intended, be- 
 cause he was hindered by his friends; but if 
 appeared plainly to his son tiiat he hated Da- 
 vid, and greatly desired to dispatch liim, inso- 
 much that he had almost slain iiis son with his 
 own hands on his account. 
 
 10. And then it was that the king's son 
 rose hastily from supper; and being unable to 
 admit any thing into his mouth for grief, he 
 wept all night, both because lie had himselt 
 been near destruction, and because the death 
 oi' David was determined; but as soon as it 
 was day, he went out into the plain that was 
 before the city, as going to perform his exer- 
 cises, but in reality to inform his friend what 
 disposition his father was in towards him, as 
 he had agreed with him to do ; and when Jona- 
 than had done what had been thus agreed, he 
 dismissed his servant that followed him, to re- 
 turn to the city ; but he himself went into the 
 desert, and came into his presence, and com- 
 muned 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 mutu- 
 ally embraced one another, and made a long 
 greeting, and that not without 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 itself. 
 So recollecting themselves at length from their 
 lamentation, and exhorting one another to be 
 mindful of the oaths they had sworn to each 
 other, they parted asunder. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW DAVID FLED TO AHIMELECH, AND AFTK!l- 
 WARDS TO THE KINGS OF THE PIIIUSTINKS, 
 AND OF THE MOABITES ; AND HOW SAUL 
 SLEW AHIMELECH AND HIS FAMILY. 
 
 § 1. But David fled from the king, and that 
 death he vvas in danger of by him, and came 
 to the city Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, 
 who, when he saw him coming all alone, and 
 neither a friend nor a servant with liim, he 
 wondered at it, and desired to learn of him 
 the cause why there was nobody with him. 
 To which David answered. That the 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 
 for any one to accompany him ; " however, 
 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 busi- 
 ness he was now about : and when he had 
 obtained what he desired, he also asked him 
 
172 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 wholliur lie had any weapons Hitli Iiini, citlicr 
 sword or s])ear. Now there was at Nob a 
 servant of Saul, by birth a Syrian, whose name 
 was Doeg, one that kept the king's mules. 
 The hi<^ii-priest said that he had no such 
 weapons ; but, he added, " Here is the sword 
 of Golialh, which, when thou hadst slain tlie 
 Philistine, thou didst dedicate to God." 
 
 2. When David had received the sword, 
 lie iled out of the country of the Hebrews 
 into that of the Philistines, over which Aciiisli 
 reigned ; and when tiie king's servants knew 
 him, and he was made known to the king 
 himself, the servants informing him that he 
 was that David who had killed many ten 
 thousands of the Pliilistines, David was afraid 
 lest the king should put hiin to death, and 
 that he should experience that danger from 
 him which he had escajjcd from Saul ; so he 
 pretended to be distracted and mad, so that 
 his spittle ran out of his mouth ; and lie did 
 other the like actions before the king of Gath, 
 which might make him believe that they pro- 
 ceeded from such a distemper. 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 immedi- 
 ately [out of the city]. 
 
 3. 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 in all about four 
 hundred. Whereupon he took courage, now 
 such a force and assistance was come to him ; 
 so he removed thence, and came to the king 
 of the Moabites, and desired him to entertain 
 his parents in his country while the issue of 
 his affairs were in such an uncertain condi- 
 tion. The king granted him this favour, and 
 paid great respect to David's parents all the 
 time they were with him. 
 
 4. As for himself, upon the prophet's 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 corn- 
 ing to the city Hareth, which was in that 
 tribe, he remained there. Now when Saul 
 heard that David had been seen with a multi- 
 tude about him, he fell into no small disturb- 
 ance and trouble ; but as he knew that David 
 was a bold and courageous man, he suspected 
 that somewhat extraordinary would appear 
 from him, and that openly also, which would 
 make him weep and put him into distress ; 
 BO he called together to him his friends, and 
 his commanders, and the tribe from which he 
 was himself derived, to the hill where his pa- 
 lace was ; and sitting upon a place called 
 Arouiii, liis courtiers that were in di;i;nitie3i 
 
 and the guards of his body, being with him, 
 he spake thus to them: — " "\'ou tiiat are men 
 of my own tribe, I conclude tliat you renieni- 
 ber the benefits tliat I have bestowed 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, 
 Wl-ether you expect greater and more dona- 
 tions from the son of Jesse' for 1 know that 
 you are all inclinable to him (even my own 
 son Jonathan himself is of that opinion, and 
 persuades you to be of the same) ; for I am 
 not unacquainted with the oaths and the co- 
 venants that are between 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 wliat will be 
 the upsliot of these things." When the king 
 had made this speech, not one of the rest of 
 those 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 liigh-priest, and that 
 he learned future events by his prophesying; 
 that he received food from him, and the 
 sword of Goliath, and was conducted by him 
 with security to such as he desired to go to. 
 
 5. Saul, therefore, sent for the high-priest, 
 and for all his kindred, and said to them. 
 " What terrible or ungrateful thing ha^t thou 
 suffered from me, that thou hast received the 
 son of Jesse, and hast bestowed on him both 
 food and weapons, when he was contriving 
 to get the kingdom ! — and farther, Why didst 
 ihou deliver oracles to him concerning futu- 
 rities ? for thou couldst not be unacijuainted 
 that he was fled away from me, and that he 
 hated my family." But the high-priest did 
 not betake himself to deny what he had done, 
 but confessed 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 adversaries, but on those who 
 are esteemed . to bear the highest good-will 
 and respect to them. Nor is this the tirst 
 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 de- 
 sired, 1 should have thought that it was rather 
 in contradiction to thee than to him ; where- 
 fore do not thou entertain any ill opinion of 
 me, nor do thou have a sus))icion of what I 
 tlien thought an act of humanity, from what 
 is now told thee of David's attempts against 
 tliee, for I did then to him as to thy friend 
 
 'V 
 
■V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEAVS. 
 
 CHAl'. XII. 
 
 and son-in-law, and captain of a thousand, 
 and not as to thine adversary." 
 
 €. Wlien the high-priest had spok'jn 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 command- 
 ed iiis armed men that stood about him to kill 
 him, and ail his kindred ; but as they durst 
 nut touch the liigh-pricst, but were more 
 afraid of disobeying God than the king, he 
 ordered Doeg the Syrian to kill tiiem. Ac- 
 cordingly, he took to his assistance such 
 wicked men as were like himself, and slew 
 Ahimelech arid all his family, who were in all 
 three hundred and eiglity five. Saul also 
 sent to Nob,* the city of tlie priests, and slew 
 all that were there, without sparing either 
 women or children, or any other age, and 
 burnt it ; only there was one son of Ahime- 
 lech, whose name was Abiathar, who escaped. 
 However, these things came to pass as God 
 hiid foretold to Eli the high-priest, when he 
 said that his posterity should be destroyed, on 
 account of the transgression of his two sons. 
 
 7. f Now this king Saul, by perpetrating 
 so barbiuous a crime, and murdering the 
 whole family of the higli -priestly dignity, by 
 luiving no pity of the infants, nor reverence 
 for tlie aged, and by overthrowing tlie city 
 which God had chosen for the property, and 
 for tlie 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 
 persons, and in a low condition, because it 
 is not in their power to indulge 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 
 
 * This city Nob was not a city allotted to the priests, 
 Bor hail the prophets, that we know of, any particular 
 cities allotted them. It seems the tabernacle was now 
 at Nob, and probably a sch(X)l of the pvophets was here 
 also. It wa> full two d.iys' journey on foot from Jeru- 
 salem, 1 Sam. xxi, 5. The n\imber of priests here slain 
 in Josephus, .is three hundred and eighty-five, and but 
 eighty-Ave in^ our Uebrt w copies ; yet are they three 
 hundred and five in the Septua^jint. 1 prefer .(osei>hus's 
 numlKjr, the Hebrew having, 1 suppose, only dioppcd 
 the h\Mulrerls, the other the tens. 'I'liis city Nob seems 
 to have been the chief, or perhaps the only seat of the 
 family ol Ithamar, whieh here perished, according ti) 
 God's former terrible threateuings to Eli, 1 Sam. ii, i!7 
 — ,3ti ; in, 11 — IS. Sec chaji. xiv, sect. 9, hereafter. 
 
 t This section contains an alniirabli- reflection of Jo- 
 sephus conceming thegeneral wickedness of men in great 
 authoi ity, ai>d the danger tliey are in of rejecting that re- 
 gaid to justice and humanity, to Divine I'rovidenccand 
 the fear of (lod, which they either really had, or pre- 
 tended to have, whUe they were in a lower condition. 
 It can ne\ er be too often perused by kings and great men, 
 nor by those who expect to obtain such ele\ ated dignities 
 among mankind. See the like rctlcitions of our Jose- 
 phus, .Mitiii- b. vii, ch. i. sect, i, at the end ; and b. viii, 
 eh. X. sect, i', at the beginning. Tney are to the like 
 puiport with one branch of .Agur's prayer : " One thing 
 lia'' e 1 re(piired of thee, deny it me riot before 1 die : (iive 
 me not nehcs, lest I be full, ;nii! deny thee, and say 
 s-lio is the Lord ,•" I'lOv XXA. 7. b. ih 
 
 173 
 
 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 authority, 
 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 con- 
 tempt of both human and divine laws, and 
 this at a time when they especially stand in 
 need of piety and righteousness, because they 
 are then most of all exposed to envy, and all 
 tliey tliink 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 fhey hear, 
 or they hate by inclination, or they love with- 
 out reason, these seem to them to be authen- 
 tic, and firm, and true, and pleasing both to 
 men and to God ; but as to what v\ ill come 
 hereafter, 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 higii dignity, 
 tliey do not only deprive them of what they 
 had obtained, but also on that very account 
 of their lives also, and that on wicked accu- 
 sations, and such as on account of their ex- 
 travagant nature are incredible. They also 
 punish men for their actions, not such as de- 
 serve condemnation, but from calumnies and 
 accusations without examination j and this 
 extends not only to such as deserve to be pu- 
 nished, but to as many as they are able to 
 kill. This reflection is openly confirmed to 
 us from the example of Saul, the son ol 
 Kish, who was the first king who reigned af- 
 ter our aristocracy and government under the 
 judges were over; and that by his slaughter 
 of three hundred priests and propliets, on oc- 
 casion of his suspicion about Ahimelech, and 
 by the additional wickedness of the overthrow 
 of their city, and this as if he were endeavour- 
 ing in some sort to render the temple [taber- 
 nacle] destitute both of priests and prophets ; 
 which endeavour he showed by slaying so 
 many of them, and not suflTering the very city 
 belonging to tliem to remain, that so others 
 might succeed them. 
 
 8. But Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, 
 who alone could be saved out of the family 
 of priests slain by Saul, lied to David, and 
 informed him of the calamity that had befallen 
 their family, and of the slaughter of his fa- 
 ther : who hereupon said, He was not un- 
 apprized 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 accused by him to the king ; 
 and he blamed himself as having been the 
 cause of this misfortune. But lie de^ireii him 
 to stay there, and abide wiiii him. as in a 
 
 ■^ 
 
174 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THB JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V!. 
 
 and returned home. Now the men of Zipb. 
 to gratify Saul, inlbrmed him that David abode 
 "itli them, and [assured him] that if he would 
 eoine to them, they would deliver him up, for 
 that if the king would seize on the straits of 
 Ziph, David nosild not esca|)e 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 
 liis enemy ; and lie promised them, th:it it 
 should not be long ere he would requite their 
 kindness. He also sent men to seek for David, 
 and to search the wilderness wherein he was ; 
 and be promised that he himself would follow 
 them. Accordingly they went before the king, 
 to hunt for and to catch David, and used en. 
 deavours not only to show their good-will to 
 Saul, by informing him where bis 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 reveal, 
 ing -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 other- 
 wise have lain concealed, and this out of flat- 
 tery, and expectation of gain from tlu; 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 
 
 kino-'s ears. Then was Saul glad when he ' fled to the great rock that was in the wilder 
 
 heard David was in Keilah : and he said, " God i ness of Maon. 
 
 place where be might bo better concealed than 
 anvwhere else. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HOW DAVID, WHEN IIF. HAD TWICE THE OPPOR- 
 TUNITY OF KM.l.ING SAUL, DID NOT KILL 
 HIM. ALSO, CONCERNING THE DEATH Of 
 SAMUEL AND NABAL. 
 
 § 1. 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 them, if God, 
 when he should be consulted by the prophet, 
 would grant him the victory. And when the 
 prophet said that God 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 
 staid with the inhabitants of Keilah till they had 
 securely gathered in their corn and their fruits. 
 However, it wftstold Saul the king that David 
 was with the men of Keilah ; for what had 
 been done, 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 ill abroad, and came to the 
 Hearing of others, and boih the fact as it stood 
 and the author of the fact, were carried to the 
 
 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 cominanded all 
 the people suddenly, and, when they had be- 
 sieged and taken it, to kill David. But when 
 David ])erceived, this, and learned of God that 
 if be staid there the men of Keilah would de- 
 liver him up to Saul, he took his four hundred 
 men and retired into a desert that was over- 
 against a city called Engedi. So that when 
 the king heard be was fled away from the men 
 of Keilah, he left off his expedition against 
 him. 
 
 2. Tlien David removed thence, and came 
 to a certain place called the New Place, be- 
 longing to Zi])h ; where Jonathan, the son of 
 Saul, came to him, and saluted him, and ex- 
 horted him to be of good courage, and to hope 
 well as to his condition hereafter, and not to 
 despond at his present circumstances, for that 
 he should be king, and have all the forces of 
 the Hebrews under him : he told him that 
 such happiness uses to come with great labour 
 and pains: they also took oaths, that they 
 would, all their lives long, continue in good- 
 will and fidelity one to another ; and he called 
 God to witness as to what execrations he had 
 made upon himself if he should transgress bis 
 
 3. Hereupon Saul made haste to pursue 
 him thither; for, as he was inarching, he 
 learned that David was gone away from the 
 Straits of Ziph, and Saul removed to the other 
 side of the rock. But the report that the 
 Philistines had again made an incursion into 
 the country of the Hebrews, called Saul an- 
 other 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 thitn 
 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. 
 
 4. And by this means David unexpectedly 
 escaped out of the danger he was in, and came 
 to the Straits of Engedi ; and when &iul had 
 driven tlie Philistines out of the land, there 
 came some messengers, who told him that 
 David abode within the hounds of Engedi; 
 so he took three thousand chosen men that 
 were armed, and made haste to bim ; and 
 when he was not far from those places, he 
 saw a deep and hollow cave by the way-side ; 
 it was open to a great length and breadth, and 
 there it was that David with his four hundred 
 men were concealed. M'hen therefore he had 
 
 covenant, and should change to a contrary be- i occasion to ease nature, be entered into it by 
 haviour. So Jonathan left him there, having himself alone ; and being seen by one of Da- 
 rendered his cares and fears somewhat lighter, (vid's companions, and he that saw him saying 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. XIlI. 
 
 to liiin that he had now, by God's providence, 
 an opportunity of avenging himself of his ad- 
 versary ; and advising him to cut off his head, 
 and so deliver himself out of that tedious wan- 
 dering condition, and tlie distress he was in, 
 he rose up and only cut off the skirt of that 
 garment which Saul had on ; but he soon re- 
 pented 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 
 (cingdom : '' for that aliliough he were wicked- 
 ly disposed towards us, yet does it not behove 
 me to be so disposed towards him." Butwhen 
 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 " O king, thou oughtest not to hearken 
 to wicked men, nor to such as forge calum- 
 nies, 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 actions; 
 for calumny deludes men, but men's own ac- 
 tions arc a clear demonstration of their kind- 
 ness. Words indeed, in their own nature, 
 may be cither true or false, but men's actions 
 expose their intentions nakedly to our view. I 
 liy these, therefore, it will be 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 farther by pursuing after my life, and 
 have no concern either day or night, but how 
 to compass my life and to murder me, which i 
 thing I think thou dost unjustly prosecute ; : 
 for how comes it about that thou hast embrac- 
 ed this false opinion about me, as if I had a 
 desire to kill thee? — or how canst thou escape 
 the crime of impiety towards God, when thou 
 wishest thou couldst kill, and deemest thine , 
 adversary a man who had it in his power this i 
 day to avenge himself, and to punish thee, ' 
 but would not do it ? — nor make u^e 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 made nim agree to what he said 
 to be true; and added, " 1, for certain, have 
 abstained from taking a just revenge upon 
 thee, yet art thou not ashamed to prosecute 
 nie with unjust hatred*. May God do jus- 
 tice and determine about each of our disposi- 
 tions !" — But Saul was amazed at the strange 
 delivery he had received ; and, being greatly 
 affected with the moderation and the disposi - 
 
 * Tlie phrase in David's speecli to Saul, as set down 
 m Josephus, tliat lie Iiad abstained from just rovenpe, 
 puts niu ill mind of the hlie words in tlio Apostolical 
 t'oiistitutioiis, b. vii. oh. ii, " That revenge is not evil, 
 but that patioiiL'e is more rioiuJiir.able" 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 175 
 
 tion of the young man, he groaned ; and when 
 David had done the same, tlie king answered 
 that he had the justest occasion to groan, 
 " for thou hast been the author of good to 
 me, as I have been the author of calainity to 
 thee ; and thou hast demonstrated this da_v, 
 that thou possessest the righteousness of the 
 antients, who determined that men ought to 
 save their enemies, though they caught them 
 in a desert place. I ain now persuaded that 
 God reserves the kingdom 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 king- 
 dom ; but he, and those that were with him, 
 went up the Straits of Mastheroth. 
 
 5. About this time Samuel the prophet 
 died. He was a inan whom the Hebrews ho- 
 noured 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 appeared about his funeral, and about the 
 complete observation of all his funeral rites. 
 They buried him in his own city of Ramah ; 
 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 
 righteous man, and gentle in his nature; and 
 on that account he was very dear to God. 
 Now he governed and presided over the peo- 
 ple alone, after the death of Eli the high- 
 priest, twelve years, and eighteen years toge- 
 ther with Saul the king. And thus we have 
 finished the history of Samuel. 
 
 6. 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 
 three thousand sheep, and another flock of a 
 thousand goats. Now David had charged his 
 associates to keep these flocks without hurt 
 and witliout damage, and to do them no mis- 
 chief, neitl^er out of covelousness, nor because | 
 they were in want, nor because they were in 
 the wilderness, and so could not easily be dis- 
 covered, but to esteem freedom ftom injustice 
 above all other motives, and to look upon the 
 touching of what belonged to another man as 
 a horrible crime, and contrary to the will of 
 God. Tliese were the instructions he gave, 
 thinking that the favours he granted this man 
 were granted to a good man, and one that de- 
 served to have such care taken of his aflairs. 
 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 beha- 
 viour, but still had obtained for his wife a wo. 
 man of a good character, w ise and handbOine, 
 To this Nabal, therefore, David sent ten men 
 
 r 
 
178 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 of his attendants at the time when Jie Blieared 
 hTs sheep, and by tliem saluted him ; and also 
 wished he might do what he now did for many 
 years to come, but desired iiiin to make iiim a 
 present of what he was able to give him, since 
 he had, to be sure, learned from his shepherds 
 that we had done them no injury, but had been 
 their guardians a long time together, while we 
 continued in the wilderness ; and he assured 
 him 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, 
 " Nov/ is the time that fugitives grow inso- 
 lent, and make a figure, and leave their mas- 
 ters." Wiien thoy told David this, he was 
 wroth, and commanded four hundred armed 
 men to follow him, and left two hundred to 
 take care of the stuff (for he had already six 
 hundred *), and went against Nabal : ke also 
 swore that he would that night utterly destroy 
 the whole house and possessions of Nabal ; 
 for tliat he was grieved, not only that he had 
 proved ungrateful to them, without making 
 any return for the humanity they had shown 
 him, but that he had also reproached them, 
 and used ill language to them, when he had 
 received no cause of disgust from them. 
 
 7. Hereupon one of those that kept the 
 flocks of Nabal, said to his mistress, Nabal's 
 wife, that when David sent to her husband be 
 had received no civil answer at all from him ; 
 but that her husband had moreover added very 
 reproachful language, while yet David had 
 taken extraordinary care to keep his flocks 
 fiom harm, and that what had passed would 
 prove very pernicious 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 presents ; and, without 
 telling her husband any thing of what she was 
 about (for he was not sensible on account of 
 his drunkenness), she went to David. She 
 was then met by David as she was descending 
 a hill, who was coming against Nabal with 
 four hundred men. When the woman saw 
 Duvid, she leaped down from her ass, and fell 
 on her face, and tiowed down to the ground ; 
 ind entreated him not to bear in mind the 
 words of Nabal, since he knew that he re- 
 sembled his name. Now Nabal, in the He- 
 brew tongue, signifiesyi)/(y. So she made her 
 apology, that she did not see the messengers 
 whom he sent. " Forgive me, therefore," 
 said she, " and thank God, who hath hindered 
 
 * The number of men that came first to David, arc 
 distini'tly in Josephus and in our coiiinion copies, but 
 four hundred. When he was at KeiUh still but four 
 hundred, both in .losephus and iu the Ixxii ; but six 
 hundred in our Hebrew copies (1 8ani. xxiii, 1.3; see 
 XXX, y, 10). Now the six lumdied tlicre mentirmed are 
 here estimated by .1omi)1uis to have Ijcen so many, only 
 by an aiiBnieutalion ol two hundred afterwavd, which I 
 »upiH)se i-i the true solution of this seem:ng disagrcc- 
 
 thee from shedding human blood; for so long 
 as thou keejiest thyself innocent, he will avenge 
 thee of wicked inen,f for what miseries await 
 Nabal, they will fall upon the heads of thine 
 enenn'es. Be thou gracious to me, and think 
 me so far worthy as to accept of these presents 
 from me ; and, out of regard to nre, 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 accept- 
 ed her presents, and said, " Nay, but, O wo- 
 man, it was no other than God's mercy which 
 brought thee to us to-day ; for, otherwise, thoa 
 hadst never seen another day, I having sworn 
 to destroy Nabal's house this very night, | and 
 to leave alive not one of you xvho belonged to 
 a man that was wicked and ungrateful to me 
 and my companions ; but now hast thou pre- 
 vented me, and seasonably mollified mj' an- 
 ger, as being thyself under the care of God's 
 providence: but as for Nabal, although for thy 
 sake he now escape punishment, he will not 
 always avoid justice ; for his evrl conduct, on 
 some other occasion, will be his ruin." 
 
 8. When David had said this, he dismissed 
 the woman. But when she came home and 
 found her husband feasting with a great com- 
 pany, and oppressed with wine, she said no 
 thing to him then about what had ha))pened ; 
 but on the next day, when he was sober, she 
 told him all the particidars, and made his 
 whole body to appear 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 wickedness, and had suffered 
 punishment on his account, while he had kept 
 his own hands clean. At which time he un- 
 derstood that the wicked are prosecuted by 
 God ; that he does not overlook any man, 
 but bestows on the good what is sm'table to 
 them, and inflicts a deserved punishment on 
 the wicked. So he sent to Nabal's wife, and 
 invited her to come to him, to live with him, 
 and to be his wife. Whereupon she replied 
 to Uiose that came, that she was not worthy 
 
 + In this and the two next sections, wc may peropive 
 how Josephus, nay, how Abigail herself, would under- 
 stand, the " not avenging ourselves, bvit heiiping eciK 
 of fire on the head of the injurious" (Prov. xxv, 22; 
 Rom. xii, 20) ; not a^ we commonly do now, of raoi- 
 ing them into kindness, but of leaving them to the judg- 
 ment of God, " to whom vengeance belongeth" (lleut. 
 xxxii, 55 ; Psal. xciv, 1 ; Hcb. x, 3i ), and who will take 
 venfjeaiic-e on the wicked. And since aH God's judgments 
 arc just, and all tit to be executed, and all at length foi 
 the good of the persons punished, 1 incline to think that 
 to be the meaning of this phrase of •' heaping coals ol 
 fire on their heads." 
 
 X We may note here, that how sacred <oever an oath 
 was esteemed among the jieople of (iod in old times, 
 they did not think it obligatory where the action was 
 
 tlainlv unlawful. I or so we see it was in this case ot 
 lavid', who, although he had sworn to destroy Nalxrl and 
 his family, yet does he here, and 1 Sam. xxv, .32, — jI, 
 bless God'for nreventir.g his keeping bis o;ith, .-urd fror» 
 she<iding of blood jis lie hid sworn to di^ 
 
J~ 
 
 X 
 
 CHAP. XHI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 177 
 
 to touch his feet -, however, she came, with 
 all l)er servants, and became his wife, having 
 received tliat honour on account of her wise 
 and righteous course of life. She also ob- 
 tained tlie same honour partly on account of 
 her beauty. Now David had a wife before, 
 whom he married from the city A!>esar ; for 
 as to Michal, tlie daughter of king Saul, wiio 
 had been Davia s wife, her father had given 
 her in marriage to Phalti, the son of Laish, 
 who was of the city of Gallim. 
 
 9. After this came certain of the Ziphites, 
 and told Saul that David was come again in- 
 to their country, and, if he would afl'ord them 
 his assistance, they could catch him. So he 
 came to them with three thousand armed 
 men ; and upon the approach of night, he 
 pitched his camp at a certain place called Ha- 
 chilah. But when David heard that Saul was 
 coming against him, he sent spies, and bid 
 them let him know to what place of the coun- 
 try Saul was already come ; and when they 
 told him that he was at Hacliilali, he conceal- 
 ed his going away from his companions, and 
 came to Saul's camp, having taken with him 
 Abishai, his sister Zeruiah's son, and Aliime- 
 lech the Hittite. Now Saul was asleep, and 
 tlie 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, thougli 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 ordained 
 king by God, although he was a wicked man ; 
 for that he who gave him the dominion would 
 in time inflict punishment 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 cruse of water whicli 
 stood by Saul as he lay asleep, without bning 
 perceived by any in the camp, who were all 
 asleep, and went securely away, liaving per- 
 formed every thing among the king's atten- 
 dants that tlie opportunity afforded, and his 
 boldness enc^ouraged him to do. So when 
 he had passed over a brook, and was gotten 
 up to the top of a hill, whence he might be 
 sufficiently heard, he cried aloud to Saul's 
 soldiers, and to Abner their commander, and 
 awaked them out of tlieir 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 re- 
 plied, — " 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 little care of thy master's body ? and is 
 sleep of more consequence to thee tliaii liis 
 preservation and tliy care of him ? This ne- 
 gligence of yours deserx'es death, and punish- 
 
 ■"v__ 
 
 ment to be inflicted on you, who never per- 
 ceived when, a little while ago, some of us 
 entered into your c.^mp, nay, as far as to the 
 king himself, and to all the rest of you. If 
 tliou look for the king's spear and his cruse 
 of water, thou wilt learn what a mighty mis- 
 fortune 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 did 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 
 lie 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 demonstrations of 
 Ills 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 l)ade them send for the spear and 
 the cruse of water, and take them back ; add- 
 ing 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 frojn it." 
 
 10. 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 staid there he should be 
 caught by Saul ; so fie thought it better to 
 go up into the land of the Philistines and 
 abide there. Accordingly he came with the 
 six hundred men that were with him to Ach- 
 isli, the king of Gatii, 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 farther 
 care about sending to him, or going after him, 
 because he had been twice in a manner 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 humanity, that he would grant him ano- 
 ther favour, and bestow upon him some place 
 of that country for his ha'oitalion, for he was 
 ashamed, by living in the city, to be grievous 
 and burdensome to him. So Achish gave 
 him a cenain village calJed Ziklag; whicti 
 place David and his sons were fond of when 
 he was king, and reckoned it to be their p«*. 
 culiar inheritance. But about those matters 
 we shall give the reader farther information 
 elsewhere. Now the lime that David dwell 
 
 J 
 
178 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 In Ziklag, in the land of the Philistines, was 
 four inontlis and twenty clays. And now he 
 privately attacked those Geshurites and Aiiia- 
 lekites that were neighbours to the Philistines, 
 and laid waste their country, and took niuch 
 prey of their beasts and camels, and then re- 
 turned home ; but David abstained from the 
 men, as fearing they should discover him to 
 king Achish ; yet did he send part of the 
 prey to him as a i'rvii gift. And when the 
 king inquired whom they liad attacked when 
 tliey brought away the prey, he said, those 
 tliat lay to the south of the Jews, and inlia- 
 bited in the plain ; whereby he persuaded 
 Achish to api)rove of what he had done, for 
 lie hoped that David 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. 
 
 when God did not answer him, Saul was un. 
 der a still greater dread, and his courage fell, 
 foreseeing, as wis but reasonable to su|)i)ose, 
 that mischief would befal liim, now God was 
 not tliere to assist him ; yet did he bid his ser- 
 vants to enquire out iijr him some woman that 
 was a necromancer, and called up the souls 
 of the dead, that so he migiit know whether 
 his affairs would succeed to his mind ; for this 
 sort of necromantic women that bring up the 
 souls of the dead, do by them fortell fuluio 
 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 S.iul put oS 
 his royal apparel, and took two of those his 
 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 opposed his motion, and said. She 
 CHAPTER XIV, did not despise the king, who had banished 
 
 this sort of fortune-tellers, and that he did not 
 HOW SAUL, UPON GOd's NOT ANSWF.RING Hlfl ! do well himself, when she had done him no 
 CONCERNING THE FIGHT WITH THE PHILIS- 1 harm, to endeavour to lay a snare for her, and 
 
 TINES, DESIRED A NECROMANTIC WOMAN TO 
 IIAISE UP THE SOUL OF SAMUEL TO HIM ; 
 AND HOW HE DIED, WITH HIS SONS, UPON 
 THE OVERTHROW OF THE HEBREWS IN BAT- 
 TLE. 
 
 § 1, About the same time the Philistines re- 
 
 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 bv 
 this oath to fear no harm, he bade her bring 
 
 solved to make war against the Israelites, and : up to him the soul of Samuel. Si;e nut know-, 
 sent to all their confederates that they would i ing who Samuel was, called him out of 
 
 go along with them to the war to Reggan, 
 [near the city Shunem], whence they might 
 gather themselves together and suddenly at- 
 tack the Hebrew s. Then dia 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 requite him for 
 his kindness and hos|)itality ; so the king pro- 
 mised to make him the keeper of his body after 
 tire victory, supposing that the battle with tlie 
 enemy succeeded to their mind ; which pro- 
 mise of honour and confidence he made on 
 purpose to increase his zeal for his service. 
 
 2. Now Saul, the king of the Hebrews, had 
 cast out of the country the fortune-lellers, and 
 the necromancers, and all such as eiercistd 
 the like arts, excepting the prophets ; but 
 when he heard that the Philistines were al- 
 ready come, and had pitched their camp near 
 the city Shunem, situate in the plain, he made 
 haste to oppose them with his forces ; and 
 when he was come to a certain mountain called 
 Gilboa, he pitched his camp over-against the 
 enemy ; but when he saw the enemy's army 
 he was greatly troubled, because it apjieared 
 to him to be numerous, an-d si;perior to his 
 own ; and he enquired of God by tlie prophets 
 concerning the battle, that he might know be- 
 forehand «liat would be the event of it; and 
 
 Hades. When he ajjpeared, and the woman 
 saw one that was venerable, and of a divine 
 form, she was in disorder, and, being astonish- 
 ed at the sight, she said, — " Art not thou 
 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 bid her tell him what he re- 
 sembled, in v\hat habit he appeared, and of 
 what 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 dis- 
 covered 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 w hy he 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 forsaken of God, 
 and could obtain no prediction of what was 
 coming, neitiier by prophets nor by dreams; 
 and that " these were the reasons why 1 have 
 recourse to thee, who always tookest c re of 
 me." But • Samuel, seeing that the end of 
 
 • This history of Saul's consultation, not wi'h a \vitfh, 
 as \vf render tlie Hebrew Wi)rd here, but witl' a iicer'.^- 
 
J 
 
 CHAI'. XIV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEAVS. 
 
 179 
 
 ^ 
 
 Saul's life was come, said, — " It is in vain for 
 tliee to desire to learn of me any thing farther, 
 when God hath forsaken thee : however, hear 
 what I say, tliat David iS to be king, and to 
 finish this war witii good success; and thou 
 art to lose thy dominion and tliy life, because 
 tliou didst not obey God in the war with tiie 
 Amalekites, and liast not kept bis command- 
 ments, as I foretold thee while I was alive. 
 Know, therefore, that the people shall be made 
 subject to their enemies, and that thou, witli 
 thy sons, shall fall in the battle to-morrow, 
 and thou shalt then be with me [in Hades]." 
 
 3. When Siuil heard tiiis, he could not 
 speak for grief, and fell down on the floor, 
 whether it were from the sorrow that arose 
 upon what Samuel had said, or from his emp- 
 tiness, for he had taken no food the forego- 
 ing day nor 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 favour on account of 
 her concern in that dangerous instance of for- 
 tune-telling, which it was not lawful for her to 
 have done, because of the fear she was under of 
 tile king, while she knew not wlio he was, yet 
 did she undertake it, and go through with it; 
 on which account she entreated him to admit 
 •.hat a table and food might be set before him, 
 th;it he might recover his strenglli, and so get 
 safe to his own camp. And when he oppos- 
 ed her motion, and entirely rejected it, by rea- 
 son of his anxiety, she forced him, and at last 
 persuaded bun to it. Now she iiad one calf 
 tliat 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. 
 
 4. Now it is but just to recommend the ge- 
 nerosity of this woman, * because when the 
 king had forbidden her to use that art whence 
 her circumstances were bettered and improved, 
 and when she had never seen the king before, 
 she stili did not remember to his disadvantage 
 that he had condemned her sort of learning, 
 and did not Refuse him as a stranger, and one 
 
 mancer, as the whole iiistary shows, is easily understood, 
 especially if *c consult the Hecocnitions of Clemciit, b. 
 i. chap. V, ai large, and more oriefly, and nearer the 
 days of Samuel, Kecius. xlvi. 20. " Samuel pronhifsietl 
 after his death, and .-.howed the kini; his end, and lift up 
 his voice fiom the earlli in prophcoy," to blot out " the 
 wickedne"!^ of the people." Nor does the exactness of 
 the accomplishment of tl-.is pred'iction, the very next day. 
 permit us to suppi 'se any imposition upon t>aul in the 
 present history ; for al.-o' all moiiern hypotheses against 
 the natural seiise of sueh ancient and authentic histo- 
 ries I take them to be of v<'ry small \aluc or consider- 
 ation. 
 
 * These great commendations of thLi necromantic 
 jfoman of Kndor, and of ;-aurs martial courage, when 
 vet he knew he should die in the battle, are somewhat 
 unusual digressions in .losephus. They seem to me 
 extracted from >,oine speeches or deL-lainations of his 
 
 that she had had no acquaintance witli ; 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 hum:inity, while she 
 bad 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 that 
 bestow benefits upon them, or are very ready 
 to serve those from whom they may receive 
 :-.ome 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 be- 
 coming mankind, than such a general benefi- 
 cence, nor wliat will sooner render God fa- 
 voural)le, and ready to bestow good things 
 upon us. And so far may sufHce to have 
 spoken concerning this woman. But I shall 
 speak farther 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 tlie taste of 
 good men, and will encourage them all in th« 
 prosecution of virtue, and is capable of show- 
 ing them the method of acquiring glory, and 
 an everlasting fame; and of imprinting in 
 the kings of nations, and the rulers of cities, 
 great inclination and diligence of doing well • 
 as also of encouraging them to undergo dan- 
 gers, and to die for their countries, and of in- 
 structing them how to despise all the mos* 
 terrible adversities ; and I have a fair occa- 
 sion offered me to enter on such a discourse 
 by Saul the king of the Hebrews ; for al- 
 tliough he knew what was coining upon him, 
 and that he was to die immediately by the 
 prediction of the prophet, he did not resolve 
 to fly from death, nor so far to indulge the 
 love of life as to betray his ovvn people to the 
 enemy, or to bring a disgrace on his royal 
 dignity ; but, exposing himself, as well as all 
 his family and children to dangers, bethought 
 it a brave tiling to fall together with them, as 
 he was fighting for his subjects, and that it 
 was better his sons should die thus, showing 
 their courage, than to leave them to their un- 
 certain conduct afterward, while, instead of 
 succession and posterity, they gained com- 
 mendation and a lasting name. Such a one 
 alone seems to me to be a just, a courageous, 
 and a prudent man ; and when any one Ikis 
 arrived at these dispositions, or shall hereaf- 
 ter arrive at them, he is the man that ouglit 
 to be by all honoured with 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 action, I think 
 those do not do well who call those valiant 
 men, as so many historians, and other writers 
 
 h';';i''=?wl'i^'h?'}-''-'*,/n"M''';V"" "''■!'"^' "tf^'V^y who treat of thJm are wont to do, although I 
 mm, and which he thought lit to insert upon this octa- 1 ,. , . , ° 
 
 ugl 
 lioa. See before oii Antiti b. i cli. 
 
 ct>nfess those do iust'y deserve some comraeo- 
 
 ^ 
 
J- 
 
 "V 
 
 182 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS OF THE JKWS. 
 
 tlu'tn, l)ccausf of llii'ir great courage ; so the i cording to llio |)r()])li(ry of Sainiicl, l)fcauso he 
 people of .labosh uepl all in general, atul ' disobeyed tlieeoinmai)(ls()f(Joi.l about the Ama- 
 buried tlieir l)odies in the best place of llieir ] lekites, and on the account of bis destroying 
 counlr\', wliicli was called Aroura ; and tlioy the family of Ahinielech, the high-priest, with 
 observeil a public inouniiug for lliein seven Ahinielech himself, and the city of the high- 
 days, with tiieir wives and diildren, l>oating priests. Now Saul, when he liad reigricd 
 llieir breasts, and lanienting die king and his eighteen years while Samuel was alive, and 
 sons, without tasting either meat or drink* after his death two [and twenty j, ended hi!> 
 [till the evening], | life in diis manner. 
 
 9. To this his sad end did Saul come, qc- j 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 COXTAIMNG THE INTERVAL OF FOUTY YEARS. 
 FROM THE DEATH OF SAUL TO THE DEATH OF DAVID. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW DAVID REIGNED OVER ONE TRIDE AT HE- 
 BRON, WHILE THE SON OF SAUL REIGNED 
 OVER THE REST OF THE MULTITUDE; AND 
 riOW, IN THE CIVIL WAR WHICH THEN 
 AROSE, ASAHEL AND ABNER WERE SLAIN. 
 
 § 1. This fight proved to be on the same day 
 whereon David was come back to Ziklag, 
 after he had overcome the Amalekites. Now 
 when he had been already two days at Zik- 
 lag, there came to him the man who slew- 
 Saul, which was the third day after the fight. 
 He had escaped out of the battle whicii the 
 Israelites had with the Philistines, and had 
 his clothes rent, and ashes upon his head. 
 And when he made his obeisance to David, 
 he inquired of him whence ho came. He 
 replieil, from the battle of the Israelites : and 
 he informed him that the end of it was unfor- 
 tunate, many ten thousands of the Israelites 
 liaving been cut off', and Saul, together wiili 
 
 • This wav of spca' iiiR in Joscphus, of " fasting 
 »cvc-ii (lays wiihout meat or drink," is almost like- lli.ic 
 of St. I'aul, Acts xxvii, ."3: " This day is the lour- 
 tu-nth (lav that ye have tarried and contimicd fa tiiip, 
 liaving taken rolhing ;" and as the nature of the tliiiii;, 
 and the impiissibility of strictly fasting so lonR, rcimirc 
 us here to undeisLniid lioth Josephiis and the siu'rcd mi- 
 thor of this liis!iiry, 1 Sam. xxx, l.'i, from whence he 
 took it, of only fasting till the evening ; so must we 
 understand St I'aal, cither that this was really the 
 fourteenth day of their tempestuous weather iii the 
 Adriatic Sea, as ver. i.'7, and that on this fourteenth 
 day alone they had continued fasiing, and had Uikcn 
 nothing liefore the evening The meiilioii of their long 
 abstinein'c, ver. 'Jl, inehiies me to believe the former 
 cxplitation to \k the truth, and that the case w.as thi-n 
 for a forti.iglit what it was here for a week, that they 
 kept all those davs entirely as fasts till the evening;, but 
 oot lonjjer. Sec'Judg. xx, i'(i; xxi, •; I Sam. xiv, Xl| 
 • ftam. I, I? ; Antiq. b. vii, clia|>. vii, teeU 4. 
 
 bis sons, slain. He also said that lie could 
 well give him this information, 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 bad himself 
 slain the king, when he v. as ready to be taken 
 by the oncmv, and he himself exhorted him 
 to do it, because, when he was 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, whicli ho had taken away from Saul's 
 dead body, and had brought them to him. So 
 David having no longer room to call in ques- 
 tion the truth of what he said, liut seeing most 
 evident marks that Saul was dead, he rent his 
 garments, and continued all that day, with his 
 companions, in weejiing and lamentation. 'I'his 
 grief was augmented by the consideration of 
 Jonathan, the son of S.iu!, who had been his 
 most faithful frienil, and the occasion of his 
 own deliverance. He also demonstrated him- 
 self 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 nuuns, but to 
 ])uiiish him that slew him : for wlien David 
 had said to him, that he was become his own 
 accuser, as the very man who had slain the 
 king, and when he understood that he was the 
 son of an Anialekite, be commanded hiiri to 
 be slain. He also committed to wilting some 
 
 j lamentations and funeral comniendalions of 
 
 I Saul and Jonathan, whicli have conunued to 
 
 j my own age. 
 
 1 2. Now wl'.cn David liad paid tliei>« luv 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 183 
 
 nours to tli^ king, he left off his mourning, too hard for men, but is reported to have over- 
 and inquired of God, by the prophet, which run a horse, when they had a race together, 
 of the cities of the tiibe of Jii<Kih he wouhl This Asahel ran violently after Abner, and 
 bestow upon him to dwell in ; wiio answered \fould not turn in the least out of the straight 
 that he bestowed upi»n liim Hebron. So he ; \»;»y, either to the one side or to the other, 
 left Ziklag and came to Hebron, and took Hereupon Abner turned back, and attempted 
 witli liim his wives, who were in number Uto, ' artfully to avoid his violence. Sometimes he 
 and his armed men; whereupon all tlie people bade him leave otF the pursuit, and take the 
 
 of the forementioned tribe came to him, and 
 ordained him their king. But when he heard 
 that the inhabitants of Jal)esh-Gilead had bu- 
 ried Saul and his sons i honourablyl, he sent 
 t.) tliem and commended them, and took what 
 they had done kindly, and promised to make 
 them amends for their care ot those that were 
 dead ; and at the same time he informed them 
 that the tribe of Judah had chosen him for 
 their king. 
 
 3. 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 liis two other sons, 
 were fallen in the battle, he made haste into 
 the camp ; and, taking away with him the re 
 maining son of Saul, whose name was Ish- 
 bosheth, he passed over to the land beyond 
 Jordan, and ordained him the king of tiie 
 whole multitude, excepting the tribe of Ju- 
 dah ; and made his royal seat in a place called 
 in our language Mahanaim, but in the lan- 
 guage of the Grecians, Tlie Camps; frotn 
 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 mo- 
 ther Zeruiah, David's sister, who was general 
 of David's army, met him, according to Da- 
 vid's appointment. He had with him his bre- 
 thren, Abishai and Asahel, as also all David's 
 armed men. Now when he met Abner at a cer- 
 tain fountain, in the city of Gibeon, he prepar- 
 ed to fight ; and when Abner said to him tliat 
 he had a mind to know which of them had the 
 more valiant soldiers, it was agreed between 
 tliem that twelve soldiers of each side should 
 fight together. So those that were chosen out 
 by both the generals for this fight, came be- 
 tween the two armies, and throwing their 
 lances one against the other, they drew their 
 swords, and catching one another by the head, 
 they held one another fast, and ran each other's 
 swords into their sides and groins, until they 
 all, as it were by mutual agreement, perished 
 together. When these were fallen down dead, 
 the rest of the army came to a sore battle, and 
 Abner's men were beaten ; and when they 
 were beaten, Joab did not leave off pursuing 
 them, but he pressed upon them, and excited 
 the soldiers to follow them close, and not to 
 grow weary of killing them. His brethren 
 also pursued them with great alacrity, especi- 
 ally the younger Asahel, who was the most 
 
 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 force 
 him to kill him, and he shouhl then not be 
 able to look his brother in the face; but when 
 Asahel woiald not admit of any persuasions, 
 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 vvith him pursuing Abner, 
 when they came to the place where Asahel lay, 
 they stood round about the dead body, and 
 left otf the pursuit of the enemy. However, 
 both Joab * himself, and his brother Abishai, 
 ran past the dead corpse, and making tiieir 
 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 certain place called Ammah : 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 tliat i* 
 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 hi 
 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 signal for their 
 retreat, and thereby put a stop to any farther 
 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 Ishbosheth, Saul's son, to Maiianaim. 
 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 three 
 iiundred and sixty ; but of those of David 
 nineteen, and Asahel, whose body Joab and 
 Abishai carried to Bethlehem ; and when they 
 had buried him in the sepulchre of their fa 
 thers, they came to David to Hebron. From 
 this time, therefore, they began an intestine 
 war, which lasted a great while, in which the 
 followers of David grew stronger in the dang- 
 ers they underwent ; and the servants and sub- 
 
 » It ought to be here noted that Joab, Abishai, ana 
 
 eminent of them. He was very famous for I Asahel. were all three David;s nephews, the sons of lus 
 ,. .. c c r 1^ 11 sister Zeruiah, as 1 Chron. u, IC; and that Amasa was 
 
 bis swUlaess ol toot, tor he could not only be [also his nephew by his other sister Abigail, ver. 17 
 
 -/" 
 
J- 
 
 182 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 tliem, because of tlitir gtcat courage; so tlie j 
 people of .labosli wept all in gciieiai, and \ 
 i)urie(l tlitir bodies in the l)t!St jjlace of their 
 countiy, wiiich was calleil Aroura ; and they j 
 observed a ))iiblic mourning for them seven 
 days, with their wives and children, Ixeating 
 their breasts, and lamenting the king and his 
 sons, without fasting either meat or drink* 
 [till the evening]. 
 
 9. To thii his sad end did Saul come, ac- 
 
 cording to the prophecy of Samuel, because he 
 disobeyed the commands of God about the Ama- 
 lekitus, and on the account of his destroying 
 the family of Ahimelcch, 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 lliis manner. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF FORTY YEARS. 
 FROM THE DEATPI OF SAUL TO THE DEATH OF DAVID. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW DAVID REIGNED OVER ONE TRIBE AT HE- 
 BRON, WHILE THE SON OF SAUL REIGNED 
 OVER THE RF.ST OF THE MULTITUDE; AND 
 riOW, IN THE CIVIL WAR WHICH THEN 
 AROSE, ASAHEL AND ABNER WERE SLAIN. 
 
 § I. This fight proved to be on the same day 
 whereon David was come back to Ziklag, 
 after he had overcome the Amalekites. Now 
 when he had been already two days at Zik- 
 lag, there came to him the m.an who slew 
 Saul, which was the third day after the fight. 
 He had escaped out of the battle which the 
 Israelites had with the Philistines, and had 
 his clothes rent, and ashes upon his head. 
 And when he made his obeisance to David, 
 he inquired of him whence he came. He 
 replied, from the battle of the Israelites : and 
 he informed him that the end of it was unfor- 
 tunate, many ten thousands of the Israelites 
 having been cut off, and Saul, together with 
 
 « This way of spea'iiig in Joseplius, of " fasting 
 seven (l:iys wiLlKuit meat or drink," is almost liivc that 
 of St. I'aiil, Acts xxvii, 33: "This day is the four- 
 teonth day that ye have tarried and continued fating, 
 having taken nothing ;" and as the nature of the thing, 
 and the impossibility of strictly fasting so long, renuire 
 us here to understand botli Josephus and the sacreu au- 
 thor of this historv, I t<am. xxx, 13, from whence he 
 took it, of only fasting till the evening ; so must we 
 understand St Paul, either that this was really the 
 fourteenth day of their tempestuous weather in the 
 Adriatic Sea, as ver. '■11, and that on this fourteenth 
 day alone they had continued fasting, and had Uiktn 
 nothing before the evening The mention of their long 
 abstinence, ver. i'l, inclines me to believe the former 
 explication to Ik- the truth, and that the case was then 
 for a fortnight v.hat it was here for a week, that they 
 kept all those davs entirely as fasts till the evening, but 
 not longer. See'Judg. xx, 1"6 ; xxi, 2; 1 Sam. xiv, 2-1 ; 
 S Siim. I, 12 J Antiq. b. vii, chap, vii, sect. 4. 
 
 his sons, slain. He also said that he could 
 well give him this information, 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, because, when he was 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 ques- 
 tion the truth of what he said, but seeing most 
 evident marks that Saul was dead, he rent his 
 garments, and continued all that day, with his 
 companions, in weeping and lamentation. This 
 grief was augmented by the consideration of 
 Jonathan, the son of S.iul, who had been his 
 most faithful friend, and the occasion of his 
 own deliverance. He also demonstrated him- 
 self 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 hiin : for when David 
 had said to him, that he was become his own 
 accuser, as the very man who had slain the 
 king, and when he understood that he was tlie 
 son of an Amalekite, he comnianded him lo 
 be slain. He also committed to writing son'.e 
 lamentations and funeral commendations of 
 Saul and Jonathan, which have continued to 
 my own age. 
 
 1. Now wl;en David had paid these Inv 
 
 V. 
 
 y 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 183 
 
 noiirs to th^ king, he left off his mourning, too hard for men, but is reported to have over- 
 
 and inquired of God, by the prophet, wliich run a horse, %%hen they had a race togetlier. 
 
 of the cities of tlie tribe of Judah he would Tliis Asahel ran violently after Abner, and 
 
 bestow upon him to dwell in ; who answered \fould not turn in the least out of the straight 
 
 '.hat he bestowed upan him Hebron. So he w;»y, either to the one side or to the other, 
 
 left Ziklag and came to Hebron, and took Hereupon Abner turned back, and attempted 
 
 with him his wives, who were in number txto, artfully to avoid his violence. Sometimes he 
 
 and bis armed men ; whereupon all the people bade him leave off the pursuit, and take the 
 
 of the forementioned tribe came to him, and ] armour of one of his soldiers ; and sometimes, 
 
 ordained him their king. But when he heard when he could not persuade him so to do, be 
 
 that the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead had bu- 
 ried Saul and his sons i honourably"', he sent 
 t.) tliem and commended them, and took what 
 they had done kindly, and promised to make 
 them amends for their care ot those that were 
 dead ; and at the same time he informed them 
 that the tribe of Judah had chosen him for 
 their king. 
 
 3. But as soon as Abner, 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 liis two other sons, 
 were fallen in the battle, he made haste into 
 the camp ; and, taking away with him the re 
 maining son of Saul, whose name was Ish- 
 bosheth, he passed over to the land beyond 
 Jordan, and ordained him the king of the 
 whole multitude, excepting the tribe of Ju- 
 dah ; and made his royal seat in a place called 
 in our language Mahanaim, but in the lan- 
 guage of the Grecians, Tlie 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 mo- 
 ther Zeruiah, David's sister, who was general 
 of David's army, met him, according to Da- 
 vid's appointment. He had with him his bre- 
 thren, Abishai and Asahel, as also all David's 
 armed men. Now when he met Abner at a cer- 
 tain fountain, in the city of Gibeon, he prepar- 
 ed to fight ; and when Abner said to him that 
 he had a mind to know which of them had the 
 more valiant soldiers, it was agreed between 
 tlicm that twelve soldiers of each side should 
 fight together. So those that were chosen out 
 by both the generals for this fight, came be- 
 tween the two armies, and throwing their 
 lances one against the other, they drew their 
 swords, and catching one another by the head, 
 they held one another fast, and ran each other's 
 swords into their sides and groins, until they 
 all, as it were by mutual agreement, perished 
 together. When these were fallen down dead, 
 the rest of the army came to a sore battle, and 
 Abner's men were beaten ; and when they 
 were beaten, Joab did not leave off pursuing 
 them, but he pressed upon them, and excited 
 the soldiers to follow them close, and not to 
 grow weary of killing them. His brethren 
 also pursued them with great alacrity, especi- 
 ally the younger Asahel, who was the most 
 eminent of them. He was very famous for 
 bis swiftaeM of foot, for he could not only be 
 
 exhorted him to restrain himself, and not to 
 pursue him any longer, lest he should force 
 him 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 persuasions, 
 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 tliat were with him pursuing Abner, 
 when they came to the place where Asahel 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, and making Uieir 
 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 certain place called Ammah : 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 i* 
 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 bt 
 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 labout 
 Asahel], and called the soldiers back with the 
 sound of the trumpet, as a signal for their 
 retreat, and thereby put a stop to any farther 
 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 Ishbosheth, Saul's 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 three 
 hundred and sixty; but of those of David 
 nineteen, and Asahel, whose body Joab and 
 Abishai carried to Bethlehem ; and when they 
 had buried him in the sepulchre of their fa 
 thers, they came to David to Hebron. From 
 this time, therefore, they began an intestine 
 war, which lasted a great while, in which the 
 followers of David grew stronger in the dang- 
 ers they underwent ; and the servants and sub- 
 
 * It ought to be here noted that Joab, Abishai, ana 
 Asahel, were all three David's nephews, the son.-; of lus 
 sister Zeruiah, as 1 Chron. ii, IG ; and that Amasa was 
 cdso lii* nephew by his other tUter Abigail, ver. 17 
 
 -T 
 
ic+ 
 
 aNTIQUJTIKS of Tllli JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII, 
 
 jecis of Saul's sons ilid almost every tlay he- 
 come ueiikiT. 
 
 •1. Alioiit lliis time David was become llic 
 futlier of six sons, l)orii of as many mothers. 
 The eldest was l)y Ahinoam, ami he was call- 
 ed Amnion ; the second was Daniel, by his 
 wife Abij;ail ; the name of the third was Al)- 
 saloin, by Maacali, the daughter of Talmai, 
 king of Geshur ; the fourth he named Ado- 
 nijah, by his wife llagf^ith ; tlio fifth was 
 Sheijhutiah, by Abitail ; the sixth he called 
 Ithreani, by Eglali. Now while this intes- 
 tine war went on, and the subjects of the two 
 kings came frequently to action and to fight- 
 ing, it was Abner, the general of the host of 
 Saul's son, who, by his prudc-nce, and tlie 
 grc'at interest he had among the multitude, 
 made tliem all continue with Ishboslieth ; and 
 indeed it was a considerable time tiiat they 
 continued of his party ; but afterwards Abner 
 was blamed, and an accusation was laid against 
 him, that he went in unto Saul's concubine: 
 her name was Ilispah, the daughter of Aiah. 
 So when he whs complained of by Ishboslieth, 
 he was very uneasy and angry at it, because he 
 had not justice done him by Ishboslieth, to 
 whom he had shown the greatest kindness ; 
 whereupon he threatened to transfer the king- 
 dom to David, and demonstrate that he did 
 not rule over the people beyond Jordan by 
 his own abilities and wisdom, but by his war- 
 like conduct and fidelity in leading his army. 
 So he sent ambassadors to Hebron to David, 
 and desired that he would give liim security 
 upon oath that he would esteem his compa- 
 nion and his friend, upon condition that he 
 should persuade the people to leave Saul's 
 son, and choose him king of the whole coun- 
 try ; and when David had made that league 
 with Abner, for he was pleased with his mes- 
 sage to him, he desired that he would give 
 this as the first mark of performance of tlie 
 present league, that he might have his wife 
 Michal restored to him, as her whom he had 
 purchased with great hazards, and with those 
 six hundred heads of the Philistines whicli he 
 had brought to Saul her father. So Abner 
 took Michal from Plialtiel, who was then her 
 husband, and sent her to David, Isliboshetli 
 himself affording him his assistance ; for Da- 
 vid had written to him that of right he ouglit 
 to have this his wife restored to him. Abner 
 also called together the elders of the multi- 
 tude, the commanders and captains of thou- 
 sands, and spake thus to them: That he had 
 formerly dissuaded them from their ou n re- 
 solution, when they were ready to forsake ' 
 Ishboshetli, and to join themselves to David ; 
 that, however, he now gave them leave so to j 
 do, if they had a mind to it, for they knew ' 
 lliat God had ajipointed David to be king of I 
 all th(?IIebrews, by Samuel the propliet ; and | 
 had foretold that he should punish the Ptii- 
 listines, and ovcicomc them, and bring tliem ; 
 under. Now when the elders and rulen heard i 
 
 this, nml understood that Abn^ was come 
 over to those sentiments about the public af- 
 fails wliiih they were of before, ihev chang.-d 
 tlieir measures, and came into David, VVIier 
 these men had agreed to Abner's proposal, h« 
 called together the tribe of Benjamin, for all 
 of that tribe were the guards of Ishboshetti's 
 body, anil he spake to them to the same pur- 
 pose ; and when he saw that thev did not in 
 the least opjiose what lie said, but resigned 
 themselves up to his opinion, he took about 
 twenty of his friends and tame to David, in 
 order to receive himself security upon oath 
 from him; for we may justly esteem those 
 things to be firmer wliicii every one of us do 
 by ourselves, than those which we do l.y an- 
 other. He also gave him an account of what 
 he had said to the rulers, and to the whole 
 tribe of Benjamin ; and when David had re- 
 ceived 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 go- 
 vernment to him when David himself was 
 present, and a spectator of what was done. 
 
 5. When David had sent Abner away, Jo- 
 ab, the general of his army, came immediate- 
 ly to Hebron ; and when he had understood 
 that Abiier had been with David, and had 
 parted with him a little before under leagues 
 and agreements that the goTernmeiit should 
 be delivered up to David, he feared lest Da- 
 vid should place Abner, who hatl assisted him 
 to gain the kingdom, in the first rank of dig. 
 iiity, especially 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 himself 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 endeavoured to 
 calumniate Abner to the king, exhorting him 
 to have a care of him, and not to give atten- 
 tion to what lie had engaged to do for him, 
 because all he did tended to confirm the go- 
 vernment to Saul's son : that he came to him 
 deceitfully, and with guile, and was gone a- 
 way in hopes of gaining his pi'rpose by this 
 management ; but when he could not thus 
 persuade David, nor saw him at all exas|>era-. 
 ted, he betook himself to a project bolder 
 than the former : — he determined to kill Ab- 
 ner ; 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 atJ'airs, wliich he had not remembered to 
 speak of when he was with him. Now wlien 
 Abner heard what the messengers said (for 
 they overtook him in a certain place called 
 JJesira, which was distant from Hebron twen- 
 ty furlongs), he suspected none of tiie mib- 
 chisf which was befalling him, and camp back. 
 
 A. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 185 
 
 Hereupon Joab met bim in tlie gate, and re- 
 ceived iiim in the kindest manner, as if lie 
 Were Abner's most benevolent acquaintance 
 and friend ; for such as undertake tiie vilest 
 actions, in order to prevent the suspicion of 
 any private mischief intended, do frequently 
 make the greatest pretences to witat 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 Jie 
 drew his sword, and smote him in the groin ; 
 upon which Abner died by this treachery of 
 Joi'.b, which, as he said himself, was in the 
 wav of punishment for his brother Asahel, 
 whom Abner smote and slew as he was pur- 
 suing after him in the battle of Plebron, 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 sliould be dc])rived of 
 those advantages, and Abner should obtain 
 the first rank in David's court. By these ex- 
 amples any one may learn how many and how 
 great instances of wickedness men will ven- 
 ture 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 coiifirm- 
 ed to them by practices much worse than the 
 former, as if [no] other calamity so terrible 
 could befal them as the failure of acquiring 
 so exalted an authority ; 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 of all them contrive and venture upon 
 tlie most difficult actions, out of the fear of 
 losing the same. But let it suffice, that I 
 have made these short reflections uposi tiiat 
 subject. 
 
 6. When David heard that Abner was slain, 
 it grieved his soul : and he railed all men to 
 witness, with stretching out his hands to God, 
 and crying out that he was not a partaker in 
 tlie murder of Abner, and that his death was 
 not ■procured by his comuiand or approbation. 
 He also wished the heaviest curses might light 
 upon him that slew him, and upon his whole 
 liouse ; 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 tiie oaths 
 he hud 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 solemnites ; 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 
 tulers, lamenting Abner, and by his tears de- 
 
 ^_ 
 
 monslrating his good-will towards him while 
 he was alive, and his soriow for him now he 
 was dead, and 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 deejily 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 taste 
 nothing till the sun was set. This procedure 
 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 liis vouchsafing him all the usual ceremo- 
 nies, as if he had been his kinsman and his 
 friend, and not sufl'ering him to be neglected 
 and injured with a dishonourable burial, as if 
 he had been his enemy ; insomuch that tlie 
 entire nation rejoiced at the king's gentleness 
 and mildness of disposition, every one being 
 ready to suppose that the king would have 
 taken the same care of them in the like cir- 
 cumstances, which they saw he showed in the 
 burial of the dead body of Abner. And in- 
 deed 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 mul- 
 titude. That he was greatly troubled at the 
 death of so good a n)an ; and that the af- 
 fairs of the Hebrews had suffered great detri- 
 ment by being deprived of him, who was of 
 so 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 
 hatli a regard to all mens' actions, will not 
 suffer this man [Joab] to go off unrevenged; 
 but know ye, that I am not able to do any 
 tiling to these sons of Zeruiah, Joab, and Abi- 
 shai, who have more power than I have; but 
 God v\ill requite their insolent attempts upon 
 tlieir own heads." And this was the fatal 
 conclusion of the life of Abner, 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 THAT UPON THE SI.AIGHTER OF ISHEOSHETH, 
 l!Y THE TREACHI.llY OF HIS FRIENDS, DAVUJ 
 RECEIVED THE WHOLE KINGDOM. 
 
 § I. Whkn Ishboshelli, the son of Saul, had j 
 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 king- 
 dom, but was greatly afflicted, and Abner's 
 death very much troubled him ; nor did he 
 Q 
 
186 
 
 AN'IIQUITIES or THE JEWS. 
 
 Iiiinseir outlive any long time, but was trcach- 
 trously sL't upon by the sons of Iliminon 
 (Uaanah ami llecliab were tiieir iianries), and 
 was slain by ti)em ; for tiiese being of a family 
 of the IJenjaniites, and of the first rank among 
 them, thought tliat if tlicy slioulil slay Ish- 
 bosiieth, tlii'y sliould obtain large presents from 
 David, and be made commanders by him, or, 
 however, siioiild have some other trust com- 
 mitted to them. So when they once found 
 him alone, and asleep at noon, in an upi^er 
 rocm, when none of his guards were there, and 
 when the woman that kept the door was not 
 watching, but wa, fallen asleep also, partly on 
 account of the labour she had undogone, and 
 partly on account of tiie 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 ids head, and took their journey 
 all that night, and the next day, as supposing 
 themselves flying away from those they had ' 
 injured, to one that would accept of tliis action 
 as a favour, and would afford tbein security. 
 So they came to Hebron, and showed David 
 the bead of Ishbosheth, and presented them- 
 selves to him as his wellwishers, and such as 
 had killed one that was his enemy and anta- 
 gonist. Yet David did not relish what they 
 had done as they expected, but said to them, 
 " You vile wretches, you shall immediately 
 receive the [lunishment 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 j 
 ibis slaughter did it as a favour to him, that j 
 he might not be caught by his enemies ? Or j 
 do you imagine that I am altered in my dis- 
 position, and suppose that 1 am not the same 
 man I then was, but am pleased with men that 
 are wicked doers, and esteem your vile ac- 
 tions, 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 any body, and treated you with great 
 good-will and respect? Wherefore 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 supposal." 
 When David had said this, he tormented them 
 with all sorts of torments, and then put thim 
 to death ; and he bestowed all accustomed rites 
 on the burial of the head of Ishbosheth, and 
 laid it in the grave of Abner. 
 
 •■J. When these things were brought to this 
 conclusion, att the princijial men of the He- 
 br"w people came to David to Hebron, with 
 tlie heads of thousands, and other rulers, and 
 delivered themselves up to liini, putting him 
 in mind of the good-will they had borne to 
 him in Saul's lifetime, and the resi)ect they 
 tlien had not ceased to jiay him when he was 
 t-antain of a thousand, as also that he was cho- 
 
 sen of God by Samuel tlie ])ropliet, he and his 
 sons * : and declaring besides, how God had 
 given him power to save the land of the Ile- 
 Ijrews, and overcome the Philistines. Where- 
 upon 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 lie 
 had feasted them, and treated them kindly, he 
 sent them out to bring all the people to him ; 
 upon whicii there came to him about six thou- 
 sand and eight hundred 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 seven thsusand and one hun- 
 dred out of the tribe of Simeon. Out of the 
 trilie of Levi came four thousand and seven 
 hundred, having Jehoiada for their leader. 
 After these came Zadok the high-priest, with 
 twenty-two captains of his kindred. Out of 
 the tribe of Benjamin the armed men were 
 four thousand ; but the rest of the tribe con- 
 tinued, still expecting that some one of the 
 house of Saul should reign over them. Tho>.e 
 of the tribe of Ejthraim were twenty thousand 
 and eight hundred ; and these mighty men of 
 valour, and eminent for their strength. Out 
 of the half-tribe of Manasseh came eighteen 
 thousand of the inost potent men. Out of the 
 tribe of Issacharcame two hundred, who fore- 
 knew what was to come hereafter, j- but o<" 
 armed men twenty thousand. Of the tribe o' 
 Zebulon fifty thousand chosen men. This 
 was the only tribe that came universally in to 
 David ; and all these had the same weapons 
 with the tribe of Gad. Out of the tribe of 
 Naphthali the eminent men and rulers were 
 one thousand, whose weapons were shields and 
 spears; and the tribe itself followed after, be- 
 ing (in a manner) innumerable [thirty-seven 
 thousand]. Out of the tribe of Dan there 
 were of chosen men twenty- seven thousimd 
 and six hundred. Out of the tribe of Asher 
 were forty thousand. Out of the two tribes 
 that were beyond Jordan, and the rest of the 
 tribe of Manasseh, such as used sliields, and 
 s])ears, and headpieces, and swords, were an 
 hundred and twenty thousand. The rest of 
 tJie tribes also made use of swords. This 
 multitude came together to Hebron to David, 
 with a great quantity of corn and wine, and 
 
 • This may hi a true observation of JnscpTnis, that 
 Samuel by coinnuuiil from (io*l, iiit;ulL-.l llu- mnni on 
 David and liisi>osterity; foriio tartliir did that cnUiiI 
 ever riauh, — Solomon liimself liavmy m\vr hail any 
 liromisf made bim thai his posterity should always have 
 tlie rif^ht to it. , ^., , 
 
 t 'I'liese words of Jixciihus, concerning the tiiix: of 
 1's.acliar, " who foreknew what w;is to come hereafter," 
 are best narauhrascd by the parallel text (1 Chron. xii, 
 .)") ; " VVhonail understanding of the times, to know 
 what Is acl ought to do;" lluu is. Who had so much 
 knowledge in astrononw as U> make calendars for the 
 Israeliles, tliat thcv im'gbt keen tlicir festivals, and 
 |.lo.i<;h »nd sow, and gather their harvesU and vlu 
 tai^e ui due seajitUL 
 
 s. 
 
"V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 all other sorts of food, and established David 
 in his kingdom with one consent ; and when 
 the people had rejoiced for three days in 
 Hebron, David and all the people removed 
 and came to Jerusalem. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW DAVID LAID SIEGE TO JERUSALEM ; AND 
 WHEN HE HAD TAKEN THE CITY, HE CAST 
 THE CANAANITES OUT OF IT, AND BUOUGHT 
 IN THE J/iWS TO INHABIT THEREIN. 
 
 § 1. Now the Jebusites, who were the inhabi- 
 tants of Jerusalem, and were by extraction 
 Canaanites, shut their gates, and placed the 
 blind, and the lame, and all their maimed per- 
 sons, upon the wall, in way of derision of the 
 king ; and said, that the very lame themselves 
 would hinder his entrance into it. 'I'liis they 
 did out of contempt of his power, and as de- 
 pending on the strength of their walls. Da- 
 vid was hereby enraged, and began the siege 
 of Jerusalem, and employed his utmost dili- 
 gence and alacrity therein, as intending, by 
 tlie taking of this place, to demonstrate his 
 power, and to intimidate all others that might 
 be of the like [evil] disposition towards him : 
 so lie took the lower city by force, but the ci- 
 tadel held out still ;* whence it was tliat the 
 king, knowing that the proposal of dignities 
 and rewards would encourage the soldiers to 
 greater actions, promised that he who should 
 first go over the ditches that were beneath the 
 citadel, and should ascend to the citadel itself 
 and lake it, should have the command of the 
 entire people conferred upon him. So they 
 all were ambitious to ascend, and thought no 
 pains too great in order to ascend thither, out 
 of their desire of the chief command. How- 
 ever, Joab, the son of Zeruiah, prevented the 
 rest ; and as soon as he was got up to the ci- 
 tadel, cried out to the king, and claimed the 
 cliief command. 
 
 • What our other copies say of Mount Sioii, as alono 
 properly calleiithe City of David ('.' Sam. v, 6 — 9), and 
 of tliis'its sifgc and conquest now by l).,vid, Joscphus 
 applie;; to the wiiole city Jurusaleni, though inckiding 
 the citadel also ; by what authority we do not now know 
 — perluipi, afier David had united tliem to^'cther, or 
 joined the eitadel to the lower city, as sect. 2, .loscphus 
 esteemed them as one city. However, tliis notion seems 
 to be confirmed by what the same Josephus says con- 
 cerning David's, an< many other kings of Judah's, sepul- 
 chres, which, iui the authors of the books of Kings and 
 vhroiucies say, were in the city of David, so does Josc- 
 plius still say Ihey wvre in Jeiusaleni. The sepulchre 
 of David seems to have been ajjo a known place in the 
 itveral days of Hyrcanus, of Herod, and of St. Peter 
 — Antiq. b. xiii, ch. vjij, sect. 1 ; b. xvi. ch. vii, sect. I ; 
 Acts ii, 29. Now no such royal sepulchres hiive l)eon 
 found about Mount Sion, but are found close by the 
 tiorth wall of Jerusalem, which I suspect, t!ierefore, to 
 lie these very sepulchres. See the note on ch. xv, sect. 
 7i. In the n\ean time, Josephus's explication of tlic 
 lame, and tht blind, and the maimed, as set to keep this 
 citv or citadel, seems to be the truth, and gives the best 
 light to th.it liis'ory in our Bible. Mr. Ottius truly oV>- 
 servcs <a|ip. Ilaveroamp, p. .505), that Ja.sephus never 
 inentkons Mount Sion by that name, as Uiking it for an 
 
 2. Wlien David had cast the Jebuh,itea 
 out of the citadel, he also rebuilt Jerusalem, 
 and named it. The Cili/ of David, and abode 
 there all the time of his reign : but for the 
 time that he reigned over the tribe of Judali 
 only in Hebron, it was seven years and six 
 months. Now when he had chosen Jerusa- 
 lem 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 tlie 
 Tyrians, sent ambassadors to him, and made 
 a league of mutual friendship and assistance 
 with him. He also sent him presents, cedar- 
 tree.s, and mechanics, and men skilful in build- 
 ing and architecture, that they might build 
 him a royal palace at Jerusalem. Now Da- 
 vid made buildings round about the lower 
 city : he also joined the citadel to it, and 
 made it one body ; and when he had encom- 
 passed 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 Abraham it 
 was called (Salem or) Solymajf 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 lan- 
 guage, which denotes security. "[ Now the 
 whole time from the warfare under Joshua 
 our general against the Canaanites, and from 
 that war in which he overcame them, and 
 distributed the land among the Hebrews (nor 
 could the Israelites ever cast the Canaanites 
 out of Jerusalem until this time, when Da- 
 vid took it by siege), this whole time was five 
 hundred and fifteen years. 
 
 3. I shall now make mention of Araunali, 
 wiio was a wealthy man among the Jebusites, 
 but was not slain by David in tlie siege of Je- 
 rusalem, because of the good-will he bore to 
 the Hebrews, and a particular benignity and 
 affection which he had to the king himself; 
 which I shall take a more seasonable opjjor- 
 tunity to speak of a little afterwards. Now 
 David married other wives over and above 
 those which he had before : he had also con- 
 appellative, .is I suppose, and not for a proper name; 
 he still cither styles it The Citadel, or The Upper Citi, ; 
 nor do I see any re.Tson for Mr Ottius's evil suspiciciii 
 about tills procedure of Josephus. 
 
 t .Some copies of Josephus have here Solyma, or ,'-':^ 
 lem ; .and others Hierosoljma, or .Icrnsalem. The lat- 
 
 I ter best agree to what Josephus savs elsewhere (of the 
 War, b. vi, c. x.) that this city was called Solvma or Sa- 
 lem, before the <lays of .Melchisedec; but was by him 
 called Hierosolyma, or Jerusalem. 1 rather suppose it to 
 have been so called after Abraham had received that oracle 
 Jeliovalt Jireli: " the Lord will see, or provide" (Gen. 
 xxii. H.) The latter word, Jitr/(, with a little altera- 
 tion, prefixed to the old name Salem, Peace, will be Jt»- 
 rusalian ; aiid since that expression, " (.od will see," or 
 r.ither, " God will provide himself a lamb liir a buint- 
 olferins;" (ver. 8, 1)), is Ihere said to have been prover- 
 bial till the days of Moses, this seeins to ine the most 
 probable derivation of that name, which will then de- 
 note. That God would pro\ ide peace by that Lamb of 
 God which was to take away l.'ie sins of the world." 
 However, that which is put into brackets, can hardlv l)» 
 
 ] supposed the genuine words of Josephus «£ l;r. HiiO 
 
 , son well judges. 
 
 *^. 
 
188 
 
 ANTlQUiTIi:S OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ciibinos. Tlic son* whom he had were in 
 niiinbfr elovi'ii, whose names were Amnion, 
 Emnos, Eban, N.ithan, Soloiiion, Julian, K- 
 lieii, I'halna, Ennaplien, Jenae, Klipliale ; 
 and a liaiiglitcr, Tamar. Nine of these were 
 horn of kgitimate wives, I)ut the two last- 
 named of concubines ; and Tamar had the 
 siimc mother with Absalom. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THAT WHF.SJ DAVID HAD CONQin'.RKD THK PIII- 
 I.ISTINKS, WHO JJAUE WAP. AGAINST HIM AT 
 
 jr;Ri;sAi,r..\i, in: removed thk asvk to jk- 
 
 UUSALKM, AND HAD A JIIND TO BUILD A 
 TKMI'Lr. 
 
 § 1. ^^'HV.N■ the Pliilistines understood that 
 David was made king of the Hebrews, they 
 made war against him at Jerusalem; and 
 wiien tlicy iiad seized upon that valley which 
 is called TItc Valley of the GiatUs, and is a 
 place not far from the city, they pitclied their 
 camp tiierein : but the king of the Jews, wlio 
 never permitted himself to do any thing with- 
 out prophecy,* and the command of God, and 
 without dejiending on him as a security for 
 (he time to come, bade the high-priest to fore- 
 tell to him what was the will of God, and 
 rtliat would be the event of this battle. And 
 when he foretold that he should gain the vic- 
 tor\ and the ciominion, he led out his army 
 a'ainst the Philistines; and when the battle 
 was joined, he came himself 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 He- 
 brews, as guessing so from the suddenness of 
 their defeat, and from their having performed 
 no great action, or that was worth recording, 
 from the slowness of their march and want of 
 coura"-e ; but let him know that all Syria and 
 Phcenicia, with many other nations besides 
 them, and those warlike nations also, came 
 to their assistance, and had a share in this 
 „ar:— whicli thing was the only cause why, 
 when thiy had been so often conquered, and 
 had lost so many ten thousands of their men, 
 they still came upon the Hebrews w ith greater 
 aniiies; nay, indeed, when they had so often 
 faik-d of their purpose in these battles, they 
 came upon David with an army three times 
 
 • It deserves here to be remarked, that Saul very 
 rarelv, ami David ver\ frequently, consulted God by 
 Uriiri ; and that Ilavid 'aimed always to depend not on 
 his owni prudence or abilities, but on the divnie ihrw- 
 tion, eontrarv to Saul's practice. Sec sect. 2, and the 
 note on Anliq. b tii, eh. viii, sect. 9; and »hen Saul's 
 daughter (but David's wife) Mieh.il laughed at David's 
 dancing before the ark i.' Sam. vi. 16, iVe. ; ami here, 
 sect. l,Si.3, it is probable she did s<i, iKX-ause her fa- 
 ther Saul did not use to pav such a regard to the ark, 
 to the Urini there in(|uireil liy, or to c.imI's worship be- 
 fore it ; and because she thought it beneath tUif dignity 
 tx'a Kini; to be so religious. 
 
 as numerous as before, and pitched their 
 camp on the same spot of ground as before. 
 The king of Israel tlierefore inquired of God 
 again concerning the event of the battle; and 
 the high-priest prophesied to liiin, that he 
 sliould keep his army in the groves, called the 
 Grwcs of tf^etj/ing, which were not far from 
 the enemy's camp, and that he should fiat 
 move, nor begin to fight, till the trees of the 
 grove should be in motion without the wind's 
 blowing ; but as soon as these trees moved, 
 and liie time foretold to him by God was 
 come, he should, without delay, go out to 
 gain what was an already prepared and evi- 
 dent victory ; for the several ranks of the 
 enemy's army did not sustain him, but re- 
 treated 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 
 sjioiled their camp, in wiiich lie found great 
 riches ; and he destroyed their gods. 
 
 'J. \Vlien this had proved the event of tlie 
 battle, D.ivid thougl.'t it proper, upon a consul- 
 tation with the elders and rulers, and captains 
 of thousands, to send for those that were in 
 the flower of their age out of all liis country- 
 men, and out of the whole land, and withal 
 for the priests and the Levites, in order to 
 their going to Kirjalhjearim, to bring up the 
 ark of God out of that city, and to carry it to 
 Jerusalem, and there to keep it, and oti'er be- 
 fore it those sacrifices and tliose other honours 
 with which God used to be well pleased ; for 
 had they done thus in the reign of Saul, they 
 had not undergone any great inisfortunes at 
 all. So when the whole body of the people 
 were come together, 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, toge- 
 ther with the oxen. Before it went the king, 
 and the whole multitiule of the people with 
 him, singing hymns to God, and making use 
 of all sorts of songs usual among them, inth 
 variety of the sounds of musical instruments, 
 and with dancittg and singing of psalms, as 
 also with the sounds of trumpets and of cym- 
 bals, and so brought the ark to Jerusalem. 
 But as they were come to the threshing-floor 
 of C'hidon, 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 woidd 
 needs take hold of it. Now because he was 
 not a priest,* and yet touched the ark, God 
 
 • Josqihus seems to be partly in the right, when h» 
 ol)scr\ es liere that Uzzah was no priest (though perha|>s 
 In- might be a Levile), .ind was therefore struck dead 
 for touching the ark, cont-ary to the law, and for which 
 profane raslmcss de:itli was the penalty by that law. 
 Nuinb. iv, l.i, 'JO. See the like before, Antiq. b. vi, 
 cli. i, sect. 4. It is not improbable that the putting this 
 ark in a cart, when it ouyht to have been carried by thf 
 priesl.^or I.evites, .as it uas i.rc-eivly here in Jo-*phus s<, 
 carrie<i from Oliedeclom's house to David's, might be 
 also an oecusion of the aiigtr of Ood on that breach 'li 
 his law. See Numb iv, 1.1 1 I t'liron. xv, 15. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 189 
 
 struck him dead. Hereupon both tl)e king 
 anil thu people were displeased at the death 
 ot" Uzzah ; and the place where he died is still 
 called the Brench of Uzzah unto this day. So 
 David was atVaid ; and supposing that if he 
 received the ark to liimself into the city, he 
 might sufl'tr in the like manner as Uzzah had 
 sutl'erefl, who, upon his bare putting out his 
 hand to the ark, died in the manner already 
 mentioned, he did not receive it to himself 
 into the city, but he took it aside unto a cer- 
 tain place belonging to a righteous man, 
 whose name was Obededom, who was by his 
 family a Levite, and deposited the ark with 
 him ; and it remained there three entire 
 months. This augmented the house of Obe- 
 dedom, and conferred many blessings ujjon 
 it; and when the king heard what had befal- 
 len Obededom, how he was become, of a poor 
 man in a low estate, exceedingly happy, and 
 the object of envy to all those that saw or in- 
 quired after his house, he took courage, and 
 hoping that be should meet with no misfor- 
 tune thereby, he transferred the ark to his 
 own house, the priests carrying it, while seven 
 comjianies 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 
 Miclial, the daughter of Saul, who was our 
 Hr>,t king, saw him so doing, she laughed at 
 nim ; but when they had brouglit in the ark, 
 they placed it under the tabernacle which 
 IDavid had pitched for it, and he olFered cost- 
 ly sacriHces and peace-offerings, and treated 
 the whole multitude, and dealt both to the 
 women, and the men, and the infants, a loaf 
 of i)read and a cake, and another cake baked 
 in a pan, witli a portion of the sacrifice. So 
 when he had thus feasted the people, he sent 
 them away, and he himself returned to his 
 own house. 
 
 3. 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 farther desire, to the ut- 
 most possibility, might be given him by God, 
 and that he might be favourable 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 
 servants and the hand-maidens ; but he re- 
 plied, that he was not ashamed to do what 
 was acceptable to God, who had preferred 
 him before her father, and before all others ; 
 that he would play frequently, and dance, 
 without any regard to what the hand-maidens 
 and she herself thought of it. So this Michal 
 had no children ; however, when she was 
 afterward married to him to whom Saul lier 
 father had given her (for at this time David 
 nad taken her away from him, and hail her 
 himself), she bare live children. But con- 
 cerning those mailers 1 shall discourse in a 
 oroper place. 
 
 4. Now when the king saw that his affairs 
 grew better almost every day, by the will ot 
 God, he thought he should oftend 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 discoursed with Nathan the prophet about 
 these things, and had been encouraged by 
 him to do whatsoever he bad 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,f that he took his pur- 
 pose 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 
 that temple, because he had made many wars, 
 and was defiled with the slaughter of his ene- 
 mies; 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 
 shc'uld 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 delivering it to them ; but that 
 he would still punish him if he sinned, with 
 diseases and barrenness of land. When Da- 
 vid understood this from the prophet, and 
 was overjoyful at this knowledge of the sure 
 continuance of the dominion to 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 bene- 
 fits, as well for those that he had already be- 
 stowed upon him, in raising him from a low 
 state, and from the employment of a shep- 
 herd, to so great dignity of dominion and 
 glory, as for those also which he had pro- 
 mised to his po.^ltrity ; and, besides, for 
 that providence which he had exercised over 
 the liebrews, in procuring them the liberty 
 they enjoyed. And when he had said thus, 
 
 * Joscphus here informs us, thai, according to his 
 undeis'.aiKli ig of the sense of his t-.'py of the Penta- 
 teuch, Moses had himself foretold the building of t .e 
 ttmple, which yet is no.v licre, that 1 know of, in ovir 
 present copies. And that this is nol a mistake set down 
 bv hhn unwarily, appears by what he observe<l before, 
 
 I oil Antiii. b iv, ch. viii, sect. 46, how Moses foretold, 
 
 i that upon the Jews' future disobedience, their temple 
 should be bunit and rebuilt, and that not or.ffeonly, bat 
 
 i several times iifterward See .dso Joscphus's mention 
 of God's former commanils to build sUi-h a temple pre- 
 sently (cli. xiv, sect, i.'), contrary to our other copies, oi 
 
 j at least to our translation of the Hebrew, 2 Sam. vii, 6, 
 7 ; 1 t'hron. xvii, 5, fa'. 
 
 f Joscphus seems, in this place, with our modem lu- 
 
 ! terpretcrs, to confound the two distinct predictions 
 
 j which Cod made to David and to Nathan, eoneernmg 
 the buililing him a temple by one of David's posterity 
 the one lielongeth to ^olomo'n, the other to the Messiah ; 
 the distinction between which is of llie greatest ci>;us- 
 
 i quence to the Christi..ii religioiv. 
 
 ~Y- 
 
190 
 
 ANTIOUITIKS OF Till-: .IKWS. 
 
 :;^ 
 
 sik) had sun<j an liy-iuii of pr.iiso to God, lu- 
 went his way 
 
 CHAriKR V, 
 
 HOW DAVID BROUGHT L'NDER THli PHILISTINES, 
 AND THE MOAIilTKS, AND THE KINGS OI' SO- 
 IIIENE, AND OF DAMASCUS, AND OI' THE 
 SYRIANS, AS ALSO THE IDUMEANS, IN WAR; 
 AND HOW HE MADE A LEAGUE WITH THE 
 KING OF HAMATH ; AND WAS MINDFUL OF 
 THE FRIENDSHIP THAT JONATHAN, THE SON 
 OF SAUL, HAD BORNE TO HIM. 
 
 § 1. A LITTLE wliile after this, he considered 
 that he ought to make war against the Philis- 
 tines, 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 liis posterity to reign in peace afterward : 
 so he called together his army again, and when 
 he had charged them to be ready and prepar- 
 ed 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 Philis- 
 tines ; and when he had overcome them in bat- 
 tle, and had cut off a great part of their coun- 
 try, and adjoined it to the country of the He- 
 brews, he transferred the war to the Moabites; ' of Israel; concerning whom we shall speak 
 and when he had overcome two parts of their jn due place hereafter. 
 
 ar»ny in battle, he took the remaining part caj)- I 3. Now when David had made an expedi- 
 tive, and imposed tribute upon them, to be tion against Damascus and the other parts of 
 paid annually. He then made war against | Syria, and had brought it all into subjection, 
 Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of So- ' and had placed garrisons in the country, and 
 phene ; and when he had joined battle with ' appointed that they should pay tril)ute, he re- 
 iiim at the river Euphrates, he destroyed turned home. He also dedicated to God al 
 twenty thousand of his footmen, and about i Jerusalem the golden quivers, the entire ar- 
 seven thousand of his horsemen ; he also mour w hich the guards of Haiiad used to 
 took a thousand of his chariots, and destroy- I wear ; which Shishak, the king of Egypt, 
 ed tlie greatest part of them, and ordered took away when he fought with David's 
 tliat no more than one hundred should be 'grand son, Rehoboain, with a great deal of 
 kept.* jotlier weak!) which he carried out of Jerusa- 
 
 iJ. Now when Hada(i,f king of Damascus lem. However, these things will come to bo 
 
 ot his purpose, and lost in the battle a great 
 namber of his soldiers ; for there were slain 
 of the army of Hadad twenty thousand, and 
 all the rest fled. Nicolaus [of Damascus] also 
 makes mention of tliis 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 was 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 ])articularly 
 in the last battle at 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 succeeded one another 
 in his kingdom, and in his name ;" where he 
 thus speakj : " When Hadad was dead, his 
 posterity reigned for ten gener^itions, each of 
 his successors receiving from his f;ither thai 
 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 forefather had received : 
 so he made an expedition against the Jews, 
 and laid waste the city which is now called 
 Sainaria." Nor did he err from the truth ; for 
 this is that Hadad who made the expedition 
 against Samaria, in the reign of Aliab, king 
 
 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 
 
 « Davul'K resc'rviii!» onlv one liundrcil cliariots for 
 hi.nsclf, out of one tlioiis.ii'iil he h.a\ taUuii fiom Hada- 
 dezer. uiis most |iroljal)lv done in roiniiliamc with tlie 
 law of Moses, winch forbade a knig ul iMatl " to niul- 
 tinly horses to himself," Dcut. xvii, 1(>; one of the 
 prii)fi))al uses of horses in .ludea at that time beiiif; for 
 drawing their chaiiots. See Josh, xii, G; and Ar.tui. 
 b. V. ih.ii>. i.soc't. IH. 
 
 + It deserves here to be remarked, that this Hadad, 
 being avcry great king, wasconcpiercd by David, who>e 
 nosleritv yet for several generations were callrd Iknluv 
 Sad. or 'the M.n of Hi.d.uV, till (ho days onia/arl, »hosu 
 son Adar or Adcr is :dso in our lltbriw inpy (J Kin),'s 
 xiii, 'J4), writlcn licnhadad; but in Joscplius, Adad or 
 Adar. And strange it is, thai ihc son of ll.iiul, said to 
 \)C such in the siimc text, and ui Joscjihus (AnUi|. b. ix, 
 chaj). viii, sect. 71 should still be calied '.he son of Ha- 
 dad. I would Ihercforc here correct our lU-lnevv copy 
 from Josei>hus's, which M-cnis to have the Iriie reading. 
 
 explained in tiieir 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, Belah and M.-v- 
 choii ; so he took them by force, and laid them 
 waste. Therein was found a very great quan- 
 tity of gold and silver, besides that sort of 
 brass which is said to he more valuable than 
 gold; of which brass Solomon made that large 
 vessel which was called 'The [linneii] Sea, and 
 those most curious lavers, when he built tlie 
 temple for God. 
 
 4. But when the king of Hamath was irw 
 formed of the ill success of Hadadezer, and 
 had heard of the ruin of his army, he was 
 afraid on his o\mi account, and resolved to 
 make a league of fiienilship and fidelity with 
 David, before he sliould coiue against him ; so 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 191 
 
 he sent to him his son Joram, and professed I from Jonathan. And when he said that a son 
 that he owed iiim thanks for fighting against i of liis was remaining, whose name was Me- 
 HadadeAer, who was his enemy, and made a ! phibosheth, but that he was lame of liis feet ; 
 league with him of mutual assistance and j for that when his nurse heard that the father 
 friendship. He also sent liim presents, ves- | and grand-father of the child were fallen in 
 sels of ancient workmanship, both of gold, of tin? battle, she snatched him up, and fled away, 
 silver, and of brass. So when David had and let him fall from her shoulders, and his 
 made this league of mutual assistance with feet were lamed. So when he had learned 
 Toi (for that was the name of the king of where and by whom he was brought up, he 
 Hamath), and had received the presents he sent messengers to Machir, to the city of Lo- 
 sent him, he dismissed his son with that re- debar, for with him was the son of Jonathan 
 spect which was due on both sides; but then i brought up, and sent for him to come to him. 
 David brought those presents that were sent : So when IMephibosl)eth came to the king, he 
 by him, as also the rest of the gold and silver I fell on his face and worshipped him , but Da- 
 which he had taken of the cities wliom he had | vid encouraged him, and bade him be of good 
 conquered, and dedicated them to God, Nor cheer, and expect better times. So he gave 
 did God give victory and success to him only ! him his father's house, and all the estate which 
 when he went to the battle himself, and led his grand-father Saul was in possession of and 
 his own army, but he gave victory to Ahishai, ' bade him come and diet with him at his own 
 the brother of Joab, general of his forces, table, and never to bo absent one day from 
 over tne Idumeans,* and by him to David, j that table. And when the youth had wor- 
 when he sent him with an army into Idumua; ' shipped him, on account of his words and 
 for Abishai destroyed eighteen thousand of gifts given to him, he called for Ziba, and told 
 them in the battle; whereupon the king [of | him that he had given the youth his father's 
 Israel] placed garrisons through all luumea, j house, and all Saul's estate. He also ordered 
 and received the tribute of the country, and that Ziba should cultivate his land, and take 
 of every head among them. Now David was care of it, and bring him the profits of all to 
 in his nature just, and made his determination Jerusalem. Accordingly David brought him 
 with regard to truth. He had for the gene- to his table every day ; and bestowed upon the 
 ral of his whole army Joab ; and he made Je- youth, Ziba and his sons, who were in num- 
 
 hoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, recorder: he 
 also appointed Zadok, of the family of Phi- 
 neas, to be high-priest, together with Abiathar, 
 for he was his friend ; he also made Seisan the 
 scribe ; and committed the command over the 
 guards of his body to Benaiah, the son of Je- 
 hoiada. His elder sons were near his body, 
 and had the care of it also. 
 
 5. He also called to mind the covenants 
 and the oaths he had made with Jonathan, 
 the son of Saul, and the friendship and affec- 
 tion Jonathan had for him ; for besides all the 
 rest of his excellent qualities with which he 
 was endowed, he was also exceeding mindful 
 of such as had at other times bestowed be-ie- 
 fits upon him. He therefore gave order that 
 inquiry should be made, whetlier any of Jo- 
 nathan's lineage were living, to whom he 
 might make return of that familiar acquaint- 
 ance which Jonathan had had with him, and 
 for which he was still debtor. And when one 
 of Saul's freed raen 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 any one belonging to Jona- 
 than tiiat was now alive, and capable of a re- 
 quital of the benefits which he had received 
 
 • By this gnat victory over the Idurseans or Edom- 
 Itcs, the posterity of Ksau, and by the consequent tri- 
 bute paid by that nation to the Jews, were the proplie- 
 cies dehvered to Rebecca before Jacob and Esau were 
 boni, and by old Isaac before his death, that the elder, 
 Esau ,or the Edomites), should serve the younger, Ja- 
 cob (or the Israelites) ; and Jacob (or the Israelites) 
 should be Esau's (or the Edomites) lord, remarkably 
 fulfilled. See Antiq. b. viii, eh. vii, sect. 6, Gen. xxv, 
 V3 and the notes on Antiq. b. i, ch. xviii, sect. 5, 6 
 
 ber fifteen, and his servants, who were in num- 
 ber twenty. When the king had made tliess 
 appointments, and Ziba had worshipped hitOj 
 and promised to do all that he had bidder 
 him, he went his way ; so that this son of Jo- 
 nathan dwelt at Jerusalem, and dieted at the 
 king's table, and had tlie same care that a son 
 could claim taken of him. He also had him- 
 self a son, whom he named Mioha. 
 
 " CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW THE WAR WAS WAGED AGAINST THE AM- 
 MONITES, AND HAPPILY CONCLUDED. 
 
 § 1. These were the honours that such as 
 were left of Saul's and .Jonathan's lineage re- 
 ceived .from David. About this time died 
 Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, who was 
 a friend of David's; and when his son had sue- 
 ceeded his father in the kingdom, David s.ent 
 ambassadors to him to comfort him ; and ex- 
 horted 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 Ammonite* 
 took this message in evil part, and not as 
 David's kind dispositions gave reason to take 
 it; and they excited the king to resent it; 
 and said that David had sent men to spy out 
 the country, and what strength it had, imdei 
 the pretence of humanity and kindness. They 
 (farther advised him to have a care, and not tc 
 
"\ 
 
 192 
 
 ANTmUlTJES OF THK JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII 
 
 give heed to David's words, lest lie should be 
 dfhuied hy him, and so Call into an inconsol- 
 able calamity. Accordinj^ly Naliash's [son], 
 the king of the Ammonites, thought these 
 princes spake what was more prolwble than 
 tlie truth would admit, and so abused the am- 
 bassadors after a very harsli manner ; for he 
 shaved the one half of their beards, and cut oil" 
 one half of their garments, and sent his aji- 
 swer 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 over- 
 • ook this injurious and contumelious treat- 
 ment, but would make war with the Ammon- 
 ites, and would avenge this wicked treatment 
 of his ambassadors on their king. So that tiie 
 king's intimate friends and commanders,, un- 
 derstairding that they had violated their league, 
 and were liable to be punished for the same, 
 made preparations for war ; they also sent a 
 thousand talents to the Syrian king of I\Ieso- 
 potamia, and endeavoured to prevail with him 
 to assist them for that pay, and Shobach. Now 
 these kings had twenty thousand footmen. 
 They also hired the kingof ihe country called 
 Maacah, and a fourth king, by name Ishtob ; 
 which last had twelve thousand armed men. 
 
 2. But David was under no consternat'on 
 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 immediately sent Joab, the cap- 
 tain of his host, against them, and gave hini 
 the flower of liis army, who pitched his camp 
 by Rabbat!], the metropolis of the Ammonites; 
 whereupon the eneiny came out, and set them- 
 selves in array, not all of them together, but 
 in two bodies; for the auxiliaries were set in 
 array in tiie plain by themselves, but the army 
 of the Ammonites at the gates over-against the 
 Hel)rews. When Joab saw this, he opposed 
 one stratagem against another, and chose out 
 the most hardy part of his men, and set tliem 
 in opposition to the king of Syria, and the 
 kings tiiat were with him, and gave the other 
 part to his brother Abishai, and bid him set 
 them ill opposition 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 tlie like distress from the Ammonites. 
 So lie sent his brother before, and encouraged 
 liim to do every thing counigeously and with 
 alacrity, which would teach them to be afraid 
 of disgrace, and to figlil manfully; and so he 
 dismissed him to figlit with the Ainmonites, 
 while he fell upon the Syrians. And though 
 they made a strong opposition for a while, 
 Joab slew many of tlicm, but compelled the 
 rest to betake tlieinselves to flight ; which, 
 when the Ammonites saw, and were withal 
 tfiaid of Abishai and liii army, tliey staid no 
 
 longer, but imitated their auxiliaries, and tied 
 to the city. So Joab, when he had thus over- 
 come the enemy, returned with great joy to 
 Jerusalem to the king. 
 
 3. Tliis defeat did not still induce the Am- 
 moiu'tes to be quiet, nor to own those that 
 were superior to them to be so, and be still, 
 but they sent to Chalaman, the king of the Sy- 
 rians, beyond Euphrates, and hired for an 
 auxiliary. lie had Shobach for the captain 
 of his host, with eighty thousand footmen, 
 and ten thousand horsemen. Now when the 
 king of the Hebrews understood that the Am 
 monites had again gathered so great an army 
 together, lie determined to make war witli 
 them no longer by his generals, but he jiasstd 
 over the river Jordan himself with all his army; 
 and when } ■•. met them he joined battle with 
 them, and overcame them, and slew forty 
 tiiousand of their footmen, and seven thou- 
 sand of their horsemen. He also wounded 
 Shobac.i, the general of Chalainan's forces, 
 who died of that stroke; but the people of 
 Mesopotamia, upon such a conclusion of the 
 b:ittle, delivered themselves up to David, and 
 sent him presents, who at winter-time return- 
 ed to Jerusalem, But at the beginning of the 
 spring he sent Joab, the captain of his liost, to 
 fight against the Ammonites, who overran an 
 their country, and laid it waste, and shut 
 them up in their metropolis Rubbah, and be- 
 sieged them tluTein. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 UDK DAVID FELL IN I.OVE WITH SATIlMimA, 
 AND SLEW HEIl HL-SBAND IHIAH, FOit WHICH 
 HE IS REPROVED BY .NATHAN. 
 
 § 1. Bur David fell now into a very griev- 
 ous sin, though he were otherwise naturally 
 a righteous and a religious man, and one that 
 firmly observed the laws of our fathers ; 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 herself in her own house : she wa» 
 one of extraordinary beauty, and therein sur- 
 passed all other women ; her name was Bath- 
 sheba. So he was overcome by that u Oman'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 conceal- 
 ing her sin (for, accordin^j to the laws of their 
 fullers, she who had been guilty of adultery 
 ouglit 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 «a« 
 Uriah : and when he was come, the king in- 
 quired of him about tlic army, and about the 
 siege ; and w hen he had made answer, tliat 
 all Uieir affairs went according to Uieir wishes.. 
 
cuAi'. vn. 
 
 the king took some portions of meat from 
 his supper, and gave them to him, and bade 
 him go lionie to liis wife, and take his rest 
 with her. Uriah did not do so, but slept 
 near the king- with the rest of his armour- 
 bearess. When the king was informed of 
 tliis, he asked him why he did not go home 
 to his house, and to iiis wife, after so long an 
 absence ; whicli is the natural custom of all 
 men, when they coine from a long journey. 
 He replied, that it was not right, while his 
 feilow -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 order- 
 ed hirn to stay there that night, that he might 
 dismiss him the next day to the general. So 
 the king invited Uriah to supper, and af- 
 ter a cunning and dexterous manner plied 
 bim 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 liis wife. Upon this the king was very 
 angry at him ; and wrote to Joab, and com- 
 manded 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 pu- 
 nishment ; 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 jeopardy ; for he bade him order his 
 fellow-soldiers to retire out of the fight. 
 When he bad written thus to him, and sealed 
 tlie letter with his own seal, he gave it to U- 
 riah to carry to Joab. When Joab had re- 
 ceived it, and upon reading it understood 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 assist- 
 ance 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 
 tliej 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 prevent 
 them, and get up into the city, and this at the 
 very place whither Uriah was ordered ; so they 
 exposed their best soldiers to be in the fore- 
 front, and opened their gates suddenl)', and 
 fell upon the enemy with great vehemence, and 
 
 — — V_ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 193 
 
 ran violently upon them. When those that were 
 with Uriah saw this, they all retreated 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, an<i caught ia 
 the midst of them, he was slain, and some o- 
 ther of his companions were slain with him, 
 
 2. When this was done, Joab sent messen- 
 gers to the king, and ordereil 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 Abime- 
 lech, 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 ignominiously 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 me- 
 thod of making war with success was to call 
 to mind the accidents of former wars, and 
 what good or bad success bad attended them 
 in the like dangerous cases, tliat so they might 
 imitate the one, and avoid the other. But 
 when the king was in this disposition, the 
 messenger 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 is no other than what is com- 
 mon among mankind ; and that such is the 
 nature, and such the accidents of war, inso- 
 much 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 inight be- 
 fall him in it hereafter : that they sliould 
 raise bulwarks and use machines in besieging 
 the city ; and when they have gotten it, to 
 overturn its very foundations, and to destroy 
 all those that are in it. Accordingly the mes- 
 senger carried the king'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 hubband, 
 mourned for his death many days ; and when 
 her inourning was over, and tlie tears which 
 she shed for Uriah were dried up, tlie king 
 took her to wife presently ; and a son was 
 born to him by her. 
 
 3. With this marriage God was not well 
 pleased, but was thereupon angry at David ; 
 and he appeared to Nathan the prophet in 
 his sleep, and complained of the king. Now 
 
191 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Vlf. 
 
 Nathan was a fair and priuleivt man ; and con- 
 tidering tfiat kings, wlicn tlicy fall into a pas- 
 sion, arc guided :norc by tiiat passion than 
 they arc by justice, he resolved to conceal the 
 thrcatcnings that proceeded from God, and 
 made a good-natured discourse to him, and 
 this after tiie manner following: — He desired 
 that the king would give him his opinion in 
 the following case : — " Tliere 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 
 them ; and he had tlie same natural affection 
 for her which any one might have for a daugh- 
 ter. 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 stran- 
 ger." This d.scourse troubled the king ex- 
 ceedingly ; 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 v.iio ought to suffe; 
 those punishments, and that by his own sen 
 tencv ; and that it v,-w> he who had perpe- 
 trattd this great and horrid crime. He also 
 revealed to him, and laid before him, the an- 
 ger of God against him, who had made him 
 king over the 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 des- 
 pised by him, and atl'ronted by his impiety, 
 when he had married, and now had another 
 man's wife ; and by exposing her husband to 
 the enemy, had really slain him ; that God 
 would inflict punishments upon him on ac- 
 coimt of those instances of wickedness ; that 
 his own wives should be forced by one of his 
 sons ; and that he should be treacherously 
 supplanted by the same son ; and that al- 
 though he had perpetrated his wickedness se- 
 crectly, yet should that punishment which he 
 was to undergo be inflicted publicly upon 
 him ; " that, moreover," said he, " 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, ex- 
 cepting those in the matter of Uriah), God 
 had compassion on him, and was reconciled 
 to him, and promised that he would preserve 
 to ln:a both his life and his kingdom ; foe he 
 
 said, tliat seeing he repented of the things he 
 had done, he was no longer displeased with 
 hiin. So Nathan, when he had delivered this 
 prophecy to the king, returned home. 
 
 4. However, God sent a dangerous dis. 
 temper upon the child that was born to Davia 
 of the wife of Uriah ; at which the king was 
 troubled, and did not take any food for seven 
 days, altlioiigh his servants almost forced 
 him to take it; but he clotlied 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 cliiid's mother; but wlien, on the 
 seventh day, the child was dead, the king's 
 servants durst not tell him of it, as supposing 
 that wiien he knew it, he would still less ad- 
 mit of food and other care of himself, by rea- 
 son of his grief at the death of his son, since 
 when the cl.ild 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 wlsen he had called one of his ser- 
 vants to him, and discovered that so it was, 
 he arose up and washed himself, and took a 
 white garment, and came into the tabernacle 
 of God. He also commanded them to set 
 supper before him, and thereby greatly sur. 
 priced his kindred and servants, wliile he did 
 nothing of this when the child was sick, but 
 did it all wiien he was dead. Whereupon, hav- 
 ing first begged leave to ask him a question, 
 they besought him to tell them the reason of 
 this his conduct; he then called them unskil- 
 ful 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 
 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 pur- 
 pose. Wlien he had said tiiis, they commend- 
 ed 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 Nathan the prophet, called 
 his name Solomon. 
 
 5. But Joab sorely distressed the Ammon- 
 ites in the siege, by cutting off their waters, 
 and depriving them of other means of sub- 
 sistence, till they were in the greatest want of 
 meat and drink, for they depended only on 
 one small well of water, and this they durst 
 not drink of too freely, lest the fountain 
 should entirely I'ail them. So he wrote to the 
 king, and informed him thereof; and persuad- 
 ed him to come himself to take the city, that 
 lie might hi'.ve the honour of the victory. 
 Upon this letter of Joab's, the king accepted 
 of liis good-will and fidelity, and took with 
 him his army, and came to the destruction ol 
 Uabbah ; and when he had taken it by force. 
 
 ~^. 
 
"V 
 
 CHAP. nil. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 I9i> 
 
 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 ; wliich 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 price ; but as for 
 the men, he tormented them, f and then de- 
 stroyed tliem : and when he had taken the 
 other cities of the Ammonites by force, he 
 treated them after the same manner. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 KOW ABSALOM MCRDEIIED AMXO.V, WHO HAD 
 FORCED HIS OWN SISTER; AND KOW UE WAS 
 BANISHED, AND AITERWAUDS RECALLED BY 
 DAVID. 
 
 § 1. When the king was returned to Jerusa- 
 lem, a sad misfortune befel his house, on the 
 occasion following: He had a daughter, who 
 was yet a virgin, and very handsome, inso- 
 much that she surpassed all the most beauti- 
 ful women ; her name was Tamar ; she had 
 the same mother with Absalom. Now Am- 
 non, David's eldest son, fell in love with her, 
 and being not able to obtain his desires, on ac- 
 count of her virginity, and the custody she 
 was under, was so much out of order, nay, 
 his grief so eat up his body, that he grew lean, 
 and his colour was changed. Now there was 
 one Jonadab, a kinsman and friend of his, 
 who discovered this his passion, for he was an 
 extraordinary wise man, and of great sagacity 
 of mind. When, therefore, he saw that every 
 morning Amnon was not in body as he ought 
 to be, he came to him, and desired him to lell 
 him what was the cause of it: however, he 
 said that he guearsed that it arose fix)m the pas- 
 sion of love. Amnon confessed l)is passion, 
 that he was in love with a sister of his, who 
 bad the same father with himself. So Jona- 
 dab suggested to hini by what method and 
 
 * That a talent of gold was about seven pounds 
 weight, see the description of the temples, chap. xiii. 
 Nor could Josephus well estimate it higher, since he 
 bcre says that David wore it on his head perpetually. 
 
 t \\ hcther Josephus saw the words of our copies, 2 
 Sam. xij, 31, and 1 rhron. xx, 5, that David put the 
 inhabitants, or at least the garrison of Kabbah, and of 
 the other Ammonite cities which he besieged and took, 
 under, or cut Uiera with saws, and under, or with har- 
 rows of iron, and under, or with axes of iron, and made 
 them pass through the brick kihi, is not here directly 
 expressed. If he saw thera, as it is most probable he 
 did, he certainly expounded thera of tormenting these 
 Ammonites to death, who were none of those seven na- 
 tioixs of Canaan, whose wickedness tiad rendered them 
 Incapable of mercy; otherwise I should be inclinable 
 to think that the meaning, at least as Uie words are in 
 Samuel, might only be tliis : That they were made the 
 lowest slaves, to work in sawing timber or stone, in har- 
 rowing the fields, in hewing timber, in mal<.spg and 
 fcurning bricks, aiid the like hard services, but without 
 takmg away their lives. We never elsewhere, that I 
 remember, meet with such methods of cruelty in put- 
 ting men to death in all the Uible, or in any other an- 
 cient history whatsoever: nor do the wor<is in Samuel 
 »eem naturally to refer to any such thing. 
 
 contrivance he might obtain his desires; foi 
 he persuaded iiiin to pretend sickness, and 
 bade him, vvh.en iiis father should come to him, 
 to beg of him tliat his sister might come and 
 minister to him ; for, if that were done, he 
 should be better, and should quickly recover 
 from his distemper. So Ainnon lay down on 
 his bed, and pretended to be sick, as Jonadab 
 iiad suggested. When his f;itlicr came, and 
 inquired how he did, he begged of him to send 
 his sister to him. Accordingly, he presently 
 ordered her to be brouglit to him; and when 
 she was come, Amnon bade her make cakes 
 for liim, and fry them in a pan, and do it all 
 with her own hands, because lie 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 him caki's, and 
 baked them in a pan, and brought tiiem to 
 him ; but at that time he would not taste them, 
 but gave order to his servants to send all that 
 were there out of liis chamber, because he had 
 a mind to repose himself, free from tuinult 
 and disturbance. As soon as what lie had 
 com.manded 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 endeavoured to persuade her 
 to lie with him. Whereupon 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 hist, 
 from which our house will get notiiing but 
 reproach and disgrace." She also advised him 
 to speak to his father about t'lis affair; for 
 he would permit him [to marry her]. This 
 she said, as desirous to avoid her brother's vio- 
 lent passion at present. But he would not 
 yield to her; but, inflamed with love and 
 blinded with the vehemency of his passion, he 
 forced his sister : but as soon as Amnon had 
 satisfied his lust, he 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 day-time, and while it 
 was light, that she might meet with people 
 that would be witness of her shame, — he com- 
 manded his servant to turn her out of his I 
 house. Whereupon she was sorely grieved 
 at the injury and violence that had b-jen ort'er- 
 ed to her, and rent her loose coat (for the vir- 
 gins 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 lier head ; and went up 
 the middle of the city, crying out and lament- 
 ing for the violence that had been olfered her. 
 Now Absalom, her brother, happened to meet 
 her, and asked her what sad tiling had be- 
 fallen her, that she was in that plight; and 
 when she had toid him what injury had beeii 
 
196 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ofl'cretJ ncr, he comforted her, and desired her 
 to be quii'f, and take all patiently, and not to 
 esteuni her being corrupted by her brother as 
 an injury. So she yielded to his advice, and 
 left oil" her crying out, and discovering the 
 force ofl'ered her to the multitude : and she 
 continued as a widow with her brother Absa- 
 lom a long time. 
 
 2. When David his father knew tliis, he 
 was grieved at the actions of Amnon ; but be- 
 cause he had an extraordinary afi'eclion for 
 him, for he was Iiis eldest son, he was com- 
 pelled not to afflict him ; but Absalom watch- 
 ed for a fit opjiortunity of revenging this crime 
 jpon him, for he thoroughly hated liim. Now 
 the second year after this wicked affair about 
 his sister was over, and Absalom was about to 
 go to sheer his own sheep at Baalliazor, 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 willing to be 
 burdensome to him, Absalom desired he would 
 however send iiis brethren ; whom he did send 
 accordingly. Then Absalom charged his own 
 servants, that when tliey should see Amnon 
 disordered and drowsy with wine, and he 
 should give them a signal, they should fear no- 
 body, but kill him. 
 
 S. When they had done as they were com- 
 manded, the rest of his brethren were astonish- 
 ed and disturbed, and were afraid for them- 
 selves, so they immediately got on horseback, 
 and rode away to their father; but somebody 
 there was who prevented them, and told their 
 father they were all slain by Absalom ; w here- 
 upon 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 con- 
 sideration, that it was their brother that appear- 
 ed to have slain them, he aggravated his sorrow 
 for them. So he neither inquired what was 
 the cause of this slaughter, nor staid 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 relat- 
 ed to him, he rent his clothes, and threw him- 
 self 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 
 Shemeah, 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 Absalom 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 
 peoi)le that were coming, turned their attention 
 to them ; they were the king's sons, who were 
 fled away from the feast. So their father met 
 them as they were in their grief, and he him- 
 ujlf grieved with iJiem ; but it was more than 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 he expected to see those liis sons again, whom 
 ho had a little before heard to have perished. 
 HoweviT, thiTe were tears on both sides ; they 
 lamenting their brother wlio was killed, and 
 the king lamenting his son, who was killed 
 also ; but Absalom fled to Geshur, to his 
 grandfather by his mother's side, who was king 
 of that country, and he remained with him 
 three whole years. 
 
 4. Now David had a design to send to Ab- 
 salom, not that lie should come to be punished, 
 but that he might be with him, for the efJectt 
 of his anger were abated by length of time. 
 It was Joab the captain of his host, that chief- 
 ly 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 him : — That two of her sons, in a 
 coarse way, had some diflerence 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 farther 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 wished for 
 it, he would do her a great favour, because 
 the kindred would not be restrained from their 
 purpose by any thing else than by the ftar of 
 him :— and when the king had given his con- 
 sent 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 
 remaining 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 tbou hast 
 really bestowed this favour upon me, while 
 thou thyself continuest after the like mannei 
 in thy w rath to thine own son ? for it is a fool- 
 ish 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 subordination derived from Joab, anj 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 bid 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 immediately to Ge- 
 shur, and took Absalom with him, and came to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 5. However, the king sent a message to his 
 son beforehand, as he w;is coming, and com- 
 manded him to retire to his own house, for 
 ho was not yet in such a disposition as te 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 think fit at present to see him. According- 
 ly, upon the father's command, he avoided 
 coming into his presence, and contented him- 
 self with the respects paid him by his own 
 fiimily only. Now liis beauty was not im- 
 paired, either by the grief he had been un- 
 der, or by the want of such care as was 
 proper to bo 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 two hundred she- 
 kels, * which are five pounds. However, he 
 dwelt in Jerusalem two years, and became 
 die father of three sons, and one daughter ; 
 which daughter was of very great beauty, 
 and which Rehoboam, 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 
 towards 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 adjoining to him ; which, when Joab 
 understood, he came to Absalom, and accused 
 him of what he had done ; and asked him the 
 reason why he did so ? To which Absalom 
 replied, that " I have found out this strata- 
 gem 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 1 esteem my coming hither to be 
 more grievous than my banishment, while my 
 father's wrath against me continues." Here- 
 by Joab was persuaded, and pitied the distress 
 that Absalom was in, and became an interces- 
 sor with the king for him ; and when he had 
 discoursed with his father, he soon brought 
 him to that amicable disposition towards Ab- 
 salom, that he presently sent for him to come 
 to him ; and when he had cast himself down 
 upon the ground, and had begged for the 
 forgiveness of his ofiences, the king raised 
 him up, and promised him to forget what he 
 had formerly done. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CONCERNING THE INSURRECTION OF ABSALOM 
 AGAINST DAVID ; AND CONCERNING AHI- 
 THOPHEL AND HUSHAI ; AND CONCERNING 
 ZIUA AND SHIM EI ; AND HOW AHITHOPHEL 
 HANGED HIMSELF. 
 
 § 1. Now Absalom, upon this his success with 
 the king, procured to himself a great many 
 
 ♦ Of this weight of Absalom's hair, how in twcntv or 
 thirty years it might well amount to two hundred she- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 197 
 
 horses, and many chariots, and that in a little 
 time also. He had moreover fifty armour- 
 bearers that were about him, and he came 
 early every day to the king's palace, and 
 spake what was agreeable to such as camt for 
 justice and lost their causes, as if that hap- 
 pened 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 com- 
 mitted to him, he would distribute justice 
 to them in a most equitable manner. When 
 he sad 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 -j- had passed since his fa- 
 ther's reconciliation 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. 
 
 2. Among them came Ahithophel the Gi- 
 lonite, a counsellor of David's, and two hun- 
 dred 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 ex- 
 pect 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 
 enterprizes ; 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 be- 
 yond Jordan ; so he called his most 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 concu- 
 bines, and went away from Jerusalem, being 
 willingly accompanied by the rest of themul- 
 
 kels, or to somewhat above six pounds avoirdupois, see 
 the Literal Accomplishment of Prophecies, page 'il, 78. 
 But a late very judicious author thinks that the lxxh 
 meant not its v;eicht, but its value was twenty shekels. 
 Dr. Wall's Critical Notes on the Old Testament, upon 
 2 Sara. xiv. 26. It does not appear what was Juse- 
 phus's opinion : he sets the text down honestly as iie 
 found it in his copies, only he thought, that " at the 
 end of days," when Absalom polled Oi weighed his hair 
 was once a week. 
 
 t This is one of the best corrections that Josephus's 
 copy atlbrds us of a text that, in our ordinary copies, is 
 grossly corrupted. They say that this rebellion of Al)- 
 salom was forty years after what went before (of his re- 
 conciliation to his father), whereas the series of the 
 history shows it couid not l>e more than four years after 
 it, as here in Josephus, whose number is directly eon- 
 i firmed by that copy of the Septuagint version whence 
 the Armenian translation was made, which gives xa thr 
 same small number of four year*. 
 
 X^ 
 
193 
 
 AN'TIQUITIES OF THC JKWS. 
 
 BOOK VII 
 
 titudc, who went hastily awuy witii him, and 
 particularly Ijy thosL' six huiulred armed men, 
 wlio liad been wiUi liim From his first flight in 
 the days of Saul. But ho persuaded Ahia- 
 thar and Zadok, the hi.>h-priests, who had de- 
 termined to go away with him, as also all the 
 Levitts, who were with the ark, to stay be- 
 hind, as hoping that God woi.ld deliver liim 
 witiiout its removal ; but he charged them to 
 let him know privately how all things went 
 on ; and he had their sons, Ahlmaaz the son 
 of Zadok. and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, 
 for faithful ministers in all things; but Ittai 
 the Gittite went out witli him whether David 
 would let hhn or not, for he would have per- 
 suaded him to stay, and on that account he 
 appeared the more friendly to him ; but as lie 
 was ascending the mount of Olives barefoot- 
 ed, and all his com)iany were in tears, it was 
 told him that Ahlthophel was with Absalom, 
 and was of his side. Tliis hearing augment- 
 ed his grief; and he besought God earnestly 
 to alienate the mind of Absalom from Aliitho- 
 phel, for he was afraid that he should persuade 
 him to follow his pernicious counsel, for he 
 was a prudent man, ar.i 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 liaving already lost his 
 kingdom : and here it was that a faithful 
 friend of his, whose name was Hushai, met 
 liim. When David saw him v.ith his clothes 
 rent, and having ashes all over his head, and 
 in lamentation for the great change of alfairs, 
 lie comforted him, and exhorted him to leave 
 olF grieving ; nay, at length he besought him 
 to go back to Absalom, and appear as one of 
 his party, and to fish out the secretest coun- 
 sels of his mind, and to contradict the coun- 
 sels of Ahithophel, for that he could not do 
 him so much good by being with him as 
 he ir.ight by beiiig with Absalom. So he 
 >vas prevailed on by David, and left him, and 
 came to Jerusalem, whither Absalom Jiimself 
 came also a little while afterward. 
 
 3. When David was gone a little farther, 
 there met him Ziba, the servant of Mephi- 
 bosheih (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, loaden witli provisions, and 
 desired him to take as much of them as he 
 and his followers stood in need of. And 
 when the king asked liim where he had left 
 IMephibosheth, he said he had left him in 
 Jerusalem, expecting to be chosen king in the 
 jiresent confusions, in remembrance of the 
 benefits Saul had conferred upon them. At 
 tliis the king had great indignation, and gave 
 to Ziba all that ne had formerly bestowed on 
 Mephiboshcth, for he determined that it was 
 much fitter that he should have them than the 
 other; at yliich Ziba greatly rejoiced. 
 
 4. When David was at Bahurim, a place 
 
 so called, there came out a kinsman of Saul's, 
 whose name was Sliimei, and threw stones at 
 him, and gave him reproachful words ; and 
 as his friends stood about the king and prt>. 
 tected him, he persevered still more in his re- 
 proiK-hes, 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 liis kingdom, and causing 
 liim to be punisiied 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 /'.bisliai, who had a mind to 
 kill Shimei, David restrained his anger. " Let 
 us not," said he, " bring upon ourselves ano- 
 ther fresh misfortune to those we have already, 
 for truly I have not the least regard nor con- 
 cern for this dog that raves at me : I submit 
 myself to God, by wliose permission this inan 
 treats me in such a wild manner ; nor is it 
 any wonder that I am oliliged to undergo these 
 abuses from him, while I experience the like 
 from an impious son of my own ; but perhaps 
 God will have some commiseration u])on us; 
 if it be his v.ill we shall overcome them." So 
 he went on his way without troubling himself 
 with Shimei, who ran along the other side of 
 the mountain, and threw out his abusive lan- 
 guage plentifully. But when David was come 
 to Jordan, he allowed those that were with 
 him to refresh themselves ; for tliey were 
 weary. 
 
 5. But when Absalom, and Ahithophel his 
 counsellor, were come to Jerusalem, with all 
 the people, David's friend, Ilushai, came to 
 them ; and when he had worshipped Absalom, 
 he withall wished that his kingdom 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 faitliful to him in all 
 things, is not with him now, but hath left him, 
 and is come over to me ? " Husliai's answer 
 was very pertinent 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 1 should 
 follow them, for thou hast received the king- 
 dom from God. I will therefore, if tiiou be- 
 lievest me to be thy friend, show the same 
 fidelity and kindness to thee, which thou 
 knowest I have shown to thy father : nor is 
 [tiiere any reason to be in the least dissatisfied 
 with the present stale of aflairs, for the king- 
 dom is not transferred into anotlier, but re- 
 mains still in the same family, by the son's 
 receiving it after his f:it!ier. " 'I'his speech 
 ])ersuaded Absalom, who before sus])ected 
 Hushai. And now he called Ahithophel, 
 and consulted with hiin what he ought to do; 
 he persuaded him to go in unto his father's 
 concubines; for he said, that "by this p.c 
 ^ tion the people would believe that thy diU'er- 
 
 r 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 199 
 
 ence with thy father is irrecor.cileable, and 
 will thence fight with great alacrity against 
 thy father, for hitherto they are afraid of tak- 
 ing up open enmity against him, out of an 
 expectation that you will be reconciled again." 
 Accordingly Absalom was prevailed on by 
 this advice, and commanded 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 pre- 
 diction of Nathan, when he prophesied and 
 signified to him that his son would rise up in 
 rebellion against him. 
 
 6. 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 ask- 
 ed him to let him have ten thousand chosen 
 men, and he promised he would slay his fa- 
 ther, and bring the soldiers back again in 
 safety ; and he said, that then the kingdom 
 would be firm to him when David was dead 
 but not otherwise]. Absalom was pleased 
 with this advice, and called for Hushai, Da- 
 vid's friend (for so did he style him), and in- 
 formed him of the opinion of Ahithophel : he 
 asked, fartlier, what was his opinion concern- 
 ing that matter. Now he was sensible that 
 if Ahithophel's counsel were followed, David 
 would be in danger of being seized on, and 
 slain ; so he attempted to introduce a contrary 
 opinion, and said, " Thou art not unacquaint- 
 ed, O king, with the valour of thy father, and 
 of those that are now \vith him j that he hath 
 Tiade many wars, and hath always come off 
 with victory, though probably he now abides 
 in the camp, for he is very skilful in strata 
 gems, and in foreseeing the deceitful tricks of 
 his enemies ; yet will he leave his own soldiers 
 in tlie 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 en- 
 couraged by the king's being near them; and 
 in the mean time your father will show him- 
 self suddenly in the time of the battle, and 
 will infuse courage into his own people when 
 they are in danger, but bring consternation to 
 thine. Consider, therefore, my advice, and 
 reason upon it, and if thou canst not but ac- 
 knowledge it to be the best, reject the opinion 
 of Ahithophel. 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 liim openly with 
 his few partizans, but hast thyself many ten 
 thousands, who will be desirous to demon- 
 strate 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 undermin- 
 ing it." When Hushai had said this, lie ob- 
 tained his point against Ahitliophel, for his 
 opinion was preferred by Absalom before the 
 other's : h.owcver, it was no other than God • 
 who made the counsel of Hushai appear best 
 to the mind of Absalom. 
 
 7. So Hushai made haste to the high-priests, 
 Zadok and Abiathar, and told them the opi- 
 nion of Ahithophel, and his own, and tliat the 
 resolution was taken to follow this latter ad- 
 vice. He therefore bade them send to David, 
 and tell him of it, and to inform him of the 
 counsels tiiat had been taken ; and to desire 
 him farther to pass quickly over Jordan, lesJ 
 his son should change his mind, and make 
 haste to pursue him, and so prevent him, and 
 seize upon him before he be in safety. Now 
 the high-priests had their sons concealed in a 
 proper place out of the city, that they might 
 carry news to David of what v/as 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, takino- 
 along with them their fathers' injunctions, 
 because pious and faithful ministers ; and, 
 judging that quickness and suddenness was 
 the best mark of faithful service, they made 
 haste to meet with David. But certain horse- 
 men saw them when they were two furlongs 
 from the city, and informed Absalom of them, 
 who immediately sent some to take tliem ; but 
 when the sons of the high- priests perceived this, 
 they went out of the road, and betook them- 
 selves to a certain village (that village was 
 called Bahurim) ; there they desired a certain 
 woman to hide them, and afford them secu- 
 rity. Accordingly she let the young men 
 down by a rope into a well, and laid fleeces 
 of wool over them ; and when those that pur- 
 sued them came to her, and asked her whether 
 she saw them, she did not deny tiiat she had 
 seen them, for that they staid 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 catck them ; 
 
 * This reflection of Josephus's, that God brought to 
 nought the dangerous counsel of Ahithophel, and di- 
 rectly infatuated wicked Absalom to reject it (which in- 
 fatuation is what the Scripture styles the judicial harden- 
 ing the hearts, and blinding the eyes of men, who, by 
 their former voluntary wickedness, have justly dcservetl 
 to be destroyed, and are thereby brought to destruc- 
 tion), is a very just one, and in'him not unfrequent. 
 Nor does Josephus ever puzzle himself, or perplex his 
 readers, with subtile hypotheses as to the manner of 
 such judicial infatuations by God, while the justice of 
 them is generally so obvious. That peculiar manner 
 of the divine operations, or pennissions, or the means 
 God makes use of in such cases, is often impenetrable 
 by us. "Secret things belong to the Lord our God; 
 but those things that are revealed belong to us, and to 
 our children for ever, that we may do all the words of 
 this law," Deut. xxix. 29. Nor have all the subtilties 
 of the modems, as far as I see, given anv considerable 
 light in this, and many other the like points of difficul- 
 ty relating either to divine or human operations.— .See 
 the notes on Antiq. b. v, ch. i, sect. 2 ; and Autiq. h 
 ix, eh. iv, sect. 3. 
 
--1 
 
 ioo 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII 
 
 but when, after a long pursuit, they could not 
 catch then), thev cainu back aj^ain ; and when 
 the woman saw those men were returned, and 
 that there was no longer any fear of the young 
 men's bcnig caught by them, slic drew tiieni 
 up by the ro]H', and bade tliein go on their 
 journey. Accordingly they used great dili- 
 gence in the prosecution of that journey, and 
 came to David and informed him accurately 
 of all the counsels of Absalom. So he cou)- 
 manded those that were with him to pass over 
 Jordan while it was night, and not to delay at 
 all on that account. 
 
 8. But Ahithophel, on rejection of his ad- 
 vice, got upon his ass and rode away to his 
 own country, Gilon ; and, calling his family 
 together, he told them distinctly what advice 
 he had given Absalom ; and since he had not 
 been persuaded by it, he said he would evi- 
 dently perish, and this in no long time, and 
 that David would overcome him, and return 
 to his kingdom again ; so he said it was belter 
 that he sb.ould take his own life away with 
 freedom and magnanimity, than expose him- 
 self to be ptmislied by I>avid, in opjiosition 
 to whom he had acted entirely for Absalom. 
 When he had discoursed thus to them, he 
 ■went into the inmost room of his house, aud 
 hanged himself; and thus was the death of 
 Ahithophel, who was self-condemned ; and 
 when his relations 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 veiy strong city ; and arl the 
 chief men of the country received him with 
 great pleasure, both out of the shame they 
 liad that he should be forced to flee away 
 [from Jerusalem^, and out of the respect they 
 bare him whilv he was in his former prospe- 
 rity. These were Baizillai tl'.e Gileadite, and 
 Siphar the rulei ainong the Ammonites, and 
 Machir the principal man of Gilead; and 
 these fmnished him with plentiful provisions 
 for himself and his follov\ers, 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 slaugh- 
 ter, and afforded them what furniture they 
 wanted for their refreshment when they were 
 weary, and for food, with plenty of other ne- 
 cessaries. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW, WHKN ABSALOM WAS BEATEN, HE WAS 
 CAUGHT IN A TKLE BV HIS HAIU, AND WAS 
 SLAIN. 
 
 § 1. And this was the state of David and his 
 follo.^ers: but Absalom got together a vast 
 arniv of the Hebrews to op|)ose his father, and 
 passed iJikrewidi iv^^r the river Jordan, ind 
 
 sat down not far off Mahanaim, m the country 
 of Gilead. He ap|)ointed Amasa to be cap- 
 tain of all his host, instead of Joab his kins- 
 man : liis father was Ithra, and his mother 
 Abigail : now she and Zeruiah, the motlierof 
 Joab, were David's sisters ; but when David 
 had niuul)ered his followers, and found them 
 to be about four thousand, he resolved not to 
 tarry till Absalom attacked him, but set over 
 liis men captains of thousandr,, and captaitisoi 
 liundreds, and divided his army into three 
 parts ; the one part lie committed to Joab, the 
 next to Abisliai, Joab's brother, and the third | 
 to Ittai, David's coinpanion and friend, but 
 one that came from the city Galh ; and when 
 he was desirous of fighting himself among 
 them, his friends would not let hun : and this 
 refusal of theirs was founded upon very wise 
 reasons : — " For," said they, "if we be con- 
 quered when he is with us, we have lost all 
 good hopes of recovering otirselves ; but if we 
 should be beaten in one p rt of our armj-, 
 the other parts may retire to him, and may 
 thereby prepare a greater force, while the ene- 
 my will naturally suppose that he hath another 
 army with him." So David was pleased with 
 this their advice, and resolved himself to tarrr 
 at Mahanaim ; and as he sent his friends and 
 commanders to the battle, he desireil them to 
 show all possible alacrity ami 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 incon- 
 siderable ; and he begged of them to spare tha 
 youngman 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. 
 
 2. Then did Joab put his army in balt!« 
 array over-against the enemy in the Great 
 Plain, where he had a wood behind him. Al)- 
 salom also brought his army into the field toop- 
 pose him. Ujion the joining of the battle, both 
 sides showed great actions with thtir Imnds 
 and their boldness; the one side c-xposiiig 
 themselves to the greatest hazards, and using 
 their utmost alacrity, that David might recover 
 his kingdom ; and the other being no "ay de- 
 ficient, either in doing or sull'ering, that -Ab- 
 salom might not be dejirived of that kingdom, 
 and be brought to punishment by his lather, 
 for his impudent attempt against him. Those 
 also that were the most mimerous were solicit- 
 ous that they might not be conquered by those 
 few that were witli Joab, and with the other com- 
 manders, because that would be the greatest 
 disgrace to them; while David's soldiers 
 strove greatly to overcome so many ten thou- 
 sands as tlie eu'jmy had witii them. Now 
 David's men were conquerors, as superior in 
 strength and skill in war ; so liuy followed the 
 others as they (led away through the forests 
 and Valleys; some tiny took prisoners, and 
 m<my they slew, and more in the flight than 
 lin tbebittle, f<T there fell about tweulv lht)U» 
 
CHAP XI. 
 
 sami that clay. But all David's men ran viol- 
 ently upon Absalom, for he was easily known 
 by his beauty and tallness. He was himself 
 also afraid lest his enemies 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 en- 
 tangled his hair greatly in the large boughs of 
 a knotty tree that spread a great way, and 
 there he hung, after a surprizing 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 wlien the general said, That if 
 he had shot at and killed Absalom, he would 
 have given him fifty shekels, — he replied, " I 
 would not liave killed my master's son if 
 thou wouldst have given me a thousand 
 shekels, especially when he desired that the 
 voung man might be spared, in the hearing 
 of us all." But Joab bade him show him 
 where it was that he saw Absalom hang ; 
 whereupon 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 bigness 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. 
 
 3. Now Absalom had erected for himself 
 a marble pillar in the king's dale, two fur- 
 longs 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 daugh- 
 ter, named Taniar, as we said before, who, 
 when she was married to David's grandson, 
 Rehoboam, 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 deatli 
 of Absalom, they returned every one to their 
 own homes respectively. 
 
 4. But now Aiiimaaz, the son of Zadok the 
 high-priest, went to Joab, and desired he would 
 permit him to go and tell David of this vic- 
 tory, and to bring him the good news that 
 God had afforded his assistance and his pro- 
 vidence 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 tl)at his 
 son is dead ?" So he desired him to desist. 
 He tlien called Cushi, and committed the 
 buj.iness tc 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 concerning tlie 
 death of Absalom, he gave hiin leave to go to 
 
 ■>-__ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 201 
 
 David. Now he took a nearer road than the 
 former did, for nobody knew it but himself, 
 and he came before Cushi. Now as David 
 was sitting between the gates,* and waiting 
 to see when somebody would come to him 
 from the battle, and tell him how it went, one 
 of the watchmen saw Ahimajiz running, and 
 before he could discern who lie was, he told 
 David that he saw somebody coming to him, 
 who said, he was a good messenger. A little 
 while after, he informed 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 Z«dok 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. 
 
 5. 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 when 
 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 Absalom, and that he could learn no 
 more, because of the haste he made v\hen 
 Joab sent him to inform him of the victory. 
 But when Cushi was come, and had v\orsliip- 
 ped him, and informed him of the victory, be 
 asked him about his son, who replied, " May 
 the like misfortune befal thine enemies as 
 hath befallen Absalom." That word 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,-f- and wept for his son, and beat his 
 breast, tearing [the hair of] his head, torment- 
 ing himself all manner of ways, and crying 
 out, " O, my son ! I wish that I had died 
 myself, and ended my days with thee !" for 
 he was of a tender natural aflTection, and had 
 extraordinary compassion for this son in par- 
 ticular. But when the army and Joab heard 
 that the king mourned for his son, they were 
 ashamed to enter the city in the habit of con- 
 querors, but they all came in as cast down, 
 
 * The reader need not be surprised at this aocoimt ol 
 David's throne, both here and 2 i^am. xviii, 31, that it 
 was between two gates, or portals; gates being in cities, 
 as well as at the temple, large open places, with a por 
 tal at the entrance, and another at the exit, between 
 which judicial causes were heard, and public consulta- 
 tions taken, as is well known from several places of 
 Scripture, 2 Chron. xxxi, 2; Psal. ix, 14; cxxvii, 5; 
 Prov. i, 21 ; viii, 3, 54; xxxi, 25; and often elsewhere. 
 
 t Since David was now in Mahanaim, and in the 
 open place of that city-gate, which seems still to have 
 been built the highest of any part of the wall ; and since 
 our other copies say he went up to the chamber over the 
 gate (2 Sam. xviii, 33}, I think we ought to correct our 
 present reading in Josephus, and for citu, should read 
 gate, i. e instead of the highest part of tne citi/, should 
 say the highest part of tbegaie. Accordingly we tind Da- 
 vid presently, in Josephus, as well as in our other copies, 
 2 Sam. xix, 8, sitting as before, in the gate of tlie city 
 
 Y~ 
 
J- 
 
 202 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ami ill tears, as if they had been beaten. 
 Now wliile tlie king covered liimself, and 
 grievously lamented his son, Joab went in to 
 liim, and said, " O my lord the king, thou 
 art not aware tliat thou layest a blot on tliy- 
 self by what thou now doest ; for thou now 
 secmest to hate tliose that love thee, and un- 
 dergo dangers for thee ; nay to hate thyself 
 and thy family, and to love tliose 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 gotten the vic- 
 tory, and firmly settled himself in the kingdom, 
 there had been none of us left alive, but all of 
 us, beginning with thyself and thy children, 
 had miserably perished, while our enemies 
 had not wept for us, but rejoiced ove_r us, 
 and punished even those tliat pitied us in our 
 misfortunes; and thou art not ashamed to do 
 this in the case of one that has been thy bit- 
 ter enemy, who, while he was thine own son, 
 hath proved so wicked to thee. Leave ofl", 
 therefore, thy unreasonable 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 per- 
 suade 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 consi- 
 deration of his aflfairs. So David changed 
 his habit, and exposed himself in a manner 
 fit to be seen by the multitude, and sat in the 
 gates ; whereupon ull the people heard of it, 
 and ran together to him, and saluted him. 
 And this was the present state of David's 
 aSairs. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW DA^^D, WHEN HE HAD RECOVERED HIS 
 KINGDOM, WAS RECONCILED TO SUIMEI, AND 
 TO ZIBA ; AND SHOWED A GREAT AEi'EC- 
 TION TO BABZILLAl : AND HOW, UPON THE 
 RISE OF A SEDITION, HE MADE AMASA CAP- 
 TAIN OF HIS HOST, IN ORDER TO PURSUE 
 SHEBA ; WHICH AMASA WAS SLAIN BY JOAB. 
 
 § 1. Now those Hebrews that had been with 
 Absalom, and had retired out of tlie battle, 
 when they were all returned home, sent mes- 
 sengers to every city to put tlam in mind of 
 what benefits David had bestowed upon them, 
 and of that liberty whicli he had procured 
 them, by delivering them from many and great 
 wars. But tiiey complained, tliat whereas 
 they had ejected him out of liis kingdom, and 
 committed it to another governor, which o- 
 ther governor, whom they Iiad set up, was al- 
 ready daad; they did not now beseech David 
 
 to leave off his anger at tliem, and to become 
 iViends with them, and, as he used to do, to 
 resume the care of tlieir affairs, and take the 
 kingdom again. This was often told to Da- 
 vid. 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 bo a reproach upon them to permit 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 commanded them also to say the 
 same to Amasa the cajitain 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 miglit expect fronf 
 him not only a reconciliation, for that was al 
 ready granted, but that supreme command of 
 the army also which Absalom had bestowed 
 upon him. Accordingly 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 be- 
 seech him to return to his own kingdom. The 
 same did all the Israelites, at the like persua- 
 sion of Amasa. 
 
 2. 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 Siiimei, the son of Gera, 
 came with a thousand men, which he brought 
 with him out of the tribe of Benjamin ; and 
 Ziba, the freedman of Saul, with his sons, 
 fifteen in number, and with his twenty ser- 
 vants. All these, as well as the tribe of Ju- 
 dah, laid a bridge [of boats] over the river, 
 that the king, and those that were with him, 
 might witli ease pass over it. Now as soon 
 as he was come to Jordan, the tribe of Judah 
 saluted him. Shimei also came upon tlie 
 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 make him tlw; first example of severity un- 
 der 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 lie was thus entreating the king, and 
 moving him to compassion, 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 Da- 
 vid turned himself to him, and said, " Will 
 you never leave off, ye sons of Zeruiah ? Do 
 not you, I pray, raise new troubles and scdi- 
 tions among us, now the former are over ; for 
 I would not have you ignorant, that I this day 
 begin my reign, and therefore swear to remit to 
 all offenders their punishments, and not to 
 animadvert on any one tliat has sinned. Be 
 thou, therefore," said he, " O Shimei, of good 
 courage, and do not at all fear being put to 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 20i 
 
 death." So lie worshipped him, and went on 
 before him. 
 
 3. Mephibosheth also, Saul's grand-son, 
 met David, clothed in a sordid garment, and 
 having his Iiair thick and neglected ; for after 
 David was fled away, he was in such grief 
 that he had not polled his head, nor had he 
 washed his clothes, as dooming himself to un- 
 dergo such hardships 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 Jerusalem 
 with him, and accompany him during his 
 flight ? He replied, that this piece of injus- 
 tice was owing to Ziba ; because, when he 
 was ordered to get things ready for his going 
 out with him, he took no care of it, but re- 
 garded him no more than if he had been a 
 slave ; " and, indeed, 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 tliee, my lord 
 and master, but he hath calumniated me be- 
 sides, and told lies about me of his own in- 
 vention ; but I know thy mind will not ad- 
 mit of such calumnies, but is righteously dis- 
 posed, 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 grandfather, and when, on that ac- 
 count, our whole family might justly have 
 been destroyed, thou wast moderate and mer- 
 ciful, and didst then especially forget all those 
 injuries, when, if thou liadst remembered 
 them, thou hadst the power of punishing us 
 for them j 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 kinsmen, of greatest 
 esteem with thee, could have expected." 
 When he had said this, David resolved nei- 
 ther to punish Mephibosheth, nor to con- 
 demn Ziha, as having belied his master; but 
 said to him, that as he had [before] granted 
 all his estate to Ziba, because he did not come 
 »long with him, so he [now] promised to for- 
 give 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 recovered 
 thy kingdom." 
 
 4. But David desired Barzillai the Gilead- 
 
 • By David's disposal of half ftlcphibosheth's estate to 
 Ziba, one would imoj^ine that he was a good deal dissa- 
 U.<lie<l,and doubtful whether Mephibosheth's story were 
 entirely true or not : nor does Uavid now invite him to 
 diet with him, as he did before, but only forgives him, 
 if he had been at all guilty. Nor is this odd way of 
 mourning that Mephibosheth made use of here, and 2 
 Sam. xix, ■:;4, wholly free from suspicion of hypocrisv. 
 If Ziba neglected or refusetl to bring Mephibosheth an 
 ass of his ovni, oa which he might ride to David, It is 
 hard to suppose that so great a man as he was should 
 not be able to procure some other beast for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 ite, that great and good man, and ons that 
 had made a plentiful provision for 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 respect — to take care of him, 
 and provide for him. But Barzillai was so 
 desirous to live at home, that he entreated 
 him 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 four- 
 score years old, and was therefore making 
 provision for his death and burial ; so he de- 
 sired 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 musi- 
 cal instruments, 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 bestow all 
 sorts of good things." So Barzillai left his 
 son with him, and worshipped the king, and 
 wished him a prosperous conclusion of all his 
 affairs according to his own mind, and then 
 returned home : but David came to Gilgal, 
 having about him half the people [of Israel,] 
 and the [whole] tribe of Judah. 
 
 5. Now the principal men of the country 
 came to Gilgal to him with a great multitude, 
 and complained of the tribe of Judah, that 
 they had come to him in a private manner, 
 whereas they ought all conjointly, and with 
 one and the same intention^ to have given 
 him the meeting. But the rulers of the tribe 
 of Judah desired them not to be displeased if 
 they had been prevented by them : for, said 
 they, " We arc David's kinsmen, and on that 
 account we the rather took care of him, and 
 loved him, and so came first to him ;" yet 
 had they not, by their early coming, received 
 any gifts from him, which might give them 
 who caine last any uneasiness. When the 
 rulers of the tribe of Judah had said this, the 
 rulers of the other tribe were not quiet, but 
 said farther, " O brethren, we cannot but 
 wonder at you when you call the king ycur 
 kinsman alone, whereas he that hath received 
 from God the power over all of us in com- 
 mon, 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:-J 
 we are also elder than you ; wherefore you 
 have not done justly in coming to the king in 
 this private and concealed manner." 
 
 6. While these rulers were thus disputing 
 
 + I clearly prefer Josephus's reading here, when it sup- 
 poses eleven tribes, including Benjamin, to be on the one 
 side, and the tribe of Judah alone on the other, since 
 Benjamin, in general, had been still founderof the house 
 of Saul, and less firm to David hitherto, than any of the 
 rest, and so cannot be supposed to be joined with JudaJ) 
 at this time, to make it double, especially when thefol 
 lowing rebellicn was headed by a Benjamite. See sect 
 6 ; ana 2 Sam. xx, 2. 4. 
 
 ■\. 
 
 J^ 
 
JfO* 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VIL 
 
 one with another, a certain wicked man, who 
 took a pleasure in seditious practices (his 
 name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, of tlie 
 tribe of Ik'njaniin) stood up in tlie midst of 
 the multitude, and cried aloud, and spake thus 
 to tliem : — " We have no part in David, nor 
 inlieritance in the son of Jesse." And when 
 he had used those words, lie blew with a 
 trumpet, and declared war against the king ; 
 and they all left David, and followed liim ; 
 the tribe of Jiidah alone staid with him, and 
 settled him at his royal palace at Jerusalem. 
 l)ut as for his concubines, with whom Absa- 
 lom liis son had accomjjanied, truly he re- 
 moved tliem to another house ; and ordered 
 those that had the care of them to make a 
 plentiful provision for them ; but he came 
 not near tliem any more. He also appointed 
 Amasa for the captain of his forces, and gave 
 him thcsame high office which Joab before had; 
 and he commanded him to gather together, 
 out of the tribe of Judah, as great an army as 
 he could, and come to him within three days, 
 that he might deliver 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 was not yet returned, 
 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 of great- 
 er mischief, and hurt our afl'airs more than 
 did Absalom liimself ; do not thou therefore 
 wait any longer, but take such forces as thou 
 hast at hand, and that [old] body of six hun- 
 dred 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 
 gieat labour and pains before we take him." 
 7. So Joab resolved to make no delay, but 
 taking with him his brother, and those six 
 hundred men, and giving orders that tlie rest 
 of the army which was at Jerusalem should 
 follow liim, he marched with great speed a- 
 gainst Sheba ; and when he was come to 
 Gibeon, which is a village forty furlongs dis- 
 tant from Jerusalem, Amasa brought a great 
 army with liiin, and met Joab. Now Joab 
 was girded with a sword, and his breast-plate 
 on ; and when Amasa came near liim to sa- 
 lute 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 ajiproached Amasa, who was 
 then near him, as though he would kiss him, 
 he took hold of Amasa's beard with his other 
 h.Tnd, and he smote him in his belly when he 
 did not foresee it, and slew him. This im- 
 pious and altogether profane action, Joab did 
 to a voung man, and 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 dig- 
 nity with himself about the king; and for 
 tlie 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, aflbrded him a decent pretence, and 
 made that crime a pardonable one; but in 
 this murder of Amasa there was no such co- 
 vering for it. Now when Joab had killed 
 this general, he pursued after Sheba, having 
 left a man with the dead body, who was or- 
 dered to proclaim aloud to the army that A 
 masa was justly slain, and deservedly punish- 
 ed. " 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 won- 
 dering 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 gar- 
 ment. 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 Abel- 
 beth-maachah. Hereupon Joab went thither, 
 and set about it with his army, and cast up a 
 bank round it, and ordered his soldiers to 
 undermine the walls, and to overthrow them; 
 and since the people in the city did not ad- 
 mit him, he was greatly displeased at them. 
 
 8. Now there was a woman of small ac- 
 count, and yet both wise and intelligent, who 
 seeing her native city lying at the last extre- 
 mity, 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 He- 
 brews, and introduce a universal peace among 
 them ; but thou art endeavouring to over- 
 throw and depopulate a metropolis of the Is- 
 raelites, which hath been guilty of no of- 
 fence." But he replied, "God continue to 
 be merciful unto me: 1 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 
 olf the siege, and withdraw 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 
 havo the head of his enemy thrown out to 
 him presently. So she went down to the ci- 
 tizens, and said to them, " Will you be so 
 wicked as to perish miserably, with your chil- 
 dren 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 instead 
 of David, who hath been so great a benefactor 
 to you, and oppose your city alone to such a 
 mighty antl strong army ?" So she prevailed 
 with them, and they cut oif the head of Shc^ 
 
 V 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 ba, and threw it into Joab*s army. When 
 this was done, the king's general sounded a 
 retreat, and raised ilie siege. And when he 
 was come to Jerusalem, he was again appoint- 
 ed to be general of all the people. The king 
 also constituted Benaiah captain of the guards, 
 and of the six hundred men. He also set 
 Adoram over the tribute, and Sabatlies and 
 Achilaus over the records. He made Sheva 
 tlie scribe ; and appointed Zadok and Abia- 
 Uiar the Iiigh-priests. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW THE HEBREWS WERE DELIVERED FROM A 
 FAMINE WHEN THE GIBEONITES HAD CAUS- 
 ED PUNISHMENT TO BE INFLICTED FOR THOSE 
 OF THEM THAT HAD BEEN SLAIN : AS ALSO, 
 WHAT GREAT ACTIONS WERE PERFORMED A- 
 GAINST THE PHILISTINES BY DAVID, AND 
 THE MEN OF V4L0UR ABOUT HIM. 
 
 § 1. After this, when the country was great- 
 y afflicted with a famine, David besought 
 God to have mercy on the people, and to dis- 
 cover to him what was the cause of it, and 
 how a remedy might be found for that dis- 
 temper. And when the prophets answered, 
 that God would have the Gibeonites avenged, 
 whom Saul the king was so wicked as to be- 
 tray 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 Gibeon- 
 ites should desire, he promised that he would 
 oe reconciled to them, and free the multitude 
 from their miseries. As soon therefore as the 
 king understood that this it was which God 
 sought, he sent for the Gibeonites, and asked 
 them what it was they would have ; — and 
 when they desired to have seven sons of Saul 
 delivered to them to be punished, he delivered 
 them up, but spared Mephibosheth the son of 
 Jonathan. So when the Gibeonites had re- 
 ceived the men, they punished them as they 
 pleased ; upon wliich God began to send rain, 
 and to recover the earth to bring forth its fruits 
 as usual, and to free it from the foregoing 
 drought ; so that the country of the Hebrews 
 flourished again. A little afterward the king 
 made war against the Philistines ; and when 
 he had joined battle with them, and put 
 them to fliglit, he was left alone, as he was in 
 pursuit of them ; and when he was quite tir- 
 ed down, he was seen by one of the enemy, 
 his name was Acinnon, the son of Araph ; he 
 was one of the sons of the giants. He had a 
 spear, the handle of which weighed tliree hun- 
 dred sliekels, and a breast-plate of chain-woik, 
 and a sword. He turned back, and ran vio- 
 lently to slay [David] their enemy's king, for 
 he was quite tired out with labour ; but Abi- 
 
 205 
 
 shai, Joab's brother, appeared on the sudden, 
 and protected tlie king witli his shield, as he 
 lay down, and slew the enemy. Now the 
 multitude were 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 tiiem to battle, 
 lest he should come to some great misfortune 
 by his courage and boldness, and thereby de- 
 prive the people of the l)enefits they now en- 
 joyed by his means, and of tliose that they 
 might hereafter enjoy by his living a long time 
 among them. 
 
 2. When the king heard that the Philis- 
 tines were gatliered together at the city Ga- 
 zara, he sent an army against them, when Sib- 
 bechai the Hittite, one of David's most cou- 
 rageous men, behaved himself so as to deserve 
 great commendation, for he slew many of those 
 that bragged 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, Ncphan 
 his kinsman fought in a single combat with 
 the stoutest of all the Piiilistines, 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 oil' 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 fin- 
 ger than men naturally have. Now the per- 
 son who was sent against them by David out 
 of his army was Jonathan, the son of Shimea, 
 who fought this man in a single combat, and 
 slew him ; and as lie was the person who gave 
 the turn to the battle, he gained the greatest 
 reputation for courage therein. This man 
 also vaunted himself to be of the sons of the 
 giants. But after this fight, the Philistines 
 made war no more against the Israelites. 
 
 S. And now David being freed from wars 
 and dangers, and enjoying for the future a 
 profound peace,* composed songs and hymns 
 
 » Tliis section is a very remarkable one, and shows 
 that, in the opinion of Josejihus. iJavid composed the 
 Book of Psalms, not at several times before, as their 
 present inscriptions frequently imply, but generally at 
 the latter end of his life, or after his wars were over. 
 Nor does Josephus, nor the authors of the known books 
 of the Old and New Testament, nor the Apostolical 
 Constitutions, seem to have ascribed any of them to any 
 other author than to David himself. See Essay on the 
 Old Testament, pages 174, 175. Of these metres of the 
 Psalms, see the note on Antiq. b. ii, cli. xvi, sect. 4. 
 However, we must observe here, that as Josephus says, 
 Antiq. b. ii, ch. xvi, sect. 4, that the song at the Ked 
 Sea, Exod. xv, 1 — 21, was composed by Moses in the 
 hexameter tune, or metre; as also, Antiq. b. iv, chap, 
 viii, sect. 44, that the Song of Moses, Pent, xxxii, 1 — 
 4.), was an heramelcr poem; so does I.e say that the 
 Psalms of Dtii'id were of various kinds of metre, and 
 particularly, that thev contained tiimcters and penta- 
 meters, Antiq. b. ii, ch. xii, sect. 5 ; all which implies, 
 that he thought these Hebrew poems might be best de- 
 scribed to the Greeks and Romans under those names 
 and characters of Hexameters, Trimeters, and Penta- 
 meters. Now, it appears that the instruments of music 
 that were originally used, by the command of king Da- 
 
J- 
 
 ^. 
 
 806 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 lo God, of several sorts of metre ; toine 
 of tliose which he made wctp trimeters, niid 
 some wvri; pcutamclcrs. lie also made instru- 
 ments of music, and taught the Lcvites to 
 sing hymns to God, both on that called the 
 Sabbatli-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 spo- 
 ken by us about these instruments, that the 
 readers may not be wholly unacquainted with 
 tlieir nature. 
 
 4. Now all the men that wore about" Da- 
 vid, were men of courage. Those that were 
 most illustrious and famous of them for their 
 actions 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 enemj-, and did 
 not leave off" fighting till he overthrew nine 
 hundred of them. After him was Eleazar, 
 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 Philistines, 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 Pliilislines retire by 
 his means, came down from the mountains 
 and pursued them, and at that time won a 
 surprising and a famous victory, while Elea- 
 tar slew the men, and the multitude followed 
 and spoiled their dead bodies. The third was 
 Sheba, the son of Ilus. Now this man, 
 when, in the wars against the Philistines, 
 they pitched their camp at a place called Le- 
 bi, and when the Hebrews were again afraid 
 
 vid and Solomon, and were canietl to Babylon at the 
 captivity of the two trilies, were broiinht back aftbr that 
 captivity; as also, that the singers and musJeians, wlio 
 out-lived that captivity, came back with those instru- 
 ments, Ezra ii, 11 ; vii, 24; Neh. vil, 44; Antiq. b. xi, 
 ch. iii, sect. 8 ; and ch. iv, sect 2 ; and that this music, 
 and these instruments at the temple, could not but be 
 well known to Joscphus, a priest belouf^iiig to that tem- 
 ple ; who accordingly gives us a short description of 
 three of the instruments, Anti(i. b. vii, ch. xii, sect. 3; 
 and gives us a distinct account, that such psalms and 
 hymns were sung in his itays at that temple, Antiq. b. 
 XX, ch. ix, sect. 6 ; so that Joscphus's amhority is beyond 
 execi>lion in these m.ittirs. Nor can anv hyjiothesis of 
 the moderns that docs not agree with Joscphus's cha- 
 racters, be ju.stly supnosed the true metre of tlu; ancient 
 Hebrews; nor mde. <1 is theic, 1 ihiuk, any other origi- 
 nal authority now extant, hereto relating, to be oppos- I 
 ed to these testimonies before us. That Lhc aiii icnt 
 music of the ticb ewb was very complete aN), ainl had j 
 m it great variety of tunes, is evident by the number ! 
 of their musical instruments, and by the testimony of I 
 •nother most authentic witness, Jesus, the son of .'-irach, 
 Ecclus. i, 18, who says Ih.if, at the temple, in his d,~.ys, 
 " The singers sang praises with their voice; with great | 
 variety oituuiids wa« lliare made sn«et melody " i 
 
 BOOK VIT. 
 
 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 Hot able to abide his strength and force, 
 he pursued. These are the works of the 
 hands, and of fighting, wliich these three per- 
 formed. Now at the time nhen the king 
 was once at Jerusalem, and the army of the 
 Philistines came upon him to fight him, Da- 
 vid went up to the top of the citadel, as we 
 have already said, to inquire of God concern- 
 ing the battle, while the enemy's camp lay in 
 the valley that extends to the city Bethlehem, 
 which is twenty furlongs distant from Jeru- 
 salem. Now David said to his companions, 
 — " We have excellent wafer 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 lie 
 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 enemy's camp, and came to Beth- 
 lehem ; and when they had drawn the water, thej 
 returned again through the enemy's camp to 
 the king, 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 danger and the blood of men, and tliaf 
 it was not proper on tliat 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 six hundred. The fifth of these 
 was Benaiah, by lineage a priest ; for beingr 
 challenged by [two] eminent men in tiie cour,- 
 try of jVIoab, he overcame them by his valour 
 Moreover, there was a man, by nation an E ■ 
 gyptian, who was of avast bulk, and challeng- 
 ed 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 fight- 
 ing, and slew him with his own weapons. 
 One may also add this to the forementioned 
 actions of the same man, either as the princi- 
 pal of them in alacrity, or as resembling the 
 rest. When God sent a snow, there was a 
 lion who slipped and fell into a certain pit, 
 and because the pit's month was narrow, it 
 was evident he would perish, being enclosed 
 with the snow ; so when he saw no way to 
 get out and save himself, he roared. When 
 Benaiah heard the wild beast, he went to- 
 wards him, and coming 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 liim. The 
 other thirty-three were like tlicse in valour 
 also. 
 
 ■V 
 
CHAP. XIII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 207 
 
 CHArTER XIII. 
 
 THAT WHEN DAVID HAD NUMBERED THE PEO- 
 PLE, THEY WERE PUNISHED; AND HOW THE 
 DIVIXE COMPASSION RESTRAINED THAT PU- 
 NISHMENT. 
 
 § 1, Now king David was desirous to know 
 how many ten tliousands there were of the 
 people, but forgot the commands of Moses,* 
 who told them beforehand, that if the multi- 
 tude were numbered, they should pay half a 
 shekel to God for every head. Accordingly 
 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 a numeration, he was not persuaded [to 
 countermand it], but he enjoined him to make 
 no delay, but to go about the numbering of 
 the Hebrews immediately. So Joab took with 
 him tlie heads of the tribes, and the scrilies, 
 and went over the country of the Israelites, 
 and took notice how numerous the multitude 
 were, and returned to Jerusalem 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 hav- 
 ing sinned against God. Now the number 
 of the rest of the Israelites was nine hundred 
 thousand men, who were able to bear arms 
 and go to war ; but the tribe of Judah, by 
 itself, was four hundred thousand men. 
 2. Now when the prophets had signified to 
 
 • The words of God by Moses (Exod. xxt. 12.) suffi- 
 ciently justify the reason here given by Josephus for the 
 i;reat plague mentioned in this chapter : — " When thou 
 takcst the sum of the children of Israel, after their num- 
 ber, then shall they give every man a ransom for his 
 soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them, that 
 there be no jilague amongst them when thou numberest 
 them." Nor indeed could David's or the Sanhedrim's 
 neglect of executing this law at this numeration, excuse 
 the people, who ought still to have brought their bouiid- 
 en oblation of half a shekel apiece with them, when 
 they came to be numbered. The great reason why na- 
 tions are so constantly punished by and with their wick- 
 ed kings and governors is this, that they almost con- 
 stantly comply with them in their neglect of or disobe- 
 dience to the di\ ine laws, and suffer those divine laws 
 to go into disuse or contempt, in order to please those 
 wielded kuigs and governors; and that they submit to 
 several wicKcd political laws and commands of those 
 kings and governors, instead of the righteous laws of 
 Gou, which all mankind ought ever to obey, let their 
 kings and governors say what they please to the contra- 
 ry; this preference of human lief ore divine laws seem- 
 ing to me the principal character of idolatrous or anti- 
 christian nations. Accordingly, Josephus well observes 
 <Antiq. b. iv, ch. viii, sect. 17.) that it was the duty of 
 the people of Israel to take care that their kings, when 
 they should have them, did not exceed their proper 
 limits of power, and prove ungo\ emable by the laws of 
 God, which would certainly be a most peniicious thing 
 to their divine settlement. Nor do 1 think that negli- 
 gence peculiar to the Jews: those nations which are 
 called Christians, are sometimes indeed very solicitous 
 to restrain their kings and governors from breaking the 
 human laws of their several kingdoms, but without the 
 like care for restiaining them from breaking the laws 
 of God. " Whether it be right in the sight of God, to 
 hearken unto men more than to God, judge yc," Acts v. 
 19. " We ought to obey God rather than men." v. 29. 
 
 David that God was angry at him, he began 
 to entreat him, and lo 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, 
 tliat he might choose which he liked best: 
 Whether he would have a famine come upon 
 the country for seven years, or would have a 
 war, and be subdued tliree months by his e- 
 nemies ? or, whether God should send a pes- 
 tilei--ce and a distemper upon the Hebrews for 
 three days ? But as he was fallen to a fatal 
 choice of great miseries, he was in trouble, 
 and sorely confounded; and wlien the pro- 
 phet had said that he must of necessity make 
 his choice, and had ordered him to answer 
 quickly, that he might declare what he had 
 cliosen to God, the king reasoned with him- 
 self, that in case he should ask for famine, he 
 would appear to do it for others, and witiiout 
 danger to himself, since he had a great deal 
 of corn hoarded up, but to the harm of others; 
 that in case he should choose to be overcome 
 [by his enemies] for three months, he would 
 appear to have chosen war, because he had va- 
 liant men about him, and strong-holds, and that 
 therefore he feared nothing therefroin : so he 
 chose that affliction which is common to kings 
 and to their subjects, and in which the fear 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. 
 
 3. When the prophet had heard this, he de- 
 clared it to God ; who thereupon sent a pes- 
 tilence and a mortality upon the Hebrews ; 
 nor did they die after one and the same man- 
 ner, nor so that it was easy to know what the 
 distemper was. Now, the miserable disease 
 was one in deed, but it carried themolFby ten 
 thousand causes and occasions, which those 
 that were afflicted could not understand ; for 
 one died upon the neck of another, and the ter- 
 rible malady seized them before they were 
 aware, and brought them to their end suddenly, 
 some giving up the ghost immediately 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 
 darkness ; some there were who, as they were 
 burying a relation, fell down deadf, without 
 finishing the rites of the funeral. Now there 
 perished of this disease, which began witii the 
 morning, and lasted till the hour of dinner, 
 seventy thousand. Nay, the angel stretched 
 out his hand over Jerusalem, as sending this 
 terrible judgment upon it; but David had 
 put on sackcloth, and lay upon the ground, en- 
 
 f Whence Josephus took these his distinct and me- 
 lancholy accounts of the particular sympionis, and most 
 miserable methods of dymg, in this terrilile pestilence, 
 we cannot now tell, our other copies all'ordmg us iu> 
 such accounts. 
 
_;" 
 
 20S 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 treating God, and begging that the distemper 
 miglit now ceasi", and tliat he would be satis- 
 fied witli those tliat had ah-eadj' perished ; and 
 when tlic king looiced up into the air, and saw 
 tlie angel carried along tliereby into Jerusalem, 
 with his sword drawn, he said to God, that he 
 might justly be punished, who was their shep- 
 herd ; but that the sliecp ought to he preserved, 
 as not liaving sinned at all ; and he implored 
 God that he would send his wrath upon him, 
 and upon all his family, but spare the people. 
 4. 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 thrasliing-floor of 
 Araunah the Jebusite, and build an altar there 
 to God, and offer sacrifices. When Djivid 
 heard that, he did not neglect his duty, but 
 made haste to the place appointed him. Now 
 Araunah was thrashing 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 washy his lineage a Jebu- 
 site, but a particular friend of David's; and for 
 that cause it 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 thrashing- 
 floor, that he might therein build an altar to 
 God, and offer a sacrifice. He replied, that 
 he freely gave him both the thrashing-floor, 
 and the ploughs and the oxen for a burnt- 
 oil'ering ; and he besought God graciously to 
 accept his sacrifice. But the king made an- 
 swer, that he took his generosity and magnani- 
 mity kindly, and accepted his good-will ; but 
 he desired him to take the price of them all, 
 for that it was not just to ofler a sacrifice that 
 cost nothing. And when Araunah said he 
 would do as he pleased, lie bought the thrash- 
 ing-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. W' ith 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 tliat 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 his son, as 
 we have before related. Now when king 
 David saw that God liad heard his prayer, and 
 had graciously acce|)ted of his sacrifice, he re- 
 solved to call that entire place The Mlar of all 
 Vie People, and to build a teinjtle to God there ; 
 wliich words he utteroil very a])positely to 
 what was to be done afterward ; for God sent 
 
 • What Joscphus adds here is very remarkable, that 
 this mount Moriah was not only tlif very phiee wlierc 
 Abraham offered up IsaAC long ago, but that God had 
 foretold to Bavid hy a nroph't, that here his son should 
 buiKI him a temple; wliieh i^ notdireelly in ojiy of our 
 other eoples, lhou)(h very agreeable to what is in them, 
 partieularly in 1 I'hron. xxt '-'6, 28 ; and xxii. 1 ; to 
 whieh places I refer the reader. 
 
 ^..- 
 
 B()(JK VII. 
 
 the prophet to him, and told liim that there 
 should his son build him an altir, — that s-on 
 who was to take the kin";dom after liim. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THAT DAVID MADE GREAT PREPARATIONS FOB 
 THE HOUSE OF GOD; AND THAT t'PON 
 ADONUAH'S ATTEMPT TO GAIN THE KING- 
 DOM, HE APPOINTED SOLOMON TO REIGN. 
 
 § I. After the delivery of this prophecy, the 
 king commanded the strangers to be numbered, 
 and they were found to be one liundrcd and 
 eiglity thousand ; of these he appointed four- 
 score thousand to be hewers of stone, and the 
 rest of the multitude to carry the stones, and of 
 them he set over the workmen three thousand 
 and five hundred. He also prepared a great 
 quantity of iron and brass for the work, with 
 many (and those exceeding 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 son, who was to reign after him, and 
 t=!iat 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 
 lying by him, and so might the more readily 
 complete the work. 
 
 2. So David called his son Solomon, and 
 charged him, when he had received the king- 
 dom, 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 froin wars, 
 and from internal seditions, which are tlie 
 greatest of all blessings. Since, therefore," 
 says he, " thou wast ordained king by God 
 himself before thou wast born, endeavour to 
 render thyself worthy of this his ])rovidence, 
 as in other instances, so particularly in being 
 religious, and righteous, and courageous. 
 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 vastncss of the work, 
 nor set about it timerously, for I will make all 
 things ready before I die: and take notice, 
 that there are alreatly ten thousand talents of 
 gold, and a hundred thousand talents of silver* 
 
 + Of the quantity of gold and siher expended in the 
 building of Solomon's temple, and whence it arose, see 
 > Ule deacription of the temple, eliap. xiii. 
 
 /- 
 
CHAP. XIV. 
 
 collected together. I have also laid together 
 brass and iron without number, and an im- 
 mense quantity of timber, and of stones. More- 
 over, thou hast many ten thousand stone- 
 cutters, and carpenters ; and if thou shalt want 
 any thing farther, 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 farther exhort- 
 ed the rulers of the people to assist his son in 
 this building, and to attend to the divine ser- 
 vice, when they should be free from all their 
 misfortunes, for tiiat they by this moans should 
 enjoy, instead of them, peace and a happy 
 settlement ; with which blessings God rewards 
 Buch 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 he 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 discourse to the governors, and to 
 his son. 
 
 3. David was now In years, and his body, 
 by length of time, was become cold and be- 
 numbed, 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 com- 
 municate 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 com- 
 municate 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. 
 
 4. Now the fourth son of David was a 
 beautiful young man, and tall, born to him of 
 Haggith his wife. He was named Adonijah, 
 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 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 for 
 liis assistants Joab, the captain of the amij', 
 and Abiathar the high-priesi; and the only 
 persons that opposed him were Zadok tlie high- 
 priest, and the prophet Nathan, and Bcnaiah, 
 wlio was captain of the guards, and Shimei, 
 David's friend, with all the other mostmiglity 
 men. Now Adonijah had prepared a supper 
 out of the city, near the fountain tliat was in 
 the king's paradise, and had invited all his 
 Jrethren except Solomon, and had uken with 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE lEVrs. 
 
 209 
 
 him Joab, the captain of the army, and Abia- 
 thar, and the rulers of the tribe of Judah ; 
 but had not invited to this feast cither 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, So- 
 lomon's mother, that Adonijah was king, and 
 that David knew nothing of it ; and he advised 
 her to save herself and lier son Solomon, 
 and to go by 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 king- 
 dom. He said that he, the prophet himself, 
 would come after her, and when she had 
 spoken thus to the king, would confirm what 
 she had said. Accordingly Bathsheba agreed 
 with Nathan, and went in to the king, and 
 worshipped him ; and when she had desired 
 leave to speak w ith him, she told him all things 
 in the manner that Nathan had suggested to 
 her ; and related what a sup])er Adonijah had 
 made, and who they were whom he had invit- 
 ed ; Abiathar the high-priest, and Joab the 
 general, and David's sons, excepting Solo- 
 mon 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. 
 Siie desired him also to consider, how, after 
 his departure, Adonijali, if he were king, 
 would slay her and her son Solomon. 
 
 5. 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 ad- 
 mitted, he came in, and asked him whether 
 he had ordained Adonijah to be king, and de- 
 livered the government to l;im, or not; for 
 that he had made a splendid supper and invit- 
 ed all his sons, except Solomon ; as also that 
 he had invited Joab, the captain of his host 
 [and Abiathar the high-priest], who are feast- 
 ing with applauses, and many joyful sounds 
 of instruments, and wish that his kingdom 
 may last for ever; 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 
 wlien Bathsheba was come, David said, " I 
 swear by Almighty God, that thy son Solo- 
 mon shall certainly be king, as I formerly 
 swore ; and that he shall sit upon my throne, 
 and that this very day also," So Bathsheba wor- 
 shipped 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 were come, he ordered them to t;ike witl) 
 them Nathan the prophet, and all the armed 
 men about the palace, and to set his son Solo- 
 on upon the king's mule, and to carry him 
 
210 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 out of flic cily fo the fountain called Gilioji, 
 and to anoint liim tliere willi the holy oil, and 
 to make him king. Tliis lie charged Zadok 
 the liigli-piiest, and Natlian the propliet, to 
 do ; and cominandod 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 ordained king by his father. He also gave 
 Solomon a charge concerning his government, 
 to rule the whole nation of the Hebrews, and 
 particularly the tribe of Judah, religiously and 
 righteously. And when Bcnaiah had prayed 
 to God to be favourable to Solomon, — with- 
 out any delay, they set Solomon upon the 
 mule, and biought him out of the city to the 
 fountain, and anointed him with oil, and 
 brought him into the city again, with accla- 
 mations and wishes that his kingdom might 
 continue a long time : and when they had in- 
 troduced 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. 
 
 6. Now when Adonijah and his guests per- 
 ceived this noise, they were in disorder; and 
 Joab the captain of the host said he vvas not 
 pleased with these echoes, and the sound of 
 these trumpets. And when supper vvas set 
 before them, nobody tasted of 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 
 A<lonijah saw the young man gladly, and said 
 to him that he was a good messenger, he de- 
 clared to them the wliole matter about Solo- 
 mon, and the determination of king David; 
 herL-upou both Adonijah and all his guests rose 
 hastily from the feast, and every one fled to 
 their own homos. Adonijah also, as afraid 
 of tlie king for what he had done, became a 
 supplicant to God, and took hold of the horns 
 of the altar, vvhicli were piominent. It vvas 
 also told Solomon that he hail so done ; and 
 tliat 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 forgave him this his of- 
 fence; but said withal, th.it if he were found 
 out in any attcmjjt for new innovations, that 
 he would bo the author of his own punishment. 
 So he sent to hiin, and raised him up from 
 the place of his supplication. And when he 
 vvas come to the king, and liad worshipped 
 him, tlie king bid him go away to his own 
 liouse, and have no suspicion of any harm ; 
 and desired liirn to show himself a worthy 
 man, as what would tend to his own advan- 
 tage. 
 
 7 But David being desirous of ordaining 
 
 his son king of all the people, called together 
 their rulers to Jerusalem, witii the jiriests and 
 the Levitos ; and having first numbered the 
 Levites, he found them to be thirty-eight thou- 
 sand, from thirty years old to fifty ; out of 
 which he appointed twenty-three tjjousand to 
 take care of the building of the tem])lc, and 
 out of the same, six thousand to be judges of 
 the people and scribes; four thousand for 
 porters to the house of God, and as many for 
 singers, to sing to the instruments which Da- 
 vid had prepared, as we have said already. 
 He divided them also info courses : and when 
 he had separated the priests from them, he 
 found of these priests twenty-four courses, 
 sixteen of the house of Eleazar, and eight of 
 that of Ithamar; and he ordained that one 
 course should minister to God eight days, 
 from Sabbath to Sabbath. And thus were 
 the courses distributed 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 ; and this partition liath 
 remained to this day. He also made twentj-- 
 four parts of the tribe of Levi ; and when they 
 cast lots, they came up in the same manner for 
 their courses of eight days ; he also honoured 
 the posterity of Moses, and made them the 
 keepers of the treasures of God, and 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 enjoined them. ^ 
 
 8. After this he parted the entire army into 
 twelve parts, with their leaders [and captains ' 
 of hundreds], and commanders. Now every 
 part had twenty-four thousand, which were 
 ordered to wait on Salomon, by thirty days 
 at a time, from the first day to the last, with 
 the captains of thousands and captains of hund- ! 
 reds : he also set rulers over every part, such ' 
 as he knew to be good and righteous men ; he i 
 set other.s also to take charge of the treasures, | 
 and of the villages, and of the fields, and of i 
 the beasts, whose names I do not think it ne- | 
 cessary to mention, Wlien David iiad order- 
 ed all tiiese oflSces after the manner before ; 
 mentioned, he called the rulers of the Hebrews, ' 
 and their heads of tribes, and the otlicers over ' 
 the several divisions, and those that were ap- ; 
 pointed over every work and every possession ; j 
 and standing upon a high pulpit, he said to 
 the multitude as follows: — "My brethren 
 and my people, I would have you know that 
 I inteniled to build a llou^e for God, and pre- 
 pared a large (juantity of gold, and a hundred 
 tliousand talents of silver ; but God prohibited 
 me by the prophet Nathan, because of the wars 
 I had on your account, and because tny right 
 hand vvas polluted with the slaughter of our 
 enemies ; but he commanded that iny son, 
 who vvas to succeed nie in the kingdom, should 
 build a temple for him. Now ihereforo, since 
 
CHAP. XV. 
 
 you know that of the twelve sons whom Jacob 
 our forefatlier 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 uneasy 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 grevious 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 ob- 
 tained that dignity, since the rest partake of it 
 with him. And I pray that the promfses of 
 God may be fulfilled ; and that this happiness 
 which he hath promised to bestow upon king 
 Solomon, over all the country, may continue 
 therein for all lime to come. And these pro- 
 mises, O son, will be firm, and come to a 
 happy end, if thou showest thyself to be a ra- 
 ligious and a righieous man, and an observer 
 of the laws of thy country ; but if not, expect 
 adversity upon thy disobedience to them." 
 
 9. Now when the king had said this, he 
 left off; but gave the description and pattern 
 of the building of the temple in the sight of 
 them alt, to Solomon ; of the foundations and 
 of the chambers, inferior and superior; how 
 many they were to be, and how large in height 
 and in breadth; as also he determined the 
 weiglit of the golden and silver vessels ; more- 
 over, he earnestly excited them with his words, 
 to use the utmost alacrity about the work : hs 
 exliorted the rulers also, and particulai-ly the 
 tribe of Levi, to assist him, both because of his 
 youth, and because God had chosen him to 
 take care of the building of the temple, and of 
 the government of the kingdom. He also de- 
 clared 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 stone-cutters, and a large quan- 
 tity 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 
 two hundred talents, and three hundred other 
 talents of pure gold, for the most holy place; 
 and for the chariot of God, the cherubim, which 
 are to stand over and cover the ark. Now, 
 when David had done speaking, there appear, 
 ed great alacrity among the rulers, and the 
 priests, and th,e Levites, who now contributed 
 and made grea\ and splendid promises for a 
 future contribuvion ; for they undertook to 
 bring of gold (\v\ thousand talents, and ten 
 thousand drachms,and of silver ten thousand 
 talents, and many tetithousand talents of iron : 
 and if any one had a p-^cious stone he brought 
 it, and bequeathed it tov,e put among the trea- 
 sures ; of which Jachie>^one of the posterity 
 of IMoses, had the care. ' 
 
 10. Upon this occasional the people re- 
 ioiced, as in particular didUavid, when he 
 saw the zeal and forward ambit^j, of (he rulers, 
 
 '• ^ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE .TEWS. 
 
 211 
 
 and the priests, and of all tlie rest ; and he be- 
 gan to bless God witli a loud voice, calling him 
 the Father and 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 hap- 
 piness, and of that kingdom which he hath given 
 his Son. Besides this, he prayed for happi- 
 ness 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 wliich tiicy 
 all fell down upon the ground and worshipped 
 him. They also gave thanks to David, on ac- 
 count of all the blessings which they had re- 
 ceived ever since he had taken the kingdom. 
 On the next day he presented sacrifices to God, 
 a thousand 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 all the people ; and they 
 anohtited 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 hjm from that 
 day. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WHAT CHARGE DAVID CAVE TO HIS SON SOLO- 
 MON AT THE APPROACH OF HIS DEATH ; 
 AND HOW MANY THINGS HE LEFT HLM FOB 
 THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 
 
 § 1. A LITTLE afterward, David also fell into 
 a distemper, by reason of his age; and per- 
 ceiving that he was near to death, he called 
 his son Solomon, and discoursed to him thus : 
 — " I am now, O my son, going to my grave, 
 and to my fathers, which is the common way 
 which all men that now are, or shall be hereaf- 
 ter, must go ; from which way it is no longer 
 possible to return, and to know any tiling tliat 
 is done in this world. On which account I 
 exhort thee, while I am still alive, though al- 
 ready very near to death, in the same manner 
 as I have formerly said in my advice to thee, 
 to be righteous towards thy subjects, and re- 
 ligious towards 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, al- 
 low any lust or other passion to weigh with 
 thee to disregard thein ; for if tliou transgress-. 
 est his laws, thou wilt lose the favour of God, 
 and thou wilt turn away his providence from 
 thee in all things; but if thou behave thyself so 
 as It behoves thee, and as I exhort thee, thou 
 wilt preserve our kingdom to our family, and 
 no other house will bear rale over tiie Ho 
 
s 
 
 212 
 
 ANTIQUITJKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 brews, but vre ourselves for all ages. Be thou 
 alsoiiiiiult'ul of the transgressions of Joab,* the 
 captain of the host^ who bath slain two ge- 
 nerals out of envy, and those righteous and 
 good men, Abner tiie son of Ner, and Amasa 
 tJie son of Jctlier ; wliose death do thou avenge 
 as shall seem good to thee, since Joab hath 
 been too hard for me, and more potent than 
 myself, and so hatli escaped punishment hitlier- 
 to. I also com\nit to thee the son of Barzil- 
 lai, the Gileadite, whom, in order to gratify 
 me, thou shalt have in great lionour, and take 
 great care of; for we have not done good to 
 liim first, but we only repay tliat debt which 
 we owe to bis father, for what he did to me in 
 my fliglit, Thers is also Shimei, the son of 
 Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin, who, after lie 
 had cast many reproaches upon me, when, in 
 my flight, I was going to Blahanaini, met me 
 at Jordan, and received assurances that he 
 should then sufler nothing. Do tliou now 
 seek out for some just occasion, and punish 
 him." 
 
 2. 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 Ju- 
 dah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem, over 
 
 » David IS here greatly blamed by some for rccom- 
 mendiiif; Jonb ami Shiraei to be punished liy Solomon, 
 if he cnuld find a proper occa.sion, after he' had bonie 
 with the first a Icnp while, and seemed to have pardon- 
 ed the other entirely, which Solomon executed accord- 
 ingly : yet I cannot discern any fault either in David or 
 StMoraon in these cases. Joab's murder of Abner and 
 Amasa were very barbarous, and could not properly be 
 forgiven either by David or Solomon ; for a dispensing 
 power in kings for the crime of wilful murder is war- 
 ranteii by no law of God, nay, is directly against it every- 
 where; nor is it, for certain, in the power of men to 
 grant such a prerogative to any of (heir kings, though 
 .loab was so nearly related to David, and so potent in 
 the army under a warlike administration, that David 
 durst not himself put him to death, 2 Sam. iii. 39, and 
 xix. 7. fchimei's cursing the Lord's anointed, ajid this 
 without any just cause, was the highest act of treason 
 against God and his anointed king, aid justly deserved 
 death ; and though David could forgive treason against 
 himself, yet had he done no more in the case of Snimei 
 than promised him that he would not then, on the day 
 of his return and re-inauguration, or upon that occasion, 
 himself put him to death, 2 Sjam. xix. '.'2 ; and he swore 
 10 him no farther, ver. "23, as the worils are in Joscphus, 
 than that he would not then put hiui to death, which 
 he performed : nor was Solomon under any obligation 
 lu i-iKiiL' sucli a traitor. 
 
 BOOK VIU 
 
 all the country. This man was of an excellent 
 character, and was endowed witli all the vir- 
 tues that were desiraljle in a king, and in one 
 that had the preservation of so many tribes 
 committed to him ; for he was a man of va- 
 lour in a very extraordinary degree, and went 
 readily and first of all into dangers, when he 
 was to fight for his subjects, as exciting the 
 soldiers to action by his own labours, and fight- 
 ing for thein, and not by commanding them 
 in a despotic way. He was also of very great a- 
 bilities in understanding, and apprehension of 
 present and future circumstances, when he 
 was to manage any afl'airs. He was prudent 
 and moderate, and kind to such as were under 
 any calamities ; he was righteous and lumiane, 
 which are good qualities peculiarly fit for 
 kings ; nor was he guilty of any ofTence 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, either of the Hebrews or of other na 
 tions, ever did. 
 
 3. He was buried by his son Solomon, in 
 Jerusalem, with great magnificence, and witli 
 all the other funeral pomp which kings use 
 to be buried with ; moreover, he had great 
 and immense wealth buried with him, the vast- 
 ness of which may be easily conjectured at by 
 what I shall now say ; for a thousand and 
 three hundred years afterwards, Hyrcanus the 
 high-priest, when he was besieged by Anti- 
 ochus, 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 money, opened one room of 
 David's sepulchre, and took out three thou- 
 sand 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 another room, 
 and took away a great deal of money, and 
 yet neither of them came at tlie coffins of the 
 kings themselves, for their bodies were buried 
 under the eartli so artfuJly, that they did not 
 appear even to those that entered into their 
 monimients J — but so much sliall suflico us to 
 havo said concerning these matters. 
 
BOOK VIII. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-THREE YEARS. 
 FROM THE DEATH OF DAVID TO THE DEATH OF AHAB. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW SOLOMON, WHEN HE HAD RECEIVED THE 
 KINGDOM, TOOK OFE HIS ENEMIES. 
 
 § 1. We have already treated of David and 
 his virtue, and of the benefits he was the au- 
 tlior of to his countrymen ; of his wars also 
 and battles, which he managed with success, 
 and then died an old man, in the foregoing 
 book. And when Solomon his son, who was 
 but a youth in age, had taken the kingdom, 
 and wliom David had declared, wliile he was 
 alive, the lord of that people, according to 
 God's will ; when he sat upon the throne, the 
 whole body of the people made joyful accla- 
 mations to 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 possible. 
 
 2. But Adonijah, who, wliile his father 
 was living, attempted to gain possession of 
 tlie government, came to the king's mother 
 Batlisheha, and saluted her with great civili- 
 ty ; and when she asked him, whether he came 
 to her as desiring her assistance in any thing 
 or not ; and bade him tell her if that were 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 transferred to 
 Solomon her son, according to the will of God. 
 He also said that he was contented to be a 
 servant under ^im, and was pleased witli the 
 present settlemo'it ; but he desired her to be 
 a means of obtaiii'ng a favour from his bro- 
 ther to him, and to persuade him to bestow 
 on him in marriage Xbishag, who had indeed 
 slept by his father, bu, because his father was 
 too old, he did not lie vit), her, and she was 
 still a virgin. So Batlsheba promised him 
 to afl'ord him her assista>ce very earnestly, 
 and to bring tliis marriage »)out, because the 
 king would he willing to gr!>ify him in such 
 a thing, and because siio woult^^jross it to bim 
 
 very earnestly. Accordingly he went away, 
 in hopes of succeeding in this match. So So- 
 l^omon's mother went presently to her son, to 
 speak to him about what she had promised, 
 upon Adonijah's supplication to iier. 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 bid them set another throne 
 on the right hand for his mother, V/hen 
 Bathsheba was sat down, she said, " O my son, 
 grant me one lequest that I make of thee, and 
 do not any thing to me that is disagreeable 
 or ungrateful, which thou wilt do if thou de- 
 niest me." And when Solomon bid 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 desired, but had some 
 suspicion of a denial, — she entreated him to 
 grant, that his brother Adonijah might marry 
 Abishag. 
 
 S. 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 kingdom to him, as to his elder 
 brother, since 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, because of those other hardships 
 which tliou hast endured with my father, and 
 because of the ark which thou hast borne along 
 with him; but I inflict this following punish- 
 ment upon thee, because thou wast amon^ 
 Adonijah'sfoUowers, and wastof his party. Do 
 not thou continue here, nor come any more into 
 my sight, but go to thine own town, and live 
 on thy own fields, and there abide all thy life; 
 for thou hast offended so greatly, that it is not 
 just that thou shoiddest retain thy dignity any 
 longer." For the forementioned cnu«e, Uicre- 
 
 "X. 
 
214 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 fore, it was that the house of Ilhamar was de- 
 privfd of the sacerdotal dignity, as God had 
 foretold to Eli the grandfatlier of Abiathar. 
 So it uas transferred to the family of Phineas, 
 to Zadok. Nowtliose that were of the family 
 of Piiineas, but lived privately during the time 
 that the high-priesthood was transferred to the 
 house of Ithamar (of which family Eli was the 
 first that received it) were tliese that follow : 
 Bukki, the son of Abishua the high-priest ; 
 liis son was Joatham ; Joathain's son was Me- 
 raioth ; Meraioth's son was Aropliaeus ; Aro- 
 phajus's son was Ahituh ; and Ahitub's son 
 was Zadok, who \vas first made high-priest in 
 the reign of David. 
 
 4. Now when Joab the captain of the host 
 heard of the slaughter of Adonijah, he was 
 greatly afraid, for he was a greater friend to 
 him than to Solomon ; and suspecting, not 
 without reason, that he was in danger, on ac- 
 count of his favour to Adonijah, he Had to the 
 altar, and supposed he might procure safety 
 thereby to himself, because of the king's piety 
 towards God. But when some told the king 
 what Joab's supposal was, he sent Benaiah, 
 and commanded him to raise him up from the 
 altar, and bring to the judgement-seat, in or- 
 der to make his defence. However, Joab 
 said he would not leave the altar, but would 
 die there rather than in anothor place. And 
 when Benaiah had reported his answer to the 
 king, Solomon commanded him to cut olT his 
 head there*, aiKl let him take that as a punish- 
 ment for those two captains of the host whom 
 he had wickedly slain, and to bury his body, 
 that his sins might never leare liis 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 whole 
 army. The king also made Zadok to be alone 
 the high-priest, in the room of Abiathar, whom 
 he had removed. 
 
 5. But as to Shimci, Solomon commanded 
 that he should build him a house, and stay at 
 Jerusalem, and attend upon him, and should 
 not have authority to go over the brook Cedron ; 
 and that if he disobeyed that command, death 
 should be his punishment. He also threatened 
 hira so terribly, tiiat he compelled him to take 
 an oath that he would obey. Accordingly 
 Shimei said that he liad reason to thank So- 
 lomon forgiving him such an injunction ; and 
 tdded an oath, that he would do as lie bade 
 nim ; and leaving his own country, he made 
 his abode in Jerusalem : but three years after- 
 wards, when he hearil lliat two of liis servants 
 were run away from him, and were in Gath, 
 he went for his servants in haste; and when 
 he was come back with them, the king per- 
 
 BOOK VIII 
 
 ceivcd it, and was much displeased that he had 
 contemned his commands, and, what was more, 
 hail 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 another ? Thou slialt 
 not therefore escape punishment for tliy per- 
 jury ; but I will punish thee, thou wicked 
 wretch, both for this crime, and for those 
 w herewith 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, because they have yet 
 suffered nothing, their punislm;ent increases, 
 and is heavier upon them, and that to a greater 
 degree than if they had been punished immedi- 
 ately upon the coinmission of theircrimes. " So 
 Benaiah, on the king's command, slew Shimei. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CONCERNING THE WIFE OF SOLOMON ; CON- 
 CERNING HIS WISDOM AND RICHES ; AND 
 CONCERNING WHAT HE OBTAINED OF HIRAM 
 FOR THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 
 
 § 1. Solomon having already settled him- 
 self firmly in his kingdom, and having brought 
 his enemies to punishment, he married the 
 daughter of I'haraoh, king of Egypt, and 
 built the walls of Jerusalem 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 exercise of justice, or in the observation 
 of the laws, or in the remembrance of what 
 charges his father had given liim at his death ■ 
 but he discharged every duty with great accu- 
 racy, that might have been expected from 
 such as are aged, and of the greatest prudence. 
 He now resolved to go to Hebron, and sacri- 
 fice to God upon the brazen altar that was 
 built by Moses. Accordingly he offered there 
 burnt offerings, in number a thousand; and 
 when he had done this, he thought he had 
 paid great honour to God ; for, as he was a- 
 sleep that very night, God appeared to him, 
 and commanded liim to ask of ''lim some gifts 
 which he was ready to give lim as a reward 
 for his piety. So Solomm asked of God 
 what was most excellent, uid t)f the greatest 
 worth in itself, what Go» would bestow with 
 the greatest joy, and wlat it was most profit- 
 able for man to rcceiv-; i^r he did not desire 
 to have bestowed u^°" '''"i either gold or 
 silver, or any olhe riches, as a man and a 
 
 • Tliis execution upon Joab, as a murderer, by Slav- 1 • This buildinR r "^c "'alls of Jerusalem, soon aRci 
 Ing him, even wiien he had l.^keI> wnctuary at Ooif's Da^ id's death. ilHtr.ites the couehisioii of the 5M 
 altar, is ))crfeclly ngicoable to the law of Moses, which | psalm, wlieie na-'^ prays, •• Ruild thou the walls of 
 enjoins, that, " ifa man eome presumptuously upon his I Jerusalem ;" — th>' "Cm^' '*■ seems unlinishui or iit>- 
 neighlx>ur to slay him with ijuile, thou shall take him ! perfect at that.'""'- . See chap. vi. sect. 1| and ch. ^ii 
 (mvn mine altar, tnnt ho die" I:;xod. xxi. H. n-cU 7; also 1 *-'"C> 'x- I J 
 
 r 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 youth might naturally have done, for these 
 are the things that generally are esteemed hy 
 most men, as alone of the greatest worth, and 
 the hest gifts of God; but, said he, " Give 
 me, O Lord, a sound mind and a good under- 
 standing, whereby I may speak and judge the 
 people according to truth and righteousness." 
 With those petitions God was well pleased ; 
 and j)romised to give him all those things that 
 he had not mentioned 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 con- 
 tinued righteous and ol)e<lient to him, and 
 imitated his father in those things wherein 
 he excelled. When Solomon heard this from 
 God, he presenty leaped out of his bed ; and 
 when he had worshipped him, he returned to 
 Jerusalem ; and after he had offered great sa- 
 crifices before the tabernacle, he feasted all his 
 own family. 
 
 2. In these days a hard cause came before 
 him in judgment, which it was very difficult 
 to find any end of; and I think it necessary 
 to explain tlie fact about which the contest 
 was, that such as light upon my writings may 
 know what a difficult cause Solomon was to de- 
 termine ; and those that are concerned in such 
 matters may take this sagacity of the king for 
 a pattern, 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, " O 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 ; and on the third day this wo- 
 man overlaid her son, and killed it, and then 
 took my son out of my bosom, and removed 
 him to herself; and as 1 was asleep she laid 
 lier dead son in my arms. Now, when in the 
 morning 1 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 con- 
 sidered 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 nobody there that could 
 convict her, she cares for nothing, but perse- 
 veres in the stout denial of t!ie fact." When 
 this woman had told this her stor)-, the king 
 asked the other woman what she had to say in 
 contradiction to that story. But when she 
 denied that she had done what was cliarg- 
 ed upon her, and said that it was her child 
 that was living, and that it was her antago- 
 nist's child that was dead, and when no one 
 could devise what judgment could be given, 
 aud the whole court were blind in their un- 
 durstaudiuj', and could not tell how to find 
 
 215 
 
 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 liv- 
 ing 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, 
 that each of the women might Iiave half the 
 living and half the dead child. Hereu))on all 
 the people privately laughed at the king, as 
 no more than a youth. But, in the mean 
 time, she that was the real mother of tlie liv- 
 ing child cried out, that he should not do so, 
 but deliver that cliild to the other woman as 
 her own, for slie would be satisfied with the 
 life of the child, and with the sight of it, al- 
 though it were esteemed the other's child ; 
 but the other woman was ready to see the 
 child divided, and was desirous, mort<7rer, 
 that the first woman should be tormented. 
 When the king understood tliat both theii 
 words proceeded from the truth of their pas- 
 sions, he adjudged the child to her that cried 
 out to save it, for that she was the real mother 
 of it ; and he condemned the other as a wick- 
 ed woman, who had not oidy 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, 
 
 3. Now the captains of his armies, and 
 officers appointed over the whole country, 
 were these: — Over the lot of Ephraim was 
 Ures ; over the toparchy of Bethlehem was 
 Dioclerus; Abinadab, who married Solomon's 
 daughter, had th.e region of Dora and the 
 sea-coast under him; the Great Plain was 
 under Benniah, the son of Achilus ; he also 
 governed all the country as far as Jordan ; 
 Gabaris ruled over Gilead and Gaulantis, 
 and had under him the sixty great and fenced 
 cities [of Og] ; Achinadab managed the af- 
 fairs of all Galilee, as far as Sidon, and had 
 himself also married a daughter of Solomon's, 
 whose name was Basima ; Banacates had the 
 sea-coast about Arce; as had Sliaphct Mount 
 Tabor, and Carmel, and [the lower] Galilee 
 as far as the river Jordan ; one man was ap- 
 pointed over all this country ; Shimei was in- 
 trusted with the lot of Benjamin ; and Ga- 
 bares had the country beyond Jordan, over 
 whom there was again one governor appoint- 
 ed. Now the people of the Hebrews, and 
 particularly the tribe of Judah, received a 
 wonderful increase when they betook them- 
 selves to husbandry and the cultivation of 
 tkeir grounds; for as they enjoyed peace, and 
 were not distracted with wars and troubles, 
 and having besides an abundant fnn'tion 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. 
 
 4. The king had also other rulers, who 
 
«16 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 were over the land of Syria and the riiilis- 
 tiiies, wliich readied 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 a hundred fat lambs ; all 
 these were besides what were taken by hunt- 
 ing harts and bufialoes, and birds and fishes, 
 which were brought to the king by foreigners 
 day by day. Solomon had also so great a num- 
 ber of chariots, that the stalls of his horses 
 for those chariots were forty thousand ; and 
 besides these, he had twelve thousand horse- 
 men, the one half of whom waited upon tiie 
 king in Jerusalem, and the rest were dis- 
 persed abroad, and dwelt in the royal vil- 
 lages; but the saine officer who provided 
 for the king's expenses, supplied also the 
 fodder for the horses, and still carried it 
 to the place where the king abode at that 
 time. 
 
 5. 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 beyond 
 all men in understanding ; nay, indeed, it is 
 evident that their sagacity was very much in- 
 ferior to that of the king's. He also excelled 
 and distinguished himself in wisdom above 
 those who were most eminent among the He- 
 brews at that time for shrewdness : those I 
 mean were Ethan, and Heman, and Chalcol, 
 and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He also 
 composed books of odes and songs, a thou- 
 sand and five; of parables and similitudes, 
 three thousand ; for he spake a parable upon 
 every sort of tree, from the hyssop to the ce- 
 dar ; and in like manner also about beasts, 
 about all sorts of living creatures, whether 
 upon the earth, or in the seas, or in the air ; 
 for he was not unacquainted with any of their 
 natures, nor omitted inquiries about them, 
 but described them all like a philosopher, 
 and demonstrated his exquisite knowledge of 
 their several properties. God also enabled 
 
 » It may not be amiss to compare the daily funiiture 
 of king Solomon's table, here set down, and 1 Kings i\, 
 22, 25, with the like daily furniture of Nehemiah the 
 governor's table, after the Jews were come back from 
 Babylon : and to remember withal, that Nehemiah was 
 now building the walls of Jerusalem, and maintained, 
 more than usual, above 150 considerable men every 
 day ; and that, because the nation was then very poor, 
 at his own charges also, without laying any burden up- 
 on the people at all. " Now that which was prepared 
 for me daily was an ox, and six choice sheep ; also fowls 
 were prepared for me; ;ind once in ten days, store of 
 all sorts of wine; and vet for all this I required not the 
 bread of the governor, "because the bondage was heavy 
 upon this people." Neh. v. 18. i^ee the whole context, 
 ver. 14—19. Nor did the governor's usual allowance 
 of 40 shekels of silver a-day, vcr. 15, amount to L .i a- 
 day, nor to L.lSi M a-vear. Nor does it indeed appear, 
 that, under the Judges, or under Samuel the prophet, 
 there was any such public allowance to those governors 
 at all : those gveit charges upon the public for main- 
 taining courts, came in with kings, — as Uod foretold 
 Uiey would, 1 Sam- viii, 11 — la. 
 
 BOOK VIII 
 
 him to learn that skill which expels deinons,f 
 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 exor- 
 cisins, 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 Eleazar, releasing people 
 that were demoniacal in the presence of Ves- 
 pasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the 
 whole multitude of his soldiers. The man- 
 ner of the cure was this : — He put a ring 
 that had a root of one of those sorts men- 
 tioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the de- 
 moniac, after which he drew out tiie demon 
 through his nostrils ; and wheia the man fell 
 down immediately, he alijured him to return 
 into him no more, making still mention of 
 Solomon, and reciting the incantations which 
 he composed. And when Eleazar would per- 
 suade 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 demon, 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 Solo- 
 inon was shown very manifestly : for which 
 reason it is, that all inen may know the vast- 
 ness of Solomon's abilities, and how he was 
 beloved 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. 
 
 6. Moreover Hiram, king of Tyre, when 
 he had heard that Solomon succeeded to his 
 father's kingdoir), was very glad of it, for he 
 was a friend of David's. So he sent ambassa- 
 dors to him, and saluted him, and congratu- 
 lated him on the present happy state of his 
 affairs. Upon which Solomon sent him an 
 epistle, the contents of which here follow ;-^ 
 
 SOLOJION TO KING HIRAM. 
 
 " :|: Know thou that my father would have 
 
 -)■ Some pretended fragments of these books of con 
 juration of Solomon are still extant in Fabricius's Cod. 
 Fseudcpigr. Vet. Test, page 1054, though I entirely 
 differ from Josephus in tins his supposal, that such 
 books and arts of Solomon were parts of that wisdom 
 which was imparted to him l)y God in his yoimgcf 
 days; they must rather have belonged to such profane 
 but curious arts as we find mentioned, Actsxix, 13 — 20, 
 and had been derived from the idolatry and supersti 
 tion of his heathen wives and concubines in his old age, 
 when he had forsaken God, and (iod had forsaken him, 
 and given him up to demoniacal delusions. Nor docs 
 Josephus's strange account of the root Baara {of the 
 War, b. viii, ch. vi, sect. 5) seem to be other than that 
 of its magical use in such conjurations. As for the 
 following history, it confirms what Christ says (Matt. 
 xii, 27i, " If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom 
 do your sons cast them out V 
 
 %' These e])istles of Solomon and Hiram are those in 
 1 Kings v, 3 — 9, and, as enlarged, in 2 t:hroii. ii,.i — IC 
 but here given us by Josephus in hi* own wwds. 
 
 "V 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. Ilf 
 
 built a temple to God, but was hindered by 
 wars, and continual expeditions ; for he did 
 not leave off to overthrow his enemies till he 
 made them all subject to tribute. But I give 
 tiianks to God for the peace 1 at present en- 
 joy, and on that account I am at leisure, and 
 design to build a house to God, for God fore- 
 told to my fatlier that such a house shouki be 
 built by me ; wherefore I desire thee to send 
 some of thy subjects with mine to Mount 
 Lebanon, to cut down tinsber; for the Sido- 
 nians are more skilful than our people in cut- 
 ting of wood. As for wages to the hewers 
 of wood, I will pay whatsoever price thou 
 shalt determine." 
 
 7. When Hiram had read tliis epistle, he 
 •vas pleased with it, and wrote back this an- 
 swer to Solomon : — 
 
 HIRAM TO KI.N'G SOLOMON. 
 
 " It is fit to bless God, that he hath commit- 
 ted thy father's government to thee, who art 
 a wise man, and endowed with all virtues. 
 As for myself, I rejoice at the condition thou 
 art in, and will be subservient to thee in all 
 that thou sendest to me about; for when by 
 my subjects I have cut down many and large 
 trees of cedar and cypress wood, I will send 
 them to sea, and will order my subjects to 
 make floats of them, and to sail to what place 
 soever of thy country thou shall desire, and 
 /eave 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 inisa- 
 bit in an island."* 
 
 ( * Wliat Josephus here puts into his cony of Hiram's 
 
 epistle to Solomon, and repeats aftevwaras (ch. v, sect. 
 5), that Tyre was now an island, is not in any of the 
 three other copies, viz. that of the Kings, throniclcs, 
 or Euscbius; nor is it any other, I suppose, than his 
 OKTi conjectural paraphrase; for when I, many j-ears 
 ago, inin'.ircil into this matter, 1 foiuid the state Of this 
 famous city, and of the island whereupon it stood, to 
 ha\ e been very different at different times. The result 
 of ray inquiries in this matter, with the addition of 
 some later improvements, .-.tands thus : — That the best 
 testimonies hereto relating, imply, that Palsetyrus, or 
 Oldest Tyre, was no other than that most ancient 
 smaller fort or city Tyre, situated on the continent, 
 and mentioned in Josh, xix, i'9, out of which the Ca- 
 naanite or Phoenician inhabitants were driven into a 
 large island, that lay not far off in the sea, by .loslnia : 
 that this island was then joined to tJie continent, at the 
 present remains of Palsetyrus, by a neck of land, o\er 
 against Solomon's cistern^, still so called ; and the city's 
 fresh water, probably, was eariied along in pipes by that 
 neck of la-id ; and that this island was therefore, in 
 strictness, no other than a iieninsula, having villages in 
 its Jields (Ezek. xxvi, 6), and a wall about it (.Xmosi, 
 10) ; and the eity was not of so great reputation as Si- 
 dou for some ages : that it was attacked both by sea 
 and land by Salmanasser, as Josei)hus informs us (An- 
 tiq. b. ix, ch. xiv, sect. 2), and af^terv.avds eame to be 
 the metropolis of Phoenicia ; and was afterwards taken 
 and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, according to the nu- 
 merous scripture prophecies thereto relating, Isa. xxiii; 
 Jer. xM.', '21; xxvii, 3; xlvii, 4; Ezek. xxvi, xxvii, 
 xxviii That seventy years after that destruction by 
 .\'eb ehadnezzar, this city was in some measure revived 
 and rebuilt (Isa. xxiii, 17, IS), but that, as tlie proi)hct 
 K::tkiel had foretold (xxvi, 5, 4, .5, 14 ; xxvii, 34), the 
 s;a arose higher than before, till at last it overflowed, 
 not only the neck of land, but the main island or \>c- 
 nmsula itself, and destroyed that old and famous city 
 for ever : that, however', there still remained an ad" 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 217 
 
 8. The copies of these epistles remain at 
 this day, and are preserved not only in our 
 books, but among the Tyrians also ; inso- 
 much that if any one would know the cer- 
 tainty about them, he may desire of the keep- 
 ers 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. J 
 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 
 atteinpt to avoid examination, nor desire men 
 to believe us immediately ; nor are we at 
 liberty to depart from speaking truth, whid) 
 is the proper commendation of a 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. 
 
 9. Now king Solomon, as soon as this 
 epistle of the king of Tyre was brought him, 
 commended the readiness and goodwill he 
 declared therein, and repaid him in what he 
 desired, and sent hiin yearly twenty thousiiiid 
 cori of wheat, and as many baths of oil: now 
 the bath is able to contain seventy-two sexta- 
 ries. He also sent him the same measure of 
 wine. So the friendship between Hiram and 
 Solomon 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 thirty thousand labourers, whose 
 work he rendered easy to them, by prudently 
 dividing it among them ; for he m«de ten 
 thousand cut timber in mount Lebanon for 
 one month, and then to come home; and the 
 rest two months, until the tiine when the 
 other twenty thousand had finished their task 
 at the appointed time ; and so afterward it 
 came to pass, that the first ten thousand re- 
 turned 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, seventy thousand ; and 
 of those that cut the stones, eighty thousanc!. 
 Of these three thousand and three hunditd 
 were rulers over the rest. He also enjoined 
 them to cut out large stones for tha founda 
 tions of the temple, and that they should fii 
 them and unite them together in the moun- 
 tain, and so bring them to the city. This 
 
 joining smaller island, once connected to Old Tyre itself 
 by Hiram, which was afterwards inhabited; to which 
 .Alexander the Great, with incredible pains, raised a 
 new bank or causeway : and that it plainly appears fron> 
 Maundrell, a most authentic eye-witness, that the oin, 
 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 smalJ 
 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 Mr. Maundrell 
 distinctly otecrves, these poor remains of Old Tyre arc 
 now " become like the top of a rock ; a place ibr the 
 si'readiiu' of nets in the midst of the sea.' 
 T 
 
v. 
 
 218 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 w:is done, not only by our own country 
 workmen, but by tliusti workmen whom llirain 
 sent uUo. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 
 
 5 1. Solomon began to build the temple in 
 Ihc fourth year of his reign, on the second 
 month, which the Macedonians call Arlemi- 
 sius, and the Hebrews Jur ; five liundred and 
 ninety-two years after tlie exodus out of 
 Egvpt, but one thousand and twenty years 
 from Abraham's coming out of Mesopotamia 
 into Canaan ; and after the Deluge one tliou- 
 Kind four hundred and forty years ; and from 
 Adam, the first man who was created, until 
 Solomon built the temple, there had passed 
 in all three thousand one hundred and two 
 yeais. Now that year on which the temple 
 l)egan 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 two hundred and forty years. 
 2. Now, therefore, the king laid the foun- 
 dations of the temple very deep in the 
 groiuid,* 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 Tery ornamental 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 building erected over it, equal 
 to it in its measures ; so that the entire alti- 
 tude of the temple was a hundred and twenty 
 cubits. Its front was to the east. As to the 
 porch, they built it before the temple : its 
 iengtli was twenty cubits, and it was so order- 
 ed that it might agree with the breadth of 
 thf /louse ; and it had twelve cubits in lati- 
 tude, and iis height was raised as high as a 
 hundred and twenty cubits. He also built 
 round about the temple thirty small rooms, 
 which might include the whole temple, by 
 their closeness one to another, and by their 
 number, and outward position round it. He 
 also made passages througii them, that they 
 might come into one through another. Every 
 one of these rooms had five cubits in breadth,! 
 
 • of tlie tpmiilc of Solomon, here ilcscribed by .losc- 
 phus, ill this ami the following sections of this chapter, 
 tee my ilcscriplioii of the U'mplcs belonging to this 
 work. oh. xiii- 
 
 i 'rhetc suiall roomg, or side chamlxTS. seem to have 
 
 and the same in length, but in height twenty. 
 Above these were other rooms, and others 
 above them, equal, both in their ineasurej 
 and number; so that these reached to a lieit;hl 
 equal to the lower part of the house ; for the 
 upper part had no buildings al)cut it. 'ihv 
 roof that was over the house was of cedar ; 
 and truly every one of these rooms had a roof 
 of their own, that was not connected with tlie 
 other rooms ; but for the other parts, there 
 was a covered roof common to them all, and 
 built with very long beams, that passed 
 ihrongh the rest, and through the whole 
 building, that so the middle walls, beitig 
 strengthened by the same beams of timber, 
 might be thereby made firmer ; but as for 
 that part of the roof tliat was under the beams, 
 it was made of the same materials, and was 
 all made smooth, and had ornaments jiroper 
 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 sculptures upon them ; so 
 that the whole temple shined, and dazzled tlie 
 eyes of such as entered, by the splendour of 
 the gold that was on every side of them. 
 Now the whole structure of the temple was 
 made, with great skill, of polislied stones, 
 and those laid together so very harmoniously 
 and smoothly, that tliere appe.ired to the spec- 
 tators no sign of any hammer, or other in- 
 strument of architecture, but as if, without 
 any use of them, the entire materials Ijad na- 
 turally united themselves together, that the 
 agreement of one part with another seemed 
 rather to liave been natural, tlian to have 
 arisen from the force of tools upon them. 
 The king also had a fine contrivance for an 
 ascent to the upi)er 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 overlaid the temple, both within and 
 without, with boards of cedar, that were kept 
 close together by thick chains, so that this 
 contrivance was in the nature of a support 
 and a strength to the building. 
 
 3. Now when the king had divided the tem- 
 ple into two parts, he made the inner house of 
 twenty cubits [every way], to be the most se- 
 cret cliamber, but he appointed that of forty 
 cubits to be the sanctuary ; and when lie 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 veils of blue, and purple, and scarlet, 
 and the brightest and softest of linen, witli the 
 most curious flowers wrought upon them, 
 which were to be drawn before those doors. 
 He also dedicated for the most secret place, 
 
 l)ccn, by Joscphus's description, no less than SO cubits 
 high a piece, otherwise there must have l)cen a larg« 
 interval bctwcin one and the other that was over it| 
 and this with double floors, the one of six cubiU dl» 
 I tance from Ihe lloor lx.-ninlli it, as 1 Kines vi, i 
 
 ~\. 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP. Ill 
 
 wliose breadth was twenty cubits, and the 
 length the same, two cherubims of solid gold ; 
 the height of each of them was five cubits • : 
 they had eacij of tliem two wings stretched 
 out as far as five cubits; wherefore Solomon 
 set tiiesn up not far from each other, that with 
 one wing they miglu touch the southern wall 
 of the secret place, and with another the nor- 
 thern ; 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 
 cherubims. 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 curtaics drawn over 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. 
 
 4. 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 me- 
 chanical 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 heiglit of the 
 pillars was eighteen cubits,'^' and their circum- 
 ference twelve cubits ; but there was cast with 
 each of their chapiters lily-work, that stood 
 upon the pillar, and it was elevated five cubits, 
 round about which there was net-work inter- 
 woven with small palms, made of brass, and 
 covered the lily-work. To this also were hung 
 two hundred pomegranates, in two rows. The 
 one of these pillars he set at the entrance of 
 the porch on the right hand and called it Ja- 
 chin i and the other at the lel't hand, and call- 
 ed it Booz. 
 
 5. Solomon also cast a brazen sea, the 
 figure of which was that of an hemisphere. 
 This brazen vessel was called a sea for its 
 largeness, for the laver was ten feet in diame- 
 ter, 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 
 
 * Joscphiis says here that the Cherubims were of 
 solid golii, and only five cubits hif;h ; v.hile our Hebre-v 
 copies (1 Kings vi, 25, i-'S) say tliey were of the olive- 
 tree; and the Ixxii of the cypress-tree, and only over- 
 laid wiih gold ; and both a^ee they were ten cubits high. 
 I suppooc the nurabsr here is falsely transcribed, and 
 that Josephus wrote ten cubits also. 
 
 f As for these two famous pillars, Jachin and Booz, 
 their height could be no move than IS cubifs, as here, 
 and I Kings vii, 15 ; ^Kingsxxv. 17; Jer. iii.'Jl; tho.sc 
 5.5 cubits in 2 Chron. iii, 15, being contrary to all the 
 rules of Architectura in the world 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 219 
 
 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 hemisphe- 
 rical vessel might rest upon them, which itself 
 was also depressed round about invvardly. 
 Now this sea contained three thousand baths. 
 6. 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 quadran 
 gular pillars, that stood one at each corner 
 these had the sides of the base fitted to them 
 on each quarter; they were parted into three 
 parts ; every interval had a border fitted to 
 support [the laver] ; upon which was engraven, 
 in one place a lion, and in another place a 
 bull, and an eagle. The small pillars had the 
 same animals engraven that were engraven on 
 the sides. The whole work was elevated, and 
 stood upon four wheels, wliich were also cast, 
 which had also naves and felloes, and were a 
 foot and a half in diameter. Any one who 
 saw the spokes of the wheels, how e.'^actly 
 they were turned, and united to the sides of 
 the bases, and with what harmony they agreed 
 to the felloes, would wonder at them. How- 
 ever, their 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, inso- 
 much, that those who viewed tliera would 
 think they were of one piece : between these 
 were engravings of palm trees. Tiiis was 
 the construction of the ten bases : he also 
 made ten large round brass vessels, which 
 were the lavers themselves, each of which con- 
 tained 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 JMechon- 
 oth : and he set five of the lavers on the left 
 side of the temple, § which was that side to- 
 wards the north wind, and as many on the 
 
 t The round or cylindrical lavers of four cubits in 
 diameter, and four in height, both in our copies, ! 
 Kings, vii, 38, .^y, and here in .loscpluis, must have 
 contained a great deal more than these forty baths, 
 which are always assigned them. Where the error lies 
 is hard to say : perhaps Joscphus honestly followe<l his 
 copies here, though they had been corrupted, and he 
 was not able to restore the true reading. In the mcin 
 time, the forty bat!?s are probiiDly the true quantity 
 uont.iined in each laver, since they went ujxjn wheels, aiu'i 
 were to be drawn by the Lcvites' about the courts of the 
 priests, for the washings they were designed for: iuiil 
 hail they held much more, tliey would have been too 
 heavy to have been so drawn. 
 
 ^ Here Joscphus gives us a key to his own language, 
 of right and left hand in the tabernacle .ind temple : 
 that by the right hand he means wliat i^ against ou? 
 left, when we suppose oursel\ es going up from tlie tasi 
 gates of the courts towards the tabcniacle or templf 
 themselves, and so vice verca ; whence it follows, lh<*. 
 the pillar Jachin, on the right liand of the temple, w.v 
 on the south, against our left hand ; and Buoz oii iltc 
 north, against our right hand. 
 
A, 
 
 2-^{) 
 
 ANriQUITIKS OF TFIE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Vlil 
 
 rigiil side, tow.ards the so\itli, but lookinj; to- 
 wards the east ; tlio same [eastern] way lie also 
 set the sea. Now, he api>oitited the sea to be 
 for washing the hands and the feet of the 
 priests when they entered itito the temple and 
 wore to ascend the altar; but the lavers to 
 cleanse tlie entrails of the beasts that were to 
 be burnt-ofl'erings, with their feet also. 
 
 7. He also made a brazen altar, whose 
 length was twenty cubits, and its breadth the 
 same, and its height ten, for the burnt -oll'er- 
 ings : he also made all its vessels of brass ; 
 the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and 
 besides these, the snurtlrs and the tongs, and 
 all its other vessels he made of brass, and such 
 brass as was in splendor and beauty like geld. 
 Tlie 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 ten thousand more that resem . 
 bled them, but were done after another man- 
 ner, upon which lay the vials and the cui)s ; 
 those of gold were twenty thousand, those of 
 silver were forty tliousand. He also made 
 ten thousand candlesticks, according to tlie 
 command of Moses, one of which he dedicat- 
 ed for the temple, that it might burn in the 
 day-time, according to the law ; and one t:ilile 
 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 
 atood 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. 
 
 8. The king also made pouring vessels, in 
 number eighty thousand, and a hundred thou- 
 sand golden vials, and twice as many silver 
 vials : of golden dishes, in order therein to of- 
 fer kneaded fine flour at tfie altar, there were 
 eighty thousand, and twice as many of silver. 
 0( largo ))asons also, wherein they mixed fine 
 flour with oil, sixty thousand of gold, and 
 twice as many of silver. Of the measures 
 like those wliich Moses called the Hin, and 
 the Assaroyi (a tenth deal), there were twenty 
 thousand of gold, and twice as many of silver. 
 The golden censers, in whicii they carried the 
 incense to the altar, were twenty tliousand : 
 the otiier censers, in which they carried fire 
 from the great altar to the little altar, within 
 the temple, were fifty thousand. The sacer- 
 dotal garments which belong, to the high- 
 priest, with the long robes, and the oracle, 
 and the precious stones, were a thousantl ; but 
 the crown upon which Moses wrote [the name 
 of God],* was only one, and hath remaineil 
 to this very day. He also made ten thousand 
 sacerdotal garments of fine linen, will) purple 
 girdles, for every priest ; and two tiuiidred 
 
 • of the pol.Un plate on the hlRh-iiricst's forehe.id 
 tlialw;is ill belli;; in thedaysof Jostjihus, aiil a criitury 
 or two at least later, sec tne note on Aiitiq. b. lii. ch. 
 
 thousand trumpets, according to tlie command 
 of Moses; also two hiiiidied thousand gar. 
 ments of fine linen for the singers that were 
 Levites ; and he made musical insstruments, 
 and such as were invented for singing of 
 hymns, called Kallir. and Ciivjrfe [psalteries 
 and harps], which were made of electrum ;^tlie 
 finest brass\ forty thousand. 
 
 9. Solomon made all these tilings for the 
 honour of God, with great variety and mag- 
 nificence, sparing no cost, but using all pos- 
 sible liberality in adorning the temple ; and 
 these things he dedicated to the treasures of 
 God. He also placed a partition round about 
 the temple, which, in our tongue, we call 
 Gisint, but it is called Tliru;c<js by the Greeks, 
 and he raised it up to the height of three cu- 
 bits ; and it was for the exclusion of the multi- 
 tude from coming into the temple, and show- 
 ing tliat 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 cloisters ; 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 which 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 ele- 
 vated the ground four hundred 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 outmost temple, uiiich was 
 exposed to the air, was even with il.c temple 
 itself.f He encompassed this al ■ with a 
 building of a double row of cloi-.li r -, which 
 stood on high upon pillars of nai.w stone, 
 \\ hile the root's were of cedar, and u i ,\ polish- 
 etl in a manner proper for such high :i".|s; but 
 he made all the doors of this temple uf silver. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW SOLOMON REMOVED THE AUK i VTO THE 
 
 TLMPl.E ; HOW HE MADE SL'PM.li TION TO 
 GOD, AND OFFEKED PUBLIC SACiil.lCIiS TO 
 
 niM. 
 
 § 1. When king Solomon had fii ed these 
 
 works, these large and beautifu' lildings, 
 
 1 When Josephus here says that the II i" the out- 
 most temple or court of the Geiuilos, vith vast 
 l.ilKuir raised to be even, or i.f equal hi with the 
 tloor of the inner, or court of the iiricsl- ist mean 
 this in a (;ro3!i cstimaUon only; tor he :ll others 
 agree that the inner temple, or court ot . a«sU, wiu 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 and hail laid up his donations in the temple, 
 and all this in the interval of seven years, • 
 and had given a demonstration of his riclies 
 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 tlie great- 
 ness of the work : lie also wrote to the rulers 
 and elders of the Hebrews, and ordered all the 
 people to gather themselves together to Jeru- 
 salem, both to see the temple which he had 
 built, and to remove the ark of God into it; 
 and when this invitation of the wliole body of 
 the people to come to Jerusalem was every- 
 where carried abroad, it was the seventh month 
 before they came together; which month is, 
 by our countrymen, called Thisri ; but by the 
 Macedonians Hyperbereterus. 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 pitch- 
 ed, and all the vessels that were for ministra- 
 tion to the sacrifices of God, and removed them 
 to tlie temple.+ The king himself, and all the 
 people and the Levites, went before, rendering 
 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 man- 
 ner, persons at a gi'eat distance, and was an 
 indication of God's presence, and, as men's 
 opinion was, of his habitation with tliem in 
 tliis newly-built and consecrated place, for they 
 did not grow weary, either of singing hymns, 
 or of dancing, until they came to the temple ; 
 and in this manner did they carry the ark : 
 but when they should transfer it into the most 
 secret places, the rest of the multitude '.vent 
 away, and only those priests that carried it set 
 U between the two cherubims, which embrac- 
 ing it with their wings (for so they were fram- 
 ed by the artificer), they covered it, as under 
 a tent or a cupola. Now the ark contained 
 
 a few cubits more elevated than the middle court, the 
 court of Israel, and tliat much more was the court of 
 the priests elevated seveiil cubits above the outmost 
 court, since the court of Israel was lower than the one 
 and higher than the other. 
 
 * The Scntuagint sny, that " they prepared timber 
 and stones to buitd the temple for three years," 1 Kmgs, 
 V, 18 ; and although neither our present Hebrew copy, 
 nor Joseplius, directly name that number of years, yet 
 do they both say the building itself did not begin till 
 Solomon's Jourtli year; and both speak of the prepar- 
 ation of materials beforehand, 1 Kings, v, IK ; Anti<|. b. 
 viii, ch. 5, sect. 1. There is no reason, therefore, to 
 alter the Septuaginfs number; but we are to suppose 
 three years to have been the just time of the prepara- 
 tion, as 1 have done in my computation of the expense 
 in building the temple. 
 
 t This solemn removal of the ark from mount Sion 
 to mount Moriah, at the distance of almost three 
 
 3uarters of a mile, confutes that notion of the modern 
 ews, and followed by many Christians also, as if those 
 two were, after a sort, one and the same mountain : for 
 whicli there is, I think, very little founAition. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 221 
 
 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 tliey offered 
 up the daily sacrifices; bui for the brazen 
 altar, Solomon set it before the temple, over- 
 against the door, that when the door was open- 
 ed, it might be exposed to sigiit, and the 
 sacred solemnities, and the richness of the 
 sacrifices, might be thence seen; and all the 
 rest of the vessels they gathered together, and" 
 put them within the temple, 
 
 2. 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 
 tliere ; and spread itself, after a gentle man- 
 ner, 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 tlie win. 
 ter season. This cloud so darkened the place, 
 that one priest could not discern another; 
 but it afl'brded to the minds of all a visible 
 image and glorious appearance of God's hav- 
 ing descended into this tem])le, 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 be- 
 fore), and used such words to God as he 
 thought agreeable to the divine nature to re- 
 ceive, and fit for him to give ; — for he said, 
 " Thou hast an eternal house, O Lord, and 
 such a one as thou hast created for thyself 
 out of thine own works ; — we know it 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 indeed 
 built this temple to thee, and thy name, that 
 from thence, when we sacrifice, and perform 
 sacred operations, we may 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 alhhings, 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." AVhen 
 he had thus solemnly addressed himself to 
 God, he converted his discourse to the mul- 
 titude, and strongly represented the power 
 and providence of God to them ; — how he 
 had shown all things that were 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 sliould be called before lie was born ; 
 and foretold, that when he should he king af- 
 ter his father's death, he should build him a 
 temple, which since they saw accomplished. 
 
 "X 
 
222 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 according to his prediction, he required them 
 to bless God, iind by bflieving liiin, from the 
 sight of what thuy had seen ai'coinpliscd, ne- 
 ver to dosj)air of any tiling that lie had pro- 
 mised for the future, in order to their liappi- 
 tiess, or susj)ect that it would not come to pass. 
 3. When the king had thus discoursed to 
 the multitude, be looked again towards the 
 temple, and lifting up his right hand to the 
 multitude, he said, " It is not possible by what 
 men can do to return sufficient thanks to God 
 for his benefits bestowed upon them, for the' 
 Deity stands in need of notliing, and is above 
 any such requital ; but so far as we have been 
 made superior, O Lord, to other animals by 
 thee, it becomes us to bless thy Majesty, and 
 it is necessary for us to return thee thanks I 
 for what thou hast bestowed upon our bouse, ' 
 and on the Hebrew people ; 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 huve il from the air, so do we 
 know that by that air it ascends upwards [to- 
 wards thee]. I therefore ought myself to 
 return thee thanks thereby, in the first place, 
 concerning my father, whom thou hast raised 
 from obscurity unto so great joy ; and, in 
 the next place, concerning myself, since thou 
 hast performed all that thou hast promised 
 unto this very day ; and I beseech thee, for 
 the time to come, to'afl'ord us whatsoever 
 thou, O God, hast power to bestow on such 
 as thou dost esteem ; and to augment our 
 house for all ages, as thou hast promised to 
 David my father to do, both in his lifetime 
 and at his death, that our kingdom shall con- 
 tinue, and that his posterity should successive- 
 ly receive it to ten thousand generations. Do 
 not thou therefore fail to give us these bless- 
 ings, and to bestow on my children tliat vir- 
 tue in which thou delightest ! and besides all 
 this, I humbly beseech thee, that thou wilt 
 let some portion of thy Spirit comedown and 
 inhabit in this temple, that thou mayest ap- 
 pear to be with us upon earth. As to lliy- 
 self, 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 tliinc 
 own house, from being destroyed by our ene- 
 mies for ever, and to take care of it as tliine 
 own possession ; but if this people be found 
 to have sinned, and be thereupon alilicted 
 by thee with any plague, because of their 
 sin, as with deartli, or pestilence, or any other 
 affliction which thou usest to inilict on those 
 that transgress any of thy holy laws, and if 
 they fly all of them to this temple, beseech- 
 ing 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 alllictions ! 
 nav, moreover, this help is what I implore of 
 thic, not for the Hebrews oidy, when they 
 
 BOOK VIII 
 
 are in distress, but when any shall com* 
 hither from any ends of the world wliatso- 
 ever, and shall return from their ^ins and iin- 
 |)lore thy pardon, do thou then pardon them, 
 and hear their prayer ! for hereby all shall 
 learn that thou thyself wast pleaseil with the 
 building of this house for thee; and that we 
 are not ourselves of an unsociable nature, nor 
 behave ourselves like enemies to such as are 
 not of our own people, but are willing that 
 thy assistance should be communieattd by 
 thee to all men in conunon, and that they 
 may have the enjoyment of thy benefits be- 
 stowed upon them." 
 
 4. When Solomon had said tliis, and had 
 cast himself upon the ground, and worshipped 
 a lonir time, he rose up and brought sacri- 
 fices to the altar ; and when he had filled il 
 with unblemished victims, he most evidently 
 discovered that God had with pleasure ac- 
 cepted of all that he had sacrificed to him, for 
 there came a tire running out of the air, and 
 rtished with violence u)>un the altar, in the 
 sight of all, and caught hold of and consumed 
 the sacrifices. Now, w hen this divine appear- 
 ance was seen, the people su[)posed it to be a 
 demonstration of God's abode in the temple, 
 and were pleased with it, and fell down upor 
 the ground, and worshipped. Upon which 
 the king began to bless God, and exhorted 
 the multitude to do the same, as now iiaving 
 sufficient indications of (iod's favourable dis- 
 position to them ; and to pray that ihey might 
 always liave the like indications from him, 
 and that he would preserve in them a mind 
 pure from all wickedness, in righteousness 
 and religious worskip, and that they might 
 continue in the observation of those precepts 
 which God had given them by jVIoscs, because 
 by that means the Hebrew nation would be 
 hapjiy, and indeed the most blessed of all na- 
 tions among all mankind. He exhorted thein 
 also to he mindful, that by what methods they 
 had attained their present good things, by the 
 same they must preserve tliem sure to them- 
 selves, and niake them greater, and more than 
 they were at present; for that it was not suf- 
 ficient for them to suppose they had received 
 them on account of their piety and righteous, 
 ness, but that they had no other way of jire. 
 serving them fur the time to come; for tliat 
 it is not so great a thing for men to acquire 
 somewhat which they want, as to preserve 
 what they have acquired, and to be guilty of 
 no sin, whereby it may be hurt. 
 
 5. So wlien the king had spoken thus to 
 the multitude, he dissolved the congregation, 
 but not till he had completed his oblations, 
 both for himself and for the Hebrews, inso- 
 much that he sacrificed twenty and two thou- 
 sand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thou- 
 sand sheep ; for then it was that the temple 
 did first of all taste of the victims ; and all th« 
 Hebrews, with their wives and children, feast- 
 ed therein : nay, besides this, the king then 
 
 "V 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 22S 
 
 observed splendidly and magnificently the 
 feast which is called the Feast of Tabernacles, 
 before the temple, for twice seven days, and 
 he then feasted together with all the people. 
 
 6. When all these solemnities were abun- 
 dantly satisfied, and nothing was omitted that 
 concerned the divine worship, the king dis. 
 missed 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 bo their king for a long 
 time. They also took their journey home 
 with rejoicing, and making merry, and sing- 
 ing hymns to God : and indeed the pleasure 
 they enjoyed, took a^way 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 
 fine it was, and had been partakers of the 
 many sacrifices that had been offered, and of 
 the festivals that had been solemnized, they 
 every one returned to their own cities. But 
 a dream that appeared to the king in his sleep, 
 informed him, that God had heard his pray- 
 ers ; and that he would not only preserve the 
 temple, but would always abide in it; that is, 
 in case his posterity and the whole multitude 
 would be righteous. And for himself, it said, 
 that if he continued according to the admo- 
 nitions of his father, he would advance him 
 to an immense degree of dignity and happi- 
 tiess, and that then his posterity should be 
 kings of that country, of the tribe of Judah, 
 for ever; but tiiat 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 off by the 
 roots, and would neither suffer any remainder 
 of his family to continue, nor would overlook 
 the people of Israel, or preserve vhem any 
 longer from afflictions, but would utterly de- 
 stroy them with ten tiiousand wars and mis- 
 fortunes ; 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 
 and spoiled by their enemies ; and that city 
 to be utterly overthrown 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 magnitude, 
 till their neighbours, when they should hear 
 of them, should wonder at their calamities, 
 and very earnestly inquire for the occasion, 
 why the Hebrews, who had been so far ad- 
 vanced by God to such glory and wealth, 
 should be then so hated by him ? And that 
 the answer that should be made by the re- 
 mainder of the people should bo, by confess- 
 ing their sins, and their transgression of the 
 laws of their country. Accordingly, we have 
 it transmitted to us in writing, that thus did 
 God speak to Solomon in his sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW SOLOMON BUILT HIMSELF A ROYAL YA- 
 LACE, VERY COSTLY AND SPLENDID ; AND 
 HOW HE SOLVED THE RIDDLES WHICH WERE 
 SENT HIM BY HIRAM. 
 
 § 1. After the building of the temple, 
 which, as we have before said, was finished 
 in seven years, the king laid the foundation 
 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 application, 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 building 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 struc- 
 ture and disposition of the parts, that so those 
 that light upon this book may thereby make 
 a conjecture, and, as it were, liave a prospect 
 of its magnitude. 
 
 2. This house was a large and curious 
 building, and was supported by many pillars, 
 which Solomon built to contain a multitude 
 for hearing causes,' and taking cognizance of 
 suits. It was sufficiently capacious to con- 
 tain a great body of men, who would come 
 together to have their causes determined. It 
 was a hundred cubits long, and fifty broad, 
 and thirty high, supported by quadrangular 
 pillars, which were all of cedar; but its roof 
 was according to the Corinthian order,* with 
 folding doors, and their adjoining pillars of 
 equal magnitude, each fluted with three cavi- 
 
 * This mention of the Corinthian ornaments of archi- 
 tecture in Solomon's palace by Josephus, seems to be 
 here set down by way of prolepsis; for although it ap- 
 pears to me that the Grecian and Roman most ancient 
 orders of architecture were taken from Solomon's tem- 
 ple, as from their original patterns, yet it is not so clear 
 that the last and most ornamental order of the Corinth- 
 ian was so ancient, although what the same Josephus 
 says (Of the War, b. v, ch. v, sect. 5), that one of the 
 gates of Herod's temple was built according to the rules 
 of this Corinthian order, is no way imiirobablc, that 
 order being, without dispute, much older than the reign 
 of Herod. However, upon some trial, I com'ess I have 
 not hitherto been able fully to understand the structure 
 of this palace of Solomon, either as described in our 
 Bibles, or even with the additional help of this descrip- 
 tion here by Josephus; only the reader may easily ob- 
 serve with me, that the measures of this first building 
 in Josephus, 100 cubits long, and 50 cubits broad, are 
 the very same with the area of the court of the taber- 
 nacle of Moses, and just half an Kgvptian aruure, oi 
 acje. 
 
224. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VllI 
 
 lll'S 
 
 very 
 
 wliich building was at once firm and 
 ornamental. There was also aiiotiier 
 house so ordered, tliat its entire hrcadtli uas 
 pl.iceii in the middle : it was (juadraii^ular, 
 and its breadth was thirty cubits, having a 
 temple over-against it, raised iii)on massy i>il- 
 lars ; in which temple there was a large and 
 very glorious room, wherein the l<iMg sat in 
 judgment. To this was joined another house, 
 that was built for his (jueen. There were 
 Otl er smaller edifices for diet, and for sleep, 
 after public matters Mere 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 llie eartii for 
 the ornaments of tem|)les, and to make fine 
 pros])ects in royal palaces, and which make 
 the mines whence they are dug famous. 
 Now the contexture of the curious workman- 
 ship 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 brandies, and leaves that 
 hung down from them. Those trees and 
 plants covered the stone that was beneath 
 them, and their leaves were wrought so pro- 
 digious thin and subtile, that you would 
 think they were in motion ; but tiie other 
 part, up to the roof, was plastered over, and, 
 as it were, embroidered with colours and pic- 
 tures. He, moreover, built other edifices 
 for jileasure ; as also very long cloisters, and 
 those situate in an agreeable place of the pa- 
 lace ; and among them a most glorious din- 
 ing-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 rec- 
 kon up the magnitude and the variety of the 
 royal apartments ; how many rooms there 
 were of the largest sort, how many of a big- 
 ness inferior to those, and how many that 
 were subterraneous and invisil>le ; the curio- 
 sity of those that enjoyed the fresh airj and 
 the groves for the most delightful jirospect, 
 for the avoiding the heat, and covering of 
 their bodies. And to say all in brief, Solo- 
 mon made the whole building entirely of 
 white stone, and cedar-wood, and gold, and 
 silver. lie also adorned the roofs and walls 
 with stones set in gold, and beaiititied them 
 therebv in the same manner as he had beau- 
 tified (lie temple of God with the like stones. 
 He also made himself a throne of prodigious 
 bigness, of ivory, constructed as a scat of jus- 
 tice, and having six stejis to it ; on every one 
 of which stood, on each end of the step, two 
 lions, two otlier lions standing above also; 
 but at the sitting place of the tiiroiie, hands 
 came out, and received the king; and when 
 he sat backward, he rested on half a buliuck, 
 
 that looked towards his back ; but still all 
 was fastened togetlier with gold. 
 
 3. When Solomon had completed all this 
 in twenty years' time, because Iliram 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 inland, as 
 we have already said. And besides these, 
 he granted him certain cities of Galilee, twen- 
 ty 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 Solo- 
 mon that he did not want such cities as tliey 
 were; and after that time those ciiies were 
 called the land of Cabul ; which name, if it 
 be interpreted according to the language of 
 the Plia-nicians, denotes wliat does not please. 
 IMoreover, the king of Tyre sent sophisms 
 and enigmatical sayings to Solomon, and de- 
 sired he would solve them, and free them 
 from the ambiguity that was in them. Now 
 so sagacious and understanding was Solo- 
 mon, that none of these problems were too 
 hard for him ; but he conquered tiicm all by 
 his reasonings, and discovered their hidden 
 meaning, and brought it to li^ht. Menan- 
 der also, one who translated the Tyrian ar- 
 chives out of the dialect of the Phrenicians 
 into the Greek language, makes nieiilion of 
 these two kings, where lie says thus: — " When 
 Abibalus was dead, his son Hiram received 
 the kingdom from him, who, when he had 
 lived fifty-three years, reigned thirty-four. 
 He raised a bank in the large place, and de- 
 dicated the golden pillar which is in Jupiter's 
 temple. He also went and cut down mate- 
 rials of timber out of the mountain called Li- 
 banus, for the roof of temjiles; and when he 
 had pulled down the ancient t";m]jles, he 
 both built the temple of Hercules and that of 
 Astarte; and he first set up the temple of 
 Hercules in the month I'eritius ; he also made 
 an expedition against the Euchii [or Titii], 
 who did not pay their tribute ; 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 dif- 
 ficult problems which Solomon, king of Je- 
 rusalem, commanded him to exjilaiu." Dius 
 also makes mention of him, where he says 
 thus : — " When Abibalus was dead, his son 
 Iliram reigned. He raised the eastern paits 
 of the city higher, and made the city itself 
 larger. He also joined the temple of Jupi 
 ter, which before stooil by itself, to the city, 
 by raising a bank in the midille between them ; 
 and he adorned it with donations of gold. 
 IMoreover, he went up to Mount Libanus, 
 and cut dow:) materials of %\uo(i for the build- 
 ing of the temples." He says also, that 
 " Solomon, who was then king of Jerusalem, 
 
 "V. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEW'S. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 xent riddles to Hiram, and desired to receive 
 tlie like from him ; but that he who could 
 not solve them should pay money to them 
 that did solve them ; and that Hiram ac- 
 cepted the conditions ; and when he was not 
 able to solve the riddles [proposed by So- 
 lomon], 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 tliat Hiram 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. 
 
 HOW SOLOMON FORTIFIED THE CITY OF JERU- 
 SALEM, AND BUILT GREAT CITIES ; AND 
 HOW HE BROUGHT SOME OF THE CANAAN- 
 ITES INTO SUBJECT10:«, AND ENTERTAINED 
 THE QUEEN OF EGYPT AND OF ETHIOPIA, 
 
 § 1. Now when the king saw that the walls of 
 Jerusalem stood in n^ed of being better se- 
 cured, and made stronger (for he thought the 
 walls that encompassed Jerusalem ought to 
 correspond to the dignity 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 Philistines; 
 but Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had made 
 an expedition against it, and besieged it, and 
 taken it by force ; and when he faad slain all 
 its inhabitants, he utterly overthrew it, and 
 gave it as a present to his daug'iter, who had 
 been married to Solomon : for which reason 
 the king rebuilt it, as a city that was natural- 
 ly strong, and might be useful in wars, and 
 the mutations of afl'airs that soinetimes hap- 
 pen. MoreoTer, he built two oth»r cities 
 not far from it ; Buth-horon was the natue of 
 one of them, and Balaath of the other. He 
 also built other cities that lay conveniently 
 fov these in order to tlie enjoyment of plea- 
 sures and delicacies in them, such as were 
 naturally of a good temperature of the air, 
 and agreeable for fruits ripe in tbeir proper 
 seasons, and well watered with springs. Nay, 
 Solomon went as far as the desert above Sy- 
 ria, 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 reason 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 piace only that there are 
 uprings and pits of water. When he had 
 iiierefore built this city, and encompassed it 
 
 225 
 
 with very strong walls, he gave ft d>e Dam« 
 of Tadmor ; and that is the name it is still 
 called by at this day among the Syrians j but 
 the Greeks name it Palmyra. 
 
 2, Now Solomon the king was at this time 
 engaged in building these cities. But if any 
 inquire why all the kings of Egypt from 
 Menes, who built Memphis, and was many 
 years earlier than our forefather Abraham, 
 until Solomon, where the interval was more 
 than one thousand three hundred years, were 
 called Pharaohs, and took it from one Pha- 
 raoh that lived after the kings of that inter- 
 val, 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 
 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, denoted 
 their authority ; for thus it was also that the 
 kings of Alexandria, who were called former- 
 ly by other names, when they took the king- 
 dom, were named Ptolemies, from their first 
 king. The Roman emperors also were, from 
 their nativity, called by other names, but are 
 styled Caesars, their empire and tlieir dignity 
 imposing that name upon them, and not sufifer- 
 ingthem to continue in those names wlu'ch their 
 fathers gave them. I suppose also that Herodo- 
 tus of Halicarnassus, when he said tliere were 
 three hundred and thirty kings of Egypt after 
 Mcnes, who built Memphis, did therefore not 
 tell us their names, because they were in com- 
 mon called Pharaohs; 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 ad- 
 mitted of the same name, while a woman did 
 not admit the same, he did therefore set down 
 that her name, which she could not naturally 
 have. As for myself, 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, con- 
 cerning whom we shall inform the reader pre- 
 sently; but I have now made mention of 
 these things, that I may prove tliat our books 
 
 * This signification of the name Pharaoh appears ta 
 be true. But what Josephus adds preseiulv, that no 
 long of Egypt was called Pharaoh after Solomon's fa- 
 ther-in-law, does hardly agree to our copies, which have 
 long afterwards the names of Pharaoh Nechoh and 
 Pharaoh Hophrah (2 Kings xxiii, 29; Jer. xhv. 5(1); 
 tjesides the frequent mention of that name in the pro- 
 phets. However, Josephus himself, in his own speech 
 to the Jews (Of the War, b. v, ch. ix, sect. 4), speaks of 
 Nechao, who was also called Pharaoh, as the name of 
 that king of Eg>iit with whom Abrah.nm was concern- 
 ed; of wliich name Nechao yet we have elsewhere no 
 mention till the days of Josiah. but only of Pharaoh. 
 And indeed it must be ounfesscd, that here, and sect. 5, 
 we have more mistakes made by Josephus, and those 
 relating to the kings of Egypt, and to the queen of 
 Eg^^it and Ethiopia, whom he supposes to have come 
 to sec Solomon han almost anywhere else in all hi* 
 Antiquities' 
 
 „^ 
 
226 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWSi 
 
 and tliose of the Egyptians agree together in 
 many things. 
 
 3. But king Solomon subdued to liimself 
 the remnant of the Canaanites that had not 
 before submitted to liim ;— tliose I mean that 
 dwell in mount Lebanon, and as far &s the 
 city Hamath ; and ordered them to ])ay tri- 
 bute. He also chose out of them every year 
 such as were to serve him in the meanest of- 
 fices, 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 nations ; 
 but all the Israelites were concerned in war- 
 like affairs, and were in armour, and were set 
 over the chariots and the liorses rather than 
 leading the life of slaves. He appointed also 
 five hundred and fifty rulers over those Can- 
 aanitcs who were reduced to such domestic 
 slavery, who received the entire care of them 
 from the king, and instructed them in those 
 labours and operations wherein he wanted 
 their assistance. 
 
 4. IMoreover, the king built many ships in 
 the Egyptian Bay of the Red Sea, in a cer- 
 tain place called Ezion-geber : it is now called 
 Berenice, and is not far from the city Eloth. 
 This country belonged formerly to the Jews, 
 and became useful for shipping, from tlie do- 
 nations of Hiram, king of Tyre ; for he sent a 
 sufficient number of men thitlier for pilots, 
 and such as were skilful in navigation ; to 
 whom Solomon gave this command : That 
 they should go along with his own stewards 
 to the land that was of old called Opliir, but 
 xto'f the Aiirea Chersonesiis, which belongs 
 to India, to fetch him gold. And when they 
 bad gathered four hundred talents together, 
 they returned to the king again. 
 
 5. There was then a woman, queen of 
 Egypt and Ethiopia ;• she was in(juisitive into 
 philosophy, and one that on other accounts 
 also was to be admired. When this queen 
 heard of the virtue and prudence of Solo- 
 mon, she had a great mind to see him ; and 
 the reports that went every day abroad induc- 
 ed her to come to him, she being desirous to 
 be satisfied by her own experience, and not 
 by a bare liearing (for reports thus heard, are 
 likely enough to complj' with a false opinion, 
 while they wholly depend on the credit of the 
 relators) ; so she resolved to come to him, and 
 tliat especially, in order to have a trial of his 
 
 • That tliis queen of Slicba was a queen of Salxca in 
 South Arabia, arhl not of Kgypt iuid Klhiopi.T, as Josp- 
 pliiis here asscrU, it, 1 suppusc, now generally agreeil ; 
 ami since ."-abjea is well known lo Ik- a I'OiMilry nortr the 
 se.i in t)ie south of Arabia Felix, wliieh lay south from 
 Judea also; and Kinec our Saviour ealls this queen 
 " the .jueen of the south," and says, " slie eaing from 
 the utmost parLs of the earth" (Matt, xii, ■ii; Luke xi. 
 
 BOOK Vlll 
 
 wisdotn, while she proposed questions of very 
 great difficulty, aiid entreated thai he would 
 solve their hidden meaning. Accordingly 
 she came to Jerusalem with great splendour 
 and rich furniture ; for she brouglit with her 
 camels laden with gold, with several sorts ot 
 sweet spices, and with precious stones. Now, 
 upon tlie 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 resolved them sooner than any body 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 esjieci- 
 ally 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 ob- 
 served that the king had therein shown great 
 wisdom ; but she was beyond measure asto- 
 nislied at the house which was called the Fo- 
 rest of Lebanon, as also at the magnificence of 
 iiis daily table, and the circumstances of its 
 preparation and ministration, with the api)a- 
 rei of his servants that waited, and the skilful 
 and decent management of their attendance : 
 nor was she less affected with those daily 
 sacrifices which were offered to God, and the 
 cai'eful management which the priests and 
 Levites used about Uiem. 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 wonderfully shi 
 was affected ; for she proceeded to discourse 
 with the king, and thereby owned that siie 
 was overcome witli admiration at the things 
 before related ; and said, " All things, in- 
 deed, O 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 thy- 
 self possessest, I mean wisdom and prudence, 
 and tiie happiness thou hast from thy king- 
 dom, certainly the same that came to us was 
 no falsity; it was not only a true report, but 
 it related thy happiness after a much lower 
 manner than 1 now see it to be before my 
 eyes. For as for the report, it only attempt 
 ed to persuade our hearing, but tlid not so 
 inake known the dignity of the things them- 
 selves as does the sight of them, and being 
 present among them. I, indeed, who did 
 not believe what was reported, by reason ot 
 the multitude and grandeur 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 .is thy servants and friends, to be hap. 
 py, who enjoy thy ])resence and hear thy wis- 
 dom every day continually. One would 
 
 therefore bless God, who hath so loved this 
 douliiin^' in thit nuilvr. > make thee km(; over theni." 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 227 
 
 6. Now when the queen had thus demon 
 strated in words how deeply the king had 
 affected her, her disposition was known by 
 certain presents, for she gave him twenty 
 talents of gold, and an immense quantity of 
 spices and precious stones. (Tliey say also 
 that we possess t!ie root of that balsam which 
 our country still bears by this woman's gift). * 
 Solomon also repaid her with many good 
 things, and principally by bestowing upon 
 her what she chose of her own inclination, 
 for there was nothing that she desired which 
 he denied her ; and as he was very generous 
 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 
 vshen this queen of Ethiopia had obtained 
 what we 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, 
 
 HOW SOLOMON GREW RICH, AND FELL DESPE- 
 RATELY IN LOVE WITH WOMEN, AND HOW 
 GOD, BEING INCENSED AT IT, RAISED UP 
 ADEft AND JEROBOAM AGAINST HIM. CON- 
 CERNING THE DEATH OF SOLOJION. 
 
 § 1. About the same time there were brought 
 to the king from the Aurea Cliersonesus, a 
 country so called, precious stones and pine- 
 trees, and these trees he made use of for sup- 
 porting the temple and the palace, as also for 
 the materials of musical instruments, the 
 harps, and the psalteries, that the Levites 
 might make use of them in their hymns to 
 God. 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 these pine-trees were 
 like those which are now so named, and whicli 
 take that their denomination from the mer- 
 chants, who so call them, that they may pro- 
 cure tliem to be admired by those that pur- 
 chase them ; for those we speak of were to 
 
 » Some blame Joscphiis for supposing that the balsam 
 tree might bo first brought out of Arabia, or Egypt, or 
 Ktliiopia, into Judea, by this queen of Shcba, since se- 
 veral have siiid, that of' old no country bore this preci- 
 ous balsam but Judea ; yet it is not only fake that this 
 balsam was peculiar to Judea, but both Egypt aJid Ara- 
 bia, and particularly Sabaia, had it; which last was that 
 very country whence Josephus, if understocKl not of 
 Ethiopia but of Arabia, intimates this queen might bring 
 it first into Judea. Nor are we to suppose that the 
 queen of Saba'a could well omit such a present, as this 
 balsimi-trce would be esteemed by Solomon, in case it 
 were then almost peculiar to her own country : nor is 
 the n.cntion of balm or balsam, as carried by mer- 
 chants, and sent as a jiresent out of Judea by Jacob, to 
 the governor of Egypt (Gen. xxxvii. 23, and xliii. 1 i ) 
 to be alleged to tlie contrary, since what we there ren 
 der biilm or baham. denotes rather that turjientine 
 which we now call Tuipcntiiu nf Cfiio vr Cupms, tlic 
 jviiic of the turpcntine-t;ce, than tliis precious balsam. 
 This List is also the .sime w(>rd that we elsewhere ren- 
 der, by the same mist.ike, hulm of GUeaU : It siiould be 
 'enjercf' liie TiirperUiiti i^f' G'Ucud, Jer. viii. Si. 
 
 the sight like the wood of the fig-tic-e, but 
 were whiter and more shining. Now we 
 have said thus 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 humane thing when 
 we inentioned it, and the uses the king made 
 of it, to explain this difference so far as we 
 have done. 
 
 2. Now the weight of gold that was brought 
 him was six hundred and sixty-six talents, 
 not including in that sum what was brought 
 by the merchants, nor what the toparchs and 
 kings of Arabia gave him in presents. He 
 also cast two hundred targets of gold, each of 
 them weighing six hundred shekels : he also 
 made three hundred shields, every one weigh- 
 ing 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 entertaininent of his guests, and had tliem 
 adorned in the most artificial manner ; and 
 he contrived that all his other furniture of 
 vessels should be of gold, for there was no- 
 thing then to be sold or bought for silver ; 
 for the king had many ships wliich 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 Ethiojjians, and 
 apes ; and they finished their voyage, going 
 and returning, in three years' time. 
 
 3. Accordingly there went a great fame all 
 around the neighbouring countries, which 
 proclaimed the virtue and wisdom of So- 
 lomon, insomuch that all the kings every- 
 where were desirous to see him, as not giving 
 credit to what was reported, on account of its 
 being almost incredible : they also demon- 
 strated the regard they had for him by the pre- 
 sents they made him ; for they sent him ves- 
 sels of gold and silver, and purple garments, 
 and many sorts of spices, and horses, and cha- 
 riots, and as many mules for his carriages as 
 they could find proper to please the king's 
 eyes, by their strength and beauty. This ad- 
 dition 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 four hundred, for he had a thousand 
 before, and augmented the number of his 
 horses by two thousand, for he had twenty 
 thousand before. Tliese 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 tiieir 
 swiftness was incomparable also. Their rid- 
 ers also were a further ornament to them, be- 
 ing, in the first place, young men in the most 
 delightful flower of their age, and being emi 
 
 "V 
 
J- 
 
 228 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ncnt for their largeness, and far taller tlian 
 other men. Tliey had also very long heads of 
 hair hanging down, and were clothed in gar- 
 ments of Tyrian purple. They had also dust 
 of gold evei7 day sprinkled on their liair, so 
 that their heads sparkled with the reflection 
 of the sun-beams from tiie gold. The king 
 himself rode upon a chariot in the midst of 
 these men, -.vho were still in armour, and had 
 their hows fitted to them. He had on a white 
 garment, and used to take his progress out of 
 Uie city in the morning, 'i'here was a certain 
 place, about fifty furlongs distant from Jeru- 
 salem, which is called Etham, very pleasant 
 it is in fine gardens, and abounding in rivu- 
 lets of water;* thither did he use to go oiit in 
 the morning, sitting on high [in his chariot]. 
 
 4. Now Solomon had a divine sagacity in 
 all things, and was very diligent and studious 
 to have tilings done after an elegant manner; 
 so he did not neglect the care of the ways, 
 but he laid a causeway of black stone along 
 tile roads that led to Jerusalem, which was the 
 royal city, both to render them easy for tra- 
 vellers, and to manifest tlie grandeur of his 
 riches and government. He also parted his 
 chariots, and set them in a regular order, that 
 a certain number of them should be in every 
 city, still keeping a few about him ; and those 
 cities he called the cities of his chariots j and 
 the king made silver as plentiful in Jerusa- 
 lem as the stones in the street; and so multi- 
 plied cedar-trees in the plains of Judea, whicli 
 did not grow there before, that they were like 
 to the multitude of common sycamore-trees. 
 He also ordained the Egyptian merchants 
 that brought him their merchandise, to sell 
 him a chariot, with a pair of horses, for six 
 hundred drachma? of silver, and he sent them 
 to the kings of Syria, and to those kings that 
 were beyond Euphrates. 
 
 5. But although Solomon was become the 
 most glorious of kings, and the best beloved 
 by (>od, and had exceeded in wisdom and 
 riches those that had been rulers of the He- 
 brews before him, yet did not he persevere in 
 this hapjjy state till he died. Nay, he for- 
 sook tlie 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 
 tlie women of liis country alone, but he mar- 
 
 » Wlicthcr these fine gardens and rivulets of Etham, 
 about six miles from Jeriisaloin, whither Solomon rode 
 m often in «tate, be not those allu<io<t to, Kcclcs. ii, 5, 
 6; where he says, " lie made him gaidriis and orchanls, 
 and planted trees in thtni of all kinds of fruits; he 
 made liiin jiools of water, to wafer the wood that bring- 
 cth forth trees;" and to the linojt part whereof lie seems 
 to allude, when, in the Canticli's, he coraiures his spouse 
 to a " garden eneloscd," to a " spring shut up," to a 
 " fountain scaled," chap, iv. It' (l«irt of whieh fountains 
 are still extant, as Mr. Maundrefl informs us, (Kige 87, 
 88,1 eannot now be certainly determined, but may very 
 
 firob.ihly be conjectured. But, whether this Kiham 
 las any relation to those rivers of Ktham, which Provi- 
 dence oiM« driud up in a miraculous inanner, I'sahn. 
 Ixxiv, 13, in the Scptu:it;int, I camint say. 
 
 BOOK VI II 
 
 ried many wives out of foreign nations . Si- 
 donians, and Tyrians, and Ammonites, and 
 Edomites ; and lie 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 atlection for them. This very 
 thing our legislator suspected, and so admo- 
 nished us beforehand, that we should not 
 marry women of other countries, lest we 
 should be entangled with foreign customs, 
 and apost.tize from our own ; lest we should 
 leave ofl' to honour our own God, and should 
 worship their gods. But Solomon was fallen 
 headlong into unreasonable pleasures, and 
 regarded not those admonitions ; for when 
 he had married seven hundred wives, f the 
 daughters of princes, and of eminent persons, 
 and three hundred concubines, and these be- 
 sides the king of Egypt's daughter, he soon 
 was governed by them, till became to imitate 
 their practices. He was forced to give them 
 this demonstration of his kindness and affec- 
 tion 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 sufficient to recal to his 
 mind the institutions of his own country; so 
 he still more and more contemned his o« n 
 God, and continued to regard the gods that 
 his marriages 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 sup- 
 ported the brazen sea, ^ and the images of 
 lions about his own throne ; for these he 
 made, altliough it was not agreeable to piety 
 so to do ; and this he did, notwithstanding 
 that he had his father as a most excellent and 
 domestic pattern of virtue, and knew what a 
 glorious character he had left behind hiin, 
 because of his piety towards God ; nor did 
 he imitate David, although God had twice ap. 
 peared Ui him in his sleep, and exhorted him 
 to imitate his father; so lie died ingloriously. 
 There came therefore a prophet to him, who 
 was sent by God, and told him that his wick- 
 
 + These "Oct wives, or the daughters of great men. 
 and the .jiKl concubines, the daughters of the ignoble, 
 make li 00 in all; :nd are, I sup]X)sc, those very 10 u 
 women uitimated elsewhere bv Salomon himself, when 
 he siieaks of his not having found one [good] woman 
 among that very number, fcccles. vii, 28. 
 
 J Josephus is here certainly too severe upon Solo- 
 mon, who, in making the cheruliims and these twelve 
 brazen oxen, seems to have done no more than imitate 
 the patterns left hmi by David: which were all given 
 David bv divine inspiration. Sec my description of the 
 temples,' chap x; and although (iod gave no dirc<-tion 
 for tne lions that adonicd his throne, vet docs not Solo- 
 mon seem tluri in to have broken aiiy law of Moses; 
 lor althdiigli the I'll. irisees and latter U'alibins have ex- 
 tended the second coinniaiidnunt, to forbid the very 
 nwX-in^ of any image, iliough without any intention to 
 have it worshipped, yet do not I sup|>ose inat Solomon 
 so understood it, nor that it ought to Ik- so understood. 
 The making any other altar for worship but that at lh« 
 taliemacic, was equally forbidden by .\Ioses, Aiitiq I). 
 iv, chap, viii, sei't. A; yet did not the two trilies and a 
 half uliend when they made an altar Tor a memortal 
 only, jokh. Kxii ; Antiq. b. v, eh. i, >ecU S6, S7 
 
J' 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 ed actions were not concealed from God ; and 
 threatened liim that lie should not long re- 
 joice 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 
 successor, but that he would take care that 
 this should befal 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 grand-son for his sake, because he 
 Joved God, and for the sake of the city of 
 Jerusalem, wherein he should have a temple. 
 6. When Solomon heard this he was griev- 
 ed, and greatly confounded, upon this change 
 of almost all that happiness which had 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 against him, whose name 
 was Ader, wlio 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 lime, this Hadad fled 
 away, and came to Pharaoh, the king of 
 Egypt, who received him kindly, and assign- 
 ed him a house to dwell in, and a country to 
 sui'ply him with food ; and when he was grown 
 up he loved him exceedingly, 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 permit him to go to his 
 own country : upon which the king asked 
 what it was that he wanted, and what hardship 
 he liad met with, that he '."'as so desirous to 
 leave him ; and when he was often trouble- 
 some 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 forenientioned transgres- 
 sions,* 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 Rezon, who had run away from Ha- 
 dadezer, king of Zobah, his master, and was 
 become a robber in that country, and joined 
 friendship with him, who had already a band 
 
 * Since the beginning of Polornon's evil life and ad- 
 versity w.-is the time when Hadad or Ader, who was 
 born at least 20 oroO years before ;-oloinon came to tlie 
 crown, in tlie days of David, began to gi\e him distur- 
 bance, tliis nnplies that Solomon's evil life began early, 
 and continued very long, which the multitude of his 
 wives and conciibities does imply also : 1 suppose, when 
 lie was not tif(y years of age. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 229 
 
 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 Israel, and did it no small mis- 
 chief, and spoiled it, and that in the life-time 
 of Solomon. And this was the calamity which 
 the Hebrews suffered by Hadad. 
 
 7. There was also one of Solomon's own 
 nation that made an attempt against him, 
 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had an ex- 
 pectation of rising, from a prophecy that had 
 been made to him long before. He was left 
 a child by his father, and brought up by his 
 mother ; and when Solomon 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 apjiroved of his be- 
 haviour, and gave him, as a reward for the 
 same, the charge of the tribe of Joseph. And 
 when about that time Jeroboam was once go- 
 ing out of Jerusalem, a prophet of the city 
 Shilo, whose name was Ahljah, met him and 
 saluted him ; and when he had taken him a 
 little aside, to a place out of the way, where 
 there was not one other person present, he 
 rent the garment he had on into twelve pieces, 
 and bid Jeroboam take ten of them ; and told 
 him beforehand, that " this is the will of 
 God ; he will part the dominion of Solomon, 
 and give one tribe, with that which is next it, 
 to his son, because of the promise made to 
 Dj*id for his succession, and will give ten 
 tribes to thee, because Solomon hath sinned 
 against him, and delivered up himself to wo- 
 men, and to their gods. Seeing therefore 
 thou knowest the cause for which God hath 
 changed his mind, and is alienated from So- 
 lomon, 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." 
 
 8. 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 government, 
 and called to mind what had been revealed to 
 him by Ahijah, he endeavoured to persuade 
 the people to forsake Solomon, to make a dis- 
 turbance, and to bring the government over 
 to himself; but when Solomon understood 
 his intention 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 
 
 + This youth of Jeroboam, when Solomon built the 
 walls of Jerusalem, not very long after he had finished 
 his twenty years building ot the temple and l.is own 
 palace, or not very long after the twenty-fourth of his 
 reign (1 Kings ix, 24; 2 Chron. viii, U) and his youth 
 here still mentioned, when Solomon's wicki-dr.ess was 
 become intolerable, fully confirm my former observation, 
 that such his wickedness began early, and continued 
 very loni;. See Eccles. xlvii. 14, 
 
 ^ 
 
 .^ 
 
-T 
 
 "V 
 
 230 
 
 A.VTIQL'ITIKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Solomun ; by wliicli means he gaitu'd Uicsc 
 two advantages, — to suHor no harm from So- 
 lomon, and to hi' prosi-rvcd lor tlii' kinfrdom. 
 So Solomon died wlien lie was already an olil 
 man, having reigned eighty years, and lived 
 ninety-four. He was hurled in Jerusalem, 
 having been superior to all other kings in 
 happiness, and riches, and wisdom, excepting 
 tliat when he was growing into years lie was 
 deluded by women, and transgressed the law ; 
 concerning which transgressions, and the 
 miseries which befel the Hebrews thereby, I 
 think proper to discourse at another oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 CHAPTER Vlir. 
 
 HOW, UPO>f THE DEATH OF SOLOMON, THK 
 PKOPLE FORSOOK HIS SON REHOBOAM, AND 
 ORDAINED JEROBOAM KING OVEK THE TEN 
 
 TKIBF.S. 
 
 § 1. Now when Solomon was dead, and his 
 son Relioboam (who was born of an Ammon- 
 ite wife, whose name was Naamah) had suc- 
 ceeded him in the kingdom, the rulers of the 
 multitude sent immediately into Egypt, and 
 called back Jeroboam ; and when he was 
 come to them, to the city Shechem, Relio- 
 boam came to it also, for he had resolved 
 to declare himself king to the Israelites, while 
 they were there gathered together. So the 
 rulers of the people, as well as Jerolioam, 
 came to him, and besought him, and said that 
 he ought to relax, and to be gentler than his 
 father, in the servitude he had imposed on 
 them, because they had borne a heavy yoke, 
 and that then they should be better affected 
 to him, and be well contented to serve him 
 under his moderate government, and should do 
 it more out of love than fear; but Rehoboain 
 told them they should come to him again in 
 three days' time, when he would give an answer 
 to their request. This deliy gave occasion to a 
 present suspicion, since he had not given then) 
 a favourable answer to their mind immediate- 
 ly, for they thought that he should have given 
 them a humane answer oti-hand, especially 
 since he was but young. However, they 
 thouglit that this consultation about it, and 
 tliat he did not presently give them a denial, 
 afforded them some good hope of success. 
 
 iJ. Rehohoam now called his father's friends, 
 and advised with them what sort of answer 
 he ought to give to the multitude: upon 
 which they gave him the advice which became 
 friends, and those that knew the teni|)er of 
 such a multitude. They advised him to sjieak 
 in a way more popular than suited the grandeur 
 of a king, because he would thereby oblige 
 tlicni to submit to him with good-will, it be- 
 ing most agreeable to subjects that tluir kii 
 
 .11111 . 1^1 1 111" s"rt of whip of the hke luturc. 
 
 Should be almost upon the level with them ; | stmnheim'* uot«i here. 
 
 BOOK VIM, 
 
 — but Relioboam rejected this so good, and 
 in general so prolilable 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 lie called for the young men who 
 were brought up with him, and told them 
 what advice the elders had given him, and 
 bade them speak what they thought he ought 
 to do. Tiiey advised him to give the follow- 
 ing answer to the people (for neither their 
 youth nor God himself suffered them to dis- 
 cern 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 fa- 
 ther, they should experience much rougher 
 treatment from him ; and if his father had 
 chastised them with whips, they mtist exjiect 
 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 answer. Accordingly, 
 when the multitude was come together to hear 
 his answer on the third day, all the people 
 were in great expectation, and very intent to 
 hear \^•hat the king would say to them, and 
 supposed they should hear sennewhat of a kind 
 nature ; but he passed by his friends, and an- 
 swered as the young men had given him 
 counsel. Now this was done according to 
 the will of God, that what Ahijah had fore- 
 told might tome to pass. 
 
 •S. By these words the people were struck,^ 
 as it were, by an iron hamuier, 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 a- 
 loud, and said " We will have no longer any 
 relation to David or his posterity after this 
 day ;" and they said farther, " We only leave 
 to Rehoboam 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 paci- 
 fy 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 Rehoboain 
 saw this, he thought himself aimed at by those 
 stones with which they had killed his servant, 
 and fe:ircd lest he should undergo the last of 
 punishments in earnest; so he got immedi- 
 ately into his chariot, and fled to Jerusalem, 
 where the tribe of Judah and that of Renja- 
 min ordained him king ; but the rest of the 
 multitude forsook the sons of David from tliat 
 day, and apjiointed Jeroboam to be the ruler 
 of their public affairs. Upon this Rehoboam, 
 
 • Th.it by scorpiom i« not here meant that mnftl) am 
 mal so caUtd, which was never used in rorrcftions : but 
 either a shrub with shar|) prickles, Ukc the >iin(;4 irf 
 scorpions, such as our furzc-lmsh, or else S4ii;ie urrible 
 Sec lluiUon'k aiMl 
 
 "V 
 
 __r 
 
CHAP. VIll. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 '231 
 
 Solomon's son, assembled a great congrctra- 
 tioii of those two tribes that submitted to iiim, 
 and was ready to take a hundred and eighty 
 thousand chosen men out of the army, to 
 make an expedition against Jeroboam and his 
 people, that he migiit force them by war to 
 be his servants; but he was forbidden of God 
 by the prophet [Sliemaiah] to go to war; for 
 that it was not just that brethren of the same 
 country 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 pioceed in this expedition : — 
 and now I will relate first the actions of Je- 
 roboam the king of Israel, after which we 
 will relate what are therewith connected, the 
 actions of Rehoboam, the king of the two 
 tribes; by this means we shall preserve the 
 good order of the history entire. 
 
 4. When tlierefore Jeroboam had built a 
 palace in the city Shechem, he dwelt there. 
 He also built him 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 b^. 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 in- 
 vented this contrivance : He made two golden 
 neifers, and built two little temples 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 liad called those ten 
 tribes together, over whom he ruled, he made 
 A speech to the people in these words i " 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, bat 
 he everywhere hears and sees those that wor- 
 ship him ; on which account I do not think 
 it right for you to go so long a journey to 
 Jerusalem, which is an enemy's city, to wor- 
 ship him. It was a man that built the temple : 
 I have also made two golden heifers, dedi- 
 cated 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 nearest those cities, may go to them, 
 and worship God there : and I will ordain for 
 
 • Whether these • tountains of the Lesser Jordan' 
 were near a place called Dan, and the fountains of the 
 Greater near a place called Jor, before their conjunction ; 
 or whether there was only one fountain, arising at the 
 lake Phiala, at first sinking under ground, and then 
 arising near the mountain Paneuni, and thence running 
 through the lake Semochonitis to the Sea of Galilee, and 
 «o far called the Lesser Jordan, is hardly certain, even 
 in Joscphus himself, though the latter account be the 
 most probable. However, the northren idolatrous calf, 
 Jct up by Jeroboam, was where Little Jordan fell into 
 Great Jordan, near a place called Daphnae as Josephus 
 •liwhere informf ui, (Of the War, b. iv, ch, j, sect, 1). 
 tt* Dm; uoW Umci. 
 
 you certain priests and Leviles from among 
 yourselves, 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 de- 
 luded the people, and made tliein to revolt 
 from the worship of their forefathers, and to 
 transgress their laws. 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 hereafter. 
 
 5. 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 under- 
 took to be high-priest himself. So he went 
 up to the altar, with his own priests about him ; 
 but when he was going to oflfer the sacrifices, 
 and the burnt-offerings in the sight of all the 
 people, a prophet, whose name was Jadon, was 
 sent by God, and came to him from Jerusa- 
 lem, who stood in the midst of the multitude, 
 and in the hearing of the king, and directing 
 his discourse to the altar, said thus : — " God 
 foretels 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 peo- 
 ple, those imposters and wicked wretches. 
 However, that this people may believe tJiat 
 these things shall so come to pass, I foretel 
 a sign to them that shall also come to pass : 
 This altar shall be broken to pieces immedi- 
 ately, and all the fat of the sacrifices 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 bid them lay bold of hitn : 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 were a dead hand. The altar also was 
 broken to pieces, and all that was upon it was 
 poured out, as the prophet had foretold should 
 come to pass. So the king understood that 
 he was a man of veracity, and had a divine 
 fore-knowledge; and entreated him to pray 
 to God that he would restore his right hand. 
 Accordingly the prophet did pray to God to 
 grant him that request. So the king having 
 his hand recovered to its natural state, rejoic- 
 ed at it, and invited the prophet to sup with 
 him; but Jadon said, that he could not en- 
 dure to come into his house, nor to taste of 
 bread or water in this 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 «ay. 
 So the king wondered at the abstinence of the 
 man ; but was himself in fear, as suspecting 
 
 _r 
 
J^ 
 
 ~v 
 
 2S2 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIIT. J[::\VS. 
 
 BOOK Vlll 
 
 piillfd liim oflT tlie bt-asl tie rode on, and slew 
 hiin ; yet did liu not at all hurt the ass, but sat 
 by him, and kept him, as also the piopliet's 
 body. This continued till some travellers 
 that saw it came and told it in the cily to the 
 false prophet, who sent his sons and brought 
 the boily inlo the city, and made a funeral for 
 „ „„ him at ureat expense. lie also charged his 
 HOW .TADON Tin- PIIOI'HKT WAS PERSUADED BY ' «= 
 
 • change of his affairs for th« worse, from 
 what had been said to him. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ANOTHER LYING PROPHET, AND RETURNED 
 [to RETHEL], AND WAS AFTERWARDS SLAfN 
 BY A I.ION. AS Al.f 
 
 WICKED PROPHET MADE USE OF TO PER- 
 SUADE THE KING, AND THEREBY ALIENAT- 
 ED HIS MIND FROM GOD. 
 
 sons to bury himself with him ; and said, that 
 
 all which he had foretold at,'aiiist that cily, 
 ^VAS AFTERWARDS SLA N ^„^, ,.^,^^ ,,^.^ 
 
 LSO, WHAT WORDS THE j ^^^^ ^ prove true ; and that if he were buried 
 with him, he should receive no injurious 
 treatment after his death, the bones not being 
 then to be distinguished asunder. But now, 
 when he had performed those funeral rites to 
 the prophet, and had given that charge to his 
 sons, as he was a wicked and impious man, 
 he goes to Jeroboam, and says to him, " And 
 wherefore is it now that thou art disturbed at 
 the words of this silly fellow ?" And when 
 the king had related to him what had hap- 
 pened about the altar, and about his own 
 liand, and gave him the names of divine man, 
 and an excellent prophet, he endeavoured, 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 per- 
 suade him, that his hand was enfeebled by 
 the labour it had undergone in supporting 
 the sacrifices, and that upon its resting a 
 while it returned to its fonner nature again : 
 and that as to the altar, it was but 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 also iufornr.- 
 ed him of the death of him that had foretold 
 those things, and how he perished ; [whence 
 he concluded thatj he had not any thing in 
 him of a prophet, nor spake any thing like 
 one. When he had thus spoken, he persuad- 
 ed the king, and entirely alienated his mind 
 from God, and fiom doing works that were 
 righteous and holy, and encouraged him to 
 go on in his impious practices;* and accord- 
 ingly, he was to that degree injurious to 
 God, and so great a transgressor, that he 
 sought for nothing else every day but how he 
 mi"ht be guilty of some new instances of 
 wickedness, and such as should be more de- 
 testable than what he Imd been so insolent as 
 
 § 1. Now there was a certain wicked man in 
 that city, who was a false prophet, whom Je- 
 roboam had in great esteem, but was deceiv- 
 ed by him and his flattering words. This 
 man was bed-rid by reason of the infirmities of 
 old a"-e : however, he was informed by his 
 sons concerning the prophet that was come 
 from Jerusalem, and concerning the signs 
 done by him ; and how, when Jeroboam's 
 rii^ht hand had been enfeebled, at the pro- 
 phet'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 command, 
 ed, and he got upon the ass, and followed af- 
 ter the propliet ; 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 in- 
 to his house, and partaken of his hospitality. 
 And when the other said, that God had for- 
 bidden him to taste of any one's provision in 
 that city, — he replied, that 'for certain God 
 had not forbidden that I should set food be- 
 fore thee, for 1 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 oriler to bring thee into my house, 
 and make thee my guest.' Now Jadon gave 
 credit to this lying prophet, and returned 
 back w ilh him. But when they were at din- 
 ner, and merry together, God appeared to 
 Jadon, and said, that he should suffer pu- 
 nishment for transgressing his commands, — 
 and he told him what that punishment should 
 be ; for he said that he shouUi meet with a 
 lion as he was going on his way, by which 
 lion he should be torn in pieces, and be de- 
 prived of burial in tlie sepulchres of his fa- 
 thers : — which things came to pass, as I sup- 
 pose, according to the will of God, that so 
 Jeroboam nnght not give heed to the words 
 of Jadon, as of one that had been convicted 
 of lying. However, as Jadon was again go- 
 ing to Jerusalem, a lion assaulted him, and 
 
 • How much a larger aiid better copy Josciihus had 
 in tliis niiKuk;ible histoiv of the true prophet of 
 JuiUa, iiiul his a«ii-om with Jcrolxiam, ami with ihe 
 false pioplut of IJethcl, tliaii our other copies have, is 
 evukiil at first sight. 'I'he prophet's very name, Jailoii, 
 or, :is the t'oii.>UCUtions cail luiii. Ailoiiais, is wamnig 
 ill our other copies ; and it is there, with no little al>- 
 surdity, Siiid that tiod rcvealett Jadon the true pro- 
 phet's "deaUi, not to himself, as here, but to the lal!« 
 prophet. Whether the i';irticui:ir account of the argu. 
 ine.its Miaile vise i>f, alici all, by the f.il.se prophet against 
 his own belief, and his own coiiseienee, in order to |ier- 
 auade Jeioboam to pcrsevcie iu his idoLitry and wici>- 
 ediiess, Ih.in whieli, more plausible could not be in 
 vented, wtis intimated iu Josephus'a copy, oi in some 
 
 ilher ancient book, cannot now be deterniiiied : our 
 
 ■liier cn)ucs say not oue word of iu 
 
 -\. 
 
"V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 233 
 
 to do before. And so much shall at presant 
 suffice to liave said cjiicerninir Jeroboam. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CON'CEllNING REHOBOAM, AND HOW GOD IN- 
 FLICTED PUNISHMENT UPON HIM FOR HIS 
 IMPIETY, BY SHISHAK [KING OF EGYPT']. 
 
 •5 1. Now Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, 
 who, as we said before, was king of the two 
 tribes, built strong and large cities, Beth- 
 lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, and Bethzur, 
 and Shoco, and Adullam, and Ipan, and jNIa- 
 res'ia, and Ziph, and Adoriam, and Lachish, 
 and Azekah, and Zorah, and Aijalon, and 
 Hebron ; these he built first of all in the 
 tribe of Judah. He also built otiier large 
 cities in the tribe of Benjamin, and 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 provisions that 
 were necessary for sustenance : 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 righteous men, they gathered themselves 
 together to him, having left their own cities, 
 that they might worship God in Jerusalem ; 
 for they were not willing to be forced to wor- 
 ship the heifers which Jeroboam had made ; 
 and they augmented the kingdom of Reho- 
 boam 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 moie- 
 ovcr many otlier children by other wives, but 
 he loved Maacliah above them all. Now he 
 had eighteen legitimate wives, and thirty con- 
 cubines, and he had born to him twenty-eight 
 sons and threescore daughters; but be ap- 
 pointed Abijah, whom he had by Maachah, 
 to be his successor in the kingdom, and in- 
 trusted him already with the treasures and the 
 strongest cities. 
 
 2. Now I cannot but think that tlie great- 
 ness of a kingdom, and its ciiange into pros 
 perity, often become the occasion of mischief 
 and of transgression to men ; for when Reho- 
 boam saw that his kingdom was so much in- 
 creased, he went out of the right way, unto 
 unrighteous and irreligious practices, and he 
 despised the worsl'.ip of God, till the people 
 tliemselves imitated his wicked actions ; for 
 so it usually liappens, 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 governors' intemperate 
 courses, and follow their wickedness as if it 
 were virtue ; for it is not possible to show 
 that men approve of the actions of their kings, 
 unless tliey do the same actions with them. 
 Agreeable whereto it now happened to the 
 subjects of Rehoboam ; for when he was 
 grown impious, and a transgressor himself, 
 they endeavoured not to offend him by re- 
 solving still to be righteous ; but God sent 
 Shishak, king of Egypt, to punish them for 
 their unjust behaviour towards him ; concern- 
 ing whom Herodotus was mistaken, and ap- 
 plied his actions to Sesostris; for this S!ii- 
 siiak,* in the fifth year of the reign of Reho- 
 boam, made an expedition [into Judea] with 
 many ten thousand men ; for he had one 
 thousand two hundred chariots in number 
 that followed him, and threescore thousand 
 horsemen, and four hundred thousand foot- 
 men. These he brought with him, and they 
 were the greatest part of them Libyans and 
 Ethiopians. Now, therefore, when he fell 
 upon the country of the Hebrews, he took 
 the strongest cities of Rehoboam's kingdom 
 without fighting ; and when he had put gar- 
 risons in them, he came last of all to Jerusa- 
 lem. 
 
 3. Now when Rehoboam, and the multi- 
 tude with him, were shut up in Jerusalem by 
 the means of the army of Shishak, and when 
 they besought God to give them victory and 
 deliverance, they could not persuade God to 
 be on their side ; but Shemaiah the proplie^ 
 told them, that God threatened to forsake 
 them, as they had forsaken his worshi>> 
 When they heard this, they were immediately 
 in a consternation of mind, and seeing no way 
 of deliverance, they all earnestly set them- 
 selves to confess that God might justly over- 
 look them, since they had been guilty of im- 
 piety towards him, and had let his laws lie 
 in confusion. So when God saw them in 
 tiiat disposition, and that they acknowledged 
 their sins, he told the prophet that he would 
 not destroy them, but that he would, how . 
 ever, make them servants to the Egyptians, 
 that they may learn whether they will sutlei 
 less by serving men or God. So when Shi- 
 shak had taken the city without fighting, be- 
 cause Rehoboam was afraid, and receiveo 
 him into it, yet did not Shishak stand to the 
 covenants he had made, but he spoiled the 
 temple, and emptied the treasures of God and 
 j those of the king, and carried off innumerable 
 I ten thousands of gold and silver, and left no- 
 thing at all behind him. He also took away 
 ; the bucklers of gold, and the shields, which 
 1 Solomon the king had made ; nay, he did 
 i not leave the golden quivers which David 
 
 I * That this Shishak was not the same person with 
 the famous Sesostris, as some have very lately, iu cm> 
 tnuiietion to all antieiuity, supposed, anil that our J.>st;- 
 phusiliil not take him to l>e the same, as they iireteiid, 
 but that sesostris was many eeiituries earlier'than bh)- 
 sliak, see Autnent. Keeonis, Part ii, page IU'i'4. 
 
 ^. 
 
J- 
 
 234 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Iiad taken from tlie king of Zol)ali, .and Imd 
 dedicated to C»od ; and wlien lie had thus 
 done, he returned to his own kingdom. Now 
 Herodotus of Halicarnassus mentions this ex- 
 pedition, having only mistaken the king's 
 name ; and [in saying that] he made war up- 
 on many other nations also, and brought Sy- 
 ria of Palestine into subjection, and took the 
 men tliat were therein prisoners without fight- 
 ing. Now it is manifest that he intended to 
 declare tliat our nation was subdued by him ; 
 for lie saitli, that he left behind him pillars in 
 the land of these tliat delivered themselves u]) 
 to him without fighting, and engraved upon 
 tliem the secret parts of women. Now bur 
 king Relioboam delivei'cd up our city with- 
 out fighting. He says withal,* that the 
 Ethiopians learned to circumcise their privy 
 Darts from the Egyptians ; with this addition, 
 that the Phoenicians and Syrians that live in 
 Palestine confess that they learned it of the 
 Egyptians; yet it is evident that no other of 
 the Syrians that live in Palestine, besides us 
 alone, are circumcised. But as to such mat- 
 ters, let every one speak what is agreeable to 
 his own opinion. 
 
 4. When Sliishak was gone away, king Re- 
 hobnam made bucklers and shields of brass, 
 instead of those of gold, and delivered the 
 same number of them to the keepers of the 
 king's palace : so, instead of warlike expedi- 
 tions, and that glory which results from tiiose 
 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 seventeen. 
 He was in his disjiosition a proud and a fool- 
 ish 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 Abijali succeeded him 
 in the kingdom, and this in the eighteenth 
 year of Jeroboam's reign over the ten tribes ; 
 and this was the conclusion of these afl'aiis. 
 It must bo now our business to relate the af- 
 fairs of Jeroboam, and how he ended his life; 
 for he ceased not, nor rested to be injurious 
 to God, but every day raised u)) altars upon 
 
 • I lerodotiis, .is here quoted by .loseplius, ami as this 
 passage slill st.-\n(ls in his present I'onics, b. ii, chap, civ, 
 afflrms, that " the Pha>nicians .uul Syrians in Palestine 
 [which last arc generally siippnved to denote the Jews] 
 owned their reccivinj; cifcunicision from the Kj;v)itiaiis; 
 whereas it Is abundantly eviiicnt that the Jew's receiv- 
 ed their circumcision from the patriarch Abraham, tieiL 
 XVII, 9 — 11 ; John vii, 2.', 'J.), as I conclude the Egyp- 
 tian priests did also. It is not therefore very unlikely, 
 that Herodotus, because the Jews h.ad lived hmg m 
 Eijypt, and came out of it cireumciseil, did thereupon 
 IhniK they had leaned that circumcision in Kcypt.aiid 
 had it not before. Manctho, the famous Kgyptian 
 r'hroniilo^cr and historian, who knew the history of his 
 j'.vii ciimitry much better than Heroilotus, complaiiii 
 frccpieiitly of hi< mistakes alxiut their atl'airs; as iloos 
 Jo 'phus more than once in this chapter. Nor indeed 
 does Herodotus seem at all ac(|uaiiiteil with the jUl'airs 
 of 'he Jews; for as he never naiiiea them, so little or 
 Mothins of what he s.iys about them, their country, or 
 maritime cities, two of which he alone nieiilioiis, I'a- 
 dytls and Jenysu::, proves true; nor indeed do there ap- 
 pear ui have ever been any such cities on llieir cuaAt. 
 
 BOOK VJII 
 
 high mountains, and wont on making priest* 
 out of the multitude. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CONCFUNING THE DKATH OF A SON OF JF.RO- 
 BOA-M. HOW JKROBOAM WAS BEATli.N BY 
 AEUAH, WHO DIKD A I.ITTI.E AVTEUWARDS, 
 AND WAS SL'CCF.FDKD IN HIS KINGDOM BY 
 ASA. AND ALSO HOW, AKfFJU THE DEATH 
 OF JEROBOAM, BAASHA DESTROYED HIS SON 
 NADAB, AND ALL THE HOUSE OF JEKOBOA.M. 
 
 § 1. 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 wiiereas 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 gar- 
 ments belonging to a private person, and to 
 go to Aliijah 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 him, to in(juire concerning the child, as if she 
 were 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 Ahijali live : and as 
 she was going into his house, his eyes being 
 then dim with age, God appeared to him, and 
 informed him of two things; that the wife of 
 Jeroboam was come to him, and what answer 
 he should make to her inquiry. Accordingly, 
 as the woman was coming into the house like 
 a private person and a stranger, he cried out, 
 " Come in, O thou wife of Jeroboam ! Why 
 concealest thou thyself? Thou art not con- 
 coaled from G(kI, who hath a|)peared 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, anil speak to him Ihus : — 
 " Since I made thee a great man when thou 
 wast little, or rather wast nothing, and rent 
 the kingdom from the house of Uavid, and 
 gave it to thee, and thou hast been unmindful 
 of these benclits, hast left off my woiship, 
 hast made thee molten gods, and honoured 
 them, I will in like manner cast thee down 
 again, and destroy 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 multi- 
 tude also shall themselves partake of the same 
 puiiislmient, and shall be cast out of this good 
 land, and shall be scattered into the places be- 
 yond Ku|)hrates, fjecause they have followed 
 the wicked practices of their kitig, and have 
 worshipped the gods that he made, and for- 
 saken my sacrifices. But do thou, O woman. 
 
 ^ 
 
y~ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 make haste back to thy husband, and tell him 
 this message; but thou shall then find thy 
 son dead, for as thou enterest the city he shall 
 depart this life ; yet shall he be buried with 
 the lamentation of all the multitude, and ho- 
 noured with a general mourning, for he is the 
 only person of goodness of Jeroboam's fami- 
 ly." When the prophet had foretold these 
 events, the woman went hastily away with a 
 disordered mind, and greatly grieved at the 
 death of the forenamed child ; so slie 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 circumstances 
 very unfortunate, because of her son ; for the 
 greater haste she made, she would the sooner 
 see her son dead, yet was she forced to make 
 such haste, on account of her husband. Ac- 
 cordingly, when she was comeback, she found 
 that the child had given irp the ghost, as the 
 prophet had said ; and she related all the cir- 
 cumstances to the king. 
 
 2. Yet did not Jeroboam lay any of these 
 things to heart, but he brought together a very 
 numerous army, and made a warlike expedi- 
 tion against Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, 
 who had succeeded his father in the kingdom 
 of tiie two tribes ; for he despised him because 
 of his age. But when he heard of the ex- 
 pedition of Jeroboam, he was not affrighted 
 at it, but proved of a courageous temper of 
 mind, superior both to his youth and to the 
 nopes of his enemy ; so he chose him an army 
 out of the two tribes, and met Jeroboam at a 
 place called Mount Zemaraim, and pitched 
 his camp near the other, and prepared every 
 thing necessary for the fight. His army con- 
 sisted of four hundred thousand, 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, Abijali 
 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 David aiid Ins pos- 
 terity should be their rulers for all time to 
 come, and this you yourselves are not unac- 
 quainted with ; but I cannot but wonder how 
 you should forsake my fatlier, and join your- 
 selves to his servant Jeroboam, and are now 
 here with him to fight against those who, by 
 God's own detennination, are to reign, and to 
 deprive tliem of tliat dominion which they 
 have still reuined ; for as to the greater part 
 of it, Jeroboam is unjustly in possession of it. 
 However, I do not suppose he will enjoy it 
 any longer; but when he hath suffered that 
 punishment which God tliinks due to him for 
 what is past, he will leave off the transgressions 
 he liath been guilty of, and the injuries he hath 
 oflered to him, and which he liatli still con- 
 
 235 
 
 tinued to offer, and hath persuaded you to do 
 
 the same ; yet when you were not any farther 
 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 pre- 
 tended, but, in reality, you withdrew your- 
 selves 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 him into some unfortunate 
 actions, and that for the sake of his fatlier So- 
 lomon, and the benefits you received from 
 him ; for men ought to excuse the sins of pos- 
 terity on account of the benedictions of pa- 
 rents : but you considered nothing of ail tliis 
 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 golden heifers and the altars that you 
 have on high places, which are demonstrations 
 of your impiety, and not of religious worship ? 
 Or is it the exceeding multitude of your army 
 \\ hich gives you such good hopes ? Yet cer- 
 tainly there is no strength at all in an army of 
 many ten thousands, when tlie war is unjust ; 
 for we ought to place our surest hope of suc- 
 cess against our enemiesin righteousness alone, 
 and in piety towards <5od ; which hope we 
 justly have, since we have kept tiie laws from 
 the beginning, and have worshipped our own 
 God, who was not made by hands out of cor- 
 ruptible matter ; nor w as he formed by a 
 wicked king, in order to deceive the multitude; 
 but who is his own workmanship,* and the be- 
 ginning and end of all things. 1 therefore 
 give you counsel even now to repent, and to 
 take better advice, and to leave off the prose- 
 cution of the war ; to call to mind the laws oi 
 your country, and to reflect what it hath been 
 that hath advanced you to so happy a state a« 
 you are now in." 
 
 3. This was the speech which Abijah made 
 to the multitude. But, while he was still 
 speaking, Jeroboam sent some of his sol- 
 diers privately to encompass Abijah 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. 
 j But Abijah encouraged them, and exhorted 
 them to place tlieir hopes on God, for that h« 
 1 was not encompassed by the enemy. So they 
 , all at once implored the divine assistance, 
 1 while the priests sounded with the triunpet 
 and they made a shout, and fell upon tlieii 
 ; enemies, arnl God brake the courage, and cast 
 I down the force of tiieir enemies, and made 
 Abijah's army superior to them, for God 
 
 * This is a strange exprwsion Ui Josephus, that OmJ 
 is his own workmanship, or that he m.ufe hinisclf, niv 
 trary to common sense and to calhoHc Christianity ; per- 
 ha|« he only means tliat lie waa ikit maite by one, bul 
 
 I'is r.non.'jinatcii. 
 
 "V. 
 
?38 
 
 AN rHiuniL:s or Tiit; ji:\vs. 
 
 vouchsafi-rl to prnnl them a wondorfiil and 
 »ery famous victory ; and sudi a slauglitur 
 was now made of Jeroboam's army * as is 
 never recorded to liave happened in any other 
 war, whetlier it were of the Grerks or of the 
 Barbarians, for they overthrew [and slew] five 
 hundred thousand of their enemies, and they 
 look their strongest cities by force, and spoil- 
 ed them ; and besides those, they did the same 
 to Bethel and her towns, and Jeshanah and 
 her towns. And after tliis defeat, Jeroboam 
 never recovered himself during the life of 
 Abijah, who yet did not long survive, for he 
 reigned but three years, and was buried in 
 Jerusalem in the sepulchres of his forefathers. 
 lie left l)ehind him twenty-two sons and six- 
 teen daughters, and he had also those c^Iiildren 
 by fourteen wives ; and Asa his son succeeded 
 in the kingdom ; and the young man's mother 
 was Michaiah. Under his reign the country 
 of the Israelites enjoyed peace for ten ; ears. 
 4. And so far concerning Abijah, the son 
 of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, as his his- 
 tory hath come down to us; but Jeroboam, 
 the king of the ten tribes, died when he had 
 goveiiud them two-and-twenty 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 Gibbe- 
 tlion, 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 
 Abijah, and was slain; wliich Baasha took the 
 kingdom after the other's death, and destroy- 
 ed 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 sutf'ered 
 the just punishment of his imrjiety and of his 
 wicked iUitioiLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW ZFHAH, KINO OF THE ETHIOPIANS, WAS 
 liKATLN BY ASA ; AND HOW ASA, UPON 
 IIAASHAS MAKING WAR AGAINST HIM, IN 
 VITKD TlIK KING OF THE DA.MASCENS TO 
 ASSIST HI-M ; AND HOW, ON Till: DESTKl'C- 
 TION or THE HOL'SE OF UAASIIA, 7.I.MKI GOT 
 THE KINGDOM, AS DID His SON AHAU ArriH 
 HIM. 
 
 BOOK VIM. 
 
 to God, and neither did nor designed any 
 thing l)Ut what had relation to the observation 
 of the laws. He made a reformation of his 
 kingdom, and cut off whatsoever was wicked 
 therein, and purified it from every impurity. 
 Now he had an army of chosen men, that 
 were armed with targets and spears : out of 
 the tribe of Judali three hundred thousand ; 
 and out of tlie tribe of Benjamin, that bore 
 shields and drew bows, two hundred and fifty 
 thousand ; but when he had already reigned 
 ten years, Zerah, king of Ethiopia,! made an 
 expedition against liim, with a great aiiny of 
 nine hundred thousand foot-men, and one 
 hundred thousand horsemen, and three hun- 
 dred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah, 
 a city that belonged to the tribe of Judah. 
 Now wlien Zerah had passed so far with hii 
 own army, Asa met him, and put liis 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 thou- 
 sands of the enemy : " For," said he, " 1 
 depend on nothing else but that assistance 
 which I expect from thee, which is able to 
 make the fewer superior to the more numer- 
 ous, and the weaker to the stronger ; and 
 thence it is alone tliat I venture to meet Ze- 
 rah and fight him." 
 
 2. While Asa was saying this, God gave 
 him a signal of victory, and joiniiig baltle 
 cheerfully on account of what God had fore- 
 told about it, he slew a great many of the 
 £t':iopians; and when he had put them iv 
 (light, he pursued them to the country of 
 Gerar; and when ihey left ofi' killing their 
 enemies, they betook tliemselves to spoiling 
 them (for the city Gerar was already taken), 
 and to spoiling their camp, so Uiat they car- 
 ried off much gold, and much silver, and a 
 great deal of [other] prey, and camels, and 
 great cattle, and flocks of sheep. Accord- 
 ingly, when Asa and his army hail obtained 
 such a victory, and such wealth from God, 
 they returned to Jerusalem. Now, as thev 
 were coming, a prophet, whose name «as 
 Azariah, met them on the road, and bade 
 them stop their journey a little, and began to 
 say to them tlius: — That the reason why they 
 had obliiined this victory from God was this, 
 that they had showed themselves righteous and 
 religious men, and had done every thing ac- 
 cording to the will of God ; that therefore, he 
 said, if they persevered tlierein, God would 
 
 against that idolatry and rehellion fully appeirtd; Ihr 
 riinjiniler were tlifiehy seriously cautioned not to per- 
 sist III them, aiiM a liiild of lialaiicc or equilibrium was 
 m:ulc lH.'t»pen the ten and Uie two tribes for the tunc to 
 Utimc; while otherwise ibe (icti'etually idolatrous and 
 <i I. Now Asa, the king of Jerusalem, was ; rtlM.Uious ten tribes would naturallv have been Iwo 
 
 if an excellent character, and had a regard I r";y^'f"' '?%''''''"" 'r.''^- "•"^■'' wV''''rV>' '"'"'''^■'''" 
 
 " I l\ tree lK)tli from such idolntry and rebtlnon; nor is 
 
 I iberc liny reason to lioiiht of the truth of the prudigi- 
 
 • By tliis terrilile and perfectlv unparallclcil slaughter l <ni.« luimbtr .slain upon so signal uii ixxsiiion. 
 
 iC 5'i '.(H'O men of tlu- ue»ly idnlatmu* and nlx-liious I t The reader ii to remember, tliat Cus/t is not IT.il'W 
 
 ten triboi, God's luijh duii>l<a.suca oud iudi^iuiion ' p<a, but Arabia. 5>«e Bovhart. i^ iv, cli. ii. 
 
 ~v 
 
CHAP. XII 
 
 grant that they should always overcome their 
 enemies, and live happily ; but that if tiiey 
 left off his worship, all things shall fall out 
 on the contrary ; and a time should come,* 
 wherein no true prophet shall be left in your 
 whole multitude, nor a priest who shall deli- 
 ver you a true answer from the oracle ; but 
 your cities shall be overtiirown, and your na- 
 tion scattered over the whole earth, and live 
 the life of strangers and wanderers. So he 
 advised ihem, 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 ; and all in common, and 
 every one in particular, took great care to 
 behave themselves rigliteousl}'. The king 
 also sent some to take care that those in the 
 country should observe the laws also. 
 
 3. And this was the state of Asa, king of 
 the two tribes. I now return to Baasha, 
 the king of the multitude of the Israelites 
 who slew Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and 
 retained the government. He dwelt in the 
 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 before- 
 hand, that his whole family should be de- 
 stroyed, 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 
 tlie first place, tended to their own happi- 
 ness; and, in the neitt place, were pleasing 
 to God : that he had imitated this very wick- 
 ed 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 wiili him, since he had been guilty 
 of the like wickedness. But Baasha, though 
 he heard beforehand what miseries would be- 
 fal him and his whole family for their inso- 
 lent 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 re- 
 pent of his past actions, nor endeavour to ob- 
 tain 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, wlien the prophet foretold to him 
 what would come to pass, grow worse, as if 
 what were tlireatened, the perdition of his fa- 
 mily and the ilestruction of bis house (which 
 are really among the greatest of evils), were 
 
 • Hire is a very great error in our Hebrew copy in 
 Uiis place (-' Chroii. vi, 5 — 6), as appl;.ing what foUows 
 to times pa-it, and not to times future; wlience that text 
 i£ qui^! misapplied by Sii' I»aac Newtou. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 23 ; 
 
 good things ; and, as if lie were a combatant 
 for wickedness, he every day took more and 
 inore pains for it ; and at last he took his 
 army, and assaulted a certain considerable 
 city called Ramah, which was forty furlongs 
 distant from Jerusalem; and when he had 
 taken it, he fortified it, having determined 
 beforehand to leave a garrison in it, that they 
 might thence make excursions, and do mis- 
 chief to the kingdom of Asa. 
 
 4. 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 migiit do 
 to tlie country over which he reigned, he sent 
 ambassadors to the king of the Damascens, 
 with gold and silver, desiring his assistance, 
 and putting him in mind that we have had a 
 friendship together from the times of our 
 forefatheis. 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 spoil- 
 ed others ■. Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmairi,-|' 
 and many others. Now when the king of 
 Israel heard this, he left off building and for- 
 tifying Ramah, and returned presently to as- 
 sist his own people under the distresses they 
 were in j but Asa made use of the materials 
 that were prepared for building that city, for 
 building in the same place two strong cities, 
 the one of which was called Geba, and tlie 
 other Mizpah ; so that after tliis, Baasha had 
 no leisure to make expeditions against Asa, 
 for he was prevented by death, and was bu- 
 ried in the city Tirzah ; and Elah, his son, 
 took the kingdom, who, wlien he had reigned 
 two years, died, being treacherously slain by 
 Zimri, the captain of half his army ; for when 
 he was at Arza, his steward's house, he per- 
 suaded some of the horsemen that were un- 
 der him to assault Elali, and by that means 
 he slew him when be was without his armed 
 men, and his captains, for they were all busied 
 in the siege of Gibbttlion, a city of the Phi- 
 listines, 
 
 5. When Zimri, the captain of the army, 
 had killed Elaii, he took the kingdom hiiru 
 self, and, according to Jehu's prophecy, slew 
 all the house of Baasha ; for it came to pass 
 tliat Baasha's house utterly perished, on ac- 
 
 t This Ahelinain, or, in Josephus's copy, Abellar>e 
 that iKlonged to tlie land of Israel, and bordered on tlis 
 country of Damascus, is supposed, both by Hudson and 
 Spauheim, to be the same with Abel, or Abila, whence 
 came Abilene. This may t>e that city so denominated 
 from Abel th ■ righteous, tliere buried ; concerning the 
 shedding of whose blood within the compass of the land 
 of Israel, 1 understand our Saviour's words, about th« 
 fatal war and o\ ertlirow of Judea by Titus and his Ro 
 man army, " That upon vou may come all the right- 
 eous blood shed upon the land, from the blood of right- 
 eous Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, 
 whom ye slew between lliete.nple and the altar. Verily, 
 1 say unto you, all these things shall come upou tliii 
 generation." Matt, xxiii, To, 36 ; Luke xi. 5i. 
 
238 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VIII. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Wll E, BECAME MOKE WICKED THAN ALL THE 
 KINGS THAT HAD BEEN BEFORE HIM OF 
 THE ACTIONS OK THE PBOPHET ELIJAH ; 
 AND WHAT BEEEL NABOTH. 
 
 count of his impiety, in tlie same manner as 
 we have already described the destruction of 
 the house of Jerciboam ; but the army tliat 
 was besieging Gibbetlion, when tliuy Iieard 
 what had befallen the king, and tl)at when HOW aHAB, WHEN HE HAD TAKEN JEZEBEL TO 
 Zimri had killed him he had gained the king- 
 dom, they made Omri their general king, 
 who drew ofT his army from Gibbcthon, 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' § 1. Now Ahab, the king of Israel, dwelt in 
 to defend it, he fled into the inmost part of Samaria, and held the government for twenty- 
 the palace, and set it on fire, and burnt him- ] two years; and made no alteration in the 
 self with it, when he had reigned only seven ' conduct of the kings that were his predcces- 
 days. Upon which the people of Israel were sors, but only in such things as were of liis 
 presently divided, and part of them would own invention for the worse, and in his most 
 liave Tibui to be king, and part Omri ; but j gross wickedness. He imitated them in their 
 when those that were for Omri's ruling had wicked courses, and in their injurious behavi- 
 beaten Tibni, Omri reigned over all the mul- ! our towards God ; and more especially he 
 titude. Now it was in the thirtieth year of imitated the transgression of Jeroboam ; for 
 the reign of Asa that Omri reigned for twelve he worshipped the heifers that he had made; 
 years; six of these years he reigned in the and he contrived other absurd objects of wor- 
 city of Tirzah, and the re^t in the city called ship besides those heifers; he also took to 
 Semarcon, but named by the Greeks Sama-'wife the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the 
 ria ; but he himself called it Semarcon, from Tyrians and Sidonians, whose name was Je- 
 Senier, who sold him the mountain whereon zebel, of whom he learned to worship lierown 
 he built it. Now Omri was no way different i gods. This woman was active and bold, and 
 from those kings that reigned before him, fell into so great a degree of impurity and 
 
 but that he grew worse than they, for they 
 all sought how they might turn the people 
 away from God, by their daily wicked prac- 
 tices ; and on that accoimt it was that God 
 
 wickedness, that she built a temple to the god 
 of the Tyrians, which they called Belus, ant, 
 planted a grove of all sorts of trees; she alsl, 
 appointed priests and false proplicts to this 
 
 made one of them to be slain by another, and god. The king also himself had many such 
 that no one person of their families should : about him ; and so exceeded in madness and 
 
 remain. This Omri also died at Samaria, 
 and Ahab his son succeeded him. 
 
 6. Now by these events we may learn what 
 concern God hath for the afTalrs 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 
 
 wickedness all [the kings] that went l)efore 
 him. 
 
 2. Tliere was now a prophet of God .Al- 
 mighty, of Thesbon, a countrj'in Gilead, that 
 came to Aliab, and said to liim, tiiat God 
 foretold he would not send rain nor dew in 
 those years upon the country but wlitn he 
 should appear. And when he 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. 
 
 two tribes, attained, by God's blessing, a long ravens brought it to him every day ; but wlien 
 and a blessed old age, for his piety and right- thatriverwas dried up for want of rain, became 
 
 eousness, and died hapjiily, when he had 
 reigned forty and one years; and when he 
 was dead, liis son Jelioshaphat succeeded 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 
 the affairs of Ujis king. 
 
 to Zarephath, a city not far from Sidon and 
 Tyre, for it lay between them, and this at the 
 command of (iod, for [God told him] that he 
 should there find a woman, who was a widow, 
 that shwuld give him sustenance : so when t)« 
 was not far off' the city, he saw a woman that 
 laboured with her own hands, gathering of 
 sticks: so God informed him tiiat this wa^ 
 tlie woman who was to give him sustenance : 
 so he came and saluted her, and (iesircd l:cr 
 to bring him some water to drink ; but as she 
 was going so to do, he called to lier, and 
 would have her to bring him a loaf of bri-ad 
 also; whereupon she affirmed upon onth, 
 that she had at home nothing more than on« 
 handful of meal and a little oil, and that sh« 
 was going to gather some sticks, that &li« 
 might knead it, and make bread fur Iterscll 
 
CHAP. xiir. 
 
 and her son ; after which, she said, they must 
 ])erish, and bu consumed by the famine, for 
 tiiey had nothing for themselves any longer. 
 — Hereupon 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 fortel to thee that this vessel of meal 
 and this cruise of oi! shall not fail until God 
 send 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 prophet 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 : " Un- 
 der him, there was a want of rain from the 
 month Hyperberetaeus till the month Hyper, 
 beretaeus of the year following ; but when he 
 made supplications, there came great thun- 
 ders. This Ethbaal built the city Botrys, in 
 Phoenicia, and the city Auza, in Libya."— 
 By these words he designed tiie want of rain 
 that was in the days of Ahab ; for at that 
 time it was that Etlibaal also reigned over 
 the Tyrians, as Menander informs us. 
 
 3. Now this woman, of whom we spake 
 before, that sustained the prophet, when her 
 son was 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 reproach her for her sins, and that on 
 this account it was that her son was dead. 
 But he bid her be of good cheer, and 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 up- 
 per 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 re- 
 warding the woman who liad 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 miscliief ; and the child, be- 
 yond all expectation, came to life again. So 
 the mother returned tlie prophet thanks, and 
 said she was tlien clearly satisfied that God 
 did converse with him. 
 
 4. After a little while Elijah came to king 
 Aliab, according to God's will, to inform liim 
 that rain was coming.* Now tlie famine 
 
 » Josephus, in his present copies, says, That a little 
 while after the recovery of the widow's son of Sarcpta, 
 Goil sent rain upon the earth ; whereas, in our other 
 copies, it is after many days, 1 Kings xviii. 1. Several 
 years are also intimated there, and in Josephus, (sect. 2.) 
 as belonging to this drought and famine ; nay, we have 
 tlie express mention of the third year, which 1 suppose 
 was reckoned from the recovery of the widow's son and 
 theeeasing of this drought in Phoenicia (which, as Me- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 23D 
 
 had seized upon the whole country, and there 
 was a great want of what was necessary for 
 sustenance, insomuch 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 tlie 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 liabi- 
 table earth,f to discover the prophet Elijah, 
 and they could not find Iiim, he bade Oba- 
 diah accompany 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 liappened, 
 that the same time when queen Jezebel slew 
 the prophets, this Obadiah had hidden a hun- 
 dred prophets, and had fed them with no- 
 thing but bread and water. But when Oba- 
 diah 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 bid him go to the king, and tell 
 him that I am here ready to wait on him. 
 But Obadiah replied, " What evil have I 
 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 so igno- 
 rant as not to know that the king had left no 
 place untouched unto which he bad 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 
 appear 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 any 
 where upon earth, he should be put to deatli. 
 He desired him therefore to take care of his 
 preservation ; and told him how diligently he 
 had provided for those of his o.vn profession, 
 and had saved a hundred prophets, when Je- 
 zebel slew the rest of them, anti had kept 
 them concealed, and that they had been sus- 
 tained by him. But Elijah bade him fear 
 nothing, but go to the king; and he assured 
 him upon oath, that he would certaiidy show 
 himself to Ahab that very day. 
 
 5. So when Obadiah had informed the king 
 that Elijah was there, Ahab met him, and 
 asked him in anger, if he were the man that 
 
 nander informs us here, lasted one whole year) : and 
 both our Saviour and St. Jamcv iRirm, that this drought 
 lasteil three years and six months, as their copies of the 
 Old Testament tlien informed them, I.uke iv. 1'5 ; 
 James v. 17 
 
 t Josephus here seems to mean, that this drought 
 atfected all the habitable e.irth, and presently all tha 
 earth, as our Saviour says it was upon all the earth, 
 Luke iv. 25. They who restrain these expressions tc 
 the land of Judea alone, go without sufficient authoii- 
 ty or examples. 
 
240 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THK JLWb. 
 
 afflicted tn* people of tl>e Hebrews, and was 
 the occasion of the droiifjlit tlicy lay under ? 
 But Elijah, without any Hattery, said that he 
 was himself the man ; lie and his house, wliich 
 brougljt such atllictions upon them ; and that 
 'jy introducinj; strange gods into their country, 
 and worshiping then), and by leaving their 
 own, who was the only true God, and having 
 no manner of regard to him. However, he 
 bade him go liis way, and gather together all 
 tlie people to him, to mount Carniel, witli his 
 own prophets, and those of his wife, telling 
 him how many there were of them, as also the 
 prophets of the groves, about four hundred 
 in number. And as all the men whom Ahab 
 sent for ran away to the forenamed mountain, 
 the prophet Elijah stood in the midst of them, 
 and said, " How long will you live thus in un- 
 certainty of mind and opinion ?" He also ex- 
 horted them, that in case they esteemed their 
 own country God to be the true and only God, 
 they would ft>llow 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 wliat 
 nc said, Elijah desired, that, for a trial of the 
 power of the stiange gods and of their own 
 God, he, who was his only prophet, while they 
 had four hundred, 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 tlie wood on fire, for if that were done, 
 they would thence learn the nature of the true 
 God. This proposal pleased the people. So 
 Elijali 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 invocation 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 ; and 
 when these prophets had done so from morn- 
 ing till noon, and cut themselves with swords 
 and lances,* according to the customs of their 
 country, and he was about to ofler his sacri- 
 fice, he bid [the prophets] go away ; but bade 
 [tlie peoplel come near and observe what he 
 did, lest he should privately hide fire among 
 the pieces of wood. So, upon the approach 
 of the multitude, he took twelve stones, one 
 for each tribe of the people of the Hebrews, 
 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 h.id 
 laid th« pieces of the sacrifices, he ordered 
 them to fill (our barrels with the water of the 
 fbimtnin, and to pour it u|)on the altar, till it 
 ran over it, and till the trench was filled with 
 
 • Mr. Siianhfiin takes notice here, fliat in the wor- 
 «lii|) lif Midir.i (ihe gad of the Persians! the priests cut 
 Uii-mielves in Ihc same manner as did these priests in 
 their invucaUm of Kaal (tiic god of the I'hu-mciaiik) 
 
 the water poured into it. When lie had dont 
 this, he began to pray to God, and toinvocat« 
 him to make manifest liis power to a people 
 that had already been in an error a longtime ; 
 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 sa- 
 crifice, till the very water was set on fire, and 
 the ))lace was become dry. 
 
 G. Now when the Israelites saw this, they 
 fell down upon the ground, and worshipped 
 one God, and called him The great and tlit 
 only true God; but they called tlie others 
 mere names, framed by the evil and wild 
 opinions of men. So they caught their pro- 
 phets, and, at the command of Elijah, slew 
 them. Elijah also said to the king, that he 
 should go to dinner without any farther con- 
 cern, for that in a little time he would see 
 God send them rain. Accordingly, Ahau 
 went liis way ; but Elijah went up to the 
 highest top of Mount Carmel, and sat down 
 upon the ground, arid leaned his head upon 
 liis knees, and bade his servant go up to r 
 certain elevated place, and look towards the 
 sea, and when he should see a cloud rising 
 anywhere, he should give him notice of it, foi 
 till that time the air had been clear. When 
 Ihe servant had gone up, and had said nian_» 
 times tliat he saw nothing, at the seventh 
 time of his going up, he said that he saw ft 
 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 hi 
 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 prophet was under a divine 
 fury, and ran along with the king's chariot 
 unto Jezreel, a city of Izar •!■ i^Isachar.] 
 
 7. When Jezibel, the wife of Ahab, under- 
 stood what signs Elijah had wrought, and how 
 he had slain her prophets, she was angry, and 
 sent messengers to him, and by them threaten- 
 ed to kill him, as he had destroyed her pro- 
 phets. At this Elijah was afl'righted, and fieil 
 to the city called Hecrsheba, which is situate at 
 the utmost limits of the country belonging to 
 the tribe of Judah, towards the land of Edom; 
 and there he left his servant, and went awaj 
 into the desert. He prayed also that h« 
 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 ilipt 
 under a certain tree; and when somebody 
 awakened him, and he was risen up, he found 
 food set by him and water ; so when Irj had 
 eaten, and recovered his strength by that hit 
 
 t For Iztir we may here read (with Hudson and Coo 
 ceius) Isachar, i. t. of the trilx- of Is-ichar, for to that 
 tribe did Jezreel belong ; and presently, at the liii;in. 
 mug of seet. 8, as also eh. xv. sect. 1, we may ri:id foi 
 /:«r, with one MS. nearly, and the Scripture, ./.-ifW 
 for liial wo* Ihe city meant in tlie hi^oiy of NalxjiU 
 
i,IIAP. XIll. 
 
 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 entered 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 was come thither, and had left the 
 city ? he said, that because he had slain the 
 prophets of the foreign gods, and had per- 
 suaded the people tJiat 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, and should thereby know what he was to 
 do, he came out of the cave the next day 
 accordingly, when he both heard an earth- 
 quake, and saw the bright splendour of afire; 
 and after a silence made, a divine voice ex- 
 horted him not to be disturbed with the cir- 
 cumstances he was in, for that none of his 
 enemies should have power over him. The 
 voice also commanded him to return home, 
 and to ordain Jeliu, the son of Nimshi, to be 
 king over their own multitude ; and Hazael, 
 of Damascus, to be over the Syrians ; and 
 Elislia, 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 Jehn. So Elijah, upon hearing this charge, 
 returned into the land of tlie Hebrews. And 
 when he found Eli!.ha, the son of Shaphat, 
 ploughing.and certain others with him, driving 
 twelve yoke of oxen, he came to him, and 
 cast his own garment upon him ; upon which 
 Eiisha began to prophesy presently, and leav- 
 ing his oxen, he followed Elijah. And when 
 he desired leave to salute his parents, Elijah 
 gave liim 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 tlie days of his life. And thus 
 have I dispatched the affairs in which this 
 prophet was concerned. 
 
 8. Now there was one Naboth, of the city 
 Izar [Jezreel], who had a field adjoining to 
 that of the king- the king would have per- 
 suaded 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, whicli he had by inheritance from his 
 father. Upon this the king was grieved, as 
 if he had received an injury, wiien he could 
 not get another man's possession, and he 
 would neither wash himself, nor take anv 
 food : and when Jezebel asked him what it 
 was that troubled him, and wFiy he would 
 neither wash himself, nor eat cither dinner 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 241 
 
 or supper, he related to her the per\erseness 
 of Naboth ; and how when he had made use 
 of gentle words to him, and such as were be- 
 neath the royal authority, he had been affront- 
 ed, and had not obtained what he desired. 
 However, she persuaded him not to be cast 
 down at this accident, but to leave oft" his i 
 grief, and return to the usual care of his body, ; 
 for that she would take care to have Naboth , 
 punished : and she immediately sent letters ! 
 to the rulers of the Israelites [Jezreelites] in j 
 Allah's name, and commanded them to fast, I 
 and to assemble a congregation, and to set Na- | 
 both at the head of them, because he was of 
 an illustrious 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 tes- 
 tified against, as the queen had written to 
 them, that he had blasphemed against God 
 and Ahab the king, she desired him to tiike 
 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 E- 
 lijah the prophet to the field of Nabotli, to 
 speak to Ahab, and to say to him, tliat he 
 had slain the true owner of that field unjustly. 
 And as soon as he came to hiin, and the king 
 had said that he might do with him what he 
 pleased (for he thought it a reproach to liinj 
 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 coun- 
 try. 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 con- 
 fessed his sins, and endeavoured thus to ap- 
 pease God. But God said to the prophet, 
 that while Ahab was living he would put 
 off the punishment of his family, because he 
 repented of those insolent crimes he liad 
 been guilty of, but that still he xvould fulfil 
 his threatening under Ahab's son. Which 
 message the prophet delivered to the king. 
 
 ♦ " The Jews weep to this day (says Jerome, here 
 cited by Itcland) and roll themselves ujion xickcloih, in 
 ashes, barefoot, upon such oc-casions. To which ^pan- 
 heim adds, •' lliat after the same manlier Bcinice, when 
 his life was In danger, stood at the tribunal of Florus 
 barefoot." (Of the War, b. ii, chap. 15, sect. 1.)— See the 
 like of David, ii Sam. XT, 3U Aiitiq. b. vii, chap, ix, 
 sect. 2. 
 
21ri 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VIII 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 now HADAl), KING OF DAMAS< L'S AND Ot SYRIA, 
 
 WAi)i: TWO EXPKumoNS against AHAU, 
 
 AND WAS BEATEN. 
 
 § 1. When the affairs of Alial) were thus, at 
 that very time the sou of Hadad [Benhadad], 
 w lio was king of the Syrians and of Damascus, 
 got togetiier an army out of all his country, 
 and procured thirty-two kings beyond Eu- 
 phrates, to be his auxiliaries: so he made an 
 expedition against Ahab ; but because Ahgh's 
 army was not like that of Benhadad, he did 
 not set it in array to fight him, but having shut 
 up every thing that was in tiie country, in the 
 strongest cities he had, he abode in Samaria 
 himself, for tiie walls about it were very strong, 
 and it appeared to be not easily to be taken 
 in other resp-cfs also. So the king of Syria 
 took his army with him, and came to Samaria, 
 and placed his army round about the city, and 
 besieged it. He also sent a herald to Ahab, 
 and desired he would admit the ambassadors 
 he would send him, by whom he would let 
 him knosv his pleasure. So upon the king of 
 Israel's permission for him to send, those am- 
 bassadors 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. Itpon this Ahab bade the 
 ambassadors to go back, and tell their king 
 that both he himself, and all that he hath, 
 were his possessions. And when these am- 
 bassadors had told this to Bonhadad, he sent 
 to iiim again, and desired, since he confessed 
 that all he had was his, that he would admit 
 those servants of his which he should send the 
 next day ; and he commanded him to deliver 
 to those whom he should send, whatsoever, 
 upon their searcliing his palace and the houses 
 of his friends and kindred, they should find to 
 be excellent in its kind ; but that wliat did not 
 please them tliey should leave to him. At 
 this second enibasssage of the king of Syria, 
 Ahab was surprised, and gathered together 
 the multitude to a congregation, and told 
 them, tliat for liimself he was ready, for tlieir 
 safety and peace, to give up his own wives and 
 children to the enemy, and to yield to him all 
 his own possessions, tor tliat was w hat the Sy- 
 rian king required at his first embassage ; Ijut 
 tliat 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 disagree- 
 able terms he oilers concerning you to bring 
 a war upon us ; however, I will do what you 
 
 shall resolve is fit to de done " But the mul- 
 titude advised him to hearken to none of his 
 proposals, but to despise him, and be in readi- 
 ness to fight him. Accordingly, when he had 
 given the ambassadors this answer to be re- 
 ported, that he still continued in the mind to 
 comply with what terms heat first desired, for 
 the safety of the citizens ; but as for his second 
 desires, lie cannot submit to them, — he dis- 
 missed them. 
 
 2. 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 aff'right liim. Ahab answered, that 
 he ought not to vaunt himself when he had 
 only put on his armour, but when he should 
 have coiKjuered 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 ; who then 
 immediately gave orders for proceeding thus 
 — To make lines round the city, and raise a 
 bulwark, and to prosecute the siege all man- 
 ner of ways. Now, as this was doing, Ahab 
 was in a great agony, and all his people with 
 him ; but he took courage, and was freed from 
 his fears, upon a certain prophet coming to 
 him, and saying to him, that God had pro- 
 mised to subdue so many ten thousands of 
 his enemies under him ; and when he inquir- 
 ed by whose means the victory was to he ob- 
 tained, he said, " By the sons of the princes ; 
 but under thy conduct as their leader, by rea- 
 son of their unskilfulness [in war]." Upon 
 which he called for the sons of the princes, 
 and found them to be two hundred and thirty- 
 two persons. So when he was informed that 
 the king of Syria had betaken himself to feast- 
 ing and repose, 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 tlieni, that if these men 
 were come out for fighting, they should bind 
 tliem, and bring them to him ; and tliat if 
 they came out peaceably they should do the 
 same. Now Ahab liad another army ready 
 within the walls, but the sons of the princes 
 fell upon the out-guard, and slew many of 
 tliem, 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 suddenly up- 
 on the Syrians, beat them, for they did not 
 think they would have come out ; on which 
 account it was that tliey assaulted them when 
 they were naked • and drunk, insomuch that 
 
 • Mr. liclanil notes here very truly, that the word 
 tuiJl'r'/d(>e>tiut alwiiys sijpiify enlireli/naH-fd ; but some- 
 tiincb without men's usual annuur, "without their usual 
 robes or upiHT carmenLs; a> when Virgil bids the hus- 
 Ijanduiau plougli naked, ajid sow naked ; when Jum^ 
 
 "Y 
 
J~ 
 
 CHaP. XIV. 
 
 they left all tlieir armour behind them when 
 they fled out of the camp, and the king him- 
 self escaped witli difficulty, by Hying 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 and silver, he took Benhadad's cha- 
 riots and horses, and returned to the city : but 
 as the prophet told him he ought to have his 
 army ready, because the Syrian king would 
 make another expedition against him the next 
 year, Aiiab was busy in making provision for 
 it accordingly. 
 
 3. Now IJenhadad, when he had saved him- 
 self, 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 fight 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 join- 
 ed battle with them in the plain they should 
 beat them. They also gave him this farther 
 advice, to send home those kings whom he 
 had brought as his auxiliaries, but to retain 
 their army, and to set captains over it instead 
 of the kings, and to raise an army out of 
 their country, and let them be in the place of 
 the former who perished in the battle, toge- 
 ther with horses and chariots. So he judged 
 their counsel to be good, and acted according 
 to it in the management of the army. 
 
 4. At the beginning of the spring, Benha- 
 dad took his army with him, and led it against 
 the Hebrews ; and when he was come to a 
 certain city which was called Aphek, 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 were com- 
 pared 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 liis 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 
 
 phus says (Aiitiq. b. iv, ch. iii, sect. 2), that God had 
 given the Jews the security of armour when they were 
 naked ; and when he here says, that Ahab fell on the 
 Syrians when they were both naked and drunk ; when 
 (Antiq. b. xi, ch. v, sect. 8) he says, that Nehenuah 
 commanded those Jews that were liuilding the walls of 
 Jerusalem to take care to ha\ e their armour on upon 
 occasion, that the enemy niighc not fall upon them 
 naked. I may add, that the case seems to be the same 
 in the Scripture, when it says that Saul lay down naked 
 .imongthc prophets (t Sam. xix, 24) -, wnen it says that 
 Isaiah wrlKed naked and barefoot (Isa. xx, 2, 3); and 
 when it also says ilwit Peter, before he girt hisfisher'scoat 
 to him, was naked, John xxi, ?. What is .said of David 
 alsopives light to tliis, who was reproached by Mic.hal for 
 " dancing before the ark, and uncovering himself ni the 
 eyes of his handmaids, as one of the \ain fellows shame- 
 fully uncovereth himself" (2 Sam. vi, 14,20); yet it is 
 there expressly said (ver. 14), tliat " David was girded 
 with a linen ephod," i. e. he had laid aside his robes of 
 state, and put on the sacerdotal, Levitical, or sacred gar- 
 ments, proper for such a solemnity. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 243 
 
 seven days ; but on the last of those days, 
 when tlie enemies came out of their camp, 
 and put themselves in array in order to light, 
 Ahab also brought out his own army ; and 
 when the battle was joined, and they fought 
 valiantly, he put the enemy to flight, 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 killed by the 
 walls falling upon them, being in nunibei 
 tvventy-seven thousand.* Now there were 
 slain in this battle a hundred thousand more; 
 but Benhadad, the king of the Syrians, fled 
 away, with certain others of his most faithful 
 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 de- 
 liverance froin Ahab, in case he would give 
 them leave to go to him : he gave them leave 
 accordingly. So they came to Ahab, clothed 
 in sackcloth, with ropes about their heads 
 (for this was the ancient manner of supplica- 
 tion among the Syrians),-}- and said, that Ben- 
 hadad desired he would save him ; and tliat 
 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 bro- 
 ther. So they received assurances upon oath 
 from hiiTi, that when he came to him he should j 
 receive no harm from him, and then went and i 
 brought him out of the cellar wherein he was I 
 hid, and brought him to Ahab as he sat in ' 
 his chariot. So Benhadad worshiped him ; 
 and Ahab gave him his hand, and made him 
 come up to him into his chariot, and kissed 
 hiin, and bid him be of good cheer, and not 
 to expect that any inischief 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 to come to Samaria. So they confirmed 
 
 * Josephus's number, two myriads and seven thou- 
 sand, agrees here with that in our other copies, as those 
 that were slain by the falling down of the walls of 
 Aphek; but I suspected at first that this number in Jo- 
 sephus's present copies could not be his original number, 
 because he calls them " oligoi," a few, which could 
 hardly be ^aid of so many as twenty -seven thousand, and 
 because ol the improbability of the fall of a particular 
 wall killing so many ; yet when I consider Josephus's 
 next words, how the rest which were slain in the battle 
 were " ten other myriads," that twenty seven thousand 
 were but a few in comparison of a hundred thousand ; 
 and that it was not " a wall," as in our English version, 
 — but " the »all," or " the entire walls" of the city that 
 fell down, as in all the originals. 
 
 t This manner of suppluation for men's lives among 
 the Syrians, with ropes or halters about their heads o't 
 necks, is, I suppose, no strange thing in later ages, ev tii 
 ui our own country. 
 
244 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 tlieir covenant by oatlis ; and Aliab made 
 liim many presents, and sent him back to liis 
 own kingdom. And this was (he conclusion 
 of the war that }>enhadad made against Ahab 
 and tiie Israelites. 
 
 5. But a certain pro))lict, wiiose name was 
 Micaiali,* c.inie to one of the Israelites, and 
 bade him smite him on the head, for by so do- 
 ing he would pU'ase God ; but when he would 
 not do so, he foretold to him, tliat since he 
 disobeyed the commands of God, lie should 
 meet with a lion and be destroyed by him. 
 When this sad accident had befallen the man, 
 the prophet came again to another, and gave 
 
 COOK VIII. 
 
 hoshaphat, tlie king of Jerusalem, who, when 
 he had augmented his kingdoni, and had set 
 garrisons in the cities of the countries belong- 
 ing to his subjects, and had put such gnrri. 
 sons no less into those cities which were 
 taken out of the tribe of Ephraim, by his 
 grandl'ather Abijah, 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 religious, and seeking to do somewhat 
 every day that should be agreeable and ac- 
 ceptable to God. The kings also that were 
 round about him honoured him with the prc- 
 
 him the same injunction; so he smote him, | sents tlicy made him, till the riches that he 
 
 had acquired were immensely great, and the 
 glory lie had gained was of a most exalted 
 nature. 
 
 2. 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 people that were 
 under him, city by city, the laws of AJoses, 
 and to keep them, and to be diligent in the 
 worship of God. With this the whole jnul- 
 titude was so pleased, that they were not so 
 eagerly set upon or atl'ected with any thing 
 so much a» the observation of the laws. The 
 neighbouring nations also continued to love 
 Jehoshaphat, and to be at peace with him. 
 The Philistines paid their appointed tribute, 
 and the Arabians supplied liim every year 
 with three hundred and sixty lambs, and as 
 many kids of the goats. He also fortified 
 the great cities, which were many in number, 
 and of grea consequence. He prepared al- 
 so a mighty army of soldiers and weajioiu 
 against their enemies. Now the army of 
 men that wore their armour, was three hun- 
 dred thousand of the tribe of Judah, of whom 
 Adnah was the chief; but John was chief of two 
 hundred thousand. The same man was chief 
 of the tribe of Benjamin, and had two hun- 
 dred thousand archers under him. There was 
 another chief, whose name was Jehozabad, 
 CONCERNING JEHOSHAPHAT, THE KI>'G OF JE- ! who had a hundred and fourscore thousand 
 RUSAi.iiM ; A.VD HOW AHAB MADE AN EX- ' armed men. This multitude was distributed 
 PEUITION AGAINST THE sYKtANS, AND WAS to be rcadv for the king's service, besides 
 
 id 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 custody of one of the prison- 
 ers committed to him by an officer, and that 
 the prisoner being run away, he was in dan- 
 ger of losing his own life by the means of 
 that officer, who had threatened him, that if 
 the prisoner escaped he would 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 by the king to be JMicaiah 
 the prophet, who m;de use of this artifice as 
 a prelude to the following words; for he 
 said that God would punish him who had 
 suH'ered Benhadad, a blasphemer against him, 
 to escape punishment; and that he would so 
 bring it about, that he should die by the 
 other's means,-|- and his peop.e by the other's 
 army. Upon which Ahab was very angry 
 at the prophet, and gave commandment that 
 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. 
 
 ASSISTED THEREIN BY JEHOSHAI'HAT, BUT 
 WAS HIMSELF OVERCOME IN BATTLE, AND 
 PERISHED THEREIN. 
 
 § 1. And these were the circumstances in 
 which Ahab was. But I now return to J«i- 
 
 those whom he sent to the best fortified cities. 
 3. Jehoshaphat took for his son Jehoram 
 to wife, the daughter of Ahab, the king of 
 the ten tribes, whose name was Athaiiah. 
 And «hen, after some time, he went to Sa- 
 maria, Ahab received him courteously, and 
 I treated the army that followed him in a splen- 
 
 « It is here remarkable, that in Joscphus's copy, this 'did manner, with great plenty of corn and 
 proiilict, whiisc severe dcnunciAtiim ot a clisdbetlient i .• i ■ i i i • j i . 
 
 jierMjiis slaughitT by a lion had lately come ti.p.-iss. was wine, and ot slain beasts; and tU'sired that 
 no other ihau Miuaiah, the son of Imlali, who, a< he |,e would join with him in his war against 
 now denounced tiod'j judgment on disobedient Ahab, , , • ■• o • .i . l • i . e 
 
 seems dirctlly to have been that ver\ prophet whom the I the king oJ byria, that he might recover trora 
 same Ahab, in 1 Kings xxii, 8, 18, complains of " as 
 
 one whom he hated, t>Ka<iic he did not prophecy gooil is this, that, during the Jewish theocracy, God acted cn- 
 concerning him, but evil ;" and who, in that ihaner. | tircly as the Supreme King of Israel, and the Supreme 
 openly repeats his denunciations against him ; all which ; General at' their armies; and always ox|>ci'lcil that the 
 came to pass accordingly ; nor is there any reason to ' Israelites should be in such alwolute subjivtion to him, 
 doubt but this and the fomicr were the very same pro- 1 IhWr Supreme and Heavenly King, and General of their 
 plift. armies, ;is -ubjccts and soldiers are to their carthlv kingi 
 
 + What is most remarkable in this history, and in and geinT.iU, and that usually without knowing the par 
 nany histories on other occasions iu the Old Testament | licular reasons of their iiijuuctions. 
 
 "V 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XV 
 
 him the city Ramoth, in Gifead ; for though 
 it had belonged to his father, yet had the 
 king of Syria's father taken it away from 
 him ; and wpon Jehoshaphat's promise to af- 
 ford him his assistance (for indeed his army 
 was not inferior to the other), and iiis sending 
 for his army from Jerusalem to Samaria, the 
 two kings went out of the city, and each of 
 tliem sat on his own throne, and each gave their 
 orders to their several armies. Now Jehosh- 
 aphat 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 coun- 
 sel to make that expedition at this time, for 
 there was peace at that time between Aliab 
 and the king of Syria, which had lasted three 
 years, from the time he had taken him cap- 
 tive till that day. 
 
 4. So Ahab called his own prophets, being 
 in number about four hundred, and bade 
 them inquire of God whether he would grant 
 him the victory, if he made an expedition 
 agiiinst Benhadud, and enable him to over- 
 throw that city, for whose sake it was that he 
 was going to war. Now these prophets gave 
 thiir counsel for making this expedition ; and 
 said, that be 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 were 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 a one, but that he hated 
 him, as having prophesied evil to him, and 
 having foretold that he should be overcome 
 and slain by the king of Syria, and that for 
 this cause he had him now in prison, and 
 that his name was Micaiah, the son of Inilah. 
 But upon Jehoshaphat's desire that he might 
 oe produced, Ahab sent a eunuch, who 
 brought Micaiah to him. Now the eirauch 
 had informed him by the way, that all the 
 otlier prophets liad foretold that the king 
 should gain the victory ; but he said, that il 
 was not lawful for liim to lie against God ; 
 but that he must speak what he should say to 
 him about tlie king, whatsoever it were. 
 VVlicn 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 Syrians, 
 and dispersed upon the mountains by th«m, 
 as flocks of sheep are dispersed when their 
 shepherd is slain. He said farther, 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 Mi- 
 caiah had thus spoken, Ahab said to Jehosh- 
 aphat, — " I told thee a little while ago the 
 disposition of the man with regard to me, and 
 that he uses to prophesy evil to me." Upon 
 which Micaiah replied, that he ought to hear 
 
 245 
 
 all, whatsoever it be, that God foretels; 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 sus- 
 pense with himself: but Zedekiali, 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 foretelling futu- 
 rities than Micaiah;* for he foretold that the 
 dogs should lick his blood in the city of Jez- 
 reeJ, in the field of Naboth, as they licked the 
 blood of Naboth, who by his means was there 
 stoned to death by the multitude ; that there- 
 fore 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 smile 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 tliou 
 hast certainly heard of tliat accident." So 
 when, upon his smiting Micaiah, no harm 
 happened to him, Ahab took courage, and 
 readily led his army against the king of Sy- 
 ria ; 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 liorns of 
 iron, and said to Ahab, that God made those 
 horns signals, that by them he should over- 
 throw all Syria. But Micaiah replied, that 
 Zedekiah, in a few days, should go from one 
 secret chamber to another, 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 Amon, the governor of the city, and 
 to give him nothing but bread and water. 
 
 5. Then did Ahab, and Jehoshapliat tlie 
 king of Jerusalem, take their forces, and 
 marciied to llamoth, a city of Gilead ; and 
 when the king of Syria heard of this expedi- 
 tioii, he brought out his army to oppose them, 
 and pitched his camp not far from Ramoth. 
 Now Ahab and Jehoshaphat had agreed that 
 Ahab should lay aside his royal robes, but 
 that the kmg of Jerusalem should put on his 
 [Ahab's] proper habit, and stand before the 
 army, in order to disprove, by this artifice, 
 
 * These reasonings of Zedekiah the false prophet, in 
 order to persuade Aliab not to believe Miciiah the tioie 
 prophet, are plausible; but being omitted in our other 
 copies, we cannot now tell whence Joscphus had them ; 
 whether from his owm temple copy, from some other 
 original author, or from certain ancient notes. That some 
 such plausiole objection was now raised against Micaiah 
 is vi'ri,' likely, otherwise Jelioshaphit, who used to dis- 
 believe all such false pronhet-s, could p.ever have been 
 induced to accompajiy Anab ii) Oicse desperate circum- 
 slaiice:>. 
 
 "V 
 
216 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VIII 
 
 wliat Mii-aiali liad foretold.* But Aliab's 
 fate found liim out without liis robes; for 
 Bcnhadad tlie king of Assyria had charged 
 his aiiny, by means of their commanders, to 
 kill nobody else l)ut only the king of Israel. 
 So when the Syrians, iiion their joining bat- 
 tle with the Israelites, saw Jehoshaphat stand 
 before the army, and conjectured that he was 
 Aliab, they fell violently upon him, and en- 
 compassed him round ; but when they were 
 near, aiwl knew that it was not he, they all 
 returned back ; and while the fight lasted 
 from the morning light till late in the even- 
 ing, 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 Benha- 
 dad, 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 
 rtm away ; but lie bid the driver of his cha- 
 riot to turn it back, and carry him out of the 
 battle, because he was sorely and mortally 
 wounded. However, he sat in his chariot 
 and endured the pain till sun-set, and then 
 ne fainted away and died. 
 
 6. And now the Syrian army, upon the 
 coming on of the night, retired to their camp ; 
 and when the herald belonging to the camp 
 
 * This reading ot Jaseiihus, th?t Johoshaiihat jHit on 
 not his own but Ahab's rolje^. in order to appi^ar to be 
 Ahab, while Aliab was witliout any robes at all, ami 
 hoped thereby to cseapc bis own evil late, and disprove 
 Micaiali's prophecy against him, is exceeding probable. 
 It gives great light also to this whole historv, and 
 shows, that alllwiigh Ahab hoped Jehoshaphat' would 
 be mistai-en for luin, and run the only risk of beinc 
 slain in the batilc, yet was he entirely disappointed, 
 while still the escape of the good man Jchobhaplial, and 
 the slaughter of the bad uian Ahab, demonstrated the 
 great c:i:>tinetioa tliat Divine htuvidence made betv.ixt 
 
 tllCBO. 
 
 ! gave notice that Ahab was dead, they returned 
 home ; and they took the dead body of Ahub 
 to Samaria, and l>uried it there; hut when 
 they had washed his chariot in the fountain 
 of Jezreel, which was bloody with the dead 
 body of the king, they acknowletigcd that the 
 prophecy of Elijah was true, t'or the dogs 
 licked his blood, and the harlots continued 
 afterwards to wash themselves in tliat foun- 
 tain ; but still lie died at Kamoth, as Micaiah 
 had foretold. And as what things were fore- 
 told should happen to Ahab by the two pro- 
 phets came to pass, we ought thence to have 
 high notions of God, and everywhere to ho- 
 nour 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,! ^"'^ ^^^''^^ foreknowledge 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, tliat there is no way of avoid- 
 ing it, even when we know it. It creeps 
 upon human souls, and tlatters them with 
 pleasing hopes, till it leads them about to the 
 place where it will be too hard for them. 
 Accordingly Ahab appears to have been de- 
 ceived thereby, till he disbelieved those that 
 foretold his defeat ; but by giving credit to 
 such as foretold what was grateful to liim, 
 was slain ; and his son Ahaziah succeeded 
 him. 
 
 + We ha»e here a very wise reflection of Josephus 
 aljout Divine I'rovidcnce, and what is derived from it, 
 prophecy, and the incvitatjle certainty of its aec-ora- 
 pli.<hmcnti and that when wickeil men think they take 
 proper methods to elude what is denounced against 
 thein, and to escape the divine judgments thereby 
 threatened them, without repentance, they are ever by 
 i'lovidenee infatuated to bring about their ouii ilestru(> 
 tion, and thereby withal to demonstrate tht i>erfect ve- 
 racity oi that tied whose ;)redictions ibey in vaiu ea 
 deuvoLy to elude. 
 
BOOK IX. 
 
 CONTAINING THK INTERVAL OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF AHAB TO THE CAPTIVITY OF THE TFN 
 
 TRIBES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 COXCERNIXG JEHOSHAPHAT AGAIN ; HOW HE 
 CONSTITUTED JUDGES, AND, BY GOU'S AS- 
 SISTANCE, OVERCAME HIS ENEMIES. 
 
 § I. When Jehoshaphat the king was come 
 to Jerusalem, from tlie assistance he had af- 
 forded Ahab, the king of Israel, when lie 
 fouglit with Benhadad, king of Syria, the pro- 
 phet Jehu met him, and accused him for as- 
 sisting Aliab, a man both impious and wick- 
 ed ; and said to him, that God was displeased 
 with him for so doing, but that he delivered 
 him from the enemy, notwithstanding he had 
 sinned, because of his own proper disposition, 
 which was good. Whereupon the king be- 
 took himself to thanksgivings and sacrifices 
 to God ; after which he presently went over 
 all that country which he ruled round 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 con- 
 stituted judges in every one of the cities of 
 his kingdom ; and charged them to have re- 
 gard to nothing so much in judging the mul- 
 tiude as to do justice, and not to be moved by 
 bribes, nor by the dignity of men eminent for 
 either their riches or their higli birth, but to 
 distribute justice equally to all, as knowir;^- 
 that God is conscious of every secret action 
 of theirs. When he had himself instructed 
 them thus, and gone over every city of the 
 two tribes, he returned to Jerusalem. 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 sentences with care and justice.* And 
 that if any of the people of his country had 
 differences of great consequence, they should 
 send them out of the otlier cities to these 
 
 » These judges, constituted by Jehoshaphat, were a 
 kiin\ of Jeri:s:ilem S.inlieiliim. out of the priests, the 
 Levi;es, and the piini-ip:'.! of tlie people, both here and 
 2 Chron. vix, s ; much !ik'^ the old Christian judicatures 
 of the bishop, the preibyiers, the deacons, and the pa> 
 pie. 
 
 judges, who would be obliged to give right- 
 eous sentences concerning such causes; and 
 this with the greater care, because it is pro- 
 per that the sentences which are given in that 
 city wherein the temple of God is, and where- 
 in tlie king dwells, be given with great care 
 and the utmost justice. Now he set over 
 them Amariah the priest, and Zebediah, [botli] 
 of the tribe of Judah : and after this manner 
 it was that the king ordered these afiairs. 
 
 2. About the same time the Moabites and 
 Ammonites made an expedition against Jeho- 
 shaphat, and took with them a great body of 
 Arabians, and pitched their camp at Engedi, 
 a city that is situate at the lake Asplialtitis, 
 and distant three hundred furlongs from Je- 
 rusalem. In that place grows the best kind 
 of palm-trees, and the opobalsamum.-j- Now 
 Jehoshaphat heard that the enemies had pass- 
 ed over the lake, and had made an irruption 
 into that country which belonged to his king- 
 dom ; at which news he was affrighted, and 
 called the people of Jerusalem to a congrega- 
 tion in the temple, and standing over-against 
 the temple itself, he called upon God to afford 
 him power and strength, so as to inflict pu- 
 nishment 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 awd chil- 
 dren, made their supplications also : upon 
 which a certain prophet, Jahaziel by name, 
 came into the midst of the assembly, and cried 
 out, and spake l>oth to the multitude and to 
 the king, that God heard their prayers, and 
 promised to fight against their enemies. He 
 also gave order that tlio king stiould draw his 
 forces out tlie next day, for that he should 
 find them between Jerusalem and the ascent 
 
 f Concerning this precious balsam, see the note o» 
 Antjc}. b. vui, ch. \i, sect. (i. 
 
248 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IX 
 
 of Engcfli, at a place called The Eminmce, 
 and that lie slioiiid not fi<;t)t a;:iuiisl them, l)iit 
 only stand still, and see how God would fight 
 a;^aiiist them. When the prophet had said 
 this, both the king and the multitude fell 
 on their faces, and gave tlinnks to God, and 
 worshipped him : and the Levites continued 
 singing hymns to God with their instruments 
 of music. 
 
 3. As soon as it was day, and the king was 
 come into that wilderness which is under the 
 city of Tekoa, he said to the multitude, " that 
 they ought to give credit to what the prophet 
 had said, and not to set themselves in array 
 for fi'^hting ; but to set the priests with their 
 trum))ets, and the Levites with the singers of 
 hymns, to give thanks to God, as having al- 
 ready delivered our country from our ene- 
 mies." This opinion of the king jileased [the 
 people], and they did what he advised them 
 to do. So God caused a terror and a com- 
 motion to arise among the Ammonites, who 
 thought one another to be enemies, and slew- 
 one another, insomuch that not one man out 
 of so great an army escaped ; and when Je- 
 hosliaphat looked ujjon that valley wherein 
 their enemies had been encamped, and saw it 
 full of dead men, he rejoiced at so surprising 
 an event as was this assistance of God, while 
 he himself by his own power, and without 
 their labour, had given them the victory. He 
 also gave his army leave to take the prey of 
 
 but he failed of his gains, for the ships were 
 destroyed by being so great [and unwieldy] 
 on which account he was no longer concern- 
 ed about shipping. — And this is the history 
 of Jehoshaphat, the king of Jerusalem. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CONCERNING AHAZIAH, THK KING OF ISRAFL 
 AND AGAIN CONCERNING THE PEOPIIET ELJ 
 JAH. 
 
 § I. 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 to both his parents, and to Jero- 
 boam, who first of all transgressed, 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 comin" 
 down from the top of his house, fell down 
 from it, and in his sickness sent to the V\y 
 which was the god of Ekron, for that was this 
 god's name, to inquire about his recover\-+ ; 
 but the God of the Hebrews appeared to Eli- 
 jah the prophet, and commanded him to go 
 and meet the messengers that were sent, anu 
 to ask them, whether the people of Israel liao 
 
 the enemy's camp, and to spoil their dead : not a (lod of their own, that the king sent to 
 bodies ; and indeed so they did for three days j a foreign god to inquire about his recovery ? 
 together, till they were weary, so great wasland to bid them return and tell the king tlial 
 
 the number of the slain ; and on the fourtl 
 day, all the people were gathered together, 
 unto a certain hollow place or valley, and 
 blessed God for his power and assistance ; 
 from which the place had this name given it, 
 the Valky of [Beracliah, or] B/essing. 
 
 4. And when the king had brought his 
 army back to Jerusalem, he betook himself to 
 celebrate festivals, and offer sacriticcs, and 
 this for many days; and indeed, after this de- 
 struction of their enemies, and when it came 
 to the ears of the foreign nations, they were 
 all greatly affiighted, as supposing that Cod 
 would opeidy fight for him hereafter. So 
 Jchoshaiiliat from that time lived in great 
 glory and splendour, on a'count of his right- 
 eousness and his piety towards God. He 
 was also in friendship with Ahali's son, who 
 was king of Israel ; and he joisied witli 
 him ill the building of ships that were to sail 
 to Pontus and the traffic cities of Thrace;* 
 
 • What are here Pontus and Tliracc, as the places 
 wliithiT Jelioslinphal's Meet sailed, arc in our olhor co- 
 pies Opliir and 'J'arshish, and the place wlimcv il sailed, 
 IS in ilit-in Ezioiigcbcr, which lay on llic Hid .sca, 
 whence- it was ini|>o8.-.iblc for any ships to s;iil to I'ontus 
 or Thrace; so Ihal Ji scphus's copy ilitrcrcd from our 
 oilier copies, as is fa.-tlicr plain fi'oin his owji words, 
 which render » hat we rc;id, that ' llic ships were broken 
 at Kziongeber, from Ihcir unwieldy gri'atncss.' Dut so 
 far we may c-onclude, that Josephus thoii|;hl one Ophir 
 U\ I* soincwhcrf in the MctUlerrancan, and not in ihe 
 
 lie would not escajie this disease. And when 
 Elijah had performed what God had com- 
 manded him, and the messengers had heard 
 what he said, they returned to the king im- 
 mediately ; and when tlie king wondered how 
 they could return so soon, and ask them the 
 reason of it, they said, that a certain man met 
 them, and forbade them to go on any farther ; 
 but to return and tell thee, from the command 
 of the God of Israel, that this disease will have 
 a bad end. And when the king bade them 
 describe the man that said tliis to them, thev 
 replied, that he was a hairy man, and w-as girt 
 about with a girdle of leather. So the kino 
 understood by this that the man who was de- 
 scribed by the messengers was Elijah ; « here- 
 upon he sent a captain to him, with fifty 
 soldiers, and commanded them to bring Elijah 
 to him ; and when the captain that was sent 
 found Elijah silling upon llie 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 lie refused, he would carry liini by 
 
 South Sea, though perhaps Ihcr* might be another O. 
 
 phir in Ilinl Soulh Sea also, and Ihi-.t HceU> mii;ht then 
 sail liiitli from l'li<ri:ieiaaiid from ine lied Sea, to fetch 
 the irolil of ophrr. 
 
 1 I'liis (iiid of Flirs sc<-ms to have N-eii so crillid, as 
 was Ihe like giMl anioiiR the Criiks, from his siipiiiseit 
 power over Dies, in driMiig llicni awav fron Uie I'eli of 
 their saeriliccs, which otheiwise would have been irrv 
 troublesome to il-em. 
 
 "V. 
 
"V_. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 force. Elijah s.iid to him, " That you may 
 have a trial whether I be a true prophet, I will 
 pray that fire may fall from lieaveii, and de- 
 stroy both the soldiers and yourself."* So he 
 prayed, and a whirlwind of fire fell [from 
 heaven 1, and destroyed the caiJtain aud those 
 that were with him. And when the king was 
 informed of the destruction of these men, he 
 was very angry, and sent another captain with 
 \i\e 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 tiiis captain as well as the 
 other. And when, upon inquiry, the king was 
 informed of what had happened to him, he sent 
 oat 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 command that he came 
 to him ; and that those that came before did not 
 come willingly, but on the same account, — he 
 therefore 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 discreet words and 
 courteous behaviour, and came down and 
 followed him. And when he came to the king, 
 he prophesied to iiim, and told him, that God 
 said, — " Since thou hast despised him as not 
 
 AXTIQUrriES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 24>9 
 
 piety towards God, for, leaving ofThis worsliip, 
 he worshipped foreign gods ; but in other re- 
 spects 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 tliis 
 very day ; but he left behind him his disciple 
 Eli.->ha, as we have formerly declared. And 
 indeed, as to Elijah, and as to Enoch, wiio 
 was before the Deluge, it is written in the 
 sacred books tliat they disappeared j but so 
 that nobody knew that they died. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 HOW JORAM AND JEHOSHAPHAT MADE AX EX- 
 PEDITION AGAINST THE MOACITES ; AS ALSO 
 CONCERNING THE WONDERS OF EUSHA j A.ND 
 THE DEATH OF JEHOSHAPHAT. 
 
 § 1. When Joram had taken upon him tlie 
 kingdom, he determined to make an expedi- 
 tion against the king of Moab, whose name 
 was Mesha ; for, as we told you before, he 
 was departed from his obedience to bis bro- 
 ther [Ahaziah], while he paid to his father 
 Ahab two hundred thousand sheep, with their 
 fleeces of wool. When therefore he iiad ga- 
 thered his own army together, he sent also to 
 Jehoshaphat, and entreated him, that since he 
 had from the beginning been a friend to hi? 
 father, he would assist him in tiie war that he 
 being God, and so unable to foretel the truth I was entering into against the Moabites, who 
 about thy distemper, but hast sent to the god I had departed from their obedience, who not 
 
 of Ekron to inquire of him what will be the 
 end of this thy distemper, know this, that thou 
 shalt die." 
 
 2. Accordingly the king in a very little 
 time died, as Elijah had foretold ; but Je- 
 horam his brother succeeded him in the king- 
 dom, for he died without children : but for 
 this Jehoram, he was like his father Ahab in 
 wickedness, and reigiK-d twelve years, indulg- 
 ing himself in all sorts of wickedness and im- 
 
 only himself promised to assist him, but would 
 also oblige the king of Edom, who was under 
 his authority, to make the same espeditioi» 
 also. When Joram had received these as- 
 surances of assistance from Jehoshaphat, he 
 took his army with him, and came to Jeru- 
 salem ; and when he had been sumptuously 
 entertained by the king of Jerusalem, it was 
 resolved upon by them to take their march a- 
 gainst their enemies through the wilderness 
 of Edom : and when they had taken a com- 
 pass of seven days' journey, tliey were in dis- 
 tress 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 Jo- 
 
 ,.,,,, . ram ; and cried to God, by reason of their 
 
 unlikelv that thc-se ciptains and soldiers believed that jii-j.iii -ij 
 
 they were sent to tetoh the prophet, th.it he might be sorrow, and [desired to know] what wicked- 
 put to death for foretelling the death of the km", and ' ness had been committed by them that induc- 
 ihis while they knew him to be the prophet of the true j i- . j i- »i i „ .i -.i 
 
 God, the Supreme King of Israel (:or they were still i^^ l''"il tO deliver three kings together, w.tll- 
 under the theocracy), which was no less than impiety, ' out fighting, unto the king of Moab. But Je- 
 [h^^tna^i1ofT°u^tn,'^o;'fn^^^^ , l-shaphat, who was a righteous man, encour- 
 
 dieting the commands of the general, when the captain ' aged him, and bade him send to the camp 
 and the soldiers both knew it to be so, as I suppose, jus- and know wliether anv nrniihet of God wa« 
 tify or excuse such gross rebellion and disolx^lience in ' "'^ , wiietner any propnet or Kyoa was 
 soldiers at this day. Accordingly, when Sau! coniiuand- come along with them, that we might by him 
 
 ed his guards to slay Ahimelech and the priests at N,. hi learn from God what we should do. 'And 
 they knew It to bean unlawful command, and would: . ^ , „ t •■ , 
 
 not obey it, 1 Sam. xxii, 17. From which cases, both I "hen one ot the servants ot Joram said that 
 officers and soldiers may learn th t the commands of j be had seen there Elisha, the son of Shaphat 
 their leaders or kings c;innot justify or excuse them ill Li .■ • . r t^t- • u .i .i i- 
 
 aoing wliat is wicked in the sight of God, or in fighting the disciple of Elijah, the three kings went to 
 In an uiyusl cause, when they know it so to be. 1 him at the entreaty of Jehoshaphat. ancj 
 
 « It is commonly esteemed a very cruel action of 
 Elijah, when he called for fire from heaven, and con- 
 sumed no fe.ver than two captains an<l a hundred sol- 
 diers, and this for no other crime than obeying the or- 
 ders of their kii.g, in attempting to seize him ; and it is 
 owneil by our Saviour, that it was an instance of greater 
 severity than the spirit of the New Testament allows, 
 Luke ix, 51. But then we must consider, that it is not 
 
 y^ 
 
;^0 
 
 ANTIQUITIES Ol- THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 when tliey were come at t!ie proplict's tent, 
 wliidi tent was pitched out of the camp, tliey 
 asked liiin, what would become of the army ? 
 ond Joram was particularly very pressing will) 
 him about if. And when lie replied to him, 
 that he should not trouble him, but 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 God that he would not answer him, 
 unlenr. ii. were 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, 
 aiwl he commanded them to dig many trendies 
 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 you shall receive from God, but you shall 
 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." 
 
 2. When the prophet had said this, the 
 next day, before the sun-rising, a great tor- 
 rent ran strongly ; for God iiad caused it to 
 rain very plentifully at the distance of three 
 days' journey into Edom, so that tlie army 
 and the cattle found water to drink in a'oun- 
 dance. But when the Moabites heard that 
 the three kings were coining upon them, and 
 made their approach through the wilderness, 
 the king of ^Nloab gathered his army togctlier 
 presently, and commanded them to pitch their 
 camp upon the mountains, that when the eiie 
 my should attempt to enter their country, 
 they might not be concealed from them. 
 But when, at the rising of the sun, they saw 
 the water in the torrent, for it was not far 
 from the land of Monb, 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 anolhev for thirst ; and tiiat the river ran 
 with their blood. However, sujjposing that 
 this was the case, they desired tiieir kin 
 would send them out to spoil their enemies; 
 whereupon they all went in haste, as to an 
 advantage already gained, and came to the 
 enemy's camp, as supposing them destroyed 
 already ; but their hope deceived them, for 
 
 " This pr.TCticc of cutting down, or plucking up by 
 the r<«)is, tiic fruit-lret's, was forbidden, cvcji in ordi- 
 nirry wars, by Ibe law of Moses, HciiL xx, 1!», 'JO; and 
 only allowcil by CJod in this narlicubr case, when the 
 Miiiibites were to 1)C punislietl and out off in an cxlra- 
 ordiiinry manner fur their »:ckc»lness. See Jer. xlvin, 
 1 1, i:', i3, and many the like |irophecii-> anain-t tht-m. 
 NuDiing could therefore justify this practice but a p.irii- 
 eular ciiniiuitjiioii from (iod by his ()ri)|«het, ils in the 
 
 Iirest-nt case, wh-ch was ever a sufh.'ii'iil warrant for 
 irenkinc any such rituj' or ceremonial law wfuiisoevcr. 
 
 as their enemies stood round about them, 
 some of fhem were cut to jjieces, and others 
 of them were dis|iersed, and fled to their own 
 country; and when the kings fell into the 
 land of IMoab, 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 dan- 
 ger of being overthrown by force, made a 
 sally, and went out with seven hundred men, 
 in order to break through the enemy's camp 
 with his horsemen, 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 carefullj 
 watched, he returned info 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 oftered him as a whole burnt- 
 oftering to God, whom, when the kings saw, 
 they commiserated the distress that was the 
 occasion of it, and 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 con- 
 tinued in peace there, and outlived this ex- 
 pedition but a little time, and then died, hav 
 ing lived in all sixty years, and of then; 
 reigned twenty-five. lie was buried in a 
 magnilicent manner in Jerusalem, for he had 
 imitated the actions of David. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 JEIIORAM SUCCEEDS JEHOSHAPHAT: HOW JO- 
 UAM, HIS NAMESAKE, KING OF ISRAEt., 
 lOlGHT WITH THK SYRIANS ; AND WHAT 
 WONDEllS WERE DONE BY THE PROPHET 
 ELISHA. 
 
 § 1. Jehoshaphat had a good number of 
 children ; but he appointed his eldest son, Je- 
 horam, to be his successor, who had the same 
 name with his mother's brother, that was 
 king of Israel, and the son of Ahab. Now 
 when the king of Israel was come out of the 
 land of Moab to Samaria, he had with him 
 J'^lisha the proi>liet, whose acts I have a mind 
 to go over particularly, for they were illustri- 
 ous, and worthy to be related, as we have 
 tliem set down in the sacred books. 
 
 '2. For thiy say tliat the widow of 01)a- 
 diali,f Aliabs stewarri, came to him, and said, 
 
 ■| That tfiis woman who cried to Elisha, and who In 
 our Hiblc is styie<l ' the wife of one of the sons ot the 
 ))ro|ihcts,' -J K'ings iv, 1, w^ no other tlian t).e widow 
 
X 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 251 
 
 that he was not ignorant how her husband 
 had preserved the prophets that were to be 
 slain by Jezebel, the wife of Aiiab ; for she 
 said that he hid a hundred of them, and had 
 borrowed money 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 
 bid 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 commanded to do, and bade her chil- 
 dren 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 advised her to go 
 away, and sell the oil, and pay the creditors 
 what was owing to them, for that there would 
 be some surplus of the price of the oil, which 
 she might make use of for the maintenance 
 of her children : — and thus did Elisha dis- 
 charge the woman's debts, and free her from 
 the vexation of her creditors. 
 
 3. Elisha also sent a hasty message to Jo- 
 ram,* and exhorted him to take care of that 
 
 of Ohadiah, the good steward of Ahab, is confirmed by 
 the Chaldee paraphrast, and by the Rabbins and others. 
 Nor is that unlikely which josephus here adds, that 
 these debts were contracted by her husband for the sup- 
 port of those ' hundred of the Lord's prophets, whcun 
 he maintained by fifty in a cave,' in the days of Aliab 
 and Jezebel, 1 Kings xviii, i ; which circumstance ren- 
 dered it highly fit that the prophet Elisha should pro- 
 vide her a remedy, and enable her to redeem herself 
 and her sons from the fear of that slavery which insol- 
 vent debtors were liable to by the law of Moses, l.evit 
 XXV, 59 ; Matt, xviii. 25. ; which he did accordingly, 
 with God's help, at the expense of a miracle. 
 
 * Dr. Hudson, with very good reason, suspects, that 
 there is no small defect in our present copies of Jose- 
 phus, just before the beginning of this section; and 
 chiefly, as to the distinct account which he had given 
 us reason to expect in the first section, and to which he 
 seems to refer (ch. viii, sect. 6), concerning the glorious 
 miracles which Elisha wrought, which indeed in our 
 Bibles are not a few (2 Kings iv, to ix) ; but of which 
 we have several omitted in Josephus's present copies. 
 One of those histories, omitted ai present, was evident- 
 ly in his Bible, 1 mean that of the curing of Naaman's 
 leprosy (2 Kings v.) ; for he plainly alludes to it (b. iii, 
 ch. xi, sect. 4), where he observes, that " there were 
 lepers in many nations who yet have been in honour, 
 and not only free from reproach and avoidance, but 
 who have been great captauis of armies, and been !«i- 
 tr\isted with high offices in the commonwealth, and ha^e 
 had the privilege of entering into holy places and tem- 
 ples." But what makes me most to regret the want of 
 that history in our present copies of .losephus, is this, 
 that we have here, as it is commonly understood, one 
 of the greatest difficulties in all the Bible, that in 2 
 KinK v, IS, 19, where Naaman, after he had been mi- 
 raculously cured by a prophet of the true God, and had 
 thereupon promised (ver. 17), that " he would hence- 
 forth eRer neither burnt-offerings nor sacrifice unto other 
 gods, but unto the Lord, ailds, in this thing the Lord 
 pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the 
 house of ilimraon to worship tjiere, and he leaneth on 
 my hands, and I bow down myself in the house of Rim- 
 mon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing ; and 
 Elisha said. Go hi peace." This looks like a prophet's 
 permission for being part.aker in idolatly itself, out of 
 o.impliar.cc with an idolatrous court. 
 
 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 hunting; and when Benhadad missed of 
 the success of his lying in ambush, he was 
 «roth with his own servants, as if they had be- 
 trayed his atnbushment to Joram ; and lie sent 
 for them, and said they were the betrayers of 
 his secret counsels ; and be threatened that he 
 would put them to death, since such their 
 practice was evident, because he had entrusted 
 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 mistake 
 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 wlio discovered 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 encompassed the city round about by 
 night, and kept him therein confined ; but 
 when the prophet's servant in the morning 
 perceived this, and that his enemies sought to 
 take Elisha, he came running, and crying out 
 after a disordered manner to him, and told hiirj 
 of it ; but he encouraged him, and bade him 
 not be afraid, and to despise the enemy, and 
 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 
 tlie servant see a multitude of chariots and 
 horses encompassing Elisha, till he laid aside 
 his fear, and his courage revived at the sigiit 
 of what he supposed was come to their assist- 
 ance. After this Elisha did farther entreat 
 God, that he would dim the eyes of their ene- 
 mies, 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 these 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 order- 
 ed Joram the king to shut the gates, and to 
 place his own ainny round about them ; and 
 prayed to God to clear the eyes of these their 
 enemies, and take the mist from before them. 
 Accordingly, when they were freed from the 
 obscurity they had been in, they saw tiiem- 
 selves 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 as king Joram 
 
 ■~\_ 
 
ej2 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 fcskctl die prophet if he would give liim leave 1 say on, and let liim know what she desiri-d, 
 
 to shoot at them, Elisha forbade him so to 
 do ; and said, tliat " it is just to kill those 
 tiiat are taken in battle ; but that these men 
 nad done the country no harm, but, without 
 knowing it, were come thither by tlie Divine 
 Power;" — so tliat iiis counsel was to treat 
 tlieni in an l)ospital)le manner at his table, and 
 then send them away witJiout hurting them.* 
 NVherufore Joram obeyed the |)rophet ; and 
 when he iiad feasted the Syrians in a splendid 
 and magnificent manner, he let tliem go to 
 Beiihadad, their king. 
 
 4. Now when these men were come back, 
 and had showed Henhaded how strange an 
 accident had befallen them, and what an ap- 
 pearance and power they had cxiierienced of 
 
 she said, she had made an agreement with the 
 other woman, who v\'as her neighbour and her 
 friend, that because the famine and the want 
 was intolerable, they should kill their children, 
 each of them having a son of their own, " and 
 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 
 not do the same thing, but hath broken he« 
 agreement, and hath hid litr 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 Eli- 
 sha the i)ropliet, and set himself eagerly to 
 
 die God of Israel, he wondered at it, as aUo have him slain, because he did not pray to 
 
 at that proijhet with whom God was so evi- 
 dentlv present ; so he determined to make no 
 more secret attempts upon the king of Israel, 
 
 God to provide them some exit and way of 
 escape out of the miseries with which they 
 were surrounded; and sent one away imme- 
 
 out of fear of Elisha, but resolved to make ' diately to cut ott his head, who made haste 
 
 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 ex- 
 pedition with a great army against Joram, 
 who, not thinking l-iniself a match for him, 
 shut himself up in Samaria, and depended on 
 the strength of its walls ; but Benhaded sup- 
 posed he should take the city, if not by his 
 engines of war, yet that lie should overcome 
 the Samaritans by famine, and the want of 
 necessarie«, anrl brought his army upon them, 
 and besieged the city ; and the plenty of ne- 
 cessaries was brought so low with Joram, that 
 from the extremity of want, an ass's head was 
 sold in Samaria for fourscore pieces of silver ; 
 and the Hebrews bought a sextary of dove's 
 dung, instead of salt, for five pieces of silver. 
 Now Joram was in fear lest somebody s^l0uld 
 betray the city to the enemy, by reason of tlie 
 famine, arid went every day round the walls 
 and the guards, to see wheilier any such were 
 concealed among them ; and by being thus 
 Been, and taking such care, he deprived them 
 of the opportunity of contriving any such 
 thing ; and if they had a mind to do it, he by 
 this means prevented tl'.em ; but upon a cer- 
 tain woman's crying out, " Have pity on ine, 
 my Lord," while he thought that she was a- 
 bout to ask for somewhat to eat, he imprecat- 
 ed God's curse upon her, and said, he had 
 neither thrashing- door nor wine-|)ress, whence 
 he might give her any thing at her petition. 
 Ul'on which she said, she did not desire his 
 aid in any such tiling, nor trouble him about 
 food, but desired that he would do her justice 
 as to another woman ; and when he bade her 
 
 • Upon ocoasion of this Btratagcm <if Klislin, in Jo- 
 leplnis, we may lake notice, that all licnigti Josfplius was 
 one of the greatest lovers of truth in llie w.irlil ; yet, m 
 a just war, lie seems to have liad no manner of struple 
 upon him, bv all -.inh stratagems poisiblc, to deceive 
 public cncmii^. See Ijiis Josepluis's acrountof Jeriiniali s 
 im wsition on the great men of the Jews in somewhat a 
 Uke aw:, Antiq. b. x. ch. vii, scet. 6 : 2 b.-uii. xvi. 1 (i. ic. 
 
 to kill the prophet; but Elisha was not unac- 
 quainted with the «rath of the king against 
 him; for as he sat in his house by himself, 
 with none but his disciples about hiin, he told 
 them that Joram,-}- who was the son of a mur- 
 derer, had sent one to take away his head ; 
 " but," said he, " when he that is command- 
 ed to do this comes, take care that you do not 
 let him come in, but press the door against 
 him, and hold him fast there, for the kii^' 
 himself will follow him, and come to me, 
 having altered his mind." Accordingly, they 
 did as they were bicklen, when he that was 
 sent by the king to kill Elisha came; but Jo- 
 ram repented of his wrath against the pro- 
 phet ; 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 sadly destroy- 
 ed 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 pro- 
 phet said, on account of the experience they 
 iiad of the truth of his former predictions; 
 and the expectation of plenty made the want 
 they were iu that day, with the uneasiness 
 
 \ This son of a murdf rcr was .lorjm, the son of Ahab, 
 whom Aliab slow, or permitted his wife Jezebel to slay, 
 the Lord's propheta, and Naboth (I Kingsxviii, 4; xxi. 
 W) ; and he is heri' aUletl bv this name, I nippose, be- 
 cause he liad now also himself sent an Dllictr to murder 
 him ; yet is Joscphus's .-ict-ount of Joram's loming luni- 
 M;lf at lart, as reinnUni! of his imciuUd cruilly, much 
 more probable lh;ui that in our eopics '2 Kings \ i. .>.^ 
 whicJi rathiT in<plies lite contrary. 
 
 "V 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 tliat accoinpanied it, appear a light thing to 
 them ; but tlie captain of tlie tiiird band, who 
 was a friend of the l<ing, and on whose iiand 
 the king leaned, said, " Thsii talkest of in- 
 cred ble things, O prophet ! for as it is im- 
 possible for God to pour down torrents of bar- 
 ley, or fine flour, out of Heaven, so is it im- 
 possible that what thou sayest should come to 
 pass." To which the prophet made this re- 
 ply : — ' Thou shalt see these things come to 
 pass, but thou shalt not be in the least a par- 
 taker of them.' 
 
 5. 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 extremi- 
 ty of the famine ; and as they were prohibit- 
 ed from entering into the city liy the law, and 
 they considered that if they were permitted 
 to enter, they would miserably perish by the 
 famine ; as also, that if they staid where they 
 were, they should suffer in the same manner, 
 — they resolved to deliver themselves up to 
 the enemy, that in case they 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 
 'were coming upon them, and had made them 
 suspect that it was coming nearer and nearer 
 to them. In short, tliey were in such a dread 
 of this anny, that they left their tents, and 
 ran together to Benhadad, and said, that Jo- 
 ram, the king of Israel, had hired for auxil- 
 iaries 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 satne noise to his ears 
 as well as it did to theirs) ; so they fell into a 
 mighty disorder and tumult, and left their 
 horses and beasts in their camp, with imtnense 
 riches also, and betook themselves to flight. 
 And those lepers who had departed from Sa- 
 maria, and were gene to tlie camp of the Sy- 
 rians, of whom we made mention a little be- 
 fore, 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 eat and drank, and carried gar- 
 ments, and a great quantity of gold, and liid 
 it out of the camp; after which they went 
 into another tent, and carried off what was in 
 it, as tliey did at the former, and this did they 
 
 • This law of the Jews for the exclusion of lepers 
 out of the camp in the wilderness, and out of cities in 
 iudea, i«a known one. Lev, xiil, 46} Num. v, 1 — 4. 
 
 25^ 
 
 for several tiines, without tlie least interrup- 
 tion from any body ; so they gathered thereby 
 that the enemies were departed ; w hereuf>on 
 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 the enemies were, as did these tetl 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 suspected that this departure of the 
 king of Syria was by way of ambush and 
 treachery ; " and that out of despair of ruin- 
 ing 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 exhort 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 
 well and wisely to admit iuch 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 am- 
 bush 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 tliem, in order 
 to their being light and expeditious in their 
 flight. When the king heard this, he sent 
 out the multitude to take the spoils of the 
 camp; which gains of theirs were not of 
 things of small value ; but they took a great 
 quantity of gold, and a great quantity of sil- 
 ver, 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; and were 
 not only freed from their former miseries, but 
 had such plenty, that two seahs ot barley 
 were bought for a shekel, and a seah of fine 
 flour for a shekel, according to the ])rophecy 
 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 be- 
 nefit by this plenty ; for as he was appointed 
 by the king to oversee the gate, that he miglit 
 prevent the too great crowd of the multitude, 
 and 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 
 
 -/~ 
 
J' 
 
 '^;")4. 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS Ol' IIJK JEWS. 
 
 this his death, when he alone of thcni all dis- 
 believed what lie said CDncerniiig that plenty 
 of provisions which they sliould soon liave. 
 
 G. Hereupon, wher. Henhadad, the kiiiji of 
 Syri:i, had escajjcd to Damascus, and under- 
 stood that it was God himself that cast all his 
 nrmy into this fear and disorder, and that it 
 did not arise from the invasion of enemies, he 
 ■was mightily cast down at his having God so 
 greatly for his enemy, and fell into a distem- 
 per. Now it happened that Elisha the pro- 
 phet, at that time, was gone out of his own 
 country to Damascus, of which Benhadad 
 was informed : he sent Hazael, the most 
 faitiiful of all liis servants, to meet him, and 
 to carry liim presents ; and hade him iiujuire 
 of him about his distemper, and whether he 
 should esca|)e the danger that it threatened. 
 So Hazael' came to Elislia with forty camels, 
 that carried the best and most precious fruits 
 that the country of Damascus ailbrded, as 
 well as those which the king's palace sup- 
 plied. He saluted him kindly, and said, ' § I. Now .Ii horam, the king of .ferusalem, 
 that he was sent to him by king Benhadad, ; for we have said before that he had the same 
 and brought presents with him, in order to ; name with the king of Israel, as soon as he 
 
 this day as gods, by re.'ison of their benefac. 
 tions, and their building them temples, by 
 which they adorned the city of the Damas- 
 cens. They also every day do with great 
 pomp pay their worship to these kings,f and 
 value themselves upon their antiijuity ; nor 
 do they know that these kings arc much later 
 than they imagine, and that they are not jet 
 eleven hundred years old. Now when Jo- 
 ram, the king of Israel, luanl tliat 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. 
 
 CONCKUNISG THK WICKEDNESS OF JEHORAM, 
 KING OF JElllSALEM : HIS DEFEAT, AND 
 DEATH. 
 
 inquire concerning his distemper, whether he 
 should recover from it or not. Whereupon 
 the prophet bade him tell the king no melan- 
 choly news ; but still he said he vvouUl die. 
 So the king's servant was troubled to hear it; 
 
 had taken the government upon him, betook 
 himself to the slaughter of his brethren and 
 his father's friends, who were governors un- 
 der him, and thence made a beginning and a 
 demonstration of his wickedness; nor was he 
 
 and Elisha wept also, and his tears ran down at all better than those kings of Israel who at 
 plentcously at his foresight of what miseries first transgressed against the laws of their 
 iiis people would undergo after the death of country, and of the Hebrews, and against 
 Benhadad ; and when Hazael asked liitn God's worship : and it \\as Athalia, tlie 
 what was the occasion of this confusion he d.iughler of Ahab, whom he had married, 
 was in, he said, that he wept out of commiscr- , who taught him to be a had man in other 
 ation for the multitude of the Israelites, and respects, and also to worship foreign gods, 
 what terrible miseries they will suil'er by Now God would not quite root out this fa- 
 tliee • " for thou wilt slay the strongest of mily, because of the promise he had made to 
 them, and wilt burn their strongest cities, and David. However, Jehoram did not leave off 
 wilt destroy their children, and dash them j the introduction of new sorts of customs to 
 against the stones, and wilt rip up their wo- j the propagation of impiety, and to the ruin 
 men with child." And when Hazael said, of the customs of his own country. And 
 
 " How can it be that I should have power 
 enough to do such things ?" the prophet re- 
 plied, that God had iniVjrmed him that he 
 
 when the Edomites about that time had re- 
 volted frem him, and slain their former king, 
 who was in subjection to his father, and had 
 
 should be king of Syria. So when Hazael set up one of their own choosing, Jehiir;un 
 was come to Benhadad, he told him good fell upon the laiiil of Edom, with the horse- 
 news concerning his distemjjer ;• l>ut on the n)en that were about him, and the chariots, 
 next day he spread a wet cloth, in the nature by night, and destroyed those that lay nca» 
 of a net, over him, and strangled him, and to his own kingdom ; but did not proceed 
 took his dominion. He was an active man, farther. However, this expedition did him 
 and had the good-will of the Syrians, and of I 
 
 the peojjle of Damascus, to a great degree; f What M. Lc Clcrc pretends here, that it Is more 
 bv whom both Benhadad himself, and Ha- I probable that II azael ami Im son were worship,Kd by 
 "> , , , , r 1- u 1 the Svriaiis and peoiik' of Damaseiis till the il.iys <.l Jo- 
 
 zael, who ruled after him, are honourea to sepluis, than Ueulmilad and Hazael, bccaus* under Ueij- 
 
 • Since Elijah did not live to anoint Hazael king of 
 .Syria himself, as he was empowered to do ( 1 Kiiigs xix, 
 lo), it was njost (irobably now done, in his nauje, by 
 his serviUit iuid suitessor Klisha; nor docs it sicni to 
 me otherwise but ihal Hi iiliailad immediately reiover<>d 
 of bisdise.isi-, as the piophe! foretold; and Uiat llii/ji'l, 
 uiHjn his being iuioinlcd to Miixxxd him, thoiigb he 
 ought to have sUid till he died by the c-oursc of nature, 
 or S4>me other way of divmc punibhinint, as did Oavid 
 for many years in the like ease, was tixi impatient, mid 
 the very next day smothered or strangled hiui, in order 
 (o oonie Uiicetly to Uie suecessiou. 
 
 hadad they had greatly sulTerid, and be\-au>e it is «1- 
 niost incredible that both a king and that king's mnr- 
 iteier should be worshipped by the same Syrians, is of 
 little forir against those iitorJs, out of whiih Jo^eph^ls 
 drew ihis historv, i-spi-eiallv when it is likely that ilicy 
 thought leiihadail died ot' the distemper he laboured 
 uiulei, ;uul not by llaiael's tjeaehery. Uesldc,-, the 
 reason that Joscphus gi\es forlJus adoration, that the.-* 
 two kini;s had been great benefactors to the inluibitants 
 of Daina-eus, and had built them templet, is too re- 
 mote from the |Hilitical suspicions of Le f'lere; nor 
 ought such weak su>pieions to be deeineil of any fori* 
 jgaiiist uullienlie te>iiinonie< of antiiiuiiy. 
 
 _-/ 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. VJ 
 
 ANTIQUITJfiS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 263 
 
 no service, for tliey all revolted from him, 
 witli those tliat dwelt in tli-e country of Lib- 
 nah. He was indeed so mad as to compel 
 the people to go up to the high places of the 
 mountains, and worship foreign gods. 
 
 2. As he was doing this, and had entirely 
 cast his own country laws out of his mind, 
 there was brought him an epistle from Eli- 
 jah the prophet,* whicii declared, that God 
 would execute great judgments upon him, 
 because he had not imitated his own fathers, 
 but had followed the wicked courses of the 
 kings of Israel ; and had compelled the tribe 
 of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem to 
 leave the holy worship of their own God, and 
 to worship idols, as Aliab had compelled the 
 Israelites 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 destruc- 
 tion of his people, with the coiTuption of the 
 king's own wives and children ; and that he 
 should himself die of a distemper in his bow- 
 els, with long torments, those his bowels fall- 
 ing out by the violence of the inward rotten- 
 ness 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 
 •lim in tliat epistle. 
 
 3. It was not long after this that an army 
 of those Arabians that lived near to Ethiopia, 
 and of the Philistines, fell upon the kingdom 
 of Jehoram, and spoiled the country and the 
 king's house ; moreover, they slew his sons 
 and his wives ; one only of his sons was left 
 him, who escaped the enemy ; his name was 
 Ahaziah ; after which calamity, be 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 iie 
 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 therefore 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 honours, but buried him likeaprivate man, 
 and this when he had lived forty years, and 
 reigned eight; and the people of Jerusalem 
 delivered tlie government to his son Ahaziah. 
 
 * This epistle, in some copies of Josephus, is said to 
 come to J Oram from Elijah, with this ajclition, "for 
 he -.vas yet upon earth ;" which could not be true of 
 Elijah, who, as all aftree, was gone from the earth 
 above four years before, and could only be true of 
 Elisha ; nor perhaps is there any more mystery here, 
 than that the name of Elijah has very anciently crept 
 into the text instead of Elisha, by the copiers, tliere Ix;- 
 ing notliing iu any copy of that epistle peculiar to Eli- 
 jah. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 VxOV JEHU WAS ANOINTED KING, AND SLEW 
 BOTH JORAM AND AHAZIAH ; AS ALSO 
 WHAT HE DID FOR THE PUNISHMENT OF 
 THE WICKED. 
 
 § I Now Joram, the king of Israel, after the 
 death of Benhadad, hoped that he might now 
 take Ramoth, a city of Gilead, from the Sy- 
 rians. Accordingly, he made an expedition 
 against it, with a great army; but as he was be- 
 sieging it, an arrow was shot at him by one or 
 the Syrians, but the wound was not mortal ; so 
 he returned to have his wound healed in Jez- 
 reel, but left his whole army in Ramoth, — 
 and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for their general j 
 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 was 
 come to the city, he found Jehu sitting in the 
 midst of the captains of the army, as Elisha 
 had foretold he should find him. So lie came 
 up to him, and said that he desired to speak 
 with him about certain matters ; and when 
 he was arisen, and had followed him into an 
 inward chamber, the young man took the oil, 
 and poured it on his head, and said that God 
 ordained him to be king, in order to his de- 
 stroying the house of Ahab, and that he might 
 revenge the blood of the prophets that were 
 unjustly slain by Jazebel, that so tlieir house 
 might utterly perish, as those of Jeroboam 
 the son of Nebat and of Baasha had perished 
 for their wickedness, and no seed might re- 
 main of Allah's family. So when he had 
 said this, he went away hastily out of the 
 chamber, and endeavoured not to be seen by 
 any of the army. 
 
 2. But Jehu came out, and went to the 
 place where he before sat with the captains; 
 and when they asked him, and desired 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 
 tliem, he answered, that God had said he had 
 cliosen him to be king over the multitude. 
 When he had said this, every one of them put 
 off his garment,f and strewed it under him, 
 and blew with trumpets, and gave notice that 
 
 + Spanheim here notes, that this putting ofTmen's gar- 
 menls, and strewing them under a liing, was an eastfru 
 ri:stom, whicli hf. had elsewhere explained. 
 
 -T 
 
J' 
 
 236 
 
 AN TKiUITIKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Jeliii was Uiiig. So wht-n lie had gotten ilie 
 uniiy Ioj;(.'|Ikt, he was preparing to sot out 
 immediately against Joram, at the city of 
 Jezreel, in which city, as we said before, he 
 was liealing of the wound which he had re- 
 ceived in the siege of RruiiDth. It hajipened 
 also that Ahaziah, king of Jerusalem, was now 
 come to Jor.un, for lie was liis sister's son, as 
 we have said already, to see how he did after 
 liis wound, and this upon account of their kin- 
 dred : but as Jehu was desirous to fall upon 
 Jorain and those with him on the sudden, he 
 desired that none of the soldiers might run 
 away and tell to Joram what had happened, for 
 that this would he an evident demonstration 
 of their kindness to him, and would show that 
 their real inclinations were to make him king. 
 3. So tliey 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 on for Jezreel ; and when he was 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 imiiHxliately gave orders, that 
 one of his horsemen should be sent out to 
 meet them, and to 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 watch- 
 man saw this, he told Joram that t!ie horse- 
 man had mingled himself among ^he com- 
 pany, and came along witli them. And when 
 the king had sent a second messenger, Jehu 
 commanded him to do as the former did ; and 
 as soon as the watchman told this also to Jo- 
 ram, he at last got upon his chariot himself, 
 together with Ahaziah, the king of Jerusa- 
 lem ; for, as we said before, he was tliere to 
 see how Joram did, after he had been wound- 
 ed, 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 fear- 
 ing what he intended, and suspecting Ik.' had 
 no good meaning, turned his chariot about as 
 soon as he could, and said to Ahaziah, " We 
 are fought against by deceit and treachery." 
 
 • Our copies say tliat this " driving of the chariots 
 was like tlic (lri\iiig of Jehu, ihc son of Nimshi; for 
 he ciriveth furiously," t Kings ix, 'JO; whereas Jose- 
 phus's ci)|iy, as he umltrNiooil it, w;i.s this, th.it, on the 
 coulrary, Jrliu marilieil slowly, aiul in pooil order. Nor 
 can it Ix- denied, that sLi\ce there was an interval enough 
 for king Joram to send out two horsemen, one after 
 another, to Jehu, and at length to go out with king 
 Aha/.iah to meet him, and all this after he was come 
 within sight of the watehuian, and before he w.»s eoinc 
 to Jezreel, the probability is greatly on Uie bide of Jo- 
 ici>hut's copy or iutcrprvtatioii. 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 But Jehu drew his bow, and smote him, the 
 arrow going through his heart : so Joram fell 
 down imme<liately on his knee, and gave up 
 the ghost. Jehu also gave orders to liidkar, 
 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 prophecy 
 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 Aliab's chariot, they 
 heard the prophet say so, and that it was now 
 come to pass according to his prophecy. Up- 
 on the fall of Joram, Ahaziah was afraid of 
 his own life, and turned his chariot into ano- 
 ther road, sujiposing he should not be seen by 
 Jehu ; but he followed after him, and over- 
 took 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 reigned one year, and had proved 
 a wicked man, and worse than his father. 
 
 4. Now when Jehu was 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 com- 
 manded her to come down to him. At last 
 he ordered the eunuchs to throw her down 
 from tile tower; and being thrown down, 
 she besjjrinkled the wall with her blood, and 
 was trodden upon by the horses, and so died. 
 When this was done, Jehu came to the pa- 
 lace with his friends, and took some refresh- 
 ment 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, be- 
 cause of the nobility of her blood, for she was 
 descended from kings; but tliose that were 
 appointed to bury her found nothing else re- 
 maining but the extreme parts of her body, 
 for all the rest were eaten by dogs. When 
 Jehu heard this, he admired tlie prophecy of 
 Elijah, for he foretoKl that she should perish 
 m this manner at Jezreel. 
 
 5. Now Ahab had seventy sons brotight up 
 in Samaria. So Jehu sent two epistles, the 
 one to them that brought up tlie children, tJie 
 other to the rulers of Samaria, which said, that 
 they should set up the tnosl valiant of .Aliab'i 
 sons for king, fur that they had abundance of 
 chariots, and horses, and armour, and a great 
 army, and fenced cities, and that by so doin(; 
 they might avenge the murder of Al.ab. This 
 he wrote to try the intentions of those of Siu 
 mnria. Now when the rulers, and those tha' 
 had brought up the children, had read thr 
 letter, they were afraid ; and consiilering thai 
 they were not at all able to oppose him, who 
 had already sulxlued two very great kings, 
 they returned him this answer : — That they 
 owned him for their lord, ami would do what. 
 
"\- 
 
 CHAP. Vli. 
 
 soever 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, aad send (hem to him. 
 Accordingly the rulers sent for those that 
 brought up the sons of Ahab, and command- 
 ed them to slay them, to cut oft" their heads, 
 and send them to Jehu. So they did what- 
 soever they were commanded, without omit- 
 ting any thing at all, and put them up in 
 vicker 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 de- 
 sired them to take notice, that as to Ahab's 
 family, all things had come to pass according 
 to God's prophecy, and his house was perished, 
 according as Elijah had foretold. And when 
 he had farther destroyed all the kindred of 
 Ahab that were found in Jezreel, he went to 
 Samaria; and as he was upon the road, he 
 met the relations of Ahaziah, king of Jeru- 
 salem, and asked them, whither they were go- 
 ing ? they re|)lied, that they came to salute 
 Joram, and their own king Ahaziah, 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. 
 
 6. After these, there met him a good and 
 a righteous man, whose name was Jehonadab, 
 and who had been his friend of old. He sa- 
 luted Jehu, and began to commend him, be- 
 cause he had done every thing according to 
 the will of God, in extirpating the house of 
 Ahab. So Jehu desired him to come up into 
 his chariot, and make his entry with him into 
 Samaria ; and told him that he would not 
 spare one wicked man, but would punish tlie 
 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 righteous man to see the wicked 
 punished. So Jehonadab was persuaded by 
 these arguments, 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 Aliab's god, 
 might escape punishment, he caught them de- 
 ceitfully by this wile : for he gathered all the 
 peojJe together, and said, that he would wor- 
 ship twice as many gods as Ahab worshipjied, 
 and desired that his priests, and prophets, and 
 servants, might be present, because he would 
 cii'er costly and great sacrifices to Ahab's god ; 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 257 
 
 and that if any of his priests were wanting, 
 they should be punished witli death. Now 
 Ahab's god was called Baal : and when he 
 had appointed a day on which he would offer 
 these sacrifices, 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 vest- 
 ments ; and when they had recuived them, he 
 went into the house [of Baal , with his friend 
 Jehonadab, and gave orders to make search 
 whether there were not any foreigner or stran- 
 ger ambng 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 four-score men without, 
 they being such of his soldiers as he knewr 
 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 threatened, that 
 if any one of tliem escaped, their own lives 
 should go for them. So they slew them all 
 with tl;e 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 Tyrians ; and Ahab, in 
 order to gratify his father-in-law, Etlibaal, 
 who was the king of Tyre and Sidon, built a 
 temple for him in Samaria, and appointed 
 him prophets, and worshipped him with ai; 
 sorts of worship, although, when this god was 
 demolished, Jehu permitted the Israelites to 
 worship the golden heifers. However, be- 
 cause he had done thus, and taken care to 
 punish the wicked, God foretold by his ])ro- 
 phet, that his sons should reign over Israel for 
 four generations : and in this condition was 
 Jehu at this time. 
 
 CHAPTER VIT. 
 
 HOW ATIIAI.IAH REIGNED OVER JERUSALEM 
 
 FOR nvE [six] years, when JEUOIADA 
 
 THE HIGH-PRIEST SLEW HER, AND AIADE 
 JEUOASH, tile son of AHAZIAH, KING. 
 
 § 1. Now when Athaliah, the daughter of 
 Ahab, heard of the death of her brother Jo- 
 ram, and of her son Ahaziah, and of the royal 
 family, she endeavoured that none of the house 
 of David might be left alive, but that the 
 whole family might be exterminated, that no 
 king might arise out of it afterward ; and, as 
 she tiiought, i>he had actually done it ; but 
 one of Ahaziali's sons was preserved, who 
 escaped death after the manner following: — 
 Ahaziah had a sister by the same father, 
 whose name was Jehosheba, and she was u.ar- 
 ried to the high-priest Jehoiada. She went 
 into the king's palace, and found Jeliosah, fat 
 Y 
 
2:^8 
 
 AN'J IQUITII-Si OF TllK JEWS. 
 
 that was the little cliilil's name, who was not 
 abovL' a ji'.-ir dM, ;imong fliose that were slain, 
 but ronci'iik'd with liis nnise ; so she took him 
 wjtii her into a secri-t beil-cliaiiibtr, and sliut 
 hitn lip tlicTC ; and slie and Ikt husband Je- 
 hoiada bion^lit liini u[) privatily in thu tiinj)lt' 
 six years, during; which time Athaliali reign- 
 ed over Jerusalem and the two tribes. 
 
 2. Now, on the seventh year, Jchoiada 
 communicated the matter to certain of the 
 captains of hundreds, five in number, and 
 persuaded them to be assisting to what at- 
 tempts lie was making against Athaliah, and 
 to join witli him in asserting tlie kingdom to 
 the child. He also received such oaths from 
 them as are proper to secure those that assist 
 one another from the fear of discovery ; and 
 he was then of good hope that they should 
 de])ose Athaliah. Now those men whom Je- 
 hoiada the priest had taken to be his partners, 
 went into all the country, and gathered toge- 
 ther the priests and the Levitcs, and ilie heads 
 of the tribes out of it, and came and brought 
 them to Jerusalem, to the high-priest. So 
 he demanded the security of an oath of them, 
 to keep private whatsoever he should discover 
 to them, w hich required both tlieir silence and 
 their assistance. So when they iiad taken the 
 oath, and had thereby made it safe for him to 
 speak, he produced the ciiild that he hai! 
 brought up, of the family 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, tliat one-third part of you guard 
 him ill the temple, and that a fourth part 
 keep watch at all the gates of tlie temple, and 
 that the next part of you keep guard at the 
 gate wJiich opens and leads to the king's pa- 
 lace, and let the rcat of tlie multitude be un- 
 armed 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 Lcvites should be 
 about the king himself, and be a guard to him, 
 with their drawn swords, and to kill that man 
 immediately, whoever he be, that should be 
 so bold as to enter armed into the temple ; 
 and bade them be afraid of nobody, but per- 
 severe in guarding the king." So these men 
 obeyed « hat the high-priest advised them to, 
 and declared the re.ility of their rcsolutic.n by 
 llieir actions. Jehoiada also opened that arm- 
 oury which David had made in the temjile, 
 aiid distributed to the captains of hundreds, 
 as also to the priests and Levites, all the 
 spears and quivers, and w hat kind of weapons 
 soever it cont.iined, and set ihem armed in a 
 circle round about the temple, so as to touch 
 one another s hands, and by that means ex- 
 cluding those from entering that ought not to 
 enter. So they brought the child into the 
 midst of them, and jiut on him the royal 
 crown, and Jchoiada anointed him with the 
 oil, and made liiin king; and the multitude 
 
 rejoiced, and made a noise, and cried, " God 
 save the king !' 
 
 3. When Athaliah unexpectefily heard tlir 
 tumult and thr acclamations, she was greatly 
 disturijed in her mind, and suddeidy issued 
 out of the royal palace with her own army ; 
 and when she was come to the temple, the 
 priests received her, but as for those that stood 
 round about the temple, as they were ordered 
 by iiie high priest to do, they hindered the 
 armed men that followed her from going in. 
 Hut when Athaliali saw (he child standing 
 upon a pillar, with the royal crown upon hi:; 
 head, she rent her clothes, and ci ied out vehe- 
 mently, and commanded [her guards] to kill 
 him that had laid snares for her, and en- 
 deavoured to deprive her of the government : 
 luit Jehoiada called for the captains of hu«- 
 dreds, and commanded them to bring Athaliah 
 to the valley of Cedron, and slay lier there, 
 for he would not have the temple defiled with 
 the iiunishments of this pernicious 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 iier slaughter took 
 hold of her, and led her to the gate of tiie 
 king's mules, and slew her there. 
 
 4. Now as soon as what concerned Athaliah 
 was, by this stratagem, after this manner, dis- 
 patched, 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 whicii 
 he obliged the king to give secutity [upon 
 oath] that he would worship God, and not 
 transgress the laws of Rloses. 'lliey then ran 
 to tlie house of Baal, which Athaliah and her 
 husband Jehoram had built, to the dishonour 
 of the God of their fathers, and to the honour 
 of Aliab, and il. tnolished it, and slew IMattan, 
 that had his priesthood. Ihit Jehoiada in- 
 trusted the care and custody of the temple to 
 the priests and Levites, according to the ap- 
 pointment of king D.ivid, and enjoined them 
 to bring their regular burnt-ofrerings twice a- 
 day, and to oOer incense according to the law. 
 He also ordained some of the Levites, with 
 the porters, to be a guard to the temple, that 
 no one that was defiled might come there. 
 
 5. And when Jehoiada had set these things 
 in order, he, with the captains of hunilreds, 
 anil the rulers, and all the people, took 
 •lehoash out of the temple into the king's 
 palace, and when he had set him u|)on the 
 king's throne, the people shouted for joy, and 
 betook fhemsilves to feasting, and kept a fes- 
 tival for many days; but the city was cjuiet 
 upon the death of Athaliah. Now Jelioasli 
 "as seven vcarsold when betook the kingdom: 
 his mother's name was Zibiah, of the city 
 Heersluba. And all the time that Jehoiada 
 lived, Jehoash was careful that the laws should 
 be ke))t, and very zealous in the worship of 
 t-ioil ; ami when he was of age, he married 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CIiAF. VIII. 
 
 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 
 siilhce to have related concerning king Jeho- 
 asli, how he escaped the treachery of Athsiliah, 
 and liovv he received the kingdom. 
 
 2.'i9 
 
 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 for- 
 mer place, and thus did they every day. liut 
 when the multitude appeared to have cast in 
 as mucli as was wanted, the high-priest Je- 
 hoiada, and king Joash, 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 basons, 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. 
 
 3. But as soon as he was dead (which was 
 when lie had lived one hundred and thirty 
 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 peojile were corrupted also together with 
 him, and offended against their duty, and 
 what their constitution determined to be most 
 for their good. Hereupon God was displeas- 
 ed 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 
 wickedness : but they had gotten such a strong 
 affection, and so violent an inclination to it, 
 that neither could the examples of those tha* 
 had offered affronts to the laws, and had been 
 so severely punished, they and their entire 
 families ; nor could the fear of what the pro- 
 phets now foretold bring them to repentance, 
 and turn them back from their ct'urse o{ 
 transgression to their former duty. But the 
 king commanded that Zcchariah, the son of 
 the high-priest Jehoiada, should be stoned to 
 death in the temple, and forgot the kindnesses 
 he bad 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 : Tliat they 
 should act righteously ; and foretold to them, 
 thnt if they would not hearken to his admo- 
 nitions, they sl)ould suffer a heavy punish- 
 ment : but as Zechariah was ready to die, he 
 appealed to God as a witness of what he suf- 
 fered for the good counsel he had given them, 
 and how he peri;.hed, after a most severe and 
 violent manner, for the good deeds his fathei 
 had done to Jeiioash. 
 
 4. However, it was not long before the king 
 suffered punishment for his transgressions , 
 for when Hazael, king of Syria, 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 trea- 
 
 of silver and gold : and when the scribe and^sures of God, and of the kings [before him]. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 «\7,AFX MAKES AN EXPEDITION AGAINST THE 
 PEOPLE OF ISRAEL AND THE INHABITANTS 
 OF JERUSALEM. JEHU DIES, AND JEHOA- 
 HAZ SUCCEEDS IN THE GOVERNMENT. JE- 
 HOASTI, THE KING OF JERUSALEM, AT FIRST 
 IS CAREFUL ABOUT THE WORSHIP OF GOD, 
 BUT AFTERWARDS BECOMES IMPIOUS, AND 
 COMMANDS ZECHARIAH TO BE STONED. 
 WHEN JEHOASH [kING OF JUDAH,] WAS 
 DEAD, AMAZIAH SUCCEEDS HIM IN THE 
 KINGDOM. 
 
 § 1, Now Hazael, king of Syria, fought 
 against the Israelites and their king Jehu, 
 and spoiled the eastern parts of the country 
 beyond lordiin, which belonged to the Reu- 
 benites and Gadites, and to [the half tribe of] 
 Manassites ; as also Gilead and Bashan, burn- 
 ing and spoiling, and offering violence to all 
 that he laid his hands on, and this without 
 impeachment from Jehu, who made no haste 
 to defend the country when it was under this 
 distress : nay, he was become a contemner of 
 religion, and a despiser of holiness, and of 
 the laws, and died when he had reigned over 
 the Israelites twenty-seven years. He was 
 buried in Samaria, and left Jehoahaz his son 
 his successor in the government. 
 
 2. 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, 
 tovvards the rebuilding and repairing of the 
 temple, which was brought to decay by Jeho- 
 ram, and Athaliah and her sons. But the 
 high-priest did not do this, as concluding that 
 no one would willingly pay that money ; but 
 in the twenty-third year of Jehoash'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 tem- 
 ple, he used this stratagem for collecting the 
 money, with which the multitude was pleased. 
 He made a wooden chest, and closed it up 
 fast on 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 contrivance was acceptable 
 to the people; and they strove one with ano- 
 ther, and broiiglit in jointly large quantities 
 
 "^. 
 
2G0 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 anti took down tlic gifts that liad bucn dedi- 
 cated l^iii the teui|)le\ and sent tlicin to the 
 king of Syria, and procured so much hy tliem, 
 tliat he was not besiefjed, nor his kingdom 
 quite endangered ; but Ila/.ael was induced, 
 by the greatness of tlie sum of money, not 
 to bring his army against Jerusalem ; yet Je- 
 hoash fell into a severe distemper, and was 
 set upon by iiis friends, in order to revenge 
 tlie deatl) of Zcchariai), 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 ft)refalhers, be- 
 cause of his impiety. He lived forty-seven 
 years ; and Amaziah his son succeeded hhii 
 in the kingdom. 
 
 5. In the one-and-twcntieth 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 j)ractices as those that 
 first had God in contempt. But the king of 
 Syria Ijrought him low, and, by expeditions 
 against him, did so greatly reduce his forces, 
 that there remained no more of so great an 
 army than ten thousand armed men, and 
 fifty horsemen. He also took away from 
 him his great cities, and many of them also, 
 and destroyed his army. And tliese were the 
 things that the people of Israel sufTered, ac- 
 cording to the proi)hecy of Elisha, when he 
 foretold that Hazael should kill his master, 
 and reign over the Syrians and Damascens. ' 
 Cut when Jehoahaz was imdcr sucli unavoid- 
 able miseries, he had recourse to prayer and 
 ■iupplicatioa to God, and besought him to 
 deliver him out of tlie hands of Hazael, and 
 not overlook him, and give him up into his 
 hands. Accordingly, God accepted of his 
 repentance instead of virtue ; ;ind, being de- 
 sirous lather to admonish those that might 
 repent, and not to determine that they should 
 be utterly destroyed, he granted him deliver- 
 ance from war and dangers. So the country 
 having obtained peace, retunitd again to its 
 former condition, and flourished as before. 
 
 6. Now after the death of Jeiioahaz, his 
 son Joash took the kingdom, in the thirty- 
 seventh year of Jenoasti, the king of tlie tribe 
 of Juflali. This Joash tlicn took the king- 
 dom of Israel in Samaria, for he had the same 
 name with the king of Jerusalem, ami he 
 retained the kingdom sixteen years. He was 
 a good man,* and in his disposition was not 
 
 » This character of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, tliat 
 " he was a gooil miin, and in his disposition not at all 
 hkc to his father," sceins a direct conlradii-tion to our 
 ordinary copies, whieh say (L' Kii.gs xiii, 11), that " he 
 did evil in the sight of the l.ord; and that lie depnrtrd 
 not from all Uie !>ins of Jerolxiam, the son of Ncbat, 
 who made Israel to sin: he walke<l therein." Whiih 
 copies arc hero the truest, it is hardly p<">^sil)lc lo dctcr- 
 iiiiiic. If Jo-cphiis's be true, this Joash is the single 
 instanceof a good king ovcrlhe ten tribes; if the either 
 be true, wc have not one such ex.unplc. The iircount 
 tli.1t follows, in all copies, of Klisha the prophil'o con- 
 earn for him, and hisi'onf^m for i:iii-liiu (ircHily favours 
 
 at all like his father. Now at this time it was 
 that when Elisha the propliet, who was al- 
 ready very old, and was now fallen into a 
 disease, tJic king of Israel came to visit him ; 
 and when he found him very near death, he 
 began to weep in his sight, and lament, to 
 call him his fatlier, and his weapons, because 
 it was by his means that he never made use 
 of his weapons ag.iinsl his enemies, but that 
 lie overcame his own adver.saries by his pro- 
 phecies, without fighting ; and that lie was 
 now departing this life, and leaving him to 
 the Syrians, that were already armed, and to 
 other enemies cf 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 
 liim to hasten to his end, and depart out of 
 this life with him. As the king was thus 
 bemoaning himself, Elisha comforted him, 
 and bade the king bend a bow that was 
 brought him ; and «hen the king had fitted 
 the bow for shooting, Elisha took liold of his 
 hands and bade him shoot ; and when he had 
 shot three arrows, and then left off, Elislia 
 said, " If tliou hadst shot more arrows, thou 
 hadst cut the kingdom of Syria U)) by the 
 roots ; but since thou hast been satisfied with 
 shooting three times only, thou slialt fight 
 and beat the Syrians no more times than three, 
 that thou niayest recover that country whicli 
 they cut oil' from thy kingdom in the reign of 
 thy father." So when the king had heard that 
 he departed ; and a little while after, the ])ro- 
 phet died. He was a man celebrated for 
 righteousness, and in eminent favour with 
 God. He also performed wonderful and 
 surprising works by prophecy, and such as 
 were gloriously jireserved in memory by the 
 Hebrews. He also obtained a magnificent 
 funeral, such a one indeed as it was tit a per- 
 son so beloved of God should have. It also 
 happened, that at that time certain robbers 
 cast a man, wlioni they had slain, into Elisha's 
 grave, and ujion his dead body coming close 
 to Elisha's body, it revived again. And thus 
 far fiave we enlarged about the actions of 
 Elisha the pro]jhfct, both such as he did while 
 he was alive, and how he had a divine power 
 after liis death albO. 
 
 7. 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 w hen he had beaten him in three 
 battles, he took from him all that country, 
 ai5d all those cities and villages, wliicli his fa- 
 
 Joscphu'.'s copies, and suppose this king to have boon 
 Ihcn a good man, and no idolater, with whom Goel's 
 prophcl.s used noi lo be so familiar. Upon the whole, 
 since It api'iars, even by Josephus's own account, that 
 .NmaziaJi, the good king of Jiidah, while he was a good 
 king, wa.s forbidden to make use of the iO(i,':Oil auxilia- 
 ries he had hiriHl of this Joash, the king of Israel, .ns if ho 
 and thcv were then idolaters ('.' Chron. xxv, 6 — 9), il is 
 most likely th.it thc<;e diftl-rcnt characters of Joash suil- 
 eil the dmiTeiit parts of his tei(;n, and tnat, .lecordiiig 
 to our oomnK.ii copies, he was at first a wicked kmi;, 
 and allerwards w.is rcclaimt <l, and became a ai>n<i oiiu. 
 ncsirdii'u to .lo.s*']ihuv 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 261 
 
 ther Hazael had taken from the kingdom 
 of Israel, which came to pass, however, ac- 
 cortling to the prophecy of Elisha. But 
 when Joash happened to die, he was buried 
 ill Samaria; and the government devolved on 
 his son Jeroboam. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW AMAZIAH MADE AN EXPEDITION AGAINST 
 THE EUOMITES AND AMALEKITES, AND CON- 
 QflJERED THEM ; BUT WHEN HE AFTEKWAHDS 
 JIADE WAR AGAINST JOASH, HE WAS BEAT- 
 EN, AND NOT LONG AFTf.R, WAS SLAIN ; AND 
 UZZIAH SUCCEEDED IN THE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 § 1. 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 Jeru- 
 salem. He was exceeding careful of doing 
 what ,was right, and this when he was very 
 young; but when he carne to the manage- 
 ment of affairs, and to the government, he 
 resolved that he ought first of all to avenge 
 liis 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, but acted therein according to the 
 laws of Moses, who did not think it just to 
 punisii children for the sins of their fathers. 
 After this he chose him an army out of the 
 tribe of Judah and Benjamin, of such as were 
 in the flower of their age, and about twenty 
 years old ; and when he had collected about 
 three hundred thousand of them together, he 
 set captains of hundreds over them. He al- 
 so sent to the king of Israel, and hired a hun- 
 dred thousand of his soldiers for a hundred 
 talents of silver, for he had resolved to make 
 an expedition against the nations of tlie Ama- 
 lekites, and Edomites, and Gebalites : 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 auxiliaries ; but that he should 
 overcome his enemies, though he had but a few 
 soldiers, when it so pleased God. And when 
 the king grudged at his havingalready paid the 
 hire of the Israelites, the prophet exhorted him 
 to do what God would have him, because he 
 should thereby obtain much wealth from God. 
 So he dismissed 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 of them ten 
 thousand, and took as many prisoners alive, 
 whom he brought to the great rock which is 
 in Arabia, and threw them down from it 
 feoadlong. lie also brought awav a great 
 
 deal of prey and vast riches from those na- 
 tions ; but while Amaziah was engaged in 
 this expedition, those Israelites whom he had 
 hired and then dismissed, were very uneasy 
 at it, and taking their dismission for an af- 
 front (as supposing that this would not have 
 been done to them but out of contempt), they 
 fell upon liis kingdom, and proceeded to spoi. 
 the country as far as Beth-horon, and took 
 much cattle, and slew three thousand men, 
 
 2. Now upon the victory which Amaziah 
 had gotten, 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 worsliip the gods he had brought 
 out of the country of the Amalekites. So a 
 prophet came to him, and said, that he won- 
 dered how lie could esteem these 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 over- 
 looked the destruction of many of them, and 
 iiad 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, ano 
 he commanded the prophet to hold his peace, 
 and threatened to punish him if he meddled 
 with his conduct. So he replied, that he 
 should indeed hold his peace; but foretold 
 withal, that God would not overlook his at- 
 tempts for innovation ; but Amaziah was not 
 able to contain himself under that prosperity 
 whicli God had given him, although he had 
 affronted God thereupon ; but in a vein of 
 insolence he wrote to Joash, the king of Is- 
 rael, and commanded that he and all his peo- 
 ple should be obedient to him, as they had 
 formerly been obedient to his progenitors, 
 David and Solomon ; and he let him know, 
 tliat if lie would not be so wise as to do what 
 he commanded him, he must fight for his do- 
 minion. To which message Joash returned 
 this answer 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 
 upon thy kingdom." 
 
 3. 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 cam.e such a fear and 
 coi>st>.M nation upon the army of Amaziah, a? 
 
 -T 
 
V 
 
 202 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 God, when he is displeased, sends upon men, land foreign. He was also the cause often 
 and discomflted them, even hefore they came thousand misforlunes to tlie people of Israel. 
 
 to n i-lose fij^ht. Now it happened, that as 
 they were scattered about by llie terror that 
 was upon tlieni, .'\inaziah was left alone, and 
 >vas taken prisoner by the enemy : wliereup- 
 on Joash threatened to kill liiin, unless he 
 would persuade the people of Jerusalem to 
 open their g.ites to him, and receive him and 
 his army into the city. Accordingly Aina- 
 ziah was so distressed, and in such fear of 
 his life, that he made his enemy to be receiv- 
 ed into the city. So Joash overthrew a part 
 of the wall, of the length of four hundred 
 cubits, and drove his chariot through t"he 
 breach into Jerusalem, and led Amaziah cap- 
 tive along with him ; by which means he be- 
 came master of Jerusalem, and took away the 
 treasures of God, and carried oH' all the gold 
 and silver that was in the king's j)alace, and 
 tlien freed the king from captivity, and re- 
 turned to Samaria. Now these things hap- 
 pened to the people of Jerusalem in the four 
 teenth year of the reign of Amaziah, who af- 
 ter this had a conspiracy made against him by 
 his friends, and fled to the city Lacliish, and 
 was there slain by the conspirators, who sent 
 men thither to kill him. So they took up 
 liis 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 fifiy-four years, and 
 had reigned twenty-nine. He was succeeded 
 bv his aon, whose name was Uzziali. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONC.FRNIXG Ji:ROBOAM, KING OF ISllAEL, AND 
 JONAH, THE PIIOI'HKT ; AND HOW, AFTER 
 THK DEATH OF JEUOBOAiM, HIS SON /.ECHA 
 RIAH TOOK THE GOVERNMENT. HOW LZ- 
 /lAH, KING OK JEULSAl.EM, SUCDCEU THE 
 NATIONS THAT WERE KOL'Nl; AliOl'T HIM 
 AND WHAT BEFEl. HIM WHEN HE ATTEMI'TED 
 TO OFFER INCENSE TO COD. 
 
 Now one Jonali, a prophet, foretold to him 
 that he should make war with the. Syrians, 
 and coiKjuer their army, and enlarge the 
 bounds of his kingdom on the northern ])arts, 
 to the city Hainalh, and on the southern, to 
 the lake Asphaltitis ; for the bounds of the 
 Canaanites originally wire these, as Joshua 
 their general had determined them. So Je- 
 roboam made an expedition against the Sy- 
 rians, and over-ran all their country, as Jonah 
 liad foretoltl. 
 
 2. Now I cannot but think it necessary 
 for me, who have promised to give an accu- 
 rate account of our alVairs, to descrii)e the ac- 
 tions of tliis ))ropliet, 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 ; and, when he was 
 there, to publish it in that city, how it should 
 lose the dominion it had over the nations. 
 But he went not, out of fear; nay, he ran 
 away from God to the city of Joppa, and 
 finding a ship there, he went into it, and sail- 
 ed to Tarsus, to Ciliciajf and upon the rise 
 of a most terrible storm, which was so grea» 
 that tlie ship was in danger of sinking, the 
 mariners, the master, and the pilot liimstlf, 
 made prayers and vows, in case they escaped 
 the sea. Hut Jonah lay still and covered lin 
 tlie ship], without in)itating any thing that tlie 
 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 discover by lot which of them it was. 
 When they had cast lots, \ the lot fell uiion 
 the prophet ; and when they asked him whence 
 he came, and what he had done ? lie replied, 
 that he was an Hebrew by nation, and a pro- 
 jihet of Almighty God ; and he persuadc-d 
 thein to cast him into the sea, if they would 
 
 i Wlion Joiijih is said in our Bibles to have gone tn 
 
 Tartlii.'-h (Ji)nah i, 5), Josopluis uiHlerstoixl it, (hat he 
 
 uent to T.irsu.s in Cilii-ia, ur to (he Mediterranean Sia, 
 
 I uiioii wlin'h Tarsirs lay; so that he docs not appear to 
 
 ,.,,-- , r .1 • r liavi' react ilie text, 1 Kings y.xii, 18, .ns our coiiies do, 
 
 § 1. In the fiftecnUi year of the reign ot I ,,,„, s,,,,,^ „,- -la^,,;^,, „,„m lieat Kzion i;el)<:r, uiwn 
 
 Amaziali, Jeroboam the son of Joash reigned I the KeU Sea; butasto Ji>»e|)hii;,'s aasiriion, iliaiJoiiair» 
 
 hill was carried by the stieiij;lli of the current, upon 
 n sionn, a.s fur as the KiiNine Sea, it is no way ini|Hissi- 
 
 over Israel in .Samaria forty years. 'I'hi.s king 
 was guilty of contumely against God,* and 
 became very wicked in worshipping of idols, 
 and in many undertakings that were absurd 
 
 • What I have al)ove noted concerning Jehoash, 
 tccni.. to me to liave been true also eoneemiiiK liis ion 
 Jeriitjoain II, \i/.. tliat ullhough he began wukedly, as 
 Jtiseplins agrees with our oilier coines, and, ;is he ailds, 
 " was the e:iusc of a vast nuinlx-r of misfortunes to the 
 Israelites" in those his first years (Uie jiarliculars of 
 whieh are unhappily warning liolh in Joseplius and in 
 all our copies) ; so docs it seem to me lluit he was afler- 
 wauls reelaiined, and became a gixjd king, and so was 
 encouraged by tlie prophet Jonah, and had gre;a suc- 
 cesses alcerwards, when " (Kxl liad sjived the Israelites 
 by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joush," - Kings 
 XIV, a"; which eiictiufageiiieiit b> Jonah, and great siii- 
 ee»e«, are eijiially observable in Joseplius, and in llie 
 nlhuf eiipii.li. 
 
 llie; and since the storm might have driven the ship, 
 uh:le J,<iiah was ill it, near t<i that Kuxiiie Sea, and 
 since in three more days, while he was in the fish'i 
 belly, that current mighi bung him to the Assyrian 
 coast, and since withal iliat coast ixiuld bring him luarii 
 to Nineveh than c-oi:ld any coast of the Mediicriaiican, 
 il is by no means an improbable deteruiinauon in Jo<>e- 
 phus. 
 
 X This ancient piece of religion, of supjiosing tliere 
 was great sin where tlicre was great misery, and of east- 
 ing loLs to dis<ovcr great sinners, not only ainuiig ihe 
 Isnicliti's, but among these heathen manners, seems a 
 remarkable remain of the ancient tradition which pre- 
 vailed ol old over all mankind, that I'lovidenec used 
 to iuterpose Msibly in all liiiman afl'airs, and never to 
 bring, or at least iiiit long to continue, notorious judg- 
 ment> but for notoiious sins, which llie most ancient 
 IxMik of Jul) shows to have btrii the slate of mankind 
 lor iibiiut Ihe former three thousand yeais of Lht world, 
 UU heda>s i\ Job and Movs. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 '263 
 
 escape the danger they were in, for that he 
 was the occasion of the storm which was up- 
 on 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 com- 
 mitted Iiis life to them, into such manil'c-; 
 perdition ; but at last, when their misfortunes 
 overbore them, and the ship was just going 
 to be drowned, nnd when tliey were animated 
 to do it by tiie propnet Iiiniself, and by the 
 fear concerning their own safety, they cast him 
 into tlie sea ; upon which the sea became calm. 
 It is also related that Jonah was swallowed 
 down by a whale, and that when he had been 
 there three days, and as many nights, he was 
 vomited out upon the Euxiiie Sea, and this 
 alive, and without any hurt upon his body; 
 and there, on his prayer to God, he obtained 
 pardon for his sins, and went to the city Ni- 
 neveh, wliere he stood so as to be iieard ; and 
 preached, that in a very little time they should 
 lose the dominion of Asia ; and when he had 
 publislied this, he returned. Now, I have 
 given this account about him, as 1 found it 
 written [in our books]. 
 
 3. When Jeroboam the king had passed 
 his life in great hapi)ines3, and had ruled for- 
 ty years, he died, and was buried in Sama- 
 ria, 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 boin of Jeco- 
 liah, his mother, who was a citizen of Jeru- 
 salem. He was a good man, and by nature 
 righteous and magnanimous, and very labo- 
 rious in taking care of the affairs of his king- 
 dom. He made an expedition also against 
 the Philistines, and overcame them in battle, 
 and took the cities of Gath and Jabneh, and 
 brake down their walls; after which expedi- 
 tion, he assaulted those Arabs that adjoined 
 to Egypt. He also built a city upon the Il'.'d 
 Sea, and put a garrison into it. He after this 
 overthreiv tiie Ammonites, and appointed that 
 they should pay tribute. He also overcame 
 all the countries as far as the bounds of Egypt, 
 and then began to take care of Jerusalem it- 
 self 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 
 tlie carelessness of the kings his predecessors, 
 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 witli him 
 into the city. Moreover, he built a great many 
 towers, of one hundred and fifty cubits iiigh, 
 and built walled towns in desert places, and 
 put garrisons into them, and dug many chan- 
 nels for conveyance of water. Pie had also 
 many beasts for labour, and an immense num- 
 ber of cattle ; for his country was fit for pas- 
 turage. He was also given to husbandry, and 
 took care to cultivate the ground, and planted 
 it with all sorts of plants, and sowed it with 
 
 all sorts of seeds. He Iiad also about him 
 an army composed of chosen men, in number 
 three hundred and seventy thousand, who 
 were governed by general officers and cap- 
 tains of thousands, who were men of valour 
 and of unconquerable strength, in number two 
 thousand. He also divided his whole army 
 into bands, and armed tliem, givhig every one 
 a sword, with brazen bucklers and breast- 
 plates, with bows and slings ; and besides 
 these, lie made for them many engines of 
 war for besieging of cities, such as cast stones 
 and darts, with grapplers, and other instru- 
 ments of that sort, 
 
 4. While Uzziah was in this state, and 
 making preparations [for futurity], he wm 
 corrupted in his mind by pride, and became 
 insolent, and this on account of that abun- 
 dance which he had of things that will soon 
 perish, and despised that power which isofeter- 
 nal duration (%vhich consisted in piety towards 
 God, and in the observation of his laws) ; so 
 he fell by occasion of the good success of his 
 affairs, and was carried headlong into those 
 sins of his fother, which the splendour of 
 that prosperity he enjoyed, and the glorious 
 actions he had done, led him into, while lie 
 was not able to govern himself well about 
 them. Accordingly, when a remarkable day 
 was come, and a general festival was to bt 
 celebrated, he put on the holy garment, ana 
 went into the temple to offer incense to God 
 upon the golden altar, which he was prohi 
 bited to do by Azariali the high-priest, who 
 had fourscore priests with him, and who told 
 him that it was not lawful for him to offer 
 sacrifice, and that " none besides the poste- 
 rity 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 threatened 
 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 ? 
 place called Eroge, half the mountain broke 
 off from the rest on the west, and rolled itself 
 four furlongs, and stood still at the oast moun- 
 tain, till the roads, as well as the king's gar- 
 dens, 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 command- 
 ed that he should go out of the city as a pol- 
 
 * This account of an earthquake at Jerusalem, at the 
 very same time wlien Uzziali usurped the priest's ofJicc, 
 aud went into the sanctuary to burn incense, and of the 
 conseciucntas of the earthquake, is entirely wanting in 
 our other copies, tliough it be exceeding like to a pro- 
 phecy of Jeremiah, now in Zech. xiv, 4, 5 ; in which 
 prophecy mention is made of " fleeing from that earth- 
 qiiAe, as they tied from this eartlupiake in the days o( 
 Uzziah, king of Judah;" so that there seems to have 
 boeii some consiiierable resemblance between these hi»- 
 1 foric*l aiid propb"Mcal earthquakes. 
 
 ~Y. 
 
aGi 
 
 ANTIQUrriKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 luted person. Hereupon lie was so con- 
 founded at the sad distemper, and sensible 
 that he was not at liberty to contradict, that 
 he did as he was commanded, and underwent 
 this miserable and terrible punishment for an 
 intention beyond what befitted a man to have, 
 and for that impiety a;;ainst God which was 
 implied therein. So he abode out of the city 
 for soine 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-eiglit years, and reigned of them fifty- 
 two ; and was buried by himself in his own 
 g,'ardens 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 HOW ZECHARIAH, SHALLUM, MENAHEM, PE- 
 KAIIIAH, AND PEKAH, TOOK THE GOVEUX- 
 MENT OVER THE ;SIIAI;I,ITES ; AND HOW 
 FIT. AND TIGLATH-PILESER MADE AN EXPE- 
 DITION AGAINST THE ISRAELITES. HOW JO- 
 THAM, THE SON OF I'ZZI.AH, REIGNED OVER 
 THE TRIBE OF JL-DAH ; AND WHAT THINGS 
 NAHLM PROFHECIED AC.AINST THE ASSY- 
 RIANS. 
 
 § 1. Now when Zechariah, the son of Joro- 
 boain, had reigned six months over Isiael, lie 
 was slain by the treachery of a certain friend 
 of his, whose name was Sliallum, the son of 
 Jabesh, who took the kingdom afterward, but 
 kept it no longer than thirty days ; for Mena- 
 hem, the general of his army, who was at that 
 time in the city Tirzah, and heard of what 
 had befallen Zechariah, removed thereupon 
 with all his forces to Samaiia, 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 citizens 
 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 countryiTien, as would not be par- 
 donable with regard 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 lie persuaded him to accept of 
 a thousand talents of silver, and to go away, 
 and so put an end to the war. This sum the 
 multitude Collected for Menahem, by exact- 
 
 ing fifty drachmaB as ])oll-money for every 
 head ;* after which ho died, and was buried 
 in Samaria, and left his son Pckahiah his sue 
 ccssor in the kingdom, who followed the bar- 
 barity of his father, and so ruled but two years 
 only, after v/hich 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 Pe- 
 kah 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 expe- 
 dition against the Israelites, and had over-run 
 all the land of Gilead, and the region beyond 
 Jordan, and the adjoining country, which is 
 called Galilee, and Kadesh. and Hazor, he 
 made the inhabitants prisoners, and transplant- 
 ed them info his own kingdom. And so much 
 shall suffice to have related here concerning 
 tlie king of Assyria. 
 
 2. Now Jotham, the son of Uzziah, reigned 
 over the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem, being a 
 citizen thereof by his mother, whose name was 
 Jerusha. This king was not defective in any 
 virtue, but was religious towards God, and 
 righteous towards men, and careful of the good 
 of the city (for what part soever wanted to be 
 repaired or adorned, he magnificently repaired 
 and adorned them). He also took care o' 
 the foundations of the cloisters in the temple, 
 and repaired the walls that were 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, a 
 hundred talents, and ten thousand 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. 
 
 3. Now there was at that time a prophet, 
 whose name was Nahuni, who spake after this 
 manner concerning the overthrow of the As- 
 syrians and of Nineveh : — " Nineveh shall be 
 a pool of water in motion ;-|- so shall all her 
 
 * Dr. Wall, in fiis Critical Notes on 2 Kings xv, 2(i, 
 observes, " that when this Menahern is said to have 
 exacted the money of Israel of all the mighty men of 
 wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give Pul, 
 the king of Assyria, a thousand talents, this is the first 
 public money raised by any [Israelite] king by a tax on 
 the people; that they used before to raise it out of the 
 treasures of the house of the Lord, or of their own 
 house; that it was a poll-money on the rich men [and 
 them onlv], to raise L.o.ij.Oi^O, or, as others count a ta- 
 lent, L.4 'd.OUO, at the rate of l..C> or L.7 per head ; and 
 that Go<l commanded, by Kzekiel |Ch. xlv, 8, and xlvi, 
 18), that no such thing should be done [at the Jews 
 restoration]; but the king should have land of h is owii.' 
 
 t This passage is taken out of the prophet Xahum, 
 ch. ii, 8 — 1.3, and is the principal, orrathcr the only one 
 that is given us almost verbatim, liut 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 orijjnal, [and not ef the Greek 
 version]; as also we leam, that his Hebrew copy con 
 siderably difiercd from ours, t^ce all these texts par- 
 tiei'laily set down, and couijinrcd togetlier in tlie Fiisa> 
 •-n the O.d 'resuiincnt tai't ihT. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XII 
 
 people be troubled, and tossed, and go away 
 bv 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 out from thee to give laws to 
 the world," And indeed this jirophet pro- 
 phesied many other things besides these con- 
 cerning Nineveh, whidi I do not think ne- 
 cessary to repeat, and 1 here omit them, that 
 I may not appear troublesome to my readers ; 
 all which things happened about Nineveh a 
 hundred and fifteen years afterward : — so this 
 may suffice to have spoken of these matters. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW, I'PON THE DEATH OF JOTHAM, AHAZ 
 UEIGNED IN HIS STEAD; AGAINST WHOM 
 REZIN, KING OF SYRIA, AND PEKAH, KING 
 OF ISRAEL, MADE WAR ; AND HOW TIGLATH- 
 PILESER, KING OF ASSYRIA, CAJIE TO THE 
 ASSISTANCE OF AHAZ, AND LAID SYRIA 
 WASTE, AND REMOVING THE DAMASCENS 
 INTO MEDIA, PLACED OTHER NATIONS IN 
 THEIR ROOM. 
 
 § 1. 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 towards God, and a 
 transgressor of the laws of his country. He 
 imitated the kings of Israel, and reared altars 
 in Jerusalem, and cflered sacnfices 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 tlje same sort. Now as he was going 
 on in this lAad course, Rezin, the king of Sy- 
 ria and Damascus, and Pekah, the king of 
 Israel, who were now at amity one with ano- 
 ther, made war with him ; and when they had 
 driven him into Jerusalem, they besieged that 
 city a long while, making but a small pro- 
 gress, on account of the strength of its walls ; 
 and when the king of Syria had taken the ci- 
 ty Elath, upon the Red Sea, and had slain 
 the inhabitants, he peopled it with Syrians; 
 and when he had slain those in tlie [other] 
 garrisons, and the Jews in their neighbour- 
 hood, and had driven away much prey, he re- 
 turned with his army back to Damascus. Now 
 when the king of Jerusalem knew that the 
 Syrians were returned home, be, supposing 
 
 '^66 
 
 himself a matcn for the V.mg of Israel, drew 
 out his array against him, and joining battle 
 with him was beaten ; and this happened be- 
 cause God was angry with him, on account 
 of his many and great enormities. Accord- 
 ingly, there were slain by the Israelites one 
 hundred and twenty thousand of his men that 
 day, whose general, Amaziah by name, slew 
 Zechariah the king's son in his conflict with 
 Ahaz, as well as the governor of the kingdom, 
 whose name was Airicam. 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 Ben- 
 jamin captives; and when they had gotten 
 a great deal of prey, they retiu'ned to Sama 
 ria. 
 
 2. Now there was one Obed, wlio was t, 
 prophet at that time in Samaria; he met the 
 army before the city walls, and with a loud 
 voice told them that they had gotten the vic- 
 tory not by tiieir own strength, but by reason 
 of the anger God had against king Ahaz. 
 And he complained that they were not satis- 
 fied with the good success tlvey had had against 
 him, but were so bold as to make captives 
 out of their kinsmen 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 sbou!il be punished. So the people ot 
 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 government, 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 destroy- 
 ed by God : we have sins enough of our own 
 that we have committed against him, as the 
 prophets assure us ; nor ought we therefore 
 to introduce the practice of new crimes." 
 When the soldiers heard that, they permitted 
 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 sent them to their own coun- 
 try, without doing them any harm. How 
 ever, these four went along with them, and 
 conducted them as far as Jericho, which is 
 not far from Jerusalem, and returned to Sa- 
 maria. 
 
 3. Hereupon king Ahaz, having tseen so 
 thorouglily 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 Da 
 mascens, with a promise to send him much 
 money ; he sent him also great presents at th» 
 same time. Now this king, upon the recep- 
 tion of those ambassadors, came to assist 
 Ahaz, and made 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 
 
26G 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Upper Media, ami broiij^tit a colony of As- 
 syriuns, aiul planted tlieiii in Daniasetis. He 
 also adlicted tlic land of Israel, and took 
 many captives out of it. \Vliile lie was do- 
 ing thus with the Syrians, kinj; Ahaz took all 
 the gold that was in the ki)i;f's treasures, an<i 
 the silver, and « hat was in the temple of 
 God, anil what precious j^ifls were there, and 
 lie carried them with him, and came to Da- 
 mascus, and gave it to tht; king of Assyria, 
 according to his agreement. So he confessed 
 that he owed him thanks fur all that he had 
 done for him, and returned to Jerusalf m. Now 
 this king was so sottish and thoughtless of 
 what was for his own good, that he would 
 not leave olf worshipping the Syrian gods 
 when he was beaten by tliem, but he went on 
 in worshipping them, as tliougli they would 
 procure him the victory ; and when he was 
 beaten again be began to honour the gods of 
 the Assyrians j and he seemed more desirous 
 to honour any other gods than his own pater- 
 nal and true God, whose anger was the cause 
 of bis defeat : nay, he proceeded to such a 
 degree of despite and contempt [of God's 
 worship\ that lie 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 bis 
 successor. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HOW Pr.KAH DIED BV THE TREACHF.aY 07 HO- 
 SllEA, WHO WAS A LITTLE AITKR SUBDUED 
 EY SHAEMANESER; AND HOW HEZEKIAH 
 REIGNED INSTEAD OF AHAZ; ANU WHAT 
 ACTIONS OF PIETY AND JUSTICE HE DID. 
 
 § 1. About the same time Pekah the king of 
 Israel died, by the treachery of a friend of 
 bis, whose name was Iloshea, who retained 
 the kingdom nine years' time ; but was a 
 wicked man, and a dcspiser of the divine 
 worship : and Shalmaneser, the king of As- 
 syria, 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 or- 
 dered him to pay an a|)pointed tribute. 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 Abi- 
 jah, a citizen of Jerusalem. His nature was 
 good, and righteous, and relii^ious ; for when 
 be came to the kingdom, be thought that no- 
 thing was prior, or more necessary, or more 
 advantageous, to himself and to his subjects, 
 than to worship God. Accordingly, he call 
 cd the people together, and the priests, and 
 
 the Levites, and made a speech to tbnn, and 
 said, — " You are not ignorant how,^bv the 
 sins of my father, who transgressed that sa- 
 cred lionour which was due to God, you have 
 had experience of many and great miseries, 
 while you were corrujJted in your mind by 
 him, and were induced to worsln'p those which 
 he supposed to be gods ; I exhort you, there 
 fore, wlio have learned by sad experience how 
 dangerous a thing impiety is, to put that im- 
 mediately out of your memory, and to purify 
 yourselves from your former pollutions, and to 
 open the temple to these jjriests and Levites 
 who are here convened, and to cleanse it with 
 the accustomed sacrifices, and to recover all 
 to the ancient honour which our fathers paid 
 to it ; for by this means v/e may render God 
 favourable, and he will remit the anger he 
 hath bad to us." 
 
 2. 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 accustomed sacri- 
 fices upon the altar. The king also sent to 
 the country that was under him, and called 
 the people to Jerusalem 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 ofl' their 
 present way of living, and to leturn 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 ol 
 unleavened bread ; and this he said was by 
 way of invitation only, and to be done of their 
 own good-will, and for tiieir own advantage, 
 and not out of obedience (o him, because it 
 would make them happy. Hut the Israelites, 
 upon the coming of tlie ambassadors, and 
 upon their laying before them what they bad 
 in charge from their own king, were so f.ir 
 from complying therewith, that they laughed 
 the ambassadors to scorn, and mocked them 
 as fools : as also they aflVontcd the prophets 
 who gave them the same exhortations, and 
 foretold what lliey would sutler if they tiid 
 not return to the worship of God, insomuch 
 that at length they caught tliem, and slew 
 them ; nor did this degree of transgressing 
 sufiice them, but they had more wicked con- 
 trivances than what have been described: nor 
 did tluy leave oH', before God, as a punish- 
 ment for their impiety, brought them under 
 their enemies: — but of that more hereafter. 
 However, many there were of the tribe of 
 Manasseh, and of Zebulon, and of Issachar, 
 who were obedient to what the prophets ex- 
 horted them to do, and returned to the wor- 
 ship of God. Now all these came running 
 to Jerusalem, to Hezekiah, that they might 
 worship God [there]. 
 
 3. When these men were come, king Heze- 
 kiah went up into the tem|)Ie, with the ruler* 
 and all the people, and oU'ered for bimseif 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. XIV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 2G7 
 
 seven bulls, and as many rams, with seven 
 Iambs, 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-ofl'crings while 
 the Levites stood round aliout them, with 
 their musical instruments, and sang hynms to 
 God, and played on their psalteries, as they 
 were instructed by David to do, and this while 
 tke rest of the priests returned the music, and 
 sounded the trumpets which tliey had in their 
 hands : and when this was done, the king 
 and the multitude tlirew themselves down 
 upon their faces, and worshipped God. He 
 also sacrificed seventy bulls, one hundred 
 rams, and two hundred lambs. He also 
 granted the multitude sacrifices to feast upon, 
 six hundred oxen, and three thousand otlier 
 cattle ; and the priests performed all things 
 according to the law. Now the king was so 
 pleased herewith, that he feasted with the peo- 
 ple, and returned thanks to God ; but as the 
 feast of unleavened bread was now come, when 
 they had oflered that sacrifice vrhich is called 
 the Passover, they after that ottered other sa- 
 crifices for seven days. When the king had 
 bestowed on the multitude, besides what they 
 sanctified of themselves, two tliousand bulls, 
 and seven thousand other cattle, the same 
 thing was done by the rulers; for they gave 
 them a thousand bulls, and a tliousand and 
 forty other cattle. Nor had this festival been 
 so well observed from the days of king Solo- 
 mon, as it was now first 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 shotdd 
 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 mul- 
 titude 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 Philistines, and beat 
 them, and possessed himself of all the enetny's 
 cities, from Gaza to Gath ; but the king of 
 Assyria sent to him, and threatened to over- 
 turn all his dominions, unless he would pay 
 him the tribute which his father paid him 
 formerly ; but king Hezekiah was not con- 
 cerned at his threatenings, but depended on 
 his piety towards God, and upon Isaiah the 
 
 prophet, by whom he inquired, and accurately 
 knew all future events :- and tluis mucli sh U 
 suffice for the present concerning this king 
 Ilezekiali. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 now SHALMANFSER TOOK SAMARIA BY FORCE, 
 AND HOW HE TRANSPLANTED THE TEN 
 TRIBES INTO MEDIA, AND BROUGHT THE NA- 
 TION OF THE CUTHEANS INTO THEIR COUN- 
 TRY [in THEIR room]. 
 
 § 1. When Shalmaneser, the King of Assy- 
 ria, had it told him, that [Hoshea] tlie king ot 
 Israel ha i sent privately to So, the king of 
 Egypt, desiring his assistance against him, he 
 was very angry, and made an expedition a- 
 gainst Samaria, in the seventh 3'car of the 
 reign of Hoshea; but when he was not ad- 
 mitted [into the city] by the king,* he be- 
 sieged Samaria three years, and took it by 
 force in the ninth year of the reign of Hosh- 
 ea, and in the seventh year of Hezekiah, king 
 of Jerusalem, and quite demolished the go- 
 vernment 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 
 Culhah, 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, nine hundred and forty-seven 
 years after their forefathers were come out of 
 the land of Egypt, and possessed themselves 
 of this country, but eight hundred years after 
 Joshua had been their leader, and, as I have 
 already observed, two hundred and forty years, 
 seven months, and seven days, after they had 
 revolted from Kehoboam, the gran-dson of 
 David, and had given the kingdom to Jero^ 
 boam. 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 doings. What gave birth to these evil 
 doings, was that seditic 1 which they raised a- 
 gainst Rehoboam, the grandson of David, 
 when they set up Jeroboam, his servant, to be 
 their king, who, by sinning against God, and 
 bringing them to imitate his bad example. 
 
 » This siege of Samaria, though not ft'ven a parti- 
 cular account of, either in our Hebrew or C.rcek BiblfS, 
 or in Josephus, was so very loiij?, no less tlian three 
 years, that it was no way improbable but that parents, 
 and particularly mothers, mi(;ht thcrcui be reduced to 
 eat their own children, as thc'law of Moses had threa- 
 tened upon their disoljedience (Levit. xx^i, 29; Deut. 
 xxviii, 53 — 57) ; and was accoirplinhed in the other 
 shorter sieges of botli tlie capital cities, .Icrusalem and 
 Samaria ; the former mentioned Jcr. xix, 9 ; Antiq. b. 
 ix. ch iv, sect. •! ; and tjie latter, 2 Kin;js vi, 2(5— :iy. 
 
•-i68 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 made God to be their enemy, while Jeroboam 
 underwent that punislnnent which he justly 
 deserved. 
 
 'J. And now the king of Assyria invaded 
 all Syria and Phoenicia in a hostile manner. 
 The name of this king is also set down in the 
 archives of Tyre, for he made an eipedition 
 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 
 following history : — " One whose name was 
 Jyluleus, reigned thirty-six years: this king, 
 upon the revolt of the Citteans, sailed to 
 them, and reduced them again to a submis- 
 sion. Against these did the king of Assyria 
 send an army, and in a hostile manner over- 
 run all Phoenicia, but soon made peace with 
 them all, and returned back ; but Stdon, and 
 Ace, and Palictyrus, revolted ; and many 
 other cities thcie were which delivered them- 
 selves up to the kingof Ass3Tia. According- 
 ly, when the Tyrians would not submit to 
 him, the king returned, and fell upon them 
 again, while the Phoenicians had furnished 
 him with threescore ships, and eight hundred 
 men to row them ; and when the Tyrians had 
 coine upon them in twelve ships, and the e- 
 nemy's ships were dispersed, they took five 
 hundred men prisoners; and the reputation 
 of all the citizens of Tyre was thereby in- 
 creased ; but the king of Assyria returned, 
 and placed guards at their rivers and aque- 
 ducts, who should hinder the Tyrians from 
 drawing water. This continued for five years ; 
 and still the Tyrians bore the siege, and drank 
 of the water they had out of the wells they 
 dug." And this is what is written in the 
 Tyrian archives concerning Shalmancser, the 
 king of Assyria. 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 3. But now tl»e Cuthcans, who removed 
 info SaiTi.iria (for that is the name they have 
 been railed by to this time, because they were 
 broMght out of the country called Cutliali, 
 wliich is a country of Persia, and there is a 
 liver of the same name in it), each of them, 
 according to their nations, which were in 
 number five, brought their own gods into Sa- 
 maria, and by worshipping them, as was the 
 custom of their own countries, they provoked 
 Almighty 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 Al- 
 mighty God, as the method for their deliver- 
 ance. So they sent ambassadors to the king 
 of Assyria, and desired him to send them 
 some of those priests of the Israelites whom 
 he had taken captive. And when he there- 
 upon 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 in- 
 deed they continue to make use of the verj 
 same customs to this very time, and are call- 
 ed in the Hebrew tongue Cutlieans ; but in 
 the Greek Samaritans. 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 ori- 
 ginal alliance with them : but when they see 
 them falling into a low condition, they say 
 they are no way related to them, and that the 
 Jews have no right to expect any kindness or 
 marks of kindred from them, but they declare 
 that they are sojourners, tliat come from other 
 countries. But of these we shall have a more 
 seasonable opportunity to discourse hereafter. 
 
 "V 
 
269 
 
 BOOK X. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-TWO TEARS 
 
 AND A HALF. 
 
 FROM THE CAPTIVITY OF THE TEN TRIBES TO THE FIRST OF 
 
 CYRUS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 HOW SENNACHERIB MADE AN EXPEDITION 
 AGAINST HEZEKIAH ; WHAT THREATENINGS 
 RABSHAKEH MADE TO HEZEKIAH WHEN 
 SENNACHERIB WAS GONE AGAINST THE 
 EGYPTIANS ; HOW ISAIAH THE PROPHET EN- 
 COURAGED HIxM; HOW SENNACHERIB, HAV- 
 ING FAILED OF SUCCESS IN EGYPT, RETURN- 
 ED THENCE TO JERUSALEM ; AND HOW, UP- 
 ON HIS FINDING HIS ARMY DESTROYED, HE 
 RETURNED HOME ; AND WHAT BEFEL HIM 
 A LITTLE AFTERWARD. 
 
 § 1. 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 expedition 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 Jerusalem, Hezekiah sent ambassa- 
 dors to him beforehand, and promised to sub- 
 mit, and pay what tribute he should appoint. 
 Hereupon 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 him : and if he 
 might receive three hundred 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 ambassa- 
 dors that he would then do him no harm, but 
 go away as he came. So Hezekiah submit- 
 ted, and emptied his treasures, and sent the 
 money, as supposing he should be freed from 
 his enemy, and from any farther distress 
 about his kingdom. Accordingly, the As- 
 syrian king took it, and yet had no regard 
 to what he had promised; but while he him- 
 self went to the war against the Egyptians 
 and Ethiopians, he left his general Rab- 
 shakeh, and two other of his principal com- 
 manders, with great forces, to destroy Jeru- 
 salem. The names of the two other com- 
 nianders were Tartan »nd Rabsaris. 
 
 2. Now as soon as they were 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 he 
 sent three of his most intimate friends ; the 
 name of the one was Eliakim, who was over 
 the kingdom, and Shebna, and Joah the re- 
 corder. So these men came out, and stood 
 over against the commanders 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 a 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 He- 
 brew tongue, for he was skilful in that Ian 
 guage, Eliakim was afraid lest the multitude 
 that heard him should be disturbed ; so he 
 desired him to speak in the Syrian tongue. 
 But the general understanding what he meant, 
 and perceiving the fear that he was in, he 
 made his answer with a greater and a loudei 
 voice, but in tlie Hebrew tongue ; and said, 
 that " since they all heard what were tlie 
 king's commands, they would consult their 
 own advantage in delivering up themselves 
 to us ; for it is plain that both you and your 
 
 • This title of Great King, both in our Bibles (2 Kingi 
 xviii, 19; Isa. xxxvi, 4), and here in Josephus, is the 
 very same that Herodotus gives this Sennacherib; ai 
 Spanlieim takes notice on this place. 
 
 ^ 
 
"V 
 
 270 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 kiili^ (lissmtlo tlio people from submitting by 
 vain hopes, and so iniluce ilium to resist; but 
 if you be courajreous, and tliink to drive our 
 forces away, 1 am ready to deliver to you two 
 thousand 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 proiluce. 
 Why, therefore, do you delay to deliver up 
 yourselves to a superior force, vvlio can take 
 you without your consent ? altiiough it will 
 be safer lor you to deliver yourselves uj) vo- 
 luntarily, while a forcible capture, wiien you 
 are beaten, must appear more dangerous, ainl 
 will bring farther calamities' upon you." 
 
 3. When the people, as well as the ambas- 
 SJidors, heard what the Assyrian commander 
 said, they related it to Hezekiah, who there- 
 upon put ofl' hi^ royal a))parel, and clothetl 
 himself with sackcloth, and took the habit of 
 a mourner, and, after the manner of his coun 
 try, he fell upon his face, and besought God, 
 and entreated him to assist them, now they 
 Lad no other hope of relief. He also sent 
 some of his friends, and some of the priests, 
 to the piophet Isaiah, and desired that he 
 would pray to God, and offer sacrifices for 
 their common deliverance, and so (Jiit up 
 supjilications to him, that he would have in- 
 dignation at the expectations of their enemies, 
 and have mercy upon his people. And when 
 the prophet had done accordingly, 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 figliting, and should go away 
 in an iginnninious manner, and not with that 
 insolence which they now sho« , for that God 
 would take care that they should be destroy- 
 ed. He also foretold that Sennacherib, the 
 king of Assyria, should fail of his purpose 
 against Egypt, and that when he came liome, 
 he should perish by the sv»-ord. 
 
 4. About the same lime also the king of 
 Assyria wrote an ejjistle 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 aliea'dy brought under 
 many and great nations; and he threatened, 
 that, when he took him, he would utterly 
 destroy him, unless he now opened the gates, 
 and willingly received his army into Jerusa- 
 lem. When he had read this epistle, he desi)is- 
 cd i', on account of the trust that he had in 
 God ; but lie rolled up the epistle, and laid 
 it up within the temple ; and as he made his 
 farther prayers to God for tlie city, and for 
 the preservation of all the people, the pro- 
 pliet Isaiah said, that God had heard his 
 prayer, and that he should not at lliis time 
 be besieged by the king of Assyria;* that, 
 
 • Wliat Joscphus says here, how Isaiah the prophet 
 a-surcil Hcztki.ih, ilia' '• a', ih:.-. liii.e he shoulit not l)e 
 liwiitged by the king of Assyria; that for the future he 
 niif hi be Mrurc uf not being at all distnrbeil by him ; 
 uia that [at'terwarUJ the people might gu ou [K-ueeably, 
 
 ROOK X. 
 
 for the future, he might be secure of not 
 being at all disturbed by him ; and that the 
 people might go on peaceably, and without 
 fear, with their husbandry and other affairs 
 but after a little while, the king of Assyria, 
 when he had failed of his treacherous designs 
 against the Egyi)tians, returned home with- 
 out success on the following occasion : — He 
 spent a long time in ihe siege of Pelusiuni ; 
 and when the bunks that lie had raised over 
 against the walls were of a great height, and 
 when he was retidy to make an iniinediatc as- 
 sault 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 Assyrians, this king 
 .Sennacherib was disturbed at the news ; and, 
 as I said before, left Pelusiuin, and returned 
 back without success. No.v concerning this 
 Sennacherib, Herodotus also says, in the se- 
 cond book of his histories, how " this king 
 came against the Egyjitian king, who was the 
 priest of Vulcan ; and that as he was besieg- 
 ing Pelusium, he broke up the siege on the 
 following occasion : — This Egyptian priest 
 prayed to (Jod, 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 Assyrians, 
 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 ar 
 mour 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 docs indeed give us this his- 
 tory ; nay, and Berosus, w ho wrote of the 
 afl'airs of Chaldea, makes mention of this king 
 Sennacherib, and that he ruled over the Assy- 
 rians, and that he made an expedition against 
 all Asia and Egypt ; and says thus : — ■f 
 
 5. " Now when Sennacherib was return- 
 ing from his Egyptian war to Jerusalem, he 
 found his army under Kabshakeh his general 
 in danger [by a plague], for' God had sent a 
 pestilential distemper upon his army ; and on 
 the very first night of the siege, a hundred 
 fourscore and five thousand, with their cap- 
 tains and generals, were destroyed. So the 
 king was in a great dread, and in a terrible 
 agony at this calamity; and being in great 
 
 and without fear, with their husbandry, and other .if- 
 fairs," is more distiiiet in our otiier eopi'es, both of the 
 Kings and of Isaiah, .and deserves \ery great considera- 
 tron. The words are ihcse: — " This sliall be a sign unto 
 tliee : Ve shall cat Uiis year sueh as groweth ot itself; 
 and the second year that which springcth of the same; 
 and ill the third year sow ye, and reaji, and plant vine- 
 yards, mid oat the fruit thereof ('.' Kings xix, 2U; Isa. 
 xxxvii, 3(1) i which seem to me plainly to design a Sal>- 
 batic year, a year of jubiliH: i.cxt after it, and the sut-- 
 cccdiiii; usual labours and fruits of them ou the third 
 and fallowing yeans. 
 
 t 'I hat till-, lerrililc calamity o:' the slaughter of the 
 lH-i,!)! II Assyiiaiis is here dcli\eud in the words of Be- 
 rosus the ('haldian ; and that it wiu eiiiainly and fre- 
 qui'illy foretold by the Jewish prophets; aiid that it 
 was certainly and undeniably uecuinpliiJied, see Alt' 
 UwuL Rcc. Part ii. pafie 8Jti. 
 
 .r 
 
6HAP. a. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 271 
 
 foar for his whole army, lie fled with the rest 
 of his forces to his own kingdom, and to his 
 city Nineveh ; and when he had abode tiiere 
 a little while, he was treaclierously assaulted, 
 and died by the hands of his elder sons,* 
 Adrammelech and Seraser, and was slain in 
 his own temple, which was called Araske. 
 Now these sons of his were driven away, on 
 account of the murder of their father, by the 
 citizens, and went into Armenia, while As- 
 sarachoddas took the kingdom of Sennache- 
 rib." And this proved to be the conclusion 
 of this Assyrian expedition against the peo- 
 ple of Jerusalem. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 now HEZEKIAH WAS SICK, AND RHADY TO 
 DIE, AND HOW GOD BESTOWED UPON HIM 
 FIFTEEN YEARS LONGER LIFE [AND SECUR- 
 ED THAT promise], EY THE GOING BACK OF 
 THE SHADOW TEN DEGREES. 
 
 § 1. Now Hezekiah being thus delivered, af- 
 ter a surprising manner, from the dread he 
 was in, offered thank-offerings to God, with 
 all his people ; because nothing else had de- 
 stroyed some of their enemies, and made the 
 rest so fearful of undergoing the same fate, 
 that they departed from Jerusalem, but that 
 divine assistance : yet, while he was very zeal- 
 ous and diligent about the worship of God, 
 did he soon afterwards fall into a severe dis- 
 temper,f insomuch, that the physicians de- 
 spaired of him, and expected no good issue 
 of his sickness, as neither did his friends : and 
 besides the distemper itself, there was a very 
 inelancholy circumstance that disordered the 
 king, which was the consideration that he was 
 childless, and was going to die, and leave his 
 house and his government without a successor 
 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 was become a father. Here- 
 upon God had mercy upon him, and accepted 
 
 * We are here to take notice, that these two sons of 
 Sennacherib that ran away into Armenia, became the 
 heads of two famous families there, the Arzeninii and 
 the Genunii; of which see the particular histories in 
 Moses Chorenensis, p. 6ii. 
 
 f Josephus, and all our copies, place the sickness of 
 Hezekiah after the destruction of Sennacherib's anny, 
 because it appears to have Ijeen after his first assault, as 
 he was going into Arabia and Egypt, where he pushed 
 his conquesU as far as they would go, and in order to 
 dispatch his story altogether ; yet does no copy but this 
 of Josephus say it was after that destruction, but only 
 that it happened in those days, or about that time of 
 Hezekiah's life. Nor will the fifteen years' prolongation 
 of his life after his sickness, allow that sickness to ha\ e 
 been later than the former part of the fifteenth year of 
 his reign, since chronology does not allow him in all 
 above twenty-nine years ar.d a few rr.onths : whereas the 
 first assault of Sennacherib was in the fourte^ith year 
 of Hezekiah ; but the destruction of Sennacherib's army 
 was not till liis eighteenth \ear. 
 
 of his supplication, 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 ac- 
 count pray that he inight have a longer life 
 aflfbrded him, but in order to have sons, that 
 might receive the government after him. And 
 God sent Isaiah the prophet, and commanded 
 him to inform Hezekiahj that within three 
 days' time he should get clear of his distera 
 per, and should survive it fifteen years, and 
 tliat he should have children also. Now up- 
 on the prophet's saying this, as God had com- 
 manded him, he could hardly believe it, both 
 on account of the distexnppr 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 believe him in 
 what he had said, and be sensible that he came 
 from God : for things that are beyond expec- 
 tation, and greater than our hopes, are made 
 credible by actions of the like nature. And 
 when Isaiah had asked him what sign he de- 
 sired 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,f and to make it as it was before. 
 And when the prophet prayed to God to ex- 
 hibit this sign to the king, he saw what he 
 desired to see, and was freed from his distem- 
 per, and went up to the temple, where he wor- 
 shipped God and made vows to him. 
 
 2. 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 ambassadors to Hezekiah with 
 presents, and desired lie would be his ally and 
 his friend. So he received the ambassadors 
 
 t As to this regress of the shadow, either upon a sun- 
 dial, or the steps of the roval palace built by Ahaz, whe- 
 ther It were physically done by the real miraculous re- 
 voluuon of the earth in its diurnal motion backwards 
 from east to west for a while, and its return again to its 
 old natural revolution from west to east ; or whether it 
 were not apparent only, and performed by an aerial 
 phosphorus, which imitated the sun's motion back- 
 wards, while a cloud hid the real sun, cannot now bo 
 detennined. I'hilosophers and astronomers will natu- 
 rally incline to the latter hypothesis. However, it must 
 be noted, that Josephus seems to have understood it 
 otherwise than we generally do; that the shadow was 
 accelerated as much at first forward as it was made to go 
 backward afterwards, and so the day was neither longer 
 nor shorter than usual; which, it must be confessed, 
 agrees best of all to astronomy, whose eclipses, older 
 than that time, were observed at the same times of the 
 day as if this miracle had never happened. After all, 
 this wonderful signal was not, it seems, peculiar to Ju- 
 dea, but either seen, or at least heard of, at Uabylon 
 also, as appears by 2 Chron. xxxii, 51 ; where we learn 
 that the Babylonian ambassadors were sent to Hezekiah, 
 among other things, to inquire of the wonder that was 
 done in the land. 
 
 j This expression of Josephus, that the Medes, upon 
 this destruction of the Assyrian army, " overthrew" the 
 Assyrian empire, seeras to be too strong; for although 
 they immediately cast off the Assyrian voke, and set up 
 Deioces, a king of their own, yet it was some time be- 
 fore the Medes and tiabylonians overthrew Nineveh; 
 and some genejations before the Medes and Pei-sians, 
 under Cyaxares and Cyrus, overthrew the .Assyrian o» 
 Babylonian empire, and took Babylon. 
 
 .r 
 
272 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK X 
 
 gladly, ami made them a feast, and sliowcd 
 tlicin Ills treasures, and liis armoury, and tlie 
 other wealth he was possessed of, in precious 
 stones, and in gold, and gave them presents 
 to be carried to lialadan, and sent tlietn back 
 to him. Upon which tiie prophet Isaiah came 
 to him, and inquired of him whence those 
 ambassadors came : to whicli he replied, that 
 tliey came from IJabylon, from the king; and 
 tiiat l)e liad sliowed tliem all lie 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 
 words Hezekiah was troubled, and said, that 
 he was himself unwilling that his nation 
 should fall into such calamities ; yet, since it 
 is not possible to alter what God had deter- 
 mined, 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 con- 
 fession 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 behind 
 him in books, that their accomplishment might 
 be judged of from the events by posterity. 
 Nor did this prophet do so alone j but the 
 others, which were twelve in number, did the 
 same. And whatsoever 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 III. 
 
 HOW MANASSEH REIGNED AFTEB HEZEKIAH ; 
 AND HOW, WHEN HE WAS IN CAPTIVITY, HE 
 UETI'IINED TO GOD, AND WAS KLSTORED TO 
 HIS KINGDOM, AND LEiT IT TO [hI3 SON] 
 A.MON. 
 
 § 1. 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 Ma- 
 nasseh, whose mother's name was Hephzibah, 
 of Jerusalem, had taken the kingdom, he de- 
 parted from the conduct of his father, and 
 fell into a course of life quite contrary there- 
 to, and showed himself in his manners most 
 wicked in all respects, and omitted no sort of 
 imj)iety, but imitated tliose 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, aiid the whole country ; for, by 
 setting out fiom a contempt of God, he bar- 
 barously blew all the righteous men that were 
 among the Hebrews; nor vyould 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 multitude, by 
 whom he threatened the very same calamities 
 to them which their brethren the Israelites, 
 upon the like afl'ronts offered to God, were 
 now under. But these men would not be- 
 lieve their words, by which belief they might 
 have reaped the advantage of escaping all 
 those miseries; yet did they in earnest learn 
 that what the prophets had told them was 
 true. 
 
 2. And when they persevered in the same 
 course of life, God raised up war against them 
 from the king of Babylon and Chaldea, who 
 sent an army against Judea, and laid waste the 
 country; and caught king Manasseh by trea- 
 chery, and ordered him to be brought to him, 
 and had him under his power to inflict what 
 punishment he pleased upon him. But then 
 it was that Manasseh perceived what a miser- 
 able condition he was in, and esteeming him- 
 self the cause of all, he besought God to ren- 
 der his enemy humane and merciful to him. 
 Accordingly, God heard his prayer, and 
 granted him what he prayed for. So Manasseh 
 was released by the king of Babylon, and es 
 caped the danger he was in ; and when he 
 was come to Jerusalem, he endeavoured, if it 
 were 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 reli. 
 gious life. He sanctified the temple, and 
 purged the city, and for the remainder of liis 
 days he «as intent on nothing but to return 
 his thanks to God for his deliverance, 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 was fallen into by a con- 
 trary conduct. He also rebuilt the altar, and 
 offered the legal sacrifices, as Moses com- 
 manded ; and when he had re-established 
 what concerned the divine worship, as it ought 
 to be, he took care of the security of Jerusa- 
 lem : 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 cily he 
 strengthened, not only in other res];ects, but 
 « ith 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 comt, 
 that from the time of his return to piety to- 
 wards God, he was deemed a happy man, and 
 a pattern for imitation. When therefore h« 
 had lived sixty-seven yenrs, l>e departed this 
 life, having reigned fifty-five years, and waa 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 273 
 
 buried in his own garden ; and the kingdom 
 came to his son Amon, whose motl)er's name 
 was Meshulemeth, of the city of Jotbath. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW AMON KEIGNED INSTEAD OF MANASSEH ; 
 AND APTKR AMON, REIGNED JOSIAII ; HE 
 WAS BOTH RIGHTEOUS AND RELIGIOUS. AS 
 ALSO CONCERNING HULDAH THE PRO- 
 PHETESS. 
 
 § 1. 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 that slew Amon, 
 and buried him witli 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 
 ^■as of a most excellent disposition, and 
 naturally virtuous, 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 behaviour ; 
 for he brought the people to a sober way of 
 living, and exhorted them to leave off the opi- 
 nion they had of their idols, because 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 abun- 
 dantly 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 nature, and 
 in compliance with the advice and instruction 
 -of tlie elders ; for by following the laws it 
 was that he succeeded so well in the order of 
 his government, and in piety with regard to 
 the divine worship ; and this happened be- 
 cause the transgressions of the former kings 
 were seen no more, but quite vanished away ; 
 for tiie king went about the city, and the 
 whole country, and cut down the groves, 
 which were devoted to strange gods, and over- 
 threw t'heir altars ; and if there were any gifts 
 dedicated to them by his forefathers, he made 
 them ignominious, and plucked them down ; 
 and by tiiis means he brought the people back 
 from tiieir opinion about them to the worship 
 of God. He also offered his accustomed sa- 
 crifices and burnt-offerings upon the altar. 
 Moreover, he ordained certain judges and 
 overseers, that they might order the matters 
 to them severally belonging, and have regard 
 to justice above all things, and distribute 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 temple 
 according to every one's inclinations and abi- 
 lities; 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, curators 
 of the temple, and of the charges contributed 
 thereto ; who made no delay, nor put the work 
 off at all, but prepared arcliitects, and what- 
 soever 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. 
 
 2. 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 mo- 
 ney was overplus, he should cast cups, and 
 dishes, and vials, for ministration [in the tem- 
 ple] ; and besides, that they should bring all 
 the gold or silver which was among the trea- 
 sures, and expend 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 Sliaphan 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 garment, and called 
 for Eliakim the high-priest, and for [Shaphan] 
 the scrilie, and for certain [other] of his most 
 particular friends, and sent them to Huldah 
 the prophetess, the wife of Shallum (which 
 Shallum was a man of dignity, and of an 
 eminent family), and bade them go to her and 
 say that [he desired] she would appease 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 captivity, and of being cast out 
 of their own country ; lest they should be In 
 want of all things, and so end their days mi- 
 serably. 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 already given sentence 
 against them, to destroy the people, and cast 
 then out of their country., and deprive them 
 of all the happiness they enjoyed ; which sen- 
 tence none could set aside by any prayers of 
 theirs, since it was passed on account of their 
 transgressions of the laws, and of their not 
 having repented in so long a time, while the 
 prophets bad exhorted them to amend, and 
 had foretold the punishments that would ensue 
 on their impious practices ; which tlireatening 
 God would certainly execute upon them, that 
 they might be persuaded that he is God, and 
 had not deceived them in any respect as to 
 1 what he had denounced by Ms prophets; tliat 
 
 _r 
 
274 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 yet, because Josiali was a riglitcous man, he 
 woiiKl at present delay those calamilies, Ixit 
 tliat, after his ileatli, he would send on the 
 multitude what miseries he had determined 
 for them. 
 
 3. So these messengers, upon tliis prophecy 
 of the woman, came and told it to the king ; 
 whercuiion lie sent to the people everywhere, 
 and ordered that the priests and the Levites 
 shou'd come together to Jerusalem ; and 
 commanded that those of every ago should he 
 present also; and when they were gathered 
 together, he first read to them the holy books ; 
 after which he stood upon a jjulpit, 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 Mo- 
 ses. Accordingly, they gave their assent 
 willingly, and undertook to do what the king 
 had recomiTiended to them. So they imme- 
 diately oflered sacrifices, and that after an ac- 
 ceptable manner, and besought God to be 
 gracious and merciful to tiiem. He also en- 
 joined tlie 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 ves- 
 sels were got together, he burnt them, and 
 scattered their ashes abroad, and slew the 
 priests of the idols that were not of the fami- 
 ly of Aaron. 
 
 4. 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 Jeroboain, in honour of 
 strange gods ; and lie burnt the bones of the 
 false prophets upon that altar which Jero- 
 boam 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, viz. that 
 a certain man of the house of Uavid, Josiah 
 by name, should do what is here mentioned. 
 And It liappened that those predictions took 
 effect after three hundred and sixty-one years. 
 
 5. After these things, Josiah went ah>o to 
 such other Israelites as had escaped captivity 
 and slavery under the Assyrians, and per- 
 suaded them to desist from their impious 
 practices, and to leave off the honours they 
 paid to strange gods, but to worbliij) rightly 
 
 and what thing soever there was besides 
 which they worshipped as a god. And when 
 he had tlius purged all the country, he called 
 the people to Jerusalem, and there celebrated 
 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, thirty thousand, and three thou- 
 sand oxen for burnt-on'erings. The princi- 
 pal of the priests also gave to the priests 
 against the jiassover two tiiousand and six 
 hundred lambs ; the princi|>al of the Levites 
 also gave to the Levites five thousand lambs, 
 and five hundred oxen, by which means there 
 was great plenty of sacrifices ; and they offer- 
 ed these sacrifices according to the laws of 
 IMoses, while every priest explained the mat- 
 ter, and ministered to the multitude. And 
 indeed there had been no other festival thus 
 celebrated by the Hebrews from the times of 
 Samuel the ))rophet; and the plenty of sacri- 
 fices now was the occasion that all things 
 were performed according to the laws, and 
 according 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 follow 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW JOSIAH rOLGHT Wn H NECO |^KIXG OF 
 EGVFr], AND WAS WOl'NDED, AND DIED IN 
 A LITTLE TIME AllEHWAUDS : AS ALSO HOW 
 NECO CARRIED JEHOAHAZ, WHO HAD BEEN 
 MADE KING, INTO EGYPT, AND DEI.IVEIIF.D 
 THE KINGDOM TO JEllOlAKIM : AND [LAST- 
 LY], CONCEIINING JEUEMIAH AND EZEKIEU 
 
 § I. Now Neco, king of Egypt, raised an 
 army, and marched to the river Euphrates, 
 in order to fight with the Medes and Baby, 
 lonians, who had overthrown the dominion of 
 the Assyrians,f for he had a desire to reign 
 over Asia. Now when he was come to the 
 city IMendes, which belonged to the kingdom 
 of Josiah, he brought an army to hinder him 
 from passing through his own country, in his 
 expedition against the jMedes. Now Neco 
 
 their own Almighty God, and adhere to him. sent a herald to Josiah, and told him, that he 
 He also searched the houses, and the villages, bad not made this expedition against him, 
 and the cities, out of a suspicion that some- i lJ"t was making haste to Euphrates; and de- 
 
 body might have one idol or other in private; 
 nay, indeed, be took away the chariots [of 
 the Sun] that were set up in liis royal pa- 
 lace,* which his predecessors had framed. 
 
 • It is hard to reconcile the acoimif in the second 
 lx)ok of Kings {cli. xxjii, II) with this ncixmnt in Josi- 
 phus, and Ui tran;>liilc this passnitc truly in Joseiihus, 
 whose copies arc sll])|l()^l■^l to Ix- laic iini'icrfccl. Mow- 
 ever, the general s<n«.- of both -ccnis to Ix; this: — Thai 
 there were cert in chariots, with Ihcir horses, dcilifalcil 
 U) the idol of the Sun, or to Molecli : whiih i<lol inif{lit 
 tie ramed about in procc^iun, and worshipped by the 
 
 sired that he would not provoke him to fight 
 against him, because he obstructed his march 
 
 people ; which chariots were now " taken away," as Jo- 
 .scphus says, or, as the book of Kings says, " burnt with 
 (ire, by Josiah." 
 
 t This is a remarkable passage of chronology in Jo- 
 scphiis, that about the latter end of the reign of Josiah, 
 the Modes and Habyloniaiis overthrew the empire of 
 the Assyrians; or, in the words of Tobit's coiitmuator, 
 that " before Tobhis died, he heard of the destruction 
 of Nineveh, which was taken by Ncbuchodonosor the 
 llabylonian, and Assucrus the Medc," Tob. xiv, 15 See 
 Dean Pridcaux's Connexion, at the year 312. 
 
 r 
 
J' 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OV THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VX. 
 
 to the place whither he had resolved to go. 
 But Josiah did not admit of this advice of 
 Neco, but put liimself into a posture to hin- 
 der him from his intended march. I sup- 
 pose it was fate that pushed him on to this 
 conduct, that it might take an occasion against 
 him ; for as he was setting his ainiy in array,* 
 and rode about in his chariot, from one wing 
 of his army to another, one of the Ei;yptians 
 shot an arrow at him, and put an end to his 
 eagerness for fighting ; for, being sorely 
 wounded, he commanded a retreat to be 
 sounded for his army, and returned to Jeru- 
 salem, and died of that wound ; and was 
 magnificently buried in the sepulchre of his 
 fathers, when ho /lad lived thirty-nine years, 
 and of them had reigned thirt3'-one. But all 
 the people mourned greatly for him, lament- 
 ing and grieving on his account many days ; 
 and Jeremiah the prophet composed an elegy 
 to lament him,-|- wliich is extant till this time 
 also. Moreover, this prophet denounced be- 
 forehand the sad calamities t])at were coming 
 upon the city. He also left behind him in 
 writing a description of that destruction of 
 our nation which has lately happened in our 
 days, and the taking of Babylon; nor was he 
 the only prophet wlio delivered such predic- 
 tions beforehand to the multitude j but so 
 did Ezekiel also, who was the first person 
 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, un- 
 til the city and temple were utterly destroyed. 
 However, as to what btfel this prophet, we 
 will relate it in its proper place. 
 
 2. Upon the death of Josiah, which we 
 have already mentioned, his son, Jehoaliaz 
 by name, took the kingdom, being about 
 twenty-three years old. He reigned in Je- 
 rusalem ; and his mother was Hamutal, of 
 the city Libnah. He was an ijnpious man, 
 and impure in his course of life ; but as the 
 king of Egypt returned from the battle, he sent 
 for Jehoahaz to come to him to the city called 
 Hamatli,! which belongs to Syria ; and when 
 he was come, he put him in bands, and de- 
 livered the kingdom to a brother of his by 
 the father's side, whose name was Eliakim, 
 and changed his name to Jehoiakim., and laid 
 
 * This battle is justly esteemed the very same that 
 Herodotus (b. ii, sect 156), mentioiis, wheu ho says, 
 that " Nccao joined battle with Bie Syrians [or Jews] 
 at Magdolum [Megiddo], and be;it them," as 13r. Hud- 
 sou here observes. 
 
 ■(■ Whether Josephus, from 2 Chron. xxxv, 21, here 
 means the book of the I anientaticiis of Jeremiah, still 
 extant, which chiefly belongs to the destruction of Je- 
 rusalem under Neliuchaelneizar, or to any other like 
 melancholy poem now lost, but extant in the days of 
 Josephus, belonging peculiarly to Josiah, cannot now be 
 determined. 
 
 X This ancient city Hamath, which is joined with 
 Arpad, or Aradus, arid with Damascus (2 Kings xviii, 
 5l ; Isa. xxxvi, 19; Jcr. xlix, 25), cities of Syria and 
 Phoenicia, near the borders of Judca, was also itself evi- 
 dently near the same borders, though long ago utterly 
 destroyed. 
 
 275 
 
 a tribute upon the land of a htindred talents 
 of silver, and a talent of gold ; and tiiis sum 
 of money Jthoiakim 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 Zebudali, of the city Ru- 
 mah. He was of a wicked disposition, and 
 ready to do mischief, nor was he either reli- 
 gious towards God, or good-natured towards 
 men. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW NEBUCHADNEZZAR, WHEN HE HAD CON- 
 QUERED THE KING OF EGYPT, MADE AN EX- 
 PEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS, AND SLEW 
 JEKOIAKIM, AND MADE JEHOIACHIN, U13 
 SON, KING. 
 
 § 1. Now in the fourth year of the reign of 
 Jehoiakim, one whose name was Nebuchad- 
 nezzar took the government over the Babylo- 
 nians, who at the saine time went up with a 
 great army to the city Carchemish, 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 Necc 
 understood the intention of the king of Babj- 
 lou, and that this expedition was made against 
 him, he did not despise his attempt, but made 
 haste with a great band of men to Euphra- 
 tes to defend himself from Nebuchadnezzar ; 
 and when they had joined battle, lie was 
 beaten, and lost many ten thousands [of his 
 soldiers] in the battle. So the king of Ba- 
 bylon passed over Euphrates, and took all 
 Syria, as far as Pelusium, excepting Judea. 
 But when Nebuchadnezzar had already reign- 
 ed four years, which was the eighth of Jehoi- 
 akim's government over the Hebrews, the king 
 of Babylon made an expedition with mighty 
 forces against the Jew's, and required tribute 
 of Jeiioiakim, and threatened, on his refusal, 
 to make war against him. He was atfrighted 
 at his threatening, and bought his peace with 
 money, and brought the tribute he was order- 
 ed to bring for three years. 
 
 2. But on the third year, upon hearing 
 that the king of the Babylonians made an ex- 
 pedition against the Egyptians, he did not pay 
 his tribute ; yet was he disappointed of bis 
 hope, for the Egyptians durst not fight at this 
 time. And indeed the prophet Jeremiah fore- 
 told every day how vainly they relied on tlieir 
 hopes from Egypt, and how the city would be 
 overthrown by the king of Babylon, and Je- 
 hoiakim 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 nniltitude, 
 and the rulers, when they heard him, had no 
 concern about what they heard ; but being 
 
 "V. 
 
 jT 
 
J~ 
 
 276 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK X 
 
 displeased at wliat was said, as if tlic propliet 
 were a diviner against the king, tliey accused 
 Jeremiah ; and bringing him before the court, 
 tliey required tliat a sentence and a punish- 
 ment might be given against liim. Now all 
 the rest gave their votes for his condemnation, 
 but the elders refused, who prudently sent 
 •way tlie propliet from the court [of the pri- 
 son], and persuaded the rest to do Jeremiah 
 no harm ; for tliey 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 mollified the multi- 
 tude with these words, anddelirered Jeremiah 
 from the punishment to which he was con- 
 demned. Now when this prophet had written 
 all his prophecies, and the people were fast- 
 ing, and assembled at the temple, on the ninth 
 month of the fifth year of Jelioiakim, he read 
 the book he had composed of his predictions 
 of what was to befal 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 tliey 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 consumed. He also com- 
 manded that they should seek for Jeremiah 
 and Baruch the scribe, and bring them to him, 
 that they might be punished. However, they 
 escaped his anger. 
 
 3. Now, a little time afterwards, the king 
 of Babylon made an expedition against Je- 
 lioiakim, whom he received [into the city], 
 and this out of fear of the foregoing predic- 
 tions of this prophet, as supposing that he 
 should sufl'er nothing that was terrible, be- 
 cause he neither shut the gates, nor fought 
 against him ; yet when he was 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 Jehuiakim, 
 whom he commanded to be thrown before the 
 walls, without any burial ; and made his son 
 Jehoiachin king of tlie country and of the 
 city : he also took the principal persons in 
 dignity for captives, three thousand in num- 
 ber, and led them away to Babylon ; among 
 whom was the prophet Ezekiel, who was then 
 but young. And this was the end of king 
 Jelioiakim, when he had lived thirty-six years, 
 and of them reigned elvcn. But Jehoiachin 
 succeeded him in the kingdom, whose mo- 
 ther's imme was Nehushta ; she was a citizen 
 of Jerusalem. lie reigned three months and 
 tun days. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THAT THE KING OF BABYLON REPENTED OT 
 MAKING JEHOrACHIN KING, AND TOOK UIM 
 AWAY TO BABYLON, AND DF.LIVERED THE 
 KINGDOM TO ZEDEKIAH. THIS KING WOULD 
 NOT BELIEVE WHAT WAS PREDICTED BY JE- 
 REMIAH AND EZEKIEL, BUT JOINED HIMSELP 
 TO THE EGYPTIANS ; WHO, WHEN THEY CAME 
 INTO JUDEA, WERE VANQUISHED BY THE 
 KING OF BABYLON ; AS ALSO WHAT BEFEL 
 JEREMIAH. 
 
 § 1. But a terror seized on the king of Ba- 
 bylon, who had given the kingdom to Jehoia. 
 chin, and that immediately ; he was afraid 
 that he should bear him a grudge, because of 
 his killing his father, and thereupon should 
 make the country revolt from him ; where- 
 fore he sent an army, and besieged Jehoiachin 
 in Jerusalem ; but because he was of a gen- 
 tle and just disposition, he did not desire to 
 see the city endangered on his account, but 
 he took his mother and kindred, and deliver- 
 ed them to the coitimanders sent by the king 
 of Babylon, and accepted of their oaths, that 
 neither should they sufl'er 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 handicraftsmen, and bring 
 them bound to him ; their number was ten 
 thousand eight hundred and thirty-two ; as 
 also Jehoiachin, 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 make no innovation, 
 nor have any league of friendship with the 
 Egyptians. 
 
 2. Now Zedekiah was twenty-and-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 Jere- 
 miah came often to him, and protested to him, 
 and insisted, that he must leave off his im- 
 pieties 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 delud 
 ed them, as if the king of Babylon would make 
 no more war against him, and as if the Egyp- 
 tians would make war against him, and conquer 
 him, since what they said was not true; and the 
 events would not prove such [as they expect- 
 edl. Now as to Zedekiah himself, while he 
 beard the orophet speak, he believed him, and 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 277 
 
 agreed to every thing as true, and supposed 
 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 ac- 
 counts of them unto Jerusalem ; but Zede- 
 kiah 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 
 betaken, and Zedekiah himself should betaken 
 captive ; but Ezekiel disagreed with him, and 
 said, that Zedekiah should not see Babylon ; 
 while Jeremiah said to him, that the king of 
 Babylon should carry him away thither in 
 bonds ; and because they did not both say 
 the same thing as to this circumstance, he 
 disbelieved what they both appeared to agree 
 in, and condemned them as not speaking 
 truth therein, although all the things foretold 
 him did come to pass according to their pro- 
 phecies, as we shall show upon a fitter oppor- 
 tunity, 
 
 3. Now when Zedekiah had preserved the 
 league of mutual assistance he had made w ith 
 the Babylonians for eight years, he brake it, 
 and revolted to the Egyptians, in hopes, by 
 their assistance, of overcoming the Babylo- 
 nians. When the 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 be- 
 siege it : but when the king of Egypt heard 
 'vhat circumstances 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 mot 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 Ba- 
 bylon was departed from Jerusalem, the 
 false prophets deceived 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 captivity 
 would return, with all those vessels of the 
 temple, of which the king of Babylon had 
 despoiled that temple. But Jeremiah came 
 among them, and prophesied what contra- 
 dicted those predictions, and what proved to 
 be true, that they did ill, and deluded the 
 king ; that the Egyptians would be of no ad. 
 vantage to them, but that the king of Baby- 
 lon would renew the war against Jerusalem, 
 and besiege it again, and would destroy the 
 people by famine, and carry away those that 
 remained into captivity, and would take away 
 what they had as spoils, and would carry 
 oft' those riches that were in the temple ; nay, 
 tlvat, besides this, he would burn it, and ut- 
 
 terly overthrow the city, and that they should 
 serve him and his posterity seventy years ; 
 and 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 rebuila 
 the temple, and restore Jerusalem."* — 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 else, 
 where, to his own country, which was called 
 Anathoth, and was twenty furlongs distant 
 from Jerusalem ; and as he was going, one of 
 the rulers met him, and seized upon him, and 
 accused him falsely, as though he were going 
 as a deserter to the Babylonians ; but Jere- 
 miah said that he accused him falsely, and 
 added, that he was only going to his own 
 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 punished ; and this was the condition he 
 was in for some time, while he suffered what 
 I iiave already described unjustly. 
 
 4. Now, in the ninth year of the reign of 
 Zedekiah, on the tenth day of the tenth month, 
 the king of Babylon made a second expedi 
 tion against Jerusalem, and lay before it eigh- 
 teen months, and besieged 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 havoc 
 of them : and though the prophet Jeremiah 
 was in prison, he did not rest, but cried out, 
 and proclaimed aloud, and exhorted the mul- 
 titude 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 sliould be destroy- 
 ed ; and he foretold, that if any one staid 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 believe him, even when they were in 
 the midst of their sore calamities; but they 
 came to the king, and, in their anger, inform- 
 ed him what Jeremiah said, and accused him, 
 and complained 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 other- 
 wise ready to expose themselves to dangers 
 for him, and for their country, while he, in a 
 
 • Joscphus says here, that Jeremiah prophesied noc 
 only of the return of the Je« s from the Babylonian cap- 
 tivity, and this under the Persians and Medes, as inouir 
 other coi/ies ; but of their rcbuildnig the temple, and 
 even the city Jerusalem, which docs not appear in our 
 copies under his name. See the note on Antiq. b. ai 
 ch. 1 , sect. 3. 
 
 k 
 
278 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEUS 
 
 K 
 
 way of tlircatciiing, warned tliciii to fly to the 
 enciny, niiil told tht-iii tliat tlx" city should 
 certainly he taken, and he utterly destroyed. 
 
 5. Put for the kinj:; iiiinseU", he was not at 
 all irritated against Jeremiah, such was his 
 gentle antl righteous disposition ; yet, that he 
 might not be engaged in a quarrel with those 
 rulers at such a time, by opposing uhat they 
 intended, he let them do with the prophet 
 whatsoever tl.ey would ; whereupon, when 
 the king had granted them such a permission, 
 they presently came into the prison and took 
 hiin, and let him down with a cord into a pit 
 full of mire, that he nu'glit be sufTocatedj^ and 
 die of himself. So he stood up to the neck 
 in the mire, which was all about liini, and so 
 continued : i)ut there was one of tiie king's 
 servants, who was in esteem witii liim, an E- 
 thiopian by descent, who told the king what 
 a state the prophet was in, and said, that his 
 fiicnds and his rulers had done evil in put- 
 ting the propliet into the mire, and by that 
 means contriving against him tiiat he should 
 sufler a death more bitter than that by his 
 bonds only. When the king heard this, he 
 repented of his having delivered uj) the pro- 
 phet 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 necessary for the i)ro])het's 
 preservation, and to draw him up immediate- 
 ly. So the Ethiopian took the men that he was 
 ordered to take, and drew up the prophet out 
 of the mire, and left him at liberty in tlie 
 prison. 
 
 6. But when the king had sent to call him 
 privately, and inquired what he could say to 
 him from God, ^^llich might l)e suitable to his 
 present circumstances, and desired him to in- 
 form liim of it, Jeremiah replied, that he 
 had somewhat to say ; but he said withal, he 
 should not be believed, nor, if he admonislied 
 them, should be hearkened to ; " for," said he, 
 " thy friends have determined to destroy me, 
 as though I had been guilty of some witkeil- 
 ness : and where are now those men who de- 
 ceived us, and said that the king of I5abylon 
 would not come and fight against us any 
 more ? but I am afraid now to speak the 
 truth, lest thou shouldest condenm me to 
 die." And when the king liad assured iiim 
 upon oath that he would neither himself put 
 him to death, nor deliver him up to the rulers, 
 
 le became bold upon that assurance that was 
 given him, and gave him this advice : — That 
 he should deliver the city up to the Baby- 
 lonians; and he said, that it was God who 
 prophesied this by him, that [he must do so] 
 if he would be pre-erved, and escape out of 
 the danger he was in, and that then neither 
 should the city full to the ground, nor should 
 the temi)le be burned ; but that [if he dis- 
 obeyed], he would be the cause of these mi- 
 series coming u])on the citizens, and of the 
 calamity that would befal his whole house. 
 
 Wlien the king lieard this, he said, that he 
 would willingly di) what he persuaded him to, 
 and what he declared would be to his advan- 
 tage, but that he was afraid of those of hi? 
 O'vn country that had fallen away to the Ba- 
 bylonians, lest he should be accused by them 
 to the king of Babylon, and he punished. 
 But the prophet encouraged him, and said he 
 had no cause to fear such |>uriishmcnt, for 
 that he sh()uld not have the cxjjerience of any 
 misfortune, if he would deliver all up to the 
 Babylonians ; neither himself, nor liis chil- 
 tlrcn, nor his wives, and that the teinple 
 should then continue unhurt. So when Je- 
 remiah had said this, the king let him go, and 
 charged him to betray what they had resolved 
 on to none of the citizens, 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 lie had said to 
 him ; but to pretend to them that he besoughj 
 him that he might not be kept in bonds and 
 in prison. Anil indeed he said so to thetn, 
 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 fi- 
 nished what concerns this matter. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOW THE KliVG OF BABYLON TOOK JERlSAT.Ey 
 AND BURNT THIi TLMPI.E, AND ilE.MOVKD 
 THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM AND ZEDEKIAH 
 TO BABYLON. AS ALSO, WHO THEY WERE 
 THAT HAD SITCCEEDED IN THE HIGH-PRIEST- 
 HOOD UNDER THE KINGS. 
 
 § 1 . Now the king of Babylon was very intent 
 and earnest upon the siege of Jerusalem ; and 
 he erected towers upon great banks of earth 
 and fronj thtm repelled those that stood upon 
 the walls: he also made a great number of 
 such banks round about the whole city, 
 the height of whicli «as equal to those walls. 
 However, those that were within bore the 
 siege with courage and alacrity, for they were 
 not discouraged, either by the famine or by 
 the pestilential distemper, but were of cheer- 
 ful minds in the prosecution of the war, al- 
 though those miseries within oppressed them 
 also; and they did not sutler themselves to 
 ie terrified, either by the contrivances of the 
 enemy, or by their engines of war, but con- 
 trived still dillcrent engines to oppose all the 
 other withal, till indeed there seemed to be 
 an entire struggle between the Babylonians 
 and the people of Jerusalem, «ho had the 
 greater sagacity and skill ; the former party 
 supi)osing they should be thereby too hard 
 for the other, for the destruction of the city ; 
 the latter placing their liopes of deliverance 
 in nothing else but in perse\ering in such in. 
 
 ^ 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 ANTiaUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 279 
 
 veutions, in opposition to the other, as might 
 demonstrate the enemy's engines were use- 
 less to them ; and this siege they endured 
 for eighteen moiitlis, until they were destroy- 
 ed by the famine, and by the darts which the 
 enemy threw at them from the towers. 
 
 2. Now the city was taken on the ninth 
 day of the fourth month, in the eleventli year 
 of the reign of Zedekiah. They w<!re in- 
 deed only generals of the king of Babylon, 
 to whom Nebuchadnezzar committed 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 
 desire to know them, were these : Nergal 
 Sharezer, Samgar Nebo, Rabsaris, Sarse- 
 cliini, and Rabmag; and when the city was 
 taken about midnight, and the enemy's gene- 
 rals were entered into the temple, and when 
 Zedekiah was sensible of it, he took his 
 wives and his children, and his captains and 
 friends, and with thein fled out of the city, 
 tlirough the fortified ditch, and through the 
 desert ; and when certain of the deserters had 
 informed the Babylonians of this, at break of 
 day, they made haste to pursue after Zede- 
 kiah, and overtook him not far from Jericho, 
 and encompassed 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 resolved to save him- 
 self j so the enemy took Zedekiah alive, when he 
 was deserted by all but a few, with his chil- 
 dren and his wives, and brought him to the 
 king. When he was come, Nebuchadnezzar 
 began to call liim a wicked wretch, and a 
 covenant-breaker, and one that had forgotten 
 his former words, when he promised to keep 
 the country for him. He also reproached him 
 for his ingratitude, that when he had received 
 the kingdom from him, who iiad taken it from 
 Jehoiachin, 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, 
 »vho hateth that conduct of thine, and hath 
 brought thee under us." And when he had 
 used these words to Zedekiah, he commanded 
 his sons and his friends to be slain, while Ze- 
 dekiah and tlie rest of the captains looked on ; 
 after which he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, 
 and bound him, and carried him to Babylon. 
 And these things happened to him,* as Jere- 
 miah and Ezekiel had foretold 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 
 
 # This observation of Josephus about the seeming 
 disagreement of Jeremiah (ch. xxxii, 4; and xxxiv, 5; 
 anit Kzek. xii, 13), but real agreement at last, concern- 
 ing the fate of Zedekiah, is very true and very remark- 
 able. See ch. vii, sect. 2. Nor is it at all unlikely that 
 tlie courtiers and false prophets might make use of this 
 seeming contradiction to dissuade Zedekiah from believ- 
 ing either of tliose prophets, as Josephus here intimates 
 he was dissuaded thereby. 
 
 own eyes ; and thus far did Jeremiah pro- 
 phesy. But he was also made blind, and 
 brought to Babylon, but did not see it, ac- 
 cording to the prediction of Ezekiel. 
 
 3. We have said thus much, because it was 
 sufficient to show the nature of God to such 
 as are ignorant of it, that it is various, and 
 acts many different ways, and that all events 
 happen after a regular manner, in their pro- 
 per season, and that it foretols what must 
 coine to pass. It is also sufficient to show 
 the ignorance and incredulity of men, where- 
 by they are not permitted to foresee any thing 
 tliat is future, and are, without any guard, 
 exposed to calamities, so that it is impossible 
 for them to avoid the experience of those ca- 
 lamities, 
 
 4. And after this manner have the kings of 
 David's race ended their lives, being in num- 
 ber twenty-one, until the last king, who ail 
 together reigned five hundred and fourteen 
 years, and six montlis, and ten days : of whom 
 Saul, who was their first king, retained the 
 government twenty years, though he was not 
 of the same tribe with the rest. 
 
 5. And now it was that the king of Ba- 
 bylon 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 w ith 
 the ground, and to transplant the people into 
 Babylon. Accordingly he came to Jerusalem, 
 in the eleventh year of king Zedekiah, and 
 pillaged the temple, and carried out the ves- 
 sels of God, both gold and silver, and parti- 
 cularly that large laver which Solomon dedi- 
 cated, as also the pillars of brass, and their 
 chapiters, with the golden tables and the can- 
 dlesticks : and when he had carried these ofT, 
 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, and in the 
 eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar ; he also 
 burnt the palace, and overthrew the city. Now 
 the temple was burnt four hundred and seventy 
 years, six months, and ten days, after it was 
 built. It was then one thousand and sixty- 
 two years, six months, and ten days, from the 
 departure out of Egypt ; and from the De- 
 luge to the destruction of the temple, the 
 whole interval was one thousand nine hundred 
 and fifty-seven years, six months, and ten 
 days; but from the generation of Adam, un- 
 til this befel the temple, there were three thou- 
 sand five hundred and thirteen years, six 
 months, and ten days ; so great was the num- 
 ber of years hereto belonging ; and what ac- 
 tions were done during these years, we have 
 particularly related. But the general of the 
 Babylonian king now overthrew the city to 
 the very foundations, and removed all the peo- 
 ple, and took for prisoners the high-])riest 
 Seraiah, and Zephaniah the priest that was 
 next to him, and the rulers that guarded the 
 temple, who were three in number and the 
 
J- 
 
 2S0 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK X 
 
 eunuch who was over the armed men, and 1 Jews into captivity, left the poor, and those 
 seven friends of Zodi'kiah, and his scribe, and that had deserted, in the country ; and made 
 sixty otlier rulers; nil whom, togetiier with I one, whose name was Gedaliah, the son of 
 
 the vessels they tiad pillaged, he carried to the 
 king of Babylon to lliblab, a city of Syria. 
 
 Ahikam, a person of a noble family, their 
 governor ; which Gedaliah was of a gentle 
 
 So the king commanded the heads of the and righteous disposition. lie also com- 
 
 high-priest and of the rulers, to be cut ofl 
 there ; but he himself led all the captives and 
 Zedekiah to Babylon. lie also led Josedek 
 the high-priest away bound. lie was the son 
 of Seiaiah the high-privst, whom the king of 
 Babylon had slain in Iliblah, a city of Syria, 
 as we just now related. 
 
 6. And now, because we have enumerated 
 4he succession of the kings, and who they 
 were, and how long tluy reigned, I think it 
 necessary to set down the names of the high- 
 priests, and who they were that succeeded one 
 anotherin the high-priesthood underthe kings. 
 The first high-ptiest 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 Phideas, and Phideas's son was Su- 
 deas, and Sudeas's son was Juelus, and Jue- 
 lus's son was Jotham, and Jotham's son was 
 Urias, and Urias's son was Nerias, and Ne- 
 rias's son was Odeas, and his son was Sallu- 
 mus, and Sallumus's son was Elcias, and his 
 son [was Azarias, and his son] was Sareas,* 
 and his son was Josedec, who was carried 
 captive to Babylon. All these received the 
 high-priesthood by succession, the sons from 
 their father. 
 
 7. When the king was come to Babylon, 
 he kept Zedekiah in prison until he died, and 
 buried him magnificently, and dedicated 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 
 tlie high-priest from his bonds. 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 HOW NEBUZARADAN SET GEDALIAH OVER THE 
 JEWS THAT WERE EEfT IN JUDEA, WHICH 
 GEDALIAH WAS A LITTIJ': AITEUWAKU SLAIN 
 UYISHMAEL; AND HOW JOHANAN, AJTER 
 ISriMAEL WAS DRIVEN AWAY, WENT DOWN 
 INTO EGYPT WITH THE PEOPLE; WHICH PEO- 
 PLE NEBUCHADNEZZAR, WHEN HE MADE AN 
 EXPEDITION AGAINST THE EGYPTIANS, TOOK 
 CAPTIVE, AND BROLGHT THE.M AWAY TO 
 BABYLON. 
 
 § 1. Now the general of tlic army, Nebuza- 
 radan, when he had carried the people of the 
 
 • I have licre liiscrtc<l in tjiuckots this liigh-pricst 
 Azarias, tlioiigli he lie oiiiiltt'd in all .liist'phu<< coiiics, 
 out of the Jewish ehionielL-, Seller *)laiii, of how luile 
 authority M)fvcr I generally esteem sueh late llabliimcal 
 hUtormns, l>c<«use we know Iroin JoM.-|>hus hiiiiAelf, that 
 
 manded them that they should cultivate the 
 ground, and pay an a])poinled tribute to the 
 king. He also took Jeremiah 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 him 
 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 pro- 
 phet had no mind to follow him, nor to dwell 
 anywhere else, but would gladly live in the 
 ruins of his country, and in the miserable re- 
 mains of it. When the general understood 
 what his purpose was, he enjoined Gedaliah, 
 whom he left behind, to take all possible care 
 of him, and to supply 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 
 Nebuzaradan that he would set at liberty his 
 disciple Baruch,f the son of Neriah, one of a 
 very eminent family, and exceeding skilful in 
 the language of his country. 
 
 2. When Nebuzaradan had done thus, he 
 made haste to Babylon ; but as to those that 
 fled away during the siege of Jerusalem, and 
 had been scattered over the country, when 
 they heard that the Babylonians were gone 
 away, and had left a remnant in the land of 
 Jerusalem, and those such as were to culti- 
 vate the same, they came together from all 
 parts to Gedaliah to Mispah. Now the rulers 
 that were over them were Johanan, the son of 
 Kareal), and Jezaniah, and Seraiali, and others 
 beside them. Now there was of the royal 
 family one Ishmael, a wicked man, and very 
 crafty, who, during the siege of Jerusalem, 
 fled to Baalis, king of the Annnonites, and 
 abode with him during that time; and Geda- 
 liah persuaded them, now they were there, 
 to stay with him, and to have no fear of the 
 Babylonians, for that if they would cultivate 
 the country, they should sulTer 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 tlwell in any city, as 
 every one of them pleased ; and that they 
 would send men along willi his own servants, 
 
 the number of the hiRh-pricsts belonging to this inter- 
 val was eif;hterii (Antiq. b. xx, ch. x), wlicreas liis co- 
 pies lia\e here hut seventeen. 
 
 t Of this I hnracler of Uanich, the son of Neriah, and 
 Ihe genuiiieiii-ss of his lK)ok, lliat stands now in out 
 Aptx-npna, ami that it is real'v n eanorieal book, and 
 an Ap'iiemUx to Jeremiah, see AuthciiU Ucc. yaM i, 
 jiage i— 1 1, 
 
 ^- 
 
 ^ 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IX, 
 
 and rebuild their houses upon the old foun- 
 dations, and dwell there; and he admonished 
 them beforehand, that they should make pre- 
 paration, 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. 
 
 3. 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 Gedaliah, 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 
 [shmael to kill hiin by treachery, and sccret- 
 y, that he might have the dominion over the 
 Israelites, as being of the royal family ; and 
 they said that he might deliver himself from 
 this treaclierous design, if he would give them 
 leave to slay Ishmael, and nobody should 
 know it, for tliey told him they were afraid 
 that when he was killed by the other, the en- 
 tire 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 ; 
 because it was not probable that one who, 
 under such a want of all things, had failed 
 of nothing that was necessary for him, should 
 be found so wicked and ungrateful towards 
 his benefactor, that when it would be an in- 
 stance of wickedness in him not to save him, 
 had he been treacherously assaulted by others, 
 to endeavour, and that earnestly, to kill him 
 with his own hand : that, however, if he 
 ought to suppose this information to be true, 
 it was better for himself to be slain by the 
 other, than destroy a man who fled to him 
 for refuge, and entrusted his own safety to 
 him, and committed himself to his disposal. 
 
 4. So Johanan, and the rulers that were 
 with him, not being able to persuade Gedaliah, 
 went away : but after the interval of thirty 
 days was over, Ishmael came again to Geda- 
 liah, to the city Mispah, and 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 be- 
 came disordered in drink, while he endeavour- 
 ed to be very merry with them : and when 
 Ishmael saw him in that case, and that he was 
 drowned in his cups to the degree of insensi- 
 bility, and fallen asleep, he rose up on a sud- 
 den, 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, 
 
 281 
 
 and those soldiers also which were left therein 
 by the Babylonians ; but the next day four- 
 score men came out of the country with pre- 
 sents to Gedaliah, none of them knowing what 
 had befallen him ; when Ishmael saw them, 
 he invited tiiem in to Gedaliah, and when they 
 were come in, he shut up the court and slew 
 them, and cast their dead bodies down into a 
 certain deep pit, that they might not be seen ; 
 but of these fourscore men Ishmael spared 
 those that entreated him not to kill them, till 
 tliey had delivered up to him wliat riches they 
 had concealed in the fields, consisting of their 
 furniture, and garments, and corn : but he 
 took captive 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. 
 
 5. But when Johanan 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, tliey v/ere very glad, 
 and looked upon them as coming to their as- 
 sistance ; so they left him that had carried 
 them captives, and came over to Johanan : 
 then Ishmael, with eight men, fled to the king 
 of the Ammonites ; but Johanan took those 
 whom he had rescued out of the hands of Ish- 
 mael, 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 determined to remove from thence 
 and go into Egypt, out of fear, lest the Baby- 
 lonians should slay them, in case they con- 
 tinued in the country, and that out of anger 
 at the slaughter of Gedaliah, who had been by 
 them set over it for governor. 
 
 6. Now while they were under this delibe- 
 ration, Johanan, the son of Kareah, and the 
 rulers that were with him, came to Jeremiah 
 the prophet, and desired that he would pray 
 to God, that because they were at an utter 
 loss about what they ought to do, he would 
 discover it to them, and they sware that they 
 would do whatsoever 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 bemg hurt by the Babylonians, of 
 whom they were afraid ; but that he would 
 desi;rt them if they went into Egypt; and, 
 ou'. of his wrath against them, would inflict 
 thf same punishments upon them which Uiey 
 
 2 A 
 
282 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 knew ilicir lirclhrcn had already endured. 
 So when tlie prophet had informed Johanan 
 and the peo])le that God liad foretold these 
 things, he was not believed, when lie said that 
 God commanded them to continue in that 
 country ; but they imagined that he said so 
 to gratify Baruch, his own disciple, and be- 
 lied God, and that he persuadsd them to stay 
 there, that they might be destroyed by the 
 Babylonians. Accordingly, both the people 
 and Johannn disobeyed the counsel of God, 
 which he gave them by the prophet, and re- 
 moved into Egypt, and carried Jeremiah and 
 Baruch along with them. 
 
 7. And when they were there, God signi- 
 fied to the prophet that the king of Babylon 
 was about making an expedition against the 
 Egyptians, and commanded him to foretel 
 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 Babylon ; which things came 
 to pass accordingly; for on the fifth year af- 
 ter the destruction of Jerusalem, which was 
 the twenty-third of the reign of Nebuchad- 
 
 intcrval of time which passed from the capti- 
 vity of the Israelites, to the carrying away of 
 the two tribes, proved to be a hundred and 
 thirty years, six months, and ten days. 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 CONCEBNING DANIEL, AND WHAT BEFF.I. HIM 
 AT BABYLON. 
 
 § I. Bi'T now Nebuchadnezzar, king of Ba- 
 bylon, 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 come- 
 liness of their countenances, and delived their 
 into the hands of tutors, and to the improve- 
 ment 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 in the institutes of 
 nezzar, he made an expedition against Cele- I tlip country, and taught the learning of the 
 Syria; and when he had possessed himself of; Chaldeans; and they had now exercised them- 
 it, he made war against the Ammonites and selves sufficiently in that wisdom which he 
 Moabites ; and when be had brought all , had ordered they should apply themselves to. 
 those nations under subjection, he fell upon Now among these there were four of the family 
 Egypt, in order to overthrow it; and he slew of Zcdekiah, of most excellent dispositions; 
 the king that then reigned,* and set up ano- the one of whom was called Daniel, another 
 ther : and he took those Jews that were there , was called Ananias, another ^lisael, and the 
 captives, and led them away to Babylon ; fourth Azarias : and the king of Babylon 
 and such was the end of the nation of the changed their names, and commanded that 
 Hebrews, as it hath been delivered down to j they should make use of other names. Daniel 
 us, it having twice gone beyond Euphrates; he called Baltasar ; Ananias, Shadrach; Mi- 
 for the people of the ten tribes were carried sael, Meshach ; and Azarias, Abednego. 
 out of Samaria by the Assyrians in the days of These the king had in esteem, and continued 
 kingHoshea; after which the people ofihe two to love, because of the very excellent temper 
 tribes that remained after Jerusalem was taken , they were of, and because of their application 
 [were carried away] by Nebuchadnezzar, the to learning, and the progress they had made 
 king of Babylon and Chaldea. Now as to in wisdom. 
 
 Shaltnanezcr, he removed the Israelites out of I 2. Now Daniel and his kinsmen had re- 
 their country, and placed therein the nation solved to use a severe diet, and to abstain from 
 of the Cutheans, wiio had formerly belonged tliose kinds of food which came from the king's 
 to the inner parts of Persia and Media, but table, and entirely to forbear to eat of all liv- 
 were then called Samanlans, by taking the ing creatures : so lie came to Ashpenaz, who 
 name of the country to wliich tliey were re- j was that eunuch to whom the care of them 
 moved ; but the king of Babylon, «ho brought was committed,* and desired him to take and 
 out the two tribes,-f placed no other nation spend what was brought for llieiTi from tlie 
 in their country, bv wliich means all Judea king; but to give them pulse and dates for 
 and Jerusalem, and the temple, continued to their food, anil any thing else, besides the 
 be a desert for seventy years; but tlie entire ; flesh of living creatures, that he pleased, for 
 
 . „ I that their inclinations were to that sort of 
 • Herodotus savs, t>iis kiiic of Egypt (Pharaoh Ho- „ , , ,, , j • j .i .i _ ti„ 
 
 p!ira, or A,.r.cs). Vks slain bv the V%>tln.. as Jere- food, and that they despised the other. He 
 mi.ih foretold his slaiighler by hi* enemies (Jer. xliv. -.'a, replied, that he was ready to serve them in 
 3' ) ; and that as a sign of if.c distriiclioi. of Kgypt by , , , i ■ j u , i jusuected that they 
 Ncbuehadnczzar. Josephus savs, this king was slain, ""ai ">e> otsircu, uui lit suspttieu uidi uirj 
 by Nebuchadnezzar himself. . ^, ,^ ■ , , , .v. i » 
 
 t We see here that Judea was left in a manner dcso- 1 t That Daniel was made one of these eunuehs of 
 Jate atter the eantivity of the two tribc-s, and was not re- ' which Isaiah prophesied (Isa. xxxix, 7), and the ihrt-e 
 reonled with foreipii e»>lonics, pciliaps as an indication ' children his eumpanioiK also, soenis to me plain, bt>th 
 of IVo\idence ihat the Jews were to repwple it without herein Jostphus. and inourcojiies of ni.niel(l)an. i,3, t, 
 onnosition Ihemseh es. I also esteem the Uller iind pre- 7, H, 18), although, it must be granttd, that some mar- 
 •Eiit desolate condition of tliesamceountiy, without be- ' rietl persons, that had children, were sometimes calle<l 
 inc rci>et)pl.-d bv foreign wloniL-s. to bo a like m.liea- eunuchs, in a general ac-ceiiUtlon for tvurUers, on ao 
 ti.Tii that the Kiiue Jewi are hereafter to rc|K-ople it <x<unt that so many of the ancient courtiers were re«- 
 •iiaii'i theiiiselves, at their to long cxjiccU-d restoration. , eunuchs, tiec Oeu. xxxix, 1. 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 would be discovered by the king, from their 
 meagre bodies, and the alteration of their 
 countenances; because it could not be avoid- 
 ed but their bodies and colours must be chang- 
 ed with their diet, especially while they would 
 be clearly discovered by the finer appearance 
 of the other children, who would fare better, 
 and thus they should bring him into danger, 
 and occasion him to be punished : yet did 
 they persuade Arioch, who was thus fearful 
 to give them what food they desired for ten 
 days, by way of trial ; and 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 thereby afterwards; 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, Ari- 
 och, 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 fore-mentioned diet, while they had 
 their souls in some measure more pure, and 
 less burdened, and so fitter for learning, and 
 had their bodies in better tune for hard la- 
 bour ; for they neither had the former oppress- 
 ed 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, be- 
 ing already suffciently skilled in wisdom, was 
 very busy about the interpretation of dreams ; 
 and God manifested himself to him. 
 
 3. Now two years after the destruction of 
 Egypt, king Nebuchadnezzar saw a wonderful 
 dream, the accomplishment of which God 
 showed him in his sleep ; but when he arose 
 out of his bed, he forgot the accomplishment : 
 so he sent for the Chaldeans and magicians, 
 and the prophets, and told them that he had 
 seen a dream, and informed them that he had 
 forgotten the accomplishment of what he had 
 seen, and he enjoined them to tell him both 
 what the dream was, and what was its signi- 
 fication ; and they said that this was a thing 
 impossible to be discovered 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 threatened to 
 put them to death, unless they told him his 
 dream : and he gave command to have them 
 all put to death, since they 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 
 shoiilil be put to death, and that among them 
 himself and his three kinsmen wert in danger, 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 283 
 
 he went to Arioch, who was captain of the 
 
 king's guards, and desired to know of him 
 what was the reason why the king had given 
 command that all the wise men, and Chal- 
 deans, 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 in to the king, and 
 desire respite for the magicians for one night, 
 and to put off their slaughter so long, for that 
 he hoped within that time to obtain, by prayet 
 to God, the knowledge of the dream. Ac- 
 cordingly Arioch informed the king of what 
 Daniel desired : so the king bid them delay 
 the slaughter of the magicians till he knew 
 what Daniel's promise would come to; but 
 the young man retired to his o-ah house, with 
 his kinsmen, and besought God that whole 
 night to discover the dream, and thereby de- 
 liver the Magicians and Chaldeans, with whom 
 they were themselves to perish, from the king' 
 anger, by enabling him to declare his vision, 
 and to make manifest what the king had seen 
 the night before in his sleep, but had forgotten 
 it. Accordingly, God, out of pity to those that 
 were in danger, and out of regard to the wis- 
 dom of Daniel, made known to him the dream 
 and its interpretation, that so the king might 
 understand by him its signification also. 
 When Daniel i:ad obtained 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 fVeir 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 him to bring him to the king, because 
 he would discover to him that dream which 
 he had seen the night before. 
 
 4. When Daniel was come in to the king, 
 he excused himself first, that he did not pre- 
 tend to be wiser than the other Chaldeans 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, or on account of his having better cul- 
 tivated his understanding than the rest ; but 
 he said, " God hath had pity upon us, when 
 we were in danger of death, and when I 
 prayed for the life of myself, and of those of 
 my own nation, hath made manifest to me 
 both the dream and the interpretation there- 
 of; for I was not less concerned for thy glory 
 than for the sor*-ow that we were by thee con- 
 demned 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 req-uiredst 
 of them what was only the work of God. 
 
284 
 
 ANTIQUITIKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Wlicrt'forc, an tlioii in lliy sleep wast solicit- 
 ous coiH't'iiiiiig those tlial sliotild succcl'iI tlice 
 in tlic government of tlic wliole world, God 
 was desirous to sliow tiiee all those that sliould 
 reign after thee, and to that end exhihiled to 
 thee tlie following dream : — Thou seeniedst 
 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 oil' from a mountain, v, hich 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 follows: — 
 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; 
 hut another king that shall come from the 
 west, armed with brass, shall destroy that go- 
 vernment ; and another government, that shall 
 be like unto iron, shall put an end to the 
 power of the former, and shall have dominion 
 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 de- 
 clare tlie meaning of the stone to the king ; • 
 but I do not think proper to relate it, since i 
 have only undertaken to describe things past 
 or things present, but not things that arc fu- 
 ture ; yet if any one be so very desirous of 
 knowing truth, as not to wave such points of 
 curiosity, and cannot curb his inclination ibr 
 understanding the uncertainties of futurity, 
 and whether they will ha|)pen or not, let him 
 be diligent in reading the book of Daniel, 
 which lie will find among the sacred writ- 
 ings, 
 
 5. When Nehuchadnezzar heard this, and 
 recollecled 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 command that he 
 should he sacrificed to as a god. And this 
 was not all, for he also imposed the name of 
 his own god upon liini [B.dlasar], and made 
 him and his kinsmen rulers of his wliole king- 
 dom ; which kinsmen of his happened to fall 
 
 • Of this most remarkable passage in Joscphus coii- 
 ccniing Uie ' stone cut out of the inouiitiiiu, ami de- 
 stroying the im.ifjc,' whieli he would not explain, but 
 intii'iiated to be a propheey of futurity, and probably 
 not safe for him to explain, as iKlungin'g to the destrui-- 
 tion of Uic Roman empire by Jesus Christ, the true 
 Messiah of the Jews, Lake the words of llavereamp (eh. 
 X, seet. 1): " Nor is this to be wondered at, that he 
 would nut now meddle with things future, for he had 
 no miml to provoke the Homans, by speaking of the 
 destructiou of that city wliich Uicy caUcd the £lernal 
 Citv," 
 
 into great danger by the envy and malice [of 
 their enemies] ; for they ollended the king 
 upon the occasion following: — He made an 
 image of gold, the height of which was sixty 
 cubits, and its breadth si.\ cuhits, and set it in 
 the great plain of Babylon ; and when he was 
 going to dedicate the iniage, lie invited the 
 |)rincipal men out of all the earth that were 
 under liis 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 do so should 
 be cast into a fiery furnace. When, therefore, 
 all the rest, upon the hearing of the sound of 
 the trumpet, worshijiped the image, they re- 
 late that Daniel's kinsmen did not do it, be- 
 cause they would not transgress the laws of 
 their country : so the^e men were convicted, 
 and cast immediately into the fire, but were 
 saved by Divine Providence, and after a sur- 
 prising manner escaped death; for the fire did 
 not touch them : and I suppose that it touch- 
 ed 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 yoimg 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 itcoidd not consume them. Tliis it was 
 which recommended thein to the king as 
 righteous men, and men beloved of God ; 
 on which account they continued in grea' 
 esteem wi;h him. 
 
 6. A little after this the king saw in hi* 
 sleep again another vision ; how he should 
 fall from his dominion, and feed among the 
 wild beasts ; and that, when he had lived ir 
 this manner in the desert for seven years, | he 
 should recover his dominion again. When 
 he had seen this dream, he called the magi- 
 cians together again, and inquired of them 
 about it, and desired tliera to tell hiui what it 
 
 t Since Josephus here explains the seven prophetic 
 times which weretopas-s over Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 
 iv. Hi) to bo seven years, we thence learn how he most 
 prc)b.iljly must ha\e understoml tho^e other parallel 
 plir.Tscs, of ' a lime, times, and a haU' (Antiq. b vii, 
 cli. XXV) of so many prophetic years also, though he 
 withal lets us know, by his hint at tlic iuterprel;ition of 
 the seventy weeks, as belonging to the fourth monarchy, 
 and the destructum of Jerusalem by the Rinnans in tlie 
 days of Joscphus (ch. ii, sect. 71, that he did not think 
 those years ti> be b:irc >e.irs, but rather days for years; 
 by which reckoning, aiid by which alone, could seventy 
 wifks, or four hundicd and ninety days, reach to the 
 age of Josenlius. Hut as to the truth of those seven 
 years' banisliment of Ncbuehadnezzi^ from men, and 
 his livinj; so long among the beasts, the very small rft. 
 mains we have ;iiiywhere else of this N( buefiadneizflr 
 prevent our expceiation of any other full account of it. 
 So far we know by I'lolcmy's canon, a c\)iitemporary 
 record, .is well .is by Joscphus pre-ently, tiiat he reiijnei 
 in all forty-lhicc years, that is, eight yc.irs after we meet 
 with any .Recount of his uctions ; onei.f the last of which 
 was ihe'thirteen years' siege of Tj re (Anti(|. b. xi, ch. 
 xj) ; where yet the uld Latin has but three years and ten 
 mniuhs: yet were his actions before so remarkable, 
 lx)th ill sacred and profane authors, that such a vacuity 
 of eight years at the least, at the latter end of his reign, 
 must lie allowed lo agree very well with Daniel's ae- 
 (.•ounts, that at!crase\en yiaiV brutal life, he inigSf 
 return to his icusoii, and to the exercise of lis royal 
 aulliorit;^, for one whole year at least bcfoie Ins lUaih- 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JKWS. 
 
 CllAi-. \l. 
 
 signified ; but when none of them could find 
 out the moaning 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 tlie forementioned interval of 
 time, while no one durst attempt to seize his 
 kinodom 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 na- 
 ture, as I find it in our ancient books; for as 
 to that matter, 1 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 translate the 
 Hebrevv books into the Greek language, and 
 promised them to explain those facts, without 
 adding any thing to them of my own, or tak- 
 ing any thing away from them. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 CONCERNING NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND HIS SUC- 
 CESSORS, AND HOW THKIR GOVERNMENT WAS 
 DISSOLVED BY THE PERSIANS ; AND WHAT 
 THINGS BEFEL DANIEL IN MEDIA ; AND 
 WHAT PROPHECIES HE DELIVERED THERE. 
 
 § 1. 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 fatiier Nebuchodo- 
 nosor [Nabopollassar] heard that the gover- 
 nor whom he had set over Egypt, and the 
 places about Celesyria and Phoenicia, had re- 
 volted from him, while he was not himself 
 able any longer to undergo the hardships [of 
 warl, he committed to his son Nebuchadnez- 
 zar, who was still but a youth, some parts of 
 his army, and sent them against him. So 
 when Nebuchadnezzar had given battle, and 
 fought with the rebel, he beat him, and re- 
 duced the country from under his subjection, 
 and made it a branch of his own kingdom ; 
 but about that time it happened that his fa- 
 ther Nebuchoilonosor [Nabopollassar] fell ill, 
 and ended his life in the city of Babylon, 
 when he had reigned twenty -one years ;f and 
 
 • These forty-three years for the duration of the 
 reign of Nebuchadnezzar are, as 1 have just now ob- 
 served, the very same mimber in Ptolemy's canon. 
 Moses Chorenensis does also confirm this captivity of 
 the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar; and .idds, what is 
 very remarkable, that one of those Jews that were car- 
 ried by him into captivity, got away into Armenia, and 
 raised the great family of the Bagratidae there. 
 
 t These twenty-one years here ascribed to one Na- 
 boulassar, in the tirst book against Apion, or to Nabo- 
 pollassar, the father of the great Nebuchadnezzar, arc 
 al>o the very same with those given him in Ptoln ay's 
 lanuu. And note here, tJiat what Dr. Pride.mx says. 
 
 285 
 
 when he was made seiisible, as he was in a 
 little time, that his fatiier, Nebuchodonosoi 
 
 [Nabopollassar], was dead, and having set- 
 tled the afl'airs of Egypt, and the other coun- 
 tries, as also those thai concerned the captive 
 Jews, and Phoenicians, and Syrians, and those 
 of the Egyptian nations, and having com- 
 mitted the conveyance of them to Babylon to 
 certain of his friends, together with the gross 
 of his army, and the rest of tlieir ammunition 
 and provisions, he went himself hastily, ac- 
 companied with a few others, over the desert, 
 and caine 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 tlie Chaldeans, 
 and he received the entire dominions of his 
 father, and appointed, that when the captives 
 came, they should be placed as colonies, in 
 the most proper places of Babylonia; but 
 then he adorned the temple of Belus, and tlie 
 rest of the temples, in a magnificent manner, 
 with the spoils he had taken in the war. He 
 also added anotiier 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 tliree others 
 about that which was the outer, and this he 
 did with burnt brick. And after he had, 
 after a becoming 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.f He also erected 
 elevated places for walking, of stone, and 
 inade it resemble mountains, and built it so 
 that it might be planted with all sorts of trees. 
 He also erected what was called a pensile pa- 
 radise, because his wife was desirous to have 
 things like her own country, she having been 
 bred up in the palaces of Media." Megas- 
 thenes also, in his fourth book of his Accounts 
 of India, makes mention of these things, and 
 thereby endeavours to show that this king 
 [Nebuchadnezzar] exceeded Hercules in for- 
 titude, and in the greatness of his actions ; 
 
 in the year 612, that Nebuchadnezzar must have been 
 a common name of other kings of Uabylon, besides the 
 great Nebuchadnezzar himself, is a groundless mistake 
 of some modem chronologers only, and destitute of all 
 proper original autliority. 
 
 X These fifteen days for finishing such vast buildings 
 at Babylon, in Josejihus's copy of Berosus, woidd seem 
 too absurd to be supposed to be the true number, were 
 it not for the same tcstimonv extant also iJi the first 
 book against Anion (sect. 19), 'with the same iuiml)er. 
 It thence indeed appears, that Josephus's copy of Bero- 
 sus had this small number ; but that it is the true nun> 
 ber 1 still doubt. Josephus assures us, that the ""ails 
 of so much a smaller city as Jerusalem were two years 
 and four months in building by Nehemiah, who yet 
 hastened the work all that he could, Autiq. b. xi, ch. v, 
 sect. 8. I should think one hundred and fifteen days, 
 
 1 or a year and fifteen days, mucli more proportionabia 
 
 I to so great a work. 
 
"\ 
 
 280 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 for he saith, that he conquered a great part 
 of Liliya and Iberia. Diodes also, in the 
 second book of his Accounts of Persia, men- 
 tions tliis king ; as does Philostratus, in his 
 Accounts both of India and I'liocnicia, say, 
 that this king besieged Tyre tiiirtcen years, 
 while at the same time Ethbaal reigned at 
 Tyre. These are all the histories that I have 
 met with concerning this king. 
 
 2. But now, after the death of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, Evil-Merodach his son succeeded in 
 tlie kingdom, who immediately set Jeconiah 
 at liberty, and esteemed him amongst bis 
 most intimate friends. He also gave- him 
 many presents, and made him honourable 
 above the rest of the kings that were in Ba- 
 bylon ; for his father had not kept his faith 
 with Jeconiah, when he voluntarily delivered 
 up himself to him, with his wives and chil- 
 dren, and bis whole kindred, for the sake of 
 his country, that it might not be taken by 
 siege, and utterly destroyed, as we said be- 
 fore. 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 succession 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 Babylonians 
 was called Naboandelus : against liim did 
 Cyrus, the king of Persia, and Darius, the 
 king of Media, make war ; and when he was 
 besii'ged in Babylon, there happened a won- 
 derful and prodigious vision. He was sat 
 down at supper in a large room, and there 
 were a great many vessels of silver, such as 
 were made for royal entertainments, and be 
 had with him bis concubines and his friends; 
 whereupon he came to a resolution, and 
 commanded that those vessels of God which 
 Nebuchadnezzar had plundered out of Jeru- 
 salem, 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 blaspheming 
 
 • It is here remarkable that Joscphus, without the 
 knowledge of Ptolcmv's canon, should call the samo 
 king, whom he Uiiuself here (liar, i, 11, and Dan. v, 
 1,V, !), 1?, 'JL', 2:i, 3(1) stvlcs liclUzar, or lifl.shii//.ar, 
 from the liahyloman god Bel. Nelxjaiulehis al»o ; ani 
 in the lirst book against Apion (secL ID, vol. iii), from 
 the same citation out of Hcrosus, Natxmnodon, from the 
 Babylonian go-l Nabo, or Ncbo. This last is not re- 
 mote from the original pronunciation Itself in Ptolemy's 
 canon, Naljonadlus ; for both the place of this king in 
 that canon, as the last of the Assyrian or Uabylonian 
 kings, and the number of years of his reign, seventeen, 
 the s.imc in both dcnions'trate that it is one and the 
 same king that is meant by them all. It is also worth 
 noting, that Joscphus knew that I/arius, the partner of 
 Cyrxis, was the son of Astyagos, and was calleil by ano- 
 ther name among the Greeks, tJioiigh it docs not appear 
 he knew what that name was, as having never seen the 
 ixst history of this pi riod, whUh is Xcnophon's : but 
 then what Josephus's present copies say presently (sect. 
 4), that it was only wuhin no long time after Ihe hand- 
 .vriting on Ihe wall that Uallasar was slain, does not so 
 well .igree with our copies of Daniel, which say it was 
 tlie same nij;ht, Uiui. v, 30. 
 
 BOOK X. 
 
 against God. In the mean time, he saw a 
 hand proceed out of the wall, and writing 
 upon the wall certain syllables ; at which 
 sight, being disturbed, he called the magi- 
 cians and Chaldeans together, and all that 
 sort/ of men that are among these barbarians, 
 and were able to interpret signs and dreams, 
 that tliey might explain tlie writing to him. 
 But when the magicians said they could dis- 
 cover nothing, nor did understand it, the 
 king was in great disorder of mind, and un- 
 der 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 signi- 
 fication couched tlierein, he would give him a 
 golden chain for his neck, and leave to wear 
 a purple garment, as did the kings of Chal- 
 dea, and would bestow on liim the third part 
 of his own dominions. When this proclama- 
 tion was made, the magicians ran together 
 more earnestly, and were very ambitious to 
 find out the importance of the writing ; but 
 still hesitated about it as much as before. 
 Now when the king's grandmother saw him 
 cast down at this accident, f she began to en- 
 courage him, and to say, that there was a 
 certain captive who came from Judea, a Jew 
 by birth, but brought away thence by Nebu- 
 chadnezzar when he had destroyed Jerusa- 
 lem, whose name was Daniel, a wise man, 
 and one of great sagacity in finding out what 
 was impossible for others to discover, and 
 what was known to God alone ; who brought 
 to light and answered such questions to Ne- 
 buchadnezzar as no one else was able to an- 
 swer when they were consulted. She there- 
 fore desired that he would send for him, and 
 inquire of him concerning the writing, and 
 to condemn the unskilfulncss of those that 
 could not find their meaning, and this, al- 
 though what God signified thereby should be 
 of a melancholy nature. 
 
 3. 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 divine spirit was with him, 
 and that he alone was fully capable of finding 
 out what others would never liave thought of, 
 he desired him to declare to him what this 
 writing meant : that if he did so, he would 
 give hiiTi leave to wear purple, and to put a 
 chain of gold about his neck, and would be- 
 stow on him the third part of liis dominion, 
 as an honorary reward for his wisdom, that 
 thereby he might become illustrious to those 
 who saw him, and who inquired upon what 
 occasion he obtained such honours. But 
 Daniel desired that he would keep his gifts 
 
 t This grandmother, or mother of Baltisar, the 
 
 ?uccn-dowager of Babylon (for she is distinguished 
 rom his queen (Oan. v, 10, '-'5), seems to have been 
 the famous Nitocris, who fortified Mabylon against the 
 Mcdes and Persians, and in all protxibditygovcrncil un- 
 der L'altasar, who seems to be a weak aod i-Acminalc 
 prince. 
 
 A- 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 287 
 
 to himself; for what is the effect of wisdom 
 and of divine revelation admits of no gifts, 
 and bestows its advantages on petitioners 
 freely ; but that still he would explain the 
 writing to him ; which denoted that he should 
 soon die, and this because he had not learnt 
 to honour God, and not to admit things a- 
 bove human nature, by what punishments his 
 progenitor had undergone for the injuries he 
 had offered to God ; and because he had 
 quite forgotten how Nebuchadnezzar was re- 
 moved to feed among wild beasts for his im- 
 pieties, and did not recover his former life a- 
 mong men and his kingdom, but upon God's 
 mercy to him, after many supplications and 
 prayers ; who did thereupon 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 blas- 
 pliemed against God, and had made use of 
 his vessels amongst his concubines : that there- 
 fore God saw this, and was angry with him, 
 and declared by this writing beforehand what 
 a sad conclusion of his life he should come to. 
 And he explained the writing thus: — " Ma- 
 NEH. Tliis, 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 
 remains but a small portion. — Thekei.. 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 fragDient ; 
 God will therefore break thy kingdom in 
 pieces, and divide it among the Medes and 
 Persians." 
 
 4. When Daniel had told the king that 
 the writing upon the wall signified these e- 
 vents, Baltasar was in great sorrow and afflic- 
 tion, as was to be expected, when tlie inter- 
 pretation was so heavy upon him. However, 
 he did not refuse what he had promised Da- 
 niel, although he were become a foretellar of 
 misfortunes to him, but bestowed it all upon 
 him : as reasoning thus, that what he was to 
 reward was peculiar to himself, and to fate, 
 and did not belong lo the prophet, but that 
 it was the part of a good and a just man to 
 give what he iiad promised, although the e- 
 vents were of a melancholy nature. Accord- 
 ingly, the king determined so to do. Now, 
 after a little while, both himself and the city 
 were taken by Cyrus, the king of Persia, who 
 fought against him ; for it was Baltasar, un- 
 der 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 kins- 
 man Cyrus, had put an end to the dominion 
 of the Babylonians, lie was sixty-two years 
 old. He was tlie son of Astyages, and had 
 another name among tlie 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 set over 
 his three hundred and sixty provinces; for 
 into so many did Darius part them. 
 
 5. However, while Daniel was in so great 
 dignity, and in so great favour with Darius, and 
 was alone intrusted with every thing by him, as 
 having somewhat divine in him, he was en- 
 vied by the rest : for those that see others in 
 greater honour than themselves with kings, 
 envy them : and when those that were grieved 
 at the great favour Daniel was in with Darius, 
 sought for an occasion against him, he afford- 
 ed them no occasion at all, for he was above 
 all the temptations of money, and despised 
 bribery, and 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 reproach- 
 ful, 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 petition 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." 
 
 6. Whereupon the king, not being acquaint- 
 ed with their wicked design, nor suspecting that 
 it was a contrivance of theirs against Daniel, 
 said he was pleased with tiiis decree of theirs, 
 and he promised to confirm what they desired; 
 he also published an edict to promulgate to 
 the people that decree which the princes had 
 made. Accordingly, all the rest took 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 prayed to 
 God in the sight of them all : but the princes 
 having met with the occasion they so earnestl^r 
 sought to find against Daniel, came presently 
 to the king, and accused 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, not 
 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 tnan they expected, 
 and that he was ready to grant him a pardon 
 for tills contempt of his injunctions, and en- 
 vying this very pardon to Daniel, they did not 
 become more favourable to him, but desired he 
 might be cast Into the den of lions, according 
 to the law. So Durius, hoping that Cod 
 
286 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 would deliver liiin, and that he would under- 
 go notliing tliat was terrible by the wild beasts, 
 bade biin bear this accident cheerfully ; and 
 when he was cast into the den, lie put his seal 
 to the stone that lay upon the mouth of the den, 
 and went his way, but he jiassed all the night 
 without food and without sleep, being in great 
 distress for Daniel ; but when it was day, he 
 got up, and came to the den, and found the 
 seal entire, which he had left the stone sealed 
 withal ; he also ojiened the seal, and cried out, 
 and called to Daniel, and asked him if he 
 were alivp ; and as soon as he heard the king's 
 voice, and said that he had sullered no harm, 
 the king gave order that he should be drawn 
 up out of the den. Now when his enemies 
 saw that Daniel had sufl'ered nothing which 
 was terrible, they would not own that he was 
 preserved by God, and by his providence ; but 
 they said, that tlie lions had been filled full with 
 food, and on that account it was, as they sup- 
 posed, that the lions would not touch Daniel, 
 nor come to him ; and this they alleged to 
 the king ; but the king, out of an abliorrence 
 of their wickedness, gave order that they 
 should throw in a g-eat deal of flesh to the 
 lions ; and when they had filled themselves, 
 he gave farther order that Daniels enemies 
 should be cast into the den that he might 
 learn wiiether the lions, now tliey were full, 
 •would touch them or not ; and it appeared 
 plain to Darius, after the princes had been 
 cast to the wild beasts, that it was God who 
 preserved Daniel,* for the lioris 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 destroy the 
 princes] : for if it so please God, that wicked- 
 ness might, by even thost .rrational creatures, 
 be esteemed a plain foundation for their pu- 
 nishment. 
 
 7. When, therefore, those that had intend- 
 ed thus to destroy Daniel by treachery were 
 themselves destroyed, king Darius sent [let- 
 ters] over all the country, and praised that 
 God whom Daniel worshipped, 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 was 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 is 
 
 still remaining, and preserved to this day; 
 and to sucii 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, j- Hourishing, and beautiful, and no 
 way grown old in so long time ; for buildings 
 sutler the same as men do, they grow old as 
 well as they, and by numbers of years their 
 strength is dissolved, and their beauty wither- 
 ed. 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 ob- 
 served to this day. But it is fit to give an 
 account of what this man did, which is most 
 admirable to hear ; for he was so ha))py 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 re- 
 tains a remembrance that will never fail, for 
 the several books that he wrote and left be- 
 hind him are still read by us till this time ; 
 and from them we believe that Daniel con- 
 versed with God ; for he did not only pro- 
 phecy of future events, as did the other pro- 
 phets, but he also determined the time of their 
 accomplishment; and while the projihets used to 
 foretel misfortunes, and on that account were 
 disagreeable both to the kings and to the mul- 
 titude, Daniel was to them a prophet of good 
 things, and this to such a degree, tliat, by the 
 agreeable nature of his predictions, lie procur- 
 ed the good-will of all men ; and by the ac- 
 complishment of them, lie procured the be- 
 lief of their truth, and the opinion of [a sort 
 of] divinity for himself, among the multi- 
 tude. He also wrote and left behind him wliai 
 made manifest the accuracy and undeniable 
 veracity of his predictions ; for he saitli, that 
 when he was in Susa, the metropolis of Per- 
 sia, and went out into the field \\ith his com. 
 panions, tlicre was, on the sudden, a motion 
 and concussion of the earth, and that he was 
 left alone by himself, his friends flying away 
 from him, and tliat he was disturbed, and fel' 
 on his face, and on his two liands, and that a 
 certiiin person touched him, and, at the same 
 time, bade him rise, and see what would befal 
 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 hc-goat carried through tlu? 
 
 • It is no way improbable that Daniil's enemies mJEhf 
 >u(;gcst this reason ti) ll>e kinc wliy Ihe buns did licit 
 meiTdIo Willi him, ami that llu-y mii;ht • iispnt llie ikinj;'; 
 kindiieis to Daniel had j-roeured llu-e limiN to Ik' so lilk-d 
 beforehand, and tliat theiiee it iva-i that he eneonrasid 
 Daniel to submit U) thiscxperinienl, in liol>esof eoiiiiiip 
 off,s;ife; and that thi' was the true riason of makinj 
 to terrible an experiment ujion those his enemies, and 
 :il| their families (Dan. vi, -J-l), though our other copies 
 do not directly takp notice uf it. 
 
 t What Jojephns here snys, th.it the stones of the 
 sepulchres of the kinfrs of Persia at this tower, or those 
 perhaps of the same sort that iire now commonly c-alled 
 the Hiii-is nf Perscpuli.i, continued so entire and unal- 
 tered in his days, as if tticy were lately put there, " I 
 (s;iys Iteland) here can show to be true, as to those stones 
 of ihe J'ersian kings' mausoleum, which Com. Urunius 
 brake off and gave me." He ascrilx;d this to the hard 
 ness of the stones, which scarcely yields to iron tools, 
 anil jirovcs fre(|ueiitly l(K) hard for cutting bv the chisel, 
 but oftentimes breaks it to pieces. 
 
 ~V 
 
 .r 
 
CHAP. xr. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 289 
 
 air from that quarter ; that he rushed upon 
 the ram with violence, and smote him twice 
 with his horns, and overthrew liim to tlie 
 ground, and trampled upon him ; that after- 
 wards he saw a very great horn 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 liis nation, and take their city by force, 
 and bring the temple-worship to confusion, 
 and forbid the sacrifices to be offered for one 
 thousand two hundred and ninety-six days. 
 Daniel wrote that he saw these visions in the 
 plain of Susa ; and he hath informed us that 
 God interpreted 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 sig- 
 nified the last king, and that he should ex- 
 ceed all the kings in riches and glory; that 
 tlie he-goat signified that one should come and 
 -eign from the Greeks, who should twice fight 
 vs'ith the Persian, and overcome him in bat- 
 tle, and should receive his entire dominion ; 
 that by the great horn which sprang out of 
 the foreiiead of the he-goat was meant the 
 first king; and that the springing up of four 
 horns upon its falling off, and 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 cliildren nor 
 of his kindred that should reign over the ha- 
 bitable earth for many years ; and that from 
 among them tliere should arise a certain king 
 that should overcome our nation and their 
 laws, and should take away our political go- 
 vernmeDt, aud should spoil the temple, and 
 
 forbid the sacrifices to be oflrrcd for three 
 years' time." And indeed it so came to pass, 
 that our nation suttered 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 go- 
 vernment, 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 ful- 
 filled, would wonder at the honour where- 
 with God honoured Daniel ; and may thence 
 discover how the Epicureans are in an error, 
 who cast providence out of human life, and 
 do not believe that God takes care of the af- 
 fairs of the world, nor that the univers;e is 
 governed and continued in being by that bles- 
 sed and immortal nature, but say that the 
 world is carried along of its own accord, 
 without a ruler and a curator ; which, were 
 it destitute of a guide to conduct, as they 
 imagine, it would be like ihips without pilots, 
 which we see drowned by the winds, or like 
 chariots without drivers, which are overturn- 
 ed ; so would the world be dashed to pieces 
 by its being carried without a Providence, and 
 so perish, and come to nought. So that, by 
 the forementioned predictions of Daniel, those 
 men seem to me ver^' much to err from the 
 truth, vvho determine that God exercises no 
 providence over human affairs ; for if that 
 were the case, that the world went on by me- 
 chanical necessity, we should not see that all 
 things would come to pass according to his 
 prophecy. Now, as to myself, I have so de- 
 scribed these matters as I have found them 
 and read them ; but if any one is inclined to 
 another opinion about them, let him enjoy his 
 different sentiments without any blame from 
 me. 
 
 2 B 
 
BOOK XI. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTKRVAL OF TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE YEARS 
 
 FIVE MONTHS. 
 
 FROM THE FIRST OF CYRUS TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE 
 
 GREAT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW CYRUS, KING OF THB PERSIANS, DELIVER- 
 ED THE JEWS OUT OF liAHYLON, AND SUF- 
 FERED THEM TO RETURN TO THEIR OWN 
 COUNTRY, AND TO BUILD THEIR TEMPLE ; 
 FOR WHICH WORK HE GAVE THEM MONEY. 
 
 § 1. In the first year of the reign of Cyrus,* 
 which was the seventieth (lom the day that our 
 people were removed out of their own land 
 into Babylon, God commiserated the capti- 
 vity and calamity of these poor people, accord- 
 ing as he had foretold to tliem by Jeremiah 
 the prophet, before the destruction of the 
 city, that after they had served Nebuchadnez- 
 rar and his posterity, and after they had un- 
 dergone that servitude seventy years, he would 
 restore them again to the lanti 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 
 Cvrus, and made him write this throughout 
 all Asia: — " 'i'hus saith Cyrus the King: — 
 Since God Almighty hath appointed me to be 
 king of the habitable earlli, I believe that he 
 is that God which the nation of the Israelites 
 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." 
 2. This was known to Cyrus by his read- 
 ing the book which Isaiah left behind him of 
 his prophecies ; for this prophet said that God 
 had spoken thus to him in a secret vision : — 
 " r»Iy will is, that Cyrus, whom I have ap- 
 pointed to be king over many and great na- 
 tions, send ))ack my peoi)le to their own land, 
 and build my temple." This was foretold by 
 Isaiah one hundred and forty j'oars before the 
 temple was demolished. Accordingly, when 
 Cyrus read this, and admired the divine 
 
 » This Cyrus is tailed Ood's Slievhcrd by Xcnoptitin, 
 ■s well iiN l)y ls:iiiih (Isa. xliv, .'8', an also it is siiiil <il" 
 tiiiii by the saiiic iir<i|ihet, that " 1 will make a man 
 more pruious than fine ooUl, even a man than the Rol- 
 dcn wcilge of (Jphir" (ha. xiii, li!): which eliaraeter 
 makes Xenophim'g rnont exculluit historv of him very 
 credible. 
 
 ■"^ ■ 
 
 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, and said to them, that he gave them 
 leave to go back to their own country, and to 
 rebuild their city Jerusalem, -f- and the temple 
 of God, for that he would be their assistant, 
 and that he would write to the rulers and go- 
 vernors that were in the neighbourhood of 
 their country of Judea, that they should con- 
 tribute to them gold and silver for the build- 
 ing of the temple, and, besides that, beasts 
 for their sacrifices. 
 
 3. When Cyrus had said this to the Is- 
 raelites, the rulers of the two tribes of Judali 
 and Benjamin, with the Levites and priests, 
 went in liaste to Jerusalem, yet did many ol 
 them stay at Babylon, as not willing to leave 
 their possessions ; and when they were come 
 thither, all the king's friends assisted them, 
 and brought in, for the building of the tem- 
 ple, 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 u))on the rebuilding ot 
 their city, and the revival of the ancient prac- 
 tices 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 com- 
 mitted these things to JNIithridates, the trea- 
 surer, to be sent a«ay, with an order to give 
 them to Sanabassar, that he might keep them 
 
 *+ This leave to build Jerusalem (sects. 2, ."), and this 
 epistle of Cyrus to Sisinnes and Sathrabuzancs, to the 
 same puqwse, are most unfortunately oniilte<l in all our 
 copies, but this best and conipletest coi>> of Josephus ; 
 and by such oniis.-.ion the famous proiihi'cy of Isaiah 
 (Isa. xliv, t'8), where we are infotmed that (jod s;iid ol 
 or to Cyrus, •' He is mvshepherd, and shall perform all 
 my pleasure; even s.-iv'inp to Jerusiilcm, thou slialt be 
 Iniilt ; and to the lenip'le, thy fouiulalion shall be laid," 
 could not hitherto be dem'onstrate<l from llie sacred 
 history to have lx,'en complctelv fuifillol, I mean as to 
 that part of it which concerned his giviup leave or com- 
 mission for rebuilding tlie eitv Jerusalem as distinct 
 from the temple, the rebuilding of which is alone pcr- 
 n>iltcd or directed in 'he decree of Cjrus, in all our 
 copies. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 291 
 
 till the temple was built ; and when it was 
 finished, he might deliver tiiem to the priests 
 and rulers of the multitude, in order to their 
 being restored to the temple. Cyrus also 
 sent an epistle to the governors that were in 
 Syria, the contents whereof here follow : — 
 
 " KING CYRUS TO SISINNES AND SATHRABUZA- 
 NE3, SENDETH GREETING." 
 
 " I have given leave to as many of the 
 Jews that dwell in my country as please to 
 return to their own country, and to rebuild 
 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, Mi- 
 thridates, 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 edi- 
 fices of polished stones, and one of the wood 
 of the country, and the same order extends to 
 the altfir 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 Nebuciiadnezzar pillaged out of the 
 temple, and have given them to Mithridates 
 the treasurer, and to Zorobabel 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 fol- 
 lows : * — Fifty chargers of gold and five hun- 
 dred of silver ; forty Thericlean cups of gold, 
 and five hundred of silver; fifty basons of gold, 
 and five hundred of silver; thirty vessels for 
 pouring [the drink-otferings], and three hun- 
 dred of silver , thirty vials of gold, and two 
 thousand four hundred of silver ; with a thou- 
 sand 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 win« and oil, two hun- 
 dred and five thousand and five hundred 
 drachmJE ; and for wheat-flour, twenty thou- 
 sand and five hundred artaba : and 1 give 
 order that these expenses shall be given them 
 out of the tributes due from Samaria. The 
 priests shall also offer these sacrifices accord- 
 ing to the laws of Moses in Jerusalem ; and 
 when they offer them, they shall pray to God 
 for the preservation of the king and of his fa- 
 mily, that the kingdom of Persia may conti- 
 nue. But my will is, that those who disobey 
 these injunctions, 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 epistle. Now the num- 
 ber of thoje that came out of captivity to Je- 
 rusalem, were forty-two thousand four hun- 
 dred and sixty-two. 
 
 • Of the true number of Rolden and sliver vessels here 
 and elsewhere belonging to the temple of Solomon, see 
 'he description of the temple, chap. xiii. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW, UPON THE DEATH OF CYRUS, THE JFWS 
 WERE HINDERED IN BUILDING OF THE TEM- 
 PLE BY THE CUTHEANS, AND THE NEIGH- 
 BOURING GOVERNORS ; AND HOW CAMBYSES 
 ENTIRELY FORBADE THE JEWS TO DO ANY 
 SUCH THING. 
 
 § 1. When the foundations of the temple 
 were laying, and when the Jews were very 
 zealous about building it, the neiglibouring 
 nations, and especially the Cutheans, whom 
 Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, had brought 
 out of Persia and Media, and liad planted in 
 Samaria, when he carried the people of Israel 
 captive, besought the governors, and those 
 that had the care of such affairs, that they 
 would interrupt the Jews, both in the rebuild- 
 ing of their city, and in the building of their 
 temple. Now as these men were corrupted 
 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 happened, that when he had 
 led his army against the Massagetae, he ended 
 his life.f 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 contents were 
 as follow : — " 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 greet- 
 ing : It is fit, O king, that thou shouldest 
 know that those Jews A'ho were carried to 
 Babylon, are come into our country, and are 
 building that rebellious and wicked city, and 
 its market places, and setting up its vialls, 
 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 there- 
 fore thought it proper to write to thee, O 
 
 f Josephus here follows Herodotus and those that 
 related how Cyrus made war with the Scythians and 
 Massagetes, near the Caspian Sea, and perished in it ; 
 while Xenophon's account, which appears never to have 
 been seen by Josephus, that Cyrus died in peace in his 
 own country of Persia, is attested to bv the \rnters of 
 the aflairs of Alexander the Great, when they agree 
 that he found Cyrus"s sepulchre at Hasargad^, near Her 
 sepoiis. This accoimt of Xenophon is also confirnitd 
 by the circumstances of Cambyses, upon his succession 
 to Cyrus, who, instead of a war to avenge his father's 
 death upon the Scvthians and Massagctes, and to pie- 
 vent those nations from overruiniing his northern pro- 
 vinces, whiih would have been the iiatmai consequence 
 ot his fatlvr's ill success and death there, went immedi- 
 atelv to an Kgyptian war, long ago begun by Cyrus, ac- 
 cording to AeV.ophon, page 644, and conquered that 
 kuig<lom ; nor is there, that I ever heard of, the least 
 mention in the reign of Cambyses of any war acainst the 
 Scythians and Massagetes that he was ever eiiijaged iu, 
 , in all his life. 
 
292 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XI 
 
 king, while the works about the temple are 
 going on so fast, and not to overlook this 
 matter, that thou maycst search into the books 
 of thy fatliers, for thou wilt find in them that 
 the Jews have been rebels, and enemies to 
 kings, as hath their city been also, wliicli, for 
 that reason, hath been till now laid waste. 
 We thought proper also to inform tliee of this 
 matter, because thou mayest otherwise per- 
 haps be ignorant of it, that if this city be 
 once inhabited, and be entirely encompassed 
 with walls, thou wilt be excluded from the 
 passage to Celcsyria and Plioenicia." 
 
 2. When Camhyscs had read the epistle, 
 being naturally wicked, he was irritated at 
 what they told him | and wrote back to them 
 as follows ! " Camhyses, the king, to Ratliu- 
 mus, the historiographer, to Beeltethmus, to 
 Semellius the scribe, and the rest that are in 
 commission, and dwelling in Samaria and 
 Phoenicia, after tlUs manner : 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 augmented." W^hen this epistle was 
 read, Rathumus, and Semellius the scribe, 
 and their associates, got suddenly on horse- 
 back, and made haste to Jerusalem ; they al- 
 so brought a great company with them, and 
 forbade the Jews to build the city and tiie 
 temple. Accordingly, these works were hin- 
 dered from going on till 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 was coiue 
 back, he died at Damascus. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW, AFTER THE DEATH OK CAMBYSES, AND 
 THE SLAUGHTEH OF THE MAGI, BUT UNDER 
 THE REIGN O?" DARIUS, ZOUOBABEI. WAS SU- 
 PERIOR TO THE REST IN THE SOLUTION OF 
 PROBLEMS, AND THEREBY OBTAINED THIS 
 lAVOUU OF THE KING, THAT THE TEMPLE 
 SHOULD BE BUILT. 
 
 § I. After the slaughter of the magi, who, 
 upon the death of Cambyses attained the 
 government of the Persians for a year, tliose 
 families who were called the seven families of 
 the Persians, appointed Darius, the son of 
 Ilystaspes, to be their king Now he, while 
 he was a [jrivate man, had made a vow to CJod, 
 that if he came to be kin^i lie would send all 
 
 the vessels of God that were in Babylon to 
 llie temple at Jerusalem. Now it so fell out, 
 that about this time Zor<)l)abcl, who had been 
 made governor of the Jews that had been in 
 eafjtivity, came to Darius, from Jerusalem; for 
 there had been an old friend-Jiij) between him 
 and the king. He was also, witli two others, 
 thought worthy to be guard of the king's 
 body ; and obtained that honour which he 
 hoped for. 
 
 2. 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 rulers of ilie 
 Medes, and princes of the Persians, and the 
 toparchs of India and Etiiiopia, and the gene- 
 rals of tlie armies of his hundred and twenty- 
 seven provinces ; but when they liad 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 a- 
 waked, and not being able to sleep any more, 
 he fell into conversation with the three guards 
 of his body, ami promised, that to him who 
 should make an oration about points that he 
 should inquire of, such as should be most a- 
 grceable to truth, and to the dictates of wis- 
 dom, he would grant it as a reward of his vic- 
 tory, to put on a purple garment, and to drink 
 in cups of gold, and to sleep upon gold, and 
 to have a ciiariot with bridles of gold, and a 
 heaJ-tire of fine linen, and a chain of gold a- 
 bout his neck, and to sit next to himself, on 
 account of his wisdom: — "And," says he, 
 " he shall be called my Cousin." Now when 
 he had promised to give them these gifts, he 
 aslied the first of them, *' Whether wine was 
 no', the strongest?" — the second, "Whether 
 kings were not such ?" — and the third, " Whe- 
 ther women were not such ? or whether truth 
 was not the strongest of all ?" When he had 
 pr jposed 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 toparchs of Persia and Media, 
 and set himself down in the place where he 
 used to give audience, and bid each of the 
 guards of his body to declare what they thought 
 proper concerning the proposed questions, in 
 the hearing of them all. 
 
 3. Accordingly, the first of them began to 
 speak of tlie strength of wine ; aiid demon- 
 strated it thus : " When," said he, " I am to 
 give my opinion of wine, O you men, 1 find 
 th.it it exceeds every thing, by the following 
 indications : it deceives the mind of those 
 that drink it, and reduces that of the king 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 flee ; and that of the needy becomes like 
 thai of the rich man, for it changes and re- 
 news the souls of men when it gets into them ; 
 and it (juenches the sorrow of tliose that are 
 under calamities, and makes men forget ths 
 
 "^- 
 
J- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 debts they owe to others, and makes them 
 think themselves to be of all men the richest ; 
 it makes them talk of no small things, but of 
 talents, and such other things as become weal- 
 thy men only ; nay more, it makes them in- 
 sensible 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 tliem, 
 and makes them appear the greatest strangers 
 to them ; and when they are 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. 
 4. 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 tliat it was the strongest of all, 
 and more powerful than any thing else that 
 appears to have any force or wisdom. He 
 began his demonstration after the following 
 manner ; and said, " They are men who go- 
 vern 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 de- 
 serve to be esteemed insuperable 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 command 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 appear 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 en- 
 dured the labour, and all the inconveniences 
 of such works of husbandry, when they have 
 reaped and gathered in their fruits, they bring 
 tributes to the king ; and whatsoever it is 
 wliich the king says or commands, it is done 
 of necessity, and that without any delay, while 
 he in the meantime is satiated with all sorts 
 of food and pleasures, and sleeps in (juiet. 
 He is guarded by such as watch, and Mich 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 appear that the 
 king exceeds all in strength, while so great a 
 multitude obeys his injunctions?" 
 
 293 
 
 5. 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 wo- 
 men 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 willing to forsake what 
 we have, that we may enjoy her beauty, and 
 procure it to ourselves. We also leave fa- 
 ther, and mother, and the earth that nourislies 
 us, and frequently forget our dearest friends, 
 for the sake of women ; nay, we are so hardy 
 as to lay down our lives for them ; but what 
 will cliiefly 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 mistresses, and bestow tlvem 
 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 Thema- 
 sius 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 recon- 
 ciliation by the great humiliation of himself 
 to her, if at any time he saw her displeased at 
 him." 
 
 6. And when the pHlinces and rulers looked 
 one upon another, he began to speak about 
 truth ; and he said, " I have already demon- 
 strated how powerful women are ; but both 
 tliese women themselves, and the king him- 
 self, 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 also ought to 
 esteem truth to be the strongest of all things, 
 and that what is unrighteous is of no force 
 against it. IMoreover, all things else that 
 have any strength are mortal, and short-lived, 
 but truth is a thing that is immortal and eter- 
 nal. It affords us not indeed such a beauty 
 as will wither away by time, nor such riche« 
 as may be taken away by fortune, but right- 
 eous rules and laws. It distinguishes tbesn 
 
"V 
 
 :^9-l 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 from injustice, and puts what is unrighteous 
 to ruljiikf. "• 
 
 7. So wlicn Zorobabel had loft off his dis- 
 course ahout truth, and llie inuhitude had 
 cried out aloud that he had spoken tlie most 
 wisely, and that it was truili alone tliat had 
 immutable strength, and sucii as never would 
 wax old, tlie king commanded that he should 
 ask for somewhat over and above what he had 
 promised, for that lie would give it him be- 
 cause of his wisdom, and that jirudence where- 
 in 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 iriade 
 in case he should ever have the kingdom. 
 Now this vow was, " to rebuild Jerusalem, and 
 to build therein the temple of God, as also to 
 restore the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had 
 pillaged, ajid carried to Babylon. And this," 
 said he, " is that request which thou now per- 
 mittest m« to make, on account that I have 
 been judged to be wise and understanding." 
 
 8. 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 tliose that 
 were going with him to build the temple. 
 He also sent letters to those rulers that were 
 in Syria and Plioeniciato cut down and carry 
 cedar-trees from Lebanon to Jerusalem, and 
 to assist him in building the city. He also 
 wrote to them, that all the captives wlio should 
 go to Judea 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 tliemselves of without tributes. 
 He also enjoined the Idumeans and Samari- 
 tans, and the inhabitants of Celesyria, to re- 
 store those villages which tlioy had taken from 
 tlie Jews ; and that, besides all this, fifty 
 talents should be given them for the building 
 of the temple. He also permitted them to 
 
 • The reader is to note, that .ilthoiigh the speeches or 
 papers of tliese three of the kiiif^'s guard are much the 
 same, in our tliinl book of Esilras, chap. iii. ar.il iv. as 
 they are here in Josciiluis, ^t that the intro<ii!ction of 
 tliem is entirely iliflirent, while in our Ksdras (he whole 
 is related as the eontrivanec of the tince of tlie king's 
 guards themselves; and even the itiiplity rewards are 
 spoken of as proposed hy tliemselves, and the si)eecJies 
 are related to have tx'cn "delivered by themselves to the 
 king in writinK, while all is contrary in Joscphus. I 
 need not sav lOiose account is the most probable, tlie 
 matters siieak for themselves; and there can be no 
 doubt but Josephus's history is here to Ix.' very much 
 preferred before the other. N'or indeed does it seem to 
 me at all unlikely that the whole was a contrivaiue of 
 king Darius's own, in order to be decf nt'y and inoft'en- 
 sivciy put in min<l liy Zorobalx'l of fulfilling his old 
 vow for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, 
 and tilt restoration of the worship of the ' One true God" 
 there. Nor does the full meaning of Zorobabel, when 
 he cries out (3 Esd. iv, i(>), •• Blessed be the Ood of 
 truth ;" and here, " Ood is true and righteous," or even 
 of all the iK-ople {3 Esd. iv, li;, " Great is truth, and 
 mighty above all things," seem to nic much diflerent 
 from tlii», " There is but one true (iod, the God .)f Is. 
 racl." To which doctrine, such .is Cyrus, and Darius, 
 &C. the Jews' great patrons, seem not to have been very 
 averse, thoMirh the entire idolatry of their kingdoms 
 maiV them per.crally eonecil it. 
 
 BOOK XI, 
 
 offer their appointed sacrifices, and that what- 
 soever the high-priest and the priests wanted, 
 and those sacred garments wherein they used 
 to worship God, should lie made at his own 
 charges ; and that the musical instruments 
 which the Levites used in singing fiymns to 
 God should he given them. Moreover, he 
 charged them, that portions of land should be 
 given to those that guarded the city and the 
 temple, as also a determinate sum of money 
 every year for their maintenance : and withal 
 lie sent the vessels. And all that Cyrus in- 
 tended to do before him, relating to the re- 
 storation of Jerusalem, Darius also ordained 
 should be done accordingly. 
 
 9. Now when Zorobabel had obtained these 
 grants from the king, he went out of the pa- 
 lace, and looking up to lieaven, he began to 
 return thanks to God for the wisdom he had 
 given him, and the victory he had gained 
 thereby, even in the presence of Darius him- 
 self; for, said he, " I had not been tliought 
 worthy of these advantages, O Lord, unless 
 thou hadst been favourable to me." When, 
 therefore, he had returned these thanks to 
 God for the present circumstance lie was in, 
 and had prayed to him to afford him the like 
 favour for the time to come, he came to Ba- 
 bylon, and brought the good news to his coun- 
 trymen of what grants he liad procured for 
 them from the king; who, when they heard 
 the saine, gave thanks also to God that lie re- 
 stored the land of their forefathers to them a- 
 gain. So they betook themselves to drinking 
 and eating, and for seven days they continued 
 feasting, and kept a festival, for the rebuild 
 ing 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 Jerusalem with 
 joy and |>leasure, under the conduct of tliose 
 whom Darius sent along with them, and 
 making a noise with songs, and pipes, and 
 cymbals. Tiie rest of the Jewisli multitude 
 also besides accomjianied them with rejoic- 
 ing. 
 
 10. And thus did these men go, a certain 
 and determinate number out of every family, 
 though I do not think it proper to recite 
 particularly the names of those families, tl<at 
 I may not take off llie minds of my readers 
 from the connexion of the historical facts, 
 and make it hard for them to follow the co- 
 herence of my narration ; but the sum of 
 those that went up, above flie age of twelve 
 years, of the tribes of Judali and Benjamin, 
 was feur hundred and sixty-two myriads and 
 eight thousand j-j- the I^'vites were scventy- 
 
 t This strange reading in Josephus's present conies, 
 of four millions instead of forty tfiovisano, is one of the 
 
 Grossest errors that is in lliem, and ought to be correcte-d 
 rom K:Ta ii, 64, 1 Ksd. v, 40, and Neh. vii, C(', who 
 all agree the general sum Wiis but about forty -Hvo thou- 
 sand three hundred and sixty. It is also very' plain, that 
 Jnscnhus thought, that when £'s<lrasa{lerwar(L> brought 
 
 .r. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 four ; the number of the women and children 
 mixed together was forty thousand seven hun- 
 dred and forty-two ; and besides these, there 
 were singers of the Levites one hundred and 
 twenty-eight, and porters one liundred and 
 ten, and of the sacred ministers three hun- 
 dred and ninety-two ; there were also others 
 besides these, who said they were Israelites, 
 but were not able to show their genealogies, 
 six liundred and sixty- two: some tiiere were 
 also who were expelled out of the number 
 and honour of the priests, as having married 
 wives whose genealogies they could not pro- 
 duce, nor were they found in the genealogies 
 of the Levites and priests ; they were about 
 five hundred and twenty-five ; the multitude 
 also of servants who followed those that 
 went up to Jerusalem seven thousand three 
 hundred and thirty-seven; the singing men 
 and singing women were two hundred and 
 forty-five ; the caraels were four hundred and 
 thirty-five ; the beasts used to the yoke were 
 five thousand five hundred and twenty-five ; 
 and the governors of all this multitude thus 
 numbered were Zorobabel, the son of Sala- 
 thiel, of the posterity of David, and of the 
 tribe of Judah ; and Jeshua, the son of Jose- 
 dek the high-priest ; and besides these there 
 were Mordecai and Serebeus, who were dis- 
 tinguished from the multitude, and were 
 rulers, who also contributed a hundred 
 pounds of gold and five thousand of silver. 
 By this means, therefore, the priests and the 
 Levites, and a certain part of the entire peo- 
 ple 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. 
 
 HOW THE TEMPLE WAS BUILT, WHILE THE 
 CUTHEANS ENDEAVOURED IN VAIN TO OB- 
 STRUCT THE WOEK. 
 
 § I. Now in the seventh month after they 
 were departed out of Babylon, both Jeshua 
 tlie Iiigh-priest, and Zorobabel the governor, 
 sent messengers every way round about, and 
 gathered those that were in tlie country to- 
 gether to Jerusalem universally, who came 
 very gladly thither. He then built tlie altar 
 on the same place it had formerly been built, 
 
 up another company out of Babylon and Persia, in the 
 days of Xerxes, tliey were also, as well as these, out of 
 the two tribes, and out of them onl^, and were in all no 
 more than " a seed" and " a remnant," while an " im- 
 mense number" «f the ten tribes never reiurned, but, 
 as he believed, continued then beyond Euphrates, ch. 
 v, sect 2, 5. Of which multitude, the Jews beyond 
 Euphrates, he speaks frequently elsewhere, though, by 
 ihe way, he never fakes them to be idolaters, but looks 
 on them still as obeervers of the laws of Moses. The 
 " certain part" of the people that now came up from 
 Babylon, at the end of this chapter, imply the same 
 imaller number of Jews that now came up; and wi) no 
 *av agree witirthe four millions. 
 
 295 
 
 ^ 
 
 that they might offer the appointed sacrifices 
 upon it to God, according to the laws of Mo- 
 ses. But while they did this, they did not 
 please the neighbouring nations, who all of 
 them bare an ill-will to them. They also 
 celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles at that 
 time, as the legislator had ordained concern- 
 ing it ; and after that they oflTered sacrifices, 
 and what were called the daily sacrifices, and 
 the oblations proper for the Sabbatlis, and 
 for all the holy festivals. Those <i'lso that 
 had made vows performed them, and offered 
 their sacrifices from the first day of the 
 seventh month. They also began to build 
 the teinple, and gave a great deal of monej 
 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 Libanus, to bind them together, and to 
 make a 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. 
 
 2. In the second year of their coming to 
 Jerusalem, as the Jews were there, in the se- 
 cond month, the building of the temple went 
 on apace; and when they had laid its foun 
 dations on the first day of the second montti 
 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 bre- 
 thren, and Codmiel, the brother of Judas, the 
 son 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 
 uith their accustomed garments, stood with 
 their trumpets, while the Levites, a-nd the sons 
 of Asaph, stood and sung 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, recollecting 
 with themselves how»inuch 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 wliich had 
 been built of old, considered with theinselves 
 how much their happy state was sunk below 
 what it had been of old, as well as their tem- 
 ple. Hereupon they were disconsolate, and 
 not able to contain their grief, and proceeded 
 so far as to lament and shed tears on those 
 accounts; but the people in general were 
 contented with their present condition ; and 
 because they were allowed to build them a 
 temple, they desired no more, and neither re- 
 garded nor remembered, nor indeed at all 
 tormented themselves 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 account of 
 the deficiency of this temple, in their opinion, 
 [if compared witJi that which had been de- 
 
 "^^ 
 
296 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS 
 
 molislitd, overcame the sounds of the trum- 
 pi'ts and tlio rejoicing of tlie people. 
 
 3. 15ut when the Samaritans, who were still 
 enemies to trie tribes of Judah and 13enj.imin, 
 heard the sound of the trumpets, they came 
 running togctlier, and desired to know wliat 
 was the occasion of this tumult ; and when 
 they perceived tl)at it was from the Jews who 
 had been carried captive to Babylon, and were 
 rebuilding their temple, tliey 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 thein, 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 settlement, and this ever since 
 Shalmanezer, the king of Assyria, transplant- 
 ed us out of Cuthah and Media to this place." 
 When they said thus, Zorobabel, and Jeshua 
 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, whilst they [only] had been appoint- 
 ed to build that temple at first by Cyrus, and 
 now by Darius, although it was indeed lawful 
 for them to come and worship there if they 
 nleased, and that they could allow them no- 
 thing, but that in common with them, which 
 was common to them with all other men, to 
 come to their temple and worship God there. 
 
 4. When the Cutheans heard this, for the 
 Samaritans have that appellation, they had in- 
 dignation at it, and persuaded the nations of 
 Syria to desire of the governors, in the same 
 maiiner as they had done formerly in the days 
 of Cyrus, anil again in the days of Cambyses 
 afterwards, to put a stop to the building of 
 the temple, and to endeavour to delay and pro- 
 tract 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 tl.e tem])le in«this manner, since it 
 was more like to a citadel than a temple ? and 
 for what reason 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 tliey were the ser- 
 vants of God Almighty: that this tem]ile was 
 built for him by a king of theirs tiiat lived 
 in great prosperity, and one that exceeded all 
 men in virtue; and that it contiimed a long 
 time, but tli:it because of their fathers' im- 
 piety towards God, Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
 the Babylonians and of the Chaldeans, took 
 their city by force, and destroyed it, and pil- 
 laged the temple, and burnt it down, and 
 transplanted the people whom he had made 
 captives, and ren)()ved them to Babylon ; that 
 Cyrus, will), after him, was king of Babylo- 
 nia and Persia, wrote to them to build the 
 temple, and conunitted the gifts and vessels, 
 nnd whatsoever Nebuchadnezzar hud carried 
 
 out of it, to Zorobabel, and Mithridates tha 
 treasurer; and gave order to have them car- 
 ried to .Jerusalem, and to have tliem restored 
 to their own temple when it was built; for 
 he had sent to tliem to have it done speedily, 
 and commanded Sanabassar to go up to Je- 
 rusalem, and to take care of the building of 
 the temple; who, ujion receiving that epiitie 
 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 proj)er, write this account 
 to Darius, that when he hatli consulted the 
 records of the kings, he may find that we 
 have told you nothing that is false about this 
 matter." 
 
 5. When Zorobabel and the high-priest 
 had made this answer, Sisiimes, and those 
 that were Mith him, did not resolve to hinder 
 the building, until they had informed 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 building of Jerusalem and of the temple, 
 there were two prophets at that tiine amongst 
 them, Haggai and Zechariah, who enctHi- 
 raged 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 earnestly to building, and 
 did not intermit one day. 
 
 6. Now Darius, when the Samaritans had 
 written to him, and in their epistle had accus- 
 ed the Jews how they fortified the city, and 
 built the tem[)le 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, where- 
 in he forbade them to build the temple : and 
 when Darius thereby understood that the re- 
 storation of Jerusalem was not expedient for 
 his affairs, and when he had read the epistle 
 that was brought him from Sisinnes and tliose 
 that were with him, he gave order that what 
 concerned ther.e matters should be sought for 
 among the royal records. — Whereupon a book 
 was found at Ecbatuna, 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 three- 
 score cubits, and its breadth of the same, win. 
 three edifices of polished stone, and one edi- 
 fice of stone of their own country ; and he or- 
 dained that the expenses of it should be paid 
 out of the king's revenue. He also com- 
 manded that the vessels which Nebuchadnez- 
 zar had pillaged [out of the temple], and had 
 carried to Babylon, should be restored to the 
 people of Jerusalein ; and that the care of 
 these things should belong to Sanabassar, the 
 
 J 
 
*\-. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 governor and president of Syria and Phcenl- 
 cia, and to his associates, that they may not 
 incddle with that place, but may permit the 
 serv ints of God, the Jews and their rulers, to 
 build the temple. He also ordained that they 
 sliould assist them in the work ; and that they 
 should pay to the Jews, out of the tribute of 
 the country where they were governors, on 
 account of the sacrifices, bulls, and rams, and 
 lambs, and kids of the goats, ind fine flour, 
 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 Persians : and that for such 
 as transgressed any 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 tem- 
 ple, God would strike him dead, and thereby 
 restrain his wickedness." 
 
 7. When Darius had found this book 
 among the records of Cyrus, he wrote an an- 
 swer to Sisinnes and his associates, whose con- 
 tents were these : — " King Darius to Sisinnes 
 the governor, and to Sathrabuzanes, sendeth 
 greeting. Having found a copy of this epistle 
 am ing the records of Cyrus, I have sent it 
 to you; and I will that all things be done as 
 therein written. — Farewell." So when Si- 
 sinnes, and those that were with him, un- 
 derstood the intention of the king, they re- 
 solved 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 sanhedrim; and the struc- 
 ture of the temple was with great diligence 
 brought to a conclusion, by the prophecies of 
 Huggai and Zechariah, according to God's 
 commands, and by the injunctions of Cyrus 
 and Darius 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 Macedonians Di/strus, 
 the priests and the Levites, and the other multi- 
 tude of the Israelites, offered sacrifices, as tlie 
 renovation of theirformer prosperity after their 
 captivity, and because they had now the tem- 
 ple rebuilt, a hundred bulls, two hundred 
 rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve kids of 
 the goats, according to the number of their 
 tribes (for so many are the tribes of the Israel- 
 ites) ; and this last for the sms of every tribe. 
 The priests also, and the Levites, set the por- 
 ters at every gate according to the laws of 
 IVloses. The Jews also built the cloisters of 
 the inner temple that were round about the 
 temple itself. 
 
 8. And as the feast of unleavened bread 
 was at hand, in the first month, which, accord- 
 ing to the Macedonians, is called Xcinthicus, 
 but according to us yisaii, all the people ran 
 together out of the villages to the city, and 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 297 
 
 celebrated tb festival, having purified them. 
 selves, with their wives and children, accord- 
 ing to the law of their country ; and they of- 
 fered the sacrifice which was called the Pass- 
 over, on the fourteenth day of the same month, 
 and feasted seven days, and spared for no cost, 
 but offered whole burnt-offerings to God, 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 rendered the mind of the king of Persia 
 favourable to them. So these men offered 
 the largest sacrifices on these accounts, and 
 used great magnificence in the worship of 
 God, and dwelt in Jerusalem, and made use 
 of a form of government that was aristocrati- 
 cal, but mixed with an oligarchy,, for the higb- 
 priests were at the liead of their affairs, until 
 the posterity of the Asainoneans set up king- 
 ly government; for before their captivity, and 
 the dissolution of their polity, they at first 
 had kingly government from Saul and David 
 for five hundred and thirty-two years, six 
 months, and ten days : but before those kings, 
 such rulers governed them as were called 
 Judges and Monarchs. Under this form of 
 government, they continued for more than 
 five hundred 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 de- 
 livered from it in the times of Cyrus and Da- 
 rius. 
 
 9. * But the Samaritans, being evil and ei>- 
 viously disposed to the Jews, wrought thena 
 many mischiefs, by reliance on their riches, 
 and by their pretence that tiiey were allied to 
 the Persians, on account that thence they 
 came ; and whatsoever it was that they were 
 enjoined to pay the Jews by the king's order 
 out of their tributes for the sacrifices, they 
 would not pay it. They had also the gover- 
 nors 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 deter- 
 mined to send an embassage to king Darius, 
 in favour of the people of Jerusalem, and in 
 order to accuse the Samaritans. The ambas 
 sadors were Zorobabel, and four others of the 
 rulers ; and as soon as the king knew from 
 the ambassadors the accusations and com- 
 plaints they brought against the Samaritans, 
 he gave them an epistle to be carried to thu 
 governors and council of Samaria ; the con- 
 tents of which epistle were these : '' King 
 Darius to Tanganas and Sambabas, the go- 
 vernors of the Samaritans ; 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 building of the temple, and do not sujv- 
 
 • The history contained in this section is entirely 
 wanting in all uur c-upies. both of Ezra and Ksdras. 
 
 A. 
 
 r* 
 
J- 
 
 J?!>8 
 
 ANTIQUITJCS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ply tlieiT) with Uic expenses which I commrt/id- 
 eil you to do for tiiu oU'erinjr of their sairi- 
 fices. IMy will therefore is this : That upon 
 the reading of this epistle, you supply tlicin 
 with wi)atsocver tliey want for their sacrifices, 
 and that out of the royal treasury, of the tri- 
 butes of Samaria, as the priest shall desire, 
 that they may not leave ofl t'lcir offering daily 
 sacrifices, nor praying to Clod for me and the 
 Persians :"— and these were tJie contents of 
 that epistle. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 HOW XERXES, THE SON OF DARIUS, WAS WELL- 
 DISPOSED TO THE JEWS ; AS ALSO CONCERN- 
 ING ESDRAS AND NEHEMIAH. 
 
 § 1. Upon the death of Darius, Xerxes his 
 son took the kingdom ; who, as he inherited 
 his father's kingdom, so did he inherit his 
 piety towards God, and honour of him ; for 
 lie did all things suital)ly to his fatlier relat- 
 ing to divine worship, and he was exceeding 
 friendly to the Jews. Now about this time a 
 son of Jeshua, whose name was Joacim, was 
 the high-priest. Moreover, there was now in 
 Babylon a righteous man, and one that en- 
 joyed a great reputation among the multitude; 
 he was the principal priest of the peojile, and 
 his name was Esdras. He was very skilful 
 in the laws of Moses, and was well acquaint- 
 ed 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 
 governors: — " Xerxes, king of kings, to Es- 
 •dras the priest, and reader of the divine law, 
 greeting. I think it agreeable to that love 
 which I bear to mankind, to permit tliose of 
 the Jewisii nation who are so disposed, as well 
 as those of the priests and Lcvites that are in 
 our kingdom, to go togithfr to Jerusalem. 
 Accordingly, I have given command for tliat 
 purpose; and let every one that hath a mind 
 go, according as it liath seemed good to me, 
 and to my seven counsellors, and this in or- 
 der to their review of the atl'airs of Judea, to 
 see whether they be agreeable to the law of 
 God. Let them also take with them tliose 
 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 
 Ciod, and let all this be carried to Jerusalem, 
 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 ]jlcasesi. 
 Thou shalt also dedicate those holy vessels 
 which have been given thee, and as many 
 more as tliou hast a mind to make, and shalt 
 
 UOOK XI 
 
 I take the expenses out of the king's treasury. 
 I have moreover written to the treasurers ol 
 
 I Syria and Phoenicia, that they take care of 
 
 j those affairs that Esdras the priest, and readei 
 of the laws of God, is sunt about; and that 
 
 \ CJod may not be at all angry with me, or with 
 my children, I grant all that is necessary for 
 sacrifices to God, according to the law, as far 
 as a hundred cori of wheat ; and I enjoin you 
 not to lay any treacherous imjjosition, or any 
 tributes, upon their priests or Levites, or sa- 
 cred singers, or porters, or sacred servants, 
 or scribes of the temple ; and do thou, O Es- 
 dras, appoint judges according to the wisdom 
 [given thee] of God, and tiio.se such as under- 
 stand the law, that they may judge in all Sy- 
 ria and Phceriicia; and do thou instruct those 
 also which are ignorant of it, that if any one 
 of thy countrymen transgress the law of God, 
 or that of the king, he may be punished, as 
 not transgressing it out of ignorance, 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." 
 
 2. When Esdras had received this epistle, 
 he was very joyful, and began to worship 
 God, and confessed that he had been tht; 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 epistle at Babyion to 
 those Jews that were there ; but he kept the 
 e;)istle 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 towards God, and what kindness 
 he had for Esdras, they were all greatly pleas- 
 ed ; nay, many of them took their eff'ects with 
 them, and came to Babylon, as very desirous 
 of going down to Jerusalem ; but then the 
 entire body of the peojile of Israel remained 
 in that country; wherefore there are but two 
 tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Ro- 
 mans, while the ten tribes are beyond Eu- 
 phrates till now, and are an immense multi 
 tude, and not to be estimated by numbers. 
 Now there came a great number of priests, 
 and Levites, and porters, and sacred sin^^ers, 
 and sacred servants, to Esdras. So he ga- 
 thered those that were in the cajjtivity toge- 
 ther beyond Euplirates, and staid there three 
 days, and ordained a fast for them, that ihey 
 might make their prayers to God for their 
 preservation, that they might suH'er no mis- 
 fortunes by the way, either from their ene- 
 mies, or from any other ill accident ; for Es- 
 dras 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 Euijhrates, 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 Es- 
 dra.«i presented tlie sacred money to tlie trp3 
 
V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 299 
 
 surers, who were of the family of tlie priests, 
 of silver six hundred and fifty talents, ves- 
 sels of silver one hundred talents, vessels of 
 gold twenty talents, vessels of brass, that 
 was more precious than gold,* twelve talents 
 by weight; for these presents had been made 
 by the king aiid liis counsellors, and by all 
 the Israelites that staid at Babylon. So when 
 Esdras had delivered these things to the 
 priests, he gave to God, as the appointed sa- 
 crifices of whole burnt-offerings, twelve bulls 
 on account of the common preservation of the 
 people, ninety rams, seventy-two lambs, aid 
 twelve 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 Phoenicia ; and as they were 
 under the necessity of doing what was en- 
 joined by him, they honoured our nation, 
 and were assistant to them in all their neces- 
 sities. 
 
 3. Now these things were truly done un- 
 der the conduct of Esdras ; and he succeeded 
 in them, because God esteemed him worthy 
 of the success of his conduct, on account of 
 his goodness and righteousness. But some 
 time afterward there came some persons to 
 him, and brought an accusation against cer- 
 tain of the multitude, and of the priests and 
 Levites, who had transgressed their settlement, 
 and dissolved the laws of their country, by 
 marrying strange wives, and had brought the 
 family 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 gar- 
 ment immediately, out of grief, and pulled o!f 
 the hair of his head and beard, and cast him- 
 self 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. How- 
 ever, 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 Esdras rose up from the ground, and 
 stretched out his hands towards Heaven, and 
 said that he was ashamed to look towards it, 
 because of the sins which the people had com- 
 mitted while they had cast out of their memo- 
 ries what their fathers had undergone on ac- 
 count 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 Jerusalem, 
 and to their own land, and had obliged the 
 king of Persia to have compassion on them, 
 that he would also forgive thein their sins 
 tliey had now committed, which, though they 
 
 • Dv. Hudson take^ notice here, that this kind of 
 brass or copper, or rather mixture oi gokl and brass or 
 copper, was called aurieliiilcun, and that this was ol 
 oiil esteemed the most piecious of all metaU 
 
 deserved death, yet, was it agreeable to the 
 mercy of God, to remit even to these the pu- 
 nishment due to them. 
 
 4. After Esdras had said this, he left off 
 praying; and when all those that came to him 
 with their wives and children were under la- 
 mentation, one, whose name was Jechonias, 
 a principal man in Jerusalem, came to him, 
 and said, that they had sinned in marrying 
 strange wives ; and he persuaded him to ad- 
 jure 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 trade 
 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 chamber of Jbhanan, the 
 son of Eliasib, and as he had hitlierlo 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 tliat 
 did not meet there in two or three days sliould 
 be banished from the multitude, and that their 
 substance should be appropriated to the uses 
 &f the temple, according to the sentence of 
 the elders, those that were of the tribes of Ju- 
 dah and Benjamin came together in three 
 days, viz. on the twentieth day of the ninttj 
 month, which, according to the Hebrews, is 
 called Teheth, and according to the Macedo- 
 nians, Apelleius. Now, as they were sitting 
 in the upper room of the temple, where the 
 elders also were present, but were uneasy be- 
 cause of the cold, Esdras stood up and ac- 
 cused them, and told them that they hafl sin- 
 ned in marrying wives that were not of their 
 own nation ; but that now they would do a 
 thing both pleasing to God and advantageous 
 to themselves, if they would put those wives 
 away. Accordingly, they all cried out that 
 they would do so. That, however, the mul- 
 titude was great, and that the season of the 
 year was winter, and that this work would re- 
 quire 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 
 ])lace, that are in common, to estimate the 
 number of those that have thus married, are 
 to be there also." Accordingly, this was re- 
 solved on by them ; and they began the in- 
 quiry after those that had married strange 
 wives on the first day of the tenth month, and 
 continued the inquiry to the first day of the 
 next inonth, and found a great many of the 
 posterity of Jeshua the higli-priest, and of the 
 priests and Levites, and Israelites, who had a 
 greater regard to the observation of the law 
 than to their natural aflTection,* and immedi- 
 
 * This procednre of Esdras, and of the best part of tlio 
 Jewiih nation, after their return from the Uabsloxisli 
 
 "X 
 
s- 
 
 300 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ati'ly cast out their wives, and the children 
 which were born of them; and in order to 
 appease God, they offered sacrifices, and slew 
 rams, as ohhiiions to liim ; but it does not 
 seem to me to be necessary to set down the 
 names of tl)ese men. So when Esdras liad 
 reformed this sin about the marriages of the 
 forementioned persons, he reduced that prac- 
 tice to purity, so that it continued in that 
 state for the time to come. 
 
 .5. Now when they kept the feast of ta- 
 bernacles in the seventli month,* and almost 
 all the people were come together to it, they 
 went up to the open part of tlie temple, to 
 the gate which looked eastward, and desired 
 of Esdras that tlie laws of Moses might be 
 read to thein. Accordingly, he stood in the 
 midst of the multitude and read thcin ; and 
 this he did from morning to noon. Now, by 
 hearing the- laws read to them, they were in- 
 structed to oe righteous men for the present 
 and for the future ; but as for their past of- 
 fences, 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 these 
 miseries which they had experienced ; but 
 when Esdras saw them in that disposition, 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.f 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 joy ; but to let tiieir repentance and 
 sonow for their former sins be a security and 
 a guard to them, that they fell no more into 
 the like offences. So upon Esdras' exhorta- 
 tion they began to feast: and when they liad so 
 done for eight days, in their tabernacles, they 
 departed to their own homes, singing hymns 
 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 obtained this repu- 
 tation among the people, he died an old man, 
 and was buried in a magnificent manner at 
 Jerusalem. About the same time it happen- 
 ed also that Joacim, the high-priest, died ; 
 
 captivity, of reducing thp Jewish marrijigcs, once for all, 
 to the !.tricuiess of the la" of Moses, wiilioutany ritjard 
 to Ihc (;rcatiicss of t^ioi-e who had broken it, anil with- 
 out rcpard to that natural afltrtion or compassion for 
 their heathen wives, .iiid their children by them, which 
 made il so hard for Esdsas to correct it, deserves prcatly 
 to be ol)servcd and imitated in all attcmnts for rcforma. 
 tion amonj; Christians, the contrary coniluct haviiiy ever 
 been the bane of true religion, both amoujj Jews and 
 ('hri>tiaiis, while political views, or human passions, or 
 prinUiitial motives, aic sufl'trcd to take place instead of 
 the ilivuic laws, and so the bicssinj; of (foil is forfcitul, 
 and the church still sufl'cred to continue corrupt from 
 one ceneration to another. See eh. viii. sect. 2. 
 
 • This Jewish feast of tabernacles was imitated in 
 several heathen solemnities, as .'^panhrim here observes 
 and proves. He also farther observes j>resenlly, what 
 pieat regard many heathens had to the monuments of 
 tlieir forelatlKrs, as Niheiiii.ih had here, sect. 6. 
 
 ) Tills rule of F:s<lrivs, not to f.ist on a festival day, is 
 (luolid in the Anostolical Constitutions, (b. v), as'ob- 
 <^iun|; among christians also. 
 
 and his son Eliasib succeeoed in the In'gh- 
 priestliood. 
 
 6. Now there was one of those Jews who 
 had been carried captive, who was cu))-bearer 
 to king Xerxes; his name was Nehemiah. 
 As this man was walking before Susa, the 
 metropolis of the Persians, he heard some 
 strangers that were entering the city, after a 
 long journey, speaking to one anotlier in the 
 Hebrew tongue ; so he went to them and ask- 
 ed from whence they came ; and when their 
 answer vvas, tli;tf they came from Judea, he 
 began to inquire of them again in wliat state 
 the multitude was, and in what condition Je- 
 rusalein was: and when they replied that they 
 were in a bad state, f for that their walls were 
 thrown down to the ground, and that tiie 
 neighbouring nations did a great deal of mis- 
 chief to the Jews, while in the day-time they 
 over-ran the country and pillaged it, and in 
 the night did them mischief, insomuch that 
 not a few were led away captive out of the 
 country, and out of Jerusalem itself, and that 
 the roads were in the day-time found full of 
 dead men. Hereupon Nehetniah shed tears, 
 out of commiseration of the calamities of his 
 countrymen; and, looking up to Heaven, he 
 said, " How long, O Lord, wilt thou overlook 
 our nation, while it sutlers so great miseries, 
 and while we are made the prey and the spoil 
 of all men V And while he staid at the gate, 
 and lamented thus, one told l)im that the king 
 was going to sit down to supper; so he made 
 haste, and went as he was, without washing 
 himself, to minister to the king in his office of 
 cup-bearer: but as the king was very plea- 
 sant after supper, and more cheerful than 
 usual, tie cast his eyes on Netiemiah, and see- 
 ing liim look sad, he asked hiin wliy he was 
 sad. Whereupoti he prayed to God to give 
 him favour, and afford liim the power of per- 
 suading by his words ; and said, " How can 
 I, O king, appear otlierwise than thus, and 
 not be in trouble, while I hear that the walls 
 of Jerusalem, tlie city where are the sepul- 
 chres of my fatliers, are thrown down to ttie 
 ground, and that its gates are consumed by 
 lire .' But do lliou grant me the favour to 
 go and build its wall, and to finish tlie build- 
 ing of the lemiile." Accordingly the king 
 gave liim a signal, that he freely granted tiiin 
 wtiat he asked ; and told tiim, that lie sliould 
 carry an epistle to ttie governors, that ttiey 
 might pay liim due honour, and afford Iiim 
 whatsoever assistiince tie wanted, and as lie 
 pleased. " Leave off" thy sorrow then," said 
 the king, "and tie cheerful in the performance 
 of tliy office tiereafter." So Nehemiati wor- 
 shipped God, and gave the king thanks for his 
 
 % This miserable condition of the Jews, and their 
 capital, must have bcon after the death of Esdras, their 
 former covemor, ;uid bi^t'ore Nehemiah came with his 
 coiumii.^ion to build the walls of Jcrus;ilcin; nor is that 
 at all disagreeable to these histories in Joscphns, since 
 Ksdras cainc on the seventh, and Nehemiah not till the 
 wwUi-tiftli of Xerxes, at tlis inter\ al of eighteen year* 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 promise, and cleared up his sad and cloudy 
 countenance, by the pleasure he had from the 
 king's promises. Accordingly, the king call- 
 ed for hiir llie next day, and gave him an 
 epistle to be carried to Adeus, the governor 
 oi" Syria, and Phtenicia, and Samaria ; where- 
 in he sent to him to pay due honour to Ne- 
 hemiah, and to supply him with what he want- 
 ed for his building. 
 
 7. Now when he was come to Babylon, 
 and had taken with him many of his country- 
 men, who voluntarily followed him, he came 
 to Jerusalem in the twenty and 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 fol- 
 lowing speech to them : — " You know, O 
 Jews, that God hath kept our fathers, Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, and Jacob, in mind continually ; 
 and for the sake of their righteousness 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, there- 
 fore, who well know the ill-will our neigh- 
 bouring nations bear to us, and that when 
 once they are made sensible that we are in ear- 
 nest about building, they will come upon us, 
 and contrive many ways of obstructing our 
 works, that you will, in tl t first place, put 
 70ur trust in God, as in hiia that will assist 
 us against tlieir hatred, and to intenriit build- 
 ing neither night nor day, but to use all dili- 
 gence, and to hasten on the work, now we 
 have this especial opportunity fc; 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, according to their vil- 
 lages and cities, as every one's ability should 
 require. And when he had added this pro- 
 mise, that he liimself, 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, which is taken 
 fioni the tribe of Judah, which came first to 
 these places, and thence both they and the 
 country gained that appellation. 
 
 P. Butnow when the Ammonites, and Moab-. 
 ites, and Samaritans, and all that inhabited Ce- 
 lesyria, heard that the building went on apace, 
 they took it heinously, and proceeded to lay 
 snares for them, and to hinder their inten- 
 tions They also slew many of the Jews, and 
 sought how they might destroy Neheiniah 
 himself, by hiring some of the foreigners to 
 
 * This showing king Xerxes' epistles to God, or lay- 
 ing them open before Xiod in the tei iple, is very like the 
 laying open the epistles of Sennaclurib before him also 
 by Hezekiah 1,2 Knigsxix, 14; Isa. xxxvii, H) ; although 
 this last was for a memorial, to put him in mind of tlie 
 enemies, in order to move the divine compassion, and 
 the present as a token of gratitude for mercies already 
 received, as Havercamp well ol)serves on this place 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 301 
 
 kill him. They also put the Jews in fear, 
 and disturbed tliem, and spread abroad ru- 
 mours, as if many nations were ready to make 
 an expedition against tiiem, by which means 
 they were harassed, and had almost left ofl 
 the building. But none of these things could 
 deter Nehemiah from being diligent about 
 the work ; he only set a number of men about 
 him as a guard to his body, and so unwea- 
 riedly 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 safe- 
 ty ; not that he feared death, but of this per- 
 suasion, that if he were dead, the walls, for 
 his citizens, would never be raised. He also 
 gave orders that the builders should keep tiieir 
 ranks, and have their armour on wl-.ile they 
 were building. Accordingly, the mason had 
 his sword on, as well as he that brought the 
 materials for building. He also appointed that 
 their shields should He very near them ; and 
 he placed trumpeters at every five hundred 
 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 went about the compass of 
 the city by night, being never discouraged, 
 neither about the work itself, nor about liis 
 own diet and sleep, for he made no use of 
 those things for his pleasure, but out of ne- 
 cessity. And this trouble he underwent for 
 two years and 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 and the multitude olTered 
 sacrifices to God for the building of them; 
 and they continued in feastmg 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 peo- 
 ple, he exhorted the priests and the Levites, 
 that they would leave tlie country, and remove 
 themselves to the city, and there continue; 
 and he built them houses at his own expenses; 
 and he commanded that part of the peojile 
 who were employed in cultivating the land, 
 to bring the tithes of their fruits to Jerusa- 
 
 i It may not be very improper to remark here, with 
 what an unusual accuracy .lo^ephus determines tliese 
 years of Xerxes, in which the walls of Jerusalem were 
 built, viz. that Nehemiah came with this commission in 
 the l'5th of Xerxes ; that the walls were two years and four 
 months in buildinp ; and that they were finished on the 
 ysth of Xerxes, sect. 7, 8. it may also l>e remarked 
 farther, that .loscphus hardly ever mentions more than 
 one infallible astronomical character, 1 mean an eclipse 
 of the moon, jmd this a little before the death of Herod 
 the Great, Antiq. b. xvii, ch. vi, sect. 4. Now on these 
 two chronological characters in great measure depend 
 some of the most important points belonging to Chris- 
 tianity, viz. the exphcation of Daniel's seventy weeks, 
 and the duration of our Saviour's ministry, and the 
 time of his death, in correspondence to thc»c seventy 
 weeks. See tlie Supplement to the Lit. Aceomp. of 
 Proph. p. 7i«. 
 
 "V 
 
J' 
 
 302 
 
 ANTICiUITIKS OF TIIK JKWS. 
 
 lem, that tlie [iriests and Levitt-s having 
 whereof they might live perpetually, might 
 not leave the (hvine worship ; who willingly 
 licarkened to tlie constitutions of Neheniiah, 
 by vvhicli means the city Jerusalem came to 
 be fuller of peo|)lo than it was before. So 
 when Neheniiah had done many other excel- 
 lent things, and thinj^s worthy of commenda- 
 tion, in a glorious manner, he came to a great 
 age, and then died. He was a man of a 
 gooil and a righteous disposition, and very 
 amhiiious to make his own nation happy ; 
 and he hath left tlie walls of Jerusalem as an 
 eternal monument for himself. Now this 
 was done in the days of Xerxes. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 COXCERNINll ESTHER, AND MORDECAF, AND 
 HAiMAN ; AND HOW, IN THE REIGN OF AR- 
 TAXICRXES, THE WHOLE NATION OF THE 
 JEWS WAS IN DANGER OF PERISHING. 
 
 § 1. After the death of Xerxes, the king- 
 dom came to be transferred to his son Cyrus, 
 whom the Greeks called Ariaxerxes. 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 peris'iing ; the occasion whereof we shall 
 declare in a little time ; for it is proper, in 
 the first place, to explain somewhat relating 
 to this king, and hriw he came to marry a 
 Tcwish wife, who was her5;elf of the royal fa- 
 mily also, and who is related to have saved 
 our nation ; for when Artaxerxes had taken 
 the kingdom, and had set goveinors over the 
 hundred twenty and seven provinces, from 
 India even unto Ethiopia, in the third year 
 
 ♦ Since soinc sceplical persons are willing to discard 
 tliis book of Estlicr as no true liisLory (and even our 
 learned and judicious Dr. Wall, in his late poslh\imous 
 Critical Notes upon all tlie other Hebrew books of the 
 Old Testament, gives us none upon the (.'antulcs, or 
 
 upon Esther, and seems thereby to give up this book, 
 
 up the Canticles, as indefensiliU), I 
 
 shall venture tb«iy. that almost all the nbjcctions against 
 
 as well as he gives up the i 
 
 this book of Esther arc gone at once, if, as we ccnainly 
 ought to do, and as Dean Priileaux has justly done, we 
 place this history under Artaxerxes Longimanus, as do 
 both the Scptnagiiit liiterpreters and Josephus. 1 he 
 learned Or. I,cc, in his posthumous Dissertation on ihi; 
 Second liook of Ksihiis, page '-•5, also says, that " the 
 truth of this history is deinonstratcd by the feast of 
 Purim, kept up from that time to this very day: and 
 thi" "-urprisini; providential revolution in favoiir of a 
 captive people, tlitreby constantly eonimemorated, 
 stiir.ileth even upon a firmer basis than that there ever 
 v/as such a man as knig Alexander [the llreat] in the 
 world, of whose reign there is no such abiding monu- 
 ment at this day to be found anywhere. Nor will they, 
 I dare say, who quariel at this or any other of the sacred 
 histories, find it a very easy matter to reconcile the dif- 
 ferent accounts which were given by historians of the 
 aflairs of this king, or to confirm any one fact of his 
 whatever with the same evidence which is here given 
 for the principal fact in the sacred book, or even so 
 much as to prove the existence of such a person, of 
 whom so great things are related, but uimn granting 
 tins book of Esther, or sixth of Ksiiras (as it is placed 
 in some of the most ancient copies of the Vulgau-) to be 
 • most true and certani history," <Ssc. 
 
 of Ills reign, he made a costly feast for liis 
 friends, and for the nations of Persia, and for 
 their governors, such a 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 a hundred and fourscore days ; after 
 which he made a feast for other nations, and 
 for their ambas^adors, at Shiisiian, for seven 
 days. Now tliif^ feast was ordered after the 
 manner following: — He caused a tent to be 
 pitched, which was supported by pillars of 
 gold and silver, with curtains of linen and 
 l)iirple spread over them, that it might aifoid 
 room for many ten thousands to sit down. 
 The cups with wliich 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. Moreover, he sent messengers 
 through the country, and gave order tiiat 
 they thouid have a remission of their labours, 
 and should keep a festival many days, on ac- 
 count of his kingdom. In like manner ilij 
 Vashti the queen gather lier guests 'ogeiher 
 and made them a feast in the palace. No« 
 the king was desirous to show her, who ex- 
 ceeded 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 regard to the laws of the Persians, 
 which forbid the wives to be seen by stran- 
 gers, did not go to the king ;f 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 interpre- 
 tation of the laws committed to them, and 
 accused his wife, and said, that he h.id been 
 ail'ronted 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 couiil be 
 done by the law against her. So one of 
 them, whose name was Memucan, s.iid that 
 this allVont was ollereil not to him alone, but 
 to all the Persians, who were in danger of 
 leading their lives very ill with their wives, if 
 
 t If the ClialUce paraphrast be in the right, that .Ar- 
 taxerxes intended to show Vashti to his guests naked, it 
 is no wonder at all that she would not submit to such 
 an indignity : but still if it were not so gross as that, yet 
 it might, in the king's cups, \>c done in a way so inde- 
 cent, as the I'crsian wws would not then bear, no inoie 
 than the common laws of modesty. And that the king 
 had some such di'sipn, seems not improbable, for other- 
 wise the principal of these royal g\iesu could be no 
 strangei-s to the ([ueen, nor unanjirised of her beauty, 
 so far as decency adinittetl. llowever, since Provi- 
 dence was now paving the wav for the introduction of 
 a Jewess into the kiii-'s aflccuciis, in order to bring 
 about one of the mo^t wondrrlul deliverances which th* 
 Jewish or any nation ever had, wc need not be farlliei 
 solicitous jibout the motives by which the king wa> lu 
 duced to divo p Vashti, and irarry EstJier 
 
 X 
 
 .^r 
 
CHAV. VI. ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 30'3 
 
 they must be thus despised by them ; for that 
 none of their wives would have any reve- 
 rence for their husbands, if they had " such 
 an example of arrogance in the queen to- 
 wards thee, who rulest over all." Accord- 
 ingly, 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. So the resolution 
 was to put Vashti away, and to give her dig- 
 nity to another woman. 
 
 2. 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 reconciliation, 
 so he was under trouble, as not having it in 
 his power to do what he desired to do : but 
 when his friends saw him so uneasy, they ad- 
 vised him to cast the me^mory of his wife, and 
 his love for her, out of his mind, but to send 
 abroad over all the habitable earth, and to 
 
 search out for comely virgins, and to take her I he who touched it was free from ds 
 whom he should best like for his wife, because | But of this matter we have discoursed sufE- 
 his passion for his former wife would be ciently. 
 
 and the principal men of the nations, for a 
 whole month, on account of this his marriage. 
 Accordingly, Esther came to his royal palace, 
 and he set a diadem on her head ; and thus 
 was Esther married, without making known 
 to the king what nation she was derived from. 
 Her uncle also removed from Babylon to 
 Shushan, and dwelt there, being every day 
 about the palace, and inquiring how the 
 damsel did, for he loved her as though she 
 had been his own daughter, 
 
 3. Now the king had made a law,* that 
 none of his own people should approach him 
 unless they were called, when he sat upon Ida 
 throne ; and men, with axes in their hands, 
 stood round about his throne, in order to pu- 
 nish 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 
 approached to him without being called; and 
 
 quenched by the introduction of another, and 
 the kindness he had for Vashti would be with- 
 drawn 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 kingdom those that were esteemed the 
 most comely. So when a great number of 
 tliese virgins were gathered together, tlicre 
 was found a damsel in Babylon, whose parents 
 
 4. 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 acquaint- 
 ed with their conspiracy, and discovered it to 
 the queen's uncle ; and Mordecai, by means of 
 Esther, made the conspirators known to the 
 king. This troubled the king ; but he disco- 
 vered the trutn, and hanged the eunuchs up- 
 on a cross, while at that time he gave no re- 
 
 were both dead, and she was brought up with ward to Mordecai, who had been the occasion 
 her uncle Mordecai, for that was her uncle's I of his preservation. He only bade the scribes 
 
 name. This uncle was of the tribe of Ben- 
 jamin, and was one of the principal persons 
 among the Jews. Now it proved that this 
 damsel, whose name was Esther, was the 
 most beautiful of all the rest, and that the 
 grace of her countenance drew the eyes of the 
 spectators principally upon her: so she was 
 committed to one of the eunuclis 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 in num- 
 ber four hundred; and when the eunuch 
 thought the virgins had been sufficiently puri- 
 fied, 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 arigari, as they are called, or messengers, 
 unto every nation, and gave orders that they 
 thould keep a feast for his marriage, while he 
 himself treated the Persians and the Medes, 
 
 to set down his name in the records, and bade 
 him stay in the palace, as an intimate friend 
 of the king. 
 
 5. Now there was one Haman, the son of 
 Amedatha, by birth an Amalekite, that used 
 to go in to the king; and the foreigners and 
 Persians worshipped him, as Artaxerxes had 
 commanded that such honour should be paid 
 to him ; but Mordecai was so wise, and so ob- 
 servant of his own country's laws, that he 
 would not worship the man.f When Haman 
 observed this, he inquired whence he came ; 
 and when he understood that he was a Jew, 
 he had indignation at him, and said within 
 
 • Herodotus says that this law [against any one's 
 coming uncalled to the kings of Persia when tliey were 
 silting on their thrones] was first enacted by Ueioces 
 [i. e. by hira who first withdrew the Medes from the 
 dominion of the Assyrians, and himself first reigned 
 over them]. Thus also, says Spanheim, stood guards, 
 with their axes, about the throne of leniis, or Tenudus, 
 that tlie offender might by them be punished immedi- 
 ately. 
 
 t Whether this adoration required of Mordecai to 
 Haman were by him deemed too like the adoration 
 due only to God, as Josephus seems here to think, 
 as well as the Septuagint interpreters also, by their 
 translation of Esth. xiii, 12, 15, 14, or whether he 
 thought he ougiit to pay no sort of adoration lo an 
 Amalekite, wliich nation had been such great sinners as 
 to liave been universally dev<ited to destruction by God 
 himself (Fxod. xvii, 14, 15, 16; 1 Sam. xv, 18), or whe- 
 ther both causes concurred, cannot now, I doubt, be 
 certainly determined. 
 
J- 
 
 "V 
 
 S04. 
 
 ANTHiUlTlES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 r.ooK XI 
 
 himself, that whereas the rersiiins, who were 
 free men, wotsliijjped liim, this man, who was 
 no better tlian a slave, does not vouchsafe to 
 do so. And when he desired to])iinibli Mor- 
 decai, he thoui^ht it too small a tiling to re- 
 quest of the king that he alone n)ight be pu- 
 nished ; he ratlior determined to abolish the 
 whole nation, for he was naturally an enemy 
 to the Jews, because the nation of the Aina- 
 lekites, of which lie was, had been destroyed 
 by them. Accordingly he came to the king, 
 and accused them, sayi:-g, " There is a certain 
 wicked n:ition, and it is dispersed over all the 
 habitable earth that was under his dominion ; 
 a nation separate from others, unsociable, nei- 
 ther admitting the same sort of divine wor- 
 ship that others do, nor using laws like to the 
 laws of others, at enmity witli thy people, and 
 with all men, both in their manners and prac- 
 tices. Now, if thou wilt be a benefactor to 
 thy subjects, thou wilt give order to destroy 
 them utterly, and not leave the least remains 
 of them, nor preserve any of them, either for 
 slaves or for captives." But that the king 
 might not be damnified by the loss of the tri- 
 butes which the Jews paid him, Haman pro- 
 mised to give him out of his own estate forty 
 thousand talents whensoever he pleased ; and 
 he said he would pay this money very wil- 
 lingly, that the kingdom might be freed from 
 such a misfortune. 
 
 6. When Hainan had made tliis petition, 
 the king boti) 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 immediately a decree, as 
 from the king, to all nations, the contents 
 whereof were those : — " Artaxerxes, the great 
 king, to the rulers of the hundred and twenty- 
 seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, sends 
 tliis writing. Whereas I have governed many 
 nations, and obtained the dominions of all the 
 habitable earth, according to my desire, and 
 have not been obliged to ilo 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 th«ir 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 Ha- 
 man, who, on account of his prudence and 
 justice, is the first in my esteem, and in dig- 
 nity, and only second to myself, for his fidelity 
 and constant good-will to me, that there is an 
 ill-natured nation intermixed will) all man- 
 kind, that is averse to our laws, and not sub- 
 ject to kings, and of a dillerent conduct of 
 life from others, that hateth monarchy, and of 
 a disposition that is pernicious to our atlairs ; 
 I give order that these men, of whom Ha- 
 man, our second father, hath informed us, be 
 destroyed, with their wives and children, ami 
 t! at none ol thein be spared, and that none 
 prefer pity to them before obedience to tliis 
 decree ; and this 1 will to be executed on the 
 
 fourteenth day of the twelfth month of this 
 present year, that so when all that have en- 
 mity 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 destruction 
 and entire abolishment of the Jews, against 
 the day before-meationed ; and they were 
 very hasty about it at Shushan, in particular. 
 Accordingly, the king and Haman spent their 
 time in feasting together with good cheer and 
 wine ; but the city was in disorder. 
 
 7. Now when JNJordecai 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, crying out, 
 that " a nation that had been injurious to no 
 man, was to be destroyed." And h went on 
 saying thus as far as to the king's pai.ice, and 
 lliere he stood, for it was not lawful for him 
 to go into it in that liabit. The same thing 
 was done by all tiie Jews that were in the 
 several cities wherein this decree was publish- 
 ed, with lamentation and mourning, on ac- 
 count 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 disturbed 
 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 
 was not yet ceased, she called the eunuch 
 Acratheus, for he was then present, and sent 
 him to Mordecai, 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 IMordecai inform the eunuch of the occa- 
 sion of his mourning, and of the decree « hich 
 was sent by the king into all the country, and 
 of the promise of money whereby Hainan 
 bought the destruction of their nation. He 
 also gave him a copy of what was proclaimed 
 at Sliushan, to be carried to Esther; and he 
 charged her to petition the king about this 
 matter, and not to tljink it a dishonourable 
 thing in her to put on a humble habit, for 
 the safety of her nation, wherein she might 
 deprecate the ruin of the Jews, who were in 
 danger of it ; for that Haman, whose dignity 
 was only inferior to that of the king, had ac- 
 cused the Jews, and had irritated the king a- 
 gainst them. Wlien she was informed of this, 
 she sent to IMordecai again, and told him that 
 she was not called by the king, and that he « ho 
 goes in to him without being called, is to be 
 slain, unless when he is willing to save any 
 one, he holds out his golden sceptre to liim ; 
 but that to whomsoever he does so, although I'c 
 go in without being called, that person is so far 
 from being slain, that he obtains pardon, ai.ii 
 is entirely preserved, Now when the eunuch 
 carried this message from Esther to Moi'la- 
 
 ■V 
 
CUM'. VI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEAVa. 
 
 S05 
 
 cai, lie bade him also tell her that she must 
 not only provide for her own preservation, 
 but for the common preservation of her na- 
 tion, for that if she now neglected this oppor- 
 tunity, there would certainly arise help to 
 tliem from God some other way ; but she and 
 her father'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 Shusiian, and to gather 
 ■the Jews that were there together to a con ■ 
 gregation, and to fast, and abstain from all 
 sorts of food, on her account, and [to let him 
 know that] she with her maidens would do 
 the same ; and then she promised that she 
 •would go to the king, though it were against 
 the law, and that if she must die for it, she 
 would not refuse it. 
 
 8. 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, particularly at tliis 
 time, when it was going to be destroyed ; but 
 that, as he had often before provided for them, 
 and forgiven when they had sinned, so he 
 would now deliver them from that destruc- 
 tion which was denounced against them ; for 
 although it was not all the nation that had of- 
 fended, yet must they so ingloriously be slain, 
 and that he was himself the occasion of the 
 wrath of Haman, " Because," said he, " I did 
 •lot worship liim, nor could I endure to pay 
 that honour to him which I used to pay to 
 tliee, O Lord ; for upon that bis anger hatli 
 he contrived this present mischief against 
 those that have not transgressed thy laws." 
 The same supplications did the multitude put 
 lip ; and entreated that God would provide 
 for their deliverance, and free the Israelites 
 that were in all the earth from this calamity 
 which was now coming upon them, for they 
 had it before their eyes, and expected its com- 
 ing. Accordingly, Esther made supplication 
 to God after the manner of her country, by 
 casting iierself down upon the earth, and put- 
 ting on her mourning garments, and bidding 
 f.irewell to meat and drink, and all delicacies, 
 .for three days' time ; and slie 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 be- 
 fore, that both by her words and beauty she 
 tnight 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 hej' 
 own country, now they were in the utmost 
 .danger of perishing : as also that tie would 
 excite a hatred in the king against the ene- 
 mies of the Jews, and those that had contrived 
 tlieir future destruction, if they proved to be 
 contemned !)y him. 
 
 9. When E^tlier had used this supplication 
 for three days, she put off tliose garments, 
 and changed her habit, and adorned herself as 
 b.eosiae a queen, and took two of her hand- 
 
 maids with her, the one of wliich supported 
 iier, as she gently leaned upon her, and the 
 other followed after, and lifted up her large 
 train (which swept along the ground) witii 
 the extremities of her fingers : and thus slie 
 came to the king, having a blushing redness 
 in her countenance, with a pleasant agreeable- 
 ness ill her behaviour, yet did she go in to him 
 with fear ; and as soon as she was come over- 
 against him, as he was sitting on his throne,., 
 in his royal apparel, which was a garment in- 
 terwoven with gold and precious stones, which 
 made him seem to her more terrible, especial- 
 ly when he looked at her somewhat severely, 
 and with a countenance on fire with anger 
 iier joints failed her immediately, out of the 
 dread she was in, and she fell down sideways 
 in a swoon : but the king changed his mind, 
 which happened, as 1 suppose, by the will of 
 God, and was concerned for his wife, lest her 
 fear should bring some very evil thing upon 
 Iier, and he leaped from his throne, and took 
 her in his arms, and recovered her, by em- 
 bracing her, and speaking comfortably to lier^ 
 and exhorting her to be of good cheer, and noit 
 to suspect any tiling that was sad on accouai 
 of her coming to him without being called, 
 because that law was made for subjects, bui 
 that she, who was a queen, as well as he a 
 king, might be entirely secure : and as he said 
 this, he jHit the sceptre into 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 en- 
 couragements, she said, " My Lord, it is not 
 easy for me, on the sudden, to say what Lath 
 happened, for so soon as I saw tliee to be 
 great, and comely, and terrible, my spirit de- 
 parted from me, and I had no soul left iu 
 me." And while it was with difficulty, and in 
 a low voice, that she could say thus mncl\, 
 the king was in great agony and disorder, and 
 encouraged Esther to be of good cheer, and 
 to expect better fortojne, since he was ready, 
 if occasion should re<]nire it, to grant to heJ 
 the half of his kingdom. Actordingly, Es- 
 ther 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 con.- 
 sented to it ; and when they were there, as 
 they were drinking, he bade Esther to lethiis 
 know what she had desired ; for that sly; 
 should not be disappointed, though she should 
 desire the half of his kingdom. But she |,Uit 
 off tlie discovery of her petition till the tiex,! 
 day, if he would come again, together witL' 
 Haman, to her banquet. 
 
 10. 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 bivt 
 liimself ; yet when he saw Mordecai in the 
 court, he was very much displeased, for he 
 paid iiim no manner of respect when be s^w 
 2C 
 
S06 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XI 
 
 liim. So he went home and called for his 
 wife Zerosh, and his friends, and when tliey 
 were come, he showed them wiiat honour he 
 enjoyed, not only from the kinjj, but from the 
 queen also, for as he alone liad that day sup- 1 
 ped with her, together with the king, so was he I 
 also invited again for the next day; "yet," 
 said he, " am I not pleased to see Mordecai 
 the Jew in the court." Hereupon his wife 
 Zeresh advised him to give order that a gal- 
 lows should be made fifty cubits high, and! 
 that in the morning he should ask it of Uie 
 king that Mordecai might be hangefl thereon. 
 So he commended her advice, and gave order 
 to his servants to prepare the gallows, and to 
 place it in the court, for the punishment of 
 Jlordecai thereon, which was accordingly pre- 
 pared. But God laughed to scorn the wicked 
 expectations of Ilaman ; and as he knew what 
 the event would he, 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 something 
 that migiit be of advantage to his kingdom, 
 he commanded the scribe to bring him the ! 
 chronicles of the former kings, and the re- 
 cords of his own actions ; and when he had i 
 brought them, and was reading them, one was 
 found to have received a couiitry on account 
 of his excellent management on a certain oc- 
 casion, and the name of the country was set 
 down ; another was found to have had a pre- 
 sent made him on account of his fidelity : then 
 the scribe came to Bigthan and Tcresh, 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 going on to another history, the king 
 stopped him, and inquired, " whether it was 
 not added that IMordecai had a reward given 
 him?" and when he said there was no such 
 addition, he bade him leave off; and he in- 
 quired of those that were appointed for that 
 purpose, what hour of the night it was ; and 
 when he was informed that it was already day, 
 lie gave order that, if tliey found any one of 
 his friends already come, and standing before 
 the court, they si ould tell him. Now it Iiap- 
 pened that Hainan was found there, for he 
 was come sooner than ordinary, to pefilion 
 the king to have Mordecai |iut to ileath : and 
 when the servants i^aid, that Haman uas be- 
 fore the court, he bade them call him in ; and 
 when he was come in, he said, " Ik'cause I 
 know that thou art my only fast friend, 1 de- 
 sire thee to give me advice how I may honour 
 one that 1 greatly love, and tliat after a man- 
 ner 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 advice which he thouglit of all 
 ollicrs the best ; for he said, " If thou wouldst 
 truly honour a man whom thou sayest tJiou 
 dost luvc, give order that lie may ride on 
 
 horseback, with the same garment whic'i 
 (hou wcarest, and with a gold chain about his 
 neck, a-nd let one of thy intimate friends go 
 before him, and proclaim through the whole 
 city, that whosoever the king iionoureth, ob- 
 taineth this mark of his honour." This was 
 the advice which Ilaman gave, out of a su|>- 
 posal that such reward would come to himself. 
 Hereupon 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 Mordecai the Jew, and give him those 
 things, and go before his horse and proclaim 
 accordingly ; for thou art," said he, " my in- 
 timate friend, and hast given me good advice ; 
 be thof. then the minister of what thou hast 
 advised me to. This shall be his reward from 
 us, for preserving 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 
 Mordecai before the court, clothed in sack- 
 cloth, he bade him put that garment off", and 
 put the purple garment on : but Mordecai 
 not knowing the truth of the matter, but 
 thii.king that it was done in mockery, said, 
 "O thou wretch, the vilest of all mankind, 
 dost thou thus laugh at our calamities ?" But 
 when he was satisfied that tlie king bestowed 
 this honour upon him, for the deliverance he 
 had procured him when he convicted the eu- 
 nuchs wl:o had conspired against him, he put 
 on that purple garment which the king al- 
 ways wore, and put the chain about his neck, 
 and got on horseback, and went round the 
 city, while Haman went before, and proclaim- 
 ed, " 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, Mordecai went in to 
 the king ; but Ilaman went home, out of 
 shame, and informed his wife and friends of 
 what had happened, and this with tears : who 
 said, that he wi.uld icver be able to be re- 
 venged of Mordecai, for that God was mIiL 
 him. 
 
 11. Now while these men were thus talk- 
 ing one to airuher, Esther's eunuchs hasten- 
 ed Ilaman away to come to supper: but one 
 of the eunuchs named Sahuchadas, saw the 
 gallows that was tixcd in llaman's horise, and 
 inquired of one of his servants for what pur- 
 pose they had prci)ared it. So he knew iliat 
 it was for the queen's uncle, because Haman 
 was about to petition the king that he might 
 he punislied ; but at present he held his peace. 
 Now when the king, with HaHian, were at 
 the bancpiet, he desired the queen to tell him 
 what gift she desired to obtain, and assured 
 her that she should have whatsoever she had 
 a mind to. She then lamented the danger 
 her people were in ; and saiil, that " she and 
 her nation were given up to be destroyed, and 
 
 "^- 
 
jr 
 
 v_ 
 
 CHAP. VI. ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 307 
 
 that she, on that account, made tliis her pcli- sired ; but he bade her write what she pleased 
 tion : tliat she would not have troubled him i about the Jews, in the king's name, and seal 
 if he had only given order that tbey should j it with his seal, and send it to all his kinj 
 
 be sold into bitter st?rvitude, for such a mis- 
 fortune would not have been intolerable; but 
 slie desired that they might be delivered from 
 such destruction." And when the king in- 
 quired of her who was the author of this mi- 
 sery to them, she then openly accused Haman, 
 and convicted him, that he hid been the wick- 
 ed instrument of this, and had formed this plot 
 against them. When the king was hereupon 
 in disorder, and was gone hastily out of the 
 banquet into tlie gardens, 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, " O thou wretch," said he, 
 " thou vilest of mankind, dost thou aim to 
 force my wife?" And when Haman was 
 astonished at this, and not able to speak one 
 word more, Sabuchadas the eunuch came in, 
 and accused Haman, and said, " He found a 
 gallows at his house, prepared for Mordecai ; 
 for that the servant told him so much, upon 
 his inquiry, when he was sent to him to call 
 him to su])per:" he said farther, that the gal- 
 lows 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 Mor- 
 decai ; so he gave order immediately that he 
 should be hung upon those gallows, and be 
 put to death after that manner. And from 
 hence I cannot forbear to admire God, and 
 to learn hence his wisdom and his justice, not 
 only in punishing the wickedness of Haman, 
 but in so disposing it, that he should undergo 
 the very same punishment which he had con- 
 trived for another; as also, because thereby 
 he teaches others this lesson, that what mis- 
 chiefs any one prepares against another, he 
 without knowing of it, first contrives it against 
 liimself. 
 
 12. Wherefore Haman, 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 queen. He 
 also called for Mordecai (for Esther had in- 
 formed him that she was akin to him), and 
 gave that ring to Mordecai which he had be- 
 fore given to Haman. The queen also gave 
 Haman's estate 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 Haman 
 the son of Ammedatha ; for that if her coun- 
 try 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 dis- 
 agreeable to her, nor contradict what she de- 
 
 dom, for that those who read epistles whose 
 authority is secured by having the king's seal 
 to them, would no way contradict what was 
 written therein. So he commanded the king's 
 scribes to be sent for, and to write to the na- 
 tions, on the Jews' behalf, and to his lieute- 
 nants and governors, that were over his hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven provinces, 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 greatness of the be- 
 nefits bestowed on them, and because of the ho- 
 nour which they have obtained from the won- 
 derful 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 inso- 
 lent abuse of such benefits as they never ex- 
 pected, they turn the abundance they have 
 against those that are the authors of it, and 
 suppose 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 management of 
 affairs committed to them by their friends 
 and bearing private malice of their own a- 
 gainst some others, by deceiving those thai 
 have the power, persuade them to be angry at 
 such as have done them no harm, till thev are 
 in danger of perishing, and this by laying ac- 
 cusations 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 at- 
 tempts under our own eyes, so that it is not 
 fit to attend any longer to calumnies and ac- 
 cusations, nor to the persuasion of others, but 
 to determine 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 Ammedatha, by birth an 
 Amalekite, and alien from the blood of the 
 Persians, who, when he was hospitably enter, 
 tained by us, and ])artook of that kindness 
 which we bear to all men to so great a de- 
 gree, as to be called my father, and to be all 
 along worshipped, and to have honour paid 
 him by all in the second rank after the royal 
 
 » The true reason why king Artaxerxes did not here pro 
 pcrly revoke his former barbarous decree for tlie univer- 
 sal slaugliter of the Jews, but onlv emiiowered and en- 
 couraged the Jews to fight for theirlives, and to kiU their 
 enemies, if tliey attempted their destruction, seems to 
 have been that old law of the Medes and l^ersians, not 
 yet laid aside, that whatever decree was signed both by 
 the king and his lords, could not be changed, but re- 
 mained unalterable, Dan. vi, ", 8, 9, 12, 13, 17; Estb. 
 i, 19; and viii, 8. iVnd Haman having engrossed the 
 royal favour, might perhaps have himself signed this 
 decree for the Jews' slaughter mstead of the ancient 
 lords, and so might have rendered it by their nUas inr^ 
 vocable. 
 
S08 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XI 
 
 honour cine to ourselves, lie could not bear 
 (lis {rood fortune, nor {govern tlie magnitude 
 of liis prosperity with sound reason ; nay, lie 
 made a conspiracy against me and my life, 
 who gave him his autliority, by endeavouring 
 to take away ]Mordecai, my benefactor, and 
 my saviour, and Ijy basely and treacherously 
 re<]uiring to have Esther, the partner of my 
 life, and of my dominion, brought to destruc- 
 tion ; for he contrived by this means to de- 
 prive me of my faithful friends, and transfer 
 the government to others;* — but since I per- 
 ceived that these Jev\-s, that were liy this per- 
 nicious fellow devoted to destruction, were 
 not wicked men, but conducted their lives af- 
 ter the best manner, and were men dedicated 
 "to the worship of that God wiio hath preserv- 
 ed the kingdom to me and to my ancestors, I 
 do not only free them from the punishment 
 which the former eiiistle, which was sent by 
 Haman, orde-ed to be inflicted on them, — to 
 wliich if you refuse obedience you sliall do 
 well ; but I will that they have all honour 
 paid them. Accordingly, I have hanged up 
 the man that contrived such tilings against 
 them, with his family, before the gates of 
 Shushan ; that punishment being sent upon 
 him by God, who seeth all things. And I 
 give you in charge, tiiat you publicly propose 
 ■a copy of this epistle through all my king 
 dom, that the Jews may be permitted peace- 
 al)ly to use their own laws, and that you as- 
 sist them, that at the same season whereto 
 tlieir miserable estate did belong, they may 
 defend themselves tlie very same day from 
 unjust violence, the tliirteentli day of the 
 twelfth month, which is Adar, — for God liatl 
 made that day a day of salvation, 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 conspira 
 tors against us : and I will that you take no- 
 tice, that every city, and every nation, that 
 shall disobey any tiling that is contained in 
 this eiiislle, sliall be destroyed by fire and 
 sword. However, let this ejiistle be publish- 
 ed through all the country tiiat is under our 
 obedience, and let all tiie Jews, by all means, 
 be ready against the day before mentioned, 
 tliat tliey may avenge tiiemselves upon their 
 enemies." 
 
 13. Accordingly, the horsemen who carried 
 
 • These words give an hitimation as if Artaxcrxes 
 suspcelc'ii 1 iltejicr <l(sipn ill Hanan fhan o|ienly ap- 
 iiearcd, \iz. tlial knowin;; tlie Jews would hclaillinil lo 
 Iiim, and thai lie couUl never trai;sfcr the crown to his 
 own family, who was an Agnijile (Kslli. iii, 1, 1(1), or of 
 tlie posterity of Au;ic, the ol.l kiiij; of the Aniakkilcs 
 (1 Sain, XV, 8, 52, 5jl, while they wercnhve, and sjircad 
 over ajl hii> dominions, lie llicreloie eiideavourcxl lo de- 
 stroy lliem. Nor is it to me imprnliable llial those se- 
 venty-live thousiuid oipht hundn^d of the Jews' enemies 
 *hicn were soon destioved hy llic Jews, on the poimis- 
 sioii of the king, wliieh'imist be on Kiiiie great o^-casion, 
 v/cre Aiivilckctes, tlieir old and hereditaiv enoniii's 
 'F.xml xvii, H, 15); and iJiat Ihculiy wius lulfillcd Ba- 
 laam's projilieey ; " Aniidek was Uie tiist of llie nalions; 
 
 the epistles, jirocecded on tlie ways which 
 they were lo go with speed ; but as for Mor- 
 decai, as soon as he had assumed the roval 
 garment, and the crown of gold, and had put 
 the chain about his neck, he went forth in a 
 public procession ; and when the Jews who 
 were at Shushan saw liim in so great honour 
 with the king, they thought his good fortune 
 was common to themselves also ; and joy and 
 a beain of salvation encomiiassed the Jews, 
 both those that were in the cities and those 
 that were in the countries, upon the publica- 
 tion of the king's letters, insomucli that many 
 of oilier nations circumcised their foreskin 
 for fear of the Jews, that they might jjrocure 
 safety to themselves thereby ; for on the thir- 
 teenth day of the twelfth month, which, ac- 
 cording to the Hebrew, is called Adar, but, 
 according to the Macedonians, J)>/strus, those 
 tliat carried the king's epistle gave them no- 
 tice, that the same day wherein their danger 
 was to have been, on that very day should 
 they destroy their enemies. I5ut now the 
 rulers of the provinces, and the tyrants, and 
 the kings, and the scribes, had the Jews in 
 esteem ; for the fear they were in of Morde- 
 cai forced tliem to act with discretion. Now 
 when the royal decree was come to all the 
 country that was subject to the king, it fell 
 out that the Jews at Shushan slew five hun- 
 dred 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 provinces, he asked her 
 whether she would have any thing farther 
 done against them, for that it should be done 
 accordingly : upon which she desired that the 
 Jews might be permitted to treat their re- 
 maining enemies in the same inanner the next 
 day ; as also, that they might hang the ten 
 sons of Haman 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 Dystrus, and slew about 
 three hundred of tlieir enemies, but touched 
 nothing of what riches they h.id. Now there 
 were slain by the Jews that were in the coun- 
 try, and in the other cities, seventy -five thou- 
 sand 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 Slii.slian gathered 
 themselves together, anil feasted on tiie four- 
 teenth day, and that which followed it ; 
 whence it is, that even now all the Jews 
 that are in tlie habitable earth keep these 
 days festivals, and send portions to one ano- 
 ther. Mordecai also wrote to the Jews that 
 lived in the kingdom of Artaxerxes to ob- 
 serve these days, and to celebrate them as fes- 
 tivals, and to deliver them down to jiosterity, 
 that this festival miglit continue for all tinu; 
 to come, and that it might never be buried in 
 
 W 
 
 but liis latter end aJiall be, tliat he iHTisIi for ever." , ,■ ■ .. • ., i „ . .^ i 
 
 N'uDib- xxiv no. wjiivion ; lor wnce tliey were about to be 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 30 'J 
 
 stroyed on these clays by Haitian, they woiild 
 do a right thing, upon escaping the danger in 
 them, and on them inflicting punishment on 
 their enem es, to observe those days, and give 
 thanks to ( od on them : for which cause the 
 Jews still keep the forcmentioned days, and 
 call them days of Phurim [or Purim].* And 
 Mordecai became a great and illustrious per- 
 son 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, ?)etter than they 
 could ever have hoped for. And this was 
 the state of the Jews under the reign of Ar- 
 taxerxes.-j- 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW JOHN SLEW HIS EHOTHER JESUS IN THE 
 TEMPLE ; AND HOW BAGOSES OFFERED MANY 
 INJURIES TO THE JEWS; AND WHAT SAN- 
 BALLAT DID. 
 
 ^ 1. When Eliashib the higli-priest was dead, 
 his son Judas succeeded in the high-priest- 
 hood : and when lie was dead, his son John 
 took that dignity ; on whose account it was 
 also that Bagoses, the general of another Ar- 
 .axerxes' army,^ polluted tlie temple, and 
 imposed tributes on the Jews, that out of the 
 Dublic stock, before they offered the daily sa- 
 
 * Take here part of Reland's note on this disputed 
 passage: " In Josephus's copies these Hebrew words, 
 ' days of Purim,' or ' 1 ots,' as in the Greek copies of 
 Esther, ch. ix, 26, 2S; — 52, is read ' days of phurim,' 
 or ' days of protection hut ought to be read ' days of 
 purim, as in the Hebrew ; than which emendation," says 
 he, " nothing is more certain." And had we any assur- 
 ance that Josephus's copy mentioned the " casting of 
 lots," as our otlier copies do, Esth. iii, 7, 1 should fully 
 agree with llcland ; Jjut, as it now stands, it seems to 
 me by no means certain. 
 
 t As to tills vvhole book of Esther in the present He- 
 brew copy, it is so very imperfect, in a case where Ihe 
 providence of Ood was so very remarkable, and the 
 Septuagint and JosepUus have so much of religion, that 
 it has not so much as the name of (iod once in it ; and 
 it is hard to say who made that epitome which the Ma- 
 torites have given us for the genuine book itself; no re- 
 ligious Jews coirld well be the authors of it, whose edu- 
 cation obliged them to have a constant regard to God, 
 and whatsoever related to his worship; nor do we know 
 tliat there ever was so imperfect a cojiy of it in the 
 world till after the days of Barchocab, in the second 
 century. 
 
 i Coneeming this othfr Artaxerxes, called Mnemon, 
 and the Persian affliction and captivity of the Jews un- 
 der liim, occasioned by the murder of the high-priest's 
 brother in the holy house itself, see Authentic Rec at 
 large, page 19. .Xnd if any wonder why Josephiis wlioUy 
 onriits the rest of the kings of Persia after Artaxci-xes 
 Mnemon, till he came to their last king Darius, who 
 was conquered by Alexander the Great, 1 shall give them 
 Vossius's and Dr. Hudson's answer, thoiigh in my own 
 words, viz. tliat Josephus did not do ill in omitting those 
 kings of Persia with whom the Jews had Ijo concern . 
 bee;iuse he was giving the history of the .lews, and not 
 of the Persians [whicli is a sufficit-nt reason also why he 
 omitji the historv and the l)ook of Job, as not particu- 
 larlv relatmg to that nation]. He justly, therefore, re- 
 turns to the Jewish aft:iirs after the death ol Longima- 
 nus, without any mention of D.irius li. before ArtJixer- 
 XPs Mnemon, or of Ochus or Arogus, as the Canon of 
 Ptolemy makes Uiem, afjer him. Nor had he ])rob;ibly 
 mentioned this other ATtaxerxes, unless B.-ignscs, one of 
 the governors xciA commanders under him, had occ.i- 
 slone<l the pollution of the Jewish temple, and had 
 .Teatly distreased the Jews U|><«1 tltal pollution. 
 
 crifices, they should pay for every Iau;b fifty 
 shekels. Now Jesus was the brotlier of John, 
 and was a friend of Bagoses, who liad pro- 
 mised to procure him the high-priesthood. 
 In confidence of whose support, Jesus quar 
 relied with John in the temple, and so pro- 
 voked his brother, that in his anger his bro- 
 ther slew him. Now it was a horrible thing 
 for John, when he was high-priest, to perpe- 
 trate so great a crime, and so much the more 
 horrible, that there never was so cruel and 
 impious a thing done, neither I)y the Greeks 
 nor Barbarians. However, God did not ne- 
 glect its punishment; but the people were on 
 that very account enslaved, and the temple 
 was polluted by the Persians. Now when 
 Bagoses, the general of Artaxerxes' army, 
 knew that John, the high-priest of the Jews, 
 had slain his own brother Jesus in the tem- 
 ple, he came upon the Jews immediately, 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 temple, 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. 
 
 2. Now when John liad departed tliis life, 
 his son Jaddua succeeded in the liigh-pricst- 
 hood. He had a brother, whose name was 
 Manasseh. Now there was one Sanballat 
 who was sent by Darius, the last king [of 
 Persia], into Samaria. He was a Cuthenn by 
 birth; of which stock were the Samaiitans 
 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 wil- 
 lingly gave his daugliter, whose name was 
 Nicaso, in marriage to Manasseh, as thinking 
 this alliance by marriage would be a pledge 
 and security that the nation cS the Jews 
 should continue their good-will to him. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCERNIN'G SANBALLAT AND MANASSEH, AND 
 THE TEMPLE WHICH THEY BUILT ON MOUNT 
 GEttlZZI.M ; AS ALSO HOW ALEXANDER MADE 
 HIS ENTRY INTO THE CITY JERUSALLJI ; AND 
 WHAT BENEFITS HE BESTOWED ON THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. About this time it was that Philip, king 
 of Macedon, was treacherously assaulted and 
 slain at Ega by Pausanias, the son of Ce- 
 rastes, who was derived from the family of 
 Orest.x, and his son Alexander succeeded him 
 in the kingdom ; who, passing over the Hel- 
 lespont, ovurca-ne the generals of Darius's 
 army in a battle fonght at Granicum. So hr 
 
 ~\. 
 
»10 
 
 ANTIQUITIES Ol- THE JEWS. 
 
 mardied over I/vdia, and sulKhied Ionia, and 
 overran Caria, and fell upon the places of 
 Paniplijlia, as lias been related elsewhere. 
 
 2. lUit tlir ciders of Jerusalem being very 
 uneasy that ihe brother of Jriddua the high- 
 |)riest, though married to a foreigner, should 
 be a partner with him in the high-priesthood, 
 quarrelled witli liim ; 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 tliis would be 
 the beginning of a mutual society with fo- 
 reigners, although the offence of some about 
 marriages, and their having married wives'lliat 
 were not of their own country, had been an 
 occasion of their former captivity, and of the 
 miseries they then underwent ; so they com- 
 manded Manasseh to divorce his wife, or not 
 
 and told Manasseli thai he would suddenly 
 perform his promises to him, and this as soon 
 as ever Darius should come back, after lie had 
 beaten his enemies ; for not he only, but all 
 thostf that were in Asia also, were persuaded 
 that the Macedonians would not so much as 
 come to a battle wiih the Persians, on account 
 of their midtitude; hut the event proved o- 
 therwise than they expected, for the king joirt 
 ed battle with the Macedonians, and was bea- 
 ten, and lost a great ])art of his army. His 
 mother also, and his wife and children, were 
 taken captives, and he fled into Persia. So 
 Alexander came into Syria, and took Damas- 
 cus; and when he had obtained Sidon, he be- 
 sieged Tyre, when he sent an ejjistle to the 
 Jewish liigh-priest, to send him some auxili- 
 
 also told him farther, that he would build him 
 a temple like that at Jerusalem, upon Mount 
 Gerizzim, which is the highest of all the moun- 
 tains that are in Samaria ; and he promised 
 
 that lie would do this with the approbation of whose name was Babemeses. 
 Darius the king. Manasseh was elevated 4. But Sanballat thought he had now goV- 
 wilh these promises, and staid «ith Sanbal- ten a proper opportunity to make his attempt, 
 lat, upon a supposal that he should gain a so he renounced Darius, and taking with hira 
 
 high-priesthood, as bestowed on him by Da 
 rius, for it happened Sanballat was then in 
 years. But there was now a great disturb- 
 ance among the people of Jerusalem, because 
 inanv of those priests and Levites were en- 
 tangled in such matches; for they all revolted 
 to Manasseli, and Sanballat allbrded them 
 monev, and divided among them land for lil- 
 fege, and habitations also; and all this in or- 
 der every way to gratify his son-in-law. 
 
 S. Aliout this time it was that Darius heard 
 hviw Alexander had passed over the Ilelles- 
 pon{, and had beaten his lieutenants in the 
 buttle at Granicuni, and was proceeding far- 
 ther; whereuiioii he gathered to_'etlier an ar- 
 my of horse and foot, and deteriiiiiied that he 
 would meet the Macedonians before they 
 should assault and conquer all Asia. So he 
 )iassed over the river Euphrates and came over 
 Taurus, the C'ilician mountain ; aiul at Issus 
 of Cilicia he waited for the enemy, as ready 
 there to give liim battle. Upon which San- 
 l»allat was jj'ad that Darius was come <io" n ; 
 
 seven thousand of his own subjects, he came 
 to Alexander; and finding him beginning the 
 siege of Tyre, he said to him, that he delivered 
 up to hiui these men, who came out of places 
 under his dominion, and did glailly accept of 
 him for their lord instead of Darius. So 
 when Alexander had received him kindly, 
 Sanballat thereupon took courage, and spake 
 to him about liis present allair. He told liim, 
 that he had a son-in-law, Manasseli, who was 
 hrotlicr to the high priest Jaddua: and thai 
 there were many others of his own nation now 
 with him, that uere desirous to have a teiTv- 
 jile in the places subject to him ; that it would 
 be for tlie king's advantage to have tl)« 
 strength of the Jews divided into two parts, 
 lest w hen the nation is of one mind and unit- 
 ed, upon any attempt for innovation, it i)rove 
 troublesome to kings, as it had formerly prov 
 ed to the kings of Assyria. Whereupon Al- 
 exaniler gave Sanballat leave so to do; wljfl 
 Used the utmost diligence, and built tlie tem- 
 ple, and made Manasseh tlie priest, and deent- 
 
 aries, and to supply his anny with provisions ; 
 to approach the altar, the high-priest himself] and that what presents he formerly sent to i 
 joining with the people in their indignation Darius, he would now send to him, and choose ' 
 ao'ainst his brother, and driving him away I the friendship of the Macedonians, and that 
 from the altar. Whereupon Manasseh came [ he should never repent of so doing; but the | 
 to his father in-law, Sanballat, and told him, high -priest answered the messengers, that he ! 
 that although he loved his daughter Nicaso, jliad given his oath to Darius not to bear arms I 
 yet was he not willing to be deprived of his j against him ; and he said that he would not [ 
 sacerdotal dignity on her account, which was transgress this while Darius was in the land i 
 the principal dignity in their nation, and al- ! of the living. Upon hearing this answer, 
 ways continued in the same family. And | Alexander was very angry ; and though he 
 then Sanballat promised him not only to pre-! determined not to leave Tyre, which was just 
 serve to him the honour of his priesthood, j ready to be taken, yet, as soon as he had takun 
 but to procure for him the power and dignity it, lie threatened that he would make an ex- 
 of a hi'di-priest, and would make him gover- | pedition against the Jewish high-priest, and , 
 nor of all the places he himself now ruled, if; through him teach all men to whom they must i 
 he would keep his daughter for his wife. He | keep their oaths. So uhen he had, with a 
 
 good deal of pains during the siege, taken 
 'I'yre, and had settled its affairs, he came to 
 the city of Gaza, and besieged both the city I 
 and him that was governor of the garrison, I 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CEIAP. VIII 
 
 ed it a great reward that bis daughter's chil- 
 dren 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, 
 SanbaJIat died. Now Alexander, when he 
 had taken Gaia, made haste to go up to Je- 
 rusalem ; 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 displeas- 
 ed at his foregoing disobedience. He there- 
 fore ordained that the people should make 
 supplications, and should join with him in of- 
 fering sacrifices to God, whom he besought to 
 protect that nation, and to deliver them from 
 the perils that were coming upon them ; 
 whereupon Gt)d warned him in a dream, 
 which came upon him after he had offered sa- 
 critice, that he should take courage, and a- 
 dorn 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 prevent. Upon which, when he 
 rose from his sleep, he greatly rejoiced ; and 
 declared 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. 
 
 5. And when he understood that he was 
 not far from the city, he went out in proces- 
 sion, with the priests and the multitude of the 
 citizens. Tlie procession was venerable, and 
 the manner of it different from that of other 
 nations. It reached to a place called Sapha ; 
 which name, translated into Greek, signifies 
 a prospect, for you have thence a prospect both 
 of Jerusalem and of the temjile ; and when 
 the Phoenicians and the Chaldeans that fol- 
 lowed him, thought they should have liberty 
 to plunder the city, and torment the higli- 
 pricst to death, which the king's displeasure 
 fairly promised them, the very reverse of it 
 happened ; for Alexander, when he saw the 
 multitude at a distance, in white garments, 
 while the priests stood clothed with fine linen, 
 and the high-priest in purple and scarlet cloth- 
 ing, with his mitre on his head, having the 
 golden plate whereon the name of God was 
 engraved, he approached by himself, and ador- 
 ed that name, and tirst saluted the high-priest. 
 The Jews also did all together, 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 a^ked him how it came to pass that, when 
 all otiiers adored him, he should adore the 
 high-priest of the Jews ? To whom he re- 
 plied, " 1 did not adore him, but that God 
 who hath honoured him with his high-priest- 
 hood ; for I saw this very person in a dream, 
 in tills \ery habit, when I was at Dios in I\Ia- 
 
 Sll 
 
 cedonia, who, when I was consiaering with 
 myself how I might obtain the dominion of 
 Asia, exhorted me to Jiiake 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 remem- 
 bering that vision, and the exhortation which 
 I had in my dream, I believe that I bring 
 this army under the divine conduct, and siiall 
 therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the 
 power of the Persians, and that all things 
 will succeed according to what is in my own 
 mind." And when he had said this to Par- 
 menio, 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 in- 
 to the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, ac- 
 cording 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 shoidd destroy the 
 empire of the Persians, he supposed that him- 
 self Was the person intended ; and as he was 
 then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the 
 present, but the next day he called them to 
 him, and bade them ask wiiat favours they 
 pleased of him ; whereupon the high-priest 
 desired that they might enjoy the laws of their 
 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 pro- 
 mised to do hereafter what they desired : and 
 when he said to the multitude, that if any of 
 them would inlist themselves in his ariny on 
 this condition, that they should continue un- 
 der the laws of their forefathers, and live ac- 
 cording to them, he was- willing to take them 
 with him, many were ready to accompany him 
 in his wars. 
 
 6. So when Alexander had thus settled 
 matters at Jerusalem, he led his army into the 
 neighbouring cities ; and when all the inhabi- 
 tants, to whom he came, received him with 
 great kindness, the Samaritans, who had then 
 Shechem for their metropolis (a city situate at 
 Mount Gerizzim, and inhabited by apostates 
 of the Jewish nation), seeing that Alexander 
 had so greatly honoured the Jews, determined 
 to profess themselves Jews ; for such is the 
 disposition of the Samaritans, as we have al- 
 ready elsewhere declared, that when the Jews 
 are in adversity 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 immediately pretend 
 to have communion with them, saying, that 
 
 • The place showed Alexander might be Dan. vii, B 
 viii, 3 — S, W, 21, "21; xi, 5: some or all cf thein very 
 pliiin priKlictions of Alexander's conrjui-sts and sucees 
 
"V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 812 
 
 tliey belong to tlicm, and Herivc fluir jjcnca- 
 'ORy from tlic posterity of Jom-j)!!, Epliraiin, 
 and Munasseli. Aci-orilinj;ly. tlicy made thi-ir 
 address to tlic king with splendour, and show- 
 ed great alacrity in meeting liiin at a little 
 distance from Jerusalem; and wlien Alexan- 
 der liad commended tlicm, tiie Slu'ch.'inites 
 approached to liim, taking witii tliem the 
 troops that Sanbalhit had sent him, and they 
 desired that lie would come to their city, and 
 do honour to their temple also; to whom he 
 promised, that wiien he returned he would 
 come to them ; and when they ]>etitioned that 
 he would remit the tribute of tlic seventh" year 
 to them, because they did not now sow there- 
 on, he asked who they were that made such a 
 petition; and when tliey said that they were 
 Hebrews, but had tl'C name ol Sidonians, 
 living at Shechem, be asked tliem again whe- 
 ther they were Jews; and when they said they 
 were rot Jews, " It was to the Jews," said 
 lie, " that I granted that privilege ; however, 
 
 when I return, and am th iroughly informed 
 by you of this matter, I "ill do whit I shall 
 think proper." And in this manner he took 
 leave of tlie Shecliemites ; but ordered that 
 the troops of S.inballat should follow him 
 into Egypt, bscause ihere lie designed lo give 
 them Innds, which he did a little after in 'J"he- 
 biis, when he ordered them to guard that 
 country. 
 
 7. Now when Alexander was dead, tlie 
 government was parted among his successors ; 
 but the temple upon Mount Gerizzini remain- 
 ed ; and if any one were accused 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 Shecliemites, and said that be was ac- 
 cused unjustly. About this time it was that 
 Jaddua the high ptie^t died, and Onias bis 
 son took the h^gh-priesthooJ. This was the 
 state of the affairs of the people of Jeiu-.a- 
 lem at this time. 
 
 BOOK XII. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF A HUNDRED AND SEVENTV YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO THE DEATH 
 OF JUDAS MACCABEUS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 «0W PTOI-F.>rV, THE SON OF LAGUS, TOOK 
 JERUSALKM AND JUDEA BY DKCf.IT AND 
 TRKACHKRY', AND CAIUIIED MANY OF THE 
 JEWS THENCE, AND PLANTED THEM IN E- 
 GVI'T. 
 
 § 1. Now when Alexander, king of Mace- 
 do:), had put an end to the dominion of the 
 Persians, and had setiKd the affairs of Ju lea 
 after the fore-mentioned nianuer, he ended 
 his life; and as his government fell among 
 many, Antigonus obtained Asia ; SeJiiicus 
 Babylon ; and of the other na'ions w hich 
 Were there, Lysimachiis governed tlie IlelKs- 
 p )nt, and C'aSsander possessed M iCedoiiia ; 
 «s d d Ptolemy, the son ot Jjigus, seize upon 
 Egypt: aivd while these princes ambitiously 
 strove one against another, every one for his 
 own prii>cii)ality. it came to pass that ih.re 
 were coininual wars, and those lasting wars 
 too; and the cities were suiFerers, and lost n 
 gr. at many of their inhabitants in these times 
 of distress, insomuch that all Syria, by the_ 
 
 means of Ptolemy, the son of li^gus, under-. 
 Went the revel se of that denomination, of Sa- 
 vour, which he thtn had. Hci'also seized 
 upon Jejusihm, and tor that Cod made u^e 
 of deceit and tieacheiy ; for as he came into 
 the city on a SLibbath-day, as if he would 
 t ffer sacrifice, he, without any trcub'e, gained 
 the ci'.y, while the Jews did not oppose him 
 ft>r they did not suspect him to be their ine- 
 my ; and he gained it tluis, because they 
 Were free from susp cion of hini, and becau-o 
 on that day they were at rest and (juietncS'j; 
 ' and when he had gained it, he rtigntd over 
 it in a cruel manner. Nay, Agatliarchid. s 
 of Cnidus, who wrote the acts of Alcxmder's 
 ?:uccessors, reproaches us with superstition, as 
 if we, by it, had lo^t, cur liberty, where besays 
 thus: " There is a nation called the nation 
 of the Jews, who inhabit a city strong and 
 great, namid Jtrusalem. These men toik 
 no care, but let it come into the hands of 
 
 • Here JoFcnhiis inci flic word KtHnopfiafIa, " «iK 
 inp common tilings," lor " catiiip tliirt'^ ur eleaii ;" xt 
 ilocs our Now Tcstimenl. in Acta X. I* 15.. 28 ; and 
 xi. K, &; Horn. xlv. 11. 
 
X 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 S13 
 
 Ptolemy, as not willing to take arms, and 
 thereby they submitted to be under a hard 
 master, by reason of their unseasonable super- 
 stition." This is what Agatharchides relates 
 of our nation. But when Ptolemy had taken 
 a great many captives, both from the moun- 
 tainous parts of Judea and from the places 
 about Jerusalem and Samaria, and the places 
 near Mount Gerizzim, he led them all into 
 Eaypt,* and settled them there. And as he 
 knew that the people of Jerusalem were most 
 faith.'jl in the observation of oaths and co- 
 venants ; f and this from the answer they 
 made to Alexander, when he sent an embas- 
 sage to tliem, after he had beaten Darius in 
 battle ; so he distributed many of them into 
 garrisons, and at Alexandria gave them equal 
 privileges of citizens with the Macedonians 
 themselves; and required of them to take 
 their oaths that they would keep their fidelity 
 to the posterity of tliose 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 liberality of Ptolemy. 
 However, there were disorders among their 
 posterity, with relation to the Samaritans, on 
 account of tiieir 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 Jeru- 
 salem said that their temple was holy, and 
 resolved to send their sacrifices thither ; but 
 the Samaritans were resolved that they should 
 be sent to Mount Gerizzim. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 HOW PTOLEMY PHILADELPHUS PROCURKD THE 
 LAWS OF THE JEWS TO BE TRANSLATED INTO 
 THE GREEK TONGUE ; AND SET MANY CAP- 
 TIVES EREE; AND DEDICATED MANY GIFTS 
 XO GOD. 
 
 § 1. When Alexander had reigned twelve 
 years, and after him Ptolemy Soter forty 
 years, Philadelphus then took the kingdom 
 
 • The great number of these Je-A-s and Samaritans 
 that were formerly uarried into Egypt by Alexander, 
 and now by Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, appear after- 
 wards, in the vast multitude who, as wo shall see pre- 
 sently, were soon ransomed by Philadelphus, and by 
 him made free, l)efore he sent for theseventy-two inter- 
 preters: in the many garrisons, and other soldiers of 
 that nation in Egypt: in the famous settlernent of Jews, 
 and the number of their synagogues at Alexandria long 
 afterward: and in the vehement eonlention between the 
 Jews and Samaritans under I'hilometer, about the plaee 
 appointed for piiblic worship in the law of Moses, whe- 
 ther al the Jt-.vish tempi? of Jerusalem, or at the Sa- 
 maritan temple of Uerizzim : of all which our author 
 treats hereafter. As to the Samaritans carried into 
 Egypt under the same princes, Scaliger supposes, that 
 those who have a great synagogue at Cairo, as also those 
 whom the Arabic geographer speaks of, as having seized 
 an an island in the Red Sea, are remains of them at this 
 very day, as the notes here mform us. 
 
 f (If the sacredness of oaths among the Jews in the 
 old Testament, see Scripture Politics, p, o^t'—di 
 
 of Egypt, and held it forty years within one. 
 He procured the law to be interpreted,^ and 
 set free those that were come from Jerusa- 
 lein into Egypt, and were in slavery there, 
 who were a hundred and twenty thousand. 
 The occasion was this : — Demetrius Phale- 
 rius, v.ho was library-keeper to the king, was 
 now endeavouring, if it were possible, to ga- 
 ther 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 book^) ; to which inclination of 
 his, Demetrius was zealously subservient. 
 And when once Ptolemy asked him how 
 many ten thousands of books he had collect- 
 ed, he replied, that he had already about 
 twenty times ten thousand ; but that, in a 
 little time, he should liave fifty times ten 
 thousand. But he said, he had been inform- 
 ed that there were many books of laws among 
 the Jews worthy of inquiring after, and wor- 
 thy of the king's library, but which, being 
 written in characters and in a dialect of their 
 own, will cause no small pains in getting 
 them translated into the Greek tongue : that 
 the character in which they are written seems 
 to be like to that which is the proper cha- 
 racter of the Syrians, and that its sound, when 
 pronoimced, is like to theirs also ; and that 
 this sound appears to be peculiar to tliem- 
 selves. Wherefore he said, that nothing hin- 
 dered why they might not get those books to 
 be translated also j for while nothing is want- 
 ing that is necessary for tiiat purpose, we may 
 have their books also in tiiis library. So the 
 king thought that Demetrius was very zea- 
 lous to procure him abundance of books, and 
 that he suggested what was exceeding proper 
 for him to do; and tlierefove he wrote to tiie 
 Jewish high priest that he should act accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 2. Now there was one Aristeus, who was 
 among the king's most intimate friends, and, 
 on account of his modesty, very acceptable to 
 him. This Aristeus resolved frequently, and 
 that before now, to petition the king that he 
 would set all the captive Jews in his kingdom 
 free ; and he thought this to be a convenient 
 opportunity for the making that petition. So 
 he dicoussed, in the first place, with the cajj- 
 tainsof the king's guards, Sosibius of Taren- 
 tum, and Andreas, and persuaded them to 
 assist him in wliat he was going to intercede 
 with the king for. Accordingly, Aristeus 
 embraced the same opiiiion with those that 
 have been before mentioned, and went to the 
 king and made the following speech to iiim : 
 
 :|: Of the translation of the other parts of Ihe Old Tes- 
 tament by seventy Egyptian Jews, in the teigns of Pto- 
 lemy, the son of Lagus, and Philadelphus; as also, o' 
 the translation of the Pent.iteucli by scventN-two Jeru- 
 salem .lews, in the seventh year of Philadelphus, a! 
 Alexandria, as given us an account of by Aristt us ; and 
 thence by Philo and Josephiis, with a vindication of 
 Aiisteiis's' history, — see the Appendix to Lit. Aceomif 
 of Prrjih. at large, p. 117 — IV2. g D 
 
314. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 " It ja not fit for us, O king, to overlook 
 tilings hastily, or to deceive ourselves, but to 
 lay the trutii open : for since we have deter- 
 mined not only to get the laws of the Jews 
 transcribed, but interpreted also, for thy satis- 
 faction, 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 agree- 
 able to thy magnanimity, and to thy good- 
 nature: free them from the miserable condi- 
 tion they are in, because that God, who sup- 
 porteth tliy kingdom, was the author of their 
 laws, as 1 have learned by particular in(|uiry ; 
 for botu these people and we also worship the 
 same God, the framer of all thiiigt. We 
 call him, and that truly, by the name of Zrita 
 [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 honour of God, because these men pay 
 a peculiarly excellent worship to him. And 
 know this farther, that though I be not of kin 
 to them by birth, nor one of the same country 
 with them, yet do 1 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. 1 do there- 
 j fore put up this petition to thee, to do good 
 to them." 
 
 3. When Arisleus was saying thus, the king 
 looked upon him with a cheerful and joyful 
 countenance, and said, " How many ten thou- 
 sands dost thou suppose there are of such as 
 want to be made free '(" To which Andreas 
 repFied, as he stood by, and said, ' A few more 
 than ten times ten thousand.' The king made 
 answer, " And is this a small gift that thou 
 askest, Aristeus }" But Sosibius, and the 
 rest that stood by, said, that he ought to of- 
 fer such a tliank-oifering as was worthy of 
 his greatness of soul, to that God who liad 
 given him his kingdom. With this answer 
 he was much pleased ; and gave order, that 
 when they paid the soldiers their wages, they 
 should lay down j^a hundred and | twenty 
 drachmaj for every one of the slaves.* And 
 he promised to publish a magnificent decree, 
 about what they requested, which should con- 
 firm what Aristeus had proposed, and espe- 
 cially V hat God willed should be ilone ; where- 
 by, he said, he would not only set those free 
 who had been led away captive by his father 
 
 » Although tliis number one hundred and twenty 
 tlraehinar [of Alexandria, or sixty Jewish shekels] be 
 here thrc.; times repeated, and that in all J()So^>hus'3 
 copies, Greek and hatin, yet, since all thccojilesol Aris- 
 teus, whence Joseph us took his relation, ha\e this sum 
 several times, and still as no more than twenty drach- 
 ma', or ten Jewish shekels; and since the sum of the 
 talents, to l>e set down presently, winch is little above 
 four hundred and sixty for somewhat more tlum one 
 hundretl thousand slaves, and is nearly the ^amc in Jo- 
 sephus and Aristeus, does better agiee lotwciitv than to 
 one hundred and twenty drachmu:; and since the value 
 of a slave of old was, at the utmost, but thirty shekels, 
 or sixty drachms, sec Kxod. xxi. 32, while in the \>tc- 
 sent circumsUinces of these Jewish slaves, and those so 
 very numerous, I'hiladelphus would rather redeem them 
 .- 1 a ehca|)er than at a dearer rate, — there is (freat reason 
 U> iirefer here Aristeus's cojucs before Joscphu's. 
 
 ■^ 
 
 and his army, but those who were in his king 
 duni before, and tliosc also, if any such there 
 were, who had been brouglit away since. And 
 when they said that their redemption-money 
 would amount to above four hundred talents, 
 he granted it. A copy of which decree I 
 have determined to preserve, that the magna- 
 nimity 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 
 laiil 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 king- 
 dom before them, and if there be any that 
 have lately been brought thither, be made 
 flee by those that possess them ; and let them 
 accept of [a hundred and] twenty drachma) 
 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 suppose 
 that they were made captives without our fa- 
 tlier's consent, and against cijuity ; 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 ser- 
 vice to set them at liberty, upon the receipt 
 of the before-mentioned sum ; and that no 
 one use any deceit about them, but obey what 
 is iiere connnandcd. And I will, that they 
 give in their names witiiin 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 tliink it will 
 be for the advantage of my affairs : and let 
 every one that will, inform against those that 
 do not obey this tlecree ; and I will, that their 
 estates be confiscated into the king's treasury." 
 When this decree was read to the king, it at 
 iirst contained the rest that is here inserted, 
 and only omitted those Jews that had former- 
 ly been l)rought, and those brouglu after- 
 wards, which had not been distinctly men. 
 tioned ; so he added these clauses out of his 
 humanity, and with great generosity. He al- 
 so gave order tluit the payment, which was 
 likely to be done in a hurry, should be di- 
 vided among the king's ministers, and among 
 the oflicers of his treasury. When this was 
 over, what the king had decreed was (juickly 
 brought to a conclusion ; and tliisin no more 
 than seven days' time, the number of the ta- 
 lents paid tor the captives being above four 
 hundred and sixty, and this, because their 
 masters recjuired the [hundred and] twenty 
 drachma* for the children also, the king hav- 
 ing, in effect, commanded that these should 
 be paid for, when he said, in his decree, thai 
 they iJiould receive the furementioned sum for 
 every slave. 
 
CHAP. n. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 313 
 
 4, Now when this had been done after so 
 magnificent a manner, according to the king's 
 inclinations, he gave order to Demetrius to 
 give him in writing his sentiments concerning 
 the transcribing of the Jewish books ; for no 
 part of the administration is done rashly by 
 these kings, but all things are 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 
 ijifts [to Jerusalem], and the construction of 
 cveiy one, that the exactness of the artificers' 
 workmanship, as it appeared to those that saw 
 them, and which workmen made every vessel, 
 may be made manifest, and tiiis on account of 
 the excellency of the vessels themselves. Now 
 the copy of the epistle was to this purpose : — 
 " Demetrius to the great king, When thou, 
 
 king, gavest me a charge concerning the 
 collection of Books that were wanting to fill 
 your library, and concerning the care that 
 ought to be taken about such as are imperfect, 
 
 1 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 Hebrew 
 characters, and being in the language of that 
 nation, are to us unknown. It hath also 
 happened to them, that they have been tran- 
 scribed more carelessly than they should have 
 been, because they have not had hitherto royal 
 care taken about them. Now it is necessary 
 that thou shouldst 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 accord- 
 ing to it, since it is a holy law, and ought not 
 to be published by profane mouths. If liien 
 it please thee, O king, thou mayest write to 
 the high-priest of the Jews, to send six of the 
 elders out of every tribe, and those sucli as 
 .•»re most skilful of the laws, that by their 
 means we may learn the clear and agreeing 
 sense of these books, and may obtain an ac- 
 curate interpretation of their contents, and so 
 may have such a collection of these as may be 
 suitable to thy desire." 
 
 5. When this epistle was sent to the king, 
 h(' commanded that an epistle should be draw n 
 up for Eleazar, the Jewish high-priest, con- 
 cerning these matters ; and that tliey should 
 inform him of the release of tlie Jews that had 
 been in slavery among them. He also sent 
 fifty talents of gold for the making of large 
 basons, and viais, and cups, and an immense 
 quantity of precious stones. He also gave 
 order to those who had the custody of the 
 cliests that contained those stones, to give the 
 artificers leave to choose out what sorts of them 
 they pleased. He withal appointed, that a 
 Iiundred talents in money should be^scnt 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 dignity on the occasiorj 
 following: — When Onias the high-priest was 
 dead, his son Simon became his successor. 
 He was called Simon the Jusi,* because of 
 both his piety towards God,, and his kind dis- 
 position to those of his own nation. When 
 he was dead, and had left a young son, who 
 was called Oin"as, Simon's brother Eleazar, of 
 whom we are speaking, took the high-priest- 
 hood ; and he it was to whom Ptolemy wrote, 
 and that in the manner following: — "King 
 Ptolemy to Eleazar the high .priest, sendeth 
 greeting. There are many Jews who now 
 dwell in my kingdom, whom the Persians, 
 when they were in power, carried captives. 
 These were honoured by my 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 com- 
 mitted his garrisons, and the guarding of 
 them, that they might be a terror to the E- 
 gyptians; and when I had taken the govern, 
 menf, I treated all men with humanity, and 
 especially tliose that are tliy fellow-citizens, 
 of whom I have set free above a hundred 
 thousand 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 admitted into the number of my 
 soldiers ; and for such as are capable of be- 
 ing 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 devote 
 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 habi- 
 table earth, I have determined 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 skilful 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 u)yself ; 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 1 have dedicated to the temple, and to 
 the sacrifices, and to other uses, to the value 
 of a hundred talents ; and if thou wilt send to 
 us, to let us know what thou wouldest have far* 
 ther, thou wilt do a thing acceptable to me." 
 
 » We have a very great encomium of this Simon the 
 Just, the son of Onias i, hi the fifiieth chapter of the 
 Ecfiesiasticus, through the whole chapter. Nor is it 
 imp»oper to consult that cliapter itself upon this octv 
 sioii 
 
 •^- 
 
316 
 
 ANTIQUITIES UI' THE JEWS. 
 
 6. Wlien this epistle of tlie king was 
 broiifjlit to Elt'azar, he wrote an answer to 
 it with all the respect possible: — " Eleazar 
 the high-priest to king Ptolemy, sendeth 
 greeting. If thou and thy queen Arsinoe,* 
 and thy cliildren, be well, we are entirely sa- 
 tisfied. When we received thy ej)istle, we 
 greatly rejoiced at thy intentions ; and when 
 the multitude were gathered together, we read 
 it to them, and thereby made them sensible of 
 the piety thou hast towards God. We also 
 showed them the twenty vials of gold, and 
 thirty of silver, and the five large basins, and 
 the table for the sliew-bread ; as also the Iiun- 
 drcd talents for the sacrifices, and for the 
 making what shall be needful at the temple: 
 which things Andreas and Aristeus, those 
 most liononred friends of thine, have brought 
 us ; and truly they are persons of an excel- 
 lent chaiacter, and of great learning, and 
 worthy of tliy virtue. Know then tliat 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 numer- 
 ous acts of kindness which thou hast done to 
 our countrymen. We immediately, therefore, 
 offered sacrifices for thee and thy sister, with 
 thy children and friends ; and the multitude 
 made prayers, that thy affairs may l)e to thy 
 mind ; and that thy kingdom may be preserv- 
 ed in peace, and that tiie translation of our 
 lav\ may come to the conclusion tliou desirest, 
 and be for thy advantage. Wo 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 translat- 
 ed ; and to return those to us that bring it in 
 safety. — Farewell." 
 
 7. This was the reply which the high-priest 
 made ; but it does not seem to me to be neces- 
 sary to set down the namesof the seventy [two] 
 elders who were sent by Eleazar, and carried 
 the law, which yet were subjoined at the end 
 of the epistle. 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 expenses for 
 these vessels, and came often to the workmen, 
 and viewed their works, and sull'ered nothing 
 of carelessness or negligence to be any da- 
 mage to their operations ; a;id I will relate 
 how rich they were as well as I am able, al- 
 though, perhaps, the nature of this history 
 may not re()uire such a description ; but I 
 iniagiiie I sliall thereby recommend the ele- 
 
 • Wlicn wc have here aiiil presently mention nindu 
 of I'hiliulelphus's quecMi anil sister Arslnoc, wc arc to 
 retncmb-T, with >p:inhivm, that Arsinoe w,ts both hi-i 
 sister and his wife, according to the old custom of I'cr- 
 sia, and of Kgyiit at this very time ; nay, of the Assy- 
 rians long aftiTAards. Sec Aiiti(|. I), xx, ch. ii, sect. \. 
 Wlience we have, ii|)Oii tlie I'oins of l"hlladcll)hll^, this 
 known in&eri^tiuu : — ■' The divine Urothcr and tiiiitcr " 
 
 gant taste and magnanimity of this king to 
 those that read this history. 
 
 8. And first I will describe what belongs 
 to the table. It was indeed in the king's 
 
 I mind to make this talile vastly large in in 
 dimensions; but then he gave orders that 
 
 } they should learn what was the magnitude of 
 the table which was already at Jerusalem, antl 
 how large it was, and whether there were a 
 possibility of making one larger than it : and 
 when he was informed how large that was 
 which was already there, and that nothing 
 hindered but a larger miglit be made, he 
 said that he w.is 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 mim'strations by 
 its too great largeness ; for he desired that the 
 gifts he presented thcin should not only l)e 
 there for show, but should be useful also in 
 their sacred ministrations. According to which 
 reasoning, 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 observ- 
 ing the nature of all things, and in having a 
 just notion of what was new and surprising, 
 and where there v.-ere no sculptures, he would 
 invent such as were pro]>er by his own skill, 
 and would show them to the workmen, lie 
 commanded that such sculptures should now 
 be made ; and that those which were deline- 
 ated should be most accurately formed, by it 
 constant regard to their delineation 
 
 9. When therefore the workmen had un- 
 dertaken to make the table, they frameti it in 
 length two cubits [and a halfl, in breadth out 
 cubit, and in height one cubit and a half ; and 
 tlie entire structure of the work was of gold. 
 They witlial made a crown of a hand-breadth 
 round it, with wave- work wreathed about it, 
 and witli an engraving which imitated a cord, 
 and was admirably turned on its three parts; 
 for as they were of a triangular figure, every 
 angle had the same disposition of its sculp- 
 tures, 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 thi> table 
 had its sculptures very beautiful ; but liiat pari 
 
 ] which went niiind on the outside was more 
 elaborately adorned with most beautiful orna- 
 
 I ments, because it was exposed to sight, and to 
 the view of the spectators; for whicli reason 
 it was that both tliose sides which were extant 
 
 I above the rest were acute, and none of the 
 angles, which we before told you were three, 
 appeared less than another when the table was 
 turned about. Now into the cord nork thus 
 turned were precious stones inserted, in rows 
 parallel one to the other, enclosed in gulden 
 buttons, which had ouches in them; but the 
 jiarts which were on the side of the crown 
 
 ■\. 
 
 ^ 
 
ANTIQUITIES OB' THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 and were exposed to the sight, were adorned 
 with a row of oval figures obliquely placed, 
 of the most excellent sort of precious stones, 
 which imitated rods laid close, and encom- 
 passed the table round about ; but under these 
 oval figures thus engraven, t.ie workmen liad 
 put a crown all round it, where tlie nature of 
 all sorts of fruit was represented, insomuch 
 that the bunches of grapes hung up ; and 
 when they had made the stones to represent 
 all the kiiids of fruit before mentioned, 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 dif- 
 ferent, although tlie 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 on what 
 side soever of the table one should stand, it 
 might exhibit the very same view of the ex- 
 quisite 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 tlieir kind. 
 Hard by this meander a texture of net-work 
 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 
 wonderful delight to those that saw them. 
 The chapiters of the feet imitated the first 
 budding of lilies, while tlieir 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, send- 
 ing forth clusters of grapes, that you would 
 guess they were nowise different from real 
 tendrils; for they were so very thin, and so 
 very far extended at their extremities, that 
 they were moved with the wind, and made 
 one believe that they were the product of na- 
 ture, and !iot the representation of art. They 
 ilso 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 
 \=_ ^ . 
 
 317 
 
 invisible, and the places where they joined 
 could not be distinguished. Now the thick.. 
 ness of the table was not less than half a cu- 
 bit. So that this gift, by the king's great ge- 
 nerosity, by the great value of the materials, 
 and the variety of its exquisite structure, and 
 the artificer's skill in imitating nature with 
 graving tools, was at length brought to per- 
 fection, while the king was very desirous, 
 that though in largeness it were not to be dif- 
 ferent 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. 
 
 10. Now of the cisterns of gold there were 
 two, whose sculpture was of scale-wo k, from 
 its basis to its belt-like circle, with various 
 sorts of stones inchased in the spiral 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 rhtmbus in a texture of net-work, 
 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 cir- 
 cular manner ; and this was the construction 
 of the two cisterns of gold, each containing 
 two firkins :^but 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 precious stones, were 
 shadowed over with the leaves of ivy and vines, 
 artificially engraven ; and these were the ves- 
 sels that were, after an extraordinary manner, 
 brought to this perfection, partly by the skill 
 of the workmen, who were admirable in such 
 fine work, but much more by the diligence 
 and generosity of the king, who not only sup- 
 plied 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 per- 
 formance, because they had regard to the 
 king, and to his great concern about the ves- 
 sels, and so the more indetktigably kept close 
 to the work. 
 
 11. 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 presents to be carried to the 
 king, he dismissed them. And when they 
 were come to Alexandria, and Ptolemy heard 
 
J — 
 
 SI8 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XII 
 
 that tlity were come, and that the seventy I should be requisite for their diet and way of 
 
 clduis xvc'ic come also, he presently sent for living : whicli thing was ordered hy the king 
 Andreas and Aristeiis, his ambassadors, who after this manner: he took care that those tliat 
 came to him, and delivered him the epistle belonged to every city, which did not use the 
 which tliey brought l)im from tl)e higli-i)riest, | same way of living, that all things should be 
 
 and made answer to all the questions he put 
 to tliein by word of mouth. He then made 
 haste to meet the elders that came from Je- 
 rusalem for tlic interpretation of the laws ; 
 and he gave command, that every body who 
 came on other occasions should be sent away, 
 vhicli 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 1 
 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 tlie 
 presents, which the high-priest had given them 
 to bring to the king, and with the membranes, 
 ;ipon wliich tlicy had tl)eir laws written in 
 golden letters,* he put questions to them con- 
 cerning those books ; and when they had 
 taken off the covers wherein they were wrapt 
 up, they showed him the membranes. So the 
 king stood admiring the thinness of those 
 membranes, and the exactness of the junc- 
 tures, which could not be perceived (so ex- 
 actly were they connected one with another) ; 
 and this he did for a considerable time. He 
 then said that lie returned them thanks for 
 coming to him, and still greater thanks to 
 him that sent them j 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 pleasure 
 he had, it being natural to men to afford the 
 same indications in great joy that they do un- 
 der 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 v\as but just to discourse, in the first 
 place, of the errand they were sent about, and 
 then to address himself to themselves. lie 
 'promised, however, tliat 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 coining to him, 
 and the victory wliich he gained over Antigo- 
 nus by sea, proved to be on the very same 
 day. lie also gave orders that they should 
 sup with liini ; and gave it in charge that 
 they should have excellent lodgings provided 
 for them in the upper part of the city. 
 
 12. Now he that was ajjpointed to take care 
 of the reception of strangers, Nicanor by 
 name, called for Dorotiieus, whose duty it 
 was to make provision for them, and bade 
 him prepare for every one of them what 
 
 • The talmudists say, that it is not lawful to write 
 the bw in letters of ({i)l<l, contrary to tins certain ami 
 very ancient example. See lludson'tand Ileljui(l'ii notes 
 hcie. 
 
 prepared for them according to the custom of 
 those that came to him, that, being feasteo 
 according to the usual method of their own 
 way of living, they might I)e the better jjleased, 
 and might not be uneasy at any thing done 
 to tlitm from which they were naturally averse. 
 And this was now done in the case of these 
 men by Dorotheus, who was put into ihis of- 
 fice because of his g:eat skill in such matters 
 belonging to commo.i life ; for he took care 
 of all such matters as concerned the reception 
 of strangers, and appointed them double seats 
 for them to sit on, according as the king had 
 commanded him to do ; for he had conmiand- 
 ed 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 omit- 
 ted that could be shown them. And when 
 they were thus set down, he bid Dorotheus to 
 minister to all those that were 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 were 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 prosperity might attend the king, and those 
 that Were his subjects. Upon which an ac- 
 clamation was made by the whole company, 
 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 little 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 i)hi- 
 losophical question, f and such a one as might 
 give light in those inquiries; and when they 
 had explained all the problems 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 he that pleases may learn the 
 particular questions in that book of Aristeus, 
 which he wrote on tliis very occasion. 
 
 13. And while not the king only, but the 
 
 + This is the mo-st ancient example I have met with 
 of a gT.icc, or short jiraver, or tnankspiving, before 
 meat ; which, as it is used to be saiil by a heathen priest, 
 Has. now said by Kleazar, a Jewish jiriest, who w;is one 
 of those seventy-two interpreters. The n< xt example I 
 have met with Vs that of the Essencs (Of the War, b. ii, 
 oh. viii, sect. 5), both before and after it ; those of our 
 Saviour before it (Mark viii, 6; John vi, II, '.'.>; 
 and ."^t. I'aul, Acts xxvii, 35); and a form of such 
 a grnct or prayer for Christians, at the em! of the fifth 
 iMiok of the .Apostolical Constitutions, which seems to 
 have been intended for both times, lx)th l)cfore and af- 
 ter meat. 
 
 X They were rather r)olitical questions and answeis, 
 tending to the good and religious government of uuit 
 kind. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. II 
 
 pliilosopher Mencdemus also, admired them, 
 and said, that all things were governed by 
 Providence, and that it was probable that 
 thence it was that such force or beauty was 
 discovered in these men's words, — they tlien 
 left off' asking any more questions. But the 
 king said that he had gained very great ad- 
 vantages by their coming, for tiiat he had re- 
 ceived this profit from them, that he had learn- 
 ed 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 
 l)uilt 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 interpretation of their law), that they 
 would suffer 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 tiie 
 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, Dorotheus, at the king's 
 command, brought them a great deal of wliat 
 was provided for the king himself. But in 
 the morning they came to the court, and sa- 
 luted Ptolemy, and then went away to their 
 former place, where, when they had washed 
 their hands,* and purified themselve?, they 
 betook themselves to the interpretation 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, Demetrius gathered all the Jews toge- 
 ther to the place where the laws were trans- 
 lated, and where the interpreters were, and 
 re:id them over. The multitude did also ap- 
 prove of those elders that were the interpret- 
 ers of the law. They withal commended 
 Demetrius for his proposal, as the inventor of 
 what was greatly for their happiness ; and they 
 desired that he would give leave to their rul- 
 ers also to read the law. Moreover they all, 
 both the priests and the ancientest of the el ■ 
 ders, and the principal men of their common- 
 wealth, made it their request, that since the in- 
 terpretation was happily finished, it might 
 
 * This purification of the interpreters, by washing 
 In the sea, before they prayed to God every mominc, 
 and before they set alwut translating, may be compareti 
 with the like practice of Peter the Aposile, in the Re- 
 cognitions of Clement, b. iv. ch. iii, and b. v, ch. xxxvi; 
 and with the places of the ProseuchjE, or of prayer, 
 which were sometimes built near the sea or river^; also. 
 Of which matter, see Antiq. b. xiv, ch. x,--sect. 22 j and 
 tLedxvi, 13, 16 
 
 ^__ 
 
 S19 
 
 continue in the state it now was, and might 
 not be altered. And when they all com- 
 mended tliat determination 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, that when the thing was 
 judged to have been well done, it might con- 
 tinue for ever. 
 
 14. So the king rejoiced when he saw that 
 his design of this nature was brought to per- 
 fection, to so great advantage : and he was 
 chiefly delighted with hearing the laws read 
 to him ; and was astonished at the deep mean- 
 ing and wisdom of the legislator. 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 historians had made mention of it." 
 Demetrius made answer, "that no one durst be 
 so bold as to touch upon the description of 
 these laws, because they were divine and ve- 
 nerable, and because some that had attempted 
 it were afflicted by God." — He also told him, 
 that " Theopompus was desirous of writing 
 somewhat about them, but was thereupon dis- 
 turbed in his mind for above thirty days' 
 time; and upon some intermission of his dis- 
 temper, he appeased God [by prayer], as sus- 
 pecting that his madness proceeded from that 
 cause." Nay, indeed, he further saw in a 
 dream, that his distemper befel him while he 
 indulged too great a curiosity about divine 
 matters, and was desirous of publishing them 
 among common men ; but when he left off 
 that attempt, he recovered his understanding 
 again. Moreover, he informed him of Theo- 
 dectes, the tragic poet, concerning whom it 
 was reported, that when in a certain dramatic 
 representation, he was desirous to make men- 
 tion of things that were contained in the sa- 
 cred books, he was afflicted with a darkness 
 in his eyes ; and that upon his being con- 
 scious of the occasion of his distemper, and 
 appeasing God [by prayer], he was freed from 
 thai affliction. 
 
 15. And when the king had received these 
 books from Demetrius, as we have said al- 
 ready, be adored them ; and gave order, that 
 great care should be taken of them, that they 
 might remain uncorrupted. He also desired 
 that the interpreters would come often to him 
 out of Judea, and that both on account of the 
 respects that he would pay them, and on ac- 
 count 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 ob- 
 tain all that their own wisdom 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 
 tie value of one talent, and the furniture of 
 
J" 
 
 320 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THU JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XII. 
 
 the room wlieriin tliey wi-re fcasti'il. And 
 thv'so HiTt- till" tliiiifjs 1)0 pieskiilt'il to them. 
 Kut hy them he sent to Kleazar tlie liit^h-priest 
 ten hods, will) feet of silver, and the furniture 
 to them behjiiginj;, and a cup of the vahic 
 of thirty talents; and besides these, ten gar- 
 ments, and purple, and a very beautiful crown, 
 and a liundred pieces of the finest woven 
 linen ; as also vials and dishes, and vessels for 
 Dourinj:;, and two golden cisterns, to be <ledi- 
 cated to God. lie also desired him, by an 
 epistle, that he would give these interpreters 
 leave, if any o'i them were desirous, of com- 
 ing to him ; because he highly valued a con- 
 versation with men of such learning, and 
 should be very willing 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 Pliiladelphus. 
 
 CHATTER III. 
 
 HOW THE KINGS OF ASIA HONOURED THE NA- 
 TION OF THE JEWS, AND JIAUE THEM CITI- 
 ZENS OF THOSE CITIES WHICH THEV BUILT. 
 
 § i. The Jews also obtained honours from 
 the kings of Asia when they became tlieir 
 auxiliaries; for Seleticus Nicator made them 
 citizens in those cities which he built in 
 Asia, and in the Lower Syria, and in the me- 
 tropolis itself, Antioch ; and gave them pri- 
 vileges equal to those of tlie ]\Iacedoi!ians 
 
 tid Greeks, who were the inhabitants, inso- 
 much that tbeiie privileges continue to this 
 very day : an argument for which you have 
 in this, that whereas the Jews do make use 
 of oil prepared by foreigners,* they receive a 
 certain sum of money from the proper offi- 
 cers belonging to their exercises as the value 
 of that oil ; which money, when the people of 
 Antioch would have deprived them of, in the 
 last war, Rlucianus, who was then prc!.iilem 
 of Syria, preserved it to them. And when 
 the people of Alexandria and of Antiocli did 
 after that, at the time that Vespasian and 
 Titus bis son, governed the habitable earth, 
 pray that these privileges 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,f espe- 
 
 • The use of oil was much greater, and the donatives 
 of it innch more valuable, In Judea, and the neighbour- 
 ing counlrie!>, than it is amongst us. It was also, in the 
 days of Josc|ilius, thought unlawful for Jews to make 
 use of any oil that was incpared by heathens, peihaj)s 
 on account of some supersiitions intermixed with its 
 jiieparation by tho.-e heathens. When, therefore, the 
 t.cathens were to make tliem a donaiive of oil, they 
 paid Ihem money instead of it. ."^iv, i;f the War, b ii, 
 ell. xxi, sect. 2; the Life of Josophus, sect. 15; and 
 Hudson's note on I he pl.ice before us. 
 
 t Thii, and '.he like great and just characters, of the 
 Justice, and e-juity, and generosity of the old Komaiis, 
 both tn the Jews and other coiuiuercd nations, aObrds 
 us a very good reason why Almighty C;o«l, upon the re- 
 iivtion (if the Jews for their wickedness, chose Ihein for 
 his jieople, and lirst established Christiaiiity in that ein- 
 jiire. Of which matter, see Joscphus here, sect, i ; us 
 alio .Anli<i. b. xiv, cti. x, '."i, SJ ; b. xvi, ch. 2, uxX. \. 
 
 daily 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 delivei up 
 their weapons to them, but continued the war 
 to the very last, yet did not they take away 
 any of their foreinentioned privileges belong- 
 ing to them as citizens, but restrained their 
 anger, and overcame the prayers of the Alex- 
 andrians and Antiochians, wlio were a very 
 powerful people, insomuch that they did not 
 yield to them, neither out of their favour 
 to these people, nor out of tlierr old grudge 
 at those whose wicked opposition tluy liad 
 subdued in the war ; nor would tliey alter 
 any of the ancient favours granted to the 
 Jews, but said, that those who had borne 
 arms against them, and fought them, had 
 suffered punishment already, and that it was 
 not just to deprive those that bad not offend- 
 ed of the privileges they enjoyed. 
 
 2. We also know that Marcus Agrippa was 
 of the like disposition towards the Jews : for 
 when the people of Ionia were very angry at 
 them, and besougiit Agrippa, that they, and 
 they only, mij'ht have those privileges of citi- 
 zens which Antiochus, the grandson of Se- 
 leucus (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 tiiey themselves worshipped : but 
 when these matters were brought to trial, the 
 Jews prevailed, and obtained leave to make 
 use of their own customs, and this under the 
 patronage of Nicolaus of Damascus ; for 
 Agrippa gave sentence, that he could not in- 
 novate. And if any one hath a mind to know 
 this matter accurately, let him peruse the 
 hundred and twenty-third and hundred and 
 twenty-fourth books of the history of this 
 Nictriaus, Now, as to this detenninalion of 
 Agrippa, it is not so much to be admired; 
 for at that time our nation had not made war 
 against the Ilomans. But one may well be 
 astonished at the generosity of Vespasian and 
 'J'itus, that after so 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 digression. 
 
 3. Now it happened that in tlie reign of 
 Antiochus tlie Great, who ruled overall Asia, 
 that the Jews, as well as tlie inhabitants of 
 Celesyria, suH'ered greatly, and their land was 
 sorely harassed; for while he was at war with 
 Ptoltmy I'hilopater, and with his son, who 
 was called Epi|;hanes, it fell out that these 
 nations were equally sutlerers, both when he 
 was beaten 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 sitles . 
 and just thus we»e they in their situation in 
 the middle between .Antiochus's prosperity and 
 its change to adversity. But at length, w hen 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 Antioclius had beaten Ptolemy, he seized upon 
 Judea : and when Philopater was dead, his 
 son sent out a great army under Scopas, the 
 general of his forces, against the inhabitants 
 of Celesyria, who took many of their cities, 
 and in particular our nation; which, when he 
 fell upon them, went over to him. Yet was 
 it not long afterward when Antiochus over- 
 came Scopas, in a battle fought at the foun- 
 tains of Jordan, and destroyed a great part of 
 liis 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 received 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 gar- 
 rison whicli was in the citadel of Jerusalem. 
 Wherefore Antioclius thought it but just to 
 requite the Jews' diligence and zeal in his ser- 
 vice : so he wTote to the generals of his armies, 
 and to his friends, and gave testimony to the 
 good behaviour of the Jews towards him, and 
 informed then? what rewards he had resolved 
 to bestow on them for that their behaviour. 
 I will set down presently the epistles them- 
 selves which he wrote to the generals concern- 
 ing 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 superior 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 con- 
 quered by Antiochus, Antiochus received 
 Batanea and Samaria, and Abila and Gadara ; 
 and that, a while afterwards, there came in to 
 him those Jews that inhabited near that tem- 
 ple which was called Jerusalem ; concerning 
 which, although I have more to say, and par- 
 ticularly concerning the presence of God about 
 that temple, yet do I put off that history till a- 
 nother opportunity," This it is which Polybi- 
 us 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, 8ENDETH 
 GREETING. 
 
 " Since the Jews, upon our first entrance 
 on their couiitry, demonstrated their friend- 
 ship towards us ; and when we came to their 
 city LJerus;ilem], received us in a splendid 
 manner, and came to meet us with their se- 
 nate, and gave abundance of provisions to our 
 soldiers, and to the elephants, and joined with 
 us in ejecting the garrison of the Egyptians 
 that were in the citadel, we have thought fit 
 to reward them, and to retrieve the condition 
 of their city, which hath been greatly depo- 
 pulated by such accidents as have hefallen its 
 inhabitants, and to bring those tnat have been 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 321 
 
 scattered abroad back to the cfty ; and, in the 
 first place, we have determined, on account of 
 their piety towards God, to bestow on them, 
 as a pension, for their sacrifices of animals 
 tliat are fit for sacrifice, for wine and oil, and 
 frankincense, the value of twenty thousand 
 pieces of silver, and [six] sacred artabrae of fine 
 flour, with one thousand four hundred and 
 sixty medimni of wheat, and three hundred 
 and seventy-five medimni 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 temple finished, and the 
 cloisters, and if there be any thing else that 
 ought to be rebuilt ; and for the materials of 
 wood, let it be brought tiiem 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- order 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 discharged from poll money and 
 the crown-tax, and other taxes also; and that 
 the city may the sooner recover its inhabitants, 
 I grant a discharge from taxes for three years 
 to its present inhabitants, and to such as shall 
 come to it, until the month Hyperberetus. 
 We also discharge them for the future from 
 a third part of their taxes, that the losses they 
 have sustained may be repaired ; and all those 
 citizens that have been carried away, and are 
 become slaves, we grant them and their chil- 
 dren their freedom ; and give order that their 
 substance be restored to them." 
 
 4. 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, according to their own custom, 
 have puiified themselves. 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 forbidden 
 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 per- 
 mitted to use the sacrifices derived from their 
 forefathers, with which they have been oblig. 
 ed to make acceptable atonements to God. 
 And he that transgresseth any of these or- 
 ders, let him pay to the priests three thousand 
 drachmas of silver." Moreover, this Antio- 
 clius bare testimony to our piety and fidelity, 
 in an epistle of his, written when he was in- 
 formed of a sedition in Phrygia and Lydia, 
 at which time he was in the superior provinces, 
 wherein he commanded Zeuxis, the general 
 of liis forces, and his most intimate friend, to 
 
J~ 
 
 ^'12 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XII. 
 
 send some of our nation out of Bal>ylon into 
 i'hrygiii. The epistle was this : — 
 
 " KING ANTIOCHUS TO ZEUXIS, HIS FATHKIt, 
 SKNDKTH GREETING. 
 
 '•If you are in health, it is well. I also 
 am in health. Ilavinj^ been informed tiiat 
 a sedition is arisen in Lydia and I'hrygia, I 
 thought that matter required great care ; and 
 upon advising with my friends what was fit to 
 be done, it hath been thought proper to re- 
 move two thousand families of Jews, witii 
 their effects, out of Mesopotamia and Baby- 
 lon, unto the castles and places that lie most 
 convenient; for I am persuaded that they will 
 be welldis])osed guardians of our possessions, 
 because of their piety towards God, and be- 
 cause I know that my predecessors have borne 
 witness to them that they are faithful, and 
 with alacrity do wliat they are desired to do. 
 I will, therefore, 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 forenientioned, 
 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 plan- 
 tation of their vines ; and thou shalt discharge 
 them from paying taxes of the fruits of the 
 earth for ten years ; and let them have a pro- 
 per quantity of wlieat 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 ne- 
 cessaries of life, that by enjoying the effects 
 of our humanity, they may show themselves 
 the more willing and ready about our affairs. 
 Take care likewise of that nation, as far as 
 thou art able, that they may not have any dis- 
 turbance given them by any one." Now these 
 testimonials, which I have produced, are suf- 
 ficient to declare the friendship that Antiochus 
 the Great bare to the Jews. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW ANTIOCHUS HADE A LEAGUE WITH PTO- 
 LEMV ; AND HOW ONIAS PllOVOKED PTO- 
 LEMY EUERGETES TO ANGEIl ; AND HOW JO- 
 SErn UROUGHT ALL THINGS UIGHT AGAIN, 
 AND ENTERED INTO FRIENDSHIP WITH HIM ; 
 AND WHAT OTHER THINGS WERE DONE BY 
 JOSEPH, AND HIS SON HYRCANUS. 
 
 § 1. After this Antiochus made a friend- 
 ship and a league wiUi Ptolemy, and gave 
 him liis daughter Cleopatra to wife, and 
 yielded up to him CclesyrLa, and Samaria, 
 and Judea, and Phcenicia, by way of dowry ; 
 and upon tlie division of the taxes between 
 the two kings, all the principal men framed 
 the taxes of their several countries, and col- 
 lecting ttie sum that was settled fur tlicm, 
 
 paid the same to the [two) kings. Now at 
 this time the Samaritans were in a ffourisliinii' 
 condition, and much diNtressed the Jews, cut- 
 ting off parts of their land, and carrying off 
 slaves. This happened wlien Oiiia^ was 
 high-priest ; for afier Eleazar's death, his 
 uncle Manasseh took the priest-hood, and 
 a/'ter he tiad ended his life, Onias received 
 that dignity. He was the son of .Simon, who 
 was calleil The Just ; wliich Simon was tlie 
 brother of Eleazar, as I said before. Tliis 
 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, fie provoked 
 king Ptolemy Euergetes to anger, who was 
 the father of Philo])ater. Euergetes sent an 
 ambassador to Jerusalem, and complained 
 that Onias did not pay his taxes, and threat- 
 ened, that if lie did not receive them, he 
 would seize upon tlieir land, and send sol- 
 diers to live upon it. When the Jews heard 
 this message of the king, they were confound- 
 ed ; but so sordidly covetous was Onias, that 
 nothing of this nature made him ashamed. 
 
 2. There was now one Joseph, young in 
 age, but of great reputation among the peo- 
 ple of Jerusalem, for gravity, prudence, and 
 justice. His father's name was Tobias; and 
 his mother was the sister of Onias tlie 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 
 reproved Onias for not taking care of the pre- 
 servation of his countrymen, but bringing tfie 
 nation into dangers, by not paying this money. 
 For which preservation of them, he told him he 
 liad 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 on that account, 
 and his countrymen suffer tlie greatest da- 
 mages, he advised him to go to the king, and 
 petition him to remit either the whole or a 
 part of tlie sura demanded. Onias's answer 
 was this: — That lie did not care for his au- 
 thority, and that he was ready, if the thing 
 were practicable, to lay down his high-priest- 
 hood ; 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, tliat he 
 would give him leave. L'|)on which Joseph 
 went up into the temjjle, and called the mul- 
 titude together to a congregation, and exhort- 
 ed tliem not to be disturbed nor affrighted, be- 
 cause of Ills uncle Onias's carelessness, but 
 
 • The name of thli place, Phlcol, Is the ^-er^• same 
 with that of the chief captain of Abimclech's host, in 
 the ilays of Abraham ((ien. xxi, ifS), and might |>ossibly 
 be the plni-e of that Phii-ol's nativity or abode : for it 
 scoMi.s to liavc been in Uie south ]>art of raltstine, at 
 that was. 
 
 J~ 
 
"\, 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 desired them to be at rest, and not terrify 
 themselves with fear about it; for he pro- 
 mised them that he would be their ambassa- 
 dor to the king, and persuade him that they 
 had done him no wrong ; and when the mul- 
 titude heard this, they returned thanks to Jo- 
 seph. So he went down from the temple, 
 and treated Ptolemy's ambassador in an hos- 
 pitable 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 w^ould 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 deport- 
 ment. 
 
 3. "When Ptolemy's ambassador was come 
 into Egypt, he told the king of the thought- 
 less temper of Onias ; and informed him of 
 the goodness of the disposition of Joseph ; 
 and that he was coming 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 twenty 
 thousand drachmae, and went to Alexandria. 
 Now it happened that at this time all tlie prin- 
 cipal men and rulers went 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 journeying 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 happened 
 as the king was sitting in his chariot, with his 
 wife, and with his friend Athenion, who was 
 thevery person who had been ambassador at Je- 
 rusalem, and had been entertained by Joseph. 
 As 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 complain of the ma- 
 nagement 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, everything thovj^desirest, 
 and shalt have no cause to complain." With 
 \his good lumiour and pleasantry of the voung 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 323 
 
 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 tlie king's palace, and be a guest at his own 
 table every day ; but when the king was come 
 to Alexandria, the principal men of Syria saw 
 him sitting with the king, and were much of- 
 fended at it. 
 
 4. 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 dig- 
 nity in their several countries were to bid for 
 them, the sum of the taxes together, of Cele- 
 syria and Phoenicia, and Judea, with Samaria 
 [as they were bidden for], came to eight thou- 
 sand talents. Hereupon Joseph accused the 
 bidders, as having 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 privilege was sold toge- 
 ther with the taxes themselves. The king 
 was pleased to hear that offer ; and, because 
 it augmented his revenues, he said he would 
 confirm 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 pay- 
 ment of the money, he answered very plea- 
 santly, " 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 replied, " I give thee no other persons, O 
 king, for my sureties, than thyself, and this 
 thy wife ; and you shall be security for both 
 parties." So Ptolemy laughed at the proposal, 
 and granted him the farming of the taxes with- 
 out 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. 
 
 5. But Joseph took with him two thousand 
 foot-soldiers from the king, for he desired he 
 might have some assistance, in order to force 
 such as were refractory in the cities to pay. 
 And borrowing of the king's friends at Alex- 
 andria five hundred talents, he made haste 
 back into Syria. And when he was at Askelon, 
 and demanded the taxes of the people of Aske- 
 lon, they refused to pay any thing, and 
 affronted liiui 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 tlieir 
 gates, and willingly admitted Joseph, and paid 
 
■^ 
 
 824 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BUOK \II 
 
 tluir taxes. And when the inhabitants of Scy- 
 thopolis attcini)tc'il to aflront liim, and would 
 not pay him those taxos wliicli tliey formerly 
 used to pay, without disputing about them, he 
 slew also the principal men of that city, and 
 sent their eflFccts to the king. By this means 
 he gathered great wealth together, and made 
 vast gains by tliis 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 liis present 
 good fortune; and this he did by the assist- 
 ance 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 
 tlicrcby purchased their good-will to himself. 
 6. This good fortune he enjoyed for twen- 
 ty-two years ; and was become the father of 
 seven sons by one wife ; he had also another 
 son, whose name was Hyrcanus, by his bro- 
 ther Solymius's daughter, whom he married 
 on the following occasion. He once came 
 to Alexandria with his brother, who had along 
 with him a daughter already marriageable, in 
 order to give licr in wedlock to some of the 
 Jews of chief dignity there. He then supped 
 with the king, and falling in love with an ac- 
 tress that was of great beauty, and came into 
 the room where they feasted, he told his bro- 
 ther of it, and entreated him, because a Jew 
 is forbidden by their law to come near to a 
 foreigner, to conceal his offence, and to be 
 kind and sybservient to him, and to give him 
 «i opportunity of fulfilling his desires. Upon 
 .vhich 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 ex- 
 ceedingly ; and said to his brother, that he 
 loved this actress so well, that he should run 
 the hazard of his life [if he must part with 
 her], and yet probably the king would not 
 give him leave [to take her with him]. But 
 his brother bade him be in no concern about 
 that matter, and told him he might enjoy her 
 whom lie loved without any danger, and 
 might have her for his wife ; and opened the 
 truth of tlie matter to him, and assured him 
 that he chose rather to have his own daughter 
 abused, than to overlook him, and iee him 
 come to [public] disgrace. So Joseph com- 
 mended him for this his brotherly love, and 
 married his daughter ; and by her begat a son 
 whose name was Hyrcanus, as we said before. 
 And when this his youngest son showed, at 
 thirteen years old, a mind that was botli cou- 
 rageous and wise, and was greatly envied by 
 liis l)rethrcn, as being of a genius much above 
 them, and such a one as they might well envy, 
 Josepli had once a mind to know whicli of 
 ^1 
 
 his sons had the best disposition to virtue; 
 and when lie sent them severally to those tliat 
 had then tlie best reputation for instructing 
 youth, the rest of his children, by reason of 
 their sloth, and unwillingness to take pains, 
 returned to him foolish and unlearned. Af- 
 ter them he sent out tlie youngest, Hyrcanus, 
 and gave him three hundred 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 ; bj 
 which means he sowed as much land as his 
 father had appointed him to sow, and return 
 cd to him. And when he was come back, his 
 father was mightily pleased with his sagacity, 
 and commended the sharpness of his under- 
 standing, 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. 
 
 7. But when one told him that Ptolemy 
 had a son just born, and that all the principal 
 men of Syria, and the other countries subject 
 to him, were to keep a festival on account of 
 the child's birth-day, and went away in haste 
 with great retinues to Alexandria, he was him- 
 self indeed hindered from going by old age ; 
 but he made 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 wore not courtiers 
 good enough for such conversation, and ad- 
 vised 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 
 slnould not want much money for his journey, 
 because he would live moderately, and that 
 ten thousand drachma; would be sufficient, he 
 was ideasod with his son's prudence. After 
 a little wliile, the son advised his father not 
 to send his presents to the king from thence, 
 but to give him n 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 expense often talents would be enough 
 for jiresents to be made to the king, and com- 
 mending his son, as giving him good advice, 
 wrote to Arion his steward, that managed all 
 
 s 
 
"V. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 his money matters at Alexandria; which mo- 
 ney was not less than three thousand 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 re- 
 ceived it, he made haste to Alexandria. And 
 when he was gone, his brethren wrote to all the 
 king's friends, that they should destroy him. 
 
 8. But when he was 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 a thousand ta- 
 lents. At which the steward was angry, and 
 rebuked him, as one that intended to live ex- 
 travagantly ; and he let him know how his fa- 
 ther had gathered together his estate by pains- 
 taking and resisting his inclinations, and 
 wished him to imitate the example of his fa- 
 ther : he assured him withal, that he would 
 give him but ten talents, and that for a pre- 
 sent to the king also. The son was irritated 
 at this, and threw Arion into prison. But 
 when Arion's wife had informed Cleopatra of 
 tliis, with her intreaty, that she would rebuke 
 the child for what he had done (for Arion was 
 m great esteem with her), Cleopatra informed 
 the king of it. And Ptolemy sent for Ilyr- 
 canus, 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 answer he 
 made to the king's messenger was this; That 
 " there was a law of his that forbade a child 
 that was born to taste of the sacrifice, before 
 he had been at the temple and sacrificed to 
 God. Accordiniz to which way of reasoning, 
 he did not himself come to him in expectation 
 of the present he was to make to him, as to 
 one who had been his father's benefactor ; and 
 that he had punished the slave for disobeying 
 his commands, for that it mattered not whe- 
 ther a master was little or great : so that un- 
 less we punish such as these, thou thyself 
 mayest also expect to be despised by thy sub- 
 jects." Upon hearing this his answer, he fell 
 a-laughing, and wondered at the great soul 
 of the child. 
 
 9. When Arion was apprised that this was 
 the king's disposition, and that he had no way 
 to help himself, he gave the child a thousand 
 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 bare to his 
 father. So lie came to the merchants privately, 
 and bought a hundred boys, that had learning, 
 and were in the Cower of their ages, each at 
 
 323 
 
 a talent apiece; as also he bought a hundred 
 maidens, each at the same price as tlie other. 
 And when he was invited to feast with the 
 king among the principal men of the country, 
 he sat down the lowest of them all, because 
 he was little regarded, as a child in age still ; 
 and this by those who placed every one ac- 
 cording 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 be- 
 longing 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 laugh- 
 ter at festivals, was now asked by the guests 
 that satatthe 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 Hyr- 
 canus ? by this similitude thou mayest con- 
 jecture that his father made all Syria as bare 
 as he hath made these bones." And the king 
 laughing at what Trypho said, and asking of 
 Hyrcanus, How he came to have so many 
 bones before him ? he replied, " Very right- 
 fully, 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 
 answer, 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 powerful at court, and saluted 
 them ; but still inquired of the servants what 
 present they would make the king on his son's 
 birth-day ; and when some said that they 
 would give twelve talents, and that others of 
 greater dignity would every or.e give accord- 
 ing to the quantity of their riches, he pretend- 
 ed to every one of tiiem to be grieved that he 
 was not able to bring so large a present ; for that 
 he had no more than five talents. And when 
 the servants heard what he said, they told their 
 masters ; and they rejoiced in the prospect 
 that Joseph would be disapproved, and woidd 
 make the king angry, by the smallness of his 
 present. When the day came, the others, even 
 those that brought the most, oflfered the king 
 not above twenty talents ; but Hyrcanus gave 
 to every one of the hundred boys and hundred 
 maidens that he had bought a talent apiece, 
 for them to carry, and introduced them, the 
 boys to the king, and the maidens to Cleo- 
 patra : every body wondering at (he unexpect- 
 ed richness of the presents, even the king 
 and queen themselves. He also presented 
 those tliat 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 Hyrca- 
 nus's brethren had written to aestroy him. 
 
-/■ 
 
 V 
 
 326 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Now rtolcmy Bflmirtd at tlie young tnaii's 
 magnanimity, and commanded liim to ask 
 what gift lie plcasi-d. But lie dt'sircd nothing 
 else to ho done for iiini hy the king ttian to 
 write to his father and brethren ahout him. 
 So when tiie king had |)aid liim very great re- 
 spects, and had given him very large gifts, and 
 had written to his father and iiis brethren, and 
 all his commanders and officers, about him, he 
 sent him away. But when his brethren iieard 
 that Hyrcaiuis had received such favours from 
 the king, and was returning liome witli great 
 honour, tlicy went out to meet him, aiul to 
 destroy him, and that with the privity of tiieir 
 father : for lie w as angry at him for the [large] 
 sum of money that he bestowed for 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 Ilyrca lus's brediren caine to figi)t bin), 
 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 there abode ; but oblig- 
 ing the Barbarians to pay their taxes. 
 
 10. At this time Seleucus, who was called 
 Soier, reigned over Asia, being the son of 
 Antio-hus the Great. And [now] Hyrca- 
 nus's father, Joseph, died. He was a good 
 man, and of great magnanimity ; and brought 
 the jews out of a state of poverty and mean- 
 ness, to one that was more splendid. 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 let't the high-priesthood (o his son Simon. 
 And when he was dead, Onias his son suc- 
 ceeded him in that dignity. To him it was 
 that Areus, king of the Lacedemonians, sent 
 an embassage, with an epistle; the copy wliere- 
 of here follows : — 
 
 " AllEl'S, KING OF THE LACF.DKMONIANS, TO 
 O.MAS, SENUETH GKEEIING. 
 
 " We have met with a certain writing, 
 whereby we Imvu discovered that l)oth tiie 
 Jews and the Lacedemonians are of one stock, 
 and are derived from the kindred of Abra- 
 ham.* It is but just, therefore, that you, 
 
 » Whence it comes that tliesc Lacedemonians declare 
 themsthcs here to be of kin to the Jews, as derived 
 I'roin the same aiutstor, Abraliarn, 1 nuiiiut tell, unless, 
 as firotius supiMjses, tlu y were derived I'riim the Durcs, 
 that came of iho I'ela-yi. 'Ilicsc are, by Herodotus, 
 called UailMriaiis; ar.d perhaps were derived from the 
 Syrians and .Arabians, ihc }>osterity of Abraham hy 
 Keturah. Sc-c Aiitiq. 1>. xiv, eh. x, Kx-t. '-'-' ; and Of the 
 War, b. i, ch. xxvi, sect. I ; and (irot. on I M.ic. xil, 7- 
 We may fartlier ebservc, from the ItCLdcmlions oi Cle- 
 ment, that Kluzer, of Damascus, the jcrxant of Abra- 
 ham, Gen. XV. '.', and xxiv, was of old by some takcti 
 for his son. So Uiat if the Laeedcmoniuiis were sprung 
 from him, ihiv might think ihcmsehes to be of the 
 posterity of Aliiaham, us well as the Jews, who were 
 tprung tiuin Isaac And {icrhaps tlus Eliezcr of IM 
 
 "V 
 
 BOOK XII 
 
 who are our brethren, should send to us about 
 any of your concerns as you jilease. We will 
 also do the same thing, and esteem your con- 
 cerns as our own, and will look upon our 
 concerns as in common with yours. Demo 
 tole.s, who brings you liiis letter, will bring 
 your answer back to us. This letter is four 
 square ; and the seal is an eagle, with a dra- 
 gon in liis claws." 
 
 II. And these were the contents of iha 
 epistle which was sent from the king of the 
 Lacedemonians. But upon the death of Jo- 
 seph, the pco|)le grew seditious, on account 
 of his sons ; for whereas the elders made war 
 against Hyrcanus, who was the youngest of 
 Josejih's sons, the multitude 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 
 determined not to return to Jerusalem any 
 more, but seated himself beyond Jordan, and 
 was at perpetual war with the Arabians, and 
 slew many of them, and took many of them 
 captives. He also erected a strong castle, and 
 built it entirely of white stone to the very 
 roof, and had animals of a prodigious mag- 
 nitude engraven upon it. 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 tlien he made large rooms in it, some for 
 feasting, and some for sleeping, and living in. 
 He introduced also a vast rjuantity of waters 
 which ran along it, and which were very de- 
 lightful and ornamental in the court. But 
 still he made the entrances at the mouth of 
 the caves so narrow, that no Jiiore than one 
 person could enter by them at once. And 
 the reason why he built them after that man- 
 ner was a good one ; it was for his own pre- 
 servation, lest he should be besieged by his 
 brethren, and run ilie hazard of being caught 
 by them. Moreover, he built courts of greater 
 magnitude than ordinary, which he adorned 
 «itli vastly large gardens. And when lie had 
 i)rought the place to this state, he named it 
 Tyre. This place is between Arabia and Ju- 
 dea, beyond Jordan, not far from the country 
 of Heshbon. And he ruled over tliosc parts 
 for bcven years, even all the time that Seleu- 
 cus was king of Syria. Bui when he was 
 dead, his brother Antiochus, who was culled 
 Kpiphanes, took the kingdom. I'tolemy also, 
 the king of Egypt, died, who was besides 
 called Epiplianes. He left two sons, and 
 both young in age ; the elder of whom was 
 called Philometer, and the younger I'hyscon. 
 As for Hyrcanus, when he saw that Aniiuehus 
 
 mnsciis is that very nam.Tsous whom Trogus Pompeiut, 
 as abridged bv Justin, makes the founder of the Jewish 
 nalioii itself, ihou;;!. heaflerwards blunders, and makes 
 A/tlus, Adi.re-, Abraliaiii, anil I.racI, kin!;s of Judca,' 
 and sucves^~ors to this I)aiiia'-<-us. It may not l)c impnv 
 iicr to ob>er\e larther, that .Mo.-is fiiorenensis, in his 
 nislory of the Armenians, informs us, that the nation 
 of the I'arihians was also derived from Abraham, bv 
 Keiiirah, aud her ehildiuii. 
 
 y 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 nad 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. 
 
 HOW, I'PON THE QUARRELS OF THE JEWS ONE 
 AGAINST ANOTHER ABOUT THE HIGH-PUIEST- 
 HOOD, ANTIOCHUS MADE AN EXPEDITION 
 AGAINST JERUSALEM, TOOK THE CITY, AND 
 PILLAGED THE TEMPLE, AND DISTRESSED 
 THE JEWS : AS ALSO, HOW MANY Of THE 
 JEWS FORSOOK THE LAWS OF THEIR COUN- 
 TRY ; AND HOW THE SAMARITANS lOLLOW- 
 ED THE CUSTOMS OF THE GREEKS, AND 
 NAMED THEIR TEJIPLE AT MOUNT GERIZ- 
 ZIM, THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER HELLENIUS. 
 
 § 1. 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 
 befel this child. But this Jesus, who was the 
 brother of Onias, was deprived of the high- 
 priesthood by the king, who was angry with 
 bim, and gave it to his younger brother, whose 
 name also was Onias; for Simon had these 
 three sons, to each of wliom the priesthood 
 came, as we have already informed the rea- 
 der.* This Jesus changed his name to Ja- 
 son ; but Onias was called IMenelaus. Now 
 as the former high-priest, Jesus, raised a se- 
 dition against Menelaus, who was ordained 
 after him, the multitude were divided between 
 them both. And the sons of Tobias tooii the 
 part of Menelaus, but the greater part of the 
 people assisted Jason : and by tliat means 
 Menelaus and the sons of Tobias were dis 
 tressed, and retired to Antiochus, and inform- 
 ed him, that they were desirous to leave the 
 laws of their country, and the Jewisli way of 
 living according to tiiom, and to follow the 
 king's laws, and the Grecian way of living : 
 
 • We have hitherto had but a few of tliose many ci- 
 tations where Josephus says that he hatl elsewhere'for- 
 merjy treated of many things of which yet his present 
 books have not a syllable. Our commentators have 
 hitherto been able to give no tolcralile account of these 
 citations, which are far too numerous, and that usually 
 in all his copies, both Greek and Latin, to be sujiposed 
 later interpolations ; which is almost all that has been 
 hitherto said upon this occasion. What I liave to say 
 farther is this, that we have but very few of these re- 
 ferences before, and very many in and after the history 
 of AntiooKus Eiiiphanes; and that Josciihus s first bo.>k, 
 the Hebrew or Chaldee, as well as the Greek History of 
 the Jewish War, long since lost, began with that very 
 history, so that the references are most probably made 
 to that edition of the seven books Of the War. See 
 several other examples, besides those, in the two sec- 
 tions before us, in Antiq. b. xiii, ch. ii, sect. 1, 1 ; ar.d 
 eh. iv, sect. 6, 8; ch. v, sect. C, 11; ch. viii, sect, -i; 
 and ch. xiii, sect. 4, 5 ; and Antiq. b. xviii, ch. il? sect 5. 
 
 327 
 
 wherefore they desired his permission to build 
 them a Gj'tnnasium at Jerusalem, f And 
 when he had given them leave, they also hid 
 the circumcision of their genitals, that even 
 when they were naked they miglit appear to 
 be Greeks. Accordingly, they left ofl' all the 
 customs that belonged to their own country, 
 and imitated the practices of the other na 
 tions. 
 
 2. Now Antiochus, upon the agreeable 
 situation of the affairs of his kingdom, re- 
 solved 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 
 aflairs of such consequence; so he came with 
 great forces to Pelusium, and circumvented 
 Ptolemy Philometor 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 subduing Ptole- 
 my, 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 fonnerly de- 
 clared, I will now give a particular account 
 of what concerns this king, — how he subdued 
 Judea and the teinple ; 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 greal 
 accuracy. 
 
 3. King Antiochus returning out of Egypt,| 
 for fear of tlie Romans, made an expedition 
 against the city Jerusalem ; and wlien he was 
 there, in the hundred and forty-third year of 
 the kingdom of the Seleucidae, he took the 
 city without fighting, those of his own party 
 opening the gates to him. And when he had 
 gotten possession of Jerusalem, lie slew many 
 of the opposite party ; and when he had plun- 
 dered it of a greal deal of money, he returned 
 to Antioch. 
 
 4. Now it came to pass, after two years, 
 in the hundred and forty-fifth year, on tiie 
 twenty-fifth day of that month which is by us 
 called Chasleu, and by the Macedonians Ap- 
 peleus, in the hundred and fifty-third olym- 
 piad, that tlie king came up to Jerusalem, 
 and, pretending peace, he got possession of 
 
 t This word, " Gymnasium," properly denotes a 
 place where the exercises wereprrlormen naktd ; which, 
 because it would naturally distinguish circumcised Jews 
 from uncircumcised Gentiles, these Jewish apostates en- 
 deavoured to appear uncircumcised, by means of a 
 chirurgical operation, hinted at by St. I'aul, 1 Cor. vii 
 18, and described by Cclsus, b. vii, en. xxv, as Dr. HuiK 
 son here informs us. 
 
 X Hereabout Josephus begins to follow the first book 
 of tlie Maccabees, a most excellent and most authentic 
 history ; and accordingly it is here with great fidelity 
 and exactness abridged by him : between whose present 
 copies there seem to be fewer variations than in any other 
 sacred Hebrew book of the Old Testament whatever 
 (for this book .ilso was origin.illy written in Hebrew), 
 which is very natural, because it was written so mucb 
 nearer to the time of Josephus than the rest were. 
 
J- 
 
 3^8 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BUOK XII 
 
 tlie city by tronehery : at which time he spar- 
 ed not so niiich as those that admitted him 
 into it, on account of the riches that lay in 
 the temple; but, led by his covetous inclina- 
 tion (for he saw there vas in it a great deal 
 of gold, and many ornaments that liad been 
 dedicated to it of very great value), and in 
 
 souls, did not regard him, but did pay a 
 greater respect to the customs of their coun- 
 try ihan concern as to the |)uiiisliment which lie 
 threatened to the disobedient ; on which ac- 
 count they every day uinlerwent great mise- 
 ries and bitter torments ; for they were whip. 
 j)ed with rods, and their bodies were torn to 
 
 order to plunder its wealth, ne ventured to pieces, and were crucified while they were 
 
 break the league he had made. So he left 
 the temple hare, and took away the golden 
 candlesticks, and the golden altar [of incense', 
 and tal)le [of shew.biead\ and the altar [of 
 burnt-otl'eiing ; and did not abstain from 
 even the veils, which were made of tine 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 
 
 till alive and breathed : they also strangled 
 those women and their sons whom they had 
 circumcised, as the king had appointed, hang- 
 ing their sons about their necks as they were 
 ujion the crosses. And if there were any 
 sacred book of the law found, it was destroy- 
 ed ; and those with whom they were found, 
 miseral)ly perished also. 
 
 5. Wlien the Samaritans saw the Jews un- 
 
 lamentation, for he forbade them to oHcr der these sufllrings, i hey no longer confessed 
 those daily sacrifices which they used to od'ir that lliey were of their kindred, nor that the 
 
 to God, according lo the law. And when 
 he had pilkiged the whole city, some of the 
 inhabitants he slew, and some he carried cap- 
 tive, together with llieir wives and children, 
 so that the multitude of those captives that 
 were taken alive amounted to about ten thou- 
 
 temple on Mount Gerizzim belonged to W 
 mighty God. This was according 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 An- 
 
 sand. He also burnt down the fiiiest build- tiochus, and an ti)istle, whose contents are 
 
 ings; and when he had overthrown the city- 
 walls, he built a citadel in the lower part of 
 the city,* for the piace was high, and over- 
 looked the temple, on which account he for- 
 tified it with high walls and towers, and put 
 into it a garrison of ^Macedonians. How- 
 ever, in that citadel dwelt the impious and 
 
 these : — " To king Aniioclius the god, Epi- 
 phanes, a memorial from the Sidonians, who 
 live at Shechem. Our forefathers, irpon cer- 
 tain frequent plagues, and as following a cer- 
 tain ancient superstition, had a custom of ob- 
 serving that day which by the Jews is called 
 the Sabbath. •)• And when they had erected a 
 
 wicked part of the [.Jewish] multitude, from temi)le at the mountain called Gerizzii 
 whom it proved that the citizens sulT'ered though without a name, they ofi'ercd upon it 
 many and sore calamities. And when the the ])roper sacrifices. Now, upon the just 
 king had built an idol altar upon God's altar, ! treatment of these wicked Jews, those that 
 he slew swine upon it, and so oti'ered a sacri- ' manage their attairs, supposing that we were 
 
 fice neither according to the law, nor the 
 Jewish religious worship in that country. He 
 also conjpelled them to forsake the worship 
 
 of kin to them, and practised as they do, make 
 us liable to the same accusations, although 
 we are originally Sidonians, as is evident 
 
 which they paid their own God, and to adore | from the public records. We therefore be- 
 those whom he took to be gods ; and made ' seech thee, our beiufactor and saviour, to 
 them build temples, and raise idol altars, in give order to Apolloniiis, the governor of this 
 every city and village, and oiler swine upon part of the country, and to Nicanor, the pro- 
 them every day. He also conjmanded them curator of thy atl'airs, to give us no (iisturb- 
 not to circiuiicisc their sons, and threatened ance, nor to lay to our charge what the Jews 
 to punish aiiy that should be found to have i are accused for, since we are aliens from 
 transgressed his injunction. He also ap- their nation and from their customs ; but let 
 pointed overseers, who should compel them our ten;ple, which at present hath no name 
 to do v^hat he commanded. And indeed at all, be named the Temple of Jupiter Hei- 
 many Jews there were v. !:o complied with the lenius. If this were once done, we should 
 king's conmiands, eitiiti voluntarily, or out be no longer disturbed, but shoidd be more 
 of fear of the penalty that was denounced : \ intent on our own occupation with quietness, 
 but the best men, and those of the noblest | and so bring in a greater revenue to thee." 
 
 I When tlic Samaritans had petitioned for this, 
 
 • Thiscit.itlcl,of whicliwclmesnch fri-(,iiriit inon-l tiic king sent them back the following an- 
 
 )n in tlic tullowiiig liistury, Ixjln 111 llic MaiviilKis and I . ° . . ,, .-• , • 
 
 isephus, scemsto |i.ivi- U'cn a castU- Ijinlioii a lull, ;swer in an epistle :—" King Antioclius to 
 
 Nicanor. The Sidonians, wlio live at She- 
 chem, have sent me the memorial inclosed. 
 
 tinii I 
 
 Josepliu 
 
 lowcT than Mount '/.ion. iliouRh upon its skills, ami ! Jijicanor. The Sidonians, wlio live at She- 
 
 hipiiir Ihan Mount Morinli, but Ixlwcfn thi-ni bo(li;| 
 
 which lull ihe ( ncmits oi 'he Jr«s now got iios^ession 
 
 of, anil liiiilt on It tl-.i.< citadel, and roriM'icil it, till a 
 
 ^ood while afterwards the .lews reKaincsl it, deiii(ili>hed 
 
 It, and levelled the hill itsc-lf with the common ground, 
 
 that thtir enemies might no more recover it, and might 
 
 thence overlook the temple it>elf, and do them mch 
 
 mischief as ihey I'lul lung undergone from it. Aniiq. 
 
 b xiii, cli. vi, sccu ti. , 
 
 t This allegation of the Samaritans Is remarkable, 
 that though llicy were not Jews, yet did Ihi'V, from an- 
 cient times, oliservc the .'^abl)iith-day, and, as they tisiv 
 where pretend, the Sablxitic \'ear'aliO. Anliii. b. xi, 
 "li viii, sect. 6. 
 
 ^ 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 When, therefore, we were advising with our 
 friends about it, the messengers sent by them 
 represented to us that they are no way con- 
 cerned with accusations 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, 
 agreeable to their petition, their temple be 
 nauied the Temple of Jupiter Hellenius." 
 He also sent the like epistle to Apollonius, 
 the governor of that part of the country, in the 
 forty-sixth year, and the eighteenth day of the 
 month Hecatombeon, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW, UPOK ANTIOCHUS'S PROHIEITON TO THE 
 JEWS TO MAKE USE OF THE LAWS OF THEIR 
 COUNTRY, MATTATHIAS, THE SON OF ASA- 
 MONEUS, ALONE DESPISED THE KING, AND 
 OVERCAME THE GENERALS OF ANTIOCHUS's 
 ARMY : AS ALSO CONCERNING THE DEATH 
 OF MATTATHIAS, AND THE SUCCESSION OF 
 JUDAS. 
 
 § 1. Now at this time there was one whose 
 name was Mattathias, who dwelt at Modin, 
 the son of John, the son of Simeon, the sou of 
 Asamoneus, a priest of the order of Joarib, 
 and a citizen of Jerusalem. He had five 
 sons ; John, who was called Gaddis, and Si- 
 mon, who was called Matthes, and Judas, 
 who was called Maccabeus,* and Eleazar, 
 who was called xluran, and Jonathan, who 
 was called Apphus. Now this Mattathias 
 lamented to his children the sad state of their 
 affairs, and the ravage made in the city, and 
 the plundering of the temple, and (he cala- 
 mities the multitude were under; and he told 
 them that it was better for them to die for 
 the laws of their country, than to live so in- 
 gloriously as they then did. 
 
 2. But when those that were appointed by 
 the king were come to Modin, that they might 
 compel the Jews to do what they were com- 
 manded, and to enjoin those that were there 
 to offer sacrifice, as the king had commanded, 
 they desired that Mattathias, a person of the 
 greatest character among them, both on other 
 accounts, and particularly on account of such 
 a numerous and so deserving a family of cliil- 
 dren, would begin the sacrifice, because his 
 fellow-citizens would follow his example, and 
 because such a procedure would make him 
 
 » That thij appeUation of Maccabec was not first of 
 sll given to Judas Maccabeus, nor was derived from any 
 initial letters of the Hebrew words on his banner, " Mi 
 Kamoka Be Klim, Jehovah ?" (" Who is like unto thee 
 among the gods, O Jehovah?") Exod. xv, 11, as the 
 modern Rabbins vainly pretend, see Authent. Rec. 
 jiart i, p. 2(1.5, 206. Only we may note, by the way, 
 that the original name of these N^^ccabces, and their 
 posterity, was Asamoneans- wnieli was derived from 
 Asamoneus, the great-granafather of Alattatlyas, as Jo- 
 icphus here informs us. op 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 329 
 
 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 indignation, 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 
 the idol altar, and cried out, " If," said he, 
 " any one be zealous for the laws of his coun- 
 try, and for the worship of God, let him fol- 
 low me;" and when he had said this, he made 
 haste into the desert with his sons, and left 
 all his substance in the Tillage. Many others 
 did the same also, and fled with their children 
 and wives into the desert and dwelt in caves; 
 but when the king's generals heard this, they 
 took all the forces they then had in the cita- 
 del 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 according 
 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 en- 
 trances 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 a thousand, with 
 their wives and children, who were smotliered 
 and died in these caves : but many of those 
 that escaped joined themselves to Jlattathias, 
 and appointed him to be their ruler, who 
 taught them to fight even on the Sabbath-day; 
 and told tiiem that unless they would do so, 
 they would become their own enemies, byob- 
 serving the law [so rigorously], while their 
 adversaries would still assault them on this 
 day, and they would not then defend them- 
 selves; and tliat nothing could then hinder 
 but they must all perish without fighting 
 This speech persuaded them ; and this rule 
 continues among us to this day, that if there 
 be a necessity, we may fight on Sabbath-days. 
 So Mattathias got a great army about him, 
 and overthrew their idol altars, and slew those 
 that l)roke the laws, even all that he could 
 get under his power ; for many of them were 
 dispersed among the nations round about them 
 for fear of him. He also commanded that 
 those boys who went not yet tircumcised 
 
330 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XII 
 
 slioiild be circtinic-isod now ; and he drove 
 tliose auay tliat were appointed to liinder sucli 
 llieir ci^Clm1ci^iol). 
 
 3. Hut when lie had ruled one year, and 
 was fallen into a distemper, he tailed for his 
 sons, and set them round about him, and 
 said, " O my sons, I am going the way of all 
 the earth; and I recommend U< you my re- 
 solution, and beseech you not to be neglig'jnt 
 in keeping it, but to be mindful of the de- 
 sires of him who begat ynu, and brouglit you 
 up, and to preserve the customs of your coun- 
 try, and to recover your ancient form of go- 
 vernment, which is in danger of being over- 
 turned, 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 tliis, by 
 just reasoning, that if God see that you are 
 so disposed he will not overlook you, but 
 will have a great value for your virtue, and 
 will restore 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 mortal, and sub- 
 ject to fate; but they receive a sort of immor- 
 tality, by the remeinbrance of what actions 
 they have done; and I would have you so in 
 love with this immortality, that you inay 
 pursue after glory, and that, when you have 
 undergone the greatest difficulties, you may 
 not scruple, for such things, to lose your lives. 
 I exhort you especially to agree one with an- 
 other ; and in what excellency any one of 
 you exceeds another, to yield to him so far, 
 iuid by tliat means to reap the advantage of 
 every one's own virtues. Do you then es- 
 teem Simon as your father, because he is a 
 man of extraordinary prudence, and be go- 
 verned by him in what counsels he gives you. 
 Take Maccabeus for the general of your ar- 
 my, because of his courage and strcngtii, for he 
 will avenge your nation, and will bring ven- 
 geance on your enemies. Admit among you 
 the righteous and religious, and augment their 
 power. ' 
 
 4. When Mattathias had thus discoursed to 
 liis sons, and had prayed to (lod to be their 
 assistant, and to recover to the people their 
 former constitution, he ilied a little al'terwanl, 
 and was buried at i\lodin ; all the ])et)ple mak- 
 ing great lamentation for iiim. Whereupon 
 his son Judas took upon him tlie administra- 
 tion of i>ublic affairs, in theliundied and for- 
 ty-sixth year; and thus, by the ready assist- 
 ance of his brethren, and of others, Judas 
 cast their enemies out of thecountiy, and put 
 liiose of their own country to death a tio had 
 transgrossed its laws, and pnrilied the land of 
 itll the pollutions that were in it. 
 
 CIIAPTEIl VII. 
 
 now JUOAS OVKIITHIIKW THK FORCES OF APOI-- 
 LONIIJS AND SI.KON, AND KILLED THE GE- 
 NEllALS OF THEIll AKiMIES THEMSELVES; 
 AND HOW WHEN, A LITTLE WHILE AFrEK- 
 WARD, LYSIAS AND GOUGIAS WEHE BEATEN, 
 HE WENT UP TO JEKLbALEM, AND PL'UIHED 
 THE TEMPLE. 
 
 § 1. When Apollonius, the general of the 
 Samaritan forces, heard this, he took his ar- 
 my, and maile haste to go ag;;inst Judas, who 
 met him, and joined battle with him, and beat 
 him, and slew many of his men, and among 
 them Ajjollonius himself, their general, whose 
 sword, being that which he happened then to 
 wear, he seized upon and kcjit for himself; but 
 he wounded more than he slew, and took a 
 great deal of i)rey from the enemy's camp, and 
 went his way; but when Seron, who was ge- 
 neral of tlie army of Celesyria, heard that 
 many had joined themsehes to Judas, and 
 that he had about him an army sufficient for 
 fighting and for making war, he determined 
 to make an expedition against Iiim, as think- 
 ing it became Iiim to endeavour to punish 
 those that transgressed the king's injunctions. 
 He then got together an army, as large as ha 
 was able, and joined to it the runagate and 
 wicked Jews, and came against Judfls. He 
 then came as far as Bethoron, a village of Ju- 
 dea, and there pitched his camp ; upon whicli 
 Judas met him, and when he intended to give 
 him battle, he saw that his soldiers were back- 
 ward to fight, because their ntnnbor was small, 
 and because they wanted food, for they were 
 fasting, he encouraged them, and sdid to tliem, 
 that victory and conquest of enemies are not 
 derived from the multitude in armies, but in 
 the exercise of piety towards God ; and that 
 they had the plainest instances in their forefa- 
 thers, who^ I)y their righteoHsness, and exert- 
 ing themselves on behalf of iheir own laws, 
 and their own children, had frecjuently con- 
 quered many ten thousands, — for innocence 
 is the strongest army. By this speech he in- 
 duced his men to contemn the multitude of 
 the enemy, and to fall upon Seron ; and up- 
 on joining l).ittle with him, he beat the Syri- 
 ans ; and when their general fell among the 
 rest, they all ran away vsith speed, as tiiink- 
 ing that to be their best way of escaping. So 
 he pursued them unto the j)lain, and slew 
 about eight hundred of the enemy ; but the 
 rest escaped to the region which lay near to 
 the sea. 
 
 'J. When king Antiochus heard of these 
 things, he was veiy angry at what had hap- 
 pened ; so he got together all his own army, 
 with manv mercenaries, whom lie had hired 
 from the islands, ami look them with him, and 
 prepared tu break into Judea about the be- 
 
CUAP. VH. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 331 
 
 ginning of the spring ; but when, upon his 
 mustering liis soldiers, he perceived tliat his 
 treasures were deficient, 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 mag- 
 nanimous and so lil)eral that what lie had was 
 not sufficient for him, he therefore resolved 
 first to go into Persia, and collect the taxes 
 of that country. Hereupon he left one whose 
 name was Lysias, who was in great repute 
 with him, governor 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 con- 
 quer Judea, and take its inhabitants for slaves, 
 and utterly destroy 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 hundred and 
 forty-seventh year, he passed over Euphrates, 
 and went to the superior provinces. 
 
 3. Upon this Lysias chose Ptolemy, the 
 son of Uorymenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgias, 
 very potent men among the king's friends, and 
 delivered to them forty thousand foot-soldiers 
 and seven thousand horsemen, and sent them 
 against Judea, who came as far as the city 
 Emmaus, and pitched their camp in th^ plain 
 country. There came also to them auxiliaries 
 out of Syria, and the country round about ; 
 as also many of the runagate Jews ; and be- 
 sides these came some merchants to buy those 
 tliat should be carried captives (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 ene- 
 mies were, he persuaded his own soldiers to 
 be of good courage ; and exhorted them to 
 place their hopes of victory in God, and to 
 make supplication to him, according to the 
 custom of their country, clothed in sackcloth ; 
 and to show what was their usual habit of 
 supplication in the greatest dangers, and there- 
 by to prevail with God to grant you the victory 
 over your enemies. So he set them in their 
 ancientorder 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 gain- 
 ed 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 tlius disposed his soldiers, he encourag- 
 ed them to fight by the following speech, 
 wliich he made to them: — "O my fellow- 
 soldiers, no other time remains more oppor- 
 tune than the present for courage and con- 
 tempt of dangers ; for if you now fight maii- 
 fully, you may recover your liberty, which, as 
 It is a thing of itself agreeable to all liten, so it. 
 
 proves to be to us much more desirable, by 
 its affording us the liberty of worshipping 
 God. Since, therefore, you are in such cir- 
 cumstances 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 beat in this battle. Fight therefore man- 
 fully; and suppose that you must die, though 
 you do not fight ; but believe, that besides 
 such glorious rewards as those of the liberty 
 of your country, of your laws, of your religion, 
 you shall then obtain everlasting glory. Pre- 
 pare 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 morning." 
 
 4 And this was the speech which Judas 
 made to encourage them. But when the ene- 
 my sent Gorgias, with five thousand foot and 
 one thousand horse, that he might fall upon 
 Judas by night, and had for that purpose cer- 
 tain of the runagate Jews as guides, the son 
 of Mattathias perceived it, and resolved to fall 
 upon those enemies that were in their camp, 
 now their forces were divided. When they 
 had therefore supped 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 were retired 
 and had hidden themselves among the moun-- 
 tains, he resolved to go and seek them where- 
 soever they were. But, about break of day, 
 Judas appeared to those enemies that were at 
 Emmaus, with only three thousand 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 encourag- 
 ed the Jews, and told them, that they ought 
 to fight, though it were with their naked bo- 
 dies, 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 tho enemy 
 when they did not expect it, and thereby a- 
 stonishing and disturbing their minds, he slew 
 many of those that resisted him, and went on 
 pursuing the rest as fir as Gadara, and the 
 plains of Idumea, and Ashdod, and Jamnia: 
 and of these there fell. about three thousand. 
 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 Jiim : but that 
 when they had once overcome them, then they 
 might securely plunder the camp, because 
 they were the only enemies remaiiiii'.g, and 
 they expected no others. And just as he was 
 speaking to his soldiers, Gorgias's men look> 
 ed down into that army which they left in 
 
V, 
 
 3;^2 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEW'S. 
 
 BOOK. XII 
 
 their camp, and saw that it was overthrown, 
 and the camp burnt; for the smoke that a- 
 rose from it showed them, even when tiiey 
 were a great way off, what had happened. 
 Wlien, therefore, those that were with Gor- 
 gias understood tliat things were in this pos- 
 ture, and perceived that those that wove with 
 Judas were ready to fight tliem, they also 
 were affrighted, and put to flight; but then 
 Judas, as though he had already beaten Gor- 
 gias's soldiers without fighting, returned and 
 seized on the spoils. He took a great quan- 
 tity 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. 
 
 5. Hereupon Lysias was confounded at the 
 defeat of the army which he had sent, and the 
 next year he got together sixty thousand cho- 
 sen men. He also took fire thousand horse- 
 men, 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 ten thousand men ; and 
 when he saw the great number of his enemies, 
 he prayed to God that he would assist him, 
 and joined battle with the first of the enemy 
 that appeared, and beat them, and slew about 
 five thousand cf them, and thereby became 
 terrible to the rest of them. Nay, indeed, 
 Lysias observing the great si>irit 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 were real 
 strength, lie took the rest of the army back 
 with him, and returned to Antioch, where he 
 listed foreigners into the service, and prepared 
 to fall upon Judea with a greater army. 
 
 6 When, therefore, the generals of Antio- 
 chus's armies had been beaten so often, Judas 
 assembled the people together, and told them, 
 tliat after these many victories which God 
 had given them, they ought to go up to Jeru- 
 salem, and purify the temple, and offer the 
 appointed sacrifices. But as soon as he, with 
 the whole multitude, was come to Jerusalem, 
 and found the temple deserted, and its gates 
 burnt down, and plants growing in the tem- 
 ple of their own accord, on account of its de- 
 sertion, he and those that were with him be- 
 gan to lament, and were quite confounded at 
 the sight of tlie temple ; so he cliose 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 candle- 
 stick, the taljle [of shew-bread], and the altar 
 [of incense], which were made of gold, he 
 hung up the veils 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 five and twentieth day of the month Ca*. 
 leu, which the Macedonians call Apelleus, 
 they lighted the lamps that were on tlie can- 
 dlestick, and offered incense upon the altar 
 [of incense,], and laid tlie loaves upon the 
 table [of shew-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 reduced 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 hundred forty and fifth year, 
 on the twenty-fifth day of the month Apel- 
 leus, and on the hundred and fifty-third o- 
 lympiad : but it was dedicated anew, on the 
 same day, the twenty-fifth of the month A- 
 pelleus, in the hundred and forty-eiglith year, 
 and on the hundred and fifty-fourth olympiad 
 And this desolation came to pass according 
 to the prophecy of Daniel, which was given 
 four hundred and eight years before; for he 
 declared tliat the Macedonians would dissolve 
 that worship [for some time]. 
 
 7. Now Judas celebrated the festival of 
 the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple 
 for eight days; and omitted no sort of plea- 
 sures thereon : but he feasted them upon very 
 rich and splendid sacrifices ; 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 intermission, they unexpectedly had 
 regained the freedom of their worship, that 
 they made it a 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 cele- 
 brate this festival, and call it Lights. I sup- 
 pose the reason was, because this liberty be- 
 yond our hopes appeared 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 
 tlie incursions of enemies, and set guards 
 therein. He also fortified the city Beth- 
 sura, that it might serve as a citadel against any 
 distresses that mijfht come from our enemies. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 HOW JUDAS SUBDUED THE NATION'S ROUND 
 ABOUT ; AND HOW SIMON BEAT THE PEO- 
 PLE OF TYRE AND PTOI.EMAIS ; AND HOW 
 JUDAS OVERTHREW TIMOTHEUS, AND FORCED 
 IHM TO FLY AWAY, AND DID MANY OTHER 
 THINGS AFTER JOSEPH AND AZARIAS HAD 
 BEEN BEATEN. 
 
 § 1. When these things were over, the na- 
 tions round about the Jews were very un 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 easy 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 making secret conspiracies a- 
 gainst them. Judas made perpetual expedi- 
 tions against these men, and endeavoured to 
 restrain them from those incursions, and to 
 prevent the mischiefs they did to the Jews, 
 So he fell upon the Iduraeans, the posterity 
 of Esau, at Acrabattene, and slew a great ma- 
 ny 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]. Af- 
 ter this he went thence in haste against the 
 Ammonites, who had a great and a numerous 
 army, of which Timotheus was the command- 
 er. And when he had subdued them, he 
 seized on the city Jazer, and took their wives 
 and their children captives, and burnt the 
 city, and then returned into Judea. But 
 when the neighbouring nations understood 
 tint he was 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 Da- 
 thema ; and sent to Judas, to inform him that 
 , Timotheus was endeavouring to take the 
 place whither they were fled. And as these 
 epistles were reading, there came other mes- 
 sengers out of Galilee, who informed him that 
 the inhabitants of Ptolemais, and of Tyre and 
 Sidon, and strangers of Galilee, were gotten 
 together. 
 
 2. Accordingly Judas, upon considering 
 what was fit to be done with relation to the 
 necessity both these cases required, gave or- 
 der that Simon his brother should take three 
 thousand 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 eight thousand 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 ene- 
 my, and put them to flight, and pursued them 
 to the very gates of Ptolemais, and slew about 
 three thousand 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. 
 
 3. Now as for Judas Maccabeus, and his 
 brother Jonathan, they passed over the river 
 Jordan ; and when they had gone three days' 
 journey, they lighted upon the Nabateans, who 
 came to meet them peaceably, and who told 
 them how the afiTairs of those in the land of 
 Galilee stood, and how many of them were 
 in distress, and driven into garrisons, and in- 
 to the cities of Galilee ; and exhorted him to 
 •nake haste to <jo ajrainst tlio foreigners, and 
 
 333 
 
 to endeavour to save his own countrymen out 
 of their hands. To this exhortation Judas 
 hearkened, and returned into the wilderness ; 
 and in the first place fell upon the inhabitants 
 of Bosor, and took the city, and beat the in- 
 habitants, 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 Judas came upon the city in 
 the morning ; and when he found that the 
 enemy were making an assault upon the 
 walls, and that some of them brought ladders, 
 on which they might get upon those walls 
 and that others brought engines [to battel 
 them], he bid the trumpeter to sound his trum- 
 pet, and he encouraged his soldiers cheerful- 
 ly to undergo dangers for the sake of their 
 brethren and kindred ; he also parted his ar- 
 my 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 suf 
 ficient experience, they were put to flight ; 
 but Judas followed them with his army, and 
 slew about eight thousand of them. He then 
 turned aside to a city of the foreigners called 
 Malie, and took it, and slew all the males, 
 and burnt the city itself. He then removed 
 from thence, and overthrew Casphora and 
 Bosor, and many other cities of the land ot 
 Gilead. 
 
 4. But not long after this, Timotheus pre- 
 pared a great army, and took many others as 
 auxiliaries ; and induct i some of the Arabi- 
 ans, by the promise of rewards, to go with 
 him in this expedition, and came with his ar- 
 my beyond the brook, over against the city 
 Rsphon : and he encouraged his soldiers, it 
 it came to a battle with the Jews, to fight cou- 
 rageously, and to hinder their passing over 
 the brook ; for he said to them beforehand, 
 that, " if they come over it, we shall be beat- 
 en." And when Judas heard that Timotheus 
 prepared himself to fight, he took all his own 
 army, and went in haste against Timotheus 
 his enemy ; and when he had passed over the 
 brook, he fell upon his enemies, and some ot 
 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 some of them fled 
 to what was called the Temple of Carnaim, 
 and hoped thereby to preserve themselves; 
 but Judas took the city, and slew them, and 
 burnt the temple, and so used several ways of 
 destroying his eaemies, 
 
 5, AV'hen 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 was come to a certain city 
 
 J- 
 
_/" 
 
 834 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 tlw name of wliicli was Ephron, that lay up- 
 on the roail (and as it was not possible for 
 liini to go any othur way, so he was not will- 
 ing to go back again), he then sent to the in- 
 habitants, and desired that they would open 
 their gates, and permit them to go on tlieir 
 way through the city ; for they had stopped 
 up the gates witli stones, and cut off' their pas- 
 sage through it. And when the inhabitants 
 of Ephron would not agree to tliis 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, tliat they went over the dead 
 Dodies. So they came over Jordan, and ar- 
 rived 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 bat- 
 tles, f 
 
 C. But as to Joseph, the son of Zacharias, 
 and Azarias, whom Judas left generals [of the 
 rest of his forces] at the same time when Si- 
 mon was in Galilee, fighting against the peo- 
 ple 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 generals in war, in order whereto 
 they took the army that was under their com- 
 mand, and came to Jamnia. There Gorgias, 
 the general of the forces of Jamnia, met 
 them ; and upon joining battle with him, they 
 lost two tliousand of their army, ^ and fled 
 away, and were pursued to the very borders 
 of Judea. And this misfortune befel them 
 by their disobedience to what injimctions Ju- 
 das had given them, not to fight with anyone 
 before his return. r"or besides the rest of 
 Judas's sagacious counsels, one may well 
 wonder at this concerning the misfortune that 
 
 • The rc.ison why Rcthslian was called Scjlliopolis 
 s well known from lleroilotus, D. i, page l'J5, and Syn- 
 
 ccllus, !>. '-'11, that the Scythians, when they over-fan 
 Asia, ill the daysof Josiah, seized on this city, and kept 
 it iVi long as tlicy eoritiniied in Asia; from which time 
 it retained the name of ijcythoixjlis, or the City of the 
 Scythians. 
 
 f This most providential preservation ot all the reli- 
 gious Jews in this expeilition, which was aeeordnig to 
 the will of God, is obsenable often among Lioil's peo- 
 ple, the Jews; and somewhat very like it in the changes 
 of the four monarchies, which were also providential. 
 Sec I'rideaux at the ye.irs 331, 355, and 331. 
 
 * Here is another great insUince of providence, that 
 when, even at the very time that Simon, and Judas, 
 and Jonathan, were so miraculously pri'servctl and ble>- 
 se<l, in the just defence of their laws and religion, these 
 other generals of the Jews, who went to fight for hon- 
 our in a vainglorious way, .-ind without any commission 
 from (IchI, or the taniily he had raised uyt to deliver 
 them, were miserably disap|K)inte<l aiid delealed. Sec 
 I M.iccab. V, tii, ti:i. 
 
 BOOK XII 
 
 befel the forces commanded by Joseph and 
 Azarias, which he understood would happen 
 if tliey broke any of the injunctions he liad 
 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 towers on fire, 
 and burnt tlie country of tlie foreigners, and 
 the city IVIarissa. Tliey came also to Ash- 
 dod, and took it, and laid it waste, and took 
 away a great deal of the spoils and prey that 
 were in it, and returned to Judea. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CONCERNING THE DEATH OF ANTIOCHUS EPI- 
 PHANES HOW ANTIOCHUS ELPATOK KOL'GHT 
 AGAINST JUDAS, AND BESIEGED HIM IN THE 
 TEMPLE, AND APrEIlWAIlDS MADE PEACE 
 WITH UI.M, AND DEP^VRTED. OF ALCIMUS 
 AND ONIAS. 
 
 § 1. About this time it was that king An- 
 tiochus, as he was going over the upper coun- 
 tries, 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 donations dedicated to it ; as also 
 weapons and breast-plates, which, upon in- 
 quiry, lie found had been left there by Alex- 
 ander, the son of Philip, king of Macedonia; 
 and being incited by these motives, he went 
 in haste to Elymais, and assaulted it, and be- 
 sieged 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 off' his hopes ; for they drove him aw.-iy 
 from the city, and went out and pursued af. 
 ter him, insomuch tliat he tied away as far as 
 Babylon, and lost a great many of his army ; 
 and when he was grieving for tliis disappoint- 
 ment, some persons told him of the defeat of 
 his commanders whom he had left behind him 
 to fight against Juilea, and what strength tlie 
 .Tews 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 distemper, wliicii, as it last- 
 e<l a great while, and as his pains increased 
 upon him, so he at lengtli 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 mi- 
 series he had brought upon the Jewish nation, 
 while he plundered their temple and contemn- 
 ed their God ; and when he had said this, he 
 gave up the ghosU Whence one may wonder at 
 Polybius of Megalopolis, who, though other- 
 wise a good man, yet saith that " Antiochus 
 died, because he had a purpose to plunder the 
 temple of Diana in Persia;" for the purpos- 
 
 "X 
 
-v_ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 ing to do a thing,* but not actually doing it, 
 is not worthy of punishment. But if Poly- 
 bius could think that Antiochus thus lost liis 
 life on that account, it is much more probable 
 that this king died on account of his sacrilegi- 
 ous plundering of tiie temple at Jerusalem, 
 But we will not contend about this matter 
 with those who may think tliat the cause as- 
 signed by this Polybius of Megalopolis is 
 nearer the truth than that assigned by us. 
 
 2. However, Antiochus, before he died, 
 called for Philip, who was one of his compa- 
 nions, and made him the guardian of his king- 
 ■lom ; and gave him his diadem, and his gar- 
 ment, and his ring, and charged him to carry 
 them, and deliver them to his son Antiochus; 
 and desired him to take care of his education, 
 and to preserve the kingdom for him. f This 
 Antiochus died in the hundred forty and ninth 
 year : but it was Lysias tliat declared his 
 death to the multitude, and appointed his son 
 Antiochus to be king (of whom at present he 
 bad the care), and called him Eupator. 
 
 3. At this time it was that the garrison 
 in the citadel at Jerusalem, with the Jewish 
 runagates, did a great deal of harm to the 
 Jews : for the soldiers that were in that gar- 
 rison rushed out upon the sudden, and de- 
 stroyed such as were going up to the temple 
 in order to offer their sacrifices, for this cita- 
 del adjoined to and overlooked the temple. 
 When these misfortunes had often happened 
 to them, Judas resolved to destroy that garri- 
 son ; whereupon he got all tlie people toge- 
 ther, and vigorously besieged those that were 
 in the citadel. This was in the hundred and 
 fiftieth year of the dominion of the Seleuci- 
 da. So lie made engines of war, and erect- 
 ed bulwarks, and very zealously pressed on 
 to take the citadel. But there were not a few 
 of the runagates who were in the place, that 
 went out by night into the country, and got 
 together some other wicked men like them- 
 selves, and went to Antiochus the king, and 
 desired of him that he would not suffer tliem 
 to be neglected, under the great hardships that 
 lay upon them from those of their own nation ; 
 and this because their sufferings were occasion- 
 ed on his father's account, while they left the 
 religious worship of their fathers, and preferred 
 that which he had commanded them to fol- 
 low : that there was danger lest the citadel, 
 aad those appointed to garrison it by the king, 
 
 • Since St Paul, a Pharisee, confesses that he had not 
 known concupisfenee, or desires, to be sinful, had not 
 the tenth commandment said " Thou shall not covet," 
 Rom. vii, 7 ; the case bcems to have been much the same 
 with oiii Josophus, who was of the same sect, that he 
 had not a deep sense of the greatness of any sins that 
 proceeded no farther than tl-.e intention. However, 
 since Josephus speaks properly of the punishment of 
 death, which is not inflicted by any law, either of (Jod 
 or man, for the bare intention, his words need not be 
 strained to mean, that sins inteudtd, but not executed, 
 were no sins at all. 
 
 t No wonder that Josephus here describes Antiochus 
 Eupator as young, and wanting tuition, when he came 
 to the crown, since Appian informs i;s (Syriac. p. ^^^) 
 that he was then but uiiie yeirs old. '-^ 
 
 335 
 
 should be taken by Judas and those that were 
 with him, unletss he would send them suc- 
 cours. When Antiochus, who was but a child, 
 heard this, he was angry, and sent for his cap- 
 tains and his friends, and gave order that they 
 should get an army of mercenaries together, 
 with such men also of his own kingdom as 
 were of an age fit for war. Accordingly an 
 army was collected of about a hundred thou- 
 sand footmen, and twenty thousand horsemen, 
 and thirty-two elephants. 
 
 4. So the king took this army, and march- 
 ed hastily out of Antioch, with Lysias, who 
 had the command of the whole, and came to 
 Idumea, and thence went up (k) the city Beth- 
 sura, a city that was strong, and not to be 
 taken without great difficulty. He set about 
 this city, and besieged it ; and while the in- 
 habitants 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 cita- 
 del, and met the king, and pitched his camp 
 in certain straits, at a place called Bethzacha- 
 riah, at the distance of seventy furlongs from 
 the enemy ; but the king soon drew his forces 
 from Bethsura, and brought them to those 
 straits j and as soon as it was day, he put his 
 men in battle-array, and made his elephant? 
 follow one another through the narrow passes, 
 because they could not be set sideways by 
 one another. Now round about every ele- 
 phant there were a thousand footmen and five 
 hundred horsemen. The elephants 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 tliat a glorious 
 splendour was sent from them ; and w ben 
 they shouted, the mountains echoed again. 
 When Judas saw this, he was not terrified, 
 but received the enemy with great courage, 
 and slew about six hundred of the first ranks. 
 But when his brother Eleazar, whom they 
 called Auran, saw the tallest of all the ele- 
 phants armed with royal breast-plates, and 
 supposed that the king was upon hitn, he 
 attacked him with great quickness and bra- 
 very. He also slew many of those that were 
 about the elephant, and scattered the rest, 
 and then went under the belly of the ele- 
 phant, 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 cou- 
 rageously destroyed many of In's enemies. 
 
 5. But Judas, seeing the strength of the 
 eneiny, retired to Jerusalem, and prepared to 
 endure a siege. As for Antiochus, he sent 
 part of his arrny to Bethsura, to besiege it, 
 and with the rest of his armv he came against 
 
 "X. 
 
 _r^ 
 
^^ 
 
 336 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XII 
 
 Jerusalem ; but the inhabitants of Bethsura 
 were terrified at his strength ; and seeing 
 that their provisions grew scarce, tliey deli- 
 vered themselves u)) 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 garrison of his own in the city : but 
 as for the temple of Jerusalem, he lay at its 
 ficge a long time, while they within bravely 
 defended it ; for what engines soever the king 
 set against them, they set other engines again 
 to oppose them. But then their provisions' 
 failed them; what fruitsof the ground they had 
 laid up were spent, and the land being not 
 ploughed that year, continued unsowed, be- 
 cause it was the seventh year, on which, by 
 our laws, we are obliged to let it lie unculti- 
 vated. And withal, so many of the besieged 
 ran away for want of necessaries, that but a 
 few only were left in the temple. 
 
 6. And these happened to be the circum- 
 stances of such as were besieged in the tem- 
 ple. But then, because Lysias, the general 
 of the army, and Antiochus, the king, were 
 informed that Philip was coming upon them 
 out oi" 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 Phi- 
 lip ; 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 
 >vord 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 re- 
 gulation ; and that it was much better to 
 make a league with the besieged, and to be- 
 come friends to their whole nation, by per- 
 mitting them to observe the laws of their fa- 
 thers, while they broke out into this war only 
 because they were deprived of them, and so to 
 depart home. Wiien Lysias had discoursed 
 thus with them, both the army and the officers 
 were jjleased with this resolution. 
 
 7. 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 according to 
 the laws of their fathers ; and they gladly re- 
 ceived his proposals ; and when they had 
 gained security upon oath for their perfonn- 
 ance, they went out of the temple : but when 
 Antiochus came into it, and saw how strong 
 the place was, he broke his oatlis, and ordered 
 ills army that was there to pluck down the 
 walls to the ground; and «lien he had so 
 done, he returned to Antioch. He also car- 
 ried with him Onias the high-priest, %\ho was 
 also called Menelaus ; for Lysias advised tiie 
 king to slay JVIenelaus, if he would have the 
 
 Jcwsbcquiet, and cause him no farther disturb- 
 ance, for that this man was the origin of all 
 the mischief the Jews had «lone them, by per 
 suading his father to compel the Jews to leave 
 the relij^ion 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 com])clled his 
 nation to transgress their own laws. After 
 the death of ISIenelaus, Alcimus, who was 
 also called Jacimus, was made high-priest. 
 But when king Antiochus foimd that Philip 
 had already possessed himself of the govern- 
 ment, 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 informed 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 dignity from his fa- 
 mily 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. 
 
 HOW 3ACCIIIDES, THE GENERAL OF DENtETRl- 
 US'S ARMY, MADE AN EXPEDITION AGAINST 
 JUDEA, ANP RETURNED WITHOLT SLCCESS ; 
 AND HOW NICANOR WAS SENT A LITTLE AF- 
 TERWARD AGAINST JUDAS, AND PERISHED, 
 TOGETHER WITH HIS ARMY ; AS ALSO CON- 
 CERNING THE DEATH OFALCIJIUS, AND THE 
 SUCCESSION OF JUDAS. 
 
 § 1. About the same time Demetrius, the 
 son of Seleucus, fled away from Kome, and 
 took Tripoli, a city of Syria, and set the dia- 
 dem on his own head. He also gathered cer- 
 (tain mercenary soldiers together, and entered 
 I into his kingdom, and was joyfully received 
 I l)y all, who deliveied themselves up to him; 
 and when they had taken Antiochus, the 
 king, and Lysias, they brought them to him 
 alive ; both whom were immediately put to 
 death by the command of Demetrius, when 
 Antiochus had reigned two years, as we have 
 already elsewhere related ; hut there were 
 now many of the wicked Jewish run:ig;itcs 
 that came togetlier to him, and with them 
 Alcimus the high-priest, who accused the 
 whole nation, and particularly Judas and his 
 hrethreif; anil said that they had slain all hij 
 friends ; and that those in his kingdom that 
 
 ^ 
 
J' 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 337 
 
 were of his party, and waited for his return, | the country, and sJew all that he could find 
 were by them (jut to death ; that these men of Judas's party; but when Judas saw that 
 had ejected them out of their own country, I Alcimus was already become great, and had 
 and caused them to be sojourners in a foreign ! destroyed many of the good and holy men o\ 
 land ; and tiiey desired that he would send j the country, he also went all over the country 
 some one of liis own friends, and know from and destroyed those that were of the other 
 him what mischief Judas's party had done, j party ; but when Alcimus saw that he was 
 2. At this Demetrius was very angry, and not able to oppose Judas, nor was equal to 
 Bent Bacchides, a friend of Antiochus Epi- him in strength, he resolved to apply himselt 
 phanes,* a good man, and one that had been to king Demetrius for his assistance ; so he 
 intrusted with all Mesopotamia, and gave him came to Antioch, and irritatetl him against 
 an army, and committed Alcimus the liigli- Judas, and accused him, alleging that he had 
 priest to his care; and gave him charge to | undergone a great many miseries by this 
 slav Judas, and those that were with him. | means, and that he would do more mischief 
 So Bacchides made haste, and went out of' unless I'.e were prevented, and brought to pu-- 
 Antioch with his army; and when he was ' nishment, which must be done by sending a 
 come into Judea, he sent to Judas and his powerfiil force against him. 
 brethren, to discourse with him about a league I 4. So Demetrius, being already of opininn 
 of friendship and peace, for he had a mind to | that it would be a thing pernicious to his own 
 take him by treachery ; but Judas did not | atlairs to overlook Judas, now he was becom- 
 give credit to him, for he saw that he cameling so great, sent against him Nicanor, the 
 with so great an army as men do not bring ] most kind and most faitliful of all his friends; 
 when tliey come to make peace, but to make j for he it was who fled away with him from 
 war. However, some of the people acqui- 1 the city of Rome. He also gave him as many 
 esced in what I5acchides caused to be pro- forces as he thouglit sufficient for him to con- 
 clainied ; and supposing tliey should undergo I quer Judas withal, and bade him not to spare 
 no considerable harm from Alcimus, who was \ the nation at all. When Nicanor was come 
 
 to Jerusalem, he did not resolve to fight Judas 
 immediately, 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 iiad delivered 
 tliis message, Judas and hisbrethren complied 
 witli 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 together, 
 he gave a certain signal to his own soldiers, 
 upon which they were to seize upon Judas; 
 but he perceived the treachery, and ran back 
 to his own soldiers, and fled away with them. 
 So upon this discovery of his purpose, and ot 
 the snares laid for Judas, Nicanor determined 
 to make open war with him, and gathered his 
 army together, and prepared for fighting him ; 
 and upon joining battle with him at a certain 
 village called Capharsalama, he beat Judas,-|- 
 and forced him to fly to that citadel which 
 was at Jerusalem. 
 
 5. And wlien Nicanor came down from the 
 citadel into the temple, some of the priests 
 and elders met him, and saluted him ; and 
 
 + Josephus's copies must have been corrupted v.hi n 
 they lieie give victory to Nicanor, contrary to the wonts 
 following, which imply, that lie who was beaten flcil 
 into tlic citadel, which far certain belonged to th<' city 
 of Da\id or to mount Zion, and was in the posst-sion 
 of Nieaiior's garrison, and not of Juda's: as also i< is 
 contrary to the express words of Joscpluis's ori ina) 
 author, 1 Maccab. vii, .52, who says thut .N'ivanor lost 
 about 5000 men, and fled to the city oi David. 
 2 F 
 
 their countryman, they went over to them ; 
 and when they b ad received oaths from both 
 of them, that neither they themselves nor 
 those of the same sentiments should come to 
 any harm, they intras'ed themselves v.iih 
 them; but Bacchides troubled not hiiiiself 
 about the oaths he had taken, lot slew three- 
 score of them, although, by not keeping his 
 faith with those that first went over, he de- 
 terred all the rest, who h;iJ intentions to go 
 over to him, from doing it ; but as he was 
 gone out of Jerusalem, and was at the village 
 called Betl'zetho, he sent out, and cauglit 
 many of the deserters, and some of the peo- 
 ple also, and slew them all : and enjoined all 
 tliat lived in the country to submit to Alci- 
 mus. So he left him there, with some part of 
 the army, that he might have wherewith to 
 keep Itie country in obedience, and returned 
 to Antioch to kirig Demetrius. 
 
 3. 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 man- 
 ner ; 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 
 
 « It is no way probable that Josephus would call 
 Bacchides, that bitter and bloody enemy of the Jews, 
 as our present copies have it, a man good, or kind, and 
 gentle. What the author of the first book of Maccabees, 
 whom Josephus here follows, instead of that character, 
 says of him, is, that he was a great man in the king- 
 dom, and faithful to his king; which was very probably 
 losephus's meaning also. ^ 
 
3.S8 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BUOK xir. 
 
 sliowcd him the sacrifices which they said 
 
 tlii'v oll'iTcd to God for the king : upon whicli 
 ho bhtsplienu'ii, and thrcateni'd tlioni, that iin- 
 k'ss tlic people would deliver up Judas to liim, 
 upon iiis return he would pull downtlicir tem- 
 ple. And when he had thus threatened ihcm, 
 lie departed from Jerusalem : but the priests 
 fell into tears out of grief at wliat he had said, 
 and besought Ciod to deliver them from their 
 enemies. Hut now Micanor, when he was 
 gone out of .Jerusalem, and was at a certain 
 village called Betlioron, he there pitched his 
 can)p, — another army out of Syria having 
 joined him. And Judas pitched liis camp at 
 Adasa, another village, which was thirty fur- 
 longs distant from liethoron, having no more 
 than one thousand soKiiers. And when he 
 had encouraged them not to be dismayed at 
 the multitude of tiieir enemies, nor to regard 
 how many they were against whom they were 
 going to fight, but to consider who tliey 
 tliemselves 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, wiiich 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 
 put to flight, and threw down their arms. 
 Judas also pursued them and slew them ; and ] 
 gave notice by the ^ound of his trumpets to 
 the neighbouring villages that he liad con- 
 quered the enemy ; which when the inhabi- 
 tants hiurd, tlu y put on their armour hastily, 
 and met their eiiemiesin the face as tliey were 
 running away, and slew them, insomuch that 
 not one of them escaped out of tliis battle ; 
 who were in number nine thousand. This 
 victory happened to fall on the thireenth day 
 of that mouth which by the Jews is called 
 Adar, and by the Macedonians Dystrus : and 
 the Jews therein celebrate this victory every 
 year, and esteem 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 stale of 
 wars and hazards. 
 
 6. IJut now as tlie high-priest Alcimus was 
 resolving to pull down the wall of the sanc- 
 tuary, whitl. had been there of old time, and 
 bad been bnilt by the holy prophets,' he was 
 smitten suddeidy by God, and fell down. 
 Tliis stroke made him fall down speechless 
 upon the ground ; and undergoing torments 
 for many days, he at length died, when lie 
 had been liigh-priest four years. And when 
 
 » This account of the miserable (icatJi of Alcimus or 
 Jacimus, the v. icUeil hiph-pricil (the lirst that was not 
 of the family of the high-priesls, and made bv a vile 
 heathen, Lysias), before the death of Judas, and of Ju- 
 das's succession to him as high-priest, both here and at 
 the conclusion of this book, directly contradicts 1 Mac. 
 ix, CA—fil, which places his death after the death of Ju- 
 das, aiid wy» not a syllable of the high-priesthmid of 
 iudas. 
 
 he was dead, the people bestowed the high- 
 priesthood on Jndas; who hearing of the power 
 of the lUimaiis, f and that they had conquered 
 in war Galatia, and Iberia, and Carthage, and 
 Lybia ; anil that, besides these, they had sub- 
 dued Greece, and their kings, Perseus, and 
 Philip, and Antiochus the Great also, he 
 resolved to enter into a league of friend- 
 ship with iheiii. He therefore sent to Home 
 some of his friends, Eupolemus the son of 
 .Tohn, and Jason the son of Eleazar, and by 
 them desired the Romans that they would as- 
 sist them, and be tlicir friends, and would 
 write to Demetrius that he would not fight 
 against the Jews. So the senate received the 
 ambassadors that came from Judus to Rome, 
 and discoursed with them about the errand on 
 which tlicy came, and then granted them a 
 league of assistance. They also mailc a de- 
 cree concerning it, and sent a copy of it into 
 Judea. It was also laid up in the capital, 
 and engraven in brass. Tlie 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 Romans 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 Romans shall 
 assist them, as far as they are able; and again, 
 if any attack be inade upon the Romans, 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 Ro- 
 mans. And whatsoever addition shall thus 
 be iTiade, it shall be of force." This decree 
 was written by Eupolemus the son of John, 
 and by Jason the son of Eleazar, | when Ju- 
 das was high-priest of the nation, and Simon 
 his brother was general of the army. And 
 this w as the first league that the Romans made 
 with the Jews, and was managed after tliis 
 manner. 
 
 CHAPTER XT. 
 
 THAT BAClHIOKS WAS AGAIN SKNT OUT AOAINST 
 JUDAS ; AND HOW JUDAS FELL AS Ht WAS 
 COURAGEOUSLY FIGHTING. 
 
 § 1. But when Demetrius was informed of 
 the death of Nicanor, and of the destruction 
 
 1 How well the Roman histories agrc-cto this account 
 of the conijuests and powerful condition of the Kom^ns 
 at this time,— SIC the notes in Havcicainp's e^lition : on- 
 ly, that the mimlK-r of the senators of Home was th< n 
 jiist 3'-'ll, is, I think, only known from 1 Maccab. v.ii, 
 
 t This subscription is wanlini;, 1 Maccab. viii, 17, 
 29, and must be the words of Joscphus, who, by mis. 
 lake, thought, as we have just now seen, that Judxs was 
 at this time high-pricst, and accordingly then reckoned 
 his brother Jonathan to be the general of the anr.y, 
 which yet he seems not to have been till after the dcaih 
 of Jndas- 
 
 'Y 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XI 
 
 of the army that was with him, he sent Bac- 
 chides again with an army into Judea, who 
 marched out of Antioch, and came into Ju- 
 dea, and pitched his camp at Aibt-la, a city of 
 Galilee ; and having besieged and taken ihoiC 
 that were in caves (for many of tlie 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 twenty thousand footmen, and two thou- 
 sand horsemen. Now Judas had no more 
 soldiers tlian one thousand.* When these 
 saw the multitude of Bacchides's men, they 
 were afraid, and left their camp, and fled all 
 away, excepting eight hundred. Now when 
 Judas was deserted by his own soldiei-s, and 
 the enemy pressed upon him, and gave him 
 no time to gather his army together, he was 
 disposed to fight with Bacchides's army, 
 though he had hut eight hundred men with 
 him ; so he exhorted these men to undergo 
 the danger courageously, and encouraged 
 them to attack the enemy. And when they 
 said they were not a body sufficient to fight 
 so great an army, and advised that they should 
 retire now and save themselves, and that when 
 he had gathered his own men together, then 
 he should fall upon the enemy after\vards, his 
 answer was this : — " Let not the sun ever 
 see such a thing, that I should siiow my buck 
 to the enemy; and although this be the tirne 
 that will bring me to my end, and I must die 
 in this battle, I will rather slaiivl to it cour 
 ageously, and bear whatsoever comi.s upon 
 me, than by now running away, bring re- 
 proach upon my former great actions, or tar- 
 nish their glory." This was the speech he 
 made to those that remained with him, and 
 whereby he encouraged them to attack the 
 enemy. 
 
 2. But Bacchides drew his army out of 
 their camp, and put them in array for the bat- 
 tle. He set the horsemen on both the wings, 
 and t-he light soldiers and the archers he 
 
 • That this copy of Josejihus, as he wrote it, haii 
 here not 1(!00 but 5;i00, with 1 Mat-, ix, .5, is very plain ; 
 because, though the main part ran away at first, even 
 in Josephus, as weli as in 1 Mac. ix, ti, yet, as there, so 
 here, H(iO are said to have remained with J udas ; wliich 
 would be absurd, if the whole number had been no more 
 than lUUO. 
 
 339 
 
 placed before the whole army, but was him- 
 self on the right wing. And wiien he iiad 
 thus put his army in order of battle, and was 
 going to join battle willi the enemy, he com- 
 manded the ti umi)eter to give a signal of bat- 
 tle, 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 sun-set, Judas saw that Bac- 
 chides and tlie strongest part of the army was 
 in the right wing, and thereupon took the 
 most courageous men with him, and ran up- 
 on 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 
 hitn, and catne behind Iiim, and took him in- 
 to tiie middle of their army ; so not being 
 able to fly, but encoinpassed round about 
 with enemies, lie stood still, and he and those 
 that were with him fought j and when he had 
 slain a great many of those that catne against 
 him, heat last was himself woundeil, and fell, 
 and gave up the ghost, and died in a way like 
 to his former famous actions. When Judas 
 was dead, those that were with him had no 
 one whom they could regard [as their com 
 inaiider] ; but when they saw themselves de 
 prived of such a general, they fled. But 
 Simon and Jonathan, Judas's brethren, re 
 ceived his dead body by a treaty from the ene- 
 my, and carried it to the village Modin, where 
 their father had been buried, and there buried 
 liim ; while the multitude lamented him ma- 
 ny days, and performed the usual soleinn 
 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 father 
 Mattatliias ; and had undergone all difficul- 
 ties, both in doing and suffering, for the li- 
 berty of his countrymen. And when his cha- 
 racter was so excellent [while lie was alive], 
 he left beiiind him a glorious reputation and 
 memorial, by gaining freedom for iiis nation, 
 and delivering them from slavery under the 
 the Macedonians. And when he had retained 
 the high-priesthood three years, he died 
 
BOOK XIII. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF EGHTY-TWO YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF JUDAS MACCABEUS TO QUEEN ALEXAN. 
 
 DIIA'S DEATH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. I 
 
 HOW JONATHAN TOOK THE GOVERNMENT AF- 
 TER HIS BROTHER JUDAS ; AND HOW HE. TO- 
 GETHER WITH HIS BROTHER SIMON, WAGED 
 WAR AGAINST BACCHIDES. 
 
 § 1. By what means the nation of the Jews 
 recovered their freedom when they had heen 
 brotigiit into slavery by the Macedonians, and 
 wliat 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 related in the foregoing book ; but 
 after he was dead, all the wicked, and those 
 '.hat transgressed the laws of their forefathers, 
 sprang up again in Judea, and grew upon 
 them, and distressed them on every side. A 
 famine also assisted their wickedness, and af- 
 flicted 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 
 gathered 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 deliver- 
 ed them up to Bacchides, who, when he 
 had, in the first place, tortured and tor- 
 mented them at his pleasure, he, by that 
 means, at length killed them. And when 
 this calamity of the Jews was become so 
 great, as they had never had experience of 
 the like since their return out of Babylon, 
 those that remained of the companions of Ju- 
 das, 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 
 lil)erty in general he died also ; and that he 
 would not permit the nation to be without a 
 governor, especially in those destructive cir- 
 
 cumstanccs wherein it now was. And when 
 Jonathan said that he was ready to die for 
 them, and was indeed esteemed no way infe- 
 rior to his brother, he was appointed to be the 
 general of the Jewish army. 
 
 2. When 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 inten- 
 tion of his was not unknown to Jonathan, nor 
 his brother Simon ; but when these two were 
 apprised of it, tliey took all their companions, 
 and presently fled into that wilderness which 
 was nearest to the city ; and when they were 
 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 Jona- 
 than 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 Jolm, from the 
 city Medaba, and seized upon him, and upon 
 those that were with him, and plundered all 
 that they had witli 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 pre- 
 sently. 
 
 3. But when B.icchides 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 suppos- 
 ing that he would not fight because of the law 
 for resting on that day] : but he exhorted 
 his companions [to figlit] ; and told them, 
 that their lives were at stake, since they were 
 encompassed by tlie river, and by tiieir ene- 
 mies, and had no way to escape, for that theit 
 enemies pressed upon them before, and the 
 river was behind them. So, after he had 
 
 'V 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. 1. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES Ol- THE JEWS. 
 
 341 
 
 prayed to God to give them the victory, he 
 joined battle tvith the enemy, of whom he 
 overthrew many : and as he saw Bacchides 
 coming up boldly to him, he stretched out his 
 right hand to smite him ; but the other fore- 
 seeing and avoiding the stroke, Jonathan with 
 his companions leaped into the river, and 
 swam over it, and by that means escaped be- 
 yond Jordan, while the enemy did not pass 
 over that river; but Bacchides returned pre- 
 sently to the citadel at Jerusalem, having lost 
 about two thousand 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 Gazara, and built 
 towers in every one of these cities, and en- 
 compassed 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. 
 
 4. About the same time, one came to Jo- 
 nathan, and to his brotlier Simon, and told 
 them that the sons of Ambri were celebrating 
 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 splendour, and much riches : so 
 Jonathan and Simon thinking 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 com- 
 ing of their enemies ; and as soon as they saw 
 
 I them conducting the virgin and the bride- 
 I groom, 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 follow, 
 ed tliem, perished, being in number about four 
 hundred. 
 
 5. 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 
 ivith him lived in the country very quietly, by 
 reason 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 uijon them 
 
 before they were aware, they might slay them 
 all. So the king sent Bacchides, who, when 
 he was 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 deserters, as 
 having imposed upon him, and upon the king, 
 and slew fifty of their leaders ; whereupon 
 Jonathan, with his brother, and those that 
 were with him, retired to Bethagla, a village 
 that lay in the wilderness, 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 hear- 
 ing of which Bacchides led his own array 
 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 Jonathan did 
 not abate of his courage at the zeal Bacchides 
 used in the siege, but courageously opposed 
 him ; and while he left his brotlier Simon in 
 th.e city to fight with Bacchides, he went pri- 
 vately 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 fall- 
 ing 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 slaugh- 
 ter of them ; and wiien Bacchides saw himself 
 encompassed with enemies, and some of them 
 before, and some behind him, he fell into de- 
 spair and trouble of mind, as confounded at 
 the unexpected ill succcess of this siege. 
 However, 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 return 
 home, 
 
 6. When Jonathan understood these his 
 intentions, he sent ambassadors to him 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 
 liome, and made a league of friendship with 
 Jonathan, when they sware that they would 
 not any more make war against one another. 
 Accordingly, he restored the captives, and 
 took h's own men with him, and returned to 
 the king at Antioch ; and after this his de- 
 parture, 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 Michmash ; and there governed 
 the multitude, and punished the wicked and 
 
 "V 
 
342 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ungodly, and by tiiat means purged tliu na- 
 tiun of tlioui. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW AI.KXANDER [bALA"', IN HIS WAR WIl H 
 llEMlVfillUS, GUANTKD JONATHAN MANY 
 ADVANTAGES, AND APPOINTED HIM TO BE 
 HIGH-PKIi;ST, AND PERSUADED HIM TO ASSIST 
 HIM, ALTHOUGH DEMETRIUS PROMISED HIM 
 GREATER ADVANTAGES ON THE OTHER SIDE. 
 CONCERNING THE DEATH OF DEMETRIUS. 
 
 § 1. Now in the hundred and sixtieth year, 
 it fell out tliat Alexander, the son of Antio- 
 cbus Epiphanes,* can)e up into Syria, and 
 took Ptolemais, the soldiers liaving betrayed 
 it to him, for they were at enmity with De- 
 metrius, on account of his insolence and dif- 
 ficulty of acci'ss : for he shut himself up in a 
 palace of his that had four towers, which he 
 had built himself, not far from Antioch, and 
 admitted nobody. He was withal slothful 
 and negligent about the public atl'airs, where- 
 by the hatred of his subjects was the more 
 kindled against him, as we have elsewhere al- 
 ready related. When, therefore, Demetrius 
 heard that Alexander was in Ptolemais, he 
 took his whole army, and led it against 
 him ; he also sent ambassadors to Jonathan, 
 about a league of mutual assistance and 
 friendship, for he resolved to be beforehand 
 with Alexander, lest the other should treat 
 will) him first, and gain assistance from 
 him ; and this he did out of the fear he 
 had lest Jonathan should rememl)er 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, and should receive back those 
 hostages of the Jewish nation whom Bacchi- 
 des had shut up in the citadel of Jerusalem. 
 Wiien this good fortune liad befallen Jona- 
 than, 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 
 irmy, and to receive back the hostages : so 
 
 • This Alex.intier liala, who certainly pretfiuleil to 
 oe the son of Antiochus Kpiphaiics, aiiu w;u> ow ned tor 
 veil by the Jews and Romans, and many others, and 
 yet is by several historians deemed to be a eouiiterfeil, 
 and of no f.inuly at all, is, however, by Josephus, be- 
 lieved to have been the real son of thai Antiotltus, and 
 bv him always spoken of aceordiufjly ; and truly, since 
 tht oiii,'i:ial ennUiniiorarv and anthenne author of (he 
 tirst bo'k of MacL-abees (x, 1) e:dls him by his father's 
 iiaiiie, Kjiiphaiies, ai;d says he 1^a^ the son of Antioelius, 
 I su)iiiii-,e the oth r writers, wlio are all Miii-ti lalrr, arc 
 not lo he folUi'>e(l against such evidence, though jier- 
 iiaps Epiplia)ies iniKhl have hiin by a woman ol no fa- 
 mily. The king ol Kgypt also, l»hilomclor, soon gave 
 mm his daughter in iiiarriace, which he would hardly 
 have done, had he bclicvol liim loljo a counlerfeit.and 
 of so very inea;i biiih as ihe laii-r liislorians pretend. I 
 
 BOOK xni, 
 
 he delivere(h every one of them to his own 
 parents; and thus did Joiialhiui make his 
 abode at Jerusalem, renewing the city to a 
 belter slate, and reforming the buildings as 
 l>e pleased ; for he gave orders thit the walls 
 of the city should be rebuilt with sijuare 
 stones, that it might be more secure from 
 their enemies ; and when those that kept thp 
 garrisons that were in Judea saw this, they all 
 left them, and fled to Antioch, excepting 
 those tliat were in the city Ik-thsura, and 
 those that were in the citadel of Jerusalem, 
 for the greater part of these was of llie wicked 
 Jews and deserters, and on that account these 
 did not deliver up their garrisons. 
 
 S. When Alexander knew w.iat promises 
 Demetrius had made Jonathan, and withal 
 knew his courage, and what great things he 
 had done when he fought the Macedonians, 
 and beiL:ides what hardships he had undergone 
 by the means of Demetrius, and of Bacchi- 
 des, the general of Demetrius's army, he told 
 his friends that he could not at present find 
 any one else that might atlbrd him better as- 
 sistance than Jonathan, who was both coura- 
 geous against his enemies, and had a particu- 
 lar haired against Demetrius, as having both 
 suffered many hard things from him, and 
 acted many Iiard things against him. If, 
 therefore, tliey were of oiiinion that they 
 should make him their friend against Denje- 
 trius, it was more for their advantage to in- 
 vite liim to assist them now than at anoUier 
 time. It being therefore determined by him 
 and his friends to sind to Jonathan, he wrote 
 to him this epistle : — " King Alexander to 
 his brother Jonatlian, sendeth greeting. We 
 have long ago heard of thy courage and thy 
 fidelity, and for that reason have sent to tl)ee, 
 to make with thee a league of friendship atid 
 mutual assistance. We therefore do ordain 
 thee this day the high-priest of the Jews, and 
 that thou beest called my friend. I have also 
 sent thee, as presents, a purple robe and a 
 golden crown, and desire that, now thou art 
 by us honoured, tliou wilt in like manner re- 
 spect us also." 
 
 3. \\'hen Jonathan had received this letter, 
 he put on the pontilical robe at the time of 
 the feast of tabernacles,f four years after the 
 death of liis brother Judas, for at that time 
 no high-priest had l>een made. So he raised 
 great forces, atid had abundance of armour 
 got ready. This greatly grieved Demetrius 
 when he heartl of it, ami made him blame 
 himself for his slowness, that he had not pre- 
 
 t Since Jona'.lian plainly did not put on the pontifical 
 robes nil seven or eight years after the death of liis bro- 
 ther Juila-, or not till tlie I'c.ist of Tabernacles, in iho 
 IC ■ of the Seleucida- il Maccab. x, '.'1), Fetitu-s's eiiK;n- 
 datioii seems Iktl to deserve consider lion, who, instead 
 of " .ifter four years sir.c« the death of his brother Ju- 
 d.is," would have iis re.«l, " and ihcrcfore after eight 
 years since the death of liis brother Judas." This would 
 tolerably well agree with the dateof the Mai-cabi'es, and 
 with .:i>sephus'» own exact chronology at theeiul of the 
 twentieth book of these Antiquities, whicU the picseui 
 text cannot lie made to du. 
 
 ~\- 
 
J- 
 
 x 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 343 
 
 \'ented Alexander, and got the good-will of 
 Jonathan, but had given liim 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 Jo- 
 nathan, 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 commend you for 
 this your fidelity, and exhort you to continue 
 in the same disposition ; for which you shall 
 be repaid, and receive rewards from us : for 
 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; 
 snd I do now set you free from those tributes 
 which you have ever paid ; and besides, I 
 forgive you the tax upon sail, and the value 
 of the crowns which you used to otter to 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 inhabi- 
 tants of Judea, 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 invio- 
 lable, and free from the tithe, and from the 
 taxes, unto its utmost bounds : and I so far 
 recede from my title to the citadel, as to per- 
 mit 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 him 
 self, that they may 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 Sab- 
 baths, and all their festivals, and three days 
 before each of them, be free from any impo- 
 sition. In the same manner, I set free the 
 Jews that are inhabitants in my kingdom, 
 and order that no injury be done 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 thirty thousand ; 
 which Jewish soldiers, wheresoever 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 mine 
 own boxly, 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 po^ver over 
 the tliree 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 
 
 • Take Grotius's note here : " The Jews," says he, 
 " were wont to present erowiis to the kings [of Syria] ; 
 «ftenvarils that gold which was paid instead of those 
 crowns, or which was expended in making; them, was 
 lalled the Crown-Gold and Crown-Tax." On 1 Maceab. 
 «. 2!) 
 
 Other temple for worship but only that at Je- 
 rusalem. I bequeath also, out of my own 
 revenues, yearly, for the expenses about the 
 sacrifices, one hundred and fifty thousand 
 [drachmae] ; and what money is to spare, I 
 will that it shall be your own. I also release 
 to you those ten thousand drachmae v.hich the 
 kings received from the temple, because they 
 appertain to the priests that minister in that 
 temple. And whosoever shall fly to the tem- 
 ple at Jerusalem, or to the places thereto be- 
 longing, 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 beany 
 fortified town that would be convenient for 
 the Jewish country to have very strong, let it 
 be so built at my expenses." 
 
 4. 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 deserted to him out 
 of Syria, and made an expedition against De- 
 metrius. And when it was come to a battle, 
 the left wing of Demetrius put those who op- 
 posed them to flight, and pursued them a 
 great way, and slew many of them, and spoil 
 ed their camp ; but the right wing, where 
 Demetrius happened to be, was beaten ; and 
 as for all the rest, they ran away. But De- 
 metrius 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 Deme- 
 trius round, and they all threw their darts at 
 him ; but he, being now on foot, fought brave- 
 ly. 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 Demetrius 
 came to, when he had reigned eleven years,f 
 as we have elsewhere related. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FRIENDSHIP THAT WAS BETWEEN' ONTAS 
 AND PTOI.EMY PHILOMETOR ; AND HOW 
 ONIAS BUILT A TEMPLE IN EGYPT LIlvE TO 
 THAT AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 § 1. But then the son of Onias the high- 
 priest, who was of the same name with his 
 
 t Since the rest of the historians now extant give 
 this Demetrius 13 years, and Josephus only II years. 
 Dean Prideaux does not aiiiiss ia :t>cribing to him iha 
 mean number Xi 
 
344 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Xlll 
 
 father, and who fled to king Ptolemy, who 
 was calli-'d Pliiloinetor, lived now at Alexan- 
 dria, as we have said already. W'lien this 
 Oiiias saw that Judea was oppressed by the 
 Macedonians and their kings, out of a desire 
 to piueiiase to himself a memorial and eter- 
 nal 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 
 above six hundred 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, Oiiias was elevated with th.is predic- 
 tion, and wrote the following epistle to Pto- 
 lemy and Cleopatra: — " Having done many 
 and great things for you in the afl'airs of the 
 war, by the assistance of God, and that in 
 Celesyria and Phrenicia, I came at length with 
 the Jews to l.eontopolis, and to other places 
 of your nation, where I found that the great- 
 est part of your people had temples in an im- 
 proper manner, and that on this account they 
 bare ill will one against another, which hap- 
 pens to the Egyptians by reason of the mul- 
 titude of their temples, and the dill'erence of 
 opinions about divine worship. Now I found 
 a very fit |)lace in a castle that hath its name 
 from the country Diana ; this place is full of 
 materials of several sorts, and replenished with 
 sacred animals : I desire, therefore, that you 
 will grant me leave to purge this lioly place, 
 w'n'ch belongs to no master, and is fallen 
 down, and to build there a temple to Almigh- 
 ty 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 chil- 
 dren, that those Jews who dwell in Egypt 
 may have a place whither they may come and 
 meet together in inutuai 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 
 prophesy relating to that place." 
 
 • It seems to me, contrary' to the opinion of Josc- 
 phus, ani* of the moderns, both Jews ami Christians, 
 th.it this iiropliccv of Isaiah, xix, 19, &c. • In that day- 
 there shall be an 'altar to the Lord in the midst of the 
 land of Kg\ pt," Jkc. directly foietold the building of this 
 temple ot'Onias in Kgypt, and was a suiliciont warrant 
 to the Jews for biiildmt; it, and for worsliiiipiiig Ihi' true 
 God, the God of Isr.iel, Ihtrcin. See AutlunU Kcc. ii, 
 p. 7.).5. Th.ittiod seems to have soon better atreiUed 
 of the sacrifices and prayers hi re oircri d him than those 
 at Jerusalem ; see the note on eh. x, sect. V. And truly 
 the marks of Jewish corruption or iiiti rpolation in this 
 text, in order tu discourage their pcojile Irom approving 
 hip oftJod here, are very strong, and highly 
 
 of the wor. .. , ■.-..,. 
 
 deserve our consideration and correction. I he forego- 
 ing verse In Isaiah runs thus in our common copies:- 
 "In that day shall five cities in the land of Kgypt speak 
 the language of Canaan," [the Hchrew language: shall 
 be full of Jews, whose sacred books were m llcbrcwj 
 " and swear to the Lord of Hosts One for the first] 
 shall be called • the City of Destruction,'" ls:i. xx, IS. 
 A strange name, *• City of IHstruction," upon so joy- 
 ful an occasion ; and a name never lieanl of in the land 
 of Kgypt, or perhaps in any other nation. The old 
 
 '2 And this was what Onias wrote to king 
 Ptolemy. Now any one may observe his 
 piety, and that of his sister and wife Cleojjatra, 
 by that ejiistle wliich tliey wrote in answer to 
 it ; for they laid tiie blame and the transgres- 
 sion of the law upon the head of Onias 
 And this was tiieir reply : — " King Ptolemy 
 and queen Cleopatra to Onias, send greeting. 
 We have read tliy )jetition, wherein thou de- 
 sirest leave to be given to thee to purge that 
 temple which is fallen down at Leontopolis, 
 in the Nomns of Ileliopolis, and which is 
 named from the country Bubastis; on which 
 account we cannot but wonder that it sliould 
 be pleasing to God to have a temple erected 
 in a place so unclean, and so full of sacred 
 animals. But since thou sayest that Isaiah 
 the prophet foretold this long ago, we give 
 thee leave to do it, if it may be done accord- 
 ing to your law, and so that we may not ap- 
 pear to have at all ofi'ended God herein." 
 
 3. So Onias took the place, and built a 
 temjile, and an altar to (iod, 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 vessels, which have been 
 alieady 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 di- 
 vine service. But we have said enough about 
 this temple. 
 
 4. Now it came to pass that the Alexan- 
 drian Jews, and those Samaritans who paid 
 their worship to the temple that was built in 
 the days of Alexander at Mount Gerizzim, 
 did now make a sedition one agair.st another, 
 and disputed about their temples before Pto- 
 lemy himself, the Jews saying that, according 
 to the law of Moses, the temi)le was to be 
 built at JerusLilem ; and the Samaritans say- 
 ing that it was to be built at Gerizzim. They 
 desired therefore the king to sit with his 
 friends and hear the debates about these mat- 
 ters, and punish those with death who were 
 baffled. Now S;ibbeus and Theodosius m.a- 
 naged the argument for the Samaritans, and 
 
 reading nas e\idently the City of the Snn, or Heliopo- 
 iis; and OnkeUjs, in effect, and Symmachus, with the 
 Arabic version, entirely confess tlia't to be the truere;id- 
 ing. The ScjituaKiut iilso, although Ihcy liavc the text 
 disguised in tlic conniuin copies, and call it Asetlek, the 
 City of nighteousncs.-; vet iii two or three other copies 
 thc'llcbrrwwonl itself tor ll-.e Sun, Atharc.-. or Tharcs, 
 is preserved. And siiur Oni:is insists wuh the king and 
 Muccu, that Isaiah's nroiilieev cimiaincd mai.y other pri-- 
 liictions relating to this i>laee besiiUs the words recited, 
 it is highlv probable thiit these were especially meant by 
 him ; amt that one main reason why ho applied this 
 prediction to himself, and to his prefecture of Heliopo- 
 lis, which Dean I'ridcaux well proves was in that))artuf 
 Kgypt, and why he chose to build in that prefecture of 
 Heliopolis, though oilicrwise an impr<>pcr placv. was 
 this : That the same authority that he had for building 
 this temple in Kgvi>t, the very snnehc had for building 
 It in his own pi-ctecturc of Ileliopolis also; wh.ch hii 
 dcjiied to do, ;ind which he did a<-cordingly. Dean 
 I'ridcaux h.as much ado to avoid seeing this corruption 
 of the Hebrew ; but it being in sui>iH.rt of his own oiii- 
 nion alxiiii this tcmiilc, he durst not >i e it ; and iinlccd lit 
 reasons here in the most injudicious maimer possiU' 
 bef liim at the year 149. 
 
 "V. 
 
J~' 
 
 X 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Andronicus, the son of Messalainiis, for the 
 people of JtTiisalein ; and they took an oath 
 by God and the king, to make their demon- 
 strations according to the law ; and they de- 
 sired of Ptolemy, that whomsoever 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 repu- 
 tation of that temple, whicli 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 bis 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 be- 
 ing. By this speech, and other arguments, 
 Andronicus persuaded the king to determine 
 tliat the temple at Jerusalem was built ac- 
 coiding to the laws of Moses,* and to put 
 S ib!)eus and Theodosius to death. And these 
 «ere the events that befell the Jews at Alex- 
 andria 'n the days of Ptolemy Pliilometor. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW ALEXANDER HONOURED JONATHAN AF- 
 TKR AN EXTRAORDrNARY MANNER ; AND 
 MOW DEMETRIUS, THE SON OF DEMETRI- 
 US, OVERCAME ALEXANDER, AND MADE A 
 LEAGUE OF FRIENDSHIP WITH JONATHAN. 
 
 § 1. Demetrius being thus slain in battle, as 
 
 we have above related, Alexander took the 
 
 kingdom of Syria ; and wrote to Ptolemy 
 
 Philoinetor, and desired his daughter in mar- 
 
 * A vory unfair disputation this! while the Jewish 
 disputant, knowing that he could not properlv prove 
 out or' the Penta-euch, that the place which the lord 
 their God shall choose to place his name there,' so of- 
 ten referred to in the book of Deuteronomy, was Jeru- 
 salem any more than Gerizzim. that being not determin- 
 ed till the day~ of David, ( Antiq. b. vii, ch. xiii. set-t 3.) 
 proves only, what the Samaritans did not deny, that 
 the temple at Jerusalem was much more ancient, and 
 inuch more celebrated and honoured, than that at Ge- 
 rizzim ; which was nothing to the present purpose, the 
 whole evidence, by the very oaths of both i>artii's, be- 
 ing, we sec, obliped to be o6nfine<l to the law of Moses, 
 or to the Pentateuch alone. However, wordly |)olicy 
 and interest, and the multitude prevailing, the court 
 gave sentence, as usual, on the stronger side, and poor 
 .Sabbeus and Theoitosius, the Samaritan disputants, 
 were martyred, and this, so far as appears, without any 
 direct hearing at all ; which is like the usual practice of 
 such political courts about matters of religiou. Our 
 copies say that the bxiy of the Jews were ina greatcon- 
 oem about those men (in the plural) who were to dis- 
 pute for their temiiln at Jerusalem \ whereas^ seems 
 
 345 
 
 riage ; and said it was but just that he should 
 be joined in affinity to one that had now re- 
 ceived the principality of his forefathers, and 
 had been promoted to it by Gods jirovidence, 
 and had conquered Demetrius ; and that was 
 on other accotints not unworthy of being re- 
 lated to him. Ptolemy received this propo- 
 sal of marriage gladly ; and wrote him an 
 answer, saluting him on account of his hay- 
 ing received the principality of his forefathers; 
 and jjromising 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 woisld 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 sud- 
 denly to Ptolemais, and brought his daugh- 
 ter Cleopatra along with him ; and as he 
 found Alexander there before him, as he de- 
 sired him to come, he gave him his child in 
 marriage, and for her portion gave her as 
 much silver and gold as became such a king 
 to give. 
 
 2. When the wedding was over, Alexander 
 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. Alex- 
 ander compelled him also to put off his own 
 garment, and to take a purple garment, and 
 made him sit with him on his throne ; and 
 commanded his captains that they should gr 
 with him into the middle of the city, and pro 
 claim, that it was not permitted to any one tc 
 speak against him, or to give him any disturb- 
 ance. 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 proclaination, 
 and that by the king's order, ran awav, and 
 were afraid lest some misihief should befall 
 them. Nay, king Alexander was so very 
 kind to Jonathan, that he set him down as 
 the principal of his friends. 
 
 3. But then, upon the hundred and sixty- 
 fifth year, Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, 
 came from Crete with a great nuinber of mer- 
 cenary 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 im- 
 mediately out of Phoenicia and came to An- 
 tioch, that he might put matters in a safe pos- 
 ture there before Demetrius should come. 
 He also left Apollonius Dausf governor of 
 
 here they had but one disputant, Andronicus by name; 
 perhaps more were prepared to speak on the Jews' side: 
 but the first having answered to his name, and over- 
 come the Samarit.ans, there was no necessity for any 
 other defender of the Jerusalem temple. 
 
 + Of the several ApoUonii atiout tiiese ages, sec Dean 
 Prideaux at the year I-IS. This Ap llonius Daus was, 
 by his account, the son of that Apollonius who had been 
 made governor of CelesjTia and Pha-nicLi by Seleucus 
 Philopater, and i<as himself a conli.iant of his son De- 
 m. tr us the fa: her, and restored to liis father's govern- 
 ment by him, but arterwarils revolted from him u> .Vle» 
 ander; but not to Demconus .he son, as lie suppo»e» 
 
 "\. 
 
J~ 
 
 346 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Celi'syria, who, coniin}; to Janinia witli a great 
 army, sent to Jonathan, the liigh-priest, and 
 told liim 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 
 liad made him a reproach among all men, 
 that he had not yet made him subject to 
 the king. " Do not thou therefore deceive 
 tlivseir, and sit still among the mountains, and 
 pretend to have forces with thee; but if thou 
 hast any dependence on thy strengtii, come 
 down into the plain, and let our armies be 
 compared together, and the event of the battle 
 will demon-,trate which of us is the most cou- 
 rageous. 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 tight with weapons, and not with stones, 
 and where there may be no place whither 
 those that are beaten may fly." 
 
 4. With this Jonathan was irritated ; and 
 choosing himself out ten tliousand of his sol- 
 diers, 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 ApoUjjnius. But when 
 Jonathan was preparing to besiege them, they 
 were afraid he would take them by force, and 
 so they opened the gates to him. But Ajjol- 
 lonius, when he heard that Joppa was taken 
 by Jonathan, took three thousand horsemen, 
 and eight thousand footmen, and came to Ash- 
 dod ; and removing thence, he made his jour- 
 ney silently and slowly, and going up to Jop- 
 pa, he made as if he was retiring from the 
 place, and so diew Jonathan into the plain, as 
 valuing himself highly upon his horsemen, 
 and having 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 bat- 
 tle. But Apollonius had laid a thousand 
 horsemen in ambush in a valley, that they 
 might be seen l)y their enemies as behind 
 them ; which when Jonathan perceived, he 
 was imder no consternation, but, ordering his 
 army to stand in a square battle array, lie 
 gave them a charge to fall on the enemy on 
 both sides, and set them to face those that at- 
 tacked them both before and behind ; 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 tho-^e that were with him 
 to cover themselves with their armour, and 
 receive the darts of the horsemen, who did as 
 tlu-v 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 
 
 BOOK XIII 
 
 their bodies, being thrown upon the shields 
 that were united and conjoined together, the 
 c'oseness of which easily overcame the force 
 of the darts, and they flew about without any 
 efl'ect. But when the enemy grew remiss ill 
 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 horse- 
 men saw that the footmen ran away, neither 
 did they stay themselves ; but they being very 
 weary, by the duration of the fight till the 
 evening, and their hope from the footmen be- 
 ing 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 pursued them 
 as far as Ashdod, and slew a great many o/ 
 them, and compelled the rest, in despair of 
 escaping, to fly to the temple of D.igon, which 
 was at Ashdod . but Jonathan took the city 
 on the first onset, and burnt it, and the vil- 
 lages 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 eight thousand. When Jonathan there- 
 fore had overcome so great an army, he re- 
 moved 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 conquered his enemies. But 
 when Alexander 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 direc- 
 tions. Accordingly, he sent to Jonathan, 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 inheritance. 
 
 5. About this time it was that king Ptole- 
 my, who was called i'hilometor, 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 complaints about the temple of Dagon, 
 which was burnt, and accused Jonathan of 
 having laid it waste, and destroyed the coun- 
 try adjoining with fire, and slain a great num- 
 ber of them. Ptolemy heard these accusations, 
 
 • Dr. Miictson here observes, that the PhoEniciansaiid 
 Uuitiaiu Used to it'W.-ird such as had dcser\cd well of 
 them, by (ircseiitiiig to tlieni a golden buttiiu. See ch. 
 V, sect. 4. 
 
 ^ 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP, IV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 347 
 
 but said nothing. Jonathan also went to and assured them that he would not be mind- 
 meet Ptolemy as far as Joppa, and obtained ful of what they did to his father in case he 
 from him hospitable presents, and those glori- should be now obliged by them ; and he un- 
 cus in their kinds, with all the marks of hon- i dertook that he would himself be a good 
 our; and when he had conducted him as far j monitor and governor to him; and promised 
 as the river called Eleutherus, he returned a- that he would not permit him to attempt any 
 gain to Jerusalem. bad actions ; but that, for his own part, he was 
 
 6. But as Ptolemy was at Ptolemais, he contented with the kingdom of Egypt. By 
 
 was very near to a most unexpected destruc- 
 tion ; for a treacherous design was laid for 
 his life by Alexander, by the means of Am- 
 
 which discourse he persuaded the people of 
 Antioch to receive Demetrius. 
 
 8. But now Alexander made haste, with a 
 
 monius, who was his friend : and as the numerous and great army, and came out of 
 treachery was very plain, Ptolemy wrote to | Cilicia into Syria, and burnt the country be- 
 Alexander, and required of him that he should j longing to Antioch, and pillaged it; where- 
 bring Ammoiiius to condign punishment, upon Ptolemy, and bis son-in-law Demetrius, 
 informing him what snares had been laid fori brought their army against him (for be had 
 him by Ammonius, and desired that he might already given him his daughter in marriage), 
 be accordingly punished for it; but when Al- and beat Alexander, and put him to flight; 
 exander did not comply with his demands, he i and accordingly he fled into Arabia. Now, 
 perceived that it was he himself who laid the it happened in the time of the battle that Pto- 
 design, and was very angry at him. Alexan- lemy's horse, upon hearing the noise of an ele- 
 der had also formerly been on very ill terms | phant, cast him off his back, and threw him 
 with tile people of Antioch, for they had suf- on the ground ; upon the sight of which ac- 
 
 fered very uuicli by this means; yet did Am 
 monius at length undergo the punishment his 
 insolent crimes had deserved, for he was kill- 
 ed in an opprobrious manner, like a wo- 
 man, while he endeavoured to conceal him- 
 self in a feminine habit, as we have elsewhere 
 related. 
 
 7. Hereupon Ptolemy blamed himself for 
 
 cident 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 un- 
 derstand or to speak. However, Zabdiel, a 
 prince among the Arabians, cut off Alex- 
 ander's head and sent it to Ptolemy, who re- 
 
 'lavmg given his daughter in marriage to covering of his wounds, and returning to his 
 Alexander, and for the league ho had made understanding, oti the fifth day, heard at once 
 with him to assist him against Demetrius; so ! a most agreeable hearing, and saw a most 
 he dissolved his relation to him, and took his | agreeable sight, which were the death and the 
 daughter away from him, and immediately i head of Alexander; yet a little after this his 
 sent to Demetrius, and ofl'ered to make a joy for the death of Alexander, with which he 
 league of mutual assistance and friendship ! was so greatly satisfied, he also departed this 
 with him, and agreed with him to give him I life. Now Alexander, who was called Balas, 
 his daughter in marriage, and to restore hiiu reigned over Asia five years, as we have else- 
 
 to the principality of his fathers. Demetrius 
 was well ple;ised with this embassage, and ac- 
 cepted 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 Antioch to receive Dometrius, 
 because they were greatly displeased at him, 
 on account of the injuries his father Demetrius 
 
 where related. 
 
 9. 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 kinsman, by 
 Cleopatra's marriage to him ; so the soldiers 
 
 had done them ; yet did he bring this about ; fled from his wicked treatment to Alexan- 
 for as the people of Antioch hated Alexander I dria ; but Demetrius kept his elephants, 
 on Ammonius's account, as we have shown I But Jonathan the high-priest levied an army 
 already, they were easily prevailed with to out of all Judea, and attacked the citadel at 
 cast him out of Antioch; who, thus expelled | Jerusalem, and besieged it. It was held by 
 out of Antioch, came into Cilicia. Ptolemy - a garrison of Macedonians, and by some of 
 
 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 diadetns, the 
 one of Asia, the other of Egypt ; hut being 
 naturally a good and a righteous man, and not 
 desirous of what belonged to others, and be- 
 sides these dispositions, being also a wise man 
 in reasoning about futurities-, he determined 
 to avoid the envy of the Romans, so he called 
 
 those men wi.o 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 Demetrius, and informed him that 
 the citadel was besieged ; who was irritated 
 
 This name, Demetiius Nicator, or Deraetrius the 
 I conqueror, is so written on his ooii.s still extant, as 
 the people of Antioch toj^ether to an assembly, I HmUon and Spanheim inform us; the latter of whom 
 „„j 1 1 .1 . • r-i • gives us here the entire inscriptiiin. " King Demetiraj 
 
 and persuaded tliem to receive Dcu^etrius ; the coil. Fhiladelphus, Nicator.'" 
 
J- 
 
 848 
 
 ANTIQUlTIliS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Xill 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CIILS, THK SON OF AI.KXANUKK, AND GAIN- 
 ED JONATHAN lOR HIS ASSISTANT ; AND 
 CONCliUNING THE ACTIONS AND J^MBASSIl;:^ 
 OF JONATHAN. 
 
 wiili u'liat he lioard, and took his army, and , 
 came from Aniioch, against Jonatlian. And 
 when he was at Antioch, he wrote to him, | 
 and commanded liim to come to liim ijiiickly' 
 to Ptolemais : upon which Jonathan did not HOW TttYPHO, AFTER HE had beaten DEME- 
 mtermit the siege of the citadel, but took TUius, DKLIVEUKD THi; KiNGixJiM TO antio- 
 with him tiie ehlers of tlie people, atid the ! 
 priests, and carried with hiin gold, and silver, j 
 and garmetits, and a great number of presents! 
 of friendship, and came to Demetrius, and 
 presented him with them, and tliereby paci- 1 
 
 fied the king's anger. So he was honoured § 1. Now there was a certain commander of 
 by him, and received from him the confirma- Alexander's forces, an Apanemian by birth, 
 tion of his liigh-priesthood, as he had passes- whose name was Diodotus, and was also call- 
 sed it by the grants of the kings his predeces- ed Trypho, took notice of the ill-will the soU 
 sors. And when the Jewish deserters accused diers bare to Demetrius, and went to Mal- 
 him, Demetrius was so far from giving credit chus the Arabian, who brought up Antiochus, 
 to them, that when he petitioned him that he the son of Alexander, and told him what ill- 
 would demand no more than three hundred will the army bare Demetrius, and persuaded 
 talents for the tribute of all Judea, and the him to give him Antiochus, because he would 
 three toparchies of Samaria, and Perea, and make him king, and recover to him the king- 
 Galilee, he complied with the proposal, and dom of his father. Malchus at first opposed 
 gave him a letter confirming those grants; him in this attempt, because he could not be- 
 the contents of which were as follows: — , lieve him; but when Trypho lay hard at him 
 " King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother, for a long time, he over-persuaded )iim to 
 and to the nation of the Jews, sendeth greet- comply with Trypho's intentions and entrea- 
 ing. We have sent you a copy of that epistle ties. And this was the state Trypl)o was 
 which we have written to Lasthenes our kins- now in. 
 
 man, that you may know its contents.— 2. But Jonathan the high-priest, being de- 
 ' King Demetrius to Labthenes our father, sirous to get clear of those that were in the 
 sendeth greeting. I have determined to re- citadel of Jerusalem, and of the Jewisli de- 
 turn thanks, and to show favour to the na- serters and wicked men, as well as those ir 
 tion of the Jews, who hath observed the rules ' all the garrisons in the country, sent jjresents 
 of justice in our concerns. Accordingly, I and ambassadors to Demetrius, and entreated 
 remit to them the three prefectures, Apheri- 1 him to take away his soldiers out of the 
 
 ma, and Lydda, and liamatha, which have 
 been added to Judea out of Samaria, with 
 their appurtenances : as also what the kings 
 my predecessors received from those that of- 
 fered sacritices in Jerusalem, and what are 
 due from the fruits of the earth, and of the 
 trees, and what else belongs to us ; with the 
 salt-pits, and the crowns that used to be pre- 
 sented 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, and be set up in an eminent place 
 of their holy temple.' " And these were the 
 contents of this writing. And now when 
 Demetrius satv that there was peace every- 
 where, and that there was no danger, nor 
 fear of war, he disbanded the greatest part of 
 liis army, and diminished their pay, and even 
 retained in pay no others than such foreigners 
 as came uj) «itli him from Crete, and from 
 the other islands. However, this procured 
 liim ill-will and hatred from the soldiers, on 
 whom he bestowed nothing from this time, 
 while the kings before iiim 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 dilH- 
 culties of WM, if any occasion should re- 
 quire it. 
 
 strong holds of Judea. Demetrius made an- 
 swer, that after the war, which he was now 
 deeply engaged in, was over, he would not 
 only grant liim that, but greater things than 
 that also: and he desired he would send him 
 some assistance ; and informed him that his 
 army had deserted him. So Jonathan chose 
 out three thousand of his soldiers, and sent 
 them to Demetrius. 
 
 3. Now the people of Antioch hated De- 
 metrius, both on account of what mischief he 
 had himself done them, and because they 
 were his enemies also on accoimt of his father 
 Demetrius, who had greatly abused them ; so 
 they watched some 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 luimeious army, unless they jirevented 
 him and seized upon him, they took their 
 weapons immediately, and encom|)assed his 
 palace in the way of a siege, and seizing up- 
 on all the ways of getting out, they sought to 
 subdue their king. And when he saw that 
 the jieople of Antioch were 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 
 'unatlian, and assaulted the Antiochians; but 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 he was overpowered by tliem, for ttiey 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 pa- 
 lace, and bliot at them from thence ; and be- 
 cause tliey were so remote from them by their 
 height, that they suffered notliing on tlieir 
 side, but did great execution on the others, 
 as figliting from such an elevation, they drove 
 them out of the adjoining houses, and imme- 
 diately set thein on fire, wiiereupon the Hame 
 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 generally built of wood : so the Antio- 
 chians, when they were notable 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 themselves up to Demetrius. So he 
 forgave them 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 
 tliem thanks, as the cause of his victory, he 
 sent them away to Jerusalem to Jonathan, 
 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 this he had done, if Trypho had not hin- 
 dered him, and diverted his preparations a- 
 gainst Jonathan to a concern for his own pre- 
 sei'vation ; for he now returned out of Ara- 
 bia 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 up- 
 on Demetrius, and joining battle with him, 
 overcame him in the fight, and took from him 
 both his elephants and the city of Antioch. 
 
 4. Deinetrius, upon this defeat, retired in- 
 to Cilicia : but the child Antiochus sent am- 
 bassadors and an epistle to Jonathan, and 
 made him his friend and confederate, and con- 
 firmed to him the high-priesthood, and yield- 
 ed up to him the four prefectures which had 
 been added to Judea. Moreover, he sent him 
 Tessels and cups of gold, and a purple gar- 
 ment, and gave him leave to use them. He 
 also presented him with a golden button, and 
 styled him one of his principal friends ; and 
 appointed his brother Simon to be tbcgeneral 
 
 349 
 
 over the forces, from the Ladder of Tyre un- 
 to Egypt. So Jonathan was so pleased with 
 these grants made him by Antiochus, that he 
 sent ambassadors to him and to Trypho, and 
 professed liimself to be their friend and con- 
 federate, and said he would join with him in 
 a war against Demetrius, informing him that 
 !ie had made no proper returns for the kind- 
 nesses 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 
 farther injuries. 
 
 5. So Antiochus gave Jonathan leave to 
 raise himself a numerous army out of Syria 
 and Phoenicia, and to make war against De- 
 metrius'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 was come from thence 
 to Askelon, the inhabitants of Askelon came 
 and broirght 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 join with Antiochus, and 
 in assisting him, to endeavour to punish De- 
 metrius 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 as- 
 sistance to Antiochus, he came to Gaza, in 
 order to induce them also to be friends to 
 Antiochus; but he found the inhabitants ot 
 Gaza much more alienated from him than he 
 expected, for they had shut their gates against 
 him; and although they had deserted Deme- 
 trius, they had not resolved to join themselves 
 to Antiochus. This provoked Jonathan to 
 besiege them, and to harass their country ; 
 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 burned what was in 
 it. When the inhabitants of Gaza saw them- 
 selves 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 pru- 
 dent conduct to leave off any longer continu- 
 ance with him, and to cultivate friendship 
 with the other ; so they sent to Jonathan, and 
 professed they would be his friends, and afford 
 him assistance ; for such is the temper of men, 
 that before they have had the trial of great af- 
 flictions, they do not understand what is for 
 their advantage; but when they find them- 
 selves under such aflHictions, 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 suH'ered such damages. How- 
 ever, he made a league of friendship with 
 them, and took from them hostages for their 
 
 V 
 
 -T 
 
J' 
 
 850 
 
 ANTfQUITlES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 performance of if, and sent these liosvages to 
 Jcnisiileni, while he went himself over all tin* 
 coiiiUty, .'IS tar as Daniasctis. 
 
 6. l>ut «hen he heard that the generals of 
 Demetrius's forces were come to the city Ca- 
 desh with a numerous army (the place lies 
 between the land of tlie Tyrians and (jalilee), 
 for tliey supposed they should hereby draw 
 him out of Syria, in order to preserve Gali- 
 lee, and that he would not overlook the Gali- 
 leans, who were liis own people, when war 
 was made upon «hem, he went to meet them, 
 having left Simon in Judea, who raised as 
 great an army as he was able out of the coun- 
 try, and tlien sat down before I'ethsura, and 
 besieged it, that being the strongest place in 
 all Judea; and a garrison of Demetrius's 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 they 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 Demetrius. Accordingly, he gave 
 them his oath, and ejected them out of the 
 city, and be put therein a garrison of his own. 
 
 7. But Jonathan removed out of Galilee, 
 and from the waters which are called Genne- 
 sar, for there he was before encamped, and 
 came into the plain that is called Asor, witii- 
 out knowing that the enemy was there. When 
 tlierefore Demetrius's men knew a day be- 
 forehand that Jonathan was coming against 
 them, they lay in ambush in tlie mountain, 
 who were to assault him on the sudden, while 
 they themselves met him with an army in the 
 plain ; which arrny, when Jonathan saw ready 
 to engage him, he also got ready his own sol- 
 diers for the battle as well as he was able. 
 But those that were laid in ambush by De- 
 metrius's generals being behind them, the 
 Jews were afraid lest they should be caugiit 
 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 staid with him, and 
 with them Mattatin'as, the son of Absalom ; 
 and Judas, the son of Chapseus, who were 
 commanders of the whole army. Tliese 
 marched boldly, and like men desperate, 
 against the enemy, and so pushed them, that 
 by their courage they daunted them, and with 
 their weapons in their hands, they put tliem 
 to flight. And when those soldiers of .Jona- 
 than that had retired, saw the enemy giving 
 A'ay, they got together after their flight, and 
 pursued them with great violence; and this 
 did they as far as Cadesh, where tlie camp of 
 tlie enemy lay. 
 
 8. Jonathan having thus gotten a glorious 
 victory, and slain two thousand of tlie enemy. 
 
 BOOK, XIIT. 
 
 all his aflfajrs prospered acccording to his mind, 
 l)y llie [)rovi(lencc of (iiid, he sent ambassa- 
 dors to the Hoiiians, being desirous of renew, 
 itig that friendship which their nation had with 
 them formerly. He enjoined the same em- 
 bassadors, that, as they came back, they should 
 go to the Spartans, and put them in mind of 
 their friendship and kindred. So whe:) the am- 
 bassadors came to Rome, they went in to their 
 senate, and said what they were commanded by 
 Jonathan tlieir high-priest to say, how he had 
 sent them to confirm their friendship. The 
 senate then confirmed 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 gover- 
 nors of the cities, that thoy might safely con- 
 duct them to their own country. According 
 ly, 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 body of 
 the people of the Jews, to the ephori and se- 
 nate, and body of the people of the I,,aced<?- 
 monians, 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 fortner 
 times an epistle was brought to Onias, who 
 was then our high-priest, from Areus, who at 
 that time was your king, by Demotelcs, con- 
 cerning 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 Deinoteles and Areus, al- 
 though 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 our- 
 selves the glory which is now given us by you 
 It is a long time since this relation 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 vic- 
 tory. As to ourselv«;s, although we have had 
 many wars that have compassed us around, by 
 reason of tlie covetousness of our neighbours, 
 yet did not we determine to be troublesome ei- 
 ther to you or to others that w ere related to us ; 
 but since we have now overcome our enemies, 
 and have occasion to send Numenius, tlie son 
 of Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Ja- 
 son, who are l)oth honourable men belonging 
 to our senate, to the Romans, we gave tliein 
 this epistle to you also, that they might re 
 new tliat friendship which is between us. 
 
 * This cUiiise is otherwise reiulercd in tlie first Ixxik 
 of MatTabees, xii, i) : " Kor tlial Wt \\;\\v Itie holy li.KiUt 
 orSiiiiituii.s 111 our huiuis to coinfuit us." I'lic llebn.-* 
 origii:.il lit'iiiK lost, wccaiinut certainly Jiirtgo wli^uh »<ts 
 tlic triicst ^cr^ion, only tiieeolieroiicc i'uvouis Joscplius. 
 Hut if lhi> were the Jews' iiieanmg, th;il tlioy «cie n;*- 
 tisfifit out of their Hiblf that the Jews ami Laccdenio- 
 , , , .. I , I mans were of km, that part of llKir liible is now lott 
 
 returned to Jerusalem. So when he saw lliat for wc find no such asseruou lu our prenent c<n«e«. 
 
 "Y 
 
 ^ 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 You will therefore do well yourselves to write 
 to us, and send iis an account of what you 
 stand in need of from us, since we are in all 
 things disposed to act according to your de- 
 sires." So the Lacedemonians received the 
 ambassadors kindly, and made a decree for 
 friendship and mutual assistance, and sent it 
 to them. 
 
 9. At this time there were three sects among 
 the Jews, who had different opinions concern- 
 ing human actions ; the one was called tlie 
 sect of the Pharisees, another the sect of the 
 Sadducees, and the other the sect of the Es- 
 sens. 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 
 tliat they are liable to fate, but are not caused 
 by fate, But the sect of the Essens affirm, 
 that fate governs all things, and that nothing 
 befals men but what is according to its deter- 
 mination. And for the Sadducees, they take 
 away fate, and say there is no such thing, and 
 that the events of human aflTairs 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. However, I have 
 given a more exact account of these opinions 
 in the second book of the Jewish War. 
 
 10. But now the generals of Demetrius 
 being willing to recover the defeat they had 
 had, gathered a greater array together tlian 
 they had before, and came against Jonathan ; 
 but as Boon as he was informed of their com- 
 ing, 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' dis- 
 tance 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 nigiit, who told 
 him the enemy would soon attack him, he 
 tlius apprized beforehand, provided for his 
 
 • Those that suppose Josephus to contradict himself 
 in his three several accounts of the notions of the Pha- 
 risees, this here, and that earlier one, which is the larg- 
 est, Of the War, b. ii, ch. viii, sect. 14; and that later, An- 
 tiq. b. xviii, ch. i, sect, .'i ; as if he sometimes said tliey 
 introduced an absolute fatality, and denied all freedom 
 of human actions, is almost wholly groundless ; he ever, 
 S3 the very learned Cassaubon here truly observes, as- 
 •erting that the Pharisees were between the Essens and 
 Szidducees, and did so far ascribe all to fate or Divine 
 Providence as was consistent with thefreedom of human 
 actions. However, their perplexed way of talkmg about 
 fate or Providence, as over-ruling all things, made it 
 commonly thought they were willing to excuse their 
 lins by ascribing them to fate, as in the Apostolical 
 Constitutions, b. vi, ch. vi. Perhaps, under the same 
 general name some ditference of opinions in this point 
 might be propagated, as is very common in all parties, 
 esi>ecially in points of metaphysical subtilty. However, 
 our Josephus, who in his heart was a great admirer of 
 the piety of the Essens, was yet in practice a Pharisee, 
 as he hirnself informs us, iu his own Life, sect 2. And 
 his acciiunt of this doctrine of the Pharisees, is for cer- 
 tain agreeable to his own opinion, who both fully allowed 
 the freedom of human actions, and yet strongly beheved 
 the powerful interposition of Divine Providence. See 
 eonoerninj this matter a remarkable clause, -^.^tiq. b. 
 iviii, ch. xi, sect. 7. 
 
 '651 
 
 security, and pl-iced watchmen beyond his 
 camp, and kept ail his forces armed all night; 
 and he gave them a charge to be of good cour- 
 age, and to have their minds prepared to fight 
 in the niglit-time, if they should be obliged 
 so to do, lest their enemy's designs should 
 seem conealed from them. But when Deine- 
 trius's commanders were informed that Jona- 
 than knew what they intended, tlieir counsels 
 were disordered, and it alarmed them to find, 
 that the enemy had discovered those their in- 
 tentions ; nor did they expect to overcome 
 tliem 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 should 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, be pursued them ; yet he could not over- 
 take them, for they had already passed over 
 the river Eleutherus, and were out of danger. 
 So when Jonathan was returned thence, he 
 went into Arabia, and fought against the Na- 
 bateans, and drove away a great deal of their 
 prey, and took [many] captives, and came to 
 Damascus, and there sold off what he hai) 
 taken. About the same time it was thr.t Si 
 mon his brother went over all Judea and Pa- 
 lestine, as far as Askelon, and fortified the 
 strong holds : and when he had niade them 
 very strong, both in the edifices erected, and 
 in the garrisons placed in them, he ca.ne 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 Demetrius's generals. 
 
 11. When Simon and Jonathan had finish- 
 ed these affairs, they returned to Jerusalem, 
 where Jonathan gathered all the people to^^e- 
 ther, and took counsel to restore the walls of 
 Jerusalem, and to rebuild the wall that en- 
 compassed 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 garrison, 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 iu the country much 
 stronger, and more defensible than they were 
 before. And when these things were approv- 
 ed of by the multitude, as rightly proposed, 
 Jonathan himself took care of the building 
 that belonged to the city, and sent Simon a- 
 way to make the fortresses in the coimtry more 
 secure than formerly. But Demetrius passed 
 over [Euphrates], and came into Mesopota- 
 mia, as desirous to retain tiiat country still, as 
 well as Babylon ; and when he should have 
 obtained the dominion of the upper provinces^ 
 
 ■\. 
 
 J^ 
 
J- 
 
 352 
 
 AN'JIQUITIES OF TIIK JKWfi. 
 
 BOOK XIII 
 
 to lay a foumlution lor recovering his cntii. 
 kingiiom ; fur llusc Greeks and ftlacedonians 
 dwelt Iheie, IViqin'iitly sent ambassadors to 
 liini, and promised that if lie would come to 
 them, they would deliver themselves up to 
 him, and a:5sist him in fighting against Arsa- 
 c-es,* the king of the Parthians. So he was 
 elevated with these hopes, and caine hastily to 
 them, as having resolved tliat, if he had once 
 overthrown the Parthinns, and gotten an ar- 
 my of his own, lie would make war against 
 Trypho, ami eject him out of Syria ; and the 
 people of that country received him with great 
 alacrity. So he raised forces, with which he 
 fought ngainst Arsaces, and lost all his army; 
 and was himself taken alive, as we have else- 
 where related. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW JONATHAN WAS ST.AIN BY TREACHERY; 
 AND HOW THEREUPON THE JEWS MADE SI- 
 MON THEIR GENERAL AND HIGH-PRIEST : 
 WHAT COURAGEOUS ACTIONS HE ALSO PER- 
 FORMED, ESPECIALLY AGAINST TRYPHO. 
 
 1. 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 jxissession of his kingdom; 
 but the fear that he was in of Jonathan was 
 an obstacle to this his design, for Jonathan 
 was a friend to Antiochus, 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 Ik'thshan, which by the Greeks is 
 called Scythopolis, at which place Jonathan 
 met him with forty thousand 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 suspicions out of his 
 mind, that so he might make Iiim careless 
 and inconsiderate, and might take him when 
 he was unguarded. He also advised him to 
 dismiss his army, because there was no occa- 
 sion for bringing it xvitli him, when there was 
 no war, but all was in peace. However, lie 
 desired him to retain a few about him, and 
 go with him to Ptolemais, for that he would 
 deliver the city up to him, and would bring 
 
 • The king, who Wcis of tlie famous race of Arsaces, 
 is lx)th here and 1 Mac. jciv, '.', called by t' e family- 
 name Arsaces ; but Appian says his prniicr name was 
 l» hraafes. He is here also called by Jcrophus the king 
 of the Parthians, as the (Greeks uscil to cill them ; but 
 by the elder aiiihor ot the First Maccabees, the Uitvg of 
 Uie Persians and Mcdc.s, according to the lanpuagc of 
 the ea.stern nations. See Autlient Ucc. purt. ii, p. 1108. 
 
 all the fortresses that were in the country nn- 
 der his dominion ; and he told him iliat he 
 came with those very designs. 
 
 2. Yet did not Jonathan suspect any thing 
 at all by this his management, but believed 
 that Trypho gave this advice out of kindness, 
 and with a sincere design. Accordingly, he 
 dismissed liisarmy, and retained no more than 
 three thousand of them with him, and left 
 two thousand in Galilee; and he himself, 
 with one thousand, came with Trypho to Pto- 
 lemais ; but when the people of Ptolemais 
 had shut their gates, as it had been command- 
 ed by Trypho to do, he took Jonathan alive, 
 and slew all that were with him. He also 
 sent soldiers against those two thousand 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 
 'JVyplio came, they covered themselves with 
 their armour, and went away out of the coun- 
 try. Now when t^iose 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. 
 
 3. But when the people of Jerusalem heard 
 that Jonathan was taken, and that the soldiers 
 who were with him were destroyed, they de- 
 plored his sad fate; and there was earnest in- 
 quiry made about him by every body, an<l 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 Jonathan, 
 they should now rise up against them, and by 
 making war with them, should force them into 
 the utmost dangers. And indeed what they 
 suspected really befell them ; for when those 
 nations heard of the death of Jonathan, they 
 began to make war with the Jews as now des- 
 titute of a governor; Tryi)lio himself got an 
 army together, and had an intention to go up 
 to Jtidea, and itiake war against its inhabi- 
 tants. Uut when Simon saw that the people 
 of Jerusalem were terrified at the circum- 
 stances they were in, he desired to make a 
 speech to them, and thereby to render them 
 more resolute in opposing Trypho when he 
 should come against them. He then called 
 the peo|)le together into the temple, and thence 
 began thus to encourage them; — "O 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 there- 
 fore such plenty of examples before me, and 
 we of our family have determined with our- 
 selves to die for our laws and our divine wor- 
 ship, there shall no terror be so great as to 
 banish this resolution from our souls, nor to 
 introduce in its place a love of life and a con- 
 temjit of glory. Do you therefore follow nic 
 wiili alacrity whithersoever 1 shall lead you, 
 
 X. 
 
 / 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 353 
 
 as not destitute of such a captain as is willing 
 to suffer, and to do the greatest things foryou ; 
 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 de- 
 monstrations 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 child- 
 ren, from the injuries they intend against you, 
 and, with God's assistance, to preserve your 
 temple from destruction by them ; for I see 
 tliat these nations have you in contempt, as 
 being without a governor, and that they thence 
 are encouraged to make war against you." 
 
 4. By this speech of Simon he inspired the 
 multitude with courage ; and as they had be- 
 fore been dispirited through fear, they were 
 now raised to a good hope of better things, 
 insomuch that the whole multitude of the peo- 
 ple cried out all at once, that Simon should be 
 leader; and that instead of Judas and Jona- 
 than his brethren, he should have the govern- 
 ment over them : and they promised that they 
 would readily obey him in whatsoever he 
 should command them. So he got together 
 immediately all his own soldiers that were fit 
 for war, and made haste in rebuilding the walls 
 of the city, and strengthening them by very 
 high and strong towers, and sent a friend of 
 his, one Jonathan, the son of Absalom, to 
 Joppa, and gave him order to eject the inhabi. 
 tants out of the city, for he was afraid lest they 
 should deliver up the city to Trypho j but he 
 himself staid to secure Jerusalem. 
 
 5. 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 army at the city Adida, 
 which is upon a hill, and beneath it lie the 
 plains of Judea. And when Trypho knew 
 tJiat Simon was by the Jews made their gover- 
 nor, he sent to him, and would have imposed 
 upon him by deceit and treachery, and de- 
 sired, if he would have his brother Jonathan 
 released, that he would send him a hundred 
 talents of silver, and two of Jonathan's sons 
 as hostages, that when he shall be released, 
 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 al- 
 though he knew that if he gave him the mo- 
 ney he sliould lose it, and that Trypho would 
 not set his brother free, and withal should 
 deliver the sons of Jonathan to the enemy, 
 yet becaus.- he was afraid that he should have 
 ti calumnj raised against him among the mul- 
 titude as the cause of his brother's death, if 
 he neitlier gave the money, nor sent Jona- 
 
 ^_ 
 
 than'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 eli. 
 gible to send the money and Jonathan's sons, 
 than to be liable to the imputation of not 
 complying with Trj-pho's offers, and thereby 
 refusing to save his brother. Accordingly, 
 Simon sent the sons of Jonathan and the mo- 
 ney ; 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, \vhile Si- 
 mon went over-against him with his army, 
 and all along pitched his camp over-against 
 his. 
 
 6. 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 cavalry 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 tliere was no passing, espe- 
 cially for the cavalry. This hindered him 
 from coming to Jerusalem ; whereupon Try- 
 pho removed tfience, and came into Celesyria, 
 and falling vehemently upon the land of Gi- 
 lead, 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 bro- 
 ther's bones, and buried them in their own 
 cityModin; 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 polished 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 apiece; 
 a work it was wonderful to see. Moreover, 
 he built seven pyramids also for his parents 
 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 monu- 
 ments 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 con- 
 cerned his death. 
 
 » There is some error in the copies here, when no more 
 than four ycais are ascnlied to the liigh-priestliood of 
 Jonathan. We know by Juscjihus's last Jewish chrona- 
 logy, Aiitiq. b. XX, ch x, that there was an interval of 
 sevun yeais between the death of Aleinuis, or Jaciiniiii, 
 the last high-priest, and the real h!gh-i)nesthoo(l of Jo- 
 nathan, to whom yet those seven years seem here to be 
 ascribtd, as a part of them were to Judas before, Antiq. 
 b. xii, eh. x, sect. 6. N'ow since, bcsitlcs tliese se\en 
 years intenegnum in the potitificatc, we are told. An- 
 tic), b. XX, ch. X, that Jo;:aihan's real high-iiricsthoixl 
 l.i.--;ed seven years more, these two seen years will n.ake 
 up fourteen ytars; which 1 suppose was Josephus's own 
 number iu this place, ins'ead of the four in our present 
 copies. 2 G 
 
.3:j4 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JF:\VS. 
 
 BOOK XIII 
 
 7. But Simon, who wns made liigli-pricst 
 by ilie miiltitiide, on the very first year of his 
 high-priesllioo(), set liis people free from their 
 slavery under tiie Macedonians, and permit- 
 ted tliem to pay tribute to tliem no lonj;er ; 
 which liberty and free(h)m from tribute they 
 obtained, after a hundred and seventy years* 
 of tile kingdom of the Assyrians, whicii was 
 after Seleucus, wlio was calK'd Nicator, got 
 tlie dominion over Syria. Now the affection 
 of tlie multitude towards Simon was so great, 
 that in their contracts one with another, and 
 in their jiublic records, tliey wrote, " in the 
 first year of Simon the benefactor, and eth - 
 narch of the Jews ;" for under him they were 
 very ha])py, and overcame the enemies tliat 
 were round about them ; for Simon over- 
 threw the city Gazara, and Joppa, and Jam- 
 nia. He also took the citadel of Jerusalem 
 by siege, and cast it down to the ground, that 
 it might not !)e 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, lie thought it their 
 oest way, and most for their advantage, to 
 level the very mountain itself upon whicii the 
 citadel happened to stand, that so the temple 
 might Ikj higher than it. And indeed, when 
 tie had called the multitude to an assembly, 
 lie persuaded tiiem to have it so deniolislied, 
 and this by putting tliem in mind what mise- 
 ries they had suffered by its garrison and 
 the Jewish deserters ; and what miseries 
 they might hereafter suffer in case any fo- 
 reigner should obtain the kingdom, and put 
 a garrison into that citadel. 'J'his speech in- 
 duced the multitude 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 with- 
 out intermission, which cost them three whole 
 years before it was removed, and brouglit to 
 an entire \c\v\ with the plain of the rest of 
 the city. After whicii the tem|)le was the 
 highest of all the buildings, now the citadel, 
 as well as the mountain whereon it stood, 
 were demolished. And these actions were 
 thus performed under Simon, 
 
 • These one hundred and seventy years of tfie Assy- 
 rians mean no more, as Josephus explains himself lieie, 
 than fri)ni the jera of Seleiieus, whieh as it is known to 
 have began on the ol'.'th u'ar l)e:"ore tlio Christian ara, 
 from its spring in the (irst'liooJi. of MacraUrs, aiul from 
 its autumn ni the serond Ijiiok of Niarcii'i'-s, so .iid it 
 not Ix'gin at Habylon lill the neM spring, on tlie .)l Itli 
 year. See I'rid. at tlic year ol^J. And it is truly observ- 
 ed by Dr. Hudson on this place, that llic Syiiaiis and 
 Assyrians are sometimes confounded in ancient authors, 
 aecoriling to the words of Justin, the cpitomizer of Tro- 
 gus I'oinpeius, who says, tliat " the Assyrians were af 
 terwards called Syrians." II. i, eh. xi. See of the War, 
 b V, eh, ix, sect, l, where the Philislineithcmsehea, ac 
 tlie very south limit of Syria in its utmost extent, are 
 cilled Assyrians by Josephus, as Spanheiin observes. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW SIMON CONJKIJKRATKD IIIMSF.LF WITH 
 ANTIOCHUS PIUS, A.VlJ MADli WAJl AGAINST 
 TKYI'HO, AND, A LITTLF, AriKKWARDS, A- 
 GAINST CKNUKHIl'S, THE GENKRAL OF AN- 
 TIOCHUS'S ARMY ; AS ALSO HOW SI.MON WAS 
 MURDERED HY HIS SON-I.N-LAW, FfOLEMY 
 AND THAT BY TREACHERY. 
 
 § 1. f Now a little while after Demetrius 
 had lieen cariied into captivity, Tryplio his 
 governor destroyed Antiochus, \ the son of 
 Alexander, who was also called Tlie God,\\ 
 and this when lie had reigned four years, 
 though he gave it out that he died under the 
 hands of the surgeons. He then sent liis 
 friends, and those that were most intimate 
 with him, to the soldiers, and |)romised that 
 he would give tl:em a great deal of moriey if 
 they would make him king. He intimated 
 to them that Demetrius was made a cjptive 
 by the Parthians ; and that Demetrius's bro- 
 ther Antiochus, 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 
 
 t It must here be diligently noted, that Josephus's 
 copy of the first book of Maccabees, which he had so 
 carefully followed, and faithfully abridged, as far as the 
 fiftieth verse of the thirteenth chapter, seems there to 
 haveended. What few things there are afterwards com- 
 mon to both, might probably be learned by hiin from 
 soii^e other more imperfect records. However, we must 
 exactly observe here, what the remaining part of that 
 bocdi of the Maccabees informs us of, and what Jose- 
 phus would never have omitted had his copy contained 
 so much, — that ttiis Simon the Great, the "\ .iccalK'e, 
 made a league with Antiochus Soter, the son of Deme- 
 trius Soter, and brother of the otlier Demetrius, who 
 was now a captive in I'arthia ; that upon his coming to 
 the crown, about the Mith year before the Christian 
 a'la, he granted great privileges to the Jewish nation 
 and to Simon their high-priest and ethnareh : whiih 
 privileges Simon seems to have taken of his own aeeo d 
 about uiree years before. In particular, he gave him 
 leave to coin money for his country with his own stamp: 
 and as concerning Jerusalem and the sanctuary, that they 
 should be free, or, .as ihe Milgar latin haih it, '• holy 
 and free" (1 Maccab. xv, G, 71, which 1 take to be the 
 true reading, .as being the very words of his father's 
 coiKcssion offered to Jonathan several years before: ch. 
 X. 31 ; and Antiip b. xiii, eh. ii, sect. .3. Now what makes 
 this date and these grants greatly remarkable, is the state 
 of the icmaining genuine shekels of th« Jews with Sa- 
 maritan characters, which seem to have bten (most of 
 them at lea>tl wiincd m the first four years of this Simon 
 the Asaiiionean, and iiav ing upon ihem these words on 
 one side, " Jerusiilem the Holy ;" and on the reverse, 
 " In the N'ear of l-'reedcui," 1, or '.', or 5, or 4 : which 
 shekels, therefore, are original monuments of these 
 times, and undeniable marks of the truth of the history 
 in these chapters, though it be in great mca.-ure omitted 
 by Josephus. See hssay on the Old Test. p. ].J7, l,iS. 
 The reason why I rather sujipose that his copy of Ihe 
 Maccaljees wanted these chapters, than that his'own co- 
 pies are here impeitVct, is this: That all their contents 
 iire not here omitted, though much the greater part Ix!. 
 
 X How Trypho killed this Antiochus, the epitome of 
 I. ivy informs us, chap. 5.», viz. that he corrupted his 
 physicians or surgeons, wno f.ilsely pretended to Ihe 
 iieopie that he was perishing with the slone, as they cut 
 nim for it, killed him ; winch exactly agrees with Jose- 
 phus. 
 
 II That this Antiochus, the son of .Alexander Bala.^, 
 wa> called " the (j'od," is evidei.t from his coins, whicl: 
 Spanheim assures us bi\<r lliis inse iption : " King An 
 I tiuebus the tinU ; Epiphaitcii tlw Victurious." 
 
■\. 
 
 ANTIQUJTIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VII- 
 
 should get by besr-»n'ing the kingdom upon 
 Trypho, made him their ruler. However, 
 when Trypho had gained the management of 
 affairs, he demonstrated his disposition to be 
 wicked ; for while he was a private person, 
 he cultivated a familiarity with the multitude, 
 and pretenaed to great moderation, and so 
 drew them on artfully to whatsoever lie pleas- 
 ed ; but when he had once taken the king- 
 dom, he laid aside any farther 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 children ; 
 but as Antiochus, the brother of Demetrius 
 who was called Soter, was not admitted by 
 any of the cities, on account of Trypho, Cleo- 
 patra sent to him, and invited 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 people of Seleucia should deliver up the 
 city to Trypho. 
 
 2. As Antiochus was now come to Seleucia, 
 and his forces increased every day, he march- 
 ed to fight Trypho ; and having beaten him 
 in the battle, he ejected him out of the Up- 
 per Syria into Phcenicia, and pursued him 
 thither, and besieged him in Dora, which was 
 a fortress hard to be taken, whitlier he had 
 fled. He also sent ambassadors to Simon the 
 Jewish high-priest, about a league of friend- 
 ship and mutual assistance; wlio readily ac- 
 cepted of the invitation, and sent to Antio- 
 chus great sums of money and provisions for 
 those that besieged Dora, and thereby sup- 
 plied them very plentifully, so that for a lit- 
 tle while he was looked upon as one of his 
 most intimate friends; but still Trypho fled 
 from Dora to Apamia, where he was taken 
 during the siege, and put to death, when he 
 had reigned tliree years. 
 
 3. However, Antiochus forgot the kind as- 
 sistance that Simon had afforded him in his 
 necesj^ily, by reason of his covetous and wick- 
 ed disposition, and committed an army of 
 soldiers to his friend Cendebeus, 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 were now 
 in years, yet, provoked with the unjust treat- 
 ment lie had mtt with from Antiociuis, 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 liimself marched on with his army an- 
 other way, and laid many of his men in am- 
 bushes in tlie 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 
 ae led the rest of his life in peacev,and did 
 
 355 
 
 also himself make a league with the Ro- 
 mans. 
 
 4. Now he was ruler of the Jews in all 
 eight years ; but at a feast came to his end. 
 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. lie 
 also sent some to kill John the third son, 
 whose name was Hyrcanus: but the young 
 man perceiving them coming, he avoided the 
 danger he was in from them,* and made haste 
 into the city [Jerusalem], as relying on tlie 
 good-will of the multitude, because of the 
 benefits they had received from his father, and 
 because of the hatred the same multitude bare 
 to Ptolemy ; so that when Ptolemy was en- 
 deavouring to enter the city by another gate, 
 they drove him away, as having already ad- 
 mitted Hyrcanus. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HYRCANUS RECEIVES THE HrCH-PRIESTHOOD, 
 AND EJECTS PTOLEJIY OUT OF THE COUN- 
 TRY. ANTIOCHUS MAKES WAR AGAINST 
 HYRCANUS, AND AFTERWARDS WAKES A 
 LEAGUE WITH HIM. 
 
 § 1. So Ptolemy retired to one of the for- 
 tresses that was above Jericho, which was call- 
 ed Dagon. But Hyrcanus having taken the 
 high-priesthood that had been his father's be- 
 fore, and in the first place propitiated God by 
 sacrifices, he then made an expedition against 
 Ptoleiriy ; and when he made his attacks up- 
 on 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 tliat only ; for Pto- 
 lemy brought them upon the wall, and tor- 
 mented them in the sight of all, and threat- 
 ened that he would throw them down head- 
 long, 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 mo- 
 ther spread out her hands, and begged of . im 
 that he would not grow remiss on her account, 
 but indulge his indignation so inuch the more, 
 and that he would do his utmost to take the 
 jjlace quickly, in order to get their enemy un- 
 der his power, and then to avenge upou him 
 
 * Here Josephus be^ns to follow and fo abridge the 
 next sacred Hebrew book, stvlc<l in the end ot" the first 
 book of Maccabees, "The Chronicle of John [Hyrca. 
 nus's] High-priesthood ;" but in some of the Greek I 
 copies, " the fourth book of Maccabees." A Greek 
 version of this chronicle was extant not very long jigo, 
 in the days of Santes Pagninus and Sixtus Senensis. at 
 L\ons, though it seems to have been there burnt, and 
 to be utterly lost. See Sixtus Senensis's account of it, 
 of its jniiny Hebraisms, and its agreement witli J115& 
 jihus"* abriagement, in the Authent. Rec. iiart 1, n. ^'j6. 
 airj, SOS, 
 
 ~^, 
 
356 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 «liat lie had done to those tliat were dearest 
 to liiiiiself ; for that death would be to her 
 sweet, though with torment, if tJiat enemy 
 of tlieirs might hut be brouglit to punishment 
 for his wicked dealings to them. Now when 
 his mother said so, he resolved to take tlie for- 
 tress immediately ; but when he saw her beaten, 
 and torn to pieces, his courage failed him, and 
 he could not but sympathize with wiiat his 
 mother suffered, and was thereby overcome ; sooner spent by them, and yet, as is natural tc 
 
 BOOK XIII 
 
 bitants within it as within a wall ; but the 
 besieged contrived to make frcijucnt sallies 
 out; and if the enemy were not anywhere 
 u))on tlieir guaid, tiiey fell upon them, and 
 did them a great deal of mischief; and if they 
 perceived them, they tiien retired into the city 
 with ease. But because Hyrcanus discerned 
 the inconvenience of so great a number of 
 men in the city, while the provisions were tlie 
 
 id as the siege was drawn out into length 
 by this means, that year on which the Jews 
 use to rest, came on ; for the Jews observe this 
 rest every seventh year, as they do every sevent-li 
 
 suppose, those great numbers did nothing, he 
 separated the useless part, and excluded iliem 
 out of the city, and retained that part only 
 who were in tlie flower of their age, and fit 
 
 day ; so that Ptolemy being for this cause re- i for war. However, Antiochus would not let 
 leased from the war,* he slew the brethren of j those that were excluded go away ; who, there- 
 Hyrcanus and his mother : and when he had | fore, wandering about between the walls, and 
 so done, he fled to Zeno, who was called Coty- I consuming away by famine, died miserably ; 
 las, who was then the tyrant of the city Phi- I but when the feast of tabernacles was at band^ 
 ladelphia. those that were within commiserated their 
 
 2. But Antiiichus, being very uneasy at the condition, and received them in again. And 
 miseries that Simon had brought u))on him, when Hyrcanus sent to Antiochus, and de- 
 he invaded Judea in the fourth year of his sired there miglit be a truce for seven days, 
 reign, and the first year of the principality of because of the festival, he gave way to this 
 Hyrcanus, in the hundred and sixty-second piety towards (iod, and made that truce ac- 
 Olympiad.f And when he had burnt the j cordingly ; and besides that, he sent in a mag- 
 country, he shut up Hyrcanus in the city, nificent sacrifice, bulls with theirhornsgilded.j 
 
 which he encompassed round \vith seven en- 
 campments ; but did nothing at the first, be- 
 cause of the strength of the walls, and be- 
 cause of the valour of the besieged, althougii 
 they were once in want of water, wliich yet 
 they were delivered from by a large shower 
 of rain, which fell at the setting of the Pleia 
 
 with all sorts of sweet spices, and with cups ot 
 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 feasting his army, which was a 
 quite different conduct from Antiochus Epi- 
 phanes, who, when he had taken the city, of- 
 
 des.| However, about the north part of the fered swine upon the altar, and sprinkled the 
 wall, where it happened the city was u])on a I temple with the broth of their flesh, in order 
 level with the outward ground, the king raised ! to violate the laws of the Jews, and the reli- 
 gion they derived from their fortlathers ; for 
 which reason our nation made war with liim, 
 and would never be reconciled to him ; but 
 for this Antiochus, all men called him Antu>- 
 chus the Pious, for the great zeal he had about 
 religion. 
 
 3. Accordingly, Hyrcanus took this mode- 
 ration of his kindly ; and when he understood 
 how religions he was towards the Deity, he 
 sent an embassage to him, and desired that he 
 would restore the settlements they received 
 from their forefathers. So he rejected the 
 counsel of those that would have him utterly 
 destroy 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 reli- 
 gious mind, he answered tiie ambassadors, 
 ic'A.n llyrcamis, whifh we have just now seen to liavc j that if the besieged would deliver up their 
 
 a hundred towers of three stories high, and 
 pla,-;ed bodies of soldiers upon them ; and as 
 be made his attacks every day, he cut a double 
 ditch, deep and broad, and confined the inha- 
 
 * Hence we learn, that in the days of this excel- 
 lent high-priest, John Hyrcanus, the observation of tlie 
 Sabljatic Vear, as Joscphus supposed, required a rest 
 from w:ir, as liid that of the weekly Sabb.ith from work ; 
 I mean this, unless in the case of necessity, when the 
 Jews were attacked by th;ir enemies, in winch case, in- 
 deed, and in which alone, they then allowed defensive 
 fightiny to be lawful even on the Sabbath-day, as we see 
 in several places of JoRC'iiluis, Anticp b. xii, ch. vi, sect. 
 2; b. xiii, ch. i, sect. . I ; Of the War, b. i, ch. vii, sect. 
 3. But then it must be noteit, that this rest from war 
 no way appears in the tirst book of Maccabees (ch. xvi , 
 but the (lircct contrary ; though inded the Jews, in the 
 (lays of Antioclni Kpiphanes, did n^/t venture upon 
 iigb ling on the SabbaUi-day, even in the defence of iJieir 
 own lives, till the ;\.samoneans or Maccalxcs decreed so 
 to do, 1 Mao. ii, -'^2 — 41 ; Aiitiq. b. xii, ch. vi, sect. 2 
 
 T Joscnhus's copies, both fJreek and I.atm, have here 
 a gross niistako, when they say that this first year of 
 
 ley 
 'c h 
 
 been a Sabbatic Vear, was in the I ()2d Olympiad, where- 
 as it was for c-ertain the second year of the J6Ist. See 
 the like Ijefore, b. xii, ch. vii, sect G. 
 
 t 'I'liis helical selling of the I'leiadcs, or seven stars, 
 was, in tlie <lays of Hyrcmits and Josciilius, early in the 
 spring, about Kcbruary, the time of the latter rain in 
 Judea: and this, so far .as 1 iemeinl)er, is the only as- 
 tronomical character of time, besides one eclipse of the 
 moon in llie reign of llcrod, that we meet within all 
 Joseplius : the Jews being little actustoineil to ■•ushrono- 
 nucal oUsenatioiis, anytaitlii't llnu) for tiieu^es of their 
 italeiidii ; ami utterly forbidden those iistroloaical uses 
 which the healhens commonly made of Ihvm 
 
 arms, and pay tribute for Joppa, and the 
 other cities which bordered upon Judea, and 
 
 II Pr. Hudson tells us hero, that this custom of gild- 
 ing the horns of those oxen that wcte to be sacrificed, 
 is a Known thing ijoth in the poets ai:d orators. 
 
 Jj This account in Joscphus, that the prc.-cnt .-Xntio- 
 chiis w^us ]>cr^u :il(»', tJiouj;h in vain, t ot to make pi ace 
 wiih the .le\is, but to cut them oftultcrly, is fully eon- 
 firmed by Dii.durus biculiis. in I'hotius's extioetsuutof 
 his -j lUi liooL 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 357 
 
 admit a garrison of liis, on tliese terms he 
 \»ould 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 converse with 
 them ; yet were they willing, instead of the 
 admission of the garrison, to give him hosta- 
 ges, and five hundred talents of silver ; of 
 which they paid down three hundred, and 
 sent the hostages immediately, which king 
 Antiochus accepted. One of those 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. 
 
 4. But Hyrcaiuis opened the sepulchre of 
 David, who excelled all other kings in riches, 
 and took out of it three thousand talents. He 
 was also the first of the Jews tiiat, relying on 
 this wealth, maintained foreign troops. Tliere 
 was also a league of friendship and mutual 
 assistance made between them ; upon which 
 Hyrcanus admitted him into the city, and 
 furnished him with whatsoever his army want- 
 ed in great plenty, and with great generosi- 
 ty, and marched along with him when he made 
 an expedition against the Partln'ans, of which 
 Nicolaus of Damascus is a witness for us ; 
 who, in his history writes thus :— " When 
 Antioclius had erected a trophy at the river 
 Lycus, upon his conquest of Indates, the ge- 
 nera! of the Parthians, he staid there two days. 
 It was at the desire of Hyrcanus the Jew, be- 
 cause it was sucl) 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 
 tlien fall out to be the next day to the Sab- 
 batli : nor is it lawful for us to journey, either 
 on the Sabbath-day, or on a festival day.* 
 But when Antiochus joined battle with Ar- 
 saces, the king of Parthia, he lost a great part 
 of his army, and was himself slain ; and his 
 brother Demetrius succeeded in the kingdom 
 of Syria, by the permission of Arsaces, who 
 freed him from his captivity at tiie same time 
 that Antiochus attacked Parthia, as we have 
 formerly related elsewhere. 
 
 » The Jews were not to inarch or journey on the Sab- 
 bath, or on sue!) a great festival as was equivalent to tiie 
 SabL>.»t]i, any farther than a Sabbath-ilay's jouniey, or 
 two tJiousa.nd cubits. Sue the note oa A"tjq. b. xx, cli. 
 viii, se.'t (i. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW, AFTER THE DEATH OF ANTIOCHUS, HYR- 
 CANUS MADE AN EXPEDITION AGAINST SY- 
 RIA, AND MADE A LEAGUE WITH THE RO- 
 MANS. CONCERNING THE DEATH OF KING 
 DEMETRIUS AND ALEXANDER. 
 
 § 1. But when Hyrcanus heard of the death 
 of Antiochus, he presently made an expedi- 
 tion 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 without the greatest 
 distress of his army. After this he took 
 Saniega, and the neighbouring places; nnii, 
 besides tliese, Shechein and Garizzim, a-:id 
 the nation of the Cutheans, who dwelt at 
 the temple which resembled that temple 
 which was at Jerusalem, and which Alex- 
 ander permitted Sanbaliat, the general of 
 his army, to build for the sake of Manas- 
 seh, who was son-in-law to Judua the high- 
 priest, as we have formerly related ; which 
 temple was now deserted two hundred years 
 after it was built. Hyrcanus took also Dora 
 and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued 
 all the Idumeans ; and permitted them to stay 
 in that country, if they would circumcise thei? 
 genitals, and make use of the laws of the 
 Jews; and they were so desirous of living in 
 the country of their forefathers, that they sub- 
 mitted to the use of circumcision, j- and the 
 rest of the Jewish ways of living; at which time 
 (lierefore this befel them, that they were here- 
 after no other than Jews. 
 
 2. But Hyrcanus the high-priest was de- 
 sirous to renew the league of friendship they 
 
 j This account of the Idumeans admitting circumci- 
 sion, and the entire Jewish law, from this time, or from 
 the days of Hyrcanus, is confirmed by their entire his- 
 tory aftei wards, see Antiq. b. xiv, eh. viii, sect. 1 ; b. 
 XV, ch. vij, sect. 9. Of the War, b. ii, ch. iii, sect, i ; 
 b. iv, ch. i\ , sect. 5. This, in the opinion of Josephu.;, 
 made them proselytes of jusliee, or entire Jews, as here 
 and ehev.hcre, Antiq. b. xiv, eh. viii, sect. 1. How- 
 ever, Anti^'iiiuis, the enemy of Herod, though Henxi 
 wcri- derived from such a proselyte of jiistice for seve- 
 ral Kcuerations, will allow him to be no more than a half 
 Jew, b. XV, ch. xv, sect. 2. But still, take out of Dean 
 I'rideaux, at the year ll'9, the words of ."^mmonius, a 
 grammarian, which fully confirm this account of the 
 Idumeans, in Joseiihus: " The Jews," says he, " ara 
 such by nature, and from the beginunig, whilst the Idu- 
 nie .ns were not Jews from the ueginr.ing, but Phceni- 
 dans and Syrians ; but being afterwards subdued by the 
 Jews and ci impelled to bo circumcised, and to unite in- 
 to one nation, and bo subject to the same lav/s, they 
 were called Jews." Dio also says, as the Dean there 
 {)uotes liim, from twok xxxvi, p. 57, " That country 
 is also called Judea, and the people Jews ; and this 
 name is given also to as many otiiers as embrace their 
 religion, though of other natiiins." But then upon what 
 fuundalion so good a giAernor as Hyrcanus took upon 
 him to compel those Idumeans eiih'er to become Jews 
 or to leave the country, deserves great consideration. I 
 suppose it was because they had long ago bepu driven 
 out of the land of Edoni, and had seized on and pos- 
 sessed the tribe of Simeon, and all the southern pari of 
 the trilie of Judah, which was the peculiar inheritaiics 
 of t^e worship ers of the true Go<l without idolatry, 
 as the reader may learn from Riland, I'aleoiine, part i, 
 p 1.51, 50.5, and from Pridcaux, at the ycai-s Hi) am> 
 
 -T 
 
"X 
 
 358 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIII. 
 
 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 tliem, after the manner fol- 
 lowing : — " Fanius, the son of Marcus, the 
 pra;tor, gathered the senate together on the 
 eighth day before the Ides of February, in the 
 senate-house, when Lucius Manlius, the son 
 of Lucius, of the Mentinc tribe, and Caius 
 St.'mproniiis, the son of Caius, of the Faler- 
 tiian tribe, were present. The occasion was, 
 that the ambassadors sent by tlie people of the 
 Jews,* Simon, the son of Dositheus, and A- 
 pollonius, the son of Alexander, and Dio- 
 dorus, the son of Jason, who were good and 
 virtuous men, had somewhat to propose about 
 that league of friendship and mutual c.ssist- 
 ance wliich subsisted between tiiem and the 
 Romans, and about other public affairs, who 
 desired tiiat Joppa, and the havens, and Gaz- 
 ara, and the springs [of Jordan 1, and the se- 
 veral other cities and countries of theirs, wliich 
 /witiochus had taken from them in the war, 
 contrary to the decree of the senate, 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, with- 
 out the decree of the senate, might be made 
 void : and tiiat they would send ambassadors, 
 V. Iio should take care that restitution be made 
 tliuni of what Antiochus had taken from theni, 
 and tliat tliev should make an estimate of tlie 
 
 to Ptolemy, who was tailed Physcon, that he 
 
 would send them one of the family of Seleu- 
 cus, in order to take the kingdom, and ho 
 sent tliem Alexander, who was called Zebina, 
 with an army, and there had been a battle 
 between them, Demetrius was beaten in the 
 fight, and fled to Cleopatra his wife, to Ptole- 
 mais J but his wife would not receive him. 
 He went thence to Tyre, and was there 
 caught ; and when he had siifl'ered much from 
 his enemies before his dealli, he was slain by 
 them. So Alexander took the kingdom, and 
 made a league "ith Hyrcanus. Yet, when 
 he afterward fought with Antiochus the son 
 of Demetrius, who was called Grypus, he 
 was alto beaten in the fight, and slain. 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 HOW, UPON THE QUARREL BETWEEN ANTIOCHU3 
 GUYl'US AND ANTIOCHUS CYZICENUS, ABOUT 
 THE KINGDOM, HYRCANUS TOOK SAMARIA, 
 AND UTTERLY DEMOLISHED IT j AND HOW 
 HYRCANUS JOINED HIMSELF TO THE SECT 
 OF THE SAUDUCEES, AND LEFT THAT OF THB 
 PHARISEES. 
 
 § 1. When Antiochus had taken the king 
 dom, he was afraid to make war against Judea, 
 because he heard that his brother by tiie same 
 mother, who was called Antiochus, was raising 
 an army against him out of Cyzicuin ; so he 
 
 country that had been laid waste in the war: i staid in his own land, and resolved to prepare 
 and that they would grant them letters of i himself for tiie attack he expected from his 
 protection to the kings and free people, in i brother, who was called Cyzicenus, because he 
 order to their quiet return home. It was had been brought up in that city. He wa3 
 
 therefore decreed as to these points^ to renew 
 their league of friendship and mutual assist- 
 ance with these good men, and who were sent 
 
 the son of Antiochus that was called Soter, 
 who died in Parthia. He was the brother of 
 Deinelrius, the father of Grypus ; for it had so 
 
 jy a good and a friendly people." — But as 1 happened, tiiat one and the same Cleopatra 
 
 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 
 
 was married to two who were brethren, as we 
 have related elsewhere. IJut Antiochus Cyzi- 
 cenus coining into Syria, continued many 
 years at war with his brother. Now Hyr- 
 canus lived all tins v>liile in peace; for after 
 
 them: and that their pra;tor Fanius should the death of Antiochus, he revolted from tlie 
 give them money out of the jiublic treasury j iMacedonians,f nor did he any longer pay them 
 to bear (heir expenses home. And thus did [the least regard, either as their subject or their 
 Fanius dismiss the Jeuish ambassadors, aiul friend, but his all'airs were in a very improv- 
 gave them money out of the public treasury ; |ing and flourishing condition in the times of 
 and gave the decree of the senate to those that j Alexander Zebina, and especially under these 
 were to conduct tliein, and to take care that j brethren, for the war which they had with one 
 they should return home in safely. another gave Hyrcanus the opportunity ofen- 
 
 3. And thus stood the all'airs of Hyrcanus joying himself in Judea quietly, iiisomticli 
 tlie high-priest. IJiit as for king Demetrius, tiiat he got an inniiense quantity of money. 
 \\ho had a njiiid t(» make war against Ilyr- However, when Antiochus Cyzicenus distre>s- 
 canus, there was no opportunity nor room for ed his land, he tlien openly showed what he 
 it, while both the Syrians and the soldiers meant. And when he saw that Antiochus 
 bare ill-will to him, because he was an ill 
 man. Hut when they had sent ambassadors 
 
 • lu this ikfoe of tlic Riinian senate, it seems that 
 these auib.is ailors wea' sent from lliu "pcoiilcof thu 
 Jews," iu well H.s from their i)riiu:e or hii;li-()i]Cit John. 
 
 t ntnn Prideaiix takes notice at the year 1,"0, that 
 Justin, in ;in iifjiut'incnt witli Josejihns, sajs, •• The 
 pout r (ii iho Ji'ws was now grown so gre.it, that alter 
 iliis Antiochus, thev would not l>car any Macedonian 
 Uinj; OMT thcin ; anil that (liey set up a government o' 
 Ihcir own, anil infested byria with great wars," 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 359 
 
 was destitute of Egyptian auxiliaries, and that 
 botii lie and his brother were in an ill condi- 
 tion in tile struggles they had one with an- 
 other, he despised them both. 
 
 2. So he made an expedition against Sa- 
 maria, which was a very strong city , of ^^ hose 
 present name Sebaste, and its rebuilding by 
 Herod, we shall speak at a proi)er time ; but 
 he made his attack against it, and besieged it 
 with a great deal of pains ; for he was great- 
 ly displeased with the Samaritans for the in- 
 juries they had done to the people of Marissa, 
 a colony of the Jews, and confederate with 
 them, 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 fourscore furlongs long, he set his sons 
 Antigonus and Aristobulus over the siege ; 
 which brought the Samaritans to that great 
 distress by famine, that they were forced to 
 eat wliat used not to be eaten, and to call for 
 Antiochus Cyzicenus to iielp them, ivho came 
 readily to their assistance, but was beaten by 
 Aristobulus ; and when he was pursued as 
 <"ar 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 se- 
 cond time to help them, who procured about 
 six thousand 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 
 .-avage 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 hav- 
 ing an army sufficient for that purpose, but 
 only from this supposal, that by thus harass- 
 ing his land he should force Hyrcanus to 
 raise the siege of Samaria; but because he 
 fell into snares, and lost many of his soldiers 
 therein, he went away to Tripoli, and com- 
 mitted the prosecution of the war against the 
 Jews to Callimander and Epicrates. 
 
 3. 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 jilaces near it, 
 to the Jews ; but was not able to make them 
 raise the siege of Samaria. And when Hyr- 
 canus had taken tlie 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 tliat there had ever been such a 
 city there. Now a very surprising thing is 
 related of this higii-pri.'.'st Hyrcanus, how Uod 
 came to discourse with him : for they sav 
 that on the very same day on \^hiell his sons 
 fought with Antiochus Cyzicenus, he was a- 
 lone in the temple, as high-priest, ofttring in- 
 
 cense, and heard a voice, that his sons had 
 just then overcome Antiochus. And this he 
 openly declared before all the multitude or 
 his coming out of the temple ; and it accord 
 ingly proved true ; and in this posture wen 
 the affairs of Hyrcanus. 
 
 4. Now it happened at this time, that no( 
 only those .Jews who were at Jerusalem and 
 in Judea were in prosperity, but also those ol 
 them that were at Alexandria, and in Egypt^ 
 and Cyprus, for Cleopatra the queen was al 
 variance with her son Ptolemy, who was call- 
 ed Lathyrus, and appointed for her generals, 
 Chelcias and Ananias, the sons of that Onias 
 who built the temple in the prefecture of He- 
 liopolis, like that at Jerusalem, as we have 
 elsewhere related. Cleopatra intrusted these 
 men with her army ; and did nothing without 
 their advice, as Strabo of Cappadocia attests, 
 when he saith thus: — " Now the greater part, 
 both those that came to Cyprus with us, and 
 those that were sent afterward thither, revolt- 
 ed to Ptolemy immediately ; only those that 
 were called Onias's party, being Jews, conti- 
 nued faithful, because their countrymen Chel- 
 cias and Ananias were in chief favour with 
 the queen." These axe the words of Strabo, 
 
 5. 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 multi- 
 tude, 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 entertained them very kindly, when 
 he saw them in a good humour, he began to 
 say to them, tiiat 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. However, he 
 desired, that if they observed him offending in 
 any point, and going out of the right way, 
 tliey 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 Elea- 
 
 » The original of the Sadilucees, as a considerable 
 [larty among the Jews, being coiilained in this and the 
 two following sections, take [lean Prideaux's note upon 
 tliis their first public appearance, whieh I suppose to be 
 true : — " Hyrcanus," says he, " went o\et to the party 
 of the Sadducees, 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 oi so good and nghtcousaman 
 as John Hyrcanus is said to be. It is rriost probable, 
 that at this time tlie Sa Idiicccs had gone no farther in 
 the doctrines of ttiat sect than to deny all their un- 
 written traditions, which the Pharisees were so fond nf; 
 for Joseptuis mentions no o'.he ditTcrence at this time 
 between tliem; neither doth he say that MxrKiiius went 
 over to the Sadducees in any other pariiciilai- than in 
 the abolisking of all the traditionary constitutionsof the 
 Pharisees, which our .Svioiu- condemned as well a» 
 they." /"Af 'Siu year IdS.J 
 
S60 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIII 
 
 znr,* a man of au ill temper, and delighting! 7. But when Ilyrcanus had put an end lo 
 in seditious practices. This man said, " Since this sedition, he alter that lived lia[)pily, and 
 thou desirest to know the truth, if ihou wilt administered the government in the best man- 
 be righteous in earnest, lay down the high- ner for thirty-one years, and then died,f leav- 
 priesthood, and content thyself with tiie civil ing behind him five sons. He was esteemed 
 government of the peo|)le." And when he by God worthy of the three privileges, — the 
 desired to know for what cause he ought to , government of his nation, the dignity of the 
 lay down the high priesthood, the other re- I high-priesthood, and prophecy; for (iod was 
 jjlied, " We have heard it from old tnen, that' with him, and enabled him to know futuri- 
 thy mother had been a captive under the | ties ; and to foretel this in particular, that, as 
 rtign of Antiochus Epiphanes." This siory'to his two eldest sons, he foretold that they 
 was false, and Hyrc;inus was provoked against j would not long continue in the government 
 
 of public ailairs ; whose unhappy catastrophe 
 will he worth our description, that we may 
 thence learn how very much they were infe- 
 rior to their father's happiness. 
 
 liim ; and all the Pharisees had a very great 
 indignation against liiin. 
 
 6. Now there was one Jonathan, a very great 
 friend of Hyrcanus, but of the sect of the Sad- 
 ducees, whose notions are (juite contrary to 
 those of the Pharisees. He told Hyrcanus that 
 Eleazar had cast such a reproach upon him, ac- 
 cording to the common sentiments of all the 
 Pharisees, ai.d that this would be made ma- 
 nifest if he would but ask him the question, 
 What punishment they thought this man de- 
 served ? for that he mij^ht depend upon it, 
 that the reproach was not laid on hiin with 
 their ajiprobation, if they were for punishing 
 him as his crime deserved. So the Pharisees 
 made answer, that he deserved stripes and 
 bonds ; but that it did not seem right to pu- 
 nish reproaches with death ; and indeed the ; dead, the eldest son Aristobulus, intending to 
 Pharisees, even upon other occasions, are notjchani^e the government into a kingdom, for 
 apt to be severe in punishments. At tiiis so he resolved to do, first of all put a diadem 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW ARISTOBULUS, WHEN HE HAD TAKEN THE 
 GOVF.RN.MI.NT, riRST OF ALL PUT A DIADK.M 
 ON HIS HEAD, AND WAS JIOST BAaUAKGLSLY 
 CRUEL TO HIS .MOTHER AND HIS HKETHUEN; 
 AND HOW, ArrEK HE HAD SLAIN ANTIGO- 
 NUS, HE HIMSELF DIED. 
 
 § 1. Now when their father Hyrcanus was 
 
 • gei;tle sentence, Hyrcanus was very angry, 
 and thought that this man reproached him 
 by their a])probation. It was this Jonathan 
 who chiefly irritated him, and influenced him 
 
 on liis head, four iiuiidred and eighty one 
 years and three months after the people had 
 been delivered from the Babylonish slavery, 
 and were returned to their own country again 
 
 so far, that he made him leave the party of T'lis Aristobulus loved his next brother An 
 
 tigonus, and treated him as his equal ; but the 
 others he held in bonds. He also cast his 
 mother into prison, because she disputed the 
 government with him ; for Hyrcanus had left 
 her to be mistress of all. He also proceeded 
 
 t Here cuds the high-priesthood, and the life of this 
 exc'cllciit person John Hyrcanus; and together with him 
 the holy tiieoeraey, or divine government of the Jewish 
 nation, and its concomitant oracle by L'rim. Now fol- 
 lows the profane and tyrannical Jewish monarchy, first, 
 of the A.^iimoncans or Slaeeabees, and then of l!eio<l the 
 (ircat, tlic IdwniL'an, till the coming of the Messiah. See 
 the note on .\ntiq. b. iii, ch, viii, sect. U. Hear Strabos 
 te-timony on this occasion, b. xvi, jiage 761, Tti- :^ 
 " Those," says he, " that sucecedeil Moses, eonlhiucd 
 for some time in earnest, lx)th in righteous actions and 
 in piety ; but afier a while, there were oUicrs lliat took 
 upon them the high-priesthood; at first superslitiouj 
 and afterwards tyrannical persons. Such a prophet was 
 Moses and those that sueceedetl him, beginning In away 
 not to be blamed, but eh;uiging for ilie worse. Auo 
 when it openly appeared that the governn^ent was be- 
 come tyranni«il, .\ lexander was the first that set up him- 
 self for a king insttad of a priest; .ind his .sons were 
 Hyrcanus .-uid Ari-lobulus." All in agreement with 
 I Ji>-ephus, excepting this, that Strabo omits the first king 
 sees have the multitude of their side: but ' Aristiibulus, who reignni!' but a single vear, seems harcC 
 about these two sects, and that of the Es- ' '>' '" ',"",'' "^1'^ '° hii knowledge. "Nor indeed docs 
 - , , 1-1 , ■ -^risiobulus, the son of Alexander, pretend that the 
 
 sens, 1 have treated accurately in the second ; name of king was taken before his father Alexander 
 book of Jewish aflairs. I ''>"'' " '"""self, Antiii b. xiv, eh. iii, sect. *J. See also 
 
 ehap. xii, sect. 1, which favour Strabo eIso. And in- 
 1 deeil, if we iiiav judge from the very dillcrent ehar.ietcrs 
 « This slander, that arose from a Pharisee, has been of the Kg\pti.-in Jews under high-priests, and of the 
 prcservcil by their si;cce>sors the KabbiiH to these later Palestine Jews under kings, in the two next etiituries, 
 ages; f;irl)r. I luri.-;on assures us that I avid (iaiitz, in we may well suppose, that the divine .>-heehinah wa.s rc> 
 his C'hriinology, S. Pr. p. 77, in Vorstius's version, re- moved into Eg: pt, and that the worshiiipers at the teni- 
 lates that lljrcanus's mother was taken captive in pie of Onias were better men than those at Uie tenula 
 Mount Moilinth, sec chap, xiii, sect. 5. at Jerusalem 
 
 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 multitude : but of these matters we 
 shall speak hereafter. What I would now 
 explain is this, that the Pharisees have de- 
 livered to the peojjle 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 ob- 
 servances to be obligatory which are in the 
 written word, but are not to observe u hat are 
 derived from the tradition of our forefathers ; 
 and concerning these things it is that great 
 disputes and dilferences have arisen among 
 them, while the Sadducees are able to per- 
 suade none but the rich, and have not the 
 populace obsequious to them, but the Phari 
 
CHAP. XI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 301 
 
 to that degree of barbarity, as to kill her in 
 prison with hnnger ; nay, he was alienated 
 from his brother Antigoniisby calumnies, and 
 added him to the rest whom he slew ; yet he 
 seemed to have an affection for him, and made 
 him above the rest a partner with him in the 
 kingdom. Those calumnies he at first did 
 not give credit to, partly because he loved 
 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 Antigonus 
 was once returned from the army, and that 
 feast was then at hand when they make taber- 
 nacles to [the honour of] God, it happened 
 that Aristobulus was fallen sick, and that An- 
 tigonus 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 many prayers for the recovery of his bro- 
 ther, when some wicked persons, who had a 
 great mind to raise a difference between the 
 brethren, made use of this opportunity of the 
 pompous appearance of Antigonus, and of 
 the great actions which he had done, and went 
 to the king, and spitefully aggravated the 
 pompous show of his at the feast, and pre- 
 tended that all these circumstances were not 
 like those of a private person ; that these ac- 
 tions were indications of an affectation of 
 royal authority ; 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 silly tiling in him, 
 wliile it was in his power to reign himself, to 
 look upon it as a great favour that he was 
 honourtd with a lower dignity by his brother. 
 2. Aristobulus yielded to these imputa- 
 tions, but took care both that his brother 
 should not suspect him, and that he himself 
 might not run the hazard of his own safety ; 
 so he ordered his guards to lie iti a certain 
 place that was under grotind, 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 
 tmarmed, they should not touch any body, 
 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 himself a fine suit of 
 armour for war, and desired him to come to 
 him in that armour, that he might see how 
 fine it was. So Antigonus, suspecting no 
 treachery, Init depending on the good-will of 
 his brotlier, came to Aristobulus armed, as he 
 used to be, with his entire armour, in order 
 to show it to him ; but when he was come to 
 a place which was called Strato's Tower, 
 where the passage happened to be exceeding 
 dark, tiie guards .'■.lew him: which death de- 
 monslrates that nothmg is stronger than envy 
 
 and calumny, and that nothing does more 
 certainly divide the good-will and natural af- 
 fections of men than those passions. But 
 here one may take occasion to wonder at one 
 Judas, who was of the sect of the Essens, 
 and who never missed the truth in his predic- 
 tions ; for this man, when he saw Antigonus 
 passing by the temple, cried to his companions 
 and friends, who abode with him as his scho- 
 lars, in order to learn the art of foretelling 
 things to come,* " 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, although he had foretold that he 
 should die at the place called Strato's Tower 
 that very day, while yet the place is six hun- 
 dred furlongs oflf 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 dan- 
 ger 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 Tovver, or of the same name 
 with that Cesarea which is seated at the sea. 
 This event put the prophet into a great dis- 
 order. 
 
 3. But Aristobulus repented immediately 
 of this slaughter of his brother ; on which ac- 
 count his disease increased upon him, and he 
 was disturbed in his mind, upon tlie guilt of 
 such wickedness, insomuch that his entrails 
 were corrupted by his intolerable pain, and ho 
 vomited blood : at which time one of tiie ser- 
 vants that attended upon him, and was carry- 
 ing 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 spectators, as if the servant had 
 on purpose slied the blood on that place, 
 Aristobulus 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 disordej 
 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 tlie impious and 
 horrid crimes I have been guilty of; but a 
 sudden punishment is coming upon me for the 
 shedding the blood of my relations. And now, 
 O thou most impudent body of mine, how 
 
 • Hence we learn, tliat the Essens pretended to have 
 rules whereby men might forctel tilings to come, iuid 
 th.it this Judas the lissene, taught those rules lo his 
 scholars; but whether their i>rctciux;s were of an astro- 
 logical or magical nature, which yet in such religious 
 Jews, wlio were uttierly forbiiklcn such arts, is no way 
 jirobable, or to any Bath Col, spoken of by the later 
 Habbins, or othcrwuse, 1 cannot tell. See Of the Wai. 
 b. U, ch. \iii, sect. 12, vol. iiL 
 2 H 
 
362 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIII 
 
 long wilt thou retain a soul that ought to die, I 
 in order to appease the gliost of my brother 
 and my mother ? Why dost thou not give it 
 all up at once? And why do I deliver up 
 my blood, drop by drop, to those whom I have 
 so wickedly murdered ?" 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 cmm- 
 try, 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 accord- 
 ing to the Jewish laws. He was naturally a 
 man of candour, and of great modesty, as 
 Strabo bears witness in the name of Tim- 
 agenes: who says thus: — " This man was a 
 person of candour, 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 boimd them to them by the bond of 
 the circumcision of their genitals." 
 
 CHAPTER Xir. 
 
 HOW ALEXANDER, WHEN HE HAD TAKEN THE 
 GOVERNMENT, MADE AN EXPEDmON A- 
 GAINST PTOLEMAIS, AND THEN RAISED THE 
 SIEGE, OUT OF FEAR OF PTOLEMY LATHYRUS ; 
 AND HOW PTOLEMY MADE WAR AGAINST 
 HIM, BECAUSE HE HAD SENT TO CLEOPATRA 
 TO PERSUADE HER TO MAKE WAR AGAINST 
 PTOLEJIY, AND YET PRETENDED TO BE IN 
 FRIENDSHIP WITH HIM, WHEN HE WENT TO 
 BEAT THE JEWS IN BATTLE. 
 
 § 1. When Aristobulus was dead, his wif«r 
 Salome, who, by the Greeks, was called Alex- 
 andra, let his brethren out of prison (for Aris- 
 tobulus had kept them in bonds, as we have 
 said already), and made Alexander 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 liis 
 father's sight till he died. Tiie occasion of 
 which hatred is thus reported : when Hyr- 
 canus chiefly loved the two eldest of his scms, 
 Antigonus and Aristobulus, God appeared to 
 him in his sleep, of whom he inquired which of 
 his sons should be his successor. Upon God's 
 representing to him the countenance of Alex- 
 ander, he was grieved that he was to be the 
 heir of all his goods, and sufl'ered him to be 
 brought up in Galilee.* However, God did 
 not deceive Hyrcanus, for after the death of 
 Aristobulus, he certainly look the kingdom ; 
 
 • The reawn why IhTcanus suffered not tliis son of 
 his whom he did not love to come into Judea, hut onler- 
 cd him to be brought up in Galilee, if sug«cstcd by Dr. 
 Hudson, that Galilee was not esteemed so h.ippy and 
 well cultivated a country- as Judea, MaU xxvi.Tj; John 
 vii, 5'i; Acts ii, 7, although another obvious reason 
 occurs also, that he was farther out of his sight in Caliloe 
 tlian he would hivc been in Judea. 
 
 and one of his brethren who afTected the king, 
 dom he slew ; and the other, wl)o those to 
 live a ])rivate and quiet life, he had in esteern. 
 2. When Alexander Janneus had settled 
 the government in the manner that he judged 
 best, he made an expedition against Ptole- 
 mais ; and having overcome the men in bat- 
 tle, 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, wliich were held by the tyrant Zoilus. 
 Now while Antiochus Philometor, and An- 
 tiochus who was called Cyzicenus, were mak- 
 ing war against one another, and destroying 
 one another's armies, the people of Ptolemais 
 could have no assistance from them ; but when 
 they were distressed with this siege, Zoilus, 
 who possessed Strato's Tower and Dora, and 
 maintained a legion of soldiers, and, on oc- 
 casion of the contest between the kings, af- 
 fected tyranny himself, catne and brought 
 some small assistance to the people of Ptole- 
 mais ; nor indeed had the kings such a frieiid- 
 ship for them as that they should hope for any 
 advantage from them. Both those kings 
 were in the case of wrestlers, who finding 
 themselves deficient in strength, and yet being 
 ashamed to yield, put off the fight by laziness, 
 and by lying still as long as they can. Tlie 
 only hope they had remaining was from the 
 kings of Egypt, and from Ptolemy Lathyrus, 
 who now held Cyprus, and who came to Cy- 
 prus when he was driven from the govern- 
 ment of Egypt by Cleopatra his mother : so 
 the people of Ptolemais sent to this Ptolemy 
 Lathyrus and desired him to come as a con- 
 federate, to deliver them, now they were in 
 such danger, 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 Zoluis, 
 and besides these the Sidonians and many o- 
 thers would assist them, so he was elevated 
 at this, and got his fleet ready as soon as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 3. But in this interval Demenetus, ona 
 that was of abilities to persuade men to do as 
 he would have them, and a leader of the po- 
 pulace, made those of Ptolemais change their 
 opinions ; and said to them, that it was better 
 to tun the harard of being subject to the Jews 
 than to admit of evident slavery by delivering 
 themselves up to a master ; and besides that, 
 to have not only a war at present, but to ex- 
 pect a much greater war from Egypt j for 
 that Cleopatra would not overlook an army 
 raised by Ptolemy for liimself out of the 
 neighbourhood, but would come against them 
 with a great army of her own, atid this be- 
 cause she was labouring to eject her son out 
 of Cyprus also : that as for Ptolemy, if he 
 fail of his hopes, he can si 11 retire to Cyprus; 
 but that they will be left in the greatest daiv- 
 
 "1. 
 
"V 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 363 
 
 ger possible. Now Ptolemy, although he had 
 heard of tlie change that was made in the 
 people of Ptolemais, yet did he still go on 
 with his voyage, and came to tlie country 
 called Sycamine, and there set his army on 
 shore. This army of his, in the whole horse 
 and foot together, were about thirty thousand, 
 with which he marciied near to Ptolemais, 
 and there pitched his camp : but when the 
 people of Ptolemais neither received his am- 
 bassadors, nor would hear what they had 
 to say, he was under a very great concern. 
 
 4. But when Zoilus and the people of Ga- 
 za came to him, and desired his assistance, 
 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 afterwards, by privately 
 inviting Cleopatra to come against Ptolemy, 
 but publicly pretending to (Jesire a league of 
 friendship asid mutual assistance with him ; 
 and promising to give him four hundred ta- 
 lents of silver, he desired that, by way of re- 
 quital, he would take off Zoilus the tyrant, 
 and give his country to the Jews. And then 
 indeed Ptolemy, with pleasure, made such a 
 league of friendship with Alexander, and sub- 
 dued Zoilus : but when he afterwards heard 
 that he had privily sent to Cleopatra his mo- 
 ther, he broke the league with him, which 
 yet he had .confirmed with an oath, and fell 
 upon him, and besieged Ptolemais, because it 
 would not receive him. However, leaving 
 his generals, with some part of his forces, to 
 go on with the siege, he went himself imme- 
 diately with the rest to lay Judea waste ; 
 and when Alexander understood this to be 
 Ptolemy's intention, he also got together about 
 fifty thousand soldiers out of his own country; 
 nay, as some writers have said, eighty thou- 
 sand.* He then took his army, and went to 
 meet Ptolemy; but Ptolemy fell upon Aso- 
 chis, a city of Galilee, and took it by force on 
 the Sabbath-day, and there he took about ten 
 thousand slaves, and a great deal of other 
 prey. 
 
 5. He then tried to take Sepphoris, which 
 was a city not far from that which was de- 
 stroyed, 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 can)p near to the 
 enemy. He had however eight thousand 
 in the first rank, which he styled Hecatonto- 
 machi, having shields of brass. — Those in the 
 
 ♦ From these, and other occasional expressions, drop- 
 ped by Josephus, we may leani, that wliere the sacred 
 books of the Jews were deficient, he Iiad several other 
 histories then extant (but now most of them lost) which 
 he faithfully followed in his own historj- ; nor indeed 
 have ueany other records of those times relating to Ju- 
 dea, thatcanbe compared to these accounts of .losehpus; 
 though, when we do meet with authentic fragments of 
 euch original records, they must always eoufitm his his 
 tory. 
 
 first rank of Ptolemy's soldiers also had shields 
 covered wiah brass ; but Ptolemy's soldiers in 
 other respects were inferior to those of Alex- 
 ander, and therefore were more fearful of 
 running hazards; but Philostephanus, the 
 camp-master, put great courage into them, 
 and ordered them to pass the river, whicb 
 was between their camps : nor did Alexander 
 think fit to hinder their passage over it ; for 
 he thought, that if the enemy liad 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 their alacrity, were alike, and 
 a great slaughter was made by both the ar.. 
 mies ; but Alexander was superior, till Phi- 
 lostephauBs opportunely brought up the aux- 
 iliaries, 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, aiwi those near them did 
 not assist them, but fled along with them. 
 However, Ptolemy's soldiers acted quite other- 
 wise ; for they followed the Jews, and killed 
 them, till at length those that slew them pur- 
 sued 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, tiiat thirty thousand men were 
 then slain. Timagenes says, they were fifty 
 thousand. As for the rest, they were part of 
 them taken captives ; and the other part ran 
 away to their own country. 
 
 6. After this victory, Ptolemy overran all 
 the country; and when night came on, he a- 
 bode in certain villages of Judea, which when 
 he found full of women and children, he com- 
 manded his soldiers to strangle them, and to 
 cut them in pieces, and then to cast them in- 
 to boiling caldrons, and then to devour their 
 limbs as sacrifices. This commandment was 
 given, that such as fled from the battle, and 
 came to them, might suppose their enemies 
 were cannibals, and eat men's flesh, and might 
 on that account be still more terrified at them 
 upon such a sight. And both Strabo and 
 Nicholaus [of Damascus] affirm, that they 
 used these people after this manner, as I have 
 already related. Ptolemy also took Ptole- 
 mais by force, as we have declared elsewhere. 
 
5C,i 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIII. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BOW ALEXANDER, UPON THE I.EAGLE OF MU- 
 TUAL DEPIvXCE WHICH CLEOPATHA HAU 
 AGUEED WITH IIIM, MADE AN EXPEDITION 
 AGAINST CELESYKIA, AND rTTEREY OVEIl- 
 THREW THE CITY OF GAZA ; AND HOW HE 
 SI.F.W MANY TEN THOUSANDS OF JEWS THAT 
 HAD REEEI.LED AGAINST HIM ; ALSO CON- 
 CERNING ANTIOCHUS GUYPUS, SELEUCUS, AN- 
 TlOCHUS CYZICENUS, AND ANTIOCHUS PIUS, 
 AND OTHERS. 
 
 § 1. When Cleopatra saw that her son was 
 grown great, and laid Judea waste witiiout 
 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 concluded 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, with a fleet at sea and an army 
 of foot on land, and made Chelcias and Ana- 
 nias, the Jews, generals of her whole army, 
 while she sent the greatest part of her riches, 
 her grandchildren, and her testament, to the 
 people of Cos. * Cleopatra also ordered her 
 son Alexander to sail with a great fleet to 
 Phoenicia : and when that country had re- 
 volted, she came to Ptolemais ; and because 
 the people of Ptolemais did not receive her, 
 she besieged the city ; but Ptolemy went out 
 of Syria, and made haste unto Egypt, sup- 
 posing that he shoiild find it destitute of an 
 army, and soon take it, though he failed of 
 his hopes. At this time Chelcias, one of 
 Cleopatra's generals, happened to die in Cele- 
 syria, as he was in pursuit of Ptolemy. 
 
 2. When Cleopatra heard of her son's at- 
 tempt, and that his Egyptian expedition did 
 not succeed according to his expectations, she 
 sent thither part of her army, and drove him 
 out of that country ; so when he was return- 
 ed 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 her, he gave her presents, and such marks 
 of respect as were but proper, since, under 
 the miseries he endured by Ptolemy, he had 
 no otiier refuge but her. Now there were 
 some of her friends who persuaded her to 
 seize Alexander, and to overrun and take 
 possession of the country, and not to sit still 
 and see such a multitude of brave Jews sub- 
 ject to one man ; but Aaanias's counsel was 
 
 • This city, or island, Cos, is not that remote island 
 In the KscanSea, famous tor the birth of the (jreat llip- 
 ixicrates, but a city or island of the sjiine name adjoin- 
 ing to Kgypt, nientionwl bi)th by Stephanus and Hto- 
 leihv, as Dr. Hudson informs us. Of which I os, and 
 the treasures tliere laid up by Cleopatra and the Jews, 
 (cc ^ntiq. b. xiv. eh. vii sect. 9 
 
 contrary to theirs, who said that she would do 
 an unjust action if slie deprived a man that 
 was hir ally of that authority which belonged 
 to liiin, and this a man wlio is related to us; 
 " for (said he) I would nut have thee igno- 
 rant of this, that what injustice thou dost to 
 him will make all us that are Jews to be thy 
 enemies." This desire of Ananias, Cleopa- 
 tra complied with ; and did no injury to Alex- 
 ander, but made a league of iniitual assistance 
 with him at Scylhopolis, a city of Celesyria. 
 
 3. So when Alexander was delivered from 
 the fear he was in of Ptolemy, he presently 
 made an expedition against Celesyria. He 
 also took Gadara, after a siege of ten months. 
 He took also Amathus, a very strong fortress 
 belonging to the inhabitants above Jordan, 
 where Tlieodorus, the son of Zeno, had his 
 chief treasure, and what he esteemed most 
 precious. This Zeno fell unexpectedly upon 
 the Jews, and slew ten thousand 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, Raphia and Anthedon (the 
 name of which king Herod afterwards chang- 
 ed to Agrippias), and took even that by force. 
 But when Alexander saw that Ptolemy was 
 retired from Gaza to Cyprus, and his mother 
 Cleopatra was returned to Egypt, he grew 
 angry at the peoi)le of Gaza, because they had 
 invited Ptolemy to assist them, and besieged 
 their city, and ravaged their country. But 
 as .'Vpollodotus, the general of the army of 
 Gaz.i, fell upon the c.iinp of the Jews by 
 night, with two thousand foreign, and ten 
 thousand of his own forces, while the night 
 tasted, those of Gaza prevailed, because the 
 enemy was made to believe that it was Pto- 
 lemy who attacked them ; but when day was 
 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 of them about a thousand. But 
 as tiiose 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 suHer any hard- 
 ship whatever, than come under the power of 
 tlieir enemies), Aretas, king of the Arabians, 
 a person then very illustrious, encouraged 
 them to go on with alacrity, and promised 
 liiem that iie would come to their assistance ; 
 but it happened that, before he came Apollo- 
 dotus 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 ciiy 
 to Alexander ; who, when he came in at first, 
 lay (piiet, but afterwards 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 tliem, and 
 
 ■\. 
 
CHAP. SIV. 
 
 slew as many of the Jews ; and some of them, 
 when Ihey saw themstlves deserted, burnt 
 their own houses, that the enemy might get 
 none of their spoils: nay, some of them, with 
 their own hands, slew their children and their 
 wives, having no other way but this of avoid- 
 ing slavery for them ; but the senators, who 
 were in all five hundi»ed, 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 Jerusalem, having spent 
 a year in that siege. 
 
 4. About this very time Antiochus, who 
 was called Grypus, died.* His death was 
 caused by Heracleon's treachery, when he 
 had lived forty.five years, and had reigned 
 twenty-nine, f His son Seleucus succeeded 
 him in the kingdom, and made war with An- 
 tiochus, his father's brother, who was called 
 Antiochus Cyzicenus, and beat him, and took 
 him prisoner, and slew him ; but after a while 
 Antiochus, J the sonof Cyzicenus, who was call- 
 ed Pius, came to Aradus, and put the diadem 
 on his own head, and niade 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 in- 
 dignation at what he did, and burnt down his 
 palace, and slew him, togetherwith his friends. 
 But vhen Antiochus, the son of Cyzicenus, 
 was king of Syria, Antiochus, || the brother 
 of Seleucus, made war upon him, and was 
 overcome, and destroyed, he and his army. 
 After him, his brother Philip put on the dia- 
 dem, and reigned over some part of Syria ; 
 but Ptolemy Lathyrus sent for his fourth bro- 
 ther Demetrius, who was called Eucerus, from 
 Cnidus, and made him king of Damascus. 
 Both these brothers did Antiochus vehement- 
 ly oppose, but presently died ; for when he was 
 come as an auxiliary to Laodice, queen of the 
 Gileadites,§ when she was making war against 
 the Parthians, and he was figliting courage- 
 ously, he fell, while Demetrius and Philip go- 
 verned Syria, as hath been elsewhere related. 
 
 * This account of the death of Antiochus Grypus is 
 confirmed by Appiaii, Syriac. p. 152, here cited by Span- 
 heim. 
 
 t Porphyry says that this Antiochus Grypus reigned 
 but twenty-six years, as Dr. Hudson obser\es. 
 
 t The copies of Josephus, both Grceiv and Latin, 
 have here so grc ssly false a reading, Antiochus and An- 
 toninus, or Antonius Fius, for Antiochus Pius, that the 
 editors are forced to correct the text from the other his- 
 torians ; who all agree that this king's name was nothing 
 more than Antiochus Pius. 
 
 II These two brothers, Antiochus and Philippus, are 
 called twins by Porphyry ; the fourth brother was king 
 of Damascus. Both which are the observations of 
 Spanheim. 
 
 ^ Tills Laodicea was a city of Gilead, beyond Jor- 
 dan. Howeyer, Porphyry' says, that this Antioei us 
 Pius did not die in this battle; but, running away, was 
 drowned in theriyer Orontes. AppLan says, that he was 
 deprived of the kingdom of Syria by Tigranes ; but 
 Porphyry makes this Laodice queen of the Calanian^; 
 all which is noted by Spanheim. In such confusion of 
 the later historians, we have no reason to prefer any of 
 them before Josephus, who had more origmal ones be- 
 fore him. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 3f)5 
 
 5. As to Alexander, his own people were 
 seditious against him ; for at a festival which 
 was then celebrated, when he stood upon thi; 
 altar, and was going to sacrifice, the nation 
 rose upon him and pelted with citrons [which 
 they then had in their hands, because] the law 
 of the Jews required, that at the feast of ta- 
 bernacles 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 un- 
 worthy of his dignity and of sacrificing. At 
 this he was in a rage, and slew of them about 
 six thousand. He also built a partition- wall 
 of wood round the altar and the temple, as 
 far as that partition within which it was on- 
 ly lawful for the priests to enter ; and bj 
 this means he obstructed the multitude from 
 coming at him. He also maintained foreign- 
 ers of Pisidia2 and Cilicia ; for as to the Sy- 
 rians, 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 Theodorus**durst 
 not fight with him ; but as he had joined bat- 
 tle with Obedas, king of the Arabians, and 
 fell into an ambush in the places that were 
 rugged and diflScult to be travelled over, he 
 was thrown down into a deep valley, by the 
 multitude of the camels at Gadara, a village 
 of Gilead, and hardly escaped with his life. 
 From thence he fled to Jerusalem, where, be- 
 sides liis other ill-success, the nation insulted 
 him, and he fiaught against them for six years, 
 and slew no fewer than fifty thousand of them ; 
 and when he desired that they would desist 
 from their ill-will to him, they hated him so 
 much the more, on account of what had al- 
 ready 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. 
 
 HOW DEMETRIUS EUCERUS OVERCAME ALEX- 
 ANDER, AND YET, IN A LITTLE TIME, RE- 
 TIRED OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR FEAR OF 
 THE JEWS ; AS ALSO HOW ALEXANDER SLEW 
 MA>;Y OF THE JEWS, AND THEREBY GOT 
 CLEAR OF HIS TROUBLES. CONCERNING THE 
 DEATH OF DEMETRIUS. 
 
 § I. So Demetrius came with an army, and 
 took those that invited him, and pitched his 
 camp near the city Shechem j upon which 
 
 t This reproach upon Alexander, that he was sprung 
 from a captive, seems only the repetition of the old 
 Pharisaical calumny upon his father, chap, x, sect. 5. 
 
 ** This Theodorus was the son of Zeuo, and was in 
 possession of Amathus, as we learu from sect. 5 fuie- 
 Uoiiig. 
 
.J~ 
 
 3(36 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 Alexander, with liis six tliousand two liun- 
 dreil niercenaiii's, ami about twenty thousand 
 Jews, wlio were of his party, went against 
 Demetrius, who had three thousand horsemen, 
 and forty thousand footmen. Now there 
 were great endeavours used on both sides, — 
 Demetrius trying to bring ofl' the mercenaries 
 that were with Alexander, because they were 
 Greeks; and Alexander tried to bring otf the 
 Jews that were with Demetrius. However, 
 when neither of them coidd jicrsuade them so 
 to do, they came to a battle, and Demetrius 
 was the conqueror ; in wiiich all Alexander's 
 mercenaries were killed, when they had given 
 demonstration of their fidelity and courage. 
 A great number of Deinetrius's soldiers were 
 slain also. 
 
 2. Now as Alexander fled to the moun- 
 tains, six thousand 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 ; foras he was feasting with his concu- 
 bines, in the sight of all the city, he ordered 
 about eight hundred 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 na- 
 ture, 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 foreigners also for the 
 same purpose; nay, at lengtli 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, 
 thai they might not join with them in the war 
 against him, as they had done ten thousand 
 other things that tended to affront and re- 
 proach him. However, this barbarity seems 
 to have been without any necessity, on which 
 account he bare the name of a 'I'liracian among 
 the Jews ;* whereupon the soldiers that had 
 fought against him, being about eight thou- 
 sand in number, ran away by night, and con- 
 tinued fugitives all tl»e time that Alexander 
 lived ; who being now freed from any further 
 
 » This name Tliracid.i, which the Jews gnve Alex- 
 ander, must, by tlic c«lierciicc, denote as /xirbaroits as 
 a Thrac'uin, or somewhat like it; but what it i"opcrly 
 (i^nilies \s nut kiiuwn. I 
 
 disturbance from them, reigned the rest of hi» 
 time in the utmost tranijuillity. 
 
 3. But when Demetrius was departed out 
 of Judea, he went to Berca, and besieged his 
 brother I'liilip, having with him ten tliousand 
 foot-men, and a tliousand horsemen. How- 
 ever, Slrato, the tyrant of Berea, the confede- 
 rate of Philip, called in Zizon tiie ruler of 
 the Arabian tribes, and Mithridates Sinax, the 
 ruler of the Parthians, who coming with a 
 great number of forces, and besieging Deme- 
 trius in his encampment, into which they had 
 driven him with their arrows, they compelled 
 those that were with him, by thirst, to deliver 
 up themselves. So they took a great many 
 spoils out of that country, and Demetrius him. 
 self, whom they sent to JMithridates, who was 
 then king of Parthia ; but as to those whom 
 they took captives of the people of Antioch, 
 they restored them to the Antiochians without 
 any reward. Now Mithridates, thekingof Par- 
 thia, had Demetrius in great honour, till Deme- 
 trius 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. 
 
 HOW ANTIOCHUS, WHO WAS CALLED DlONYSfS, 
 AND AFIER HIM ARETAS, MAUE EXPEBJ- 
 TIONS INTO JUDEA; AS ALSO HOW ALEX- 
 ANDER TOOK MANY CITIES, AND THEN RE- 
 TURNED TO JERUSALEM, AND AITER A SICK- 
 NESS OF THREE YEAR.S DIED ; AND WHAT 
 COUNSEL HE GAVE TO ALEXANDRA. 
 
 § 1. After this, Antiochus, who was called 
 Dionysius,+ and was Philip's brother, aspired 
 to the dominion, and came to Damas(?us, and 
 got the p>ower 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 iVJilesius, who 
 had been left governor of the citadel, and liie 
 Damascens themselves delivered up the city 
 to him ; yet because Philip was become un- 
 grateful to him, and had bestowed upon him 
 nothing of that in hopes whereof he had re- 
 ceived 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 INIile^i- 
 us, and because he had not rewarded him as 
 he ought to have done, he became suspected 
 by him, and so he was obliged to leave Da- 
 mascus again ; for Rlilesius caught him 
 marching out of the Hippodrome, and shut 
 him up in it, and kept Damascus for Antio- 
 chus [Eucerus], wlio, hearing how Philip's 
 affairs stood, came back out of Arabia. He 
 
 f ?panheim lakes notice, that this Antiochus Diony- 
 siiis [the brother of Philip, and of Dcmetrin» Kuccni's, 
 and of two others] was the fifth son of Anlimhus Gry- 
 r)u> ; and that he is stjled on Uie coins " iUitiochui. 
 
 kpiphaues, Uionysius.'' 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 also came immediately, and made an expedi- 
 tion against Judea, with eight thousand 
 armed foot-men, and eight liundred horse- 
 men. So Alexander, out of fear of liis com- 
 ing, dug a deep ditch, beginning at Ciiabar- 
 zaba, 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 inter- 
 mediate redoubts, for one hundred and fifty 
 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 ten thousand horsemen. Antio- 
 chus gave them the meeting, and fought des- 
 perately ; and indeed when he had gotten the 
 victory, and was bringing some auxiliaries to 
 that part of his army that was in distress, he 
 was slain. When Antiochus was fallen, his 
 army fled to tiie village Cana, where the great- 
 est part of them perished by famine. 
 
 2. After him * Aretas reigned over Celesy- 
 ria, being called to the government by those 
 that held Damascus, by reason of the hatred 
 tliey bare 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. 
 
 3. But Alexander marched again to the 
 city Dios, and took it, and then made an ex- 
 pedition against Essa, where was the best part 
 of Zeno's treasures, and there he encompassed 
 the place with three walls ; and when he had 
 taken the city by fighting, he marched to Go- 
 lan and Seleucia ; and when he had taken 
 these cities, he, besides them, took that val- 
 ley which is called The Valley of Aatiochus, 
 as also the fortress of Gamala. He also ac- 
 cused Demetrius, who was governor of those 
 places, of many crimes, and turned him out ; 
 and after he had spent three years in this war, 
 he returned to his own country ; when the 
 Jews joyfully received him upon this his good 
 success. 
 
 4. Now at this time the Jews were in pos- 
 session of the following cities that had be- 
 longed to the Syrians, and Idumeans, and 
 Phcenicians: At the sea-side, Strato's Tower, 
 ApoUonia, Joppa, Jamnia, Ashdod, Gaza, An- 
 thedon, Rapliia, and Rhinocolura; in the 
 middle of the country, near to Idumea, Adora, 
 and Marissa ; near the country of Samaria, 
 Mount Carmel, and Mount Tabor, Scytho- 
 polis, and Gadara ; of the country of the 
 Gaulonites, Seleucia, and Gabala ; in the 
 country of Moab, Heshbon, and Medaba, 
 Lemba, and Oronas, Gelithon, Zara, the 
 
 * This Aretas was the first king of the Arabians who 
 took Damascus, and reigned tlitre ; which name became 
 afterwards common to sueii Arabian kings, both at Pe- 
 tia and at Damascus, as we learn from Josephus in ma- 
 ny places ; and from St. Paid, 2 Cor. xi, q2. See the 
 DOCe on AJitiq. b. x.vi, ch. ix^ u:ct. 4. 
 
 367 
 
 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.-j- The Jews 
 also possessed others of the principal cities of 
 Syria, which had been destroyed. 
 
 5. 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 la- 
 bours 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 caine to him weeping and lamenting, and 
 bewailed herself and her sons on the desolate 
 condition they should be left in ; and said to 
 him, " To whom dost thou thus leave me and 
 my children, who are destitute of all other 
 supports, and this when thou knowest 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 
 triumph, 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 authority among the Jews, both 
 to do hurt to such as they hated, and to bring 
 advantages to those to whom they were friend- 
 ly disposed ; for that they are then believed 
 best of all by the multitude when they speak 
 any severe thing 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 
 displeasure 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 appearance of sincerity, 
 give them leave to use it as they themselves 
 please, whether they will dishonour the dead 
 body by refusing it burial, as liaving 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 witiiout them in the affairs of the 
 kingdom. If thou dost but say tliis to them, 
 I shall have the honour of a more glorious 
 
 t We may here and elsewhere take notice, that what- 
 ever countries or cities the Asamoneans conquered from 
 any of the neighbouring nations, or whatever countries 
 or cities they gained from them that had not belonged 
 to them before, they, after the days of Hyrtanus, com- 
 pelled the inhabitants to leave their idolatry, and eu. 
 tirely to receive the law of Moses, as proselytes of jus. 
 tice, or else banished them into other lands. Thai ex- 
 cellent prince, John Hyrcanus, did it to the Idumeans, 
 as I have noted on ch. ix, sect. 1, already, who lived then 
 in the promised land, and this 1 suppose justly ; but by 
 what right the rest did it, even to the countries or cities 
 that were no part of that land, I do not at ail know 
 This looks too like unjust persecution for religion. 
 
J- 
 
 368 
 
 funeral from them than tliou coulJst have 
 made for me : and wlien it is in tlieir power 
 to abuse my dead body, they will ilo it no 
 injury at all, and tliou wilt rule in safety.'* 
 So when lie bad given bis wife this advice, 
 ho died, — after be bad reigned twenty-seven 
 years, and lived fifty years, within one. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HOW ALEXANDRA, BY GAINING THE GOOD- WILL 
 OF THE PHARISEES, RETAINED THE KINGDOJI 
 NINE YEARS, AND THEN, HAVING DONE MANY 
 GLORIOUS ACTIONS, DIED. 
 
 § 1. So Alexandra, when she had taken the 
 fortress, acted as her husband Hau suggested 
 to her, and spske to the Pharisees, . iid 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 ag.iinst Alexan- 
 der, and made them bear good-« ill and friend- 
 ship to him ; who then came among the mul- 
 titude, and made speeches to them, and laid 
 btfore them the actions of Alexander, and 
 told them that they had lost a righteous king; 
 and by the commendation tliey gave him, they 
 brought them to grieve, and to be in heaviness 
 for him, so that be had a funeral more splen- 
 did than had any of the kings before him. 
 Alexander left behind him two sons, Hyrca- 
 nus and Aristobulus, but committed the king- 
 dom to Alexandra. Now, as to these two 
 sons, Ilyrcanus was indeed unable to manage 
 public all'airs, and delighted rather in a quiet 
 life; but the younger, Aristobulus, was an 
 active and a bold man ; and for this woman 
 
 * It seems, by this dying advice of Alexander Jan- 
 lieus to his wife, that he had himself pursued the mea- 
 sures of his fatlier Ilyrcanus, and talteii part with the 
 Sadducces, who kept close to the written law against the 
 Pharisees, who had introduced their own traditions, ch. 
 xvi, sect 2; and that he now saw a political necessity 
 of submitting to the Pharisees, and their traditions 
 hereafter, if his widow and family minded to retain 
 their monarchical government or tyranny over the Jew- 
 ish nation : which sect yet, thus supported, were at l;ist 
 in a great measure the ruin of the religion, government, 
 and nation of the Jews, and brought them into so wick- 
 ed a state, that the vengeance of (iod ciiine upon them 
 to their ultci excision. Just thus ilid ('aiai)has politi- 
 cally a(hi>e the Jewish sanliedrim, John xi, An, "that it 
 was expedient for them that one man should die for the 
 people, and that the whole nation perish not:" and this 
 in conseciuenee of (heir own political supjiosal, ver. 48, 
 that, " If they let Jesus alone," with his miracles, " all 
 men would tx-lieve on him; .ind tliu Romans would 
 come and takeaway lK>tli their place and nation." Which 
 political crucifixion of Jesus <if Nazareth brought down 
 the vengeance of (Jod upon iheni, and (K.<r.isioned those 
 very Romans, of whom tlicy seemed so much afraid, 
 that to prevent it they put hrm to death, actually to 
 " come and take away iMith ihtir place and nata)n," 
 within tliirty-eiyht years afterwards." I heartily wish 
 the imliticiaiisot Christendom would consider those and 
 the like examples, and no longer saeiiliee all virtue and 
 religion to their pernicious .sdicmes of government to 
 the bringing down the judgments of (jikI ii|ion tJiem- 
 tclvcs, and the several nations intrusted to their e:ire. 
 Hut this ii a iligression : I wish it were an uiise.isonable 
 one also. Joseuhiis himself several limes maki-s such 
 digressions; and 1 here venlure Iji follow him. See eiie 
 of them at the cunclu;>iuu of the very next chapter 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK xni. 
 
 herself, Alexandra, she was loved by Uie mul- 
 titude, because she seemed displeased at the 
 olf'ences her husband had been guilty of. 
 
 2. So she made Ilyrcanus high-priest be- 
 cause he was the elder, but much more be- 
 cause be cared not to meddle with politics, 
 and permitted the Pharisees to do every tiling ; 
 lo whom also she ordered the multitude to be 
 obedient. She also restored again those prac- 
 tices which the Pharisees had introduced, ac- 
 cording to the traditions of their forefathers, 
 and wliich lier father-in-law, Ilyrcanus, bad 
 abrogated. So she had indeed the name oi 
 the Regent; but the Pharisees bad the au- 
 thority ; 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 
 difl'eied in nothing from lords. However, the 
 queen also took care of the afl'airs of the king- 
 dom, and got together a great body of merce- 
 nary soldiers, and increased her own army to 
 such a degree, that she became terrible to the 
 neighbouring tyrants, and took hostages of 
 them ; and the country was entirely at peace, 
 excepting the Pharisees ; for they disturbed 
 the queen, and desired that she would kill 
 those who persuaded Alexai)der to slay the 
 eight hundred men ; after which they cut the 
 throat of one of them, Diogenes : and after 
 him they did the same to several, one after an- 
 other, till the men that were the most potent 
 came into the palace, «^d Aristobulus with 
 them, for he seemed to be displeased at w hat 
 was done; anil it ap))eared openly that, if he 
 bad an opportunity, he would not permit his 
 mother to go on so. These put the queen in 
 mind what great dangers they had gone 
 through, and great things they had done, 
 whereby they had demonstrated the firm- 
 ness of their fidelity to their master, inso- 
 much that they had received the greatest 
 niarks of favour from him ; and they begged 
 of her, that she would not utterly blast their 
 hopes, as it now happened, tliat when they 
 had escaped the hazards that aro.se from their 
 [ojjcuj enemies, they were to be cut ofl' 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 bad been slain already, 
 they would take what bad been done jiatieiitly, 
 on account of their natural love to their go- 
 vernors ; but if they must expect the same for 
 the future also, they imi)lored of her a dis- 
 mission from her service ; for they could not 
 bear to think of attempting any method fui 
 their deliverance without her, but would rather 
 die willingly bel'ore the palace-gate, in case 
 she would not forgive them. And that it was 
 a great shame, both for themselves and for the 
 queen, that when Uiey were neglected by lier, 
 they should come under the lash of her hus- 
 band's enemies ; for that Aretas, the Arabian 
 king, and the moiiarchs, would give any re- 
 ward, if they could get such men as foreign 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 auxiliaries, to whom their very names, before 
 their voices be heard, may perhaps be terrible ; 
 but if they could not obtain this their second 
 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 con- 
 stant spite against Alexander's house, they 
 would be willing to bear their part, and to live 
 in a private station there. 
 
 S. As these men said thus, and called upon 
 Alexander's ghost for commiseration of those 
 already slain, and those in danger of it, all 
 tlie by-standers brake out into tears : but 
 Aristobulus chiefly made manifest what were 
 his sentiments, and used many reproachful 
 expressions to his mother [saying], " Nay, 
 indeed, the case is this, that they have been 
 themselves 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 Alexandra, not 
 knowing what to do with any decency, com- 
 mitted the fortresses to them, all but Hyrca- 
 nia 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, wlio 
 was called Menneus, who was such a bad 
 neighbour to the city; but he did nothing 
 considerable there, and so returned home. 
 
 4. About this time news was brought that 
 Tigranes, the king of Armenia, had made an 
 irruption into Syria with five hundred tliou- 
 sand soldiers,* and was coming against Judea. 
 Tins news, as may well be supposed, terrified 
 tlie queen and the nation. Accordingly they 
 sent him many and very valuable presents, as 
 also ambassadors, and that as 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 ambas- 
 sadors interceded with him, and entreated him 
 that he would determine nothing that was se- 
 vere about their queen or nation. He com- 
 mended them for the respects they paid him 
 at so great a distance : and gave them good 
 hopes of his favour. But as soon as Ptole- 
 mais was taken, news came to Tigranes, that 
 Lucullus, in his pursuit of JVIithridates, could 
 not light upon him, who was fled into Iberia, 
 but was laying waste Armenia and besieging 
 its cities. Now, when Tigranes knew this, 
 he returned home. 
 
 5. After this, when the queen was fallen 
 into a dangerous distemper, Aristobulus re- 
 
 * The mimber of five hundred thousand, or even 
 three hundred thousand, 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 Josephus's present copies, which are not to 
 he at all jiscribed to him. Accordrngly, 1 incline to Dr. 
 H udson's emendation here, which supposes them but for- 
 ty thousand ^ 
 
 369 
 
 solved to attempt the seizing of the govern- 
 ment J so he stole away secretly by night, 
 with only one of his servants, and went to 
 the fortresses, wherein his friends, that wera 
 such from the days of his father, 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 Pha- 
 risees ; for he saw the inability of his brother, 
 who was to succeed in the government : nor 
 was any one conscious of wiiat 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 was 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 tl)e 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 M'ould not be long ere 
 Aristobulus would be able to settle himself 
 firmly in the government. What they were 
 principally 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 children 
 into custody, and keep them in the fortress 
 that was over the temple.f Now there was 
 a mighty conflux of people that came to 
 Aristobulus from all parts, insomuch that he 
 had a kind of royal attendants about him j 
 for in a little more than fifteen days, he got 
 twenty-two strong places, which gave him 
 the op;)ortunity of raising an army from Li- 
 banus and Trachonitis, 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 effect 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, whilst she was alive, and that the dan- 
 ger would be upon them in no long time, 
 ijut she bade them do what they thought 
 
 f This fortress, cattle, citadel, or tower, whither the 
 wife and children of Aristobulus were now sent, and 
 whicli overlool^cd the temple, could be no otlier than 
 what Hyrcanus I. built (Antiq. b. xviii, ch. iv, sect. 5) ; 
 and Herod the Great rebuilt, and ealletl the " Tower ol 
 Antouia," Auliij. b. xv, cb. xi, sect. 5. 
 
 -T 
 
3;o 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 proper to be done : tliat tlicy had many cir- 
 cunibtances in llioir favour still remaining ; a 
 nation in good heart, an army, and money in 
 their several treasuries ; for that slie had 
 small concern ab< ut public allairs now, when 
 the strength of her body already failed her. 
 
 6. Now a little while after she had said 
 this to them, she died, when she had reigned 
 nine years, and had in all lived seventy-three. 
 A woman she was wlio sliowed no signs of the 
 weakness of her sex, for she was sagacious to 
 the greatest degree in her ambition of govern- 
 ing, and demonstrated by her doings at oiue, 
 that her mind was fit for action, and " that 
 sometimes men themselves show the liiile 
 understanding they have by the frequent mis- 
 takes th''y make in point of government; for 
 she always preferred the present to futurity, 
 and preferred the power of an imperious do- 
 minion above all things, and in comparison of 
 
 BOOK XIV. 
 
 that, Iiad no regard to what was good or what 
 was right. However, she brouglit the affairs 
 of her house to such an unfortunate condition, 
 that she was the occasion of the taking away 
 that authority from it, and that in no long time 
 afterward, wliich 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 senti- 
 ments with tliose that bare ill-will to their fa- 
 mily, and by leaving the administration des- 
 titute of a proper support of great men ; and 
 indeed, her management during her adminis- 
 tration, while she was alive, was such as filled 
 the palace after her death with calamities and 
 disturbance. However, although this had 
 been her way of governing, she preserved the 
 nation in peace : — and this is the conclusion 
 of the ati'airs of Alexandra. 
 
 BOOK XIV. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THIRTY-TWO YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF QUEEN ALEXANDRA TO THE DEATH OF 
 
 ANTIGONUS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE WAR BETWEEN ARISTOBULUS AN'D HYRCA- 
 NUS ABOUT THE KINGDOM ; AND HOW THEV 
 MADE AN AGREEMENT THAT ARISTOBUI.CS 
 SHOULD BE KING, AND HYRCANUS LIVE A 
 PRIVATE LIFE : AS ALSO, HOW HYRCANUS, A 
 LITTLE AFTERWARDS, WAS PERSUADED BY 
 ANTIPATER TO FLY TO ARETAS. 
 
 § 1. We have related the affairs of queen 
 Alexandra, and her death, in the foregoing 
 book, and will now speak of what followed, 
 and was connected with those histories; de- 
 claring, before we proceed, that we have no- 
 thing so much at heart as this, that we may 
 omit no facts either through ignorance or la- 
 ziness ; • for we are upon the history and ex- 
 plication of such tilings as the greatest part 
 are unactjuainted witl)al, because of tlieir dis- 
 tance from our times ; and we aim to do it 
 
 • Rclaiul takes notice lierc, very justly, how Josn- 
 phus's declaration, that it was his ^Tt-at «)iicem not oi.ly 
 to write " an aKrceablc, an accurate," and " atrue" his- 
 tory, but also (listinclly; " not to omit any thing" [of 
 consc(|iicncf], cither through " ignorancf or In/.iness," 
 implies that he could not, consistently with that rc>olii- 
 tion, omit the mentiou of [so famouii a person ai] 
 " Jesus t.luiiit." 
 
 with a proper beauty of style, so far as that is 
 derived from proper words harmonically dis- 
 posed, and from such ornaments of speech also 
 as may contribute to the pleasure of our read- 
 ers, that they may entertain 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 tliose that are otherwise un- 
 acquainted with such transactions, and oblig- 
 ed to believe what these writers inform them 
 of. 
 
 2. Hyrcanus then began his high-priest- 
 hood on the thiid year of the hundred and 
 seventy-seventh olympiad, when Quintus Hor- 
 tensius and Quintus I^Ietellus, 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 witit 
 Hyrcanus at Jericho, many of his soldiers de- 
 serted him, and went over to his brother : up- 
 on which Hyrcanus fled into the citadel, where 
 Aristobulus's wile and children were impri- 
 sonetl by his inothcr, as we have said already, 
 and attacked and overcame those his adversa- 
 ries that had fled tliither, and lay withia tba 
 
CilAP. II. 
 
 walls of the temple. So when he had sent a 
 message to his brother about agreeuig the mat- 
 ters 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 
 whole multitude, they departed; the one, Aris- 
 tobulus, to the palace, and Hyrcanus, as a 
 private man, to the former house of Aristobu- 
 lus. 
 
 3. But there was a certain ft-iend 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 A- 
 ristobulus, 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 revolu- 
 tions of fortune, came afterwards 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,* and 
 that was his father's name also ; of whom 
 they relate this : That king Alexander and 
 his wife made him general of all Idumea, and 
 that he made a league of friendship with those 
 Arabians, and Gazites, 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 un- 
 just to overlook the conduct of Aristobulus, 
 who had gotten the government unrighteous- 
 ly, and ejected liis brother out of it, who was 
 the elder, and ouglit to retain what belonged 
 to him by prerogative of his birtii ; and the 
 same speeches he perpetually made to Hyr- 
 canus ; and told him that his own life would 
 be in danger unless he guarded himself, and 
 got quit of Aristobulus j 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 retain 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 
 
 « That the famous Antipater's or Antipas's father was 
 also Antipater or Antipas (which two may justly lie es- 
 teemed one and the same name ; the former with a 
 Greeli or Gentile, the latter with a Hebrew or Jewish 
 termination), Josephus Iiere assures us, though Euse- 
 bius indeed says it was Herod. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 371 
 
 of spirit, occasioned him to appear to specta- 
 tors to be degenerate and unmanly ; while 
 Aristobulus was of a contrary temper, an ac- 
 tive man, and one of a great and generous 
 soul. 
 
 4. Since therefore Antipater saw that Hyr- 
 canus did not attend to what he said, he never 
 ceased, day by day, to charge feigned crimes 
 upon Aristobulus, and to calumniate him be- 
 fore him, as if he had a mind to kill him ; 
 and 30, by urging him perpetually, he advised 
 him, and persuaded 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 gowithliim]. When 
 Hyrcanus heard this, he said that it was for his 
 advantage to fly away to Aretas, Now Arabia 
 is a covuitry that borders upon Judea. How- 
 ever, Hyrcanus sent Antipater first to the king 
 of Arabia, in order to receive assurances from 
 liim, that when he should come in the manner 
 of a supplicant to him, he would not delivei 
 him up to his enemies. So Antipater having 
 received such assurances, returned to Hyrca- 
 nus to Jerusalem. A while afterward lie 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 persuad- 
 ed him to Ijring back Hyrcanus into Judea; 
 and this persuasion he continued every day 
 without any intermission. He also proposed 
 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 Alex- 
 ander had taken from the Arabians; which 
 were these, IMedaba, Nabalio, Libyas, Thara- 
 basa, Agala, Athene, Zoar, Orone, Marissa, 
 Rudda, Lussa, and Oruba. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 J£OW ARETAS AND HYRCANUS MADE AN EXPE- 
 DITJON AGAINST ARISTOBULUS, AND BESIEG- 
 ED JERUSALEM ; AND HOW SCAURUS, THE 
 ROMAN GENERAL, RAISED THE SIEGE. CON- 
 CERNING THE DEATH OF ONIAS, 
 
 § 1. After these promises had been given 
 to Aretas, he made an expedition against Aris- 
 tobulus, with an army of fifty thousand 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 Aris. 
 tobulus therein, the people still supporting 
 Hyrcanus, and assisting him in the siege, while 
 
 jT 
 
■v 
 
 372 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 none but the priests continued with Aristohii- I into Syria, while he was himself in Armenia, 
 his. So Aretas united the forces of tlie Ara- and making war with Tigranes ; but wlien 
 bians and of tlic Jews together, and pressed Scaurus was come to Damascus, and found 
 on tlie siege vigorously. As this happened at that Lollius and Metellus lad newly taken 
 the time wlien the feast of unleavened bread j the city, he came liimself hastily into Judea. 
 was celebrated, which we call the Passover, j And when lie was come thither, ambassadors 
 the principal men among the Jews left the [ came to him, both from Aristobulus and Ilyr- 
 country, and fled into Egypt. Now there canus, and both desired lie would assist lliem; 
 
 was one, whose name was Onias, a -ightcoiis 
 man lie was, and beloved of God, who, in a 
 certain drought, had prayed to God to put an 
 end to the intense heat, and wliose 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 de- 
 sired, that as by his prayers he had once put 
 an end to the drought, so he would in like 
 manner make imprecations 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, " O 
 God, the King of the whole world ! since those 
 that stand now with me are thy people, and 
 those that are besieged are also thy priests, I 
 beseech thee, that thou wilt neither hearken 
 to the prayers of those against those, nor bring 
 to effect what these pray against those." 
 Whereupon such wicked Jews as stood about 
 him, as soon as he had made tliis prayer, 
 stoned him to death. 
 
 2. But God punished them immediately 
 for this their barbarity, and took vengeance of 
 them for the murder of Onias, in the manner 
 following; — While the priests and Aristobu- 
 lus were besieged, it happened that the feast 
 called the Passover was come, at which it is 
 our custom to ofler a great number of sacri- 
 fices to God J but those that were with Aris- 
 tobulus wanted sacrifices, and desired that 
 their countrymen without would furnish tliem 
 with such sacrifices, and assured Ihcm they 
 should have as much money for them as 
 they sliould desire ; and when they requir- 
 ed them to pay a thousand drachma; for each 
 head of cattle, Aristobulus and the priests 
 willingly undertook to pay for them accord- 
 ingly ; 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, hut arrived at that height of 
 wickedness as to break the assurances they had 
 given, and to be guilty of impiety towards 
 God, by not furnishing those that wanted them 
 with sacrifices. And when the priests found 
 tliey had been cheated, and that the agree, 
 nieiits they had made were violated, they j'ray- 
 ed to (!od that he would avenge them on their 
 countrymen. Nor did lie delay that their 
 punishment, but sent a strong and vehement 
 btonn of wind, that destroyed the fruits of 
 the whole country, till a modius of wheat was 
 then bought for eleven drachma-. 
 
 3 In the mean time Pompey sent Scaurus 
 
 and when both of them promised to give him 
 money, Aristobulus four hundred talents, and 
 Ilyrcanus no less, he accepted of Aristobu- 
 lus'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 incredible promises 
 in hope of greater advantages ; for it was not 
 the same thing to take a city that was exceed- 
 ing strong and powerful, as it was to eject 
 out of the coimtry some fugitives, with a great 
 number of Nabateans, who were no very war- 
 like people. He therefore made an agree- 
 ment with Aristobulus, for the reason 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 Aristobulus, with a great army, 
 made war with Aretas and Hyrcanus, and 
 fought them at a place called Pai)yron, and 
 beat them in the battle, and slew about six 
 thousand of the enemy, with whom fell Pha- 
 lion also, the brother of Antipater. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW ARISTOBULUS AND HYUCANUS CAME TO 
 POMl'EY, IN ORDER TO ARGUE WHO OUGHT 
 TO HAVE THE KINGDOM ; AND HOW, UPON 
 THE EIJGHT OF ARISTOBULUS TO THE EOR- 
 TRESS ALEXANDRIUM, POMPEY LED HIS ARMY 
 AGAINST HIM, AND ORDERED HIM TO DELI- 
 VER UP THE FORTRESSES WHEREOF HE WAS 
 POSSESSED. 
 
 § 1. A LITTLE afterward Pompey came to 
 Damascus, and marched over Celesyria ; at 
 wliich time there came ambassadors to him 
 from all Syria, and Egypt, and out of Judea 
 aUo, for Aristobulus had sent him a great 
 present, which was a golden vine, • of the 
 value of five hundred talents. Now Strabo 
 of Cappadocia mentions this present in these 
 
 • This " golden vine," or " g.iiden," seen by Strabo 
 at Rome, has its insiTiption licre as if it were ihe eifl of 
 Alexaiuler, the father of Aristobuhis, and not of Aris- 
 tobulus hiiiiMll", to whom yet Josephiii iistnlx-s it; aiid 
 ill Older to prove tile truth of thai part of his histon,;, 
 iiitroduecs this tesliinoiiy of Stral'o; so Uiat the ordi- 
 nary eopies seem to be here either erroneous or defcc 
 live, and the original reading seems to have Ix'en either 
 Aristobulus, instead of Ak'X.aiuler, with one tireek copy, 
 or else " Aristobulus the son of Alexander," with the 
 1 atij) copies; which last seeins to nie the most pro- 
 bable; for as to Archliishop Usher's eoiijeetures, that 
 Alexander made it, and dedicated it to (iml in the leni- 
 iile, .ind that llieiice Aristobulus took it, anil sent it to 
 I'oiiipcy, they art both very iinprol>able, and no way 
 
 -T 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 words : — " Tliere came also an embassage 
 out of Egypt, and a crown of tlie value of 
 four thousand pieces of gold ; and out of Ju- 
 dea there came another, whether you call it a 
 vine or a garden; they called the thing Ter- 
 pole, the Delight. However, we ourselves saw 
 that present reposited at Rome, in the temple 
 of Jupiter Capitolinus, with this inscription : 
 ' The Gift of Alexander, the King of the 
 Jews.' It was valued at five hundred talents; 
 and the report is, that Aristobulus, the gover- 
 nor of the Jews, sent it." 
 
 2. In a little time afterward came ambassa- 
 dors again to him, Antipater from Hyrcanus, 
 and Nicodemus from Aristobulus ; which last 
 also accused such as had taken bribes ; first 
 Gabinius, and then Scaurus, — the one three 
 hundred talents, and the other four hundred; 
 by which procedure he made these two his e- 
 neraies, 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 quarters, and 
 inarched into the country of Damascus; and 
 as he went along he demolished the citadel 
 that was at Apamea, which Antiochus Cyzi- 
 cenus 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 re- 
 lation by marriage ; yet did he buy off the 
 punishment of his crim.es for a thousand ta- 
 lents, 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 the ci- 
 ties of Heliopolis and Chalcis, and got over 
 the mountain which is on the limit of Cele- 
 syria, he came from Pella to Damascus; and 
 there it was that he heard the causes of the 
 Jews, and of their governors 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 government 
 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 
 priests, yet did they seek to change the go- 
 vernment of their nation to another form, in 
 order to enslave them. Hyrcanus complain- 
 ed, that although he were the elder brother, 
 he was deprived of the prerogative of his birth 
 by Aristobulus, and that he had but a small 
 part of the country under him, Aristobulus 
 having taken away the rest from him by force. 
 He also accused him, that the incursions 
 which had been made into their neighbours' 
 
 agreeable to Josephus, who would hardly have avoided 
 the recording both these uncommon points of history, 
 had he knowii any thing of them ; nor would either the 
 Jewish nation, nor even Pompey hjraself, theq have re- 
 lished such a flagrant Instance of sacrilege. < 
 
 373 
 
 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 a thousand 
 Jews, of the best esteem among them, who 
 confirmed this accusation ; which confirma- 
 tion was procured by Antipater; but Aristo- 
 bulus alleged against him, tliat it was Hyrca- 
 nus's own temper, which was inactive, and 
 on that account contemptible, 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 transfer- 
 red 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 
 witnesses of what he said, some persons who 
 were both young and insolent; whose purple 
 garments, fine heads of hair, and other orna- 
 ments, 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. 
 
 3. When Pompey had heard the causes of 
 these two, and had condemned Aristobulus 
 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 with- 
 out expecting any farther determination, which 
 Pompey had promised them, he went to the 
 city Delius, and thence marched into Judea. 
 
 4. At this behaviour Pompey was angry ; 
 and taking with him that army which he was 
 leading against the Nabateans, aud the auxili- 
 aries that came from Damascus, and the other 
 parts of Syria, with the other Roman legions 
 which he had with him, he made an expedition 
 against Aristobulus; but as he passed by Pella 
 and Scythopolis, he came to Cores;, which is tlie 
 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 Aris- 
 tobulus had fled ; and thence Pompey sent his 
 commands to him, that he should come to him. 
 Accordingly, at the persuasions of many that he 
 would not make war with the Romans, he came 
 down ; and when he had disputed with his bro- 
 ther 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 flatteringhimselfwiththe hopesof bavingthe 
 kingdom granted him ; so that he still pre- 
 tended 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 bn 
 
J- 
 
 374 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 prepared for a war, in case it should prove as 
 he feared, that Poinpt'y would transfer tlic 
 government to Ilyrcaiuis: but when Pompcy 
 enjoined Aristohulus to deliver up the for- 
 tresses he held, and to send an injunction to 
 their governors under his own hand for tiiat 
 puqjose, for ihey had been forbidden to de- 
 liver tJiein up upon any other commands, he 
 submitted indeed to do so ; but still he retired 
 in displeasure to Jerusalem, and made pre- 
 paration for war. A little after this, certain 
 persons came out of Pontus, and informed 
 Pompcy, as he was on the way, and conduct- 
 ing his army against Aristohulus, that Mith- 
 ridates was dead, and was slain by his son 
 Pharnaces. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW POMPEY, WHEN THE CITIZENS OF JERU- 
 SALEM SHUT THEIR GATES AGAINST HIM, 
 BESIEGED THE CITY, AND TOOK IT BY rOaCK ; 
 AS ALSO WHAT OTHEK THINGS HE DID IN 
 JUDEA. 
 
 § 1. Now when Pompey had pitched his 
 camp at Jericho (wliere the palm-tree grows,* 
 and that balsnm whicli is an ointment 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 tlie 
 rooming to Jerusalem. Hereupon Aristo • 
 bulus repented of what he was doing, and 
 came to Pompey, and [promised to] give him 
 money, and received him into Jerusalem, and 
 desired that he would leave off the war, and 
 do what he pleased peaceably. So Pompey, 
 upon his entreaty, forgave him, and sent Ga- 
 binius, and soldiers with him, to receive the 
 money and the city ; yet was no part of this 
 performed ; but Gabiuius came back, being 
 both excluded out of the city, and receiving 
 none of the money promised, because Aristo- 
 bulus's soldiers would not permit the agree- 
 ments to be executed. At this Pompey was 
 very angry, and put Aristohulus 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 deepdiich, that encompassed the 
 city, f and included within it tiie temple, 
 
 • These express testimonies of Josephiis here, and 
 Aiitir). b. viii, ch. vi, sect. C, and b. xv, ch. iv, sect. '.', 
 thnt the only l);ilum ((Mrdciis, and the best palin-lrces, 
 were, at least in liisdays, tie.r jeiiilinaml Kngiiddi, about 
 the north iiart of the Ikad Sea (wlicreabout also Alex- 
 ander the Great saw the balsnm drop), show the mistake 
 of those that understand Kusebius and Jerom, as if one 
 of those gardens were at the south part of that sen, at 
 Zoar or Segor, whereas they must either mean another 
 Zoar or Segor, whieli ivas between Jcrielm and Kngaddi, 
 agreeably to Josephus; wh.ch yet they do not appiar to 
 do, or else they ilirectly eontradiet Josephus, ami were 
 therein greatly mistaken ; i mean this, unless tluit bal- 
 sam, .iiid the best palni-tn-es, grew inueh more souili- 
 waid in Judea in the diiys of Kuscbius and Jerom llian 
 they did in the days of Josephus. 
 
 t The particular depth a;id breadth of this diteh, 
 wi\cncc the atones for the wall about tjie teinjili; were 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 which was itself encompassed about with a 
 very strong stone wall. 
 
 2. Now there was a sedition of the men 
 that were within the city, who did not agree 
 what was to be done in their present circum- 
 stances, while some thought it best to deliver 
 up the city to Pompey ; hut Aristobulus's 
 party exhorted them to shut the gates, be- 
 cause he was kept in prison. Now thesp 
 prevented the others, and seized upon the 
 temple, and cut ofl' the bridge which reached 
 from it to the city, and prepared themselves 
 to abide a siege ; but tlie others admitted 
 Pompey's army in, and delixercd up both tJie 
 city and the king's palace to hiin. So Pom- 
 pey sent his lieutenant Piso with an army, 
 and placed garrisons both in the city and in 
 the palace, to secure tlicm, and fortified the 
 houses that joined to the temple, and all 
 those which were inore distant and without it. 
 And in the first jilace, he oft'crod terms of ac- 
 commodation to those that were within ; but 
 when they would not comply with what was 
 desired, he encompassed all the places there- 
 about with a wall, wherein Hyrcaniis did 
 gladly assist him on all occasions ; but Pom- 
 pey 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 towards 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 la- 
 bour, while the Romans cut down materials 
 for it from the places round about ; and when 
 this hank 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 stones 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 l)aiik could never have 
 been perfected, by reason of tlie opposition 
 the Jews would have made ; for though our 
 law gives us leave then to defend ourselves 
 against those that begin to fight with us and 
 assault us, yet does it not permit us to med- 
 dle with our enemies while they do any thing 
 else. 
 
 3. Which thing when the Romans under- 
 stood, on those days wliich 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 forwardness, that they might do ex- 
 
 CroKibly tiken, are omitte<l in our copies of Josephus, 
 ut set diiiMi by Strabo, b. xvi, p. '\t?i\ from whom we 
 Irani, that Ihis'diteh was sixty feet deep, and two hun- 
 dreil and Hfty iVet broad. However, it^ depth is, in the 
 next seetionj said by Joseiiliiis to be immense, whietl 
 exactly agrees to i>tralx)'s description, and which iium 
 Ikms ni Strabo arc a strong confirmauou of tlie truUi oi 
 Josejihus's ilesciijiUon also. 
 
"^ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ecution the next days ; and any one may 
 hence learn how very great piety we exercise 
 towards God, and the observance of his laws, 
 since the priests were not at all hindered from 
 their sacred ministrations, by their fear dur- 
 ing this siege, but did still twice each day, in 
 the morning and about the ninth liour, offer 
 their sacrifices on the altar ; nor did they 
 omit those sacrifices, if any melancholy acci- 
 dent 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 hundred and seventy-ninth olympiad, 
 when Caius Antonius and Marcus Tullius 
 Cicero were consuls, and the enemy then fell 
 upon them, and cut the throats of those tliat 
 yfere in the temple, yet could not those that of- 
 fered 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 brag, or an 
 encomium to manifest a degree of our piety 
 that was false, but is the real truth, I appeal 
 to those that have written of the acts of Pom- 
 pey ; and, among them, to Strabo and Nico- 
 laus [of Damascus] ; and besides these, to 
 Titus Livius, the writer of the Roman Histo- 
 ry, who will bear witness of this tiling. -f- 
 
 4. 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 Faustus, the son of 
 Sylla, with his soldiers, first of all ascended 
 the wall, and next to him Furius the centu- 
 rion, 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 being slain by 
 the Romans, and some by one another j nay, 
 some tiiere 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 
 twelve thousand ; but of the Romans very 
 few. Absalom, who was at once both uncle 
 and father-in-law to Aristobulus, was taken 
 
 * That is on the twentv-third of Sivan, the annual fast 
 for the defection and idolatry of Jeroboam, "who made 
 Israel to sin ;" or possibly some otlier fast might fall 
 into that month, before and in the days of JosepTius. 
 
 t It deserves here to be noted, that this Pharisaical 
 superstitious notion, that offensive fighting vats unlaw- 
 ful to Jews, even under the utmost necessity, on the 
 Sabbath-day ; of which we hear nothing before the 
 times of the Maccabees, was th.e proper occasion of Je- 
 rusalem's being taken by Pompey, by Sossius, and by 
 Titus, as appears from the places already quoted in the 
 note on Antiq. b. xiii, ch. viii, sect. 1 ; which scrupu- 
 lous superstition, as to the observation of such a rigo- 
 rous rest upon the Sabbath-day, our Saviour always op- 
 posed, when the Pharisaical Jews insisted on it, as is evi- 
 dent in many places in the New Testament, though he 
 etill intimated how pernicious that superstition might 
 prove to them in their flight from the RomaiilS Matt 
 sxv, "0 
 
 375 
 
 captive ; and no small enormities were com- 
 mitted about the temple itself, which, in for- 
 mer ages, had been inaccessible, and seen by 
 none ; for Pompey went 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 candle-stick, and the pouring vessels, 
 and a great quantity of spices ; and besides 
 these there were among the treasures two thou- 
 sand talents of sacred money ; yet did Pon> 
 pey 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 order to those 
 that had the charge of the temple to cleanse 
 it, and to bring what offerings the law requir- 
 ed to God ; and restored the high-priesthood 
 to Hyrcanus, both because he had been use- 
 ful to him in other respects, and because 
 he hindered the Jews in the country from 
 giving Aristobulus any assistance in his war 
 against him. He also cut off those that had 
 been the autliors of that war ; and bestowed 
 firoper rewards on Faustus, and those others 
 that mounted the wall with such alacrity j and 
 he made Jerusalem tributary to the Romans ; 
 and took away those cities of Celesyria which 
 the inhabitants of Judea had subdued, and 
 put them lander the government of the Ro- 
 man president, and confined the whole na- 
 tion, which had elevated itself so high before, 
 within its own bounds. Moreover, he re- 
 built Gadara, which had been demolished a 
 little before, ]| to gratify Demetrius of Gada- 
 ra, who was his freed-man, and restored the 
 rest of the cities. Hippos and Scythopolis, 
 and Pella, and Dios, and Samaria, as also 
 Marissa, and Ashdod, and Jamnia, and Are- 
 thusa, to their own inhabitants : these were 
 in the inland parts. Besides those that had 
 been demolished, and also of the maritime 
 cities, Gaza, and Joppa, and Dora, and Stra- 
 to's Tower : which last Herod rebuilt after a 
 glorious manner, and adorned with havens 
 and temples ; and changed its name to Cassa- 
 rea. All these Pompey left in a state of free- 
 dom, and joined them to the province of Sy- 
 ria. 
 
 5. 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 Romans, and were de- 
 prived of that country which we had gained 
 by our arms from the Syrians, and were com- 
 pelled to restore it to the Syrians. Moreover, 
 the Romans exacted of us, in a little time, 
 
 t This is fully confirmed by the testimony of Cicero, 
 who says, in his oration for Flaccus, That " Cneius 
 Pompei'us, when he was conqueror, and had taken Je- 
 rusalem, did not touch any thing belonging to that 
 temple." 
 
 II Of this destruction of Gadara here presupposed, and 
 its restoration by Pompey, see the note on the War, Ix 
 
 eh. vii, sect. 7. 
 
J~ 
 
 876 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 I 
 
 above ten tJiotisand talents ; and the royal 
 authority, which uas a dignity formerly he- 
 stowed on tliose th;it were liij;h- priests, hy the 
 right of their family, became the property of 
 private men ; but of these matters we shall 
 treat in their proper ])laccs. Now Pompey 
 committed Celesyria, as far as tiie river Eu- 
 phrates and Egyi)t, to Scaurus, with two Ro- 
 man legions, and then went away to Cilicia, 
 and made haste to Home. He also carried 
 bound along with him Aristobulus and his 
 children ; for he had two daugliters, and as 
 many sons ; the one of whom ran away ;. hut 
 the younger, Antigonus, was carried to Home, 
 together with his sisters. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW SCAURUS iMADE A LEAGl'E OF MUTUAL 
 ASSISTANCE WITH ARETAS ; AND WHAT GA- 
 BINIUS DID IN JUDEA, AITER HE HAD CON- 
 QUERED ALEXANDER, THE SON OF ARISTO- 
 BULUS. 
 
 § 1. SCAURUS made now an expedition a- 
 gainst 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 wa".tcd, and this at the command of 
 Hyrcanns ; and wiien he was sent to Arctas 
 as an ambassador, l;y Scaurus, because he had 
 hved with him formerly, he persuaded Aretas, 
 to give Scaurus a simi of money, to prevent 
 the burning of his country; and undertook 
 to be his surety for three hundred talents. 
 So Scaurus, upon these terms, ceased to 
 make war any longer : wliieh was done as 
 much at Scaurus's desire as at the desire of 
 Aretas. 
 
 2. Some time after this, when Alexander, 
 the son of Aristobulus, made an incursion 
 into Judea, Gabinius came from Rome to Sy- 
 ria, as commander of the Roman forces. He 
 ■Jid many consirlerable actions ; and particu- 
 arly made war witii Alexander, since Ilyrca- 
 nus was not yet .ible to oppose his ))ower, but 
 was already attempting to rebuild the wall of 
 Jerusalem, wliicii Pumjiey liad overthrown, 
 although the Romans v ho were there restrain- 
 ed him from that his design. However, Al- 
 exander went over all tiie country round a- 
 bout, and armed many of the Jews, and sud- 
 denly got together ten thousand armed foot- 
 men, and fifteen linndied horsemen, and for- 
 tified Alexandrium, a fortress near to Cores, 
 and Macherus, near the mountains of .Arabia. 
 Gabinus theretore came upon him, having 
 sent Marcus Antonius, with other comman> 
 ders, before. These armed such Romans as 
 followed them ; and, together with them, sudi 
 Jews as were subject to them, whose leadei« 
 
 were Pitholaus and IMalichus ; and they took 
 with them also their friends tliat were with 
 Antijiater, and met Alexander, while Gabi- 
 nius himself followed with his legion. Here- 
 upon Alexander retired to the neighbourhood 
 of Jerusalem, where they fell upon one ano- 
 ther, and it came to a pitched battle ; in whicli 
 the Romans slew of their enemies about three 
 thousand, and took a like number alive. 
 
 3. At which time Gabinius came to Alex- 
 andrium, and invited those that were in it to 
 deliver it up on certain conditions, and pro- 
 mised that then their former offences should 
 be forgiven : but as a great numl)er of the e- 
 nemy had pitched their camp before the for- 
 tress, whom the Romans attacked, l\J;u-cus 
 Antonius fought bravely, and slew a great 
 number, and seeitied 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 other parts of Judea, and 
 gave order to rebuild all tlie cities that he met 
 with that had been demolished ; at which time 
 were rebuilt Samaria, Aslidod, Scythopolis, 
 Anihedon, Raphia, and Dora ; Marissa also, 
 and Gaza, and not a few otiiers besides ; and 
 as the men acted according to Gabinius's 
 command, it came to i)ass, that at this time 
 these cities were securely inhabited, which had 
 been desolate for a long time. 
 
 4. When Gabinius had done thus in the 
 country he returned to Alcxandrium; and 
 when he urged on the siege of the place, Alex- 
 ander sent an embassage to him, desiring that 
 he would pardon his former offences; he also 
 delivered up the fortresses, Hyrcania and 
 Macherus, and at last Alexandrium itself, 
 which fortresses Gabinius demolished ; but 
 when Alexander's mother, wlio was of the side 
 of the Romans, as having her husband and 
 other children at Rome, came to him, he 
 granted her whatsoever slie asked ; and w hen 
 he had settled matters with her, he brought 
 Ilyrcanus to Jerusalem, and committed the 
 care of the temi)le to him ; and when he had 
 ordained five councils, he distributed the na- 
 tion into the same number of parts: so these 
 councils governe<l the people ; the first was at 
 Jerusalem, the second at Gadara, the third at 
 Amathus, the fourth at Jericho, and the fifth 
 at Sepphoris, in Galilee. So the Jews were 
 now freed from monarchic authority, and were 
 governed by an aristocracy.* 
 
 • Dean Pridcnux well observes, " That nofwilh^tann. 
 iiiR the claraoiir ajjainst (i.ibmuis al Home, Jo&ephui 
 Cive* him a lamlable character as if he hail acquitted 
 himsolf with honour in the ehiirge committetl to him 
 [ill Judea]. ^ec At the year ji. 
 
CHAP VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 877 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW GABINIUS CAUGHT ARISTOEULUS AFTER 
 HE HAD FLED FROM ROJIE, AND SENT HIM 
 BACK TO ROME AGAIN ; AND HOW THE 
 SAME GABINIUS, AS HE RETURNED OUT OF 
 EGYPT; OVERCAME ALEXANDER AND THE 
 NABATEANS IN BATTLE. 
 
 § 1. Now Aristobulus ran away from Rome 
 to Judea, and set about the rebuilding of Alex- 
 andrium, which had been newly demolished : 
 hereupon Gabinius sent soldiers against him, 
 and for their commanders Sisenna, and An- 
 tonius, and Servilius, in order to hinder him 
 from getting possession 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 a thousand men, although a great number 
 of those that came to him were unarmed ; and 
 when Aristobulus had resolved to go to Ma- 
 cherus, he dismissed 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 eight thousand 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 alacritj-, but were 
 overborne by the enemy, they were put to 
 flight ; of whom were slain about five thou- 
 sand, and the rest being dispersed, tried, as well 
 as they were able, to save themselves. Howev- 
 er, Aristobulus had with him still above a thou- 
 sand, and with them he fled to Macherus, and 
 fortified the place ; and though he had had ill 
 success, he still had good hope of his aflTairs ; 
 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 fortune of Aristobulus, 
 who was sent back again to Rome, and %vas there 
 retained in bonds, having been both king and 
 high-priest for three years and six months ; and 
 was indeed an emsnent person, and one of a 
 great soul. However, the senate let his child- 
 ren go, upon Gabinius's writing to them that 
 he had promised their mother so much when 
 she delivered up the fortresses to him ; and 
 ccordingly they then returned into Judea. 
 2. Now when Gabinius was making an 
 expedition against the Parthians, and had al- 
 ready passed over Euphrates, he changed his 
 mind, and resolved to return into Egypt, in 
 order to restore Ptolemy to his kingdom.* 
 
 » This historj- is best illustrated by Dr. Hudson out 
 of Livy, who says, ihat " A. Gabinius, the proconsul, 
 restored Ptolemy to his kingdom of Egypt, and ejected 
 Archelaus, whom they had set up for a kuig," iic. bee 
 Prid. at the yeais 6 1 and 65 ^ 
 
 This hath also been related elsewhere. How- 
 ever, Antipatcr supplied his army, which he 
 sent against Archelaus, with corn, and wea- 
 pons, 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 seiz- 
 ed on the government a secon''. time by force, 
 made many of the Jews revolt to him ; and 
 so he marched over the country with a great 
 army, and slew all the Romans he could light 
 upon, and proceeded to besiege the mountain 
 called Gerizzim, whither they had retreated. 
 
 3. But when Gabinius found Syria in such 
 a state, he sent Antipater, who was a prudent 
 man, to those that were seditious, to try whe- 
 ther he could cure them 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 thir- 
 ty thousand Jews, and met Gabinius, and, 
 joining battle with him, was beaten, and lost 
 ten thousand of his men about Mount Tabor. 
 
 4. So Gabinius settled the affairs which be- 
 longed to the city Jerusalem, as was agreea- 
 ble to Antipater's inclination, and went against 
 the Nabateans, and overcame 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 Gal)inius had performed great and 
 glorious actions, in his management of the 
 affairs of the war, he returned to Rome, and 
 delivered the government to Crassus. Now, 
 Nicolaus of Damascus, and Strabo, of Cap- 
 padocia, both describe the expeditions of Pom- 
 pey and Gabinius against the Jews, while nei- 
 ther of them say any thing new which is not 
 in the other. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW CRASSUS CAME INTO JUDEA, AND PIL- 
 LAGED THE TEJIPLE ; AND THEN MARCHED 
 AGAINST THE PARTHIANS, AND PERISHED, 
 WITH HIS ARMY. ALSO HOW CASSIUS OB- 
 TAINED SYRIA, AND PUT A STOP TO THE 
 PARTHIANS, AND THEN WENT UP TO JUDEA. 
 
 § 1. Now Crassus, as he was going upon his 
 expedition against the Parthians, came into 
 Judea, and carried off the money that was in 
 tlje temple, which Pompey had left, being two 
 thousand talents, and was disposed to spoil it 
 of all the gold belonging to it, which was 
 eight thousand talents. He also took a beam, 
 which was made of solid beaten gold, of the 
 weight of three hundred minae, each of which 
 
 r 
 
S78 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 weiglied two pounds and a half. It was the 
 priest wlio was guardian of the sacred trea- 
 sures, and whose name was Eleazar, that gave 
 him this beam, not out of a wicked design, 
 for he was a good and a rigliteous man ; hut 
 l)eing intrusted wiili the custody of the veils 
 belonging to the temple, which were of admir- 
 al)le beauty, and of very costly woikmanshij), 
 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 no- 
 thing else out of the temple, but be satisfied 
 with this only, whicli he should give him, be- 
 ing worth many ten thousand [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 lieam, 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. 
 
 2. 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 contributions 
 to it, and this from very ancient times. Nor 
 is the largeness of these sums without its at- 
 testation ; nor is that greatness owing to our 
 /anity, 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: — " Mitliridates sent to Cos, 
 and took the money which queen Cleopatra 
 had deposited there ; as also eight hundred 
 talents belonging to the Jews." Now we 
 have no public money but only what apper- 
 tains to God ; and it is evident that the Asian 
 Jews removed this money, out of fear of IMi- 
 thridates ; 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 neither, since they 
 were in no fear of Mithridates. And Strabo 
 himself i)ears witness to the same thing in 
 another place ; that at the same time that Sylla 
 passed over into Greece, in order to (iglit 
 against Mithridates, he sent LucuUus to put 
 an end to a sedition that our nation, of whom 
 the habitable earth is full, had raised in Cy- 
 rene ; wiicre he speaks thus: — " There were 
 four classes of men among those of Cyrene ; 
 that of citizens, that of husbandmen, the third 
 of strangers, and tiic fourth of Jews. Now 
 these Jews are already gotten into all cities ; 
 and it is hard to find a place in the iiahituble 
 earth that hath not admitted this tribe of men, 
 and is not possessed by them: and it hath come 
 to pass that Egypt and Cyrwie, as having the 
 <ame governors, and a great number of other 
 nations, iiuilate Uieir way of living, and iiiain- 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 tain great bodies of these Jews in a peculiar 
 manner, and grow up to greater prosperity 
 with them, and make use of the same laws 
 with that nation also. Accordingly, the Jeus 
 have places assigned them in Egy|)t, wherein 
 they inhabit, besides what is peculiarly allot- 
 ted to this nation at Alexandria, which is a 
 large part of that city. U'here is also an eth- 
 narch allowed tliem, 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 
 powerfid, because the JeiTs were originally 
 Egyptians, and because the land wherein they 
 inhabit, since they went thence, is near to 
 Egypt. They also removed into Cyrene, be- 
 cause that this land adjoined to the govern- 
 tnent of Egypt, as well as does Judea, or ra- 
 ther was fonr.erly under the same govern- 
 ment." And this is what Strabo says. 
 
 3. So wliLii Crassus had settled all things 
 as he hiiTiself pleased, he marched into Par- 
 thia, where both he himself and all liis army 
 perished, as hath been related elsewhere. But 
 Cassius, as he fled from Rome 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 Ju- 
 dea also, and fell upon Tarichea', and pre- 
 sently took it, and carried about thirty thou- 
 sand Jews captives ; and slew Pilholaus, who 
 succeeded Aristobulus in his seditious prac 
 tices, and that by the persuasion of Antipater, 
 who proved to have great interest in him, and 
 was at that time in great repute with the Idu- 
 means also : out of which nation he married 
 a wife, who was the daughter of one of their 
 eminent men, and her natne was Cypros,* by 
 whom he had four sons, Pliasael, and Herod, 
 who was afterwards made king, and Joseph, 
 and Pheroras ; and a daughter, named Sa- 
 lome. This Anli|)ater cultivated also a friend- 
 ship and mutual kindness with otiier poten- 
 tates, but especially with the king of Arabia, 
 to whom he committed his children, while he 
 fought against .\ristobulus. So Cassius re- 
 moved his camp, and marched to Eu])hrates, 
 tt) meet those that were coining to attack hinv, 
 as hath been related by others. 
 
 4. IJut some lime afterwards, Caesar, when 
 he had taken Rome, and after Ponipey and 
 the senate were lied beyond the Ionian Sea, 
 freed Aiistolnilus from liis bonds, and resolv- 
 ed to send him into Syria, and delivered two 
 legions to him, that he might set matters right, 
 as bi'ing a potent man in that country ; but 
 Aristobulus had no enjoyment of what lie 
 hoped for from the power that was given him 
 by Ca;sar; for tJiose of Poinpey's party prc- 
 
 • Dr. Hudson observes, tl\at the name of tliis wife of 
 Antiiiater, in .losiphus, was Cypros, ;<s an Hebrew ter- 
 mination ; but not t'ypris, the (J reek name tor \enus, 
 as Mjmu critics were ruaUv to correct it 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 vented it, and destroyed him by poison ; and 
 those of Caesar's party buried him. His dead 
 body also lay, for a good while, embalmed in 
 honey, till Antony afterwards sent it to Judea, 
 and caused him to be buried in the royal se- 
 pulchre. But Scipio, upon Pompey's send- 
 ing to him to slay Alexander, the son of 
 Aristobulus, because the young man was ac- 
 cused 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 Ptole- 
 my, the son of Menneus, who was the ruler 
 of Chalcis, under Mount Libanu?, took his 
 brethren to him, and sent his son Philippion 
 to Askelon to Aristobulus's wife, and desired 
 her to send back with him her son Antigo- 
 nus and her daughters : the one of whom, 
 whose name was Alexandra, Philippion fell 
 in love with, and married her; though after- 
 wards his father Ptolemy slew him, and mar- 
 ried Alexandra, and continued to take care of 
 her brethren. 
 
 CHAPTER VI I r. 
 
 THE JEWS EECOME CONFEDERATES WITH C^SAR 
 WHEN HE FOUGHT AGAINST EGYPT. THE 
 GLORIOUS ACTIONS OF ANTIP-VTEB, AND HIS 
 FRIENDSHIP WITH C^SAR. THE HONOURS 
 WHICH THE JEWS RECEIVED FROM THE RO- 
 MANS AND ATHENIANS. 
 
 § 1 Now after Pompey was dead, and after 
 that victory Ctesar had gained over him, An- 
 tipater, who managed the Jewish affairs, be- 
 came very useful to Casar when he made 
 war against Egypt, and that by the order of 
 Hyrcanus ; for when Mithridates of Perga- 
 mus was bringing his auxiliaries, and was not 
 able to continue his march through Pelusium, 
 but obliged to stay at Askelon, Antipater 
 came to him, conducting three thousand of 
 the Jews, armed men : he had also taken care 
 the principal men of the Arabians should 
 come to his assistance ; and on his sccount it 
 was that all the Syrians assisted him also, as 
 not willing to appear behindhand in their ala- 
 crity for Caesar, viz. Jamblicus the ruler, and 
 Ptolemy his son, and Tholomy the son of 
 Sohemus, who dwelt at Mount Libanus, and 
 almost all the cities. So Mithridates march- 
 ed out of Syria, and came to Pelusium ; and 
 when its inhabitants would not admit him, he 
 besieged the city. Now Antipater signalized 
 himself liere, 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 t!)e country called Onion, would not 
 let Antipater and Mithridate*, with their sol- 
 diers, pass to Ca?sarj but Antipater persuad- 
 ed them to come over to their i)arr>-, because 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 379 
 
 he was of the same people with them, and 
 that chiefly by showing them the epistles of 
 Hyrcanus the high-priest, wherein he exhort- 
 ed 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 tlie 
 high-priest of the same sentiments, they did 
 as they were desired. And when the Jews 
 about Memphis heard that these Jews were 
 come over to Cajsar, they also invited Mithri- 
 dates to come to them ; so he came and re- 
 ceived them also into his army. 
 
 2. And when Mithridates had gone over all 
 Delta, as the place is called, lie came to a 
 pitched battle with the enemy, near the place 
 called the Jewish Camp. Now Mithridates 
 had the right wing, and Antipater the left ; 
 and when it came to a fight, that wing where 
 Mithridates was gave way, and was likely to 
 suffer extremely, unless Antipater had come 
 running to him with his own soldiers along 
 the shore, when he had already beaten the 
 eneiny that opposed him ; so he delivered Mi- 
 thridates, and put those Egyptians who had 
 been too hard for him to flight. He also 
 took their camp, and continued in the pur- 
 suit of them. He also recalled Mithridates, 
 who had been worsted, and was retired a great 
 way off, of whose soldiers eight hundred fell; 
 but of Antipater's fifty. So Mithridates sent 
 an account of this battle to Ctesar, and open- 
 ly declared that Antipater was the author of 
 this victory, and of his own preservation ; in- 
 somuch that Cassar commi'nded Antipater 
 then, and made use of him ail the rest of that 
 war in the most hazardous undertakings : he 
 happened also to be wounded in one of those 
 engagements. 
 
 3. However, when Cxsar, after some time, 
 had finished that war, and was sailed away 
 for Syria, he honoured Antipater greatlj', arid 
 confirmed Hyrcanus in the high-priesthood ; 
 and bestowed on Antipatur 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 
 expedition, and came himself into Egypt. 
 And Strabo of Cappadocia bears witness to 
 this, when he says thus, in the name of Asi- 
 nius: — "After Mithridates had invaded E- 
 gypt, 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 atVairs, was called by him 
 to Askelon, and that he h;<d gotten ready three 
 thousand soldiers to go a'ong 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 expe- 
 dition." This is what Strabo says. 
 
 4. But Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, 
 came at this time to Csesar, and lameJited his 
 
-<^ 
 
 380 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BouK xrr 
 
 fallier's fate; and complained, tliat it was by 
 Antipatci's meaii!) tliat Ari.stobulus was taken 
 oil" by poison, and liis biotiiur was beheaded 
 by Scipio, and desired that he would take pity 
 of him who had been ejected out of that prin- 
 cipality which was due to him. He also ac- 
 cused Hyrcanus and Antipater as governing 
 the nation by violence, and offering injuries 
 to himself. Antipater was j)resent, and made 
 Iiis defence as to the accusations that were 
 laid against him. He demonstrated, that 
 Antigonus and his party were given to inno- 
 vation, and were seditious persons. He al- 
 so put Cassar in mind what difficult services 
 he had undergone when he assisted him in 
 his wars, and discoursed about what he was a 
 witness of himself. He added, that Aristo- 
 bulus was justly carried away to Rome, as 
 one that was an enemy to the Romans, and 
 could never ba brought to be a friend to them, 
 and that liis brother had no more than he de- 
 served from Scipio, as being seized in com- 
 mitting robberies ; and that this punishment 
 was not inflicted on him in a way of violence 
 or injustice by him that did it. 
 
 5. Wiien Antipater had made this speech, 
 Cajsar appointed Hyrcanus to be high-priest, 
 and gave Antipater what principality he him- 
 self should choose, leaving the determination 
 to himself; so he made liim 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 engraren 
 in the capitol. The decree of the senate was 
 this that follows:* " Lucius Valerius, the 
 Bon of Lucius the prastor, referred this to the 
 senate, upon the Ides of December, in the 
 temple of Concord. There were present at 
 the writing of this decree Lucius Coponius, 
 the son of Lucius of the CoUine 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 Do'»itheus, ambassadors 
 of the Jews, good and worthy men, i)roj)o.sed, 
 who came to renew that league of good-will 
 and friendship with the Romans wliich was 
 in being before. They also brought a shield 
 of gold, as a mark of confederacy, valued at 
 fifty thousand pieces of gold ; and desired 
 that letters might be given them, directed 
 
 • Take Dr. Hudson's note \ipon this \>lacc, which I 
 stiiipose to be the truth: — " Here is some mistake in 
 Joscphus; for when he hail promised us a decree for 
 the restoration of Jerusalem, he brings in a decree of 
 far grcatLT antiquity, and that a league of fiiendsliip 
 and union only. One may e;viily bcheve that Joscphus 
 gave order for one Uiing, and his amanuensis performed 
 another, by trsusposini^ decrees that i()n<iiiud the Hyr- 
 cani, and as dcUulod by the sanlene^s of their nanu-s; 
 for that belongs to the fir»t high llrie^t of this name 
 [John Hyrcanus], winch Josenhos licre ascribes to one 
 that live<l later [Hyrcanus, the ^on of Alexander Jan- 
 neus]. However, the decree which he pr(>ix)se<l id set 
 down follows a little lower, in the collection of Roman 
 decrees that conccnicd the Jews, and is that dated "hen 
 Csjar was uotuuJ Uic lifth Uuie." i>ce ch. x, sect. 5 
 
 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 thcin 
 whatsoever they stood in need of, and to ac- 
 cept of the shield whicli was brouglit by them. 
 This was done in the ninth year of Hyrcanus 
 the high-|)riest and etiinarch, in the month 
 Panemus. " Hyrcanus also received honours 
 from tiie people of Athens, as having been 
 useful to them on many occasions ; and when 
 they wrote to hitii, they sent him this decree, 
 as it here follows: — " Under the prutaneia 
 and priesthood of Dionysiiis, tiie son of Es- 
 culapius, on the fifth day of tl<.e latter part of 
 the month Panemus, this decree of the Athe- 
 nians was given to their commanders, when 
 Agathocles was archon, and Elides, the son 
 of Menander of Alimusia, was the scribe. 
 In the month Munychion, on the eleventh 
 day of the Prutaneia, a council of the presi. 
 dents was held in the theatre. Dorotheus 
 the high-priest, and the fellow-presidents with 
 him, put it to the rote of the people. Dic- 
 nysius, the son of Dionysius, gave the sen- 
 tence. Since Hyrcanus, the son of Alexan.. 
 der, 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, cither as ambassadors, or on any 
 occasion of their own, he receives them in an 
 obliging manner, and sees that they are con- 
 ducted back in safety, of which we have had 
 several former testimonies : it is now also de- 
 creed, at the report of Theodosius, 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 honour him with a crown of 
 gold, the usual reward according to the law, 
 and to erect his statue in brass in the temple 
 of Demus and of the Graces ; and that thi? 
 present of a crown shall be proclaitiied pub 
 licly in the theatre, in the Dionysian shows, 
 while the new tragedies are acting ; and in 
 the Panathenean, and Eleusinian, and Gyin- 
 nical shows also ; and that the commanders 
 shall take care, while he contmues in his 
 friendship, and preserves his good-will to us, 
 to rettirn all possible honour atid favour to 
 the inan, for his affection and generosity ; 
 that by this treatnu'iit it may appear liow our 
 people receive the good kindly, and repay 
 them a suital)le reward ; and he nray be in- 
 duced to proceed in his affection towards us, 
 by the honours we have already paid him. 
 That ambassadors be also chosen out of ail 
 the Athenians, who shall carry this decree to 
 him, and desire hiin to accept of the honours 
 we da him, and to endeavour always to be 
 idoing some good to our city." — And Uiis 
 
•V. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 shall suffice us to have spoken as to the ho- 
 nours that were paid by the Romans and the 
 people of Athens to Hyrcanus. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 381 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW ANTIPATER COMMITTED THE CARE OF 
 GALILEE TO HEROD, AND THAT OF JERUSA- 
 LEM TO PHASAELUS ; AS ALSO, HOW HEROD, 
 UPON THE jews' ENVY AT ANTIPATER, WAS 
 ACCUSED BEFORE HYRCANUS. 
 
 § 1. Now when Csesar had settled the affairs 
 of Syria, he sailed away ; and as soon as An- 
 tipater had conducted Csesar out of Syria, he 
 returned to Judea. He tlien 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 ad- 
 vising them to be quiet ; for that, if tliey would 
 be of Hyrcanus's side, they would live hap- 
 pily, 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 innnovation, 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 Romans, together 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 himself settled the 
 affairs of this country. 
 
 2. And seeing that Hyrcanus was c^f a 
 slow and slothful temper, he made Phasaelus, 
 his eldest son, governor of Jerusalem, 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 impe-- 
 diment to him ; but as he was a youth of great 
 mind, he presently met with an opportunity of 
 signalizing his courage; for, finding there 
 was one Hezekias, a captain of a band of rob- 
 bers, 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 the 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 commendation in their villages 
 and cities, as having procured them peace and 
 
 « Those who will carefully obser\"e the several occa- 
 sional numbers and chronological characters in the life 
 and de tth of this Herod, and of his children, 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. Seech, xxiii, sect. 5 ; and ch xxiv, sect. 7; 
 and particularly Antin. b. xvii, ch. viii, sect. 1; where, 
 about fourtj'-four years afterwards, Herod dlfes an old 
 man at about seventy. 
 
 the secure enjoyment of their possessions ; 
 and on this account it was that he became 
 known to Sextus Caesar, who was a relation 
 of the great Csesar, and was now president of 
 Syria. Now Phasaelus, Herod's brother, was 
 moved with emulation at his actions, and en 
 vied the fame he had thereby gotten, and be- 
 came ambitious not to be behindhand with 
 him in deserving it : so he made the inhabi . 
 tants 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 Antipater 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 splen- 
 dour of his, as frequently happens, in the 
 least diminish in him that kindness and fide- 
 lity which he owed to Hyrcanus. 
 
 3. But now the principal men among the 
 Jews, wlien they saw Antipater and his sons 
 to grow so much in the good-will the nation 
 bare to them, and in the revenues which they 
 received out of Judea, and out of Hyrcanus's 
 own wealth, they became ill-disposed to him • 
 for indeed Antipater had contracted a friend- 
 ship with the Roman emperors; and when he 
 had prevailed with Hyrcanus to send them 
 money, he took it to himself, and purloined 
 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 tljat 
 Herod was a violent and bold man, and very 
 desirous of acting tyrannically; so they came 
 to Hyrcanus, and now accused Antipater 
 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 govern- 
 ment, 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 care- 
 less of thyself and of thy kingdom ; for Anti- 
 pater and his sons are not now stewards of 
 thine affairs ; do not thou deceive 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 liad been first 
 condemned to suffer death by the sanhe- 
 drim ;f yet hath he been so insolent as to do 
 
 t It is here worth our while to remark, that none 
 could be put to death in Judt-a but by the approbation 
 of the Jewish sanhedrim, there being an excellent prtv 
 vision in the law of Moses, tluit even in criminal causes, 
 and i)articul.-iiy where life w.as concerned, an apjieal 
 should lie from the lesser councils of seven in tfte other 
 cities, to tlie supreme council of seventy-one at Jerusa- 
 lem ; and this is exactly ni'oortliug to our Saviour's 
 words, when he says "It could not be that a prophel 
 ' should perish out of Jerusalem." Luke xiii, 53. 
 
J^ 
 
 382 
 
 'S 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 this, and that witliout any autliority from 
 thee." 
 
 4. Upon Hyrcaniis hearing this ho com- 
 ph'ed witli them. The mothers also of tliose 
 that had been slain by Herod raised his in- 
 dignation ; for those women continued every 
 day in the temjjle, persuading the king and 
 the peojile that Herod might undergo a trial 
 before the sanhedrim for what he had done. 
 Ilyrcanus 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 
 
 king, who give him ah'cencc so to do. How 
 ever, take you notice, that God is great, and 
 tliat tin's very man, wliom you are going to 
 absolve and dismiss, for the sake of Hyrcanus, 
 will one day punish both you and your king 
 himself also." Nor did Sameas mistake in 
 any part of this prediction ; for when Herod 
 liad received the kingdom, he slew all the 
 members of tliis sanhedrim, and flyrcanus 
 himself also, excepting Sameas, for he had a 
 great honour for him on account of his right- 
 eousness, and because, when the city was 
 afterwards besieged by Herod and Sosius, he 
 persuaded the people to admit Herod info it; 
 and told them, that for their sins they would 
 
 he had settled the affairs of Galilee in the best ! not be able to escape his hands : — wliich things 
 manner he could for his own advantage, he | will be related by us in their proper places, 
 should come to his trial, but still with a body 5. But when Hyrcanus saw that the mem- 
 of men sufficient for his security on his jour- I bers of the sanhedrim were ready to pro- 
 ney, yet so that he should not come with so nounce tlie sentence of death upon Herod, he 
 great a force as miglit look like terrifying put off" the trial to another day, and sent pri- 
 Hyrcanus, but still such a one as might not j vately to Herod, and advised him to fly out 
 expose him naked and unguarded [to his ene- j of the city ; for that by this means he might 
 mies]. However, Sextus Caspar, president of ' escape. So he retired to Damascus, as though 
 Syria, wrote to Hyrcanus, and desired him j he fled from the king; and when he had been 
 to clear Herod, and dismiss him at his trial, with Sextus Caesar, and had put his own af- 
 and threatened him beforehand if he did not fairs in a sure posture, he resolved to do thus- 
 do it. Which epistle of his was the occasion — That in case he were again simimonea be- 
 ef Hyrcatuis delivering Herod from suffering ' fore the sanhedrim to take his trial, he would 
 any harm from the sanhedrim, for he loved not obey that summons. Hereupon the mem- 
 him as his own son ; but when Herod stood bers of the sanhedrim had great indignation 
 before the sanliedrim, w ith his body of men . at this posture of affairs, and endeavoured to 
 about him, he affrighted them all, and no one I persuade Hyrcanus that all these things were 
 of his former accusers durst after that bring ' against him ; which state of matters lie was 
 any charge against him, but there was a deep not ignorant of; but his temper was so un- 
 silence, and nobody knew what was to be manly and so foolish, that he was able to do 
 done. Wlien aflTairs stood thus, one whose ' nothing at all; but when Sextus had made 
 name was Sameas,* a righteous man he was, ' Herod general of the army of Celesyria, for 
 and for that reason above all fear, rose up, and he sold him that post for money, Hyrcanus 
 said, " O you that are assessors with me, and was in fear lest Herod should make war upon 
 O thou tliat art our king, I neither have ever liim ; nor was the effect of wliat he feared 
 myself known such a case, nor do I suppose long in coming upon him, — for Herod came, 
 tliat any one of you can name its parallel, that and brought an army along with him to fight 
 one who is called to take his trial by us ever with Hyrcanus, as being angry at the trial he 
 stood in such a manner before us ; but every had been summoned to undergo before the 
 one, whosoever he be, that comes to be tried sanhedrim ; but his father Antipater, and his 
 by this sanhedrim, presents himself in a sub- brother [Phasaelus] met him, and hindered 
 missive manner, and like one that is in fear of him from assaulting Jerusalem, They also 
 himself, and that endeavours to move us to ' pacified his vehement temper, and persuaded 
 compassion, with his hair dishevelled, and in liini to do no overt action, but only to affright 
 ablackandmourninggarment: but this admir- them with threateiiings, and to proceed no 
 able man Herod, who is accused of murder, farther against one who had given him the 
 and called to answer so heavy an accusation, dignity he had-, they also desired him no« 
 stands here clothed in purple, and with the only to be angry that he was summoned, and 
 hair of his head finely trimmed, and with his obliged to come to his trial, but to remember 
 armed men about him, that if we shall con- withal how he was dismissed without condem 
 demn him by our law, he may slay us, and nation, and how he ought to gi\e Hyrcanus 
 by overbearing justice may himself escape thanks for the same ; and that he was not to 
 death ; yet do not I make this complaint a- regard only what was disagreeable to him, and 
 gainst Herod himself : he is to be sure more be unthankful for his deliverance. So they de- 
 concerned for himself than for the laws ; but sired him to consider, that since it is God that 
 my complaint is against yourselves and your turns the scales of war, there is great uncer 
 
 (taintv in the issue of battles, and that there- 
 
 • This accTimit. as Rclana olsrrvcs, is lonlirmoil Ijy fy^^. i,^, j,, ,,,( , , ,„ ^.y^,,^^.^ x.\\\i victory when 
 
 the Talinuilist>, who call this Saiucas " buuuuu. ihc , . ^. , •. ,• i- i i .i . 
 
 jouofShcuch." i he should hght witli his kiiijr --' — •'■"' 
 
 and him tlial 
 
 "V 
 
"V_ 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 883 
 
 had supported him, and bestowed many bene- 
 fits upon him, and had done nothing of it- 
 self very severe to him ; for that his accusa- 
 tion, wiiich was derived from evil counsellors, 
 and not from himself, had rather the suspi- 
 cion 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 HONOUKS THAT WERE PAID THE JEWS; AND 
 THE LEAGUES THAT WERE MADE BY THE RO- 
 WANS, AND OTHER NATIONS, WITH THEM. 
 
 § 1. Now when Caeear was come to Rome, 
 he was ready to sail into Africa to fight 
 against Scipio and Cato, when Hyrcanus 
 sent ambassadors to him, and by them 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 na- 
 tion, 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 be- 
 lieve what hath been written about us by tlie 
 Persians and Macedonians, because those 
 writings are not everywhere to be met with, 
 nor do lie in public places, but among us our- 
 selves, and certain other barbarous nations, 
 while there is no contradiction to be made a- 
 gainst the decrees of the Romans, for tliey 
 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, Ju- 
 lius Caesar made a pillar of brass for the Jews 
 at Alexandria, and declared publicly that 
 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 Cresar, 
 which relate to Hyrcanus and to our nation. 
 2. " Caius Julius Caesar, imperator and 
 high-priest, and dictator the second time, 
 to the magistrates, senate, and people of Si- 
 don, 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, regis- 
 tered on the tables, which concerns Hyrca- 
 nus, 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 proposed in a table of brass, boUi 
 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 Hyr- 
 canus, the son of Alexander the Jew, hath 
 demonstrated his fidelity and diligence 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 fifteen hundred soldiers ; and when he 
 was sent by me to Mithridates, showed him- 
 self superior in valour to all the rest of that 
 army; — for these reasons I will that Hyrca- 
 nus, 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 be- 
 sides this, every one of them be reckoned a- 
 mong our particular friends. I also ordain, 
 that he and his children retain whatsoever pri- 
 vileges 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." 
 
 3. " The decrees of Caius Caesar, consul, 
 containing what hath been granted and deter- 
 mined, are as follow : — That Hyrcanus 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 premises, be openly proposed 
 in the capitol, and at Sidon, and Tyre, and 
 Askelon, and in the temple, engraven in Ro- 
 man and Greek letters : that this decree may 
 also be communicated to the questors and 
 prsetors of the several cities, and to the friends 
 of the Jews : and that the ambassadors may 
 have presents made them, and that these de- 
 crees be sent everywhere." 
 
 4. " Caius Csesar, imperator, dictator, con- 
 sul, 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, Hyrcanus, 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 accord- 
 ing to the same laws, by which their progeni- 
 tors have held the priesthood." 
 
 * That Hyrcanus was himself in E^pt, along with 
 Antipater, at this time, to wliom accordingly the bold 
 and prudent .'\ctions of his deputy Antipater are here as- 
 cribed, as this decree of Julius Caesar supposes, we are 
 further assured by the testimony of i«trabo, already pro- 
 duced by Josephiis, chap, viii, sect. 5. 
 
 "\_ 
 
384 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 5. " Cnius Coesar, consul the fifth time, I tween single gladiators, and In those with 
 hath decreed. That the Jews siiall possess Je- beasts, they shall sit among the senators to 
 rusalcm, and may encompass tliat city wi'h 1 see those shows; and that wlien 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 farthest, after the decree of tlie 
 senate is made about their afl'airs." 
 
 7. " Caius Caisar, impcrator, dictator the 
 fourth time, and consul the fifth time, de- 
 clared to be perpetual dictator, made this 
 speech concerning tlie riglits and privileges of 
 Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the iiigli- 
 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, «hen the people and senate 
 returned their thanks to tiiem, it is good tliat 
 we now also remember the same, aaid provide 
 that a requital be made to Hyrcanus, to the 
 nation of the Jews, and to the sons of Hyr- 
 canus, by the senate and people of Rome, 
 and that suitably to what good-will they have 
 
 walls; and that Hyrcanus, the son of Alex- 
 ander, 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 Sabbatic jjcriod], a corus of 
 that tribute ; and that the tribute they pay be 
 not let to farm, nor that they pay always the 
 same tribute." 
 
 6. " Caius CaDsar, impcrator 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 Sabbatical Year, 
 because thereon they neither receive the fruits 
 of their trees, nor do they sow their land ; and 
 that they p;'.y their tribute in Sidon on the se- 
 cond 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 lieu- 
 tenant, nor ambassador, raise auxiliaries with- 
 in the bounds of Judea, nor may soldiers ex- shown us, and to the benefits they have be- 
 
 ad money of them for winter quarters, or un- 
 der 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 sliall retain them all. 
 It is also our pleasure that the city Joppa, 
 which the Jews had originally, when they 
 made a league of friendship with the Romans, 
 shall belong to them, as it formerly did ; and 
 that Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, and his 
 sons, have as tribute of that city, from those 
 that occupy the land, for the country, and for 
 what they export every year to Sidon, twenty 
 thousand six hundred and seventy-five modii 
 every year, the seventh year, which they call 
 the Sabbatic Year, excepted ; whereon they 
 neither plough, nor receive the product of 
 
 stowed upon us." 
 
 8. " Julius Caius, prastor [consul] of 
 Rome, to the magistrates, senate, and people 
 of the Parians, sendelh 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 forefathers, and their way of sacred 
 worshi]). Now it does not please me that 
 such decrees should be made against our 
 friends and confederates, whereby they are 
 forbidden to live according to their own cus- 
 toms, 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 Cassar, our imperator and consul, 
 
 their trees. It is also the pleasure of the se- | in that decree wherein he forbade the Bac- 
 nate, that as to the villages which are in the ! chanal rioters to meet in the city, did yet per- 
 great plain, which Hyrcanus and his forefa- >nit these Jews, and these only, both to bring 
 thers formerly possessed, Hyrcanus and the in their contributions, and to make their 
 
 common suppers. Accordingly, when I for- 
 
 Jews have them, with the same privileges 
 with which they formerly had them also ; and 
 that the same ori<;inal ordinances remain still 
 
 bid other Bacchanal rioters, I permit these 
 Jews to gather themselves together, accord- 
 
 in force which concern the Jews with regard i"g to the customs and laws of their forefa- 
 to their high-priests ; and that they enjoy the j thers, and to persist therein. It will be 
 oame benefits w hich they have had formerly j therefore good for you, tliat if you have 
 by the concession of the people, and of the made any decree against these our friends 
 senate; and let them enjoy the like privileges and confederates, to abrogate the same, by 
 in Lydda. It is the jileasure also of the se- | reason of their virtue, and kind disposition 
 nate, that Hyrcanus the ethnarch, and the ! to"'a"Js us." 
 
 Jews, retain those places, countries, and vil-. 
 lages, which belonged to the kings of Syria | 
 and Pha-nicia, the confedeiates of the Ro- ' 
 mai\s, and which they had bestowed on them 
 as their free gifts. It is also granted to Hyr- 
 canus, and to his sons, and to the ambassa- 
 ior& by them sent to us, tliat in the fights be- 
 
 9. Now after Caius was slain, when Mar- 
 
 • Dr. Hudson justly supposes, that the Roman im- 
 perators, or generals of aniiics, meant l)Olli licre and 
 i-ect. "J, who gave testimony to Hyrcanus's and IheJcw^ 
 f.iillit Illness ami gooii-will to the Itonians Ufore th« 
 .-cnali' anil people cf Home, were pruicipally l'>)m|>cy, 
 ^I'jurus, aniK/abniius: of all whom .losephus hail al- 
 reaily gi\en u.sche history, so fu as tlic Jews wore coo 
 ccrncil with thcra. 
 
 "V 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 cus Antonius and Publius Dolabclla were 
 consuls, they both assembled the senate, and 
 introduced Hyrcanus's ambassadors into if, 
 and discoursed of what tliey 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 : — 
 
 10. The decree of the senate, copied out 
 of the treasury, from the public tables be- 
 longing to the qusestors, when Quintus Ru- 
 tilius and Caius Cornelius were quaestors, and 
 taken out of the second table of tlie first class, 
 on the tiiird 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 Papi- 
 nius Potitus of the Lemonian tribe, Cains 
 Caninius Rebilius of tlie Terontine tribe, 
 Publius Tidetius, Lucius Apulinus, the son 
 of Lucius, of the Scrgian tribe. Flavins, the 
 son of Lucius, of the Lemonian tribe, Pub- 
 lius Platius, the son of Publius, of the Papy- 
 rian tribe, jMarcus Acilius, the son of Mar- 
 cus, of the Mecian tribe, Lucius Eruciiis, the 
 son of Lucius, of the Stellatine tribe, I\Iarcus 
 Quintus Plancillus, the son of Marcus, of 
 the Pollian tribe, and Publius Serius. Pub- 
 lius Dolabella and Marcus Antonius, the con- 
 suls, made this reference to the senate, that 
 as to tlwse things which, by the decree of the 
 senate, Caius Caesar had adjudged about the 
 Jews, and yet had not hitherto that decree been 
 jrought into the treasury, it is our will, as it 
 ,'s also the desire of Publius Dolabella and 
 Marcus Antonius, our consuls, to have t'.iese 
 decrees put into the public tables, and brought 
 to the city quaestors, that they may take cnre 
 to have them put upon the double taMes. 
 This was done before the fifth of the ides of 
 February, in the temple of Concord. Now 
 the ambassadors from Hyrcanus tlie high- 
 priest were these : — Lysimachns, the son of 
 Pausanias, Alexander, the son of Theodorus, 
 Patroclus, the son of Chereas, and Jonathan, 
 the son of Onias." 
 
 11. Hyrcanus sent also one of these am- 
 bassadors to Dolabella, who was then the 
 prefect of Asia, and desired him to dismiss 
 the Jews from military services, and to pre- 
 serve to ihem the customs of their forefathers, 
 and to permit them to live according to them. 
 And when Dolabella had received Hyrcanus's 
 letter, without any farther deliberation, he sent 
 an epistle to all the Asiatics, and particularly 
 to the city of the Ephesians, the metropolis 
 of Asia, about the Jews ; a copy of which 
 epistle here follows : — 
 
 12. " When Artemon was prytanis, on the 
 first day of the month Leneon, Dolabella im- 
 perator, to the senate and magistrates, and 
 people of the Ephesians, sendeth greeting. 
 
 385 
 
 Alexander, the son of Theodorus, the am- 
 bassador of Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, 
 the high-priest and ethnarch of the Jews, ap- 
 peared before me, to show that his countrymen 
 could not go into their armies, because they 
 are not allowed to hear arms, or to travel on 
 the Sabbath-days, nor there to procure them- 
 selves 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 re- 
 quires, and for collecting oblations necessary 
 for sacrifices ; and my will is, that you write 
 this to the several cities under your jurisdic- 
 tion." 
 
 13. And these were the concessions that 
 Dolabella made loour nation wlien Hyrcanus 
 sent an embassage to him ; but Lucius the 
 consul's decree ran thus :' — " I have at my 
 tribunal set these Jews, who are citizens of 
 Rome, and follow the Jewish religious rites, 
 and yet live at Ephcsus, fi-ee from going into 
 the army, on account of the superstition they 
 are under. Tliis was done before the twelffh 
 of the calends of October, when Lucius Len- 
 tulus and Caius INIarcellus were consuls, iu 
 the presence of Titus Appius Palgus, the son 
 of Titus, and lieutenant of the Horatian 
 tribe; of Titus Tongius, the son of Titus, of 
 the Crustumiue tribe ; of Quintus Ilesius, the 
 son of Quintus; of Titus Pompoius Longinus, 
 the son of Titus ; of Caius Servilius, the son 
 of Caius, of the Terentine tribe ; of Bracchus 
 the military tribune ; of Publius Lucius Cal- 
 lus, the sou of Publius, of the Veturian tribe ; 
 of Caius Sentius, the son of Caius, of the 
 Sabbatine tribe; of Titus Atilius Bulbus, the 
 son of Titus, lieutenant and vice-pretor to the 
 magistrates, 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 peti- 
 tion some time afterward to Plianius the im- 
 perator, a-id to Lucius Antonius the vice- 
 quaestor, I obtained the privilege of them 
 also ; and my will is, that you take care that 
 no one give them any disturbance." 
 
 14. 'i'he decree of the Delians. "The an- 
 swer of the pretors, w hen Beotus was archon, 
 on the twentieth day of the month Tliarge- 
 leon. While Marcus Piso the lieutenant liv- 
 ed in our city, who was also apjiointed over 
 the choice of the soldiers, he called us, and 
 many other of the citizens, and gave order, 
 that if there be here any Jews who are Ro- 
 man citizens, no one is to give them any dis- 
 turbance about going into the army, because 
 Cornelius Lentulus, the consul, freed tht 
 Jews from going into the army, on account 
 of the superstiton they are under, — you are 
 
 2K 
 
3«6 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 therefore obliged to submit to tlie pretor:" 
 — and tlie like decree was made by the Sar- 
 dians about us also. 
 
 15. " Caius Plianius, the son of Caius, iin- 
 peralor and consul, to the magistrates of Cos, 
 sfndeth greeting. I would have you know- 
 that the ambassadors of the Jews have been 
 with me, and desired they might have those 
 decrees which the senate had made about 
 them : which decrees are here subjoined. 
 Jly will is, that you have a regard to and 
 take care of these men, according to the se- 
 nate's decree, that they may be safely convey- 
 ed home throiigli your country." 
 
 16. The declaration of Lucius Lentulus 
 the consul : — "1 have dismissed those Jews 
 who are Roman citizens, and who appear to 
 me to have their religious rites, and to ob- 
 serve the laws of the Jews at Ephesus, on ac- 
 count of the superstition they are under. 
 This act was done before the thirteenth of the 
 calends of October." 
 
 17. " Lucius Antonius, the son of Marcus, 
 vice-qu£Bstor, and vice-pretor, to the magis- 
 trates, senate, and people of the Sardians, send- 
 eth greeting. Those Jews that are our fel- 
 low-citizens of Rome, came to me, and de- 
 monstrated 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 tliese their privileges be preserved, and 
 they be permitted to do accordingly." 
 
 18. The declaration of Marcus Publius, 
 the son of Spurius, and of Marcus, the son of 
 Marcus, and of Lucius, the son of I'ublius: 
 — " Vi'c went to the proconsul, and informed 
 him of what Dositheus, the son of Clcopatrida 
 of Alexandria, desiied, that, if he thought 
 good, he would dismiss those Jews who were 
 Roman citizens, and were wont to observe 
 the rites of the Jewish religion, on account 
 of the superstition they were under. Ac- 
 cordingly he did di-jmiss them. This was 
 done before the thirteenth of the calends of 
 October." 
 
 19. " In the month Quintilis, wlien Luci- 
 us Lentulus and Caius Marcellus were con- 
 suls ; and there were present Titus Appius 
 I3a!bus, the son of Titus, lieutenant of the 
 Horatian tril)e, Titus Tongius of tlie Crus- 
 tuniine tribe, Quintus llesius, the son of Quin- 
 lus, Titus Pomjieius, the son of Titus, Cor- 
 nelius Longinus, Caius Servilius liracchus, 
 Uie son of Caius, a military tribune, of the 
 Terentine tribe, I'ublius Clusius Callus, tlie 
 son of Publius, of the Veturian tribe, Caius 
 Teutius, tiic son of Caius, a military tribune, 
 of tiie Emilian tribe, Sextus Atilius Serranus, 
 the son of Sextus, of the Esquiline trilie, 
 Caius Ponipeius, the son of Caius, of the Sab- 
 batine tribe, Titus Appius Menander, the son 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 of Titus, Publius Servilius Strabo, the son of 
 Publius, Lucius Paccius Capito, the son of 
 Lucius, of the Colline tribe, Aulus Furius 
 Tertius, tlie son of Aulus, and Appius Me- 
 nas. In the presence of these it was that 
 Lentulus pronounced this decree: I have be- 
 fore the tribunal dismissed those Jews that 
 are Roman citizens, and are accustomed to 
 observe the sacred rites of the Jews at Ephe- 
 sus, on account of the superstition they are 
 under." 
 
 20. " The magistrates of the Laodiceans 
 to Caius Rubilius, tlie son of Caius, the con- 
 sul, sendcth greeting. Sopater, the ambassa- 
 dor of Hy rcanus the high-priest, hath delivered 
 us an epistle from thee, whereby he lets us 
 know that certain ambassadors were come 
 from Hy rcanus, the high-priest of the Jews 
 and brought an epistle written concerning 
 tlieir nation, wherein they desire that the 
 Jews may be allowed to observe their Sab- 
 baths 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 al- 
 though the Trallians there present contradict- 
 ed them, and were not pleased with these de- 
 crees, yet didst thou give order that they 
 should be observed, and informed us that 
 thou hadst been desired to write this to us 
 about tliem. We therefore, in obedience to 
 the injunctions we have received from thee, 
 have received the epistle which thou sentest 
 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." 
 
 21. " Publius Servilius, the son of Publius, 
 of the Galban tribe, the proconsul, to the ma- 
 gistrates, senate, and people of the Milesians, 
 scndeth greeting. Prytanes, the son of Her. 
 mes, a citizen of yours, came to me when I 
 was at Tralles, and held a court there, and 
 informed me tliat 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 accord- 
 ing to their ancient custom ; and that he had 
 himself been the promulger of your decree, 
 according as your laws require; I would 
 tlierefore have you know, that upon hearing 
 the pleadings on both sides, I gave sentence 
 tliat the Jews should not be prohibited to 
 make use of their own customs." 
 
 22. Tlie decree of those of Pergamus:— 
 " When Crati))pus was prytanis, on the first 
 day of the month Desius, the decree of the 
 pretors was this : Since the Romans, follow- 
 ing the conduct of tlieir ancestors, undertake 
 dangers for the common safety of all man- 
 kind, and are ambitious to settle their confe- 
 derates and friends in happiness, and in firm 
 
 -^_ 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAl'. X. 
 
 peace, and since the nation of the Jews, and 
 their high-priest Hyrcanus, sent as ambassa- 
 dors to them, Strato, the son of Tiieodatus, 
 and Apollonius, tlie son of Alexander, and 
 Eneas, the son of Antipater, and Aristobiilus, 
 the son of Amyntas, and Sosipater, t!ie son of 
 Philip, worthy and good men, who gave a 
 particular 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 restored 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 Lu- 
 cius Pettius, one of our senators, a worthy 
 and good man, gave order that we should 
 take care that these things should be done 
 according to the senate's decree ; and that we 
 should take care also tiiat their ambassadors 
 might return home in safety. Accordingly 
 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 al! men in 
 common, and particularly to every body that 
 comes to him, we laid up the epistle in our 
 public 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 brouglit the epistle, de- 
 sired of our pretors, that they would send 
 Hyrcanus a cojiy of that decree, as also am- 
 bassadors to signify to him the afl'cction of 
 our people to him, and to exhort them to 
 preserve and augment their friendship for us, 
 and be ready to bestow other benefits upon 
 us, as justly expecting to receive proper re- 
 quitals from us ; and desiring them to remem- 
 ber that our ancestors * were friendly to the 
 
 » Wc have here a most remarkable and authentic 
 attestation of the citizens of Pergamus, that Abraham 
 was the fatlier of all the Hebrews ; that their own an- 
 cestors were, in the oldest times, the friends of those 
 Hebrews ; and that the pviblic acts of their city, then 
 extant, confirmed the same ; which evidence is too 
 strong to be evaded by our present ignorance of the par- 
 ticular occasion of su'di ancient friendship and alliance 
 between those people. See the like full evidence of the 
 kindred of the Lacedemonians and the Jews ; and that 
 because they were both the posterity of Abraham, by a 
 public epistle of those jieople to the Jews, preserved in 
 the first book of the Maccabees, xii, 19 — -'5, and thence 
 by Josephus, Antiq. b. xii, ch. iv, sect. 10; both which 
 authentic records are highly valuable. It is also well 
 worthy of observation, what Moses Chorenensis, the 
 principal Armenian historian, informs us of, p. 85, that 
 Arsaces, who raised the Parthiaii empire, wasof the sect 
 
 ss; 
 
 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 re- 
 cords." 
 
 23. The decree of those of Halicarnassus. 
 " When Memnon, the son of Orcstidas by 
 descent, but by adoption of Euonymus, was 
 priest, on the *** day of the month Ariste- 
 rion, the decree of the people, upon tlie re- 
 presentation of Marcus Alexander, was this : 
 Since we have ever a great regard to piety to- 
 wards God, and to holiness ; and since we 
 aim to follow the people of the Romans, wlio 
 are tlie benefactors of all men, and what they 
 have written to us about a league of friend- 
 ship 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 decreed, that as 
 many men and women of the Jews as are 
 willing so to do, may celebrate their Sab 
 baths, and perform their holy offices, accord- 
 ing to the Jewisli laws ; and may make their 
 proscucha; at the sea-side, according to the 
 customs of their forefathers; and if any one, 
 whether he be a magistrate or a private per- 
 son, hindereth them from so doing, he shall 
 be liable to a fine, to be applied to the uses 
 of the city." 
 
 24. The decree of the Sardians. " This 
 decree was made by the senate and people, 
 upon the representation of the pretors : — 
 Whereas those Jews who are our fellow-citi- 
 zens, and live with us in this city, have ever 
 had great benefits heaped upon them by the 
 people, and have come now into the senate, 
 and desired of the people, that upon the resti- 
 tution of their law and their liberty, by the 
 senate and people of Rome, they may assem- 
 ble 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 con- 
 gregations, with their wives and children, and 
 may offer, as did their forefathers, their pray- 
 ers and sacrifices to God. Now the senate 
 and people have decreed to permit them to 
 assemble together on the days form.erly ap- 
 pointed, and to act according to their own 
 laws ; and that such a place be set apart for 
 them by the pretors, for the building and in- 
 habiting 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, may be imported into the city." 
 
 25. 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 Euplie- 
 mus, pronounced it, upon the representation 
 of the pretors. Since the Jews that dwell 
 
 of Abraham by Kcturah ; and that thereby was accom- 
 plished that j^rediction which said, " Kings of nativ nj 
 shall proceed from thee,' Gen. 
 
388 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIT 
 
 in this city have petitioned Marcus Juliu'i 
 Poinpeius, tlic son of Brutus, the proconsul, 
 that they might be allowed to ol)serve their 
 Sabbaths, and to act in all things according 
 to the customs of their forefathers, without 
 impediment from any body, the pretor hath 
 granted their petition. Accordingly, it was 
 decreed by the senate and people, that in this 
 afl'air 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 ac- 
 cording to their own laws." 
 
 26. Now tliere are many such decrees of 
 the senate and imperators of the Romans, * 
 and those ditierent from these before us, whicli 
 have been made in favour of Ilyrcanus, and 
 of our nation ; as also, there have been more 
 decrees of the cities, and rescripts of the pre- 
 tors to sucJi epistles as concerned pur 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 
 specimens which 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 disagree- 
 able ; for I cannot suppose any one so per- 
 verse as not to believe the friendship we have 
 had with tlie Romans, while they have demon- 
 strated the same by such a great number of 
 their decrees relating to us ; nor will they 
 doubt of our fidelity as to the rest of these 
 decrees, since we have shown the same in 
 those we have produced. And thus have we 
 sufficiently explained that friendship and con- 
 federacy we at those times had with the Ro- 
 mans. 
 
 • If we compare Joscphus's promise in sect. 1, to pro- 
 duce all the public decrees of the liomans in favour of 
 tlic Jews, wilh his excuse here for omitting many of 
 thiMii, we may observe, that when he came to transcribe 
 all lliiise ilecrces he had collected, he found them so nu- 
 merous that he tlioiiplil he should too much tire his read- 
 ers if he had atlcinptiii it, wliich lie thought a sulhcieiit 
 apoloiiy for his oiiiitling Ihe rest of them ; yet do those 
 by him proiluitd afford such a strong coiilinnation to 
 his history, and j;ive such great liglrt to e\ en the Homan 
 anliquitics theinselvi's, that I believe the curious are not 
 
 anlKiu 
 a little 
 
 sorry fur such hu omission*. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW MARCUS f S17CCEEUKD SEXTL'S WHEN HE 
 HAD BEEN SLAIN UY BASSLS'S TUEACHEKY ; 
 AND HOW, AFTER THE DEATH OF C.tSAB, 
 CASSKJS CAME INTO SYRIA, AND DISTRESSED 
 JUDEA ; AS ALSO, HOW MALICHLS SLEW AN- 
 TIPATER, AND WAS HIMSELF SLAIN BY HE- 
 ROD. 
 
 § 1. Now it SO fell out, that about this veiy 
 time the affairs of Syria were in great disor- 
 der, and this on the occasion following: Ce- 
 lilius Bassus, one of Pompey's party, laid a 
 treacherous design against Sextus Cjcsar, and 
 slew him, and then took his army, and got 
 the management of public affairs into liis own 
 hand ; so there arose a great war about Apa- 
 mia, while Cxsar's generals came against him 
 with an army of horsemen and footmen ; to 
 these Antipater sent also succours, and his 
 sons with them, as callir.'g to mind the kind 
 nesses they had received from Cxsar, and on 
 that account he thought it but just to require 
 punishment for him, and to take vengeance 
 on the man that had murdered liim. 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. 
 
 2. As the war that arose upon the death 
 of Caesar was now begun, and the principal 
 men wen 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 Apamia ; and 
 liaving raised the siege, he brought over both 
 Bassus and Marcus to his party. He then 
 went over the cities, and got together wea- 
 pons and soldiers, and laid great taxes upon 
 those cities; and he chiefly oppressed Judca, 
 and exacted of it seven hundred talents : but 
 Antipater, when he saw the state to be in so 
 great consternation 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-dis- 
 posed to him, and part by others. And be- 
 cause Herod did exact wliat is required of 
 him from Galilee before others, he was in the 
 greatest favour with Cassius; for he tiiutight 
 it a part of prudence to cultivate a friendship 
 with the Romans, and to gain their good-will 
 at tlie expense of others ; whereas the cura- 
 tors of the other cities, with their citizens, 
 were sold for slaves ; and Cassius reduced 
 
 f For Marcus, this president of Syria, sent as succc»- 
 
 iior ti> Sc\li:s (ii'Mir, the Koiiian historians rctpiire us to 
 
 read ' Miir.us' in Josephiis, and this peri>etually, tx>lli 
 
 in these Antiquities and m his IlL'^toi)' of Uie Wars, ac 
 
 I Ihe learned generally agree. 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. XI 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 389 
 
 four cities into a state of slavery, the two most 
 potent of which were Gophna and Emmaus ; 
 and, besides these, Lydia and Thamna. Nay, 
 Cassius was so very angry at Malichus, that 
 he had killed him (for he assaulted him) had 
 not Hyrcanus, by the means of Antipater, 
 sent him an hundred talents of his own, and 
 thereby pacified his anger against him. 
 
 3. But after Cassius was gone out of Ju- 
 dea, Malichus laid snares for Antipater, as 
 thinking that his death would be the preser- 
 vation of Hyrcanus s government; but his 
 design was not unknown to Antipater, wiiich, 
 when he perceived, he retired beyond Jordan, 
 and got together an army, partly of Arabs, 
 and partly of his own countrymen. How- 
 ever, Malichus being one of great cunning, 
 denied that he had laid any snares for him, 
 and made his defence 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 ; who 
 yet perceiving that this Malichus was mak- 
 ing a disturbance in Judea, proceeded so 
 far that he had almost killed him ; but still, 
 at the intercession of Antipater, he saved 
 him. 
 
 4. However, Antipater little thought that 
 by saving Malichus, he had saved his own 
 niuderer ; for now Cassius and Marcus had 
 got together an army, and intrusted the entire 
 care of ic with Herod, and made him general 
 of the forces of Celesyria, and gave him a fleet 
 of ships, and an army of horsemen and foot- 
 men ; and promised him, that after the war 
 was over they would make him king of Judea ; 
 for a war was 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, persuad- 
 ed the butler of 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 
 accquainted with this conspiracy against their 
 father, and had indignation at it, Malichus 
 denied all, and utterly renounced any know- 
 ledge of the murder. And thus died Antipa- 
 ter, a man that had distinguished himself for 
 piety and justice, and love to his country. 
 And whereas one of hrs 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, Pha- 
 saelus, 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 him- 
 self, and pretended 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 composed their differences. 
 
 5. However, a little after this, Herod, 
 upon the approach of a festival, came with his 
 soldiers into the citv ; whereupon Malichus 
 was affrighted, and persuaded Hyrcanus not 
 to permit him to come into the city. Hyr- 
 canus complied ; and, for a pretence of exclud- 
 ing him, alleged, that a rout of strangers ought 
 not to be admitted while the multitude were 
 purifying themselves. But Herod had little 
 regard to the messengers that were sent to him, 
 and entered the city in the night-time, and 
 aflVighted Malichus, yet did he remit nothing 
 of his former dissimulation, but wept for Anti- 
 pater, 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 hypocrisy, but to give him tokens 
 of mutual friendship, in order to prevent his 
 suspicion of them. 
 
 6. However, Herod sent to Cassius, and 
 informed him of the murder of his father ; who 
 knowing what sort of man INIalichus was as 
 to his morals, sent him back word, that he 
 should revenge his father's death ; and also 
 sent privately to the commanders 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 all 
 went together to him, and carried him gar 
 lands 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 hos- 
 tage at Tyre, he went to that city, and resolv- 
 ed to steal him away privately, and to march 
 thence into Judea; and as Cassius was in 
 haste to march against Antony, he thought to 
 bring the country to revolt, and to procure 
 the government for himself. But providence 
 opposed his counsels ; and Herod being a 
 shrewd man, and perceiving what his inten 
 tion was, he sent thither beforehand a ser- 
 vant, in appearance 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 roan near the 
 city, upon the sea-shore, and there stabbed hira. 
 Whereupon Hyrcanus was so astonished at 
 what had happened, that his speech failed 
 him ; and when, after some difficulty, he had 
 recovered himself, he asked Herod what the 
 matter could be, and who it was that slew 
 Malichus : and when he 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 conspired against 
 his own country. And this was the punish 
 
J- 
 
 300 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 merit that was inflicted on Malidms for what 
 lie wickedly did to Antipater. 
 
 7. But when Ca^siiis was marched out of 
 Syria, tiistiirhances arose in Judea : for Ftlix, 
 who was left at Jerusalem with an army, 
 made a sudden atteinpt against Phasaelus, and 
 the people themselves rose in arms ; but He- 
 rod went to Fabius, the prefect of Damascus, 
 and was desirous to run to his brother's assist- 
 ance, but was 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 conditiojis, 
 dismissed him. lliasaelus also complained of 
 Hyrcanus, that although he had received a 
 great many benefits from them, yet did he 
 su))port their enemies ; for Malichus's bro- 
 ther 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 was recovered of his dis- 
 ease, and came and took from Felix all the 
 places he had gotten ; and, upon certain con- 
 ditions, dismissed him also. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 herod ejf.cts antigonus, the son of abk- 
 tobulus, out of judea, and gains the 
 fi'.ii:ndship ou antony, who was now 
 come into syria, by sending him much 
 money ; on w hich account he would not 
 admit or those that would have ac- 
 cused hkltod: and what it was that 
 
 ANTONY WROTE TO THE TYttlANS IN BE- 
 HALF OF THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. Now* Ptolemy, the son of Menncus, 
 brought back into Judca, Antigonus, the son 
 of Aristobulus, who had alrcaily raised an ar- 
 my, and had, by money, made Fabius to be 
 Ills friend, and this because he was of kin to 
 him. IMarion 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. IMarion also marched into Ga- 
 lilee, which lay in his neighhourhooil, 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 
 garrison he dismissed in a very civil manner ; 
 
 » In this and the following chapters the reader will 
 easily remark, how truly (Jronovius observes, in his 
 notes on the Roman deerecs in favour of the Jews, that 
 (heir ri(;hls an<l privileges were eoiiiinonly purehiised of 
 the Ilomans with money. Many examples of this sort, 
 lioth iis to the llonians and others in authority, will oc- 
 cur in onr Josejihus, Ixilh now arid heieaflcr, and need 
 not Ik- taken partieular notice of on the several wca- 
 sions in these notes. Accordingly, t' e chief captain con- 
 fe.^ses to St. Paul, that, ' with a great sum he had ob- 
 taincit his freedom' (Acts xxii, t'b) ; as had St. I'aul's 
 ancestors, vcrv probably, purchasetl the like freedom 
 for their fair.ily by inouey, as the same autlior justly 
 concludes also. 
 
 BOOK XIT 
 
 nay, to some of the soldiers he made presents 
 out of the good-will he bare to that city. 
 When he iiad dispatched these afl'uirs, and 
 was gone to meet Antigonus, he joined bat- 
 tle with him, and beat him, and drove him 
 out of Juilea presently, when he was just 
 come into its borders ; but when he was come 
 to Jerusalem, Hyrcanus and tlie people put 
 garlands about his head ; for he had already 
 contracted an affinity with the family of Hyr- 
 canus by having espoused a descendant of his, 
 and for that reason Herod took the greater 
 care of him, as being to marry tlie daughter 
 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 fami- 
 ly of his own nation, whose name was Doris, 
 by whom he had his eldest son Antipater. 
 
 2. Now Antonius and Cassar had beaten 
 Cassius near Philippi, as others have related; 
 but after the victory, Ca'sar went into Gaul 
 [Italy], and Antony marched for Asia, who 
 when he was arrived at Bithynia, he had am- 
 bassadors that met him from all parts. The 
 principal men also of the Jews came thither, 
 to accusej'hasaelus and Herod, and they said 
 that Hyrcanus had indeed the appearance ol 
 reigning, but that these men had all the 
 power ; but Antony paid great respect to 
 Herod, who was come to him to make his 
 defence against his accusers, on which ac- 
 count his adversaries could not so much as 
 obtain a hearing; which favour Herod had 
 gained of Antony by money ; but still, when 
 Antony was come to Ephesus, Hyrcanus, 
 the high-priest, and our nation, sent an em- 
 bassage to him, which carried a crown of gold 
 with them, and desired that ho 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 coun- 
 try which, in the days of Cassius, had been 
 taken from thein. Antony thought the Jewb* 
 desires v^ere 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 pur- 
 pose. 
 
 3. " Marcus Antonius, imperator, to Hyr- 
 canus the high-priest and etimarch of the 
 Jews, sendeth greeting. If you be in health, 
 it is well ; I am also in health, with the army. 
 Lysimachus, the son of Pausanias, and Jose- 
 phus, the son of iVItnneus, and Alexaiide.', 
 the son of 'I'heodorus, your ambassiidors, met 
 me at Kphesus, and have renewed the embas- 
 sage which they had formerly been upon at 
 Home, and have diligently acquitted them- 
 selves of the present embassage, which thou 
 and thy nation have intrusted to them, and 
 have fully declared the good-will thou hast 
 for us. I am Uiertfore satiitied, bolli by 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 your actions and your words, that you are 
 well-disposed to us ; and I understand that 
 your conductor life is constant and religious; 
 so I reckon you as our own ; but when those 
 that were adversaries to you, and to the Ro- 
 man people, abstained neither from cities nor 
 temples, and did not observe the agreement 
 they had confirmed by oath, it was not only 
 on account of 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 towards men, 
 and of great wickedness towards 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 tliey 
 were guilty of in the case of Cssar. We 
 have also overcome their conspiracies, which 
 threatened the gods themselves, which Mace- 
 donia received, as it is a climate peculiarly 
 proper for impious and insolent attempts ; 
 and we have overcome that confused rout of 
 men, half mad with spile against us, which 
 they got together at Philippi, in Blacedonia, 
 when they seized on the places that were pro- 
 per 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, be- 
 cause 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 perdi- 
 tion with Cassius; and now these have re- 
 ceived 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, in- 
 somuch that the body of Asia is now reco- 
 vered out of that distemper it was under by 
 means of our victory, I, therefore, bearing 
 in mind both thee and your nation, shall take 
 care of what may be for your advantage. I 
 have also sent epistles in writing to the seve- 
 ral cities, that if any persons, whether free- 
 men 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 Tyrians to use any violence 
 with you ; and for what places of the Jews 
 they now possess, I order them to restore 
 them. I have withal accepted of the crown 
 which thou sentest me." 
 
 4. " Marcus Antonius, imperator, to the 
 magistrates, senate, and people of Tyre, send- 
 etli greeting. The ambassadors of Hyrcanus, 
 
 » This clause plainly alludes to that well-known but 
 unusual and very long darkness of the sun, which hap- 
 pened upon the murder of Julius Caesar l)y Brutus and 
 Cassius; which is greatly taken notice ol' by Virgil, 
 Pliny, and other Roman authors. See Virgil's Geor- 
 gics, book i, just before tlie end ; and Pliuy^ Nat. Hist, 
 book ii, clu jtxx. 
 
 391 
 
 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, there- 
 fore, we have undertaken a war for the ob- 
 taining the government, and have taken care 
 to do what was agreeable to piety and justice, 
 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 confederates ; as also, that what you 
 have taken by the means of our adversaries 
 shall not be reckoned your own, but be re- 
 turned to those from whom you took them ; 
 for none of them took their provinces or their 
 armies 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, there- 
 fore, those men have received the punishment 
 d-ue to them, we desire that our confederates 
 may retain whatsoever it was that they for- 
 merly possessed without 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 unjustifiable 
 war against us, and entered into our pro- 
 vince ; 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 
 confederates." 
 
 5. " Marcus Antonius, imperator, to the 
 magistrates, senate, and people of Tyre, send- 
 eth greeting. I have sent you my decree, of 
 which I will that ye take care that it be en- 
 graven on the public tables, in Roman and 
 Greek letters, and that it stand engraven in 
 the most illustrious places, that it may be 
 read by all. Marcus Antonius, imperator, 
 one 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 friend- 
 ship 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 confede- 
 rates ; 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 origi- 
 nally in, and the possessions to their former 
 owners. I also will, that he who shall not 
 
— ^ 
 
 3^a 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Xt» 
 
 comply with fliiN decree of mine, shall he ])n- 
 nislietl for his ilis<)l)cilieiK-e ; anil if such a 
 one he caught, I "ill take care that the of- 
 fenders sutler coiulij^ii pnnislnnont." 
 
 6. The same ihiiig did Antony write to 
 the Sidonians, and the Aiitiochians, and the 
 Aradians. We have produced these decrees, 
 tiierefore, as marks for futurity of the truth 
 of what we have said, that the Romans had a 
 great concern about our iiation. 
 
 chapti:r XIII. 
 
 HOW ANTONY MADE HEROD AND PIIASAELUS 
 TETUAIICHS, AFTER THEY HAD BEEN ACCLS- 
 ED TO NO rUUrOSE; AND HOW TJIE PAR- 
 THIANS, WHEN THEY BROUGHT ANTIGONUS 
 INTO JUDEA, TOOK HYRCANUS AND I'HASAE- 
 I.US CAPTIVES. HEROd's FLIGHT ; AND WHAT 
 AFFLICTIONS HYRCANUS AND PHASAELUS EN- 
 DLTRED. 
 
 § 1. When after this, Antony came into Sy- 
 ria, Cleopatra met him in Cilicia, and brought 
 him to fall in love with her. And there came 
 now also a hundred of the most potent of the 
 Jewsto accuse Herod and those about him, and 
 5et the men of the greatest eloquence among 
 them to speak. But Messala contradicted 
 them, on behalf of the young men, and all this 
 
 if they went on with their accusation. But 
 they did not acquiesce : wliereupon the Ro- 
 mans 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 consternation : and when the 
 peo'ple made a calmouraga'nst Herod, Antony 
 was so provoked at it, that he slew the pri- 
 soners. 
 
 3. Now, in the second year, Pacorus, tlie 
 king of Parthia's son, and Barzapharnes, a 
 commander of the Parthians, possessed them- 
 selves of Syria. Ptolemy, tlie son of Men- 
 neus, also was now dead, and Lysanias his 
 son took his government, and made a league 
 of friendship with Antigonus, theson of Aris- 
 tobulus : 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 Partliiansa tl>ousand talents, and five 
 liundred women, upon condition they would 
 take the government away from Hyrcanus, 
 and bestow it upon him, and withal kill He- 
 rod. And although he did not give them w hat 
 he had promised, yet did the Parthians make 
 an expedition into Judeaon that account, and 
 carried Antigonus with them. Pacorus went 
 along the maritime parts ; but the commander 
 Barza))liarnes, through the midland. Now 
 the Tyrians excluded Pacorus; but the Sido- 
 nians, and those of Ptolemais, received him. 
 i However, Pacorus sent a troop of horsemen 
 in the presence of Hyrcanus, who was He- j into Judea, to take a view of the state of the 
 
 rod's father-in-law * already. When Antony 
 had heard both sides at Daphne, he asked 
 Hyrcanus who they w^ere that governed the 
 nation best ? He replied, Herod and his 
 friends. Hereupon .\!itony, 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 pub- 
 lic afl'airs of the Jews to them, and wrote let- 
 ters to that purpose. He also bound fifteen 
 of their adversaries, and was going to kill 
 them, but that Herod obtained tJieir pardon. 
 2. Yet did not these men continue quiet 
 when they were come back, but a thousand 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 Jewish ambassadors, who 
 were for making innovations, and to settle the 
 government upon Herod : hut Herod went 
 out hastily to them, and Hyrcanus was with 
 him (for they stood upon the shore bifore 
 the city); and he charged them to go llieir 
 ways, because great mischief would befall tlieni 
 
 country, and to assist .'\ntigonus ; and sent 
 also the king's I utler, of the same name witli 
 himself. So when the Jews that dwelt al)Out 
 mount Carmel came to Antigonus, and were 
 ready to march with him into Juilea, Anti- 
 gonus hoped to get some part of the country 
 by their assistance. Tlie place is called 
 Dryroi ; and when some others came and met 
 them, the men privately fell upon Jerusalem ; 
 and when some more were come to them, they 
 got together in great numbers, and canie 
 against the king's palace, and besieged it. 
 But as Pliasaelus's and Herod's parly came 
 to the other's assistance, and a battle happened 
 between them 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 sup- 
 port them, were burnt, and the houses w ith 
 them, by the jieople who rose uj) against tliem. 
 But Herod was revenged on these seditious 
 adversaries of his a little afterward foi this in- 
 jury they had oll'ered him, when he fought 
 with them, and slew a great number of them. 
 'i. But while there were daily skirmishes, 
 the enemy waited lor tlie coming of the iiinl- 
 
 tilude out of the country to Pentecost, n feaot 
 ♦ We may here take notu-c that i-spousals alone were I „(• „j,p5 j,, called; and when that day was 
 of olil esic-c-infdas\iilicii>iil fDiinilation for allinity, Hyr- , , ~ . „. i ' . .„ 
 
 cairns iKMi.p here callr.l IhlUcr-inlaw 1.. H.t.hI. iWeaiise Ci>me, many ten thousands of the people were 
 hl^ ur;iiul-ilaiighlfr Manaiiuir vwi^ iKtrothiil to him, al- 1 jrathcred together about the tenqde, some in 
 Lrrtt'r^Xut lu"^''"'''''''' "" """ ^'""'armour, and some without. Now those that 
 
ANTiaUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. xni. 
 
 came, guarded both the tem)5le 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 fliglit, some flying into the city, 
 and some into the temple, and some into the 
 outer fortifications, for some such fortifica- 
 tions there were in that place. Phasaelus 
 came also to his assistance; yet was Pacorus, 
 the general of tlie Parthians, at the desire of 
 Antigonus, admitted into the city, with a few 
 of his horsemen, under pretence indeed 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, Pacorus persuaded him to go 
 himself as ambassador to Barzapharnes, which 
 was done fraudulently. Accordingly, Phasa- 
 elus, suspecting no harm, complied with his 
 proposal, while Herod did not give his con- 
 sent to what was done, because of the perfidi- 
 ousness of those barbarians, but desired Pha- 
 saelus rather to figlit tliose that were come 
 into the city. 
 
 5. So both Hyrcanus and Pliasaelus went 
 on the embassage ; but Pacorus left with He- 
 rod two hundred horsemen, and ten men, who 
 were called thejrertneni and conducted the 
 others on their journey ; and when they were 
 in Galilee, the governors of the cities there 
 (net them in their arms. Barzapharnes also 
 received them at the first with cheerfulness, 
 and made them presents, though he afterward 
 conspired against them ; and Phasaelus, with 
 his horsemen, were conducted to tlie sea-side ; 
 but when they heard that Antigonus had pro- 
 mised to give the Parthians a thousand talents, 
 and five hundred women, to assist him against 
 thenj, they soon had a suspicion of the bar- 
 barians. Moreover, there was one who in- 
 formed them that snares were laid for them 
 by night, while a guard came about them secret- 
 ly ; and they had then been seized upon, had they 
 not waited for the seizure of Herod by the Par- 
 thians that were about Jerusalem, lest, upon 
 the slaughter of Hyrcanus and Phasaelus, he 
 should liave an intimation of it, and escape 
 out of their hands. And these were the cir- 
 cumstances they were now in ; and they saw 
 who they were that guarded them. Some 
 persons indeed would have persuaded Phasa- 
 elus to fly away immediately on horseback, 
 and not to stay any longer ; and there was 
 one Ophellius, 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, wlio also pro- 
 mised to provide him siiips to carry him off; 
 for the sea was just by them : but he had no 
 mind to desert Hyrcanus, nor bring his bro- 
 tiier into danger ; but he went to Barza- 
 pliarnes, and told him he did not aet justly 
 
 393 
 
 when he made such a contrivance agairist 
 them, for that if he wanted money, he would 
 give him more than Antigonus ; and besides, 
 that it was a horrible thing to slay those that 
 came to him upon the security of their oaths, 
 and that when they had done them no in- 
 jury. But the bari)arian swore to him that 
 there was no truth in any of his suspi- 
 cions, but that he was troubled with nothing 
 but false proposals, and then went away to Pa- 
 corus. 
 
 6. But as soon as he was gone away, some 
 men came and bound Hyrcanus and Pliasa- 
 elus ; while Phasaelus greatly reproached the 
 Parthians for their perjury. However, that 
 butler who was sent against Herod had it in 
 command to get him without the walls of the 
 city, and seize upon him ; but messengers 
 had been sent by Phasaelus to inform Herod 
 of the perfidiousnes 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 mat- 
 ter, dissembled 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 com- 
 ing to give him an account of the good suc- 
 cess Phasaelus had had. Herod did not give 
 credit to what they said ; for he had heard 
 that his brother was seized upon by others 
 also; and the daughter of Hyrcanus, whose 
 daughter he had espoused, was his monitor 
 also [not to credit them], which made him still 
 more suspicious of the Parthians ; for al- 
 though other people did not give heed to her, 
 yet did he believe her, as a woman of very 
 great wisdom. 
 
 7. 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 at- 
 tempt upon a person of his character ; and 
 while they put ofT the determination to the 
 next day, Herod was under great disturbance 
 of mind ; and rather inclining 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 came on, he would make use of 
 it for his flight, and not make any longer de- 
 lay, 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 mo- 
 ther, and sister, and her whom he was about 
 to marry [Mariamne , the daughter of Alex- 
 ander, the son of Aristobulus, witii her mo- 
 ther, the daughter of Hyrcanus, and his 
 youngest brother, and all their servants, and 
 the rest of the multitude that was with him, 
 and without the enemy's privity pursued his 
 nay to Idumea : nor could any enemy of his 
 who then saw him in this case, be io hard- 
 
 ~^t_ 
 
 -T 
 
S94 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 hearted, but would have commiserated his 
 fortune, while tiie women drew alon;^ their 
 infant chilihen, and left tlieir own country, 
 and tlieir friends in prison, with tears in their 
 eyes, and sad lamentations, and in expectation 
 of nothing but what was of a melanciioly na- 
 ture. 
 
 8. But for Ilerod himself, he raised his 
 mind above the miserable state he was in, and 
 was of good courage in the midst of his mis- 
 fortunes; and, as he passed along, he bade 
 them every one to be of good cheer, and not 
 to give themselves up to sorrow, because that 
 would hinder them in their flight, which was 
 now the only hope of safetj that they had. 
 Accordingly, they tried to bear with patience 
 the calamity tliey were under, as he exhorted 
 them to do ; yet was he once almost going to 
 kill himself, upon the overthrow of a waggon, 
 and the danger his mother was then in of be- 
 ing killed ; and tliis on two accounts, because 
 of his great concern for her, and 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 
 tiim, 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 lie 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 tliose 
 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 proposed 
 to go with the utmost haste, and tiiat was to 
 the fortress of Masada. And as lie had many 
 skirmishes with such of the I'arthians as at- 
 tacked him and pursued him, lie was con- 
 queror in them all. 
 
 9. Nor indeed was he free from the Jews 
 all along as lie was in his flight : for by the 
 time he was gotten sixty furlongs out of the 
 city, and was upon the road, they fell upon 
 him, and fought hand to hand with him, w liom 
 he also put to flight, and overcame, not like 
 one that was in distress 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 w liere he overcame the Jews, 
 it was that he some time afterwards built a 
 most excellent palace, and a city round about 
 it, and called it Ilerodium. And when he 
 was come to Idumea, at a jilace called Thres- 
 iv, his brother Jose|)h met him, and he then 
 held a council to take advice about all his af- 
 fairs, and wliat was fit to be done in his cir- 
 cumstances, since he had a great multitude 
 that foUoweil him, besides his mercenary sol- 
 diers, and the place Masada, whitlier he pro- 
 
 bOoK XIV. 
 
 posed to fly, was too small to contain so great 
 a multitiiile; so lie sent away the greater part 
 of his company, being above nine thousand, 
 'uid bade tliem go, some one way and some 
 another, and so save themselves in Idumen, 
 and gave tlieni what would buy them provi- 
 sions in their journey. 15ut 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 eight hundred in number, 
 there being in the place a suflicient quantity 
 of corn and water, and other necessaries, and 
 went directly for I'etra, in Arabia. But when 
 it was day, the Parthians plundered all Jeru- 
 salem, and the palace, and abstained from ni>- 
 thingbut Hyicanus's money, which was three 
 hundred 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 3Iarissa. 
 
 10. And thus was Antigonus brought back 
 into Judfca by the king of the Parthians, and 
 received Hyrcanus and Phasaelus for his pri- 
 soners ; but he w-as greatly cast down because 
 the women had escaped, whom he intended 
 to have given the enemy, as having proinised 
 they should have them, with the money, for 
 their reward : but being afraid that Hyrcanus, 
 who was under the guard of the Parthians, 
 might have his kingdom restored to him by 
 the multitude, he cut olF his ears, and there- 
 by took care that the high-priesthood should 
 never come to him any more, because he was 
 maimed, while the law required that this dig- 
 nity should belong to none but such as had 
 all their members entire. * But now one can- 
 not 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 ])itiable and 
 dishonourable thing, and therefore, since he 
 had not his hands al 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 ])ower of the enemy 
 to bring him to any death he pleased. It is 
 also reported, that when he had made a great 
 wound in his head, Antigonus sent physicians 
 to cure it, and, by ordering them to infuse 
 poison into the wounil, killed him. How- 
 ever, I'hasaclus hearing, before he was quite 
 (lead, by a certain woman, that his brother 
 Herod had escaped the enemy, underwent his 
 death cheerfully, since he now left behind 
 
 • This law of Moses, that the priests were to b« 
 " without blemish, " as to all tlie j>arU of their bodies 
 U ill L«vit. xxi, 11'— 'it. 
 
 V 
 
CHAP. XIV. 
 
 him one who woukl revenge his death, and 
 who was able to inflict punishment on his 
 enemies. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HOW HEUOD GOT AWAY FROM THE KING OF 
 ARABIA. AND MADE HASTE TO GO INTO 
 EGYPT', AND THENCE WENT IN HASTE ALSO 
 TO ROME; AND HOW, BY PROMISING A GREAT 
 DEAL OF MONEY TO ANTONY, HE OBTAINED 
 OF THE SENATE AND OF C^SAB TO BE MADE 
 KING OF THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. As for Herod, the great miseries he was 
 in did not discourage him, but made him 
 sharp in discovering surprising undertakings ; 
 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 was become 
 of his brother, he was in haste to redeem him 
 out of tiie hand of his enemies, as willing to 
 give three hundred talents for the price of his 
 redemption. He also took with him the son 
 of Pliasaelus, who was a child of but seven 
 years of age ; for this very reason, that lie 
 might be an hostage for the repayment of the 
 money. But there came messengers from 
 Malchus to meet him, by whom he was de- 
 sired to be gone, for that the Parthians had 
 laid a charge upon him not to entertain He- 
 rod. 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 farther induced to, by the principal men 
 among the Arabians, tlfat they might cheat 
 him of what sums they had received from [his 
 father] Antipater, and which he had commit- 
 ted to their fidelity. He made answer, that 
 he did not intend to be troublesome 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 im- 
 portance. 
 
 2. Hereupon he resolved to go away, and 
 did go very prudently the road to Egypt ; 
 and then it was that he lodged in a certain 
 temple ; for he had left a great many of his 
 followers there. On the next day he came to 
 Rhinocoiura, and there it was that he heard 
 what had befallen his brother. Though Mai- 
 clius soon repented of what he had done, and 
 came running after Herod ; but with no man- 
 ner of success, for he was gotten a very great 
 way off, and made haste into the road to Pe- 
 lusium ; and when the stationary ships that I 
 lay there hindered him from sailing to Alex- ! 
 andria, he went to their captains, "by whose | 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 395 
 
 assistance, and that out of much reverence of, 
 and great regard to liim, he was conducted in- 
 to the city [Alexandria], and was retained 
 there by Cleopatra, yet was she not able to 
 prevail with him to stay there, because he was 
 making haste to Rome, even though the wea- 
 ther was stormy, and he was informed that 
 the affairs of Italy were very tumultuous, and 
 in great disorder. 
 
 3. So he set sail from thence to Pamphy 
 lia, and falling into a violent storm, he had 
 much ado to escape to Riiodes, with the loss 
 of the ship's burden ; and there it was that 
 two of his friends, Sappinas and Ptolemeus, 
 met with him : and as he found tliat city very 
 much damaged in the war against Cassius, 
 though he were in necessity himself, he ne- 
 glected 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 liis friends, for Italy, and 
 came to the port of Brundusium : and when 
 he was come from thence to Rome, he first 
 related to Antony what had befallen him in 
 Judea, and how Phasaelus his brother v/as 
 seized on by the Parthians, and put to death 
 by them ; and how Hyrcanus was detained 
 captive by them, and how they had made An- 
 tigonus king, who had promised them a sum 
 o*" money, no less than a thousand talents, 
 with five hundred 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 undergoing 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 
 contemned all these terrible dangei's, in order 
 to come, as soon as possible, to him who was 
 his hope and only succour at this tiine. 
 
 4. 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 make him king, as he had formerly 
 given it to him to make him tetrarch, and 
 chiefly because of his hatred to Antigonus, 
 for 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 his assistance in what he desired, 
 on account of the toils of war which he had 
 
 " Concerning the chronology of Herod, and the time 
 when he was first made king at Home, and r-oneerning 
 the time when he be_an his second reign, without a ri- 
 val, upon the conquest and slaughter of Antigonus 
 both principally derived from this and the two next 
 chaptei^ in Josephus, see the note on sect. 6, and oh 
 XV, ""wt '0 
 
 _r 
 
39G 
 
 ANIIQUITILS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Iiinisclf uiulerjTone witli Aiitipatcr liis fatliur 
 in Egypt, and of the liospitality lie liad treated 
 him \vitl)al, and the kindness he had always 
 shown liim; as also to frratify Antony, who 
 «as very zealous for Herod. So a senate 
 was convocated ; and Messala first, and then 
 Atratinus, introduced Herod into it, and en- 
 larged upon the benefits they had received 
 from his father, and put them in mind of the 
 (food-will he had borne to the Romans. At 
 tlie same time, tliey accused Antigonus, and 
 declared 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 tlie Parthians. Upon this 
 tlie senate was irritated ; and Antony inform- 
 ed them farther, that it was for their advan- 
 tage in the Parthian war that Herod sliould 
 be king. This seemed good to all the sena- 
 tors ; and so they made a decree accordingly. 
 
 5. 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 inten- 
 tion to ask the kingdom for himself, wliicli 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 
 Aristobulus, and to Hyrcanus by liis mother), 
 but that he procured it for him so suddenly, 
 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 consols and other magistrates 
 before them, in order to ofl'er 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 obtained it on the hundred and eighty- 
 fourth olympiad, when Caius Domitius Cal- 
 vjnus was consul the second time, and Caius 
 Asinius Pollio [the first time]. 
 
 6. All this while Antigonus besieged those 
 that were in Masada, wlio had plenty of all 
 other necessaries, but were only in want of 
 water,* insomuch that on this occasion Joseph, 
 Herod's brother, was contriving to run away 
 from it, with two hundred of his dei)cndants, 
 lo the Arabians ; for he had heard that JMal- 
 cbus repented of the oHinces he had been 
 guilty of with regard to Herod ; but God, by 
 sending rain in the night-time, prevented his 
 going away, for their cisterns were thereby 
 filled, and as he was under no necessity of run- 
 ning away on that account : but they were now 
 of good courage, and the more so, because the 
 
 • This grfevouB want of water at Masad.i, till the 
 jilacL' lia<l liKf to have bcc-n takin bv ihc ParOiians 
 (nientione<l lx>th Irtc- and Ol the War, b. i, eli. xv, stxt. 
 1), is an indicalioii timt it was now suiiuiwr-Liiiio 
 
 BOOK XIV. 
 
 sending that plenty of water which they had 
 been in want of, seemed a mark of divine pro- 
 vidence; so they made a sally, and fought hand 
 to hand with Antigonus's soldiers (with some 
 openly, with some priv.itely), and destroyed a 
 great number of tin m. At the same time Ven- 
 tidius, the general of the Romans, was sent out 
 of Svria, to drive the Parthians out of it, and 
 marched afierthem intojudca, on pretence in- 
 deed to succour Joseph; but in reality, the 
 whole affair was no more than a stratagem, in 
 order to get money of Antigonus; sothey pitch- 
 ed their camp very iiearlo Jerusalem, and strip- 
 ped Antigonus of a great deal of money, and 
 then he retired himself with the greater part 
 of the army ; hut, 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 cultivated an ac- 
 (juatntance, that he might cause him no dis- 
 turbance, and was still in hopes that the Par- 
 thians would come again and defend him. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 HOW HEROD SAILED OUT OF ITALY TO JUDEA, 
 AND FOUGHT WITH ANTIGONUS ; AND WHAT 
 OTHER THINGS HAPPENED IN JUDEA ABOUT 
 THAT TIME. 
 
 § 1. By this time Herod had sailed out of 
 Italy to Ptolemais, and had gotten together 
 no small army, both of strangers and of his 
 own countrymen, and marched through Gali- 
 lee against Antigonus. Silo also, and Ven- 
 tidius, came and assisted him, being persuad- 
 ed by Uellius, who was sent by Antony to 
 assist in bringing back Herod. Now, for 
 Ventidius, he was employed in composing the 
 disturbances 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, 
 liis army increased every day, and all Galilee, 
 with some small exception, joined him ; but 
 as he was marching to those that were in Ma- 
 sada (for he was obliged to endeavour to save 
 those that were in that foi tress, now they were 
 besieged, because they were his relations), 
 Joppa was a hindcrance to him, for it was 
 [ necessary for him to lake that place first, it 
 being a city at variance with him, that no 
 1 strong-hold might be left in his enemies' hands 
 behind him when he should go to Jerusalem. 
 'And when Silo inade this a pretence for rising 
 up from Jerusalem, and was thereupon pur- 
 sued by the Jews, Herod fell upon tliem with 
 a small body of men, and both put the Jews 
 to riighl and saved Silo, when he was very 
 poorly able to defend himself; but when He- 
 rod had taken Joppa, he made haste to set 
 free those of his family that were in Masada. 
 Now of the people of the country, some 
 
 -/" 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 ioined him because of the friendahip 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 re- 
 ceived from both of them ; but the greatest 
 number came to him in hopes of getting 
 somewhat from him afterward, if he were 
 once firmly settled in the kingdom. 
 
 2. Herod had now a strong army ; and as 
 he marched on, Antigonus laid snares and 
 ambushes in the passes and places most pro- 
 per 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 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 tlirew tlieir 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, in 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 reply to what He- 
 rod had caused to be proclaimed, 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 an Idumean, 
 L e. a half Jew,* whereas they ought to be- 
 stow it on one of the royal family, as their 
 custom was ; for, that in case they at present 
 bare an ill-will to him, and had resolved to 
 deprive him of the kingdom, as having re- 
 ceived it from the Parthians, yet were there 
 many others of his family that might by their 
 law take it, and these such as had no way 
 offended the Romans ; and being of the sa- 
 cerdotal family, it would be an unworthy 
 thing to put tliem by. Now while they said 
 thus one to another, and fell to reproaching 
 one another on both sides, Antigonus per- 
 mitted his own men that were upon the wall 
 to defend themselves ; who, using their bows, 
 and showing great alacrity against their ene-. 
 mies, easily drove them away from the towers, 
 S. And now it was that Silo discovered that 
 
 • This affirmation of Antigonus, spoken in the days 
 of Herod, and in a manner to his face, that he was an 
 Idumean, i. e. a half Jew, seems to mt of much greater 
 authority tlian that jiretence of his favourite and flat- 
 terer Nicolaus of Damascus, that he derived his pedi- 
 gree from Jews as far backward as the Babylonish cap- 
 tivity, ch. i, sect. 3. Accordingly Josephus always 
 esteems him an Idumean, though he says his father An- 
 tipater was of the same people with the Jews (ch. viii, 
 sect. 1), and a Jew by birth (Antiq. b. xx, ch. viii, sect. 
 7), as indee<l all such proselytes of justice as the Idu- 
 means, were in time esteemed the very same people 
 with the Jews. "^ 
 
 397 
 
 he had taken bribes: for he set a great num- 
 ber of his soldiers to complain aloud of the 
 want of provisions they were in, and to re- 
 quire 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 removing, and endeavoured to 
 march away ; but Herod pressed Silo not to 
 depart, and exhorted Silo's captains and sol- 
 diers not to desert him, when Csesar and An- 
 tony, 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 required ; af- 
 ter which entreaty, he immediately went into 
 the country, and left not the least pretence 
 to Silo for his departure, 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, anc 
 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 pre- 
 sently over the country such as might restrain 
 and lie in ambush for those that went out for 
 provisions. So these men obeyed the orders 
 of Antigonus, and got together a great num- 
 ber of armed men about Jericho, and sat up- 
 on the mountains, and watched those that 
 brought the provisions. However, Herod was 
 not idle in the meantime, for he took ten 
 bands of soldiers, of whom five were of the 
 Romans, 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 five hundred 
 of them had settled themselves on the tops of 
 the hills, with iheir 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 their winter quarters in the countries 
 that were come over to him, Judea, and Gali- 
 lee, and Samaria. And so much did Antigonus 
 gain of Silo for the bribes he gave him, that 
 part of the army should be quartered at Lyd- 
 da, in order to please Antony. So the Ro- 
 mans laid their weapons aside, and lived in 
 plenty of all things. 
 
 4. But Herod was not pleased with lying 
 still, but sent out his brother Joseph against 
 Idumea with two thousand armed footmen, 
 and four hundred horsemen, while he himsel 
 came to Samaria, and left his mother and his 
 other relations there, for they were airead;; 
 gone out of Masada, and went into Galilee, 
 and took certain places which were held by the 
 garrisons of Antigonus ; and he passed on to 
 Sepphoris, as God sent a snow, while Anti- 
 gonus's garrisons withdrew themselves, and 
 
jr 
 
 398 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIIH JKWS. 
 
 BOOK XIV. 
 
 had great plenty of provisions. He also went 
 tlicnce, aiK) resolved to destroy those rohhers 
 that d'.velt in the caves, and did much mischief 
 ill the country; so he sent a troo]) of horsemen, 
 and throe companies of armed footmen, a- 
 gainst them. They were very near lo a vil- 
 lage called Arhela ; and on the fortieth day 
 after, he came Iiimself 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 re- 
 called his men that ran away. He also i)rc'ssed 
 upon his enemies, and pursued them as far as 
 the river Jordan, though they ran away hy 
 diffi-rent 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 them a hundred and 
 fifty drachma! apiece, and much more to their 
 captains, and sent them into winter quarters ; 
 at which time Silo came to him, and his com- 
 manders with him, because Atuigonus would 
 not give them provisions any longer ; for he 
 supplied them for no more than one month ; 
 nay, he had sent to all the country round about, 
 and ordered them to carry ofl' the provisions 
 that were tliere, and retired to the mountains, 
 that the Romans might have no provisions to 
 live upon, and so might perish by famine ; 
 but Herod cominitted the care of that matter 
 to Pheroras, his youngest brotlier, and ordered 
 him to repair Alexandrium also. According- 
 ly, he quickly made the soldiers abound with 
 great plenty of provisions, and rebuilt Alex- 
 andrium, which had been before desolate. 
 
 5. About this time it was that Antony con- 
 tinued some time at Athens, and that Venti- 
 dius, 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 \\ ere 
 themselves engaged in ; but as for Herod, he 
 went in haste against the robbers that were 
 in the caves, and sent Silo away lo V^entidi- 
 us, wliile lie marched against them. Tliese 
 caves were in mountains tliat 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 l>e 
 hung down, bound about with iron chains, hy 
 an engine, from the top of the mounUiin, it 
 being not jjossible to get up to tliem, by rea- 
 son of the sharp ascent of the mountains, nor 
 to creep down to them from above. Now 
 these chests were filled witli armed men, who 
 had long hooks in their hands, hy which they 
 might pull out such as resisted thetn, and 
 tlicn tumble them down, and kill them by so 
 doing ; but the letting the chests down proved 
 to be a matter of great danger, becausu of 
 
 the vast depth they were to be let down, al- 
 though they had their provisions 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 to(jk 
 hold of the chain by which the chests were 
 let down, and went into the mouths of the 
 caves, because they fretted that such rlelay 
 was made by the robbers not daring to come 
 out of the caves ; and when they were at any 
 of those moutlis, they firnt killed many of 
 those that were in the mouths with their 
 darts, and afterwards pulled those to them 
 that resisted them with their hooks, and tum- 
 bled them down the precipices, and afterwards 
 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, wlien they heard the lamentations that 
 were made, and they despaired of escaping ; 
 however, when the night came on, that ))ul 
 an end to the whole work; and as the king 
 proclaimed pardon by an herald to such as 
 delivered themselves up to him, many accept- 
 ed of the ofler. The same method of assaul* 
 was made use of the next day ; and they weni 
 farther, and got out in baskets to fight them, 
 and fought them at their doors, and sent fire 
 among them, and set their caves on fire, for 
 there was a great deal of couiliustihie 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 
 ot 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 
 precipice, and himself after them, and so un- 
 derwent death rather than slavery : but be- 
 fore he did this, he greatly re|)roached He- 
 rod with the meanness of his family, alihougli 
 he was then king. Herod also saw what he 
 was doing, and sfretdied out his hand, and 
 iillered him all manner of security for liis 
 life ; by wliich means all these caves were at 
 length subdued entirely. 
 
 6. And when the king had set Ptolemy 
 over these parts of the country as his general, 
 he went to Samaria with six hundred horse- 
 men and three thousand armed footmen, as 
 intending to fight Antigonus; but still this 
 command of the army did not succeed well 
 «ith Ptolemy, but tiiose th.it had been tiou- 
 hlesome to Galilee before attacked him, and 
 slew him ; and when they had done this, they 
 lied among the lakes and places almost inacces- 
 sible, laying waste and phmdering whatsoever 
 they could come at in those places; but He- 
 rod 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 
 
 •V 
 
-^ 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 399 
 
 strong holds, he besieged, and l)oth slew 
 them and demolished their strong holds ; and 
 when he had thus put an end to their rebel - 
 lion, he laid a fine upon the cities of a hun- 
 dred talents. 
 
 7. In the mean time Pacorus was fallen 
 in a battle, and the Parthians were defeated, 
 when Ventidius sent Macheras to th« assist- 
 ance of Herod, with two legions and a thou- 
 sand horsemen, while Antony encouraged 
 him to make haste; but Macheras, at the in- 
 stigation of Antigonus, without the approba- 
 tion of Herod, as being corrupted by money, 
 went about to take a view of his affairs ; but 
 Antigonus, suspecting this intention 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 heark- 
 ening to that advice, he retired to the city 
 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 inform him that he stood 
 in no need of such helpers, who did him more 
 mischief than tiiey did his enemies ; and that 
 he was able of himself to beat Antigonus. 
 But Maclieras followed him, and desired that 
 he would not go to Antony ; or, if he v^-as 
 resolved to go, that he would join his brother 
 Joseph with them, and let them fight against 
 Antigonus. So he was reconciled to Mache- 
 ras, upon his earnest entreaties. Accordingly 
 he loft Joseph there with his army, but charg- 
 eJ him to run no hazards, nor to quarrel with 
 Macheras. 
 
 8. But for his own part, he made haste to 
 Antony (who was then at the siege of Samo- 
 sata, a place upon Euphrates) with his troops, 
 l)oth horsemen and footmen, to be auxiliaries 
 to him ; and when he came to Antioch, and 
 met there a great number of men gotten to- 
 gether that were very desirous to go to An- 
 tony, 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 am- 
 bush there to disturb those that came to .An- 
 tony, 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 were 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 five hundred,, fell upon them on 
 the sudden, and when they had put the fore- 
 most to flight, the king came riding hard, with 
 
 the forces that were about him, and immediate- 
 ly 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 returned 
 back, and the barbarians were slain on all 
 sides. The king also went on killing them, 
 and recovered all the baggage, among which 
 were a great number of beasts for burden, 
 and of slaves, and proceeded 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. 
 
 9. And when he was near to Samosata, An- 
 tony sent out his army in all their proper ha- 
 biliments to meet him, in order to pay Herod 
 this respect, and because of the assistance he 
 had given him ; for he had heard what at- 
 tacks 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 liim after a most affectionate man- 
 ner, 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 ; 
 tlien Antony committed tlie rest to Sossius, 
 and gave him orders to assist Herod, and 
 went himself to Egypt. Accordingly, Sos- 
 sius sent two legions before into Judea to the 
 assistance of Herod, and he followed himself 
 with the body of the army. 
 
 10. Now Joseph was already slain in Ju- 
 dea, 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 mountains, for 
 Macheras had lent him five regiments, with 
 these he went hastily to Jericho, in order to 
 reap the corn thereto belonging ; and as the 
 Roman regiments were but newly raised, and 
 were unskilful 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 
 Plieroras his brother would have redeemed it 
 at the price of fifty talents. After which de- 
 feat, the Galileans revolted from their com- 
 manders, and took those of Herod's party, 
 and drowned them in the lake; and a great 
 part of Judea was become seditious : but Ma- 
 cheras fortified the place Gitta fin Samaria). 
 
4.00 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIV 
 
 11. At fills time mi'ssengers came to He- 
 rod, (iiul informed him of what had been 
 done ; and w h^n he was come to Daphne by 
 Antioch, tliey fold him of the ill fortune that 
 had befallen his brother, which yet he expect- 
 ed, 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 re- 
 ceived about eijiht hundred of the men of that 
 place, having already with him also one Ro- 
 man legion, and with these he came to Ptole- 
 mais. He also tnarclied thence by night with 
 his army, and 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 « hence they had sallied 
 out the day before. So he attacked the place 
 in the morning ; but, by reason of a great 
 storm that wf s then very violent, he was able 
 to do nothing, but drew off his army into the 
 neighbouring villages ; yet as soon as the 
 other legion that Antony sent him was come 
 to his assistance, those that were in garri- 
 son in the place were afraid, and deserted it 
 in the nigbt-tirae. Then did the king march 
 hastily to Jericho, intending to avenge himself 
 on the enemy for the slaughter of his brother ; 
 and wlien he had pitched his tents, he made 
 n feast for the principal commanders, and 
 after this collation was over, and he had dis- 
 missed his guests, he retired to his own cham- 
 ber ; and liere may one see what kindness 
 
 of armed men,* and many of ihem ran as fai 
 as the fops of the houses, he got them under 
 his power, and pulled down the roofs of the 
 houses, and saw the lower rooms full of sol- 
 diers 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 kill- 
 ed them : nor was there a more frightful spec- 
 tacle 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 brake the spirits of the 
 enemy, who expected now what would come ; 
 for there appeared a mighty number of peo- 
 ple 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 restrained them, the king's 
 army had presently gone to Jerusalem, as be- 
 ing very courageous at this good success, and 
 the « hole work had been done immediately ; 
 for Antigonus was already looking about how 
 he might fly away and leave the city. 
 
 13. 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 in the greatest danger, 
 which yet, by God's providence, he escaped , 
 for as he was naked, and had but one servanl 
 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 liad 
 
 God had for flic king, for the upper part of I fled thither out of fear, were then in the place 
 the house fell down when nobody was in it, and as he was bathing, the first of them came 
 
 and so killed none, insomuch that all the peo- 
 ple believed that Herod was beloved of God, 
 since he had escaped such a great and surpris- 
 ing danger. 
 
 19.. But the next day six thousand of the 
 enemy came down from the tops of the moun- 
 tains to figlit the Romans, which greatly ter- 
 rified them ; and the soldiers that were in light 
 armour came near, and pelted the king's 
 guards that were come out with darts and 
 stones, and one of them hit him on the side 
 with a dart. Antigonus also sent a comman- 
 der against Samaria, whose name was Pappus, 
 with soinc forces, being desirous to show the 
 enemy how potent he was, and that he had 
 men to sjiare in his war w ith fliem : lie sat 
 down to oppose Macheras ; but Herod, when 
 he had taken five cities, took such as were left 
 in them, being about two thousand, and slew 
 them, and burnt the cities themselves, and 
 then returned to go aga'nst Pappus, who was 
 epcani|)ed at a village called Isanas : and there 
 ran in to liiin 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 he beat 
 them in the fi;;ht ; and in order to he reveng- 
 ed on them for the slaughter of his brother, 
 ne pursued tliem sharply, and killed them as 
 they ran away ; and as the houses were full 
 
 out with his naked sword drawn, and went 
 out at the doors, and after him a second, and 
 a third, armed in like manner, and were un- 
 der such a consternation, that they did no hurt 
 to the king, and thought themselves to have 
 come off' very well in suficring no harm them- 
 selves in their getting out of the house. How- 
 ever, on the next day, he cut oft' the head of 
 Papinis, for he was already slain, and sent it 
 to Pheroras, as a punishment of what their 
 brotJier had suffered by his means, for lie was 
 the man that slew him with his own hand. 
 
 14. 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 re- 
 moved his camp, and came near that part of 
 the wall where it could he most easily assault- 
 ed, he pitched tliat camp before the temjile, 
 intending to make his attacks in the same 
 manner as did Pompey. So he encompassed 
 the place with three bulwarks, and erected 
 towers, and emplojed a great many liands 
 
 • It may be worth our otiscrv.ition hero, lliaf there 
 !;<il<lifrs of Herod could not have f;ottcn upon the tops 
 of ilu~.c' houses which were lull of enemies, in or.lir to 
 
 Cull up the upper floors and dcstruv them IxncalU, but 
 y hKl.lersftoui rficoutiide ; which illustrat. s some texK 
 in' the New Te>t.iment, by which it apinars uia-. unit 
 ^ used to ascend thither bv ladders on the oiitsiilc Sm 
 I Matt, xxiv, 17: Mark XII i, 15; Luke v. igixvu 3t 
 
 ^_ 
 
 _^ 
 
cHAP. XVI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 401 
 
 about the work, and cut down the trees that 
 were round about the city ; and wlien 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 mar- 
 riage, and to take to wife the daughter of 
 Alexander, the son of Aristobulus ; for he had 
 betrothed her already, as I have before related. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HOW HEROD, WHEN HE HAD MARRIED MARI- 
 AMNE, TOOK JERUSALEM, WITH THE ASSIST- 
 ANCE OF SOSIUS, BY FORCE ; AND HOW THE 
 GOVERNMENT OF THE ASAMONEANS WAS 
 PUT AN END TO. 
 
 § 1. 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 commander, came himself, 
 with a great number of horsemen and foot- 
 men. The king also came himself from Sa- 
 maria, and brought with him no small army, 
 besides that which was there before, for they 
 were about thirty thousand ; and tliey all met 
 together at the walls of Jerusalem, and en- 
 camped at the north wall of the city, being 
 now an army of eleven legions, armed men on 
 foot, and six thousand horsemen, with other 
 auxiliaries 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 Antigonus, who 
 was declared an enemy to Rome, and that he 
 might himself be king, according to the de- 
 cree of the senate. 
 
 2. Now the Jews that were inclosed within 
 the walls of the city fought against Herod wiih 
 great alacrity and zeal (for the whole nation 
 was 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. Wlien 
 Herod understood this, he opposed ambushes 
 in the fittest places against their private rob- 
 beries, 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 bul- 
 warks were easily erected, because 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^f ways 
 to get in : yet did not those within discover 
 
 any fear, but they also contrived not a few 
 engines to oppose their engines withal. They 
 also sallied out, and burnt not only those en- 
 gines 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 
 underground, they met each other, and fought 
 there ; and making use of brutish courage 
 rather than of 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 a Sabbatic Year. The first that scaled the 
 walls were twenty chosen men ; the next were 
 Sosius's centurions; for the first wall was ta- 
 ken in forty days, and the second in fifteen 
 more, when some of the cloisters that were a- 
 bout 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 tem- 
 ple, 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 em 
 bassage, and desired that they would only 
 permit them to bring in beasts for sacri- 
 fices, which Herod granted, hoping they were 
 going to yield ; but when he saw that they 
 did nothing of what he supposed, but bitterly 
 opposed him, in order to preserve the king- 
 dom 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 in 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 a- 
 bout, and besought them to spare the people, 
 yet nobody restrained their hand from slaugh- 
 ter, but, as if they were a company of mad- 
 men, they fell upon persons of all ages, with- 
 out distinction ; and then Antigonus, without 
 regard to either his past or present circum- 
 stances, came down from the citadel, and fel] 
 down at the feet of Sosius, who took no pity 
 of him, in the change of his fortune, but in- 
 sulted him beyond measure, and called him 
 Antigone [i. e. 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. 
 
 3. And now Herod having overcome his 
 enemies, his care was to govern those io- 
 2 L 
 
-V- 
 
 402 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 rci^ncrs who liad been his assistants, for the 
 cr<nv(l of strangers rushed to sec the temple, 
 and tlie sacred things in tiic temple; but the 
 king thinking a victory to be a inore severe 
 allliction than a defeat, if any of those things 
 wiiich it was not lawful to see shoidd be seen 
 by them, used entreaties and threatenings, 
 and even sometimes force itself, to restrain 
 them. lie also prohibited the ravage that 
 was inade 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 habit- 
 able earth as by no means an equivalent satis- 
 faction for such a murder of his citizens: and 
 ■when he said that this plunder was justly to 
 bo i)ermilted the soldiers for ihe siege they 
 had undergone, he replied, that he would give 
 every one his reward out of his own money ; 
 and by this means he redeemed what remain- 
 ed of the city from destruction ; and he per- 
 formed what he had promised him, for he 
 gave a noble present to every soldier, and a 
 j)roportionable present to their commanders; 
 but a most royal present to Sosius himself, 
 till they all went away full of money. 
 
 4. This destruction befel the city of Jeru- 
 salem when Marcus Agrippa and Caninius 
 Callus were consuls at Rome," on the hun- 
 
 • Note here, that Josephus fully and frcqiiontly as- 
 Burcs us, that there passect alxivu three years between 
 Herod's first obt;iining the kingdom at Home and his 
 Bceond obtaining it ui)on the taking of Jerusalem and 
 death of Antigouus. The present history of this inter- 
 val twice mentions the army going into winter quarters, 
 which perhaps belonged to two several winters (ch. xv, 
 sect. 3, 4) ; and though Josephus says nothing how long 
 they lay in those ([uartcrs, yet docs he give such an ac- 
 count of the long and studied delays of Vcntidius, Silo, 
 and Macheras, who were to see Ucrod settled in his 
 now kingdom (but seem not to have had sufficient 
 forces for that purpose, and were for certain all cor- 
 rupted by Antigonus to make the longest delays pos- 
 sible), and gives us such pariicidaraecountsof the many 
 great actions of Hcro<l during the same interval, as 
 fairly imply that interval, before Herod went to isaniiv 
 saUi, to nave been very considerable. However, what 
 is wantmg in Josephus, is fully suii|)licd by Moses Cho- 
 renensis, the Armenian historian, in his history of that 
 interval (b ii, ch. xviii) ; where he directly assures us 
 that Tigranes, then king of Armenia, and tlie jirincipal 
 manager of this Parthian war, reigned two years alter 
 Herod was made king at Rome, and yet Antony did 
 liot hear of his deatJi, in that very iieighlx>i>«liood, at 
 
 BOOK XIV. 
 
 dred and eighty-fifth olympiad, on the third 
 month, on the solemnity of tlie fast, as if a 
 periodical revolution of calamities had re- 
 turned since that which befel the Jews under 
 Pompey ; for the Jews were taken by him 
 on the same day, and this was after twenty, 
 seven ycars's time. So when Sosius had de- 
 dicated a crown of gold to God, he tnarched 
 away from Jerusalem, and carried Antigonus 
 with him in bonds to Antony ; but Herod 
 was afraitl lest Antigonus should be kept in 
 prison [only] by Antony, and that «hen he 
 was carried to Rome by him, he miglit get 
 his cause to be heard by the senate, and might 
 demonstrate, as lie 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 
 Antony a great deal of money, endeavoured 
 to persuade him to have Antigonus slain, 
 which, if it were once done, he should be 
 free from tl)at fear. And thus did the go- 
 vernment of the Asamoneans cease, a hun- 
 dred and twenty-six years after it was first set 
 up. Tills family was a splendid and an illus- 
 trious one, both on account of the nobility 
 of their stock, and of the dignity of tlie high- 
 priesthood, as also for the glorious actions 
 their ancestors hail performed for our nation : 
 but tliese men lost t'ne government by their 
 dissensions one with another, and it came to 
 Herod, the son of Antijiater, who was of no 
 more than a vulgar family, and of no emi- 
 nent extraction, but one that was subject to 
 other kings. And this is what history tells 
 us was the end of the Asamonean family. 
 
 Samosata, till he was come thither to besiege it; .ifter 
 which Herod bi ought him an army, which was three 
 hundred and forty miles' march, and throuph a difli 
 cult country, full of enemies also, and joiniifwith hira 
 in tlve siege of Samo«ita till that city was taken ; then 
 Herod anil Sosius marched back with their large armies 
 the s.imc number of three hunrirwl and forty miles; 
 and when, in a little time, they sat down to besiege Je- 
 rusalem, they were not able to take it but by a siege of 
 live mouths. All which put together, fully sui)plies 
 what is wanting in Josephus, and secures the eutir* 
 chronology uf these times ueyuiut contraUicliun. 
 
BOOK XV. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF EIGHTEEN YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF ANTIGONUS TO THE FINISHING OF THE 
 TEMPLE BY HEROD. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CONCERNING POLLIO AND SAMEAS. HEROD 
 SLAYS THE PRINCIPAL OF ANTIGONUS'S 
 FRIENDS, AND SPOILS THE CITY OF ITS 
 WEALTH. ANTONY BEHEADS ANTIGONUS. 
 
 § 1. How Sosius and Herod took Jerusalem 
 by force ; and besides that, how they took 
 Antigo'.ius captive, has been related by us in 
 the foregoing book. We will now proceed 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 PoUio the Pharisee, and Sa- 
 meas, a disciple of his, were honoured by 
 him above all the rest ; for when Jerusalem 
 was besieged, they advised the citizens to re- 
 ceive Herod ; for which advice they were 
 well requited. But this PoUio, 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. 
 
 2. At this time Herod, now he had got 
 Jerusalem under his power, carried off all the 
 royal ornaments, and spoiled the wealthy 
 men of what they had gotten ; 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 car- 
 ried out together with their dead bodies. 
 They also searclied the dead, and whatsoever 
 was found, either of silver or gold, or other 
 treasure, it was carried to the kingj nor was 
 there any end of the miseries he brought 
 upon them ; and this distress was Lq part oc- 
 casioned by the covetousness of the prince 
 
 regent, who was still in want of naore, and in 
 part by the Sabbatic Year, which was still go- 
 ing on, and forced the country to lie still un- 
 cultivated, since we are forbidden to sow the 
 land in that year. Now when Antony had 
 received Antigonus as his captive, he deter- 
 mined to keep him against his triumph ; but 
 when he heard that the nation grew seditious, 
 and that, out of their hatred to Herod, they 
 continued to bear good-will to Antigonus, he 
 resolved to behead him at Antioch, for other- 
 wise the Jews could no way be brought to be 
 quiet. And Strabo of Cappadocia attests to 
 what I have said, when he thus speaks: — 
 " Antony ordered Antigonus the Jew to be 
 brought to Antioch, and there to be behead- 
 ed ; and this Antony seems to me to have 
 been the very first man who beheaded a king, 
 as supposing he could no other way bend the 
 minds of the Jews so as to receive Herod, 
 whom 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 disho- 
 nourable death would diminish the value they 
 had foi Antigonus's memory, and at tlie same 
 time would dim.inish the hatred they bare to 
 Herod," Thus far Strabo. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW HYRCANUS WAS SET AT LIBERTY BY THE 
 PARTHIANS, AND RETURNED TO HEROD ; 
 AND WHAT ALEXANDRA DID WHEN SHE 
 HEARD THAT ANANELUS WAS MADE HIGH- 
 PRIEST. 
 
 § 1. Now after Herod was in possession of 
 the kingdom, Hyrcanus the high-priest, who 
 was then a captive among the Parthians, 
 came to him again, and was set free from 
 his captivity in the manner following : — 
 Barzapharnes and Pacorus, the generals of 
 the Parthians, took Hyrcanus, who was first 
 made high-priest and afterwards king, and 
 
401 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Hero(l'« brother, Phasaclus, captives, and 
 wore carryin;^ them away into I'artliia. I'lia- 
 sacliis intk't'il coukl not hear the rtproadi of 
 lieinj^ in bonds; and tliinkin^ that dcatli with 
 glory was better than any life whatsoever, he 
 became his own executioner, as 1 have for- 
 merly related. 
 
 2. But when Hyrcanus was brought into 
 Parthia, the king Phraates treated him after 
 a very guntle manner, as having already learn- 
 ed of what an illustrious family he was; on 
 wliiuh account he set him free from his bonds, 
 and gave him a habit ttion 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 iiopes came upon him, as hav- 
 ing been himself still of a kind disposition 
 towards him ; and expecting that Herod would 
 bear in mind what favour he had received 
 from him, and u hen he was upon liis trial, and 
 when he was in danger that a capital sentence 
 would be pronounced against him, he deliver- 
 ed liim from that danger, and from all pu- 
 nishment. Accordingly, lie talked of that 
 matter with the Jews that came often to him 
 with great affection ; but tiiey endeavoured 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 
 tliat those honours they paid him were not at 
 all inferior to what they could pay to either 
 their high-priests or their kings : and what 
 was a greater motive to determine him, they 
 said, was this, that he could not have those 
 dignities [in Judea] because of tliat maim in 
 bis body, which had been inflicted on liim by 
 Antigonus ; and that kings do not use to re- 
 quite men for those kindnesses which tiiey re- 
 ceived when they were private persons, the 
 height of their fortune making usually no 
 small changes in them. 
 
 3. 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 de- 
 sire of I'liraates, and the Jews that were there, 
 tliat 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 received trom liim, as having been 
 brought uj) 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 Pliraates, 
 
 • Tlie cir>' here called " Babylon" by Jo5C))hus, scorns 
 tu lieonc which » as built by some of liie S'fleucJilir, up- 
 on llif Tigris ; which, long after the utter dosuLilniii (if 
 Olii fl:il))lon, was commonly so callt<I, nml I suppose 
 I not f.ir from Scleucia; just is the later ailjoining city 
 I Bug>l;it has Ixtn and is often called by tJif same old 
 uaiiu: uf Bab) lun tiU this very day. 
 
 and many presents with him. and desired linn 
 in tlie most obliging way, tiiat he would be no 
 liinderance to iiis gratitude towards his bene- 
 factor. But this zeal of Herod's did not flow 
 from that principle, but because he had been 
 made governor of that country without having 
 any just claim to it, he was afraid, and that 
 upon reasons good enough, of a change in his 
 condition, and so made w hat haste he could to 
 get Hyrcanus into his power, or indeed to])ut 
 him quite out of the way ; which last thing 
 he ell'ected afterwards. 
 
 4. Accordingly, when Hyrcanus came, full 
 of assurance, by the permission of the king 
 of Parthia, and at the expense of the Jews, 
 who sujiplied him with money, Herod receiv- 
 ed him with all possible respect, and gave him 
 the upper place at public meetings, 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 illustrious 
 person the high-priest of God,f he sent for 
 an obscure priest out of Babylon, whose name 
 was Ananelus, and bestowed the high-priest- 
 hood upon him. 
 
 .5. However, Alexandra, the daughter of 
 Hyrcanus, and w ife of Alexander, the son ot 
 Aristobulus the king, who had also brought 
 /Mexander [two] children, could not bear this 
 indignity. Now this son was one of the 
 greatest comeliness, and was called Aristo- 
 bulus; and the daugiiter, ]Mariamne, was 
 married to Herod, and eminent for her beauty 
 also. This Alexandra was much disturbed, 
 and took this indignity offered to her son ex- 
 ceeding ill, that while he was alive, any one 
 else should be sent to have the dignity of the 
 high-priesthood conferred upon him. Ac- 
 cordingly she wrote to Cleo])atra (a musician 
 assisting her in taking care to have her letters 
 carried) to desire her intercession with Antony, 
 in order to gain tlie high-priesthood for her 
 son. 
 
 6. But as Antony was slow in granting this 
 request, his friend Dellius \ came into Jiidea 
 upon some afl'airs, and when he saw Ari>:tobu- 
 
 + Here we have an eminent example of Herod's 
 worldlv anil profane ix>litics, when by the abuse of his 
 unlawt'iil and usuriMxf power, to make whom he pleased 
 !iigh-i>ricst, in the person of Ananelus, he occasioned 
 such disturbances in his kingdom, and in his own fa- 
 
 milv, as suffered him to enjoy no Lfsling jwacc or tran- 
 quillity ever afterwards: and such is fretiuently tlic ef- 
 fect of profane court-politics about matters of icligion 
 
 in other agiri and nations. The Old Testaiiienl is full 
 of the miseries of tlie people of the Jews derived from 
 such o)urt-i*>litiis, esiK-cially in and after the days of 
 Jerotxjam, llic son of Nebiit, " who made Krael to »in ;" 
 who cave the most pernicious example of it ; who 
 brouKlit on the grossest corruption ot religion by it ; 
 and the puni-hmint of whoM.' family for it was most re- 
 markable. The case is too well known to stand in need 
 of |iar!ieular citations. 
 
 J Of iliis wicked DoUiiu, SCO the note on the War, b. 
 i, cii. XV, sccL 3 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 403 
 
 lus, 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 mo- 
 ther of most beautiful children : and when 
 she came to discourse with him, he persuaded 
 her to get pictures drawn of them both, and 
 to send tiiem to Antony, for that when he saw 
 them, he would deny her nothing that she 
 would ask. Accordingly, Alexandra was e- 
 levated with these words of his, and sent the 
 pictures to Antony. Dellius also talked ex- 
 travagantly, and said that these children seem- 
 ed 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, be- 
 cause 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 be- 
 sides, one that openly indulged himself in such 
 pleasares as his power allowed him, witliout 
 controul. He therefore wrote back to him, 
 that if this boy should only go out of the 
 country, 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. 
 
 7. When Herod had thus excused himself 
 to Antony, he resolved that he would not en- 
 tirely permit the child of Alexandra to be 
 treated dishonourably : but his wife Mariam- 
 ne lay vehemently at him to restore the high- 
 priesthood to her 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 to- 
 gether, 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 deprived of 
 the government, and tliat by Antony's means 
 this youth might have the management of pub- 
 lic affairs in his stead ; and that this proce- 
 dure of hers was unjust, since she would at 
 the same time deprive her daughter of the dig- 
 nity she now had, and would bring distur- 
 bances 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 him- 
 self, hut would even now give the youth the 
 higli-priesthood ; and that he formerly set up 
 Ananelus, because 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 he had 
 taken to consult withal, Alexandra, out of 
 the great joy she had at this unexpected pro- 
 mise, and out of fear from the suspicions she 
 lay under, fell a weeping ; and made the fol- 
 lowing apology for herself, and said, that as 
 to tiie [high] priesthood, 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 ac- 
 cept 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 fami- 
 ly : that she was now overcome by his bene- 
 fits, a-nd thankfully accepted of this honour 
 shown by him to her son, and that she would 
 hereafter be entirely obedient ; and she de- 
 sired 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 mat- 
 ter. So when they had spoken thus to one 
 another, they came to an agreement ; and all 
 suspicions, so far as appeared, were vanished 
 away. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW HKROD, UPON HIS MAKING ARISTOBULUS 
 HIGH-PRIEST, TOOK CARE THAT HE SHOULD 
 BE MURDERED IN A LITTLE TIME; AND 
 WHAT APOLOGY HE MADE TO ANTONY 
 ABOUT ARISTOBULUS : AS ALSO CONCERNING 
 JOSEPH AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 § I. 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 Baby- 
 lonia, whence Ananelus came. He was one 
 of the stock of the high-priests,* and had been 
 
 * When Josephus says here that tliis Ananelus, the 
 new high-priest, was "of the stock of the high-priests," 
 and since he had been just telhng us that he was a 
 priest of an obscure family or character (ch. ii, sect. 4), 
 it is not at all probable that he could so soon say that 
 he was "of the stock, of the high-priests." However, 
 Josephus liere makes a remarkable observation, that 
 this Ananelus was the third that was ever unjustly and 
 wiukedly turned out of the high-priesthood by the civil 
 power, iio king or governor having ventured to do so, 
 that Josephus knew of, but that heathen tyrant and 
 persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes; tliat barbarous par- 
 ricide Aristobulus, the first that took royal authority 
 among the Maccabees; and this tyrant king Herod tha 
 Great, although afterward that infamous practice be- 
 came frequent, till the vcrj- destruction of Jerusalem 
 when the otBcc of high-priesthood was at an eiuL 
 
 I 
 
406 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 of old a particular friend of Ilerod ; and 
 when he was first made king, he conferred 
 that dignity iiijon him, and now put him out 
 of it :i5;ain, in order to quiet tlie 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 Epiplianes 
 who first broke that la«-, and deprived Jesus, 
 and made his brother Onias high-priest in his 
 stead. Aristobukis was the second that did 
 so, and took tiiat dignity from his brother 
 [Hyrcanus] ; and this Ilerod was the tJiird 
 who took that high office away [from Anane- 
 lus], and gave it to tliis young man, Aristo- 
 bulu!:', in his stead. 
 
 2. And now Herod seemed to have healed 
 the divisions in his family ; yet was he not 
 without suspicion, as is frequently the case 
 of people seeming to be reconciled to one 
 another, but thought that, as Alexandra 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 
 ill the palace, and meddle with no public af- 
 fairs . her guards also were so careful, that 
 nothing 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 degree, she had great 
 indignation at this suspicious guard that was 
 about her, as desirous rather to undergo any 
 thing that could befall her tlian to be depriv- 
 ed of lM?r 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. Cleo- 
 patra hereupon advised her to U\ke her son 
 with her, and come away immediately to her 
 into Egypt. This advice 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 thorn away in the night- 
 time. Now their road was to be thence to 
 the sea-side ; and there was a ship ready to 
 carry them into Egypt. Now ^sop, 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 of Ilerod, and had been e- 
 Bteemed one of those that laid snares for and 
 gave (he poison to [his father] Antipater, he 
 expected that this discovery would change 
 Herod's hatred into kindness ; so he told the 
 king of this private stratagem of Alexandra : 
 whereupon he suffered her to proceed to the 
 viecutioa of lier project, and caught her in 
 
 the very fact ; but still lie passed by her of- 
 fence : 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 ac- 
 cused, on account of her hatred to him ; but 
 made a show as if it were rather the generosi- 
 ty of his soul, and his great moderation, that 
 made him forgive them. However, he fully 
 ])roposed to himself to put this young man 
 out of the way, by one means or other ; but 
 he thought he migiit in all probability be bet- 
 ter concealed in doing it, if he did it not pre- 
 sently nor immediately after what had lately 
 ha))pened. 
 
 3. And now, upon the approach of the 
 feast of tabernacles, which is a festival very 
 much obser\-ed 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, accord- 
 ing 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 
 than men usually were at that age, and to ex- 
 hibit in his countenance a great deal of that 
 high family he was sprung from, — a warm 
 zeal and affection towards him appeared 
 among the people, and the memory of the 
 actions of his grandfather Aristobulus 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 rtjoictd and were confounded, 
 and mingled with good wishes their joyful ac- 
 clamations which they made to him, till the 
 good-will of tiie multitude was madu too evi- 
 dent ; and they more rashly proclaimed the 
 happiness 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 .igainst the young man. 
 When therefore the festival was over, and he 
 was feasting at Jcriciiof with Alexandra, who 
 entertained him there, he was then very plea- 
 sant with the young man, and drew him into 
 a lonely place, and at tlie same time played 
 with him in a juvenile and hidicious manner. 
 Now the nature of that place was hotter than 
 ordinary; so they went out in a body, and o( 
 a sudden, and in a vein of madness ; and as 
 they stood by the fish ponds, of which there 
 were large ones about the houte, they went to 
 cool themselves [by batliiiig^ because it was 
 
 • Tliis entirely confutes the Talinudists, who pretend 
 that no one under twenty years of a^je could ofliciate u 
 liij;h-|iriest among the Jews. 
 
 f An Hebrew ihronicle, cited by Reland, ciys thi> 
 drowning was at Jordan, not at Jericho, and this even 
 whin he quotiN Joscphus. I sniin-cl tlie transi'ril)cr of 
 llic lUbriwchnjuiclc mistook the name, and wrote Jof> 
 diui iui Jericho. 
 
 "V 
 
 / 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 407 
 
 in the midst of a hot day. At first they were 
 only spectators of Herod's servants and ac- 
 quaintance as they were swimming; but after 
 a wliile, 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 swim- 
 ming, 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 en- 
 tirely 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 Anane- 
 lus now recovered again. 
 
 4. When this sad accident was told the 
 women, their joy was soon changed into la- 
 mentation, at the sight of the dead body that 
 lay before them, and their sorrow was immo- 
 derate. The city also [of Jerusalem], upon 
 the spreading of this news, was in very great 
 grief, every family looking on this calamity as 
 if it had not belongftd to another, but that one 
 of themselves 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 un- 
 der it, out of her prospect of a greater mis- 
 chief that might otherwise follow ; and she 
 sometimes came to an inclination to destroy 
 herself with her own hand, but still she re- 
 strained herself, in hopes she might live long 
 enough to revenge the unjust murder thus 
 privately committed ; nay, she further resolved 
 to endeavour to live longer, and to give no 
 occasion to think she suspected 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 re- 
 strain herself, that she might not be noted for 
 entertaining 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 exiiibited a real 
 confusion of soul ; and perhops his affections 
 were overcome on this occasion, when he saw 
 the child's countenance so young and so beau- 
 viful, altliough his death was supposed to tend 
 to his own security. So far at least this grief 
 served as to make some apology for liim ; 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 pro- 
 viding a great quantity of spices, and burying 
 many ornaments together with him, till the 
 very women, who were in such deep sorrow, 
 
 • The reading of one of Josci-Jius's Greek MSS. 
 seems here to be right, that Aristobulus was " not eigh- 
 teen years old" when he was drowned, for he was not 
 seventeen when ho was made high-priest (ch. ii, sect. 6 j 
 eh. iii, seet. 3) ; and he continued in that office- but one 
 year, as in t)i£ pUice before us. 
 
 were astonished at it, and received in this way 
 some consolation. 
 
 5. However, no such things could overcome 
 Alexandra's grief; but the remembrance of 
 this miserable case made her sorrow both deep 
 and obstinate. Accordingly, she wrote an 
 account of this treacherous scene to Cleopatra, 
 and how her son was murdered ; but Cleo- 
 patra, as she had formerly been desirous to 
 give her what satisfaction she could, and com- 
 miserating 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 unworthy thing 
 that Herod, who had by him been made a 
 king of a kingdom that no way belonged to 
 him, should be guilty of such horrid crimes 
 against those that were of the royal blood in 
 reality. Antony was persuaded by these ar- 
 guments ; and when he came to Laodicea, he 
 sent and commanded Herod to come and 
 make his defence as to what he had done to 
 Aristobulus, for that such a treacherous de- 
 sign was not well done, if he had any hand in 
 it. Herod was now in fear, both of the ac- 
 cusation and of Cleopatra's ill-will to him, 
 which was such that she was ever endeavouring 
 to make Antony hate him. He therefore de- 
 termined to obey his summons, 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 this 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 Jo- 
 seph this charge, and had indeed no sure hopes 
 of escaping with his life, he went away to 
 Antony, 
 
 6. 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 it, and be- 
 cause of the respects he ought to pay to the 
 queen, he frequently let himself into discourses 
 about Herod's kindness, and great affection 
 towards Iier ; and when the women, especially 
 Alexandra, used to turn his discourses into 
 feminine raillery, Joseph was so over-desiroua 
 to demonstrate the king's inclinations, that he 
 proceeded so far as to mention the charge he 
 had received, and thence drew his demonstra- 
 tion, that Herod was not able to live without 
 her ; and that if he should come to any ill 
 end, he could not endure a separation from 
 her, even after he was dead. Thus spake Jo- 
 seph. 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 
 
J- 
 
 408 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOR XV 
 
 usage of tliem, tliat tlicy could not escape de- 
 struction, nor a tyrannical death, even when 
 lie w;is dead himself: and tliis saying [of Jo- 
 sepl)] was a foundation for the women's se- 
 vere suspicions about him afterwardU. 
 
 7. At this time a report went about the 
 city of Jerusalem, among Herod's enemies, 
 that Antony had tortured Herod, and put 
 him to deatli. This report, as is natural, dis- 
 turbed those that were about the palace, l)ut 
 chiefly the women: upon wliich Alexandra 
 endeavoured to persuade Joseph to go out of 
 the palace, and flyaway with them to ilie ensigns 
 of tlic Roman legion, which then lay encamped 
 about the city, as a guard to the kingdom, un- 
 der the command of Julius; for that by this 
 means, if any disturbance sliould hajipen a- 
 bout the palace, they should be in greater se- 
 curity, as having tiie Romans favourable to 
 them ; and tjat besides, they hoped to obtain 
 the highest authority, if Antony did but once 
 see IMariamne, by whose means they should re- 
 cover the kingdom, and want nothing which 
 was reasonable for them to hope for, because 
 of their royal extraction. 
 
 8. But as they were in the midst of these 
 deliberations, letters were brouglit from He- 
 rod about all his affairs, and jjroved contrary 
 to the report, and of what they before expect- 
 ed ; for when he was come to Antony, he 
 soon recovered his interest with him, by the 
 presents he made him, which he had brought 
 with him from Jerusalem ; and he soon in- 
 duced him, upon discoursing with him, to 
 leave off his indignation at him, so that Cleo- 
 patra's persuasions liad less force than the ar- 
 guments 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 lie could jje no king at all, but that tliose 
 who had given him that authority ought to 
 permit him to make use of it. He also said 
 the same things to Cleopatra, that it would 
 be be^t for tier not busily to meddle with the 
 acts of the king's government. Herod wrote 
 an account of these things; and enlarged 
 upon the other lionours which he h.;d received 
 from Antony : how he sat by liim at his hear- 
 ing causes, and took his diet with liim every 
 day, and that he enjoyed those favours from 
 liim, notwithstanding the reproaches that 
 Cleopatra so scvcriy laid against him, who 
 having a great desire of his country, and ear- 
 nestly entreating Antony that the kingdom 
 might be given to her, laboured with her ut- 
 most diligence to have him out of the w;iy ; 
 but that he still found Antony just to liim, 
 and had no longer any appri-lieiibions of hard 
 treatment from him ; and that he was soon 
 upon his return, with a firmer additional as- 
 surance of his favour to him, in his reigning 
 and managing public affairs; and that there 
 was no longer any hope for Cleojiatra's covet- 
 ous temper, since Antony had given her Cele- 
 
 syria instead of v«°hat she desired ; by which 
 means he had at once pacified her, and got 
 clear of the entreaties which she made him 
 to have Judea bestowed upon her. 
 
 9. When these letters were brought, the wo- 
 men left off their attempt for flying to the Ro- 
 mans, 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 
 I'arthians, he returned to Judea, when both 
 his sister Salome, and his mother, informed 
 him of Alexandra's intentions. Salome al- 
 so added somewhat farther against Joseph, 
 though it was no more than a caltimr.y, that 
 he had often had criminal conversation with 
 Mariamne. The reason of her saying so was 
 this, that she for a long time bare her ill-will ; 
 for when they had differences with one ano. 
 ther, Mariamne took great freedoms, and re- 
 proached the rest for the meanness of their 
 birth. But Herod, whose affection to Jlari- 
 amne was always very warm, was presently 
 disturbed at this, and could not bear the tor- 
 ments of jealousy, but was still restrained 
 from doing any rash thing to her by the love 
 he had for her ; yet did his vehement aflTec- 
 tion and jealousy together make him ask Ma- 
 riamne by herself about this matter of Jo- 
 seph ; but she denied it upon her oath, and 
 said all that an innocent woman could possi- 
 bly say in her own defence ; so that by little 
 and little the king was prevailed upon to 
 drop the suspicion, ;ind left off his anger at 
 her; and being overcome with his passion for 
 his wife, he made an apology to her for hav- 
 ing seemed to believe what he had heard 
 about her, and returned her a great many 
 acknowledgments of her modest behaviour, 
 and professed the extraordinary allection and 
 kindness he had for her, till at last, as is 
 usual between lovers, they both fell into tears, 
 and embraced one another with a most ten- 
 der affection. But as the king gave more 
 and more assurances of his belief of lier fide- 
 lity, and endeavoured to draw her to a like 
 confidence in him, Mariamne said, " Yet was 
 not that command thou gavest, that if any 
 harm came to thee from Antony, I, who had 
 been no occasion of it, should perish with 
 thee, a sign of thy love to me ?" When these 
 words were 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 lie 
 had an evident demonstration tliat 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 confi- 
 dence between them. And while he was in 
 this passion he had liked to have killed his 
 wife; but being still overborne by his lore to 
 her, he restrained this his passion, though not 
 without a lasting grief and discjuietness of 
 
 A. 
 
 r 
 
r~ 
 
 ANTIQUIllES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 409 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 mind. However, he gave order to slay Jo- 'by doing every thing which she enjoined him, 
 sepli, H'itliout permitting him to come into his appear openly to be an ill man, he took some 
 si^ht ; aiwi as for Alexandra, he bound her, parts of each of those countries away from 
 
 asd kept her in custody, as the cause of all 
 this mischief. 
 
 tlieir former governors, and gave them to lier. 
 Thus he gave her the cities that were witliiti 
 the river Eleutherus, as far as Egypt, except- 
 ing Tyre and Sidon, which he knew to have 
 been free cities from their ancestors, althotigl) 
 she pressed him very often to bestow those on 
 her also. 
 
 2. When Cleopatra had obtained thus 
 much, and had accompanied Antony in his 
 expedition to Armenia, as far as Ei^plirates, 
 she returned back, and came to Aparnia and 
 Damascus, and passed on to Judea ; wlicre 
 Herod met her, and farmed of her her parts 
 of Arabia, and those revenues that came to 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 UOW CLEOPATRA, WHEN SHE HAD GOTTEN 
 FROM ANTONY SOME PARTS OF JUDEA AND 
 ARABIA, CAME INTO JUDEA ; AND HOW HE- 
 ROO GAVE HER MANY PRESENTS, AND CON- 
 DUCTED HER ON HER IV AY BACK TO EGYPT. 
 
 § 1 Now at this time the affairs of Syria 
 v.i:y^ in confusion by Cleopatra's constant [ her from the region about Jericho. This 
 l)ersuasions to Antony to make an attempt ' country bears that balsam, which is the most 
 upon every body's dominions ; for she per- ' precious drug that is there, and grows there 
 suaded him to take those dominions away j alone. The place bears also palm-trees, both 
 from their several princes, and bestow them i many in number, and those excellent in their 
 upon her; and ^he had a migiity influence kind. When she was there, and was very 
 upon him, by reason of his being enslaved to often with Herod, she endeavoured to have 
 her by his affections. She was also by na- , criminal conversation with the king : nor did 
 ture verj' covetous, and stuck at no wicked- she alFect secrecy in the indulgence of such 
 ncss. She had already poisoned her brother, sort of pleasures; and perhaps slie had in 
 l)ecause she knew that he was to be king of some measure a passion of love to him, or 
 Egypt, and this when he was but fifteen years i rather, what is most proiiable, she laid a treach- 
 o!d ; and she got her sister Arsinoe to be | erous snare for him, by aiming to obtain such 
 slain, by tiie means of Antony, when she was i adulterous conversation from him; however, 
 a supplicant at Diana's temple at Ephesus ; . upon the whole, she seemed overcome with 
 for if there were btit any hopes of getting mo- love to him. Now Herod had a great while 
 ney, she would violate both temples and se- I borne no good-will to Cleopatra, as knowing 
 pulchres. Nor was tliere any holy place that that she was a woman irksome to all ; and at 
 was esteemed the most inviolable, from which j that time he thought her particularly wortliy 
 
 she would not fetch the ornaments it had in 
 it ; nor any place so profane, but was to suf- 
 fer the most flagitious 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 xvas a slave to her lusts, but slie 
 still imagined that she wanted every thing 
 
 of his hatred, if this attempt proceeded out ot 
 lust : he had also thouglit of preventing her 
 intrigues, by putting her to death, if sucli 
 were her endeavours. However, he refused 
 to comply with her proposals, and called a 
 counsel of his friends to consult with them 
 whether he should not kill her, now he had 
 her in his power; for that he should thereby 
 
 she could think of, and did her utmost to | deliver all those from a multitude of evils to 
 gain it; for which reason she hurried Anto- whom she was already bi'come irksome, and 
 ny on perpetually to deprive others of their [was expected to be still so for the time to 
 dominions, and give them to her ; and as she I come ; and that this very thing would be 
 went over Syria with him, she contrived to much for the advantage of Antony iiimseif. 
 get it into her possession ; so he slow Lysa- | since she would certainly not be faithful to 
 nias the son of Ptolemy, accusing l)im of his i him, in case any such season or necessity 
 bringing the Parthians upon those countries, [should come upon him as that he should stand 
 She also petitioned Antony to give her Judea iin need of her fidelity. But when he thought 
 and Arabia; and, in order thereto, desired | to follow this advice, his friends would not 
 him to take these countries away from their | let him ; and told him, that, in the first place, 
 present governors. As for Antony, he was I it was not right to attempt so great a thing, 
 so entirely overcome by this woman, that one and run himself thereby into the utmost dan- 
 
 would not think her conversation only could 
 do it, but that he was some way or other be- 
 « itche(i to do whatsoever she would have him ; 
 jet did the grossest parts of her injustice make 
 him so ashamed, ttiat he would not always 
 hearken to her to do those flagrant enormities 
 slie would have persuaded him to. That 
 tiierefore he migh* not totally deny her, nor, 
 
 ;cr ; and they laid hard at him, and lieggcd of 
 him to undertake nothing rashly, for that An- 
 tony would never bear it, no, not though any 
 one should evidently lay before his eyes that 
 it was for his own advantage ; and tliat the 
 appearance of depriving him of her conversa- 
 tion, by this violent and treacherous method, 
 would probably set his affections more on 'j 
 2 M 
 
 "V 
 
4lO 
 
 AXTIQUrTlF.S O!' Ill F, JK WS. 
 
 BOOK XV. 
 
 flame than berorc. Nor did it appear that lie of Actium was now expected, which fell into 
 
 CDuld oiler any thing of tolerable weight in 
 his defence, this attempt being against such a 
 woman as was of the highest dignify 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 suih could be supposed 
 in this case, it would appear to deserve con- 
 demnation on account of the insolence he must 
 
 tlic liunilred and eighty-seventh olympiad 
 where Ca-sar and Antony were to fight for 
 the supreme power of the world ; but Herod 
 having enjoyed a country that was very fruit- 
 ful, and that now for a long time, and having 
 received great taxes, and raised great ariiJes 
 therewith, got together a body of men, and 
 carefully furnished them with all necessaries, 
 
 take upon liiin in doing it: v/hich consider- and designed them as auxiliaries for Antony; 
 
 ations made it very plain, that in so doing he 
 would find his government filled with mis- 
 chiefs, both great and lasting, both to himself 
 and his posterity, wlierias it was still iii his 
 power to reject that wickedness she would 
 persuade him to, and to come off honourably 
 at the saine time. So by thus aflVighting He- 
 rod, and representing to him the hazards he 
 must, in all probability, run by this under- 
 taking, they restrained him from it. So he 
 treated Cleopatra kindly, and made her pre- 
 sents, and conducted heron her way to Egypt. 
 3. But Antony subdued Armenia, and 
 sent Artabazes, the son of Tigranes, in bonds, 
 with his children and procurators, to Egypt, 
 and made a present of them, and of all the 
 royal ornaments which he had taken out of 
 ttiat kingdom, to Cleopatia; and Artaxias, 
 the eldest of his sons, who had escaped at 
 that time, took the kingdom of Armenia 
 
 but Antony said lie had no want of his assist- 
 ance ; but he commanded him to punish the 
 king of Arabia, for he had beard, bolli from 
 him anu from Cleopatra, how ])er(idious he 
 was ; for this was what Cleopatra desireil, 
 who thought it for her own advanUige that 
 these two kings should do one another as 
 great nn'schief as possible. Upon this mes- 
 sage from Antony, Herod returned back, but 
 kept his army with him, in order to invade 
 Arabia immediately. So when his army of 
 horsemen and footmen was ready, he march- 
 ed to Diospolisi, whither the Arabians came 
 also to meet them, for they wore not unap- 
 prised of this war that was coming upon 
 them ; and after a great battle had been 
 fouuht, the Jews had the victory ; but after- 
 ward there were gotten together another nu- 
 merous army of the Arabians, at Cana, which 
 is a jjlace of Celesyria. Herod was informed 
 
 who yet was ejected by Archtlaus and Nero of this beforehand : so he marched against 
 Cassar, when they restored Tigranes, his them with the greatest part of the forces he 
 
 had ; and when he was come near to Cana, 
 he resolved to encamp himself; and he cast 
 up a bulwark, tliat 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. 'J'hey 
 went with great spirit, as believing they were 
 in very good order ; and those es))ecially 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 multi- 
 tude (hen exhibited; and when he had as- 
 sured theiTi he would not be behindhand with 
 them in courage, he ltd them on, and stood 
 before them all in '.lis armour, all the regi- 
 ments following I'.im in their several ranks ; 
 whereupon a consternation fell upon the Ara- 
 ARAUIA, ANU AFl'EU TIli:Y HAD FOUGHT bians ; for when they perceived that the Jews 
 MANY UATTLKS, AT I.ICNGTH cONtiUtKF.U ' were not to be conquered, and were full of 
 Hi.M, ANU WAS CHOSEN BY THE AUABS TO spirit, the greater p;u-t of them ran away, 
 Bii GOVEiiNOii OK THAT NATION; AS ALSO nnd avoided fighting; and they had been 
 CONCERNING A GUEAT EARTHQUAKE. quitc destroyed, had not Alhenio fallen upon 
 
 the Jews, and distressed them ; for this man 
 § 1. Hereupon Herod held liimsclf ready was Cleopatra's general over the soldiers she 
 to go against the king of Arabia, because of had there, and was at enmity with Herod, 
 his ingratitude to him, and because, after all, and very wistfully looked on to see what the 
 he would do nothing that was just to him, .event of the battle would be. He had also 
 although Herod made the Roman war an resolved, that in -ase the Arabians did any 
 occasion of delaying his own ; for the battlu i thing that was brave and successful, he would 
 
 younger brother, to that kingdom : but this 
 happened a good while afterward. 
 
 4. 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 deetning it not safe for him to 
 afford any cause for Cleopatra to hate him. 
 As for the king of Arabia, whose tribute He- 
 rod had undertaken to pay her, for some time 
 indeed he paid him as much as came to two 
 hundred 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 
 
 HOW HEHOD MADE WAR WITH THE KING OK 
 
 "^- 
 
J- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 411 
 
 lie still ; but in case they were beaten, as it 
 really happened, he would attack tlie Jews v\ith 
 those forces lie had of his own, and with those 
 that the country had gotten together for iiiui: 
 so he fcli upon the Jews unexpectedly, when 
 they were fatigued, and thought they liad al- 
 ready vanquished the enemy, and made a 
 great slaughtc. of them ; for as the Jews had 
 spent till ir courage upon their known ene- 
 mies, and were about to enjoy themselves in 
 quietness after their victory, they were easily 
 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 wliere 
 those that attacked them were better acquaint- 
 ed with the places than themselves; and when 
 the Jews had suffered this loss, the Arabians 
 raised their spirits after their defeat, and re- 
 turning back again, slew tliose that were al- 
 ready put to flight; and indeed all sorts of 
 slaughter were now frequent, and of tliose 
 Jiat escaped, a few only returned into the 
 camp. So king Herod, when he despaired 
 of ihe 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, having gained that victory 
 which of themselves they were no way 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 incursions, wliile 
 he encamped among the mountains, and avoid- 
 ed 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 cf his 
 own forces, and used all the means he could 
 to restore his affairs to their old state. 
 
 2. At this time it was that the fight hap- 
 pened at Actium, between Octavius Cavsar 
 and Antony, in the seventh year of the reign 
 of Herod ;• and then it was also that there 
 was an earthquake in Judea, such a one as 
 had not happened at any other time, and 
 which earthquake brought a great destruction 
 upon the cattle in that country. About ten 
 thousand men also perished by the fall of 
 houses ; but the army, which lodged in the 
 field, received no damage by this sad acci- 
 dent. When the Arabians were informed of 
 this, and when those that hated the Jews, and 
 pleased themselves with aggravating the re- 
 ports, told them of it, they raised their spirits, 
 as if their enemy's country was quite over- 
 
 * The reader is here to take notice, that this seventh 
 year of tiie reign of Herod, and all tlic other years of 
 his ;eign, in Jo-ephus, aie dated troni the death of An- 
 tigonii.'., or at the s .oncst from the conquest of Antii,'o- 
 nus, and the taking <if Jerusalem, a fewraoiichs before, 
 ind never from his (irstobtaining tl.e kingdom at Home, 
 ahove three years before, as some have vefy^'eakly and 
 'niudieiously doJi» 
 
 thrown, and the men were utterly destroyed, 
 and thought there now remained nothing thai 
 could oppose them. Accordingly, they took 
 tlie Jewish ainbassadors, who came to them 
 after all this had happened, to make peace 
 with them, and slew them, and came with 
 great alacrity against tlieir army; but the 
 Jews durst not withstand tliem, and were so 
 cast down by the calamities tliey were under, 
 that they took no care of their affairs, but 
 gave up themselves to despair, for they had 
 no hojje that thej' should be upon a level 
 again with them in battles, nor obtain any as- 
 sistance elsewhere, whiU. their affairs at home 
 were in sucli great distress also. Wlien mat- 
 ters were in this condition, the king persuad- 
 ed the coinmanders by hi-, words, and tried 
 to raise their spirits, which were quite sunk : 
 and first he endeavoured to encourage and 
 embolden 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 liappen- 
 ed ; so he made a consolatory speech to the 
 multitude, in the manner following: — 
 
 3. " 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 tlieir 
 spirits in such circumstances; but since we 
 cannot avoid fighting, and nothing that hath 
 happened is of such a nature but it may by 
 ourselves be recovered 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 neces- 
 sity, and occasioned by the injustice of our 
 adversaries ; for, if you be once satisfied ot 
 this, it will be a real cause of alacrity to you ; 
 after whicli I will farther detr.onstrnte, that 
 the misfortunes we are under are of no great 
 consequence, and that we have the greatest 
 reason to hope for victory. I >:liall begin 
 with the first, and appeal to yourselves as 
 witnesses to what I 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 affronted us 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 mention many instances of such theii 
 procedure? When they were in danger jwf 
 
411 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 losing their own government of themselves, 
 and of l)ein;^ slaves to Cleoiiatra, what otiiers 
 were they tliat freed them from that fear ? for 
 it was tiie friendsliip I had witli Antony, and 
 tJie kind disposition he was in towards us, 
 tliut hath been tiie occasion that even these 
 Aral)ians Iiave not been utterly imdone, An- 
 tony being unwilling to undertake any thing 
 w!i:ch might be suspected by us of unkind- 
 ness : but when he had a mind to bestow 
 some jjarts of each of our dominions on Cleo- 
 patra, I also managed that matter so, that by 
 giving him presents of my own, I might o.b- 
 tain a security to both nations, while I under- 
 took myself to answer for the money, and 
 gave him two hundred talents, and became 
 surety for those two hundred more which 
 were imposed upon the land that was subject 
 to this tribute : and this they have defrauded 
 us of, although it was not reasonable that 
 Jews should pay tribute to any man living, 
 or allow part of their land to be taxable; but 
 although that was to bo, yet ought we not to 
 pay tribute for these Arabians, whom we have 
 ourselves preserved; nor is it fit that tliey 
 who have professed (and that with great in- 
 tegrity and sense of our kindness) that it is 
 by our means that they keep their principali- 
 ty, 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 covenants takes place 
 among the bitterest enemies, but among 
 friends 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, and that injustice is no 
 harm, if they may but get money by it : is it 
 therefore a question with you, whetlier the 
 unjust are to be punished or not? when God 
 liunself 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 necessaiy 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 tliey 
 liave beheaded, while the Greeks declare that 
 such ambassadors are sacred and inviolable.* 
 And for ourselves, we have learned from God 
 the most excellent of our doctrines, and tiie 
 most holy part of our law, by angels or am- 
 bassadors ; for this name brings God lo the 
 knowledge of mankind, and is sufiieient to 
 reconcile enemies one to another. What 
 wickedness then can be greater than tlie 
 slaughter of ambassadors, who come to treat 
 about doing uhat is ri;:ht ? And when such 
 have been their actions, how is it possible 
 
 • Ilerrxlsays here, thnt as anibassadora were sacroi 
 when Uiey earned iiieNS.-ii^i-s lo iilhcrs, f.o ilul llie laws of 
 tlu' Jiv.xlerive a ^a^■re(l aiilh(iritv by beiiiR ilcli^trcil 
 from Cjoil by angels [or divine aniLassjidossI ; wliieh is 
 hu Viiu['i cxvrt-Mion about the same laws. Gal. iii, Iti ; 
 lleb. ii. i. 
 
 they can either live securely in common life, 
 or be successful in war ? In my opinion, 
 this is iin|)ussihle. But perhaps some wilj say, 
 that wliat is holy, and what is righteous, is 
 indeed on our side, but that the Arabians are 
 cither 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 witli 
 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 conquer- 
 ors 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 without declaring it ; and pray, is 
 this an instance 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, who, when they fight 
 upon a level, are continually beaten, and 
 wlien 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 fi«hting 
 against weak persons, but in being able to 
 overcome the most hardy. But then, if the 
 distiicsses we are ourselves under, and the mi- 
 series that have come by the earthquake, have 
 aO'righted any one, let him consider, in the 
 first place, that this very thing will deceive 
 the Arabians, by their siiijjjosal that what 
 hath befallen us is greater than it really is. 
 Moreover, it is not right that the same thing 
 that emboldens 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 misfortunes; but 
 when we boldly march against them, we shall 
 soon pull down their insolent conceit of them- 
 selves, 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 indi- 
 cation of the anger of God against us, as 
 some imagine ; for such things are accidental, 
 and adversities that come in the usual course 
 of things ; and if we allow that this was done 
 by tiie «ill of God, we must allow that it is 
 now over by bis will also, and that he is sa- 
 tisfied with what hath already hapiK-ned ; for 
 had he bwen willing to afilict us still more 
 thereby, he had not changed his mind so soon. 
 And as for the war we are engaged in, he 
 hath himself demonstrated that he is willing 
 it should go on, and tlurt he knows it to be a 
 just war ; for while some of the people in 
 the country have perished, all you who wero 
 
 'V 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 in arms have suffered nothing, but are all 
 preserved alive ; whereby God makes it plain 
 to us, that if you had universally, with your 
 cliildren and wives, been in the army, it had 
 come to pass that you had not undergone any 
 thing that would have much hurt you. Con- 
 sider these things, and, what is more than all 
 tlie rest, that you have God at all times for 
 your protector ; and prosecute these men 
 with a just bravery, who, in point of friend- 
 ship, are unjust, in their battles perfidious, 
 towards ambassadors impious, and always in- 
 ferior to you in valour." 
 
 4. When the Jews heard this speech, they 
 were much raised in their minds, and more 
 disposed to fiiiht than before. So Herod, 
 when he had offered the sacrifices appointed 
 by the law,* made haste, and took them, and 
 led them against the Arabians ; and in order 
 to tliat, 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 die sooner 
 produce a battle ; and that if there were occa- 
 sion 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 they 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 retreated. This was no small 
 encouragement to the Jews immediately j and 
 when Herod observed that the enemy's army 
 were disposed to any thing rather tlian to come 
 to an engagement, he ventured boldly to at- 
 tempt the bulwark itself, and to pull it to 
 pieces, and so to get nearer to their camp, in 
 order to fight tliem ; for when they were forc- 
 ed out of their 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 
 tlie Jews, and because they were in such a dis- 
 position of wai- that they were under a neces- 
 sity of coming on boldly ; so they came to a 
 terrible 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, tliat they were not only killed 
 by tJieir enemies, but became the authors of 
 
 * This piece of religion, the supplicating God with 
 sacrifices, by Herod, before he went to this fight witli 
 t1ie Arabians, taken notice of also in the fir»t book Of 
 the War, ch. xix, sect. 5, is worth remarking, because 
 it is the only exampie of this nature, so far as I remem- 
 ber, that Josepluis ever mentions in all his lari;e and 
 particular acieounts of this Herod : and it was when he 
 had been iu mighty distress, and discouraged by a great 
 defeat of his former army, and by a very great earth- 
 ipiake in Judea, such times of affliction making men 
 most religious ; nor was lie disapiiointed of his' hopes 
 hc;e, but immediately gained a most signal victory over 
 Ae Arabians, while they who just before had been so 
 great victors, and somucli elevate! upon the earthquake 
 in Judca as to venture to slay the Jewisli ambassadors, 
 were now under a strange consternation, und hardly 
 able to fight at all. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 413 
 
 their own deaths also, and were trodden down 
 by the multitude, and the great current of 
 people in disorder, and were destroyed by their 
 own armour; so five thousand 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 <,i water. 
 Tlie Jews pursued them, but could not get in 
 with them, but sat round about the bulwark, 
 and watched any assistance tliat would get 
 into them, and prevented any there, that had 
 a mind to it, from running away. 
 
 5. When the Arabians were in these cir- 
 cumstances, they sent ambassadors to Herod, 
 in the first place, to propose terms of accom- 
 modation, and after that to offer him, so press, 
 ing was their thirst upon them, to undergo 
 whatsoever he pleased, if he would free them 
 from their present distress ; but he would ad- 
 mit of no ambassadors, of no price of redemp- 
 tion, nor of any other moderate terms what- 
 ever, being very desirous to revenge those 
 unjust actions which they had been guilty of 
 towards his nation. So they were necessitated 
 by other motives, and particularly by their 
 thirst, to come out, and deliver themselves up 
 to him, to be carried away captives ; and in 
 five days' time, the number of four thousand 
 were taken prisoners, while all the rest resolv- 
 ed 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 grsL. 
 dually and ingloriously. When they had 
 taken this resolution, tliey came out of their 
 trenches, but could no way sustain the fight, 
 being too much disabled, both in mind and 
 body, and having not room to exert them- 
 selves, and thought it an advantage to be kill- 
 ed, and a misery to survive; so at the first 
 onset there fell about seven thousand 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 cala- 
 mities ; so for the future they yielded, and 
 made him ruler of their nation ; whereupon 
 he was greatly elevated at so seasonable a suc- 
 cess, and returned home, taking great autho- 
 rity upon him, on account of so bold and 
 glorious an expedition as he had made. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW HEROD SLEW HYRCAXU3, AND THEN HAST 
 ED AWAY TO CiESAU, AND OBTAINED Tllh 
 KINGDOM FUOM HIM ALSO; AND HOW, A 
 LITTLE TIME AFTERWARD, HE ENTERTAIN- 
 ED C^SAR IN A MOST HONOURABLE MAN. 
 NER. 
 
 § 1. Herod's Other affairs were now very 
 prosperous, and he was not to be easily as- 
 saulted on any side. Yet did there come u])- 
 on him a danger that would hazard liis entire 
 
414 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 dominions, after Antony had been beaten at 
 the battle of' Ac-tium by Ca'sar (Oclavian]; 
 for at thai lime bolh Herod's enemies and 
 friends despaired of Ids afl'airs, for it was not 
 probable lint ')'■ wotikl remain witliout pu- 
 nishment, who bad shown so much friendship 
 for Antony. So it happened that his friends 
 despaired, and had no hopes of his escape; 
 but for his enemies, tliey all :^utviardly ap- 
 peared to be troubled at his ease, but were 
 privately very glad of it, as liopinjj to obtain 
 a chanjre for the better. As for Herod him- 
 self, he saw that there was no one of royal 
 di^Miity left but Hyreanii<-., and therefore he 
 thongiit it would be for his advantage not to 
 sufi'er liim to be an obstacle in his way any 
 longer ; for that in case he himself survived, 
 and escaped the danger he was in, he i bought 
 it was the safest way to juit it out of the power 
 of sue!) a man to make any attempt against 
 him at such junctures of ailiiirs, as was more 
 worthy of the kingdom than himself; and in 
 case he should be slain by Cnesar, his envy 
 prompted him to desire to slay him that would 
 otherwise be king after him. 
 
 2. While Herod had these things in his 
 mind, there was a certain occasion afl'orded 
 him ; for Hyrcanus was of so mild a temper, 
 both then and at other times, fliat he desired 
 not to meddle with public alfairs, nor to con- 
 cern liimself with innovations, but left all to 
 fortune, and contented himself with what that 
 afforded him: but Alexandra ibis daughter] 
 was a lover of strife, and was exceeding de- 
 sirous of a change of the government ; and 
 spoke to her father not to bear for ever He- 
 rod's injurious 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 
 f from Ilerod^, for that if they w-ent away, and 
 Herod's affairs proved to be, as it was likely 
 they would be by reason of Oaesar's enmity to 
 him, they sliould then be tiie only persons that 
 could take the government ; and this, both on 
 account of tlie royal family they were of, and 
 on account of the gootl dis|)osition of the 
 multitude to them. While she used these jier- 
 suasioiiS, Hyrcanus put off her sint ; but as 
 S)he showed that she was a woman, and a con. 
 tenlious woi:ian too, and would not desist 
 either night or day, but would always be 
 speaking to him about these matters, and 
 about Herod's treacherous designs, she at last 
 l^revailed with liim to entrust Dositheus, one 
 of his friends, with a letter, wherein bis re- 
 solution was declared ; and he ilesircd the 
 Arabian governor to send him some horsemen, 
 who should leceive him, and conduct him to 
 the lake Aspli^dtiles, which is from the bounds 
 of Jerusalem three hundred furlongs : and he 
 ilid therefore trust Dositheus witli his letter, 
 because he was a careful attendant on him, 
 and on Alexandra, and had iiu small occasion 
 
 BOOK XV 
 
 to bear ill-will to Herod ; for he was a kins- 
 man of one Joseph, whom he had slain, and a 
 brother of those that were formerly slain at 
 'I'yre by Antony : yet could not these motives 
 induce Dositheus to serve Hyrcanus in this 
 allair ; for, preferring the hopes he had from 
 the present king to those he had from him, he 
 gave Herod the letter. So he took his kind- 
 ness in good part, and bade him besides do 
 what lie had already done, that is, go on in 
 serving him, by rolling up the epistle 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 intentions also. And when 
 Dositheus was very ready to serve him in this 
 point also, the Arabian governor returned 
 hack for answer, that he would receive Hyr- 
 canus, and all that should come with him, and 
 even all the Jews that were of his party : that 
 he would, moreover, send forces sufficient to 
 secure them in their journey ; and that he 
 should be in no want of any thing he should de» 
 sire. Now as soon as Herod had received 
 this letter, he immediately sent for Hyrcanus, 
 and questioned him about the league he had 
 made with IMalchus; and when he denied it, 
 he showed his letter to the sanhedrim, and 
 put the man to death immediately. 
 
 3. And this account we give the reader, as it 
 is contained in the commentaries of king He- 
 rod : but other historians do not agree with 
 them, for they suppose that Horod did not find, 
 but rather make, this an occasion for thus put- 
 ting him to death, and that by treacherously lay- 
 ing a snare for him ; for thus do they write ;— 
 That Herod and he were once at a treat, and 
 that Herod had given no occasion to suspect 
 [that he was displeased at him], but put this 
 question toHyrcanus, Whelherhe had received 
 any letters from Malchus ? and when he an- 
 swered that he had received letters, but those of 
 salutation only ; and when he asked fiirther, 
 whelherhe liad not received any presents from 
 him ? and when lie had replied, that he had re- 
 ceived no more than four horses to ride on, 
 which Malchus had sent him, they pretended 
 that I lerod charged these upon him as the crimes 
 of bribery and treason, and gave order tliat he 
 should be led awaj' and slain And in order 
 to demonstrate that he had been fuilty of no 
 offence, when he was thus brought lo his end, 
 llu'y alli'ge how mild his temper had been ; 
 and that even in i-.is youth he had never given 
 any demonstration of boldness or rashness, and 
 that the case was the same when he came to 
 be king, but lliat be even then ciminiited the 
 Uie management of the greatest part of public 
 art'airs to ;\nlipater: and that he was now 
 above fourscore years old, and knew that He- 
 rod's govermnent 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 
 ;;overninent ; and that it was a inosi incredible 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 •il5 
 
 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 He- 
 rod's own contrivance. 
 
 4. And this was the fate of Hyrcanus ; and 
 thus did he end his life, after he had endured 
 various and manifold turns of fortune in his 
 lifetime; for he was made high-priest of the 
 Jewish nation in the beginning 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, lie lost it, by the means of 
 his brother AristobuUis. 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 deprived by 
 Anligonus, and was maimed in his body, he 
 was made a captive by the Parthians, 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 misfortunes througn the whole course 
 of his life ; and, what was the heaviest cala- 
 mity 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 
 suH'ered the administration of affairs to be ge- 
 nerally done by others under him. He was 
 averse to much meddling with the public, nor 
 had shrewdness enough to govern 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 agreeable either to justice or piety. 
 
 5. Now Herod, as soon as he had put Hyr- 
 canus out of the way, made haste to Caasar ; 
 and because he could not have any hopes of 
 kindness from him, on account of the friend- 
 ship he had for Antony, he had a suspicion of 
 Alexandra, lest she should take this opportu- 
 nity to bring the multitude to a revolt, and 
 introduce a sedition into the affairs of the king- 
 dom ; so he committed the care of every thing 
 to his brother Pheroras, and placed his mother 
 Cyprus, 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 between him and his sister, 
 and his sister's mother, which made it impos- 
 sible for them to live together, he placed her 
 at Alexandrium, with Alexandra her mother, 
 and 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. 
 
 6. 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 meet- 
 ing him, he desired that he would let him 
 speak to him, he therein exhibited a much 
 more noble specimen of a great soul, for he 
 did net betake himself to supplications, as 
 men usually do upon such occasions, nor of- 
 fered him any petition, as if he were an of- 
 fender; but, after an undaunted manner, 
 gave an account of what he had done ; for he 
 spake thus to Caesar : — That he had the great- 
 est friendship for Antony, and did every 
 thing he could that he might attain the go- 
 vernment : that he was not indeed in the ar- 
 my with him, because the Arabians had di- 
 verted him, but ihat he had sent him both 
 money and corn, which was but too little in 
 comparison of what he ought to have done 
 for him; "for, if a man owns himself to be 
 another's friend and knows him to be a bene- 
 factor, 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 desert- 
 ed him upon his defeat at Actium : nor upon 
 the evident change of his fortune have I trans- 
 ferred my hopes from him to another, bu' 
 ha\e preserved myself, though not as a valu- 
 able fellow-soldier, yet certainly as a faithful 
 counsellor, to Antony, when I demonstrated 
 to him that the only way he had to save him- 
 self, and not lose all his authority, was to 
 slay Cleopatra ; for when she was once dead, 
 there would be room for him to retain his au- 
 thority, and rather to bring thee to make a 
 composition with him, than to continue at en- 
 mity any longer. None of which advices would 
 he attend to, but preferred his own rash reso- 
 lutions before them, which have happened un- 
 profitably for him, but profitably for thee. 
 Now, therefore, in case thou determinest 
 about ine, 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 pub- 
 licly too, that I had a great kindness for him ; 
 but if thou wilt put him out of the case, and 
 only examine how I beliave myself to my be- 
 nefactors 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." 
 
 7. By this speech, and by his behavi-. 
 our, whicii showed Caesar the frankness of 
 his mind, he greatly gained upon him, who 
 was hiinself of a generous and magnificent 
 temper, insomuch that those very actions, 
 which were the foundation of the accusation 
 
 "V 
 
4 10 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XV 
 
 Aj^fainst him, procure(! liiin C.esar's good- 
 uill. Accordingly, ho restored liiin his di.i- 
 tk'in again ; and encouraged him to exlii- 
 hit liimseif as great a friend to himself as he 
 hud been to Antony, and then had him in 
 gieat esteem. Moreover, he added this, that 
 (iuintus Uidiiis had written to him that Hc- 
 i<id had very readily assisted him in the affair 
 of the gladiators. So when he had obtained 
 s'.ich a kind reception, and had, beyond all liis 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW IIEROL SLEW .^OHI.MUS AND M-AUIAMNE, 
 AND AFTERWAIIDS ALEXANDRA AND COSTO- 
 BAHUS, AND HIS JIOsT INTIMATE VUILNDS, 
 AND, AT LAST, THE SONS OF BAEA ALSO. 
 
 § 1. However, when he came into his ki 
 
 liojies, procured his crown to be more entirely I doni again, he found his house all in disorder, 
 
 and firmly settled upon him than ever, by 
 Csesar's donation, as well as by that decree 
 of the Romans, which Csesar took care to pro- 
 cure for his greater security, he conducted 
 Caesar on his way to Egypt, and made pre- 
 sents, even beyond his ability, to both him 
 and his friends; and in general behaved him- 
 self with great magnanimity. He also desir- 
 ed that Csesar would not put to death one 
 Alexander, who had been a companion of 
 Antony ; but Ca;sar had sworn to put him to 
 death, and so he could not obtain that his pe. 
 tition : and no« he returned to Judea again 
 with greater honour and assurance than ever, 
 and affrighfed those that had expectations to 
 the contrary, as still acquiring from his very 
 dangers greater splendour than.before, by the 
 favour of God to him. So he prepared for 
 the reception of Csesar as he was going out 
 of Syria to invade Egypt ; and when he came, 
 he entertained him at Ptolemais with all royal 
 magnificence. He also bestowed presents on 
 the army, and brougiit them provisions in 
 abundance. Pie also proved to be one of 
 Csesar's most cordial friends, and put the army 
 in array, and rode along with Caesar, and had 
 a hundred and fifty men, well appointed in 
 all respects, after a rich and sumptuous man- 
 ner, for the better reception of him and his 
 friends. He also provided them with wli;it 
 they should want, as they passed over the dry 
 desert, insomuch that they lacked neither wine 
 nor water, which last the soldiers stood in the 
 greatest need of; and besides, he presented 
 Caesar with eight hundred talents, and procur- 
 ed to himself the good-will of them all, be- 
 cause he was assisting to them in a much 
 greater and more splendid degree than the 
 kingdom he had obt;iined could afford; by 
 which he more and more demonstrated to 
 Ca.'sar tlie firmness of his friendship, and his 
 readiness to assist him : and what was of the 
 greatest advantage to him was this, that his 
 Uberulity came at a seasonable time also; and 
 when they returned again out of Egypt, his 
 assistances were no way inferior to the good 
 oihces he had formerly done them. 
 
 d his wife Mariamne and her mother Alex- 
 andra very uneasy ; for, as they supposed, 
 (what was easy to be sujjposed) that tliey were 
 not put into that fortress [Alexadrium] for 
 the security of their persons, but as into a 
 garrison for their imprisonment, and tiiat they 
 had no power over any thing, either of others 
 or of their own affairs, they were very imeasy ; 
 and Mariamne, supposing that the king's love 
 to her was but hypocritical, and rather pre 
 tended (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, 
 insomuch that she endeavoured to please her 
 keepers, and especially Sohemus, as well ap- 
 prised how all was in his power ; and at the 
 first Sohemus was faithful to Herod, and ne- 
 glected 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 to them, he was by degrees 
 overcome, and at length discovered to them 
 all the king's injunctions, and this on that ac- 
 count principally, that he did not so much as 
 hojje he would come back with the same au- 
 thority 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, nny, that 
 they would be able to make him abundant re- 
 compense, since they must either reign them- 
 selves, or be very near to him that should 
 reign. He had a farther ground of hope also, 
 that though Herod should have all the success 
 he could wish for, and should return again, 
 he could not contradict his wife in what she 
 desired, for he knew that the king's fondness 
 for his wife was inexpressible. These were 
 the motives that drew Sohemus to discover 
 what injunctions had been given him. So 
 Marianme was greatly displeased to hear that 
 there was no end of the dangers she was un- 
 der from Herod, and was greatly uneasy at 
 it, and wislied that he might obtain no favours 
 [from Cassarj, and esteemed it almost an in- 
 supportable task to live with him any longer; 
 and this she afterwards openly declared, with- 
 out concealing her resentment. 
 
 2. And now Heroil sailed home with joy, 
 at the uncxjiected good success he had had • 
 
J- 
 
 "S 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 and went first of all, as was proper, to this his 
 wife, and told lier, and her only, tin; good 
 news, as preferring her before the rest, on ac- 
 count of liis fondness for her, and the inti- 
 macy there had been between them, and sa- 
 luted her ; but so it happened, tiiat as he told 
 lier of the good success he had had, she was 
 so far from rejoicing at it, that she rather was 
 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 rejoiced 
 at his success, — and this till Herod was dis- 
 turbed 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 concealed, 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, 
 tliat he could not continue long in any one 
 mind, but sometimes was angry at her, and 
 sometimes reconciled himself to her ; but by 
 always changing one passion for anotlier, he 
 was still in great uncertainty, and thus was 
 entangled between hatred and love, and was 
 frequently disposed to inflict punishment on 
 her for her insolence towards 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 were aware, he 
 should, by putting her to death, bring a hea- 
 vier punishment upon himself at the same 
 time. 
 
 3. When Herod's sister and mother per- 
 ceived that he was in this temper with regard 
 to Mari.imne, they thought they had now got 
 an excellent opportunity to exercise their hat- 
 red against her, and provoked Herod to wrath 
 by telling him such long stories and calum- 
 nies about her, as might at once excite his 
 hatred and his jealousy. Now, though he wil- 
 lingly enough heard their words, 3'et 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 tliese ill pas- 
 sions were more and more inflamed on both 
 sides, while Uhe did not hide her disposition 
 towards him ; and he turned his love to her 
 into wrath agaii>st her; but when he was just 
 going to put this matter past all remedy, he 
 lieard ihe news that Casar was the victor in 
 the v~ar, and that Antony and Cleopatra were 
 both dead, and that he had conquered Egypt ; 
 whereupon he made haste to go to meet 
 Cajsar, and left the affairs of his family in 
 tiieir present state. However, Mariamne re- 
 commended Sohemus to him, as he was set- 
 ting out on his journey, and professed that she 
 owed him tlianks for the care he had taken of 
 ner, and asked of the king for him a place in 
 the government ; upon which an honourable 
 employment was besto\> ed upon him accord- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEW5. 
 
 41? 
 
 ingly. Now, when Herod was come into 
 Egypt, he was introduced to Caesar witli great 
 freedom, as already a friend of his, ard re- 
 ceived very great favours from him ; for he 
 made him a present of those four hundred 
 Galatians who had been Cleopatra's guards, 
 and restored that country to him again, which, 
 by lier means, had been t;iken away from him. 
 He also added to his kingdom Gadara, Hip. 
 pos, and Samaria ; and, besides those, the 
 maritime cities, Gaza, Anthedon, Joppa, and 
 Strato's Tower. 
 
 4. Upon these new acquisitions, he grew 
 more magnificent, and conducted Cassar as 
 far as Antioch ; but upon his return, as much 
 as his prosperity was augmented by the foreign 
 additions that had been made hiui, so much 
 the greater were the distresses that came up- 
 on him in his own family, and chiefly in tiie 
 affair of his wife, wherein he formerly appear- 
 ed to have been most of all fortunate ; ior the 
 affection he had for Mariamne was no way in- 
 ferior to the affections of such as are on dial 
 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 imperiously enough, 
 because she saw he was so fond of her as to 
 be enslaved to her. She did not also con- 
 sider seasonably with herself that she lived 
 under a monarchy, and that she was at ano- 
 ther's disposal, and accordingly would behave 
 herself after a saucy 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 sister 
 openly, on account of the meanness of their 
 birth, and would speak unkindly of them, in- 
 somuch, that there was before this a disagree- 
 ment and unpardonable hatred among the 
 women, and it was now come to greater re- 
 proaches of one another than formerly, wliieh 
 suspicions increased, and lasted a whole year 
 after Herod returned from Caesar. Howe- 
 ver, 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 was one dav 
 about noon lain down on his bed to rest him, 
 he called for Mariamne, out of the great af- 
 fection he had always for her. She came in ac- 
 cordingly, but would not lie down by him; 
 and when he was very desirous of her con)pa- 
 ny, she shewed her contempt of biin ; anil 
 added, by way of reproach, that he had caused 
 her father and her brother tt be slain ;* and 
 when he took this injury very unkindly, and 
 
 * Whereas Mariamne is here represented as reproach- 
 ing Herod with Die murder of lier fatlu-r [Alexander], 
 as well as her brother [AristobulusT, while it was her 
 grajidfathcr Hyrcanus, and nut her lather ^Uexaiuki, 
 whom he caused to be slain (as Joscplius hiiiiselT in 
 forms us, (ch. vi, sect. 2), we must either Uike Zonara'» 
 reading, which is here ^rarvz/aMir, rightiy, or else we 
 mu.st, asl)efoie (ch. i, sect. 1 , allow ashp of Josephu-'j 
 l)fcn or memory in the place before us. 
 
J- 
 
 418 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIllC JEWS. 
 
 was ready to use violence to her, in a precipi- I Salome and her party laboured hard to have 
 tate manner, tlie king's sister Salome, ob- the woman ])ut to dealli ; and tiiey prevailed 
 serving tliat lie was more than ordinarily dis- with the king to do so, and advised this out 
 
 turbcd, sent in to the king his cup-bearer, 
 w'IdO had been prepared long beforehand for 
 such a design, and bade him tell the king how 
 Mariamne had persuaded him to give his as- 
 sistance in preparing a love-potion for him ; 
 and if he appeared to be greatly concerned, 
 and to ask wl)at tkat love-potion was, to tell 
 him that she had the potion, and that he was 
 desired only to give it him ; hut in case he 
 did not appear to be much concerned at this 
 potion, to let the tiling drop; and that if he 
 did so, no harm should thereby come to him. 
 When she had given him these instructions, 
 she sent him in at tiiis time to make such a 
 speech. So he went in, after a composed 
 manner, to gain credit to what he should say, 
 and vet somewhat hastily ; and said, tliat 
 Mariamne had given him presents, and per- 
 suaded him to give him a love-potion ; and 
 when this moved the king, he said that this love- 
 potion was a composition that she had given 
 him, whose eflects he did not know, which 
 was the reason of his resolving to give him 
 this information, as the safest course he could 
 take, both for himself and for the king. 
 When Ilerod 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 faithful 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 ut- 
 most agonies, he could say nothing concern, 
 ing the thing he was tortured about, but so 
 far he knew, that Rlariamne's hatred against 
 him was occasioned by somewhat that Sohe- 
 nius had said to her. Now, as he was saying 
 this, Herod cried out aloud, and said, that 
 Soliemus, who had been at all other times tlie 
 most faithful to him, and to his government, 
 wimld not have betrayed wliat injunctions he 
 had given him, unless he I. ad had a nearer 
 coi versation than ordinary with Mariamne. 
 &o he gave orders that Soliemus should be 
 seized on and slain immediately; but he allow. 
 ed his wife to take her trial ; and got togetlier 
 those that were most faithful to him, and 
 laid an elaborate accusation against her for 
 this love-])otion 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 passion for 
 judging weH about this matter. According- 
 ly, when the court was at length satisfied that 
 he was so resolved, they passed tlie sentence 
 of death upon her ; but when the sentence 
 was passed upon her, this temper was sug- 
 gested by himself, and by some others of the 
 court, that she should not be thus hastily put 
 t<) death, but be laid in prison in cine of the 
 fortitssLS belonging to tlie kiiigt'oni ; but 
 
 of caution, lest the multitude should be tu- 
 multuous if she were suffered to live; and 
 thus was Mariamne led to execution. 
 
 5. When Alexandra observed how things 
 went, and that there were small hopes tliat 
 she herself should escape the like treatment 
 from Herod, she changed her behaviour to 
 quite the reverse of what might have been 
 expected from her former boldness, and this 
 after a very indecent manner; 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 had been an ill wo- 
 inan, and ungrateful to her 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 hypo- 
 critical manner, and had been so outrageous as 
 to tear her hair, this indecent and dissembling 
 behaviour, as was to be expected, was greatly 
 condemned by the rest of the sjiectators, as it 
 was principally by the poor woman who was 
 to sutler ; for at the first she gave her not a 
 word, nor was discomposed at her peevish- 
 ness, and only looked at hei, yet did she, out 
 of a greatness of soul, discover her concern 
 for her mother's oll'ence, and especially for 
 her cxjiosiiig herself in a manner so unbecom- 
 ing her : but as for lierself, she went to her 
 death with an unshaken firmness of mind, 
 and without changing the colour of her face, 
 and thereby evidently discovered the nobility 
 of her descent to the spectators, even in the 
 last moments of her life. 
 
 6. And thus died JNIariamne, a woman of 
 an excellent character, both for chastity and 
 greatness of soul ; but she wanted modera- 
 tion, and had too much of contention in her 
 nature, yet had she all that can be said in the 
 beauty of her body, and her majestic ajipear- 
 ance in conversation ; and thence arose the 
 greatest part cf the occasions why she did 
 not prove so agreeable to the king, nor live 
 so pleasantly with him as slie might other- 
 wise have done ; for while she was most in- 
 dulgently used by the king, out of his fond- 
 ness for her, and did not expect that he could 
 do any thing hard to her, she took too un- 
 bouiuled a liberty. Moreover, that which 
 most afflicted her, was what he had done to 
 her relations ; and she ventured to speak of all 
 tl ey had suffered by him, and at last greatly 
 provoked both the king's niotl:er and sister, 
 till they became enemies to her; ami even he 
 himself a'so did the same, on whom alone she 
 depended for her expectations of escaping the 
 last of punishments. 
 
 7. liut when she was once dead, the king'* 
 
 ^ 
 
CHAP. vir. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 419 
 
 affections for her were kindled in a more out- 
 rageous manner than before, wl)ose old pas- 
 sion 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 conversation to- 
 gether broup:ht 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 fre- 
 quently call for her, and frequently lament 
 for her, in a most indecent manner. More- 
 over, he bethought him of every thing he 
 could make use of to divert his mind from 
 thinking of her, and contrived feasts and as- 
 semblies for that purpose, but nothing would 
 suffice : he therefore laid aside the adminis- 
 tration of public affairs, and was so far con- 
 quered by his passion, that he would order 
 his servants to call for Mariamne, 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 great- 
 est part of the multitude, and of his best and 
 most esteemed friends, and made all men sus- 
 pect that this was brought upon them by the 
 anger of God, for the injustice that had been 
 done to Mariamne. This circumstance af- 
 fected the king still more, till at length he 
 forced himself to go into desert places, and 
 there, under pretence of going a hunting, bit- 
 terly afflicted himself; yet had he not borne 
 his grief there many days before he fell in- 
 to a most dangerous distemper himself; he 
 had an inflammation upon him, and a pain in 
 the hinder part of his Iiead, joined with mad- 
 ness ; and for the remedies that were used, 
 they did him no good at all, but proved con- 
 trary to his case, and so at lengtii brought 
 nim to despair. 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 recovery in the power of tliat 
 diet, and committed him to fortune. And 
 thus did his distemper go on, while he was at 
 Samaria, now called Sebaste. 
 
 8. Now Alexandra abode at this time at 
 Jerusalem ; and being informed what condi- 
 tion Herod was in, she endeavoured to get 
 possession of the fortified places that were 
 about the city, which were two, the one be- 
 longing to the city itself, the other belonging to 
 the temple ; and those that could get them into 
 their hands had the whole nation under their 
 power, for without the command of them it 
 was not possible to of^er their sacrifices; and 
 to think of leaving oflf" those sacrifices, is to 
 every Jew plainly impossible, who ^e still 
 
 more ready to lose their lives than to leave 
 off that divine worsiiip which they have been 
 wont to pay imto God. Alexandra, there- 
 fore, discoursed with those that had the keep- 
 ing of these strong iiolds, 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 liad 
 been in former times faithful [to Herod], 
 they resolved to coiitinue so more than ever, 
 both because they hated Alexandra, and be- 
 cause they thought it a sort of impiety to de- 
 spair 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-german. They sent messen- 
 gers, therefore, to acquaint him with Alex- 
 andra's design ; so he made no longer delay, 
 but gave orders to have her slain ; yet was it 
 with difficulty, and after he hail 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 inflict punishment 
 upon those that fell under his hand. He also 
 slew the most intimate of his friends, Costo- 
 barns, and Lysimachus, and Gadias, who was 
 also called Antipater; as also Dositheus, and 
 that upon the following occasion. 
 
 9. Costobarus was an Idumcan by birth, 
 and one of principal dignity among them, 
 and one whose ancestors had been priests to 
 the Koze, whom the Idumeans had [form.er- 
 ly] esteemed as a god ; but after Hyrcanus 
 had made a change in their political govern- 
 ment, and made them receive tlie Jewish cus- 
 toms and law, Herod made Costobarus go- 
 vernor of Idumea and Gaza, 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 advanced, it pleased him, and was 
 more than he hoped for, and he was more 
 and more putted 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 thf Idumeans 
 should make use of the Jewish customs, or 
 be subject to them. He therefore sent to 
 Cleopatra, and informed her that the Idu- 
 means had been always under his progenitors, 
 and thai for the same reason it was but just 
 that she should dcbi'e that coinitry for him of 
 Antony, for that he was ready to transfer his 
 friendship to her : and this he did, not be- 
 cause he was better pleased to be under Cleo. 
 patra's government, hut because he thought 
 that, upon the iluninntion of Herod's power 
 it would not be difhcult for him to nbtair 
 himseJf the entire government over the Tdii 
 
 "\. 
 
_/■ 
 
 420 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XV. 
 
 mean!!, and somewhat more also ; for he rais- 
 ed liis liopcs still higher, as having no small 
 preleiici's, both by his I)irtli and by tliesi- 
 riches whieli he had gotten by his constant 
 attention to filthy lucre; and nccordingly 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 
 tliis was brouglit to Herod, who was there- 
 upon ready to kill Costobarus ; yet, upon the 
 entreaties of his sister and mother, he for- 
 gave him, and vouchsafed to pardon him en- 
 tirely, tiiough he still liad a suspicion of-him 
 afterward for this his attempt. 
 
 10. But some time afterward, when Sa- 
 lome happened to quarrel with Costobarus, 
 she sent him a bill of divorce,* and disssolved 
 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 for- 
 mer husband put her away. However, Sa- 
 lome chose not to follow the law of her coun- 
 try, but the law of her autliorit^', and so re- 
 nounced her wedlock ; and told her brother 
 Herod, that she left her husband out of her 
 good-will to him, because slie perceived that 
 he, with Antipater, and Lysimachus, and Do- 
 sitheus, w'ere 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 interval of 
 twelve years, which proved to be true. But 
 when Herod thus unexpectedly heard of it, 
 lie was greatly surprised at it, and was the 
 more surprised, because the relation ajipeared 
 incredible to him. As for the fact relating to 
 these sons of Babas, Herod had formerly 
 taken great pains to bring them to punish- 
 ment, as being enemies to his government ; 
 but they were now forgotten by him, on ac- 
 count of the length of time i since he liad or- 
 dered them to be slain]. Now the cause of 
 his ill-will and hatred to tlicin arose hence: 
 that while .\ntigonus was I'.ing, Herod, with 
 his army, besieged the city of Jerusalem, 
 
 » Here IS a plain examjilc of a Jewish lady Riving a 
 bill of divorce- to her liusbaiid, though in liic d.iys of 
 Josepliu^ it was not cslernicd lawful lor a woman so to 
 do. St-c the likf among the Parthians, Antiq b. xviii, 
 ch. ix, sec't C. Ilovvevcr, the Christian law, whcti It 
 allowed divorce foradulteiy \Mat. v, ov), allowed the 
 innoeent wife to divorce her Rinlty hiisliand, a* well as 
 the iniuxeul hufband to divorce his ifuilty wife, as we 
 learn from the i.|.e|ihcrd of HcrnuK (ManJ. b. iv), and 
 from the ^.-iKUid ajiidoKy of Justin Martyr, where a i er- 
 tcciition WHS bronght upon the Christians v.pon such a 
 divorce; .-uul 1 mink inc Htmian laws permitted it at 
 that time, ;is well as the laws of ( hrisiianily. Now this 
 Babas, who was one >.f the racv of the \samoneans or 
 Maccabix;.s, as the latter end of this section infunns us, 
 li lelatcd bv the Jews, .is : r. Hudson licic remarks, to 
 have been 'so eminently religious in the Jewish way, 
 that, except the day following ihe tenth of 'I'isri, the 
 gie.1t day of atoiicnunt, when he seems to have siippus- 
 e<l .ill his sins entirely forgiven, he useil every day ot the 
 whc^le year to oflei a sacrifice lor his sius of iynoranic, 
 or such as he supposed he had been guilty ol, but did 
 not distinctly reincmlicr. Sec eoincwhat like ii of 
 Agriipa the'Oreat, Anliq. b. xlx. ch. in, sei-t. o ; iind 
 Job I. 4. i. 
 
 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 liad power among the multitude, 
 and were faithfid to Antigorius, and were al- 
 ways raising calumnies against Herod, and 
 encouraged the people to preserve the govern- 
 ment to that royal family which held it by 
 inheritance. So theve men acted thus politi- 
 cally, and, as they thought, for their own ad- 
 vantage ; but when the city was taken, and 
 Herod had gotten the government into his 
 own hands, and Costobarus was appointed 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 
 sensible that the sons of Babas were had in 
 respect and honour by the whole multitude, 
 and supposing that their preservation might 
 be of great advantage to him in the chatiges 
 of government afterward, he set them by them- 
 selves, and concealed them in his o An farms, 
 and when the thing was suspected, he assured 
 Herod upon oath that he really knew nothing 
 of that matter, and so overcame the suspicions 
 that lay upon him ; nay, after that, when the 
 king had publicly 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 ne- 
 cessary regard to his own preservation also. 
 But when the king knew the thing, by his 
 sister's information, he sent men to the places 
 where he had the intimation they were con- 
 cealed, and ordered both them and tiiose that 
 were accused as guilty with them, to be slain, 
 insomuch that there were now none at all left 
 of tlie kindre<l of Hyrcanus ; and the king- 
 dom was entirely in Herod's own power, and 
 there was nobody remaining of such dignity 
 as could put a stop to what he did against the 
 Jewish laws. 
 
 CHATTER VIII. 
 
 HOW TEN MEN OF THE CITIZENS [OF JERfSA- 
 LE.M ' MADE A CONSPIRACY AGAINST HEROl), 
 FOR THE FOUEir.N PRACTICES HE HAD IN- 
 TRODCCED, WHICH WAS A 1 UaNSGRESSION 
 OF THE LAWS OK THEIR COINTRY. CON- 
 CERNING THE BCII.DING OF SEliASTE AND 
 CESAhEA, AND OTHttt EDIFICES OF HliROlJ. 
 
 § 1. On this account it was that Herod re- 
 volted from the laws of his country, and cor- 
 rupted their aticient constitution, by the in- 
 
CHAP. vni. 
 
 tioduction of foreign practices, whicli consti- 
 tution yet ought to have been preserved in- 
 violable ; by which means we became guilty 
 of great wickedness afterward, wliile those 
 religious observances whicli used to lead the 
 multitude to piety, were now neglected : for, 
 in the first place, he appointed solemn games 
 to be celebrated every fifth year, in honour of 
 Ca3sar, and built a theatre at Jerusalem, as 
 rIso 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 proclamation to the neighbouring coun- 
 tries, and called men together out of every 
 nation. The wrestlers, and the rest of those 
 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 i)rincipal persons that were the most emi- 
 nent in these sorts of exercises, were gotten 
 together, for there were very great rewards for 
 victory proposed, not only to those that per- 
 formed their exercises naked, but to tliose 
 ihat played the musicians also, and were call- 
 ed Tliymclici : and he spared no pains to in- 
 duce all persons, the most famous for such 
 exercises, to come to tliis 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 magnificent, in other 
 nations, out of an ambition that he might 
 give most public demonstration of his gran- 
 deur. Inscriptions also of the great actions 
 of Ca?sar, 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 them- 
 selves in great abundance, and of such other 
 blasts as were either of uncommon strength, 
 or of such a sort as were rarely seen. Tliese 
 were prepared either to fight with one ano- 
 ther, or that men who were condemned to 
 death were to fight with them. And truly 
 foreigners were greatly surprised and delight- 
 ed at the vastness of the expenses hare exhi- 
 bited, and at the great dangers that were here 
 seen ; but to natural Jews, this was no better 
 than a dissolution of these customs for which 
 they had so great a veneration.* It appeared 
 
 * These ^antl plays, and shows, and Thymeiici, or 
 music-meetings, and chariot-races, when the chariots wore 
 drawn by two, three, or four pair of horses.^Vc. insti- 
 luted bv Herod in his theatres, were still, as wu see here. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 421 
 
 also no better than an instance of barefaced 
 impiety, to throw men to wild beasts, for the 
 affording delight to the spectators; and it ap- 
 peared an instance of no less impiety, to 
 change their own laws for su-ch foreign exer- 
 cises ; but, above all the rest, the trophies gave 
 most distaste to the Jews ; for as they imagin- 
 ed them to be images, included 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 ho- 
 nours to such images. 
 
 2. Nor was Herod unacquainted with the 
 disturbance they were under j and, as lie 
 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 superstitious fear they were under ; yet 
 could not he satisfy tliem, but they cried out 
 with one accord, out 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 tliat they would not 
 easily change their resolution unless they re- 
 ceived 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 ttiem the naked 
 pieces of wood ; which pieces of wood, now 
 without any ornament, became matter of great 
 sport and laugiiter to them, because they !iad 
 before always had the ornaments of images 
 themselves in derision. 
 
 3. When therefore Herod had thus got 
 ckar of the multitude, and had dissipated tiie 
 vehemency of passion under vvhicli they had 
 been, the greatest part of the people were dis- 
 posed to change their conduct, 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 them- 
 selves [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, in- 
 looked on by tlie sober Jews as heathenish sports, and 
 tending not only to corrupt the manners of tho Je\^ish 
 nation, and to bring them in love with paganish idoU 
 try and paganish conduct of life, but to the dissoluiion 
 of the law of Moses, and accordingly were greatly and 
 justly condemned by them, as appears here and every 
 where else in Josephus. Nor is the case of our modern 
 masquerades, pla\s, operas, and the like " i>onnps and 
 vanities cf this wicked world," of any better tendency 
 under CJ. isti;mity. 
 
 -T 
 
Jr 
 
 ♦22 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XV. 
 
 troiluced such customs, <inrl tliat in a violent 
 manner, which tliey had never heen used to 
 before, as indeed in pretence a king, but in 
 reality one tliat sliowed liimsclf an enemy to 
 their whole nation; on whi(h account ten 
 men that were citizens [of J.:'rusalem], con- 
 spired together a<;ainst him, and sware to one 
 another to undergo any d.iiigers in the at- 
 tempt, and took dag^rcrs with them under 
 their garments for the purpose of killing 
 Herod]. Now there was a c<;riain blind n)an 
 among those conspirators who had thus sworn 
 to one anotiicr, O'' account of tlu; indignation 
 he had against what he heard to liave been 
 done ; he was not indeed able to afford the 
 rest any assistance in the undertaking, but 
 was ready to undc -go any su(lcring with them, 
 if so be they should come to any harm, in- 
 somuch that he became a viry great encou- 
 rager of the rest of the undertakers. 
 
 4. 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 escipe them, as they 
 should fall upon him so unexpectedly; 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 nmltitude. Tliese conspirators, 
 therefore, standing thus prepared beforehand, 
 went about their design with great alacrity ; 
 but there was one of those spies of Herod that 
 were appointed for such purposes, to fish out 
 and inform him. of any conspy-acies that 
 should be made against him, who found out 
 the whole affair, and told ihe king of it, as 
 he was about to go into the theatre. So when 
 he reflected on the h.atrcd which ho knew the 
 greatest part of the ])eople bore him, and on 
 the disturbances tliat arose upon every occa- 
 sion, he thought tiiis plot against him not to 
 be improbable. Accordingly, he retireil into 
 his palace, and called those that were accused 
 of this conspiracy before him by their several 
 names; and a:,, upon theg;iariis filling upon 
 them, they were caught in the very fact, anil 
 knew they could not escape, they prei)ared 
 themselves for their ends%\ith all tlie decency 
 they could, and so as not at all to recede from 
 their resolute behaviour, fcr they showed no 
 shame for what they were about, nor denied 
 it; but when they were seized, they showed 
 their daggers, and professed, that the conspi- 
 racy they had sworn to was a holy and a pious 
 action; that what they iniended to do was 
 not for gain, or out of any indulgence to their 
 passions, but principally for tliose common 
 customs of their country, which all the Jews 
 were obliged to observe, O! to die for tliem. 
 This was what these men «ii<I, out of their 
 undaunted couiage in tlin conspiracy. So 
 tliey were led away to execution by (lie king's 
 guards that stood about them, and paticntl> 
 
 underwent all the torments inflicted 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 tJiey 
 bore to him ; and was not only slain by them, 
 but pulled to pieces, limb from limb, and 
 given to the dogs. 'I'liis 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 
 that were tortured confessed what they had 
 seen done; the authors of which fact were so 
 terribly punished by the king, that their en- 
 tire families were destroyed for this their rash 
 attempt ; yet did not the obstinacy of the peo- 
 ple, and the undaunted constancy they show- 
 ed in the defence of their laws, make Herod 
 any easier to them, but he still strengthened 
 himself after a more secure manner, and re- 
 solved to encom])ass the multitude every way, 
 lest such innovations should end in an open 
 rebellion. 
 
 5. Since, therefore, he had now ttie city for- 
 tified by the palace in which he lived, and by 
 the temple wliich had a strong fortress by it, 
 called Antonia, and was rebuilt by himself, 
 he contrived to make Samaria a fortress for 
 himself also against all the people, and called 
 it Sebaste, supposing that this place would be 
 a strong-hold against the country, not inferior 
 to the former. So he fortified that jilace, 
 which was a day's journey distant from Jeru- 
 salem, 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 Ce- 
 sarea. ]\Ioreover, he chose out some select 
 horsemen, and placed them in the great plain ; 
 and built [for them] a place in Galilee, called 
 Gaba, with Ilesebonitis, in Perea ; and these 
 weie the places which he particularly built, 
 while he always was inventing somewhat far- 
 ther for his own security, and encompassing 
 the whole nation with guards, that they miglit 
 by no means get from under his power, nor 
 fall into tumults, which they did continually 
 upon any small commotion ; and that if they 
 did make any commotions, he might know of 
 it, w liile 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; .nnd when he went about build- 
 ing 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 tliat neighbourhood also, whom he made 
 fellow-citizens with the rest. This he did, out 
 of an am!)itious desire of building a temple, 
 and out of a desire to make the city more emi- 
 nent than it had been before, but principiily 
 because he contrived that it might at once be 
 for his own security, and a monument of hia 
 magnificence. He also changed iu nami>, 
 
 ■\- 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ■123 
 
 and called it Sebaste. Moreover, he parted 
 the adjoining country, whicli was excellent in 
 its kind, among the inhabitants of Samaria, 
 that they mijrht be in a happy condition, upon 
 tlieir fiist coming to inhabit. Besides all 
 which, he encompassed tiie city with a wall 
 of great strength, and made use of the accli- 
 vity 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 furlongs 
 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 decorations, and therein 
 erected a temple, which was illustrious, on ac- 
 count of both its largeness and beauty ; and 
 as to the several 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 elegance of the 
 Duildings, 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. 
 
 CONCERNING THE FAMINE THAT HAD HAPPEN- 
 ED IN JUDEA AND SYRIA ; AND HOW HE- 
 ROD, AFTER HE HAD MARRIED ANOTHEft 
 WIFE, REBUILT CESAREA, AND OTHER GRE- 
 CIAN CITIES. 
 
 § 1. Now on this very year, which was the 
 thirteenth year of the reign of Herod, very 
 great calamities came upon the country ; whe- 
 ther they were derived from the anger of God, 
 or whether this misery returns again natural- 
 y in certain periods of time;* for, in the 
 6rst place, there were 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 barren- 
 ncs of the soil, that change of food which the 
 want of corn occasioned, produced distempers 
 in the bodies of men, and a pestilential disease 
 prevailed, one misery following upon the 
 liack of another ; and these circuinstances, 
 that they were destitute both of methods of 
 cure and of food, made the pestilential dis- 
 temper, which began after a violent manner, 
 tlif more lasting. The destruction of men 
 also, after such a manner, deprived those that 
 
 « Here we have an eminent example of the language 
 of .loseplnis in his writing to Gentites, different from 
 Uiat when he wrote to Jews; ni his writing to whom lie 
 still derives all such judgments from the anger of Cod ; 
 but because he knew many of the Gentiles tliought 
 they might naturally come iii certain periods, he com- 
 plies with them in the following sentence. See the 
 note on the War, (b. i, ch. xxxiii sect. 2. ^ 
 
 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 wJiat- 
 soever they bad laid up beforehand was spent, 
 there was no foundation of hope for relief re- 
 maining, but the misery, contrary to vvhat 
 they expected, 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 R?ed they had sown perished also, 
 by reason of the ground not yielding its fruits 
 on the second year.-f This distress they were 
 in made thern also, out of necessity, to eat 
 many things that did not use to be eaten ; 
 nor was the king himself free from this dis- 
 tress any more than other men, as being de- 
 prived of that tribute he used to have from 
 the fruits of the ground; and having already 
 expended what money he had, in his liberali- 
 ty to those vi'hose cities he had built ; nor had 
 he any people that were wortiiy of his assist- 
 ance, since this miserable state of things had 
 procured him the hatred of his subjects ; for it 
 is a constant rule, that misfortunes are still 
 laid to the account of those that govern, 
 
 2. In tliese circumstances, he considered 
 with himself how to procure some seasonable 
 help ; but tills was a hard thing to 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 bis best 
 way, by all means, not to leave off his endea- 
 vours to assist his people ; so he cut ofl" 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 Petroni- 
 us, who had been made prefect of Egypt by 
 Csesar ; and as not a few had already fled 
 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 afibrd- 
 ed them what help they had. And Herod, 
 taking care the people should understand that 
 
 f 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 be- 
 fore the Christian a?ra, seems to have been more terrible 
 durnig this time than was that in the days of Jacob, 
 Oen. xli, xlii. And what makes the comparison the 
 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 
 Kgypt ; and now from Petronius the prefect of Kgypt, 
 under Augustus, the lioman emperor. See almost tlie 
 like case, Antiq. b. xx, ch. ii, sect. 6. It is also wtU 
 worth our observation here, that these two years were a 
 Sabbatic Vear, and a year of jubilee, for which Provi- 
 dence, during the theocracy, used to provide a triple 
 crop beforehand; but which became now, when the 
 Jews had forfeited that blessing, the greatest years of 
 famine to them ever since the days of Aliab. 1 Kings, 
 xvii. xviii. 
 
 -V. 
 
 -T 
 
J' 
 
 424 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIIH JEWS. 
 
 tliis liulp came from liimsulf, did ilicnby not 
 only n'inovo the ill opinion of those that for- 
 nv.rly hated him, but gave them the greatest 
 demonstration possible of his good-will to 
 them, and care of them : for, in tlie first jjlace, 
 as tor those who were able to jirovide their 
 own food, he distributed to them their pro- 
 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 this 
 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 they were in great 
 want of clothing also, by reason of the utter 
 destruction and consumption of their sheep 
 and goats, till they had no wool to make use 
 of, nor any thing else to cover themselves 
 withal. And when he had piocured these 
 tilings for his own subjects, he went farther, 
 in onier to provide tiecessarics for their neigh- 
 bours ; and gave seed to the Syrians ; which 
 things turned greatly to his own advantage 
 also, this charitable assistance being afforded 
 most seasonably to their 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 fif;y thousand men, whom he had sus- 
 tained, into the country ; by which moans he 
 6oth repaired the afflicted condition of his own 
 kingdom with great generosity and diligence, 
 and lightened the afflictions of his neighbours, 
 who were under the sanie calamities; for there 
 was nobody who had been in want, that was 
 left destitute of a suitable assistance by him : 
 nay, farther, 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 su))port, and 
 bad recourse to him, but received what they 
 stood in need of, insomuch that it aj)peared, 
 upon a computation, that the number of cori 
 of wheat, of ten Attic medimni a-piece, that 
 were given to foreigners, amounted to ten 
 thousand ; and the immbir that was given in 
 his own kingdom was fourscore thousand. 
 Now it happened that this care of his, and 
 tliis seasonable benefaction, had such influ- 
 ence on the Jews, and was so cried up among 
 other nations, as to wipe off that old hatred 
 which his violation of some of their customs, 
 during his reign, had [jrocured him amotig 
 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 ; and it looked as 
 if these calumities (liat afilicted his land to a 
 degree plainly incredible, came in order to 
 raise his glory, and to be to his great advan- 
 tage: for the greatness of his liberality m 
 these distresses, which he now demonstrated 
 beyoad all expectation, did so change the uis- 
 
 BOOK XV 
 
 position of the multitude towards him, thai 
 they were ready to suppose he had been 
 from the l)eginning not such a one as they 
 had found him to be by experience, but 
 such a one as the care he had taken of them 
 in supplying their necessities proved him now 
 to be. 
 
 3. About this time it was that lie sent five 
 hundred chosen men out of the guar<ls of iiis 
 body as auxiliatiefi to Ca;sar, whom ^iius 
 Gallus* led to the Red Sea, and who were of 
 great service to him there. When therefore 
 his affairs were tliusimjjroved, 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 %\ith 
 the most costly furniture of gold, and marble 
 seats, and beds ; and these were so large that 
 they could contain very many comijanies of 
 men, Tliese apartments were also of distinct 
 magtiitudes, and had particular names given 
 them ; for one apartment was called Caesar's, 
 another Agrippa's. He also fell in love again, 
 and maiTied another wife, not suffering his 
 reason to hinder him from living as he pleased. 
 The occasion of this his marriage was as fol- 
 lows : — There was one Simon, a citizen of 
 Jerusalem, the son of one Boethus, a citizen 
 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 Jerusalem began to speak 
 much in her commendation, it l)ai)pened Uiat 
 Herod was much affected with what was said 
 of her : and when he saw the damsel, he was 
 smitten with lier beauty, yet did he entirely 
 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, l)ut still too considerable to be despised, 
 he governed his inclinations after the most 
 prudent manner, by augmenling the dignity 
 of the family, and making them more honour- 
 able ; so he inimediatek deprived Jesus the 
 son of I'lKibit of the liigh-priesthood. and 
 conferred thai dignity on Simon, and so join- 
 ed in affinity with tiim [by marrying his 
 daughter]. 
 
 4. When this wedding was over, he built 
 another citadel in that place where he had 
 conipiered the Jews, when he was ilriven out 
 of his government, and Antigonus enjoyed it. 
 'i'his citade! is (lista^U tVom Jeiu-.alem about 
 threescore furlongs. It was strong by nature, 
 and tit for such a building. It is a sort of a 
 moderate iiill, raised to a farther height by 
 tlie hand of man, till it was of the shape of a 
 
 • This if.Iius Gallus sconis to tw no other than thaJ 
 yElius I.arjjiis whom IJio, s|i..ikiii(; of fl>c«.nilm-ting ;ir. 
 cxpwlitioii (hat M.1S alioii; \\\\> linn- iji.iilc into Araiiis 
 IVlix, atxonliiic to I'll.ivius, wlio i^hl■n• litiill.y SjtJi 
 hcim. Sec a tiiTl accuiiut of tJiis txiicdJlion ui Pruloaiui 
 at the y«Ku-!> ^ aiid '\ t. 
 
 ~v 
 
_/" 
 
 ■\- 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 woman's breast. It is encompassed with cir- 
 cular towers, and hath a straight ascent up 
 to it, which ascent is composed of steps of 
 polished stones, in number two hundred. 
 VViiiiin it are royal and very rich apartments, 
 of a structure that provided both for security 
 and for beauty. About the bottom there are 
 habitations of sudi a structure as are well 
 wortii seeing, both on other accounts, and also 
 on account of the water vvhich is brought 
 thither from a great way off, and at vast ex- 
 penses ; for the place itself is destitute of 
 water. The plain that is about this citadel 
 is full of edifices, not inferior to any city in 
 lai-geness, and having the hill above it in the 
 nature of a castle. 
 
 5. And now, when all Herod's designs 
 had succeeded according to his hopes, he had 
 not the least suspicion that any troubles could 
 arise in his kingdom, because he kept his 
 peoi)!e obedient, as well by the fear they stood 
 in of him, for he was implacable in the inflic- 
 tion of his punishments, as by the provident 
 care he had shown towards 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 subjects; for the ora- 
 tions he made to the cities were very fine, and 
 full of kindness ; and he cultivated a season- 
 able good understanding with their gover- 
 nors, 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 af- 
 fairs were every way more and more aug- 
 mented. But then, this magnificent temper 
 of his, and that submissive behaviour and 
 liberality which he exercised towards 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 build- 
 ing 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 representations of animals, after the man- 
 ner of the Greeks; but still he did this in 
 the country [properly] out of our bounds, 
 and in the cities thereof. • The apology 
 
 » One may liere take notice, that how tvvannical and 
 extravagant soever Heroil were in hhnself, and in his 
 Grecian cities, as to those plays, and shows, and temples 
 for idolatry, mentioned above ch. viii, sect, i), and liere 
 also, yet durst even he introduce very few of them into 
 the cities of the Jews, who, as Jo.^ephus here notes, 
 would not even then have borne them, so zealwus were 
 they still for many of liie laws of Moses, even under so 
 tyrannical a government as this was of Herod the Great ; 
 which tyrannical govcrninent puts ine naturally in mind 
 of Deaii Pridcaux's hontst rellection upon the like am- 
 bition after such tyrannical power in Hompey and Cae 
 sar : — " One of these {says he, at the yeai 60), could not 
 bear an equal, and the other a superior; and through 
 this ambitious humour and thirst al'ier more power in 
 these two men, the whole Roman empire being divided 
 into two opposite factions, there was (-.rodiieod hereby 
 the inosL destructive war lliat e\ er .illiicted it ; and the 
 like folly too much reigns in all other ]4iices. Could 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 425 
 
 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 ambitious to leave great 
 monuments of his government to posterity; 
 whence it was that he was so zealous in build- 
 ing such fine cities, and spent such vast sums 
 of money upon them. 
 
 6. Now upon his observation of a place 
 near the sea, which was very proper for con- 
 taining a city, and was before called Strato's 
 Tower, he set about getting a plan for a mag- 
 nificent city there, and erected many edifices 
 with great diligence all over it, and this of 
 white stone. He also adorned it with most 
 sumptuous palaces, and large edifices for con- 
 taining the people; and what was the great- 
 est 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 Pyrafum [at Athens] ; and had to- 
 wards the city a double station for the ships. 
 It was of excellent workmanship ; and this 
 was the more remarkable 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 situ- 
 ate in Phoenicia, in the passage by sea to 
 Egypt, between Joppa and Dora, vvhich 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 inconvenience, 
 and laid out such a compass towards the land 
 as might be sufncient for a haven, wherein the 
 great ships might lie in safety ; and this he ef- 
 fected by letting down vast stones of above 
 fifty feet in length, not less than eighteen in 
 breadth, and nine in depth, into twenty fa- 
 thoms deep ; and as some were lesser, so 
 were others bigger, than those dimensions. 
 This mole which he bnilt by the sea-side was 
 two hundred feet wide, the half of which was 
 opposed to the curient of the waves, so as to 
 keep off those waves which were to break 
 
 about thirty men be persuaded to live at home in peace 
 without enterprising upon the rights of each other, for 
 the vain glory of conquest, and the enlargement trf 
 power, the whole world might be at quiet ; but tlieir 
 ambition, their follies, and their humour, loading them 
 constantly to encroach upon and quarrel with each 
 other, they involve all that are ander them in the mis- 
 chiefs thereof, and many thousands arc they whieb 
 yeaily perish by it: so that it may almost' raise a 
 doubt, wliether'the benefit which the woild receiveii 
 from government be sulhcicnt to make amends for tbt 
 calamities which it suffers from the follies and m-U-..d 
 ministrations of those that manage it." ^ ^ 
 
425 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 EOOK XV 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 j HOW HRROD SENT HIS SONS TO ROME ; HOW 
 ALSO HE WAS ACCUSED LY ZLNODPHUS AND 
 THF GADARENS, BUT WAS CLEARED OF WHAT 
 THEY ACCrSED HEM OV, AND WITHAL GAIN- 
 ED TO HIMSELF THE GOOD-WILL OF CESAR. 
 CONCERNING THE PHARISEES, THE ESSENS, 
 AND MANAHEM. 
 
 ui)on them, anJ so was called Procymatia, or 
 llie first bleaker of llie waves ; but the other 
 half had upon it a wall, witli several towers, 
 the largest of which was named Drusus, and 
 was a woik of very gieat excellence, and had 
 its name from Drusus, the son-in-law of Cec- 
 sar, who died young. There were also a 
 gieat number of arches, wliere the mariners 
 dwelt : there was also before thetn a quay 
 [or landing-place], which ran round the en- 
 tire haven, and was a most agreeable walk to i 
 such as had a mind to that exercise; but tlie 
 
 entrance or mouth of the port was made on § 1. When Herod was engaged in such mat- 
 the north quarter, on which side was the still- ters, and when he had alreiidy re-edified Se- 
 est of tlie winds of all in this place : and the baste [Samaria'', he resolved to send his sons 
 basis of the whole circuit on the left hand, as i Alexander and Aristobulus to Rome, to cn- 
 you enter the port, supported a round turret, I joy tlie company of Caisar ; who, when they 
 which was made very strong, in order to re- | came thither, lodged at the house of Pollio.f 
 sist the greatest waves ; while, on the riglit 1 who was very fond of Herod's friendship: 
 hand, as you enter, stood two vast stones, and i and they had leave to lodge in Cjesar's own 
 those each of them larger tlian the turret, palace, for he received these sons of Herod 
 which was over-against them : these stood i with all humanity, and pave Hccod leave to 
 upriglit, and were joined together. Now there , give his kingdom to which of liis sons he 
 were edifices all along the circular haven, pleased ; and, besides all this, he bestowed on 
 made of the most polished stone, with a certain him Trachon, and Batanea, and Auranitis, 
 elevation, whereon was erected a temple, that which he gave him on the occasion following: 
 was seen a great way oH' by those that were, — One Zenodorus ^ had hired what was called 
 sailing for that haven, and had in it two the house of Lysanias, who, as he was not 
 statues, the one of Rome, the other of Ca;sar. ; satisfied with its revenues, became a partner 
 I'he city itself was called Cesarea, which was | with the robbers that inhabited the Trachonites, 
 also itself built of fine materials, and was of and so procured him a larger income ; for the 
 a fine structure; nay, the very subterranean inhabitants of those places lived in a mad way, 
 vaults and cellars had no less of architecture ; and pillaged the country of the DaiLascenes, 
 bestowed on them than had the buildings while Zenodorus did not restrain them, but 
 above ground. Some of these vaidts carried partook of the prey they acquired. Now, 
 things at even distances to the haven and to as tiie neighbouring people were hereby great 
 the sea ; but one of them ran obliquely, and sufferers, they complained to Varro, who was 
 bound all the rest together, that both the rain ] then president [of Syria], and entreated him 
 and the filth of the citizens were togetiier car- 'to write to Caesar about this injustice of Ze- 
 ried oir with ease, and tiie sea itself, upon the nodorus. Wlien these matters were laid be- 
 tlux of the tide from without, came into the fore C'jesar, he wrote back to Varro to destroy 
 city, and washed it all clean. Herod also those nests of robbers, and to give the land 
 built therein a theatre of stone; and on the , to Herod, that by his care the neighbouring 
 south quarter, behind the port, an amphi- ' countries might be no longer disturbed with 
 theatre also, capable of holding a vast num- ! these doings of the Trachonites, for it was not 
 her of inen, and conveniently situated for a ' an easy thing to restrain them, since this way 
 prospect to the sea. So tliis city was thus of rohliery had been their usual practice, and 
 finisiied in twelve years;* during which time ! they 1 ad no other way to get their living, be- 
 the king did not fail to go on both with the cause they had neither any city of their own. 
 
 work, and to pay the charges that were ne- 
 cessary. 
 
 nor lands in their possession, but only some 
 receptacles and dens in the earth, and there 
 
 . , , ... , , J tliey and their cattle lived in commo;i toge- 
 • Ccsarca bciiiir here sa!d to Ix" rebuilt and adorned ■ , ' , .i i i i 
 
 ..twelve ye;irs, and soon afterwards in ten jcars (An ' ther : however, they had made connivances to 
 tiq. b. xvi. cli. V, sect. 1), tluTu uuisl bo a mistake in ' gtt pools of water, and laid ui) corn in gra- 
 oiie of the niiict's as to the true number; liut in wliicli • »• .i i i i i . i 
 
 ct llitm" it IS hard positively to determine. "a''"-'* *^.'' themselves, and were able to make 
 
 great resistance, by issuing out on the sudden 
 against any that attacked them ; for the en- 
 
 t This I'ollio, with whom Herod's sons lived at 
 Koine, w;is not Pollio the I'hari-ir. •ilrcady mcnliont'd 
 by Jo-^i-phus (eh. i, S'et. 1), and iipiiin pn'-setuly after 
 IliiM (I'll. X, s(\'t. I), but Asinius Pollio, the Kuniaii, as 
 ' p.iiihcim here obscrv.-s. 
 
 J The ehaiaottr of this Zenodorus is so like that of 
 
 a famous robU r of ihe same name in stralx>, and that 
 
 almul (his \cry country, and about this \er\ time also, 
 
 that I think IJr. Hudson h.irdly nee<l»l to have put a 
 
 i vcrltaps to Jiis determination tluit they were the naaf 
 
J^ 
 
 ■X 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 427 
 
 trances 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 habitations 
 was not very hij^h, 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 wlien these men are hin- 
 dered from their wicked preying upon their 
 neighbours, their custom is to prey one upon 
 another, insomuch that no sort of injustice 
 comes amiss to them. But when Herod had 
 received this grant from Cassar, and was come 
 into this country, he procured skilful guides, 
 and put a stop to their wicked robberies, and 
 procured peace and quietness to the neigh- 
 bouring people- 
 
 2. Hereupon Zenodorus was grieved, in the 
 first place, because liis 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 accuse him, but returned back 
 again without success. Now Agrippa was 
 [about this time] sent to succeed Caesar in 
 the government of the countries 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. However, 
 some of the Gadarens came to Agrippa, and 
 accused Herod, whom he sent back bound to 
 the king, without giving them the hearing: 
 but ntill the Arabians, who of old bare 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 aflairs, pre- 
 vented [his enemies], by selling to those Ara- 
 bians a part of his principality, called Aura- 
 iiitis, for the value of fifty talents; but as 
 this was included in the donations of Cassar, 
 they contested the point with Herod, as un- 
 justly deprived of what they had bought. 
 Sometimes they did this by making incursions 
 upon him, and sometimes by attempiing 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 tiiey 
 should reduce the people to raise a sedition ; 
 
 that was heavy in his injunctions, and tyran- 
 nical. These repro<iches they mainly ven- 
 tured upon by the encouragement of Zenodo- 
 rus, 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 CiEsar's province. The Gada- 
 rens 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 in- 
 deed 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 oifences that were committed 
 elsewhere. And while they accused Herod 
 of injuries and plunderings, and subversion 
 of temples, he stood unconcerned, and was 
 ready to make his defence. However, Caesar 
 gave him his right hand, and remitted no- 
 thing of his kindness to liim, upon this dis- 
 tuibance by the multitude; and indeed these 
 things were alleged the first day, but the hear- 
 ing proceeded no farther; for as the Gada- 
 rens 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 tor- 
 ments they might undergo, 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 de- 
 stroyed themselves of their own accord ; which 
 accidents seemed a sufficient condemnation 
 of the rashness and crimes they had been 
 guilty of; whereupon Cassar made no longer 
 delay, but cleared Herod from the crimes ho 
 was accused of. Another happy accident 
 there was, which was a farther great advan- 
 tage to Herod at tJiis time; for Zenodorus's 
 belly burst, and a great quantity of blood is- 
 sued from him in his sickness, and he there- 
 by departed this life at Antioch in Syria; so 
 Caesar bestowed his country, which was no 
 small one, upon Herod ; it Jay between 
 Trachon and Galilee, and contai-ned Ulatiia, 
 and Pancas, 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 govern- 
 
 in which designs those that are in the most ed the vast Roman empire, first Caesar and 
 miserable circumstances of life are still the ; then Agrippa, who was his principal favour- 
 
 most earnest ; and although Herod had been ite, Ccesar preferred no one to Herod besides 
 a great while apprized of these attempts, yet Agrippa; and Agrippa made no one his 
 did not he indulge any severity to tliem, but 'greater friend than Herod beside Caesar; and 
 by rational methods aimed to mitigate things, j wiien he had acquired such freedom, he beg- 
 as not willin 
 mults, 
 
 3. Now when Herod had already reigned 1. .. , , j--,ij.j,. 
 
 ^ . V- • I * A tdrarchy pioperlv and originally denoted the 
 
 seventeen years, Caesar came jnto Syria; at | fourth part of an entire kingdom or country, and ii /f- 
 
 which time the greatest part of t'.ie inhabitants '';'"''■'' '.'"'^ "i^^ was ruler oi such a fourtli p.-irt, whiih 
 
 ,. , . , , ^ J . ,, J always iinplics somewhat loss extent ct dominirvn aid 
 
 ot Oadara clamoured against HeTvd, as one power than belong tc a kingdom and to a king. 
 
 to give any handle for tu- ged of Caesar a tetrarchy* for his brother 
 
 "^_ 
 
428 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Plicroras, wliile he did himself bestow upon 
 liiin a levtnue of a huntlri-d talents out of his 
 own kingdoin, that in case he came to any 
 harm hiniself, his brother might be in safety, 
 and that his sons migi.t not liavc dominion 
 over him. So \> hen he had eoiuiucteti Caesar 
 to tlie sea, and was returned home, lie Ijuilt 
 him a most beautiful temple, of the whitest 
 stone in Zcnodorus's country, near the place 
 called Panium. This is a very fine cave in a 
 mountain, under wliicli there is a great cavity 
 in the earth, and the cavern is abrupt, and 
 prodigiously dcp, and full of a still water; 
 over it hangs a vast mountain ; and under tlie 
 caverns arise the springs of the river Jordan. 
 Herod adorned tins place, which was already 
 a very remarkable one, still farther by the e- 
 lertion of liiis temple, which he dedicated to 
 Caesar. 
 
 4. At which time Herod released to his 
 subjects the tl'ird part of their taxes, under 
 pretence indeed of relieving them, after the 
 dearili they had liad ; 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 ditnjse of their own customs ; and 
 the people everywhere talked against him, 
 like those that were still more provoked and 
 disturbed at his procedure; against which 
 discontents he greatly guarded himself, and 
 look away the ojiportunities 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 Here brought to 
 the citadel Hyrcania, both openly and secretly, 
 and were there put to death ; and there were 
 spies set everywhere, both in the city and in 
 the roads, who watclieu those that met toge- 
 ther; nay, it is reported that he did not him- 
 self neglect this pait of caution, but that he 
 would oftentinies himself take the habit of a 
 private man, and mix among the multitude, 
 in the night-tiure, and make trial what opinion 
 they had of his government ; and as for those 
 that could no way be reduced to accjuiesce 
 under his scheme of government, he persecuted 
 them all manner of ways; but for the rest of 
 the multitude, he required that they should be 
 obliged to take an oath of fidelity to him, anil 
 at the same time compelled them to s«ear 
 tiiat they would bear liim good-will, and con- 
 tinue certainly so to do, in his management 
 of the government ; and indeed a great part 
 of them, either to please him, or out of fear 
 of him, yielded to what he required of Ihein ; 
 but for such as were of a more 0i)en and ge- 
 n^'rous disposition, and had indignation at the 
 force he useil to them, he by one means or 
 nlher made away with them. He endeavoured 
 also to persuade J'ollio thi- I'lurisee, and Sa- 
 
 ■OOK X.V 
 
 meas, and the greatest pa.t of their scholars, 
 to take the oafli ; but these would neiti er sul>- 
 mit so tc do, nor were they puriished togetliei 
 with the rest, out of the reverence he bore to 
 I'ollio. The Essens 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 Pythagoreans ; 
 concerning whom I shall discourse more fully 
 elsewhere. However, itisbut fit to set down 
 here the reasons wherefore Herod had these 
 Essens in such honour, and thought higher of 
 them than their mortal nature required : nor 
 will this account be unsuitable to the nature 
 of this history, as it will show the opinioti men 
 had of these Essens. 
 
 5. Now there was one of these Essens, 
 whose name was Manahem, who had this tes- 
 titnony, that he not only conducted his life 
 after an excellent manner, but had the fore- 
 knowledge of future events given him by 
 God also. This man once saw Herod when 
 he was a child, and going to school, and sa- 
 luted him as king of the Jews ; but he, think- 
 ing 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 IManahem smiled 
 to himself, and clapped him on his backside 
 with his hand, and said, " However that be, 
 thou wilt be king, ana wiit hegin thy reign 
 happily, for God finds thee worthy of it ; and 
 do thou remember the blows that Manaheir. 
 hath given thee, as being a signal of the 
 change of thy fortune ; and truly this will be 
 the best reasoning for thee, that thou love 
 justice towards men], and piety towards God, 
 and clemency towards thy citizens ; yet do I 
 know how thy whole conduct will be, that 
 tliou wilt not be such a one, for thou wilt ex- 
 cel 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 conclusion of thy 
 life, when thou wilt find that he will be mindful 
 of them, and punish tlue for them." Now 
 at that time Herod diil not at all attend to 
 what Manahem said, as having no hopes of 
 such advancement; but a little afterward, 
 when he was so fortunate as to be advanced 
 to the iligiiity of king, and was in the height 
 of his dominion, he sent for Manahem, and 
 asked him how long he should reign. Ma- 
 nahem dill not tell him the full length of his 
 reign ; wherefore, upon that silence of his, 
 he asked him larther, whether he shoidd reign 
 ten years or not? He replied, " Yes< twenty, 
 nay, thirty years ;" but did not assign the 
 just determinate limit of his reign. Herod 
 was satisfied with these rejilies, and gave ]Ma- 
 nahem his hand, and dismissed him ; and 
 from that time he continueil to honour all the 
 Kssetis. We have thought it proper to re- 
 late these facts to our readers, how strange 
 soever they be, and to declare what hath hap- 
 pened among us, because many of these 11s- 
 
 X 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 429 
 
 sens have, by their e-xcfllent virtue, been this temple to God Almighty, yet does it 
 thought worthy of tliis knowledge of divine want sixty cubits of its largeness in altitude ; 
 revelations. for so much did that first teinple which Solo- 
 
 mon built exceed this temple: nor let any 
 one condemn our fathers for their negligence 
 PH APTFR "V T ' ""^ want of piety herein, for it was not their 
 
 i fault that the temple was no higher ; for they 
 HOW HKIlOl) REBi;iI,T THE TEiMPLE, AND RAISED vi'ere Cyrus, and Darius the son of Hystas- 
 IT HiGHKH, AND MADE IT MORE MAGNIFI- pes, who determined the measures for its re-- 
 CENT THAN IT WAS BEFORE; AND ALSO CON- building ; and it hatli been by reason of the 
 CEUNING THAT TOWER WHICH HE CALLED Subjection of those fathers of ours to them 
 ^NTONIA. and to their posterity, and after them to the 
 
 Macedonians, that they had not the opportii- 
 § 1. And now Herod, in the eighteenth year nity to follow the original model of this pious 
 of his reign, and after the acts already men- edific, nor could raise it to its ancient a!ti- 
 tioned, undertook a very great work, that tude ; but since I am now, by God's will, 
 is, to build of himself the temple of God,* your governor, and I have had peace a long 
 and make it larger in compass, and to raise it time, and have gained great riches and large 
 to a most mai,nificent altitude, as esteeming , revenues, and, what is the principal thing of 
 it to be the most glorious of all his actions, as all, I am at amity with and well regarded by 
 it really was, to bring it to perfection, and , the Romans, who, if I may so say, are the 
 that this would be sufficient for an everlast- ! rulers of the whole world, I will do myendea- 
 ing memorial of him ; but as he knew the , vour to correct that imperfection, which hatli 
 multitude were not ready nor willing to as- arisen from the necessity of our aflairs, and 
 sist him in so vast a design, he thought to the slavery we have been under formerly, and 
 prepare them first by making a speech to to make a thankful return, after the most pi- 
 them, and then set about the work itself; so ous manner to God, for what blessings I havs 
 he called them together, and spake thus to received from him, by giving me this king- 
 them : — "I think I need not speak to you, dom, and that by rendering his temple as 
 my countrymen, about such other works as I complete as I am able." 
 
 have done since I came to the kingdom, al- 2. And this was the speech wliich Herod 
 though I may say they have been performed made to thi.m : but still this speech affriglited 
 in such a manner as to bring more security 'many of the people, as being unexpected bj 
 to you than glory to myself; for I have nei- them, and because it seemed incredible, it did 
 ther been negligent in the most difficult ' not encourage them, but put a damp upon 
 times about what tended to ease your ne- ; them, for they were afraid that he would pull 
 ce>sities, nor have the buildings I have made down the whole edifice, and not be able to 
 been so proper to preserve me as yourselves bring his intentions to perfection for its re- 
 from injuries; and I imagine that, with God's building; and this danger ajipeared to them 
 assistance, I have advanced the nation of to be very great, and the vastness of the un- 
 the Jews to a degree of happiness which dertaking to be such as could liardly be ac- 
 they never had before ; and for the particu- ' complished. But while they were in this dis- 
 lar edifices belonging to your own country, ' position, the king encouraged them, and told 
 and to your own cities, as also to those cities them he would not pull down their temple till 
 that we have lately acquired, which we have all things were gotten ready for building it up 
 erected and greatly adorned, and thereby aug- entirely again. And as he promised them 
 mented the dignity of your nation, it seems this beforehand, so he did not break his word 
 to me a needless task to enumerate them to with them, but got ready a thousand waggons, 
 you, since you well know them yourselves ;' that were to bring stones for the bi'iilding, 
 but as to that undertakin-g which I have a and those out ten thousand of the most skil- 
 niiiid to set about at present, and which will ful workmen, and bought a thousand sacer- 
 be a work of the greatest piety and excellence dotal garments for as many of the priests, and 
 thiit can possibly be undertaken by us, I will had some of them taught (he arts of stone- 
 now declare it to you. Our fathers, indeed, cutters, and others of carpenters, and then 
 when they were returned from Babylon, built! began to build ; but this not till every thing 
 
 * Wc- may here obsorve. that the fancy of the mo- ^'^'S well prepared for the work, 
 dern Jews, in calling this temple, which was really the 3. So Herod took away the old foundations, 
 
 third of their temples, the second temple, followed so I „ i i„; j „.k . ^^A „, ,. .1 .i,„ .„.„., 1„ ,..,«., 
 
 long by later Christians, seems to be without any solid | ^"^^ ^^^'^ others, and erected the temple upon 
 
 ' " ■ them, being in length a hundred cubits, and 
 
 in height twenty additional cubits, which 
 
 foundation. The reason why the Christians here fol- 
 low the Jews is, because of the projihccy of Hagijai (ii, 
 6, 9), which they expound of tlie Mcssiali's coiuiiig to 
 the second or Zorobabel's temple, of wliich they sii^)- 
 pose this of Herod to be only a continuation, whicli is 
 meant, 1 think, of his coming to the fourth and last 
 temple, or to thai future, largi-^t, and most glorious one, 
 described by Kzekiel j whence 1 take the tonner notion, 
 how gener.il soever, to be a great mistake.^ See Lit 
 
 [twenty], upon the sinking of their founda- 
 tions, f fell down : and this p;u-t it was that 
 
 f Some of our modem students in architecture have 
 made a strange blunder here, when they iin.igine tliat 
 
 loiap. of I'roph. p. ai. josephus ailirms the entire fomulation of the teniiylo 
 
iSO 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 we resolved to raise acjaiti in the tUys of 
 Nero. Now the teinple was built of stones 
 that were white and strong, and each of their 
 lenn;tli was twenty-five cuhits, their height 
 .vas eight, and their breadth about twelve; 
 and the whole structure, as also the structure 
 of the royal cloister, was on each side much 
 tower, but the middle was mucli higher, till 
 t!)ey were visible to those that dwelt in the 
 country for a >:reat many furlongs, but chief- 
 ly to such as lived over-against them and those 
 that approached to them. The temple had 
 doocs also at the entrance, and lintels over 
 tliem, of the same height with the temple it- 
 self. They were adorned with embroidered 
 veils, with their flowers of purple, and pil- 
 lars interwoven : and over these, but under 
 the c-rown-work, was spread out a golden vine, 
 with its branches hanging down from a great 
 lieight, the largeness and fine workmanship 
 of which was a surprising sight to the spec- 
 tators, to see what vast materials there were, 
 and with what great skill thi- workmanship 
 was done. He also encoin passed the entire 
 temple with very large cloisters, contriving 
 them to be in a due proportion tiiereto ; and 
 he laid out larger sums of money upon them 
 than had been done before him, till it seemed 
 that no one else had so greatly adorne<l the 
 temple as lie had done. There was a large 
 wail to both the cloisters; which wall w,:s it- 
 self the most prodigious work that was ever 
 heard of by man. The hill was a rocky 
 ascent, that declined by degrees towards the 
 east parts of the city, till it came to an ele- 
 vated level. This hill it was which Solomon, 
 who was the first of our kings, ijyoivine reve- 
 lation, encompassed with a wall; it was of ex- 
 cellent workmanship upwards, and round tlie 
 top of it. He also built a wall below, begin- 
 ning at the bottom, which was encompassed 
 by a deep valley ; and at the south side he 
 laid rocks together, 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 eili- 
 fice and its altitude were iminense, and till 
 the vastness of tlie 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 immoveable for all 
 
 or holy house sunk down into the rwkv mountain on 
 wh>c-h it stooJ, no less th.n twcntv eulnts, wlicreas lie 
 U clear Uiat they w;re the tbuntlatrons of tlu- Hdditinn.il 
 twenty cubits only above the hundred >niadc perhaps 
 weak on pur|>osc, and only for show ar.d craudpiir), that 
 sunk or fell dowti, as Or. Hudson rikjhllv umhrslands 
 hiin : nor is the thing itself po>»ible ni tlie other sense. 
 Agiippa't preparation for IniildinK the in-itr p.irlsoflhe 
 temple twenty cubits hicher (ilislorv of the War, b. v, 
 ch. 1, sect. H), must in all probaOilWy refc r to this mat- 
 ter, since Joscnhus says here, that this whieh had fal- 
 len down was designed tube raised up.igain under Nero, 
 under whom Agnpiia made that preparation. But what 
 Jospphus says presently, that Solomon wasihc lirst kin;; 
 of the Jews, appcais iiy the paiallel pliier, Antifi. b. xx, 
 ch. ix, seel. 7. and other places, to Iw meant oiil\ the 
 first of ria' id"» posterity, and the firki buildct jf the 
 t«mpUv 
 
 future times. When this work [for the foun- 
 dation] 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 outwarf' 
 surface, and filled up the hollow places whic.. 
 were about the wall, and made it a level on 
 the external ujiper 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 furlong : but 
 within this wall, and on the very top of all, 
 there ran aniither wall of stone also, having, on 
 the east quarter, a doul)le 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 1 
 adorned by many kings in former times; and 
 round about the entire temple wvrc fixed tl)e 
 spoils taken froin barbarous nations; all these 
 had been dedicated to the temple by Herod, 
 with the addition of tliese he bad taken from , 
 the Arabians. , 
 
 4. Now on the north side [of the temple] ! 
 was built a citadel, whose walls were square, I 
 and strong, and of extraordinary firmness. I 
 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 t 
 which were reposited the vestments of the 
 high-priest, which the higli-priest only put on 
 at the time when he was to offer sacrifice. 
 These vestments king Herod kept in tlia» | 
 place ; anH after his death tlu-y were imder the 
 power of the Ilomans, until the time of Ti- 
 berius Caesar; under whose reign Vitellius, the 1 
 president of Syria, when he once came to Je- 
 rusalem, and had been most magnificently r&- 
 ceived by the multitude, he hail a mind to 
 inake them some requital for the kindness 
 they had shown him ; so, upon their petition 
 to have those holy vestments in their own 
 power, he wrote about tliem to Tiberius Cs- 
 sar, 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 l.onginus, who was 
 president of .Syria, and Cuspius Eadus, wiio 
 was procurator of Judea, enjoisied the Jews 
 to reposit those vestments in tlie tower of An- 
 tonia, for that they ought to have tliwii in their 
 power, as they formerly had. However, the 
 Jews sent ambassadors to Claudius Cassar, to 
 intercede «ith him for them; upon whose 
 coming, king .\grip])a, junior, being then at 
 Rome, asked for and ohiaiiied the power over 
 them from the emperor; who gave command 
 to VitelliuK, who was then commander in Syn'a, 
 to give tliem it accordingly. Before that time 
 thej were kept under the seal of the high- 
 priest, and of the treasurers, of the temple ; 
 which treasurers, the day before a festival, 
 went up to the Roman captain of the tem])!e 
 guards, and viewed their own seal, and re- 
 ceived tl/e vestments ; and again when the fes- 
 tival was over, they brought it to tlie same 
 
CHAP. XI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 431 
 
 place, and showed tlie captain of the temple- 
 guards tlieir ieal, which corresponded with his 
 se-al, and reposited tliem there. And that 
 these things were so, the afflictions that hap. 
 pened to us afterward [about tlien^l are suf- 
 ficient evidence : but for the tower itself, when 
 Herod the king of the Jews had fortified it 
 more firmly tlian bofore, in order to secure 
 and guard the temple, he gratified Antonius, 
 who was liis friend, and the Roman ruler, and 
 then gave it the name of the Tower of An- 
 tunia. 
 
 5. Now, in the western quarter 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 intermediate valley ; two 
 more led to the suburbs of the city ; and tlie 
 last led to the other city, where the road de- 
 scended down into the valley by a great num- 
 ber of steps, and thence up again by the as- 
 cent ; for the city lay over-against the temple 
 in the manner of a theatre, and was encom- 
 passed with a deep valley along the entire 
 south quarter ; but the fourth front of tlie 
 temple, which was southward, had indeed it- 
 self gates ill its middle, as also it had the 
 royal cloisters, with three walks, which reach- 
 ed in length from the cast valley unto that 
 on the west, for it was impossible it sliould 
 reach any faither : and this cloister deserves 
 to be mentioned better than any other under 
 tlia sun ; for while the valley was very deep, 
 and its bottom could not be seen, if you look- 
 ed 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 tlie top of the battlements, 
 or down both those altitudes, ho would be 
 giddy, while his sight could not reach to such 
 a'U immense depth. This cloister had pillars 
 that stood in four rows one over-against the 
 other all along, for the fourth row was inter- 
 woven 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 spiral at its basis ; 
 and the number of all the pillars [in tliat 
 court] was an hundred and sixty-two. Tlicir 
 chapiters were made with sculptures after the 
 Corinthian order, and caused an amazement 
 [to the spectators], by reason of the grandeur 
 of the whole. These four rows of pillars in- 
 cluded three intervals for vvalkiiig in the mid- 
 dle of this cloister ; two of which walks were 
 made parallel to each other, and were con . 
 trived after the same manner ; the breadth of 
 each of them was thirty feet, the length was 
 a I'urlong, and the height fifty feet : but the 
 breadth of the middle part of the cloister was 
 one and a lialf of the other, and the height 
 was double, for it was much higher than those 
 on each side ; but the roofs were adorned 
 "'itJi deep sculptures in wood, repr^enting 
 
 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 in- 
 credible, and to such as had seen it, was 
 greatly amazing. Thus was the first enclo- 
 sure. 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 
 w;>ll for a partition, with an 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 j but on 
 the east quarter, towards the sun-rising, there 
 was one large gate through which such as 
 were pure came in, together with their wives; 
 but the temple farther inward in that gate 
 was not allowed to tlie women ; but still more 
 inward was there a third [court of the] tem- 
 ple, 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 sacrifices 
 and burnt-offerings to God. Into none of 
 these tiiree did king Herod enter,* for he was 
 forbidden, because he was not a priest. How- 
 ever, he took care of the cloisters and the outer 
 enclosures ; and these he built in eight yeai;s 
 
 6. But the temple itself was built by the 
 priests in a year and six months, — upon whicl- 
 all the people were full of joy ; and present- 
 ly they returned thanks, in the first place, to 
 God ; and in the next place, for the alacrity 
 the king had shown. Tiiey feasted and cele- 
 brated this rebuilding of the temple : and for 
 the king, he sacrificed three hundred oxen 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 in- 
 auguration, which he kept of an old custom 
 as a festival, and it now coincided with the 
 other ; which coincidence of them both made 
 the festival most illustrious. 
 
 7. There was also an occult passage built 
 for the king: it led from Antonia to the in- 
 ner temple, at its eastern gate ; over which he 
 also erected for liimself a tower, that he might 
 have tlie opportunity of a subterraneous as- 
 cent to the temple, in order to guard against 
 any sedition which might be made by the peo- 
 ple against their kings. It is also reported, f 
 
 « " Into none of these tliree did king Herod enter," 
 i. e. 1, Not into the eoiul of the priests; 'i. Nor into 
 the holy house itself; ,5, Nor into the separate place 
 iKlonging to the altar, as the words following imply ; for 
 none but priests, or their attendants the Levites, rnight 
 come into any of them. See Antiq. b. xvi, ch. iv, stet. 
 6, wlien Heiod goes into the temple, and makes a speech 
 in it to the peojilc ; but that could only be into the court 
 of Israel, whither the people could come to hear him. 
 
 t This tradition whioh Josephus here mentions, as 
 delivered down from fathers to their childien, of this 
 
 "A 
 
4.'i2 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 that during the time tliat the temple was 
 builiiiiig, it did not rain in tiie day-time, but 
 that the showers fell in the niglits, so tliat tiie 
 work was not hindered. And this our fathers 
 
 liave delivered to us ; nor is it incredible, U 
 any have regard to tiie manifestations of God. 
 And thus was performed tlie work of tlie re- 
 building of the temple. 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF TWELVE YEARS. 
 
 rUOM THE FINISHING OF THE TEMPLE BY HEROD TO THE 
 DEATH OF ALEXANDER AND ARISTOBULUS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 K LAW OF HF.ROD'S ABOUT THIEVES. SALO- 
 ME AND PHtaORAS CaLI'MNIATE ALEXAN- 
 DKR AND ARISTOIiL'LIJS, UPON THEIR RE- 
 TURN FROM ROME, FOR WHOM HEROD YET 
 PROVIDES WIVES. 
 
 § 1. As king Herod was very zealous in the 
 administration of his entire government, and 
 desirous to put a slop to particular acts of in- 
 justice which were done by criminals about 
 the city and country, he made a law, no way 
 like our original laws, and whicli he enacted 
 of himself, to expose housebreakers to be 
 ejected out of his kingdom ; which |)unish- 
 ment was not only grievous to be borne by 
 the offenders, but contained in it a dissolu- 
 tion of tiie customs of our forefathers ; for 
 tliis slavery to foreigners, and such as did not 
 live after the manner of Jews, and tliis neces- 
 sity tliat they were under to do whatsoever 
 such men sliould command, was an offence 
 against our religious settlement, rather than a 
 punishment to such as were found to liave of- 
 fended, such a punishment being avoided in 
 our original laws ; for those laws ordain, tliat 
 the thief shall restore fourfold ; and that if he 
 have not so mucli, he shall be sold indeed, 
 but not to foreigners, nor so that lie be under 
 perpi'tual slavery, for he must have been re- 
 leased after six years. But this law, thus en- 
 
 iiarticiilar remarkable circumstance relating to thebiiitd- 
 iiij; of llcroiPs teni|iU>, is ;i (lemonstration that such its 
 bLiilcling was a known thing in .luilea at this liniu. lie 
 was born but fort>-six years after it is related to have 
 been Klli^he<l, and inigtit liimself have seen and spoken 
 «vitli some of the builders Ihenisohes, and with a great 
 nuuibor of those who had seen its buiUhng. The doubt 
 thcrit'ore about the truth of tliis history of the imlling 
 down and rebuilding this temple bj Heroii, whicii some 
 weak people have indulged, was not then much greater 
 than it S(«)n may be, wheiher or not St. Paul's church in 
 London was burnt down in the fire of London, A D l)>'l!'', 
 aiul rebuilt by Hii Chri»tu|)her Wren a little afturwaid. 
 
 acted in order to introduce a severe and ille- 
 gal punishment, seemed to be a piece of inso- 
 lence in Herod, when he did not act as a king 
 but as a tyrant, and thus contemptuously, 
 and without any regard to his subjects, did he 
 venture to introduce such a punishmen*. 
 Now this penalty thus brought into practice, 
 was lika Herod's other actions, and became a 
 part of his accusation, and an occasion of the 
 hatred he lay under. 
 
 2. Now at this time it was that he sailed to 
 Italy, as very desirous to meet with CiEsar, 
 and to see his sons w ho lived at Koine : 
 and Cassar 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 having 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 became 
 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, tlie king's sister, and to such 
 as had raised calumnies against ^lariamne ; 
 for they were suspicious, that when these 
 came to the government, they should be pu- 
 nislied for the wickedness they had been guilty 
 of against their mother; so they made this 
 very fear of theirs a irotive 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 converse with their mother's mur- 
 derer. Now, by carrying these stories, that 
 had indeed a true foundation [in the fact'', 
 but were only built on probabilities as to the 
 present accusation, they were able to do them 
 mischief, and to make Iltrod take away that 
 kindness from his sons which he had before 
 
*v 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 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, even in length of time, 
 was not able to overcome ; yet was the king 
 at that time in a condition to prefer the natu- 
 ral ai'ection of a father before all the suspi- 
 cions and calumnies his sons lay under : 
 so he respected them as he ought to do, and 
 married them to wives, now they were of an 
 age suitable thereto. To Aristobulus he gave 
 for a wife Bernice, Salome's daughter ; and 
 to Alexander, Glaphyra, the daughter of Ar- 
 chelaus, king of Cappadocia. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 HOW HEROD TWICE SAILED TO AGRIIPA; AND 
 HOW, UrOy THE COMPLAINT OT THE JEWS 
 IN IONIA AGAINST THE GREEKS, AGRtPPA 
 CONFIRMED THE LAWS OF THE JEWJ TO 
 THEM. 
 
 § 1. When Herod had dispatched these af- 
 fairs, 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 
 'jad 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 tliat might please him. 
 He entertained him in his new-built cities, 
 and showed him the edifices he had built, and 
 provided all sorts of tlie best and most costly 
 dainties for him and his friends, and that at 
 Sebaste and Cesarea, about that port tliat he 
 had built, and at the fortresses which he had 
 erected at great expenses, Aloxandrium, and 
 Herodium, and Ilyrcania. He also conduct- 
 ed liim 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, tliat he 
 abode many days with them, and would will- 
 ingly have staid longer, but that the season 
 of the year made him make haste away ; for, 
 as winter was coming on, he thought it not 
 safe to go to sea later, and yet he was of ne- 
 cessity to return again to Ionia. 
 
 9. So Agrippa went away, when Herod 
 had bestowed on him, and on the principal of 
 those that were with him, many presents ; 
 but king Herod, when he had passed the win- 
 ter in his own dominions, made haste to get 
 to him again in the spring, when he knew he 
 designed to go to a campaign at tlie Bospho- 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 433 
 
 rus. 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 Ciiius, and 
 there he kindly treated a great many that 
 came to him, and obliged them by giving 
 them royal gifts. And when he saw tliat the 
 portico of the city was 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 
 sufl'icient to finish the building; and ordered 
 them not to overlook that portico, but to re- 
 build it quickly, that so the city might recover 
 its proper ornaments. And when the high 
 winds were laid, he sailed to Mitylene, and 
 thence to Byzantium ; and when he heard 
 that Agrippa was sailed beyond the Cyanean 
 rocks, he made all the haste possible to over- 
 take him, and came up with him about Si- 
 nope, in Pontus. He was seen sailing by 
 the shipmcn most unexpectedly, but appeared 
 to their great joy; and many friendly saluta- 
 tions there were between them, insomuch that 
 Agrippa thought lie bad received the greatest 
 marks of the king's kindness and humanity 
 towards him possible, since the king had come 
 so long a voyage, and at a very proper sea- 
 son, for his assistance, and had left the govern- 
 ment of his own dominions, and thought it 
 more worth his while to come to him. Ac- 
 cordingly, Herod was all in all to Agrippa, 
 in the management of the war, and a great 
 assistant in civil affairs, and in giving liim 
 counsel as to particular matters. He was 
 also a pleasant companion 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 tJie re- 
 spect Agrippa had for him. Now as soon as 
 those aflairs of Pontus were finished, for v/hoss 
 sake Agrippa was sent thither, they did not 
 think fit to return by sea, but passed through 
 Paphlagonia and Cappadocia; they then tra- 
 velled thence over great Phrygia, and came 
 to Ephesus, and then they sailed from Ephe- 
 sus to Samos, And indeed the king bestow- 
 ed a great many benefits on every city that he 
 came to, according as they stood in need of 
 them ; for as for those that wanted either mo- 
 ney or kind treatment, he was not wanting to 
 them; but he supplied the former himself out 
 of bis own expenses : lie also became an in- 
 tercessor with Agri]ipa for all such as sought 
 after his favour, and he brought things so a- 
 bout, that the petitioners failed in none of 
 their suits to him, Agrippa being himself of 
 a good disposition, and of great generositv, 
 and ready to grant all such requests as niiglit 
 be advantageous to the petitioners, provided 
 they were not to the detriment of others. 
 2 O 
 
4S4. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Tlie inclination of the king was of great 
 weight also, and still excited Agrippa, who 
 was himself ready to do good ; for he made a 
 reconciliation between the people of Ilium, at 
 whom he was angry, and paid what money the 
 people of Chins owed Cassar's procurators, 
 and discharged them of their tributes ; and 
 helped all others, according as their several 
 necessities required. 
 
 3. 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 
 whicli they suflered, while they were not per- 
 mitted to use their own laws, but were com- 
 pelled to prosecute their law-suits, by the ill 
 usage 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 otlier offices as obliged 
 them to spend their sacred money ; from 
 which burdens they always used to be freed 
 by the Romans, who had still permitted 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 Ro- 
 mans, 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 in- 
 juries they lie under ; and for those that now 
 are complainants, they approach you with 
 great assurance ; for as tliey 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 tlie donors, will take 
 care that those favours you have already grant- 
 ed them may not be taken away from them. 
 We have received these favours from you, 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 hindrance of the Jews, and use them re- 
 proachfully, it is evident that tiiey aflront 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 favours 
 already granted may be abrogated. Now if 
 any one should ask these Gentiles themselves, 
 which of the two things they would choose to 
 jiart with, their lives, or the customs of their 
 
 BOOK X\l 
 
 forefathers, their solemnities, their sacrifices, 
 their festivals, which they celebrate in honour 
 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 althougli they 
 would not be thus treated themselves, yet do 
 they endeavour to compel others to comply 
 with them, as if it were not as great an in- 
 stance of impiety, profanely to dissolve the 
 religious solemnities of any others, as to be 
 negligent in the observation of their own to- 
 wards their gods. And let us now consider 
 the one of these practices : — Is there any peo- 
 ple, 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 desire to make void the 
 favours they have granted ? No one is cer- 
 tainly so mad ; for there are no men but such 
 as have been partakers of their favours, both 
 public and private ; and indeed those that take 
 away what you have granted, can have no as- 
 surance, but every one of their own grants 
 made them by you may be taken from them 
 also; which grants of yours can yet never be 
 sufficiently valued ; for if they consider the 
 old governments under kings, together with 
 your present government, besides the great 
 number of benefits which this government 
 hath bestowed on them, in order to their hap- 
 piness, 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 de- 
 sire, even when we are in the best circumstan- 
 ces, are not such as deserve to be envied, 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 prohibi- 
 tion, whicii, as it appears not in itself a privi- 
 lege to be envied us, so it is for the advantage 
 of those that grant it to us : for if the Divi- 
 nity delights in being honoured, he must de- 
 light in those that permit him to be honoured. 
 And there are none of our customs which are 
 inhuman, but all tending to piety, and de- 
 voted to the preservation 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 ; it is dedicated to the learning of our 
 customs and laws,* we thinking it proper to 
 
 • We mav here ob<;cr%e the ancient practice of the 
 Jews, of (Uiliealing the Sabbath day, not to idleness^ 
 but to till learning iheir sacred rites and religious cu» 
 
 ^ 
 
•V 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 reflect on them, as well as on any [good] tiling 
 else, in order to our avoiding of sin. If any 
 one therefore examine into our observances, 
 he will find they are good in themselves, and 
 that they are ancient also, though some think 
 otherwise, insomuch that those who have re- 
 ceived them cannot easily be brought to de- 
 part 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 violently seize up- 
 on that money of ours which is offered to God, 
 and called sacred money, and this openly, after 
 a sacrilegious manner ; and they impose tri- 
 butes 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 tbey 
 would put an affront on our religion, of 
 which they are conscious as well as we, and 
 have indulged tliemselves in an unjust, and 
 to them involuntary hatred ; for yoiw govern- 
 ment over all is one, tending to the establish- 
 ing of benevolence, and abolishing of ill-will 
 among such as are disposed to it. This is 
 therefore what we implore from thee, most ex- 
 cellent Agrippa, that we may not be ill treat- 
 ed ; that we may not be abused ; that we may 
 not be hindered from making use of our own 
 customs, nor be despoiled of our goods ; nor 
 be forced by these men to do what we our- 
 selves 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 concern- 
 ing these ttings, which it is evident were 
 granted after you had experience of our fide- 
 lity towards 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 advantages 
 than they could have hoped for, and thereby 
 your government is become a great advantage 
 to them. And if any one were able to enu- 
 merate the prosperity you have conferred on 
 every nation, which they possess by your 
 means, he could never put an end to his dis- 
 course ; 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 instance of good-will, as to your house, 
 hath he been deficient ? What mark of fide- 
 lity to it hath he omitted ? What token of 
 honour hath he not devised ? What occasion 
 for his assistance of you hath he not regarded 
 
 toms, and to the meditation on the law of Moses. The 
 like to which we meet w.th elsewhere in JoSephus also 
 against Apion, b. i, sect. 2'i. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 435 
 
 at the very first? What hindereth, therefore, 
 but that your kindness 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 Anti- 
 pater, who when Ca3sar made an expedition 
 into Egypt, assisted him witii tivo thousand 
 armed men, and proved inferior to none, 
 neither in the battles on land, nor in the ma- 
 nagement of the navy ; and what need I say 
 any thing of how great weight those soldieri 
 were at that juncture ? or how many, and how 
 great presents they were vouchsafed by Csesar ? 
 And truly I ought before now to have men- 
 tioned the epistles which Cassar wrote to the se- 
 nate; and how Antipater had honours, and the 
 freedom of the city of Rome, bestowed upon 
 him ; for these are demonstrations both that we 
 have received these favours by our own deserts, 
 and do on that account petition thee for thy 
 confirmat'ion of them, from whom we had rea- 
 son to hope for them, though they had not been 
 given us before, both out of regard to our 
 king's disposition towards you, and your dis- 
 position towards him ; and farther, we have 
 been informed by those Jews that were there, 
 with what kindness thou earnest into our coun- 
 try, and how thou oflferedst the most perfect sa- 
 crifices to God, and honouredst him with re- 
 markable vows, and how thou gavest the peo- 
 ple a feast, and acceptedst of their own hospi- 
 table 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 whicli thou 
 hast returned to the Jewish nation, and which 
 hath been procured tliem by the family of He- 
 rod. 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." 
 
 4. AV^hcn 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 intercession 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 demonstrated 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 opjjressed by 
 violence, he made this answer : — That, on ac- 
 count of Herod's good-will and friendship, 
 he was ready to grant the Jews whatsoever 
 they should ask him, and that their requests 
 seemed to him in themselves just ; and that 
 if they requested any thing farther, he should 
 
 _r 
 
*36 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 not scruple to grant it them, provided they 
 were no way to tlie detriment of the lloman 
 government ; huttliat, while tlieir request was 
 no more than this, that what privileges they 
 liad already given tliem might not be abro- 
 gated, he confirmed this to them, that they 
 might continue in the observation of their 
 own customs, witliout any one offering them 
 the loast injury ; and when lie had said thus, 
 he dissolved the assembly : upon which He- 
 rod stood up and saluted him, and gave him 
 thanks for the kind disposition he showed to 
 them. Agri])|)a also took tliis in a very 
 obliging manner, and saluted him again, and 
 embraced him in his arms ; after which he 
 went a«ay from Lesbos ; but the king deter- 
 mined to sail from Samos to his oun coun- 
 try ; and when he had taken his leave of 
 Agrippa, he pursued his voyage, and landed 
 at Cesarea in a few days' time, as having fa- 
 vourable winds ; from whence he went to Je- 
 rusalem, and there gathered all the people 
 together to an assembly, not a few being 
 there out of the country also. So when he 
 caine to them, and gave them a particular ac- 
 count of all his journey, and of tlie affairs of 
 all the Jews in Asia, how by his means they 
 would live without injurious treatment for the 
 time to come. He also told tliem of the en- 
 tire good fortune he had met with, and how 
 he had administered the government, and had 
 
 fectation of dominion. The old grudge was also 
 renewed ; and they cast reproaclies on Salome 
 and I'iieroras, who requited tlie 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 dif- 
 ferent ; for as for the young men, (hey were 
 rash, reproaching and affronting the others 
 o))enly, and were inexperienced enough to 
 think it the most generous to declare their 
 minds in that undaunted manner; but the 
 others did not take that method, but made 
 use of calumnies after a subtile and a spite- 
 ful manner, still provoking the young men, 
 and imagining that their boldness might in 
 time turn to the offering violence to their fa- 
 ther, for inasmuch as they were not ashamed 
 of the pretended crimes of their mother, nor 
 thought she suffered justly, these sup])osed 
 tiiat might at length exceed all bounds, and 
 induce them to think they ought to be aveng- 
 ed on their father, though it were by dis- 
 patching him with their own hands. At 
 length it came to this, that the wliole city 
 was full of their discourses, and, as is usual 
 in such contests, the unskilfulness of the 
 young men was pitied ; but the contrivance 
 of Salome was too hard for them, and what 
 imputations she laid upon them came to be 
 believed, by means of their own conduct ; 
 
 not neglected any thing which was for their for they were so deeply affected with the death 
 
 advantage ; and as he was very joyful, he now 
 remitted to them the fourth part of their taxes 
 for the last year. Accordingly, they were so 
 pleased with his favour and speech to them, 
 that they went their ways with great glad- 
 ness, and vv'ished the king all manner of hap- 
 piness. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW GREAT DISTL'UBANCES AROSE IN HEROD's 
 FAMILY ON HIS PREFERUING ANTIPATER, 
 IMS ELDEST SON, BEFORE THE REST, TILL 
 ALEXANDER TOOK THAT INJURY VERY HEI- 
 NOUSLY. 
 
 § 1. But now the affairs in Herod's family 
 were in more and more disorder, and became 
 more severe upon him, l)y the hatred of Salome 
 to the young men [Alexander and Aristobu- 
 lus\ which descended as it were by inheritance 
 [from their mother IMariamne] : and as she 
 had fully succeeded against their mother, so 
 she )>roceeded 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 to revenge her death. The 
 young men had also somewhat of a bold and 
 uneasy disposition towards their father, occa- 
 sioned by the remembrance of what their mo- 
 ther had unjustly suflered, and by tlieir own nf- 
 
 of their mother, that while they said both she 
 and themselves 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 pitiable case also, 
 because they were forced to live with those 
 that had been her murderers, and to be par- 
 takers with them. 
 
 2. These disorders increased greatly, and 
 the king's absence abroad had afforded a (it 
 oi)i)ortunity for that increase ; but as soon as 
 Herod was returned, and had made the fore- 
 mentioned 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 thai they would not 
 spare him any longer, but revenge their mo- 
 ther's deatli upon him. I'iiey also added an- 
 other circumstance, that their hopes were fix- 
 ed on Archelaus, the king of Cai)padocia, that 
 they should be able by his means to come to 
 Caesar, and accuse their father. Upon hear- 
 ing such things, Herod was immediately dis- 
 turbed ; 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 
 disorders in his family had hindered him from 
 enjoying any comfort from tliose that were 
 dearest to l,im, or from his wife whom he lov- 
 ed so well ; and suspecting that his future 
 troubles would soon be heavier and grcatei 
 than lliose Uiat were past, he was in great 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. IV 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 437 
 
 confusion of mind, for divine Providence had I and while these joint accusations, which, from 
 
 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 de- 
 gree as no one could imagine, and made it a 
 doubtful question, whether, upon the com- 
 parison of both, he ought to have exchanged 
 so great a success of outward good things for 
 so great misfortunes at home, or whetlier he 
 ought not to have chosen to avoid the calami- 
 ties relating to bis family, though he had, for 
 a compensation, never been possessed of the 
 admired grandeur of a kingdom. 
 
 3 As he was thus disturbed and afflicted, 
 in order to depress tliese 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 in- 
 dulge him as he did afterwards, when he was 
 quite overcome by him, and let iiim do every 
 thing as he pleased, but rather with a design of 
 depressing the insolence of the sons of INIariam- 
 ne, and managing this elevation of his son, that it 
 might be for a warning to them ; for this bold 
 behaviour of theirs [he thought] would not be 
 so great, if they were once persuaded that the 
 succession to the kingdom did not appertain 
 to them alone, or must of necessity come to 
 them. So he introduced Antipater as tlieir 
 antagonist, and imagined that he made a good 
 provision for discouraging 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 : but 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 degree 
 of freedom, and began to expect greater things 
 than he had before hoped for, he had but one 
 single design in his head, and that was to dis- 
 tress 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 
 tliem, and ready to be brought upon in any 
 way his zeal against them should advise him 
 to pursue, that he might be continually more 
 and more severe against them. Accordingly 
 all the reports that were spread abroad came 
 from him, while he avoided himself the sus- 
 picion, as if those discoveries proceeded from 
 liim : but he rather chose to make use of 
 tliose persons for his assistants that were un- 
 suspected, and such as might be believed to 
 speak truth by reason of the good-will they 
 bore to the king ; and indeed there were al- 
 ready not a few who cultivated a friendship 
 with Antipater, in hopes of gaining somewiiat 
 by him, and these were the men who most of 
 all persuaded Herod, because they appeared 
 to speak thus out of their good-\?ill to him ; 
 
 ^\ . 
 
 various foundations, supported one another's 
 veracity, the young men themselves afforded 
 farther 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 with an evil intention reserved in me- 
 m.ory by Antipater against a proper oppor- 
 tunity ; and when they were told to Herod, 
 with aggravations, increased the disorder 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 Ma- 
 riamne, 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 motiier to 
 court also. He also wrote frequently to Csesar 
 in favour of him, and more earnestly recom- 
 mended him to his care particularly. And 
 when Agrippa was returned to Rome, after 
 he had finished his ten years government in 
 Asia,* Herod sailed from Judea; and when he 
 met with him, he had none with him but An- 
 tipater, whom he delivered 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 entirely re- 
 jected from any hopes of the kingdom. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW, DURING ANTI?ATER'S ABODE AT EOME, 
 
 herod brought alexander and aristo- 
 bulus before c^sar, and accused them. 
 Alexander's defence of himself before 
 c^sar, and reconciuation to his fa- 
 
 THER. 
 
 § I. 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 perpe- 
 tually 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 
 
 * This interval of ten years for the duration Marcus 
 Agrijipa's government in ABia, seems to be true, aiid 
 agreeable to the Roman histor)-. See Ushsr's Aiuial* 
 at A. M. "5592. 
 
438 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Iiis father against his hrcthn-n, iiiidcr pretence 
 intli'L'd of" a ilc'i'p concern for iiis preservation, 
 but in truth, such as his malicious inind dic- 
 tated, in order to purchase a greater liope of 
 the succession, uliict) yet was already great 
 in itself: and tlius lie did till he had excited 
 sucli a degree of anger in Herod, that he was 
 already become very ill disposed towards the 
 young men ; but still while he delayed to ex- 
 ercise so violent a disgust against tliem, and 
 that he might not either be too remiss or too 
 rash, and so ofl'end, he thought it best to sail 
 to Rome, and there accuse his sons before 
 CsEsar, and not indulge himself in any such 
 crime as niiglit be heinous enough to be sus- 
 pected of impiety. But as he was going up 
 to Rome, it liaijpened that he made such haste 
 as to meet with Caesar at the city Aquilei : * 
 so when he came to tlie speech of Caesar, lie 
 asked for a time for hearing this great cause, 
 wherein he thought himself very miserable, 
 and presented his sons there, and accused 
 them of their mad actions, and of their at- 
 tempts against him :— That they were ene- 
 mies to him ; and by all the means they were 
 able, did their endeavours to show their hat- 
 red 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 necessity, 
 but by choice, to him who shall exercise the 
 greatest piety towards him ; while these my 
 sons are not so desirous of ruling, as they are 
 upon a disappointinent thereof, to expose their 
 own life, if so be they may but deprive their 
 father of his life ; so wild and polluted is their 
 mind by time become, out of their hatred to 
 him : that whereas he had a long time borne 
 Uiis his misfortune, he was now compelled to 
 lay it before Ca'sar, and to pollute his ears 
 with Euch language, while he himself wants 
 to know what severity they have ever sufl'ered 
 from him, or what liardships he had ever laid 
 upon them to make them complain of him ; 
 anil 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 gain- 
 ed, and not allow him to keep it and dispose 
 of it to liim who should deserve best; and j if they said nothing, they should seem to be 
 this, witJ) other advantages, he proposes as a in this dithculty from a consciousness of guilt, 
 reward for the piety of such a one as will here- — nor had they any defence ready, by reason 
 after imitate the care he hath taken of it, and , of their youth, and the disorder they were un- 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 liis view, at the same time reckons upon pro- 
 curing the death of his father, because other- 
 wise he cannot come at the government: that 
 as for himself, he had iiitherto 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 servants and delicate fare, and 
 had married them into the most illustrious 
 families, the one [Aristobulus^ to )iis sister's 
 daughter, but Alexander to the daughter of 
 king Archclaus; 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 thtm before Car.ar, their 
 common benefactor, and had not used the se- 
 verity which either as a father who had been 
 impiously abused, or as king who had been 
 assaulted treacherously, he might have done, 
 but made them stand upon the level with 
 him in judgment : that, however, it was ne- 
 cessary 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 advantage to see the light of the sun 
 after what they had done, although they 
 should escape at this tin>e, since they haj 
 done the vilest things, and would certainly suf- 
 fer the greatest punishments that ever were 
 known among mankind. 
 
 2. These were the accusations which He- 
 rod laid with great vehemency against his 
 sons before Caesar. Now the young men, 
 both while he was speaking, and chiefly at his 
 concluding, wept, and were in confusion. 
 Now as to themselves, they knew in their own 
 conscience they were innocint, but because 
 they were accused by their father, they were 
 sensible, as the truth was, that itwashatd for 
 them to make their apclogy, since though 
 they were at liberty to speak tluir minds free- 
 ly 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 
 
 tliat such a one may gain so great a reijuital 
 as that is: and that it is an impious thing 
 for them to pretend to meddle with it before- 
 hand, for he who hath ever the kingdom in 
 
 • Although Hero<l met Augustus at A(iuilei, yet was 
 this accusiitioii of his sons ifcffrreU till they eanie to 
 llonic, as i«'t. 3 assures us, niul as »e arc particularly 
 iiifiimie<l in the History of the War, b. i,ch. xxin, sect. 
 5, though wliat he here says btlonced iliblinetly to Alex- 
 aiiJcr, the elder brother, I mean Iiis being brought to 
 Home, i>liere justly extende<l U) both the brollieni, and 
 thiit not only in our conies, but in that of Zmiaras also : 
 nor is there reason to doubt but they were both at this 
 aulemn hearing by Augustus, although the defence was 
 inade by Alexander atJiiie, who was tlic cldfjt bruthei, 
 and one that could sjieak very well 
 
 der ; yet was not Ca'sar unapprised, when he 
 looked upon thein in the confusion they were 
 ill, that their delay to make their defence did 
 not arise from any consciousness of great en- 
 ormities, but from their unskilfulness and 
 modesty. They were also commiserated by 
 those that were there in particular; and they 
 moved their fatlier's ati'ections in earnest till 
 he had much ado to conceal thtm. 
 
 S. But when they saw there was akinddis. 
 position arisen both in him and in Cssar. 
 and that every one of the rest did either shed 
 tears, or at least did all grieve with them, the 
 
r^' 
 
 CHAP. IV 
 
 ANTiaUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 439 
 
 ore of them, whose name was Alexander, call- 
 ed to his father, and attempted to answer his 
 accusation, and said, " O father, the benevo- 
 lence thou hast showed to us is evident, even 1 
 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 guil- 
 ty ; but by thus bringing us to Rome, and 
 making Csesar himself a witness to what is 
 done, thou intimatest that thou intendest to 
 save us ; for no one that hath a design to slay 
 a man will bring him to the temples, and to 
 the altars ; yet are our circumstances still 
 worse, for we cannot endure to live ourselves 
 any longer, if it be believed tliat we have in- 
 jured such a father ; nay, perhaps it would 
 be worse for us to live with this suspicion up- 
 on us, that we have injured him, than to die 
 without such guilt : and if our open defence 
 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 calumny so 
 prevails, it is more than enough for us that 
 we have seen the son this day ; 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 farther, 
 that this evil proceeds from the case of our 
 unhappy mother. This is abundantly suffi- 
 cient 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 promiscuous- 
 ly ; 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 intending 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 at- 
 tempted any such thing, whereby actions other- 
 wise incredible used to be made credible ? 
 Can any body prove that poison hath been 
 prepared ? or prove a conspiracy 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 she, 
 
 was evil spoken of by those that had no rea- 
 son so to do. Are we desirous of that domi- 
 nion which we know our father is possessed 
 of? For what reason can we do so? If we 
 already have royal honours, 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 %ve had killed thee, could we 
 expect to obtain thy kingdom ? while neither 
 tlie 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 your subjects, 
 and the piety of the whole nation, would have 
 prohibited parricides from assuming the go- 
 vernment, and from entering into that most 
 holy temple which was built by thee.* But 
 suppose vve 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 con- 
 venient for thee. But in case thou neither 
 findest any causes of complaint, nor any 
 treacherous designs, what sufficient evidence 
 hast thou to make such a wickedness of ours 
 credible ? Our mother is dead indeed, but 
 then what befel 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 
 CsEsar, the lord of all, who is now a mediator 
 between us, if thou, O father, canst bring thy- 
 self 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 un- 
 happy 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 gave it 
 us." 
 
 4. When Alexander had thus spoken, Cas- 
 sar, who did not before 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 in- 
 
 * Since some prejudiced men have indulged a wild 
 suspicion, as we have supposed already, (Antiq. b. xv, 
 eh. xi, sect. 7). that Josephus's history of Herod's re- 
 building the f.emple is no better than a fable, it may r.ot 
 be amiss to take notice of tliis occasional clause in the 
 speech of Alexander before his father Herod, in liis and 
 his brother's vindication, which mentions the temple aa 
 known by every body to have been built by Herod. See 
 John ii, i.'(). bee also another speech of Heroil's own to 
 the young men that pulled down his golden eagle from 
 Uie 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 one hundrcu and twenty-five 
 years they held the government, were not able to per 
 form so great a work, t-o the honour of God as this was 
 Antiq. b. xvii, ch. vi, sect. 3. 
 
 V 
 
J 
 
 ♦40 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TllK JEWS. 
 
 credibility of tlie cahimtiy, and the commi- 
 seration of the Hower of youth, the beauty of 
 body, whicli wore in the young men, pleaded 
 strongly for assistance, and the more so on 
 this account, that Alexander had made their 
 defence with dexterity and prudence ; nay, 
 they did not themselves any longer continue 
 in their former countenances, which liad been 
 bedewed with tears, and cast downwards to 
 the ground, but now there arose in them hope 
 of the best : and the king himself appeared 
 not (0 have had foundation enough to build 
 such an accusntion upon, he having no real 
 e^ idence wherewith to convict them. Indeed 
 he wanted some apology for making the ac- 
 cusation ; but Caesar, after some delay, said, 
 that although the young men were thorough- 
 ly innocent of that for which they were ca- 
 limmiated, yet had they been so far '.o blame, 
 that they had not demeaned themselves to- 
 wards their father so as to prevent that suspi- 
 cion wliich was spread abroad concerning 
 them. He also exhorted Herod to lay ail 
 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 hap- 
 pened between them, and might improve that 
 tli"ir good-will to one another, whereby those 
 on both sides, excusing the rashness of their 
 suspicions, might resolve to bear a greater 
 degree of afTection towards each other than 
 they had before. After Caesar had given 
 them this admonition, he beckoned to the 
 young men. When, therefore, they were 
 disposed to fall down to make intercession to 
 their father, he took them up, and embraced 
 them, as tliey 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 attected with what they 
 saw. 
 
 5. Then did they return thanks to Ccesar, 
 and went away together ; and with them went 
 Antipater, witli an hypocritical pretence that 
 he rejoiced at this reconciliation. And in the 
 last days they were with Ca-sar, Herod made 
 him a present of three hundred talents, as he 
 was then exhibiting shows and largesses to the 
 people of Rome : and Cajsar made him a pre- 
 sent of half the revenue of the copper mines 
 in Cyprus, and committed the care of tJie 
 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 a))point 
 which of his sons he jjleascd for his successor, 
 or to distribute it in parts to every one, that 
 the dignity might theuby come to them all ; 
 and when Ilerod was disposed to make such 
 a settlement immediately, Cicsar said he 
 would not give him leave to deprive liimself, 
 while he was alive, of the power over his king- 
 dom, or over his sons. 
 
 6". After this, Herod returned to Judea 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 again ; but during his absence, no small part 
 of his dominions about Trachon had revolted, 
 whom yet tlie commanders he left there had 
 vanquished, and compelled to a submission 
 again. Now, as Herod was sailing with his 
 sons, and was come over-against Cilicia, to 
 [the islandl Kleusa, which hath now changed 
 its name for Sebastc, 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 Alexander 
 who had married his daughter, was at an end 
 Tliey also made one another such presents as 
 it became kings to make. From thence He. 
 lod came to Judea and to the teinple, whcra 
 he made a speech to the people concerning 
 what had been done in this his journey : — he 
 also discoursed to them about C'jesar's kind- 
 ness to him, and about as many of the parti- 
 culars he had done as he thought it for his ad- 
 vantage other people should be acquainted 
 with. At last he turned his speech to the ad- 
 monition of his sons ; and exhorted those that 
 lived at court, and the multitude, to concord , 
 and informed them that his sons were to reign 
 after him ; Antipater first, and then Alcxan- 
 der and Aristobuhis, the sons of Mariamne ; 
 but !.e desired that at present they should all 
 have regard 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 when 
 he must be the most skilful in governing ; and 
 that he was not deficient in other arts of ma- 
 nagement that might enable him to govern the 
 kingdom well, and to rule over his children 
 also. He farther told the rulers under him, 
 and the 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 w.ien he had said this, he 
 dismissed the assembly. Which speech was 
 acceptal)le 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 imiovations 
 among them. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 now HI'IIOD CF.I.EBRArj.D THE GAMES THAT 
 WERE TO UKTUUN EVERY limi YEAR, fP- 
 ON THE Bl'ILDING OF Ci:SA»lE.V ; AND HOW 
 HE lll'M.T AND ADORNED MANY OTHIR 
 PLACES AFTEU A MAGNIFICENT MANNER ; 
 AND DID MANY OTHER ACTIONS C.I.OIU- 
 OLSI.Y. 
 
 § 1. AbOtT this time it w-as that Ccsarea Se- 
 baste, wliich he had built, was fiiiisiied. The 
 entire buihling being accomplished in the 
 te!ith ye.ir, the solemnity of it foil into the 
 twenty-eighth year of Herod's reign, and in- 
 to tlif hundred and ninety-second olympiad • 
 
 J^ 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 there was accordingly a great festival, and 
 most sumptuous preparations made presently, 
 in order to its dedication; for he had appoint- 
 ed a contention in music, and games to be 
 performed naked ; he had also gotten ready a 
 great number of those that fight single com- 
 bats, and 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 
 tliis combat to Cassar, and ordered it to be 
 celebrated every fifth year. He also sent all 
 sorts of ornaments for it out of his own fur- 
 niture, that it might want nothing to make it 
 decent; nay, Julia, Cassar'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 
 five hundred talents. Now when a great 
 multitude was come to that city to see the 
 shows, as well as the ambassadors 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 solem- 
 nity having in the day-time the diversions of 
 the fights, and in the night time such merrj' 
 meetings as cost vast sums of money, and 
 publicly demonstrated the generosity of his 
 soul; for in all his undertakings he was am- 
 oitious to exhibit what exceeded whatsoever 
 had been done before of the same kind ; and 
 it is related that Csesar and Agrippa often 
 said, tliat the dominions of Herod were too 
 little for the greatness of his soul ; for that 
 he deserved to have both all the kingdom of 
 Syria, and that of Egypt also. 
 
 2. 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 good- 
 ness of soil, and proper for the production of 
 what was there planted, where a river encom- 
 passed the city itself, and a grove of the best 
 trees for magnitude was round about it ; this 
 he named Antipatris, from his father Antipa- 
 ter. He also built upon another spot of 
 ground above Jericho, of the same name with 
 his mother, a place of great securitj', and very 
 pleasant for liabitation, and called it Cyprus, 
 He also dedicated the finest monuments to 
 his brother Pliasaelus, on account of the great 
 natural aflfection there had been between them, 
 by erecting a tower in the city itself, not less 
 tiian the tower of Pharos, which he named 
 Phasaelus, which was at once a part of the 
 strong defences of the city, and a memorial 
 for him that was deceased, because it bare his 
 name. He also built a city of the same name 
 in the valley of Jericho, as you go from it 
 northward, whereby he rendered the neigh- 
 bouring country more fruitful, by the culti- 
 vation its inhabitants introduced ; and this al- 
 so he ciUed Phasaelus. 
 
 S. But as for his other benefits, it i^ impos- 
 
 441 
 
 sible to reckon them up, those which he be- 
 stowed on cities, both in Syria and in Greece, 
 and in all the places he came to in his voy- 
 ages ; for he seems to have conferred, and 
 that after a mo>t plentiful manner, what would 
 minister to many necessities, and tlie build- 
 ing of public vorks, and gave them the mo- 
 ney that was necessary to such works as 
 wanted it, to support them upon the failu.'e 
 of their other revenues ; but what was the 
 greatest and most illustrious of all his works, 
 he erected Apollo's temple at Rhodes, at his 
 own expenses, and gave them a great num- 
 ber of talents of silver for the repair of their 
 fleet. He also built the greatest part of tin 
 public edifices for the inhabitants of Nicopo- 
 lis, at Actium;* and for the Antiochians, the 
 inhabitants of the principal city of Syria, 
 where a broad street cuts through the place 
 lengthways, lie 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 rea- 
 son of the failure of their revenues, he reco- 
 vered their reputation, and appointed reve- 
 nues for their maintenance, and made that 
 solemn meeting more venerable, as to the sa- 
 crifices and other ornaments ; and by reason 
 of this vast liberality, he was generally de- 
 clared in their inscriptions to be one of the 
 perpetual managers of those games, 
 
 4, Now some there are who stand amazec^ 
 at the diversity of Herod's nature and pur- 
 poses ; for when we have respect to his mag. 
 nificence, and the benefits which he bestowed 
 on all mankind, there is no possibility for 
 even those that had the least respect for him 
 to deny, or not openly to confess, that he had 
 a nature vastly beneficent: but when anyone 
 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 nature to be dif- 
 ferent, and sometimes at contradiction with 
 itself; but I am myself of another opinion, 
 and imagine that the occasion of both these 
 sorts of actions was one and the 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 abilites, he was necessitated to 
 be harsh to hts subjects ; for the persona 
 on whom he expended his money were so 
 many, that they made him a very bad procur 
 
 * Dr, Hudson here gives us the words of Suetonius 
 
 concerning this Nicopalis, when Augustus rebuilt it: 
 
 " And tl*.t the memorj- of the vietor\' at Xctium might 
 be celebrated the more afterward, he built Nicopolis at 
 Actium. and appointed public shows to be there exhibit 
 ed every fifth year," lu Aueust. sect. 16. 
 
 "V 
 
 -T 
 
-v. 
 
 442 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 er of it ; anil liecause lie was conscious tliat 
 he was Imtod by those under him, for tlie in- 
 juries he did them, he tliought it not an easy 
 thing to amend his offences, for that was 
 inconvenient for his revenue ; he tlierefore 
 strove on the other side to make tlieir ill-will 
 an occasion of his gains. As to Ills own 
 court, therefore, if any one was not very ob- 
 sequious to him in his language, and would 
 not confess himself to he his slave, or but 
 seemed to think of any innovation in his go- 
 vernment, he was not ahle to contain himself, 
 but prosecuted his very kindred and friends, 
 and punislied them as if they were enenries ; 
 and this wickedness he undertook out of a 
 desire that he might be himself alone honour- 
 ed. Now fo/ this my assertion about that 
 passion of his, we have the greatest evidence, 
 by what he did to honour Caesar and Agrip- 
 pa, and his other friends ; for with wliat ho- 
 nours he paid his respects to them wlio were 
 his superiors, the same did he desire to be 
 paid to himself; and what he thought the 
 most excellent present he could make ano- 
 ther, he discovered an inclination to have the 
 like presented to himself; but now the Jew- 
 ish nation is by their law a stranger to all 
 such things, and accustomed to prefer right- 
 eousness to glory ; for which reason that na- 
 tion 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 Herod's 
 crimes as to his own courtiers and counsel- 
 lors, and of his benefactions as to foreigners 
 and those that had no relation to him. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 /kN EMBASSAGE OF THE JEWS IN CYUENE AND 
 ASIA TO C.TiSAR, CONCERNING THE COM- 
 PLAINTS THEV HAD TO MAKE AGAINST THE 
 GREEKS ; WITH COPIES OF THE EPISTLES 
 WHICH C^SAR AND AGBIPPA WROTE TO THE 
 CITIES FOR THEM. 
 
 § 1. Now the cities ill-treated the Jews in 
 Asia, and all tliose also of tlie same nation 
 which lived in Libya, which joins to Cyrene, 
 while the former kings had given them equal 
 privileges with the other citizens; but the 
 Greeks affronted them at this time, and that 
 so far as to take a'vay thiir sacred money, 
 and to do them miscliief on other particular 
 occasions. When, therefore, they were thus 
 afflicted, and found no end of the barbarous 
 treatment they met with among the Greeks, 
 tluy sent ambassadors to Ca.'sar on those ac- 
 counts ; wlio gave tliem the same privileges 
 as they had before, and sent letters to the 
 same purpose to the governors of tlie pro- 
 vinces, copies of which I subjoin here, as 
 
 testimonials of the ancient favourable dispo- 
 sition tlie Koman emperors had towards us. 
 
 2. " Ca?sar 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 my father,* Caesar the 
 emperor, it seemed good to me and my coun- 
 sellors, according to the sentence and oath of 
 the people of Rome, that the Jews have li- 
 berty to make use of their own customs, ac- 
 cording to the law of their forefathers, as 
 they made use ot 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 Sabbatli-day, nor on the day of the 
 preparation to it, after the ninth hour;f 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 deem- 
 ed a sacrilegious person, and his goods shall 
 be brought into the public treasury of the 
 Romans. And I give order, that the testi- 
 monial which they have given me, on account 
 of my regard to that piety which I exercise 
 toward all mankind, and out of regard to 
 Caius Marcus Censorinus, together with the 
 present decree, be proposed in that most emi- 
 nent place which hath been consecrated to me 
 by the community of Asia at Ancyra. And 
 if any one transgress any part of what is 
 above decreed, he shall be severely punish- 
 ed." This was inscribed upon a pillar in the 
 temple of Caesar. 
 
 3. " Caesar to Norbanus Flaccus, sendeth 
 greeting. Let those Jews, how many soever 
 they be, who have been used, according to 
 their ancient custom, to send their sacred 
 money to Jerusalem, do the same freely." 
 These were the decrees of Ca;sar. 
 
 4. Agrippa also did himself write, after the 
 manner following, on behalf of the Jews : — 
 " Agrippa, to the magistrates, senate, and 
 people of the Ephesians, sendeth greeting. I 
 will that the care and custody of the sacred 
 money that is carried to the temple at Jeru- 
 salem 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 thence. I 
 have also written to Sylvanus the ])retor, tliat 
 no one compel the Jews to come before a 
 judge on the Sabbath-day." 
 
 • Augustus hero calls Julius Casar K\s father, though 
 by birlli he w.-u only his uncle, on aivouiu of his a(to|>- 
 tion by him. Sec the same, Anliq. b. xiv, eh. xiv, sect. 
 •J. 
 
 + This is authentic evidence that the Jews, in tht 
 (lavs of Augustus, began to nreparc fur the celebration 
 of the Sabbath at the ninth hour on Kriday, as the trar 
 ditiun of the cidcn did, it seenu, then require of ttiem 
 
 .-r 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 5. Marcus Agrippa to the magistrates, se- 
 nate, and people of Cyrene, sendeth greeting. 
 The Jews of Cyrene have interceded with me 
 for the performance of what Augustus sent 
 orders about to Flavius, the then pretor 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 un- 
 der pretence of taxes which were not due, are 
 hindered from sending them ; which I com- 
 mand 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 receivers, 1 farther enjoin, that 
 the same be exactly returned to the Jews in 
 that place." 
 
 6. " Caius Norbanus Flaccus, proconsul, 
 to the magistrates of the Sardians, sendeth 
 greeting. Caesar hath written to me, and 
 commanded me not to forbid the Jews, how 
 many soever they be, from assembling toge- 
 ther according to the custom of their forefa- 
 thers, nor from sending their money to Jeru- 
 salem : I liave therefore written to you, that 
 you may know that both Caesar and I would 
 have you act accordingly." 
 
 7. Nor did Julius Antonius, the proconsul, 
 write otherwise. " To the magistrates, se- 
 nate, and people of the Ephesians, sendeth 
 greeting. As I was dispensing justice at 
 Ephesus, on the ides of February, the Jews 
 that dwell in Asia demonstrated 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 toge-- 
 tlier to Jerusalem without disturbance. They 
 also petitioned me, that I would confirm 
 what had been granted by Augustus and 
 Agrippa by my own sanction. I would there- 
 fore 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 forefathers without disturbance." 
 
 8. I have been obliged to set down tliese 
 decrees, because the present history of our 
 own acts will go generally among tlie Greeks; 
 and I have hereby demonstrated to them, that 
 we have formerly been in great esteem, and 
 have not been prohibited by those governors 
 we were under from keeping any of the laws 
 of our forefathers ; nay, that we have been 
 supported by them, while we followed our 
 own religion, and the worship we paid to God : 
 and I frequently make mention cf these de- 
 crees, 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 
 
 » The remaining part of this chapter is remarkable, 
 as justly distinguishing natural justice, religion, and 
 moraliiy, from positive institutions, in all countries. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 443 
 
 X 
 
 'makes use of the same, and in every city al. 
 most we meet with tliem different from one 
 another ; but natural justice is most agreeable 
 to the advantage of all men equally, botii 
 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 wiiich 
 account we have reason to expect the like re- 
 turn from others, and to inform them that 
 they ought not to esteem diflTerence of posi- 
 tive institutions a sufficient cause of aliena- 
 tion, but [join with us in] the pursuit of vir- 
 tue and probity, for this belongs to all men 
 in common, and of itself alone is sufficient 
 for the preservation of human life. I now 
 return to the thread of my history. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW, UPON HEROD'S going DOWN INTO DA- 
 VID's sepulchre, the SEDITION IN HIS FA- 
 MILY GREATLY INCREASED. 
 
 § 1. As for Herod, he had spent vast sums 
 about the cities, both without and witliin 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 three thousand 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 inten- 
 tion to make the attempt ; and at this time he 
 opened that sepulchre by night, and went in- 
 to it, and endeavoured that it should not be 
 at all known in the city, but took only his 
 most faithful friends with him. As for any 
 money, he found none, as Hyrcanus had done, 
 but that furniture 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 p^o 
 farther 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 tliat went in, as the report was. So he 
 was terribly affrighted, and went out, and 
 built a propitiatory monument of tliat 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 Nicolausf his laL>- 
 
 and evidently preferring the former before the latter, as 
 did the true prophets of God always under the old Tes- 
 tament, and Christ and his apostles always under the 
 New; whence our Josephus seems to haye been at this 
 time nearer Christianity than were the Scribes and Pha- 
 risees of his age ; who, as we know from the New Tes 
 lament, were entirely of a different opinion aiid prac- 
 tice. 
 
 t It is here worth our obser^'ation, how careful Jose 
 phus was as to thediscoyery of truth in Herod's history, 
 since he would not follow Nicolaus of Damascus him. 
 self, so great an historian, where there was great reason 
 to suspect that he had flattered Herod; whicli impar- 
 tiality in history Josephus here solemnly professes, and 
 of which impartiality Vie has given more demonstrations 
 
 J~ 
 
iU 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 torirtj;rr»plier makes mention of this monu- 
 ment built by Herod, thougli lie docs not 
 mention liis going down into the sepulelire, 
 as knowing that action to be of ill rej)ute ; 
 and many other things he treats of in the 
 same manner in his book ; for he wrote in 
 Herod's life-time, and under his reign, and 
 so as to please him, and as a servant to him, 
 toucliing upon notiiing but what tended to liis 
 glory, and openly excusing many of his noto- 
 rious crimes, and very diligently concealing 
 them. And as he was desirous to put hand- 
 some colours on the death of Mariamne and 
 her sons, which were barbarous actions fn the 
 king, he tells falsehoods about the inconti- 
 nence of Mariamne, and the treacherous de- 
 signs of his sons upon him ; and thus he pro- 
 ceeded 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 Nico- 
 laus, 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 our- 
 selves, who come of a family nearly allied to 
 the Asamonean kings, and on that account 
 have an honourable place, which is the priest- 
 hood, we think it indecent to say any thing 
 that is false about them, and accordingly we 
 have described their actions after an unblem- 
 ished and upright manner. And although we 
 reverence many of Herod's posterity, who 
 still reign, yet do we pay a greater regard to 
 truth than to tliem, and this though it some- 
 times happens that we incur their displeasure 
 by so doing. 
 
 2. And indeed Herod's troubles in his fa- 
 mily seemed to be augmented, by reason of 
 this attempt be made upon David's scpulclire; 
 whether divine vengeance increased the c:ila- 
 niities he lay under, in order to render them 
 incurable, or whether fortune made an assault 
 upon liim, in those cases, wherein the season- 
 ableness of the cause made it strongly believ- 
 ed that the calamities came upon him for his 
 impiety; for the tumult was like a civil war 
 in his palace ; and their hatred towards one 
 another was like that where each one strove 
 to exceed another in calumnies. However, 
 Antipater used stratagems perpetually against 
 his brethren, and that very cunningly: while 
 abroad he loaded them with accusations, but 
 still took upon him frequently to apologize 
 for tliem, that this apparent benevolence to 
 lliem might make him be believed, and for- 
 ward his attempts against them ; by which 
 means he, after various manners, circumvent, 
 ed his father, who believed that all lie did was 
 for bis preservation. Herod also ncommend- 
 cd Ptolemy, who was a great director of llie 
 
 than almost any other historian ; but as to Hcroil's tak- 
 ing great wpallh out of David's s^'pulclire, thoiiph 1 
 cannot prove it, yet do I strongly susjiect it from this 
 very history 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 affairs of his kingdom, to Antipater j 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 they 
 thought it might be to their own advantage : 
 but still the sons of Mariamne 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 di->ho- 
 nour. And for the women, Glaphyra, Alex- 
 ander's wife, the daughter of Archelauj, hat- 
 ed Salome, both because of her love to her 
 husband, and because Glaphyra seemed to 
 behave herself somewhat insolently towards 
 Salome's daughter, who was the wife of Aris- 
 tobulus, which equality of hers to herself Gla- 
 phyra took very impatiently. 
 
 3. Now, besides this second contention tliat 
 had fallen among them, neither did the king's 
 brother Pheroras keep himself out of trou- 
 ble, but had a particular foundation for sus- 
 picion and hatred ; for he was overcome 
 with the charms of his wife, to such a degree 
 of madness, that he despised the king's daugh- 
 ter, to whom he had been betrotlied, and 
 wholly bent his mind to the other, who had 
 been but a servant. Herod also was grieved 
 by the dishonour that was done him, because 
 he had bestowed many favours upon him, 
 and had advanced him to that height of power 
 that lie was almost a partner with him in 
 the kingdom ; and saw that he had not made 
 him a due return for his favours, and esteem- 
 ed himself unhappy on that account. So 
 upon Pheroras's unworthy refusal, he gave 
 the damsel to Phasaelus's son ; but after some 
 time, wlien he thought the heat of his bro- 
 ther's afTl'Ctions was over, he blamed him for 
 his former conduct, and desired him to take 
 his second daughter, whose name was Cypros. 
 Ptolemy also advised him to leave off affront- 
 ing 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 him 
 Self of the king's good-will to him, and be- 
 come an occasion of his trouble, and make 
 himself hated l)y him. Pheroras knew that 
 this advice would be for his own advantage, 
 particulary because he had been accused be- 
 fore, and forgiven ; so he put his wife away, 
 although he already had a son by her, and en- 
 gaged to the king that he would take his se- 
 cond daughter, and agreed that the thirtieth 
 day after should be the day of marriage ; and 
 sware lie would have no farther conversation 
 witli her whom he had put away ; but when 
 the thirty days were over, he was such a slave 
 to his aflections, that he no longer performed 
 any thing he had promised, but continued 
 still with his former wife. This occasioned 
 Ilerod to grieve openly, and niade him angry, 
 while the king dropped one word or other a- 
 gaiiist Pheroras perpetually ; and many made 
 
"V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 the king's anger an opportunity for raising 
 calumnies against liim. 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 dear- 
 est to him ; for Salome was of a harsh tem- 
 per, and ill-natured to Mariamne's sons ; nor 
 would she suffer her own daughter, who was 
 the wife of Aristobulus, 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 misunder- 
 standings happened, as is common, she raised 
 a great many suspicions out of it: by which 
 means she learned all their concerns, 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 Mariamnc when they were by them- 
 selves ; and that they hated their father, and 
 were continually threatening, that if they had 
 once got the kingdom, they would make He- 
 rod's sons by his other wives country-school- 
 masters, 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. 1 hese stories were 
 presently carried by Salome to the king, who 
 was troubled to hear them, and endeavoured 
 to make up matters : but these suspicions af- 
 flicted him, and becoming more and more un- 
 easy, he believed every body against every 
 body. However, upon his rebuking his sons, 
 and hearing the defence they made for them- 
 selves, he was easier for a while, though a 
 little afterwards much worse accidents came 
 upon him. 
 
 4. For Pheroras came to Alexander, the 
 husband of Glaphyra, who was the daughter of 
 Archelaus, as we have already told you, and 
 said that he had heard from Salome, that He- 
 rod was enamoured of Glaphyra, and that his 
 passion for her was incurable. When Alex- 
 ander 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 Phero- 
 ras ; nor could he conceal his grief at the 
 thing, but informed him what words Phero- 
 ras had said. Upon which Ilerod 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 liis domestics, and 
 how good he had been to them, and how ill 
 requitals they had made him. So he sent for 
 Pheroras, and reproached him, and said, 
 "Thou >ilest of all men I art thou come to 
 
 445 
 
 that unmeasurable and extravagant degree 
 of ingratitude, as not only to suppose such 
 things of me, but to speak of them ? I now 
 indeed perceive what thy intentions are: it is 
 not thy only 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 ? Dost thou sup])ose 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 fatlier ? And what dost thou mean, 
 when thou really hatest both him and hisbro- 
 tlier, to pretend kindness to them, only in or- 
 der to raise a reproach against me, and talk of 
 such things as no one but such an impious 
 wretch as thou art could cither 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 con- 
 science 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." 
 
 5. Thus did the king speak. Whereupon 
 Pheroras, who was caught in the very act ol 
 his villany, said, that, " it was Salome who 
 was the framer of this plot, and that the words 
 came from her;'' bat 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 Ijore to Herod, and because she 
 always foreseeing the dangers that were com- 
 ing 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 were hated by him. As she said this, 
 and often tore her hair, and often beat her 
 breast, her countenance made her denial 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 
 oiler in his own defence, while he confessed that 
 he liad said what was charged upon him, but 
 was not believed when he said he had heard 
 it from Salome; so the confusion among them 
 WlIs 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 him- 
 self told him of the report, he went in the 
 evening to refresh himself. After such a con- 
 test as tills had fallen out among them, Sa- 
 lome's reputation suffered greatly, since she 
 
s 
 
 446 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 I5()()K XVI 
 
 was siijiposed to have first raised tlio calumny ; 
 and tlie king's wives were grieved at lier, as 
 knowing siie was a very ill-natured woman, 
 and would sometimes be a friend, and some- 
 times an enemy, at different seasons; so tliey 
 perpetually said one thing or anotiier against 
 her; and sonicwhat that now fell out, made 
 them the bolitir in speaking against her. 
 
 6. Tliere was one ()i)odas, king of Arabia, 
 an inactive and slothful man in his nature; 
 but Sylleus managed most of his affairs for 
 him. He was a shrewd man, although he 
 was but young, and was handsome withal. 
 Tliis Sylleus, upon some occasion coming to 
 Herod, and su])ping with him, saw Salome, 
 and set his heart upon her: and understand- 
 ing 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 hmi ; and on the days 
 following there appeared many, and those 
 very great, indications of their agreement to- 
 gether. Now the women carried this news to 
 the king, and laughed at the indecency of it; 
 whereupon Herod inquired about it farther 
 of Plicroras, and desired him to observe them 
 at supper, how their behaviour was one towards 
 another ; who told him, that by the signals 
 which came from their heads and their eyes, 
 they both were evidently in love. After this, 
 Sylleus the Arabian being suspected, went 
 away, but came again in two or three months 
 afterwards, as it were on that very design, 
 and spake to Herod about it, and desired that 
 Salome might be given him to wife; for that 
 liis affinity might not be disadvantageous to 
 his affairs, by a union with Arabia, flie go- 
 verninent 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 were disposed to this 
 match, she immediately agreed to it ; but 
 when Sylleus was desired to come over to the 
 Jewish religion, and then lie should marry 
 her, and that it was impossible to do it on any 
 other terms, he could not bear that projiosal, 
 and went his way ; for lie said, that if he 
 should do so, he should be stoned by the 
 Arabs. Then did Pheroras reiiroach Salome 
 for her inconlinency, as did the women much 
 more ; and said that Sylleus had del)auchcd 
 her. As for that damsel which the king had 
 betrothed to his brother Pheroras, but he liud 
 not taken lier, as I liave before related, be- 
 cause he was enamoured of his former wife, 
 Salome desired of Herod she might he given 
 to her sou by Costobarus : which :iiatch he 
 was very willing to, but was dissuaded from 
 it by Plieroras, who pleaded, 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, v.ho was to be his successor 
 in the tetrarchy, should have lier j so lie bi v: 
 
 "V 
 
 ged his pardon, and persuaded him to do so. 
 Accordingly the damsel, ujjon tliis change of 
 her espousals, was disposed of to this young 
 man, the son of Pheroras, the king giving for 
 her portion a hundred talents. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOW HEROD TOOK UP ALEXANDER, AND BOUND 
 UIM ; WHOM YET ARCHEI.AUS, KING OF CAP- 
 PAUOCIA, RECONCILED TO HIS FATHER HE- 
 ROD AGAHs". 
 
 § 1. But still the affairs of Herod's family 
 were no better, but jierpetually more trouble- 
 some. Now this accident happened, which 
 arose from no decent occasion, but jiroceeded 
 so far as to bring great difficulties upon him. 
 There were certain eunuchs which the king 
 had, and on account of their beauty was very 
 fond of them ; and the care of bringing him 
 drink was entrusted to one of them ; of bring- 
 ing him his supper, to another ; and of put- 
 ting him to bed, to the third, who also ma- 
 naged the principal affbirs of the government ; 
 and there was one told the king that these eu- 
 nuchs were corrujited by .Vlexaiuler the king's 
 son, by great sums of money : and when they 
 were asked whether Alexander had had cri- 
 minal conversation with them, they confessed 
 it, but said they knew of no farther mischief 
 of his against his father; but when they were 
 more severely tortured, and were in the ut- 
 inost extremity, and the tormentors, out of 
 compliance with Antipater, stretclied the rack 
 to the very utmost, they said that Alexander 
 bare great ill-will and innate hatred to his 
 father : and that he told tliein that Herod de 
 spaired to live much longer; and that, in or- 
 der 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 ajijily himself to him, when he 
 should attain the kingdom, which in spite of 
 liis 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 to 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 neither, 
 ready both to do and to suffer whatsoever 
 should come on that account. 
 
 2. When Herod heard this confession, he 
 was ail over anger and fear, some parts seem- 
 ing to hiin reproachful, and sonfe made him 
 su^picious of dangers that attended him, in- 
 somuch, that on both accounts he was pro- 
 voktd, and bitterly afraid lest some more 
 heavy plot was laid against him than he should 
 be tlien able to escape from ; whereupon he 
 did not now make an open search, but sent 
 
 r 
 
"-v. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 447 
 
 about spies to watch such as he suspected, for 
 he was now overrun with suspicion and ha- 
 tred against all about him ; and indulging 
 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 supposing that those who 
 staid 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 
 suspected], and he thought himself safer when 
 they were destroyed : and at last his domes- 
 tics were come to that pass, that being no way 
 secure of escaping themselves, they fell to ac- 
 cusing one another, and imagining that he 
 who first accused another, was most likely to 
 save himself; yet, when any had overthrown 
 others, they were liated ; and they were 
 thought to suffer justly, who unjustly accused 
 others ; and they only thereby prevented their 
 own accusation ; nay, they now executed 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 it, 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 of 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 
 oft' doing the like again, but in order to inflict 
 the same punishment upon their accusers. 
 
 3. 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, nor come into the 
 palace ; and the reason of this injunction was, 
 tliat [when they were there] he had less free- 
 dom of acting, or a greater restraint on him- 
 self on their account; for at this time it was 
 that he expelled Andromaclius and Gemellus, 
 men who had of old been his friends, and 
 been very useful to him in the affairs of liis 
 kingdom, and been of advantage to his fa- 
 mily, by their embassages and counsels ; and 
 had been tutors to his sons, and had in a man- 
 ner the first degree of freedom with him. He 
 expelled Andromachus, because his son De- 
 metrius 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 
 done 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 dignity, and of their 
 power to hinder his wicked proceedings. 
 
 4. 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 purpose, when every one that could oppose 
 him was taken away. When therefore An- 
 dromachus and his friends were driven away, 
 and had no discourse nor freedom with the 
 king any longer, the king, in the first place, 
 examined by torture all whom he thought to 
 be faithful to Alexander, whether they knew 
 of any of his attempts against him ; but these 
 died without having any thing to say to that 
 matter, which made the king more zealous 
 [after discoveries], when he could not find 
 out what evil proceedings he suspected them 
 of. As for Antipater, ho 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 at- 
 tempts were still concealed. Now there was 
 a certain person 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 skil- 
 ful marksman, and that in his other commend- 
 able exercises he ej;ceeded all men, these qua- 
 lifications, 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 tliat when he walk- 
 ed 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 hunting, when his father 
 was by, he missed his mark on purpose ; for 
 he knew how ambitious his father was of be- 
 ing superior 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 as- 
 sistance, 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 kingdom 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 Antipater a country, whose [yearly] 
 revenues amounted to ten hundred 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 
 what he had heard; and when he came to re- 
 collect himself, he found that they had only 
 made juvenile complaints and contentions, 
 and that it was an incredible thing, that when 
 his son should have slain him, he should open- 
 ly go to Rome [to beg the kingdom] ; so he 
 was desirous to have some surer mark of his 
 
J' 
 
 448 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 son's wickedness, and was very solicitous a- 
 bout it, tliat he might not appear to liave con- 
 demned liim 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 wliile 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 ago- 
 ny, confessed that Alexander had sent to his 
 friends at Rome, and desired tiiat lie might 
 be quickly invited thither by Caesar, and tliat 
 he could discover a plot against him ; that 
 Mithridates, the king of I'arthia, was joined 
 in friendship witii his father against the Ro- 
 mans, and that he had a poisonous potion 
 ready prepared at Askelon. 
 
 5. To these accusations Herod gave credit, 
 and enjoyec' hereby, in his miserable case, 
 some sort of consolation, in excuse of his rash- 
 ness, as flattering himself witli finding things 
 in so bad a condition ; but as for the poison. 
 ous potion, which he laboured to find, he 
 could find none. As for Alexander, 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 
 asbflmed of his easy belief of such calumnies : 
 he aimed especially, if he could gain belief to 
 his story, to plague him and his whole king- 
 dom ; for he \> rote four letters and sent them 
 to him, that " he did not need to torture any 
 more persons, for lie had plotted against him ; 
 and that he hail for his partners, I'heroras and 
 the most faithful of his friends; and that Sa- 
 lome 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 Pto- 
 lemy and Sapinnius, who were the most faith- 
 ful 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 tipon them, while there was no room 
 for defence or refutation, in order to the dis- 
 covery of the truth, but all were at random 
 doomed to destruction I so that some lamented 
 those that were in prison, some those that were 
 put to death, and others lamented tliat they 
 were in exjiectation of the same miseries ; and 
 a melancholy solitude reiidered the kingdom 
 deformed, and quite the reverse to that ha|)py 
 state it was formerly in. Herod's own life 
 also was entirely disturbed ; and, because he 
 could trust nobody, he was sorely punisiiid by 
 the expectation of farther misery ; for he often 
 fancied in his imagination, that his son had fall- 
 en upon him, or stood by iiiin «itli a sword in 
 bis hand; and thus was his mind nightand day 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 intent upon this thing, and revolved it over 
 and over, and no otherwise than if he were 
 under a distraction. And this was the sad 
 condition Herod was now in. 
 
 6. 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 husband], and grieving 
 witJi Herod, as with a man that was his friend, 
 on account of so great a disturbance as he 
 was imder, he came [to Jerusalem] on pur- 
 pose to compose their difl'erences ; and, wher 
 he found Herod in such a temper, he though! 
 it wholly unseasonable to reprove him, or to 
 pretend that he had doive any thing rashly, foi 
 that he should thereby naturally bring him to 
 dispute the point with him, and by still more 
 and more apologizing for lilinself 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 3 man that he had not acted a rash part 
 at all. He also said he would dissolve his 
 daughter's marriage with Alexander, nor 
 could in justice spare his own daughter, if 
 she were conscious of any thing, and did not 
 inform Herod of it. When Archelaus appear, 
 ed to be of this temper, and otherwise than 
 Herod exi)ected 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 ajjpearing to have act- 
 ed justly hitherto, to come by degrees to jiut 
 on the afl'ection of a father, and «as on both 
 sides to be pitied ; for when some persons re- 
 futed tlie calumnies that were laid on the 
 young man, he was thrown into a passion ; 
 but when Archelaus joined in the accusatii n, 
 he was dissolved into tears and sorrow after 
 an aifectionate manner. Accordingly, he de- 
 sired that he would not dissolve his son's mar- 
 riage, and became not so angry as before for 
 his oU'ences. So when Archelaus 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 unoiqtiaintcd uilh niulice, was cor- 
 rupted ; and he supposed that there was more 
 reason to susiiect the brother tiian the son. 
 Upon which Herod « as very much displeased 
 at I'lieroras, who indeed now liad no one that 
 could make a reconciliation between him and 
 his brother. So when he saw that Archelaus 
 had the greatest jjower with Herod, he betook 
 himself to iiim in the habit of a mourner, and 
 ] like one that had all the signs upon him of an 
 I undone man. Ui)on this .Vrclieiaus did not 
 overlook the intercession lie made to him, nor 
 yet did he undertake to changa the king's 
 disposition towards him immediately ; and he 
 I said that it was better for him to come himself 
 : to the king, and confess himself the occasion 
 of all; that this woidd make the king's anger 
 , not to be extravagant towards him, and ttiat 
 
J^ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 then he would be present to assist him. WTien 
 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 Cappadocia, having proved 
 at this juncture of time the most acceptable 
 person to Herod in the world ; on which ac- 
 count he gave him the richest presents, as 
 tokens of his respects to him, and being on 
 other occasions 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 Csesar about 
 these affairs ; so they went together as far as 
 Antioch, and there Herod made a reconcilia- 
 tion between Archelaus and Titus, the presi- 
 dent of Syria, who had been greatly at vari- 
 ance, and so returned back to Judea. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ;ONCERNING THE REVOLT OF THE TRACHON- 
 n'ES ; HOW SYLLEUS ACCUSED HEROD BEFORE 
 CaiSAR ; AND HOW HEROD, WHEN C^SAR 
 WAS ANGRY AT HIM, RESOLVED TO SEND 
 NICOLAUS TO ROME. 
 
 § 1. When Herod had been at Rome, and 
 was come back again, a war arose between 
 him and the Arabians, on the occasion follow- 
 ing : — The inhabitants of Trachonitis, after 
 Caesar had taken the country away from Ze- 
 nodorus, 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 from that unjust way of living up- 
 on 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 protection, 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 Cele- 
 syria also, and carried off the prey, while Syl- 
 leus afforded them places of protection and 
 quietness during their wicked practices. But 
 when Herod came back from Rome, he per 
 
 449 
 
 ceived that his dominions had greatly suffered 
 by them, and since he could not reach the 
 robbers themselves, because of the secure re- 
 treat they had in that country, 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 murderers 
 of their relations by all possible means ; so 
 they continued to tear and rend eveiy thing 
 under Herod's dominion with impunity; then 
 did he discourse about these robberies to Sa- 
 turninus and Volumnius, and required that 
 they should be punished ; upon which occa- 
 sion they still the more confirmed themselves 
 in their robberies, and became more numer- 
 ous, and made very great disturbances, laying 
 waste the countries and villages that belongea 
 to Herod's kingdom, and killing those men 
 whom they caught, till these unjust proceed- 
 ings came to be like a real war, for the rob- 
 bers were now become about a thousand ;— at 
 which Herod was sore displeased, and requir- 
 ed the robbers, as well as the money 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 
 Sylleus, who had laid Obodas aside, and ma- 
 naged 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 presidents 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 He- 
 rod, there was not one of the other's subjects 
 found in his kingdom, either as doing any in- 
 justice, or on any other account ; but it was 
 proved that the Arabians had the robbers 
 amongst them. 
 
 2. When the day appointed for payment of 
 the money was past, without Sylleus's per- 
 forming any part of his agreement, and he 
 was gone to Rome, Herod demanded the pay- 
 ment of the money, and that the robbers that 
 were in Arabia should be delivered up ; and, 
 by the permission of Saturninus and Volum- 
 nius, 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 robbers 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 Arabians 
 came to their assistance, under Naceb their 
 
 • These joint presidents of S>Tia, Saturninus and 
 Volumnius, were not perhaps of equal authority, but 
 the latter like a procurator under the former, as the 
 very learned Noris and Pajfi, and with them Dr. Hud- 
 son, determine. 2 P 
 
450 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 nooK XVI 
 
 captain, there ensued a battle, wherein a few 
 of Herod's soldiers, and Nactb, the captain 
 of the Arabians, and about twenty of his sol- 
 diers fell, while the rest betook themselves to 
 flight. So when he had brought these to pu- 
 nishment, he placed three thousand Idumeans 
 in Trachonitis, and thereby restrained the rob- 
 bers that were there. He also sent an account 
 to the captains that were about Pha-nicia, and 
 demonstrated that he had done nothing but 
 what he ought to do, in punishing the refrac- 
 tory Arabians, which, upon an exact inquiry, 
 they found to be no more than what was true. 
 3. However, messengers were hasted away 
 to Syllcus to Rome, and informed him what 
 had been done, and, as is usual, aggravated 
 every thing. Now Sylleus had already in- 
 sinuated himself into the knowledge of Ca-sar, 
 and was then about the palace ; and as soon 
 as he heard of these things, he clianged his 
 habit into black, and went in, and told Ca;- 
 sar that Arabia was afflicted with war, and 
 that all his kingdom was in great confusion, 
 upon Herod's laying it waste with his army ; 
 and he said, wiili tears in his eyes, tliat 
 two thousand five hundrod of the principal 
 men among the Arabians had been destroyed, 
 and that their captain Nacebus, liis familiar 
 friend and kinsman, was slain ; and that the 
 riches that were at Raepta were carried off; 
 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 him- 
 self liave come out of the country, unless he 
 had believed that CaB:;ar would have provided 
 that they should all have peace one with ano- 
 ther, and that, had he been there, he would 
 have taken care that the war should not have 
 been to Herod's advantage. Csesar was pro- 
 voked when this was said ; and asked no more 
 than tliis one question, both of Herod's friends 
 that were there, and of his own friends, who 
 were come from Syria, Whetlicr Herod had 
 led an army thither? And when tliey were 
 forced to confess so much, Ca)sar, without 
 slaying to hear for what reason he did it, and 
 how ii was done, grew very angry, and wrote 
 to Herod sharply. The sum of liis epistle 
 was thi-i, that wliereas 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 
 wiili it, that they neitlier delivered up the rob- 
 bers that had fled to them, nor paid the mo- 
 ney that was due : they retained those pastures 
 also which they had hired, and kept them 
 without paying their rent, and all this because 
 the kiiig of the Jews w;is now in a low con- 
 dition, by reason of Ciesar's anger at him. 
 Tiiosc of Trachonitis also made use of this 
 opportunity, and rose up against the Idumcan 
 garrison, and followed the same way of rob- 
 bing with tlic Arabians, who had (lillagcd 
 
 their country, and were more rigid in their 
 unjust proceedings, not only in order to get 
 by it, but by way of revenge also. 
 
 4. Now Herod was forced to bear all this, 
 that confidence of his being quite gone with 
 which Ciesar's favour used to inspire him ; 
 for Cajsar would not admit so much as an 
 embassage from him, to make an apology for 
 him ; and when they came again, he sent 
 them away without success : so he was cast 
 into sadness and fear; and Sylleus's circum- 
 stances grieved him exceedingly, who was 
 now believed by Ciesar, and was present at 
 Rome, nay, sometimes aspiring higher. Now 
 it came to pass that Obodas was dead : and 
 jEneas, 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 design he gave much 
 money to the courtiers, and promised much 
 money to Csesar, wlio indeed was angry that 
 Aretas had not sent to him first before he 
 took the kingdom, yet did i^neas send an 
 epistle and presents to Cffisar, and a crown of 
 gold, of the weight of many talents. Now 
 that epistle accused Sylleus as having been a 
 wicked servant, and having killed Obodas 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 hiinsclf : yet did not Ca?sar give 
 heed to these accusations, but sent his ambas- 
 sadors back, without receiving any of his pre- 
 sents. But in the mean time the affairs of 
 Judea and Arabia became worse and worse, 
 partly because of the anarchy they were un- 
 der, and partly because, bad as they were, 
 nobody had power to govern them ; for of 
 the two kings, the one was not yet confirmed 
 in his kingdom, and so had not authority suf- 
 ficient to restrain the evil-doers ; and as for 
 Herod, Ca'sar was immediately angry at him 
 for having avenged himself, and so lie was 
 compelled to bear all the injuries that were 
 offered liiin. .-^t length, when he saw no end 
 of the mischief which surrounded him, he re- 
 solved to send ambassadors to Rome again, 
 to see whether his friends had prevailed to 
 mitigate Ctcsar, and to address tiiemselves to 
 Ca-sar himself; and the ambassador he sent 
 thither was Nicolaus of Damascus. 
 
 • This Aret.ns was now become so cstsblishtsl a name 
 for the kings of Arabia [at I'ctra and DairiAfcus], that 
 when the crown caiuc to this ^ncas, he chaii^«i hij 
 name to Aretas, as Havcrcamp here justly oSiiTvefi. 
 See Antiq. li. xiii, eh. xv, sect. S. 
 
 r 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 451 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW EL'RYCLES FALSELY ACCUSED HEROD's 
 SONS ; AND HOW THEIR FATHER BOUND 
 THEM, AND WROTE TO C>ESAR ABOUT THEM. 
 OF SYLLEUS ; AND HOW HE WAS ACCUSED BY 
 NICOLAUS. 
 
 § 1. The disorders about Herod's family and 
 children about this time grew much worse ; for 
 it now appeared certain, nor was it unforeseen 
 
 upon Antipater, thinking hini to be his friend 
 by this advice, gave him presents upon all 
 occasions, and at length persuaded him to 
 inform Herod of what he had heard. So 
 when he related to the king Alexander's ill 
 temper, as discovered by the words he had 
 heard him speak, he was easily believed by 
 him ; and he thereby brought the king to 
 that pass, turning him about by his words, 
 and irritating him, till he increased his hat- 
 red to him, and made him implacable, which 
 he showed at that very time, for he immedi-- 
 
 beforehand, that fortune threatened the great- ■ ately gave Eurycles a present of fifty talents ; 
 est and most insupportable misfortunes pos- who, when he had gotten them, went to Ar- 
 sible to his kingdom. Its progress and aug- > chelaus, king of Cappadocia, and commended 
 mentation at this time arose on the occasion ' Alexander before him, and told him that he 
 following : — One Eurycles, a Lacedemonian had been many ways of advantage to him, in 
 
 making a reconciliation between him and his 
 father. So he got money from him also, 
 and went away, before his pernicious prac- 
 
 (a person of note there, but a man of a per- 
 verse mind, and so cunning in his ways of 
 voluptuousness and flattery, as to indulge 
 both, and yet seem to indulge neither of ] tices were found out ; but when Eurycles was 
 
 them), came in his travels to Herod, and 
 made him presents, but so tliat he received 
 more presents from him. He also took such 
 proper seasons for insinuating himself into 
 his friendship, that he became one of the most 
 intimate of the king's friends. He had bis 
 lodging in Antipater's house ; but he had not 
 only access, but free conversation, with Alex- 
 ander, as pretending to him that he was in 
 great favour with Archelaus, the king of 
 Cappadocia ^ whence he pretended much re 
 
 returned to Lacedemon, he did not leave off 
 doing mischief; and so, for his many acts of in- 
 justice, he was banished from his own country. 
 2. But as for the king of the Jews, he was 
 not now in the temper he was in formerly to- 
 wards Alexander and Aristobulus, when he 
 had been content with the hearing their ca- 
 lumnies 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. 
 
 sppct to Glaphyra, ar.d, in an occult manner. He also observed all that was said, and put ques- 
 
 cultivated 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 every body in his conversation, as to 
 appear to be his particular friend, and he 
 made others believe that his being anywhere 
 was for that person's advantage. So he won 
 upon Alexander, who was but young ; and 
 persuaded him, that he might open his griev- 
 ances to him with assurance, and with no- 
 body else. So he declared his grief to him, 
 how his father was alienated from him. He 
 related to him also the affairs of his motl>er, 
 and of Antipater ; that he had driven them 
 from their proper dignity, and had the power 
 over every thing himself; that no part of this 
 was tolerable, since his father was already 
 come to hate them ; and he added, that he 
 would neitlier admit them to his table nor to 
 his conversation. Such were the complaints. 
 
 tions, and gave ear to every one that would but 
 speak, if they could but say any thing against 
 them, till at length he heard that Euaratus of 
 Cos was a conspirator with Alexander ; which 
 thing to Herod was the most agreeable and 
 sweetest news imaginable. 
 
 3. But still a greater misfortune came up- 
 on 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 preservation. There were 
 two guards of Herod's body, who were in 
 great esteem for their great strength and tall- 
 ness, Jucundus and Tyrannus; these men 
 had been cast off by Herod, who was dis- 
 pleased at them ; these now used to ride along 
 with Alexander, and for their skill in their 
 exercises were in great esteem with him, and 
 had some gold and other ccifts bestowed on 
 
 as was but natural, of Alexander about the them. Now theking,havingan immediate sus- 
 Uiiiigs that troubled him : and these discourses ' picion of these men, had them tortured ; who 
 Eurycles carri^^d to Antipater, and told him, 'endured the torture courageously for a loi.g 
 he did not inform him of this on his own ac-jtime; but at last confessed that Alexander 
 count, but that being overcoine by his kind- | would have persuaded tliem to kill Herod 
 ness, the great importance of the thing oblig- when he was in pursuit of the wild beasts, 
 ed him to do it : and he warned him to have that it might be said he fell from his horse, 
 a care of Alexander, for that what he said land was run through with his own spear, for 
 was spoken with vehemency, and that, in that lie had once such a misfortune formerly, 
 consequence of what he s;iid, he would cer- They also showed where there was money 
 tainly kill him with his own hand.^ Where- | hidden in the stable, underground; and these 
 
152 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 convicted tlie king's chief hunter, tliat lie had 
 given the young men the royal hunting-spears 
 and weapons to Alexander's dependants, and 
 at Alexander's command. 
 
 4. After these, the commander of the gar- 
 rison of Alexandrium was caught and tortur- 
 ed ; for he was accused to have promised 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 sen came in, and said it was so, and deli- 
 vered up the writing, which, so far as could 
 be guessed, was in Alexander's hand. Its 
 contents were these : — " When we have fi- 
 nibhed, by God's help, all that we have pro- 
 posed to do, we will come to you ; but do 
 your endeavours, as you have promised, to re- 
 ceive us into your fortress." After this writ- 
 ing was produced, Herod had no doubt about 
 the treacherous designs of liis sons against 
 liim ; but Alexander said that Diophantus, 
 the scribe, had imitated his hand, and that the 
 paper was maliciously drawn up by Antipa- 
 ter ; for Diophantus appeared to be very cun- 
 ning in such practices ; and as he was after- 
 ward convicted of forging other papers, he 
 was put to death for it. 
 
 5. 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 restrain- 
 ed the multitude, by means of Ptolemy 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 re- 
 proach and fear they were in was little or no- 
 thing different from those of condemned cri- 
 minals ; and one of them, who was Aristobu- 
 lus, 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 sufl'ered tilings to come 
 to that pass ; when he said to her, " Art thou not 
 in danger of destruction also, while the re- 
 port goes that thou hadst disclosed before- 
 hand all our afl'airs to Sylleus, when thou 
 wast in hopes of being married to him ?" 
 But she immediately carried those words to 
 her brother : upon this he was out of patience, 
 and gave command to bind him ; and enjoin- 
 ed them both, now they were kept sep.irate 
 one from the other, to write down all the ill 
 things they had done against their father, and 
 Ijring the writings to him. So when tliis was 
 enjoined them, they wrote this : that tliey 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. 
 
 BOOK XVI 
 
 6. About this time there came an ambassa- 
 dor out of ("appadocia from Archelaus, whoso 
 name was ISKlas ; he was one of the princi- 
 pal rulers under him. So Ilerod being de 
 sirous to show Archelaus's ill-will to him, 
 called for Alexander, as he was in his bonds, 
 and asked him again concerning his flight, 
 whetlier and how they had resolved to retire : 
 Alexander replied, — To Archelaus, who had 
 promised to send them away to Home ; but 
 that they had no wicked or mischievous de- 
 signs 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 examined Tyrannus 
 and Jucundus more strictly, but that they 
 had been suddenly slain by the means of An 
 tipater, who put his own friends among the 
 multitude [for that purpose]. 
 
 7. When this was said, Herod commanded 
 that both Alexander and Melas should be 
 carried to Glaphyra, 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 con- 
 sternation, gave a deep and a moving groan. 
 The young man also fell into tears. This was 
 so miserable 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 Alexander, bade him 
 say whether his wife were conscious of his ac 
 tions. He replied, " How is it possible that 
 she, whom I love better than my own soul, 
 and by whom I have had children, should not 
 know what I do?" Upon which she cried 
 out, that she knew of no wicked designs ot 
 his ; but that yet, if her accusing herself 
 falsely would tend to his preservation, she 
 would confess it all. Alexander replied, 
 " There is no such wickedness as those (who 
 ought the least of all so to do) suspect, which 
 either I have imagined, or thou knowtst of, but 
 this only, that we had resolved to retire to Ar- 
 chelaus, and from thence to Koine." Which 
 she also confessed. Upon which Ilerod, sup- 
 posing that Archelaus's ill-will to him was 
 fully proved, sent a letter by Olympus and 
 Volumnius ; and bade them, as they s.iiled by, 
 to touch at Eleusa of Cilicia, and give Ar- 
 chelaus the letter. And that when they had 
 expostulated with him, that he had a hand 
 in his son's 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 h/s let- 
 ters, and the proof which he had ready to show 
 against tlic young men. As to Archelaus, he 
 made this defence for himself, that he had pro- 
 mised to receive the young men, because it 
 was bijili for llieir own and their father's ad- 
 vantage so to do, lest some too severe proco- 
 
■\. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 453 
 
 dure should be gone upon in that anger and ,' 
 disorder they were in on occasion of the pre- j 
 sent suspicions ; but that still he had not pro- 
 mised to send tbem to Caesar ; and that he i 
 had not promised any thing else to the young 
 men that could show any ill-will to him. 
 
 8. When these ambassadors were come to | 
 Rome, they had a fit opportunity of deliver, 
 ing their letters to Caesar, because they found 
 cim reconciled to Herod ; for the circumstan- 
 ces of Nicolaus's embassage had been as fol- 
 lows : — As soon as he was 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 j 
 them, were quarrelling one with another; and , 
 some of them left Sylleus's party, and joining , 
 themselves toNicolaus, informed him of all the 
 wicked things that had been done ; and pro- 
 duced to him evident demonstrations 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. When 
 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 Cae- 
 sar and Herod ; for he was fully satisfied, that 
 if he should desire to make a defence for He- 
 rod directly, he should not be allowed that 
 liberty ; but that if he desired to accuse Syl- 
 leus, there would an occasion present itself of 
 speaking on Herod'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 destruction 
 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 wiih the 
 Arabian, but Roman women also. And he 
 added, that above all the rest he had alienat- 
 ed Csesar from Herod ; and that all that he 
 had said about the actions of Herod were fal- 
 sities. When Nicolaus was come to this to- 
 pic, Caesar stopped him from going on, and 
 desired him only to speak to this atfair of 
 Herod, and to show that he had not led an 
 army into Arabia, nor slain two thousand five 
 hundred 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 tliou hast been informed ; for had they 
 been true, thou mightest justly have been still 
 more angry at Herod." At this strange as- 
 sertion, Caesar was very attentive ; and Nico- 
 laus said, that there was a debt due to Herod 
 of five hundred talents, and a bond, wherein 
 it was written, tliat if tlie time appointed be 
 elapsed, it should be lawful to maJ(e o^seizuis 
 
 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 pay- 
 ment of the money : that this was not sent 
 immediately, nor so soon as the bond allowed, 
 but that Sylleus had frequently come before 
 Saturninus and Volumnius, the presidents of 
 Syria : and that at last he had sworn at Be- 
 rytus, by thy fortune,* that he would cer- 
 tainly pay the money within thirty days, and 
 deliver up the fugitives that were under his 
 dominion. And that when Sylleus had per- 
 formed nothing of this, Herod came again 
 before the presidents ; and upon their per- 
 mission to 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 tragi- 
 cally describe ; and this is the affair of the 
 expedition into Arabia. And how can this 
 be called a war, when thy presidents permit- 
 ted it, the covenants allowed it, and it was 
 not executed till thy name, O Cassar, 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 io 
 Trachonitis: — at first their number was no 
 more than forty, but they became more after- 
 wards, and they escaped the punishment He- 
 rod would have inflicted on them, by making 
 Arabia tlieir refuge. Sylleus received 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 pro- 
 mise that he would deliver up these men, and 
 that by the same oaths and same time that h 
 sware and fixed for payment of his debt : noi 
 can he by any means show that any other per- 
 sons have at this time been taken out of Ara- 
 bia besides these, and indeed not all these 
 neither, but only so many as could not con- 
 ceal themselves. And thus does the calumnj 
 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 
 fiiy indignation ; 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 
 Nacebus their general, and in all about twen- 
 ty-five others, and no more; whence Sylleus, 
 by multiplying every single soldier to a hun- 
 dred, he reckons the slain to have been two 
 thousand five hundred." 
 
 9. This provoked Caesar more than ever ; 
 so he turned to Sylleus full of rage, and ask- 
 ed liim how many of the Arabians were slain. 
 Hereupon he hesitated, and said he had been 
 imposed upon. The covenants were also read 
 about the money he had borrowed, and the 
 
 • This oath, by tlie fortune of Ctesar, was put to 
 Polycarp, a bishop of Smyrna, by the Roman governor 
 to try whether he were a Christian, as they were tJien 
 esteemed who refused to swear that oath. Martyi, 
 Polycari>. sect. 9. 
 
 "X. 
 
451 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 letters of tlie presickMUs of Syria, and tlic 
 runiplaiiUs of the several cities, so many as 
 had been injured l)y the robbers. The con- 
 clusion was this, that Syileus was condemned 
 to die, and that Caesar was reconciled to He- 
 rod, and owned liis repentance for wliat severe 
 things he had written to liim, occasioned by 
 calumny, insomuch that lie told Syileus, that 
 he had compelled him, by his lying account 
 of tilings, to be guilty of ingratitude against 
 a man that was his friend. At the last all 
 came to this, — Syileus was sent away to an- 
 swer Herod's suit, and to repay the debt that 
 he owed, and after that to be punished [with 
 death] ; but still Ca;sar was oll'ended witli 
 Aretas, that he had taken upon himself the 
 government, without his consent first obtain- 
 ed, for he had determined to bestow Arabia 
 upon Herod ; but that the letters he had sent 
 Hindered hini from so doing; for Olympus 
 and Volumnius, perceiving that Cicsar was 
 now become favourable to Herod, thought fit 
 immediately to deliver him the letters they 
 were commanded by Herod to give him con- 
 cerning his sons. V»'lien Caesar had read them, 
 he thought it would not be proper to add ano- 
 ther 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 confirm- 
 ed him in his government. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW HEROD, BY PKRMISSION FROM C.SSAR, 
 ACCUSED HIS SONS BEFORE AM ASSEMBLY OF 
 JUDGES AT BERYTUS ; AND WHAT TERO SUF- 
 FERED, FOR USING A BOUNDLESS AND MILI- 
 TARY LIBERTY OF SPEECH. CONCERNING 
 ALSO THE DEATH OF THE YOUNG MEN, AND 
 THEIR BURIAL AT ALEXANDRIUM. 
 
 § 1. So Caesar was now reconciled to Herod, 
 and wrote thus to him • — That he was grieved 
 for him on account of his sons ; and that in 
 case iJiey had been guilty of any profane and 
 insolent crimes against him, it would behove 
 him to punibh them as parricides, for which he 
 gave him ])ower accordingly ; hut if they had 
 only contrived to fiy away, he would have 
 him give them an admonition, and not pro- 
 ceed to extremity with them. He also ad- 
 vised him to get an assenjbly together, and to 
 appoint some place near lierytus,* which is a 
 city belonging to the Romans, and to take 
 tLe presidents of Syria, and Archeiaus, king 
 
 • What Joscphus relates Aupustiis to have here saiil, 
 that berytus was a city lK'Ioiii;iiiK '" 'he IlomaiK, is 
 confiniieil l>y Snaiihcim'siiote iicri': — '• It was ciays he) 
 a colony placet! ihtru tiy Aiipustus. Whence Ulpiaii, 
 De fens. Del. L. T. xv. The colony of Uerytus w.-is rcn- 
 ilcred famous by the benefits of C'a-sar : anil thence it is, 
 ■Jiat among the cjini of Augustus, we meet with Mime 
 Having this inscri|>ti-<n The Iia^tpy colony of Augustus 
 »t Uerytiii." 
 
 BOOK XVI 
 
 of Cappadocia, and as many more as lie 
 llioiight to be illustrious for their friendship 
 to him, and the dignities they were in, and 
 determine what should be done by their ap- 
 probation. These were the directions that 
 Casar gave him. Accordingly Herod, when 
 the letter was brought to him, was immediate- 
 ly very glad of Csesar's reconciliation to him, 
 and very glad also that he had a complete au- 
 thority given him over his sons. And it 
 strangely came about, that whereas before, in 
 his adversity, though he had indeed shown 
 himself severe, yet had he not been very rash, 
 nor hasty, in procuring the destruction of his 
 sons ; he now, in his prosperity, took advan- 
 tage of this change for the better, and the 
 freedom he now had, to exercise his hatred 
 against them, after an imheard-of manner ; 
 he therefore sent and called as many as he 
 thought fit to this assembly, excepting Arche- 
 iaus ; for as for him, he either hated liim, so 
 that he would not invite him, or thought ha 
 would be an obstacle to his designs. 
 
 2. When the presidents, and the rest that 
 belonged to the cities were come to Berytus, 
 he kept his sons in a certain village belonging 
 to Sidon, called Plalana, but near to this city, 
 that if they were called he might produce 
 them, for he did not think fit to bring them 
 before the assembly : and when there were 
 one hundred and fifty assessors present, He- 
 rod came by hiinself alone, and accused liis 
 sons, and in such a way as if it were not a 
 melancholy accusation, and not inade but out 
 of necessity, and upon the misfortunes he was 
 under ; indeed, in such a way as was very in- 
 decent 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 greatest signs 
 of passion and barbarity : nor would he suffer 
 the assessors to consider of the weiglit of the 
 evidence, but asserted them to be true by 
 his own authority, after a manner most in- 
 decent in a father against his sons, and read 
 himself what they themselves had written, 
 wherein there was no confession of any plots 
 or contrivances against him, but only how 
 they had contrived to fly away, and containing 
 withal certain reproaches against him, on ac- 
 count of the ill-will he bare them; and when 
 he came to those reproaches, he cried out 
 most of all, and exaggerated what tl.ey said, 
 as if they had confessed the design against 
 him, — and took his oath that he liad rather 
 lose his life than hear such repioachful words. 
 At last he said that he had suthcient authority, 
 botli by nature and by C'jusar's grant to him, 
 [to do what he thouglit fit]. He also added 
 an allegation of a law of their country, which 
 enjoined this : — 'J'hat if parents laid their 
 hands on the head of him that was accused, 
 the standers by were obliged to cast stones ac 
 him, and thereby to slay him ; which though 
 he were ready to do in his own country and 
 
 >, 
 
 r 
 
~V- 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 455 
 
 kingdom, yet did he wait for their determina- 
 tion ; and yet they came thither not so much 
 as judges, to condemn them for such manifest 
 designs against him, whereby he had almost 
 perished by his sons' means, but as persons 
 that had an opportunity of showing their de- 
 testation of sucli practices, and declaring how 
 unworthy a thing it must be in any, even the 
 most remote, to pass over such treacherous de- 
 signs [without punishment]. 
 
 3. When the king had said this, and the 
 young men had not been produced to make 
 any defence for themselves, the assessors per- 
 ceived there was no room for equity and re- 
 conciliation, so they lonfirmed his authority. 
 And in the first place, Saturninus, a person 
 that had been consul, and one of great digni- 
 ty, pronounced 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. He 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 Satur- 
 ninus's sons, for he had three sons that fol- 
 lowed 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 un- 
 dutiful to their father; and the greatest part 
 of the rest said the same, insomuch that the 
 conclusion seemed to be, that the youug men 
 *pere condemned to die. Immediately 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 Rome thought 
 of that matter. His answer was, " That what 
 they had determined to do to thee was im- 
 pious, and that thou oughtest to keep them in 
 prison : and if thou thinkest any thing farther 
 necessary, thou mayest indeed so punish them, 
 that thou mayest not appear to indulge thy 
 anger more than to govern thyselT by judg- 
 ir.ent ; but if thou inclinest to the milder side, 
 thou mayest absolve them, lest perhaps tliy 
 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 tlioughtfulness, and 
 bade Nicolaus sail along with him. 
 
 4. Now as they came to Cesarea, 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 tJie ancient disorders of the family 
 should come to a sad conclusion, 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 ano- 
 ther saying it, but men's pity was forced to 
 1 e 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 mul- 
 titude, and said, in the most unguarded man- 
 ner, that truth was perished, and justice ta- 
 ken 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 be- 
 fall men. And as he was so bold, he seemed 
 not to have kept himself out of danger, by 
 speaking so freely ; but the reasonableness 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 rea- 
 son every one heard wliat he said with plea- 
 sure : and although they first took care of 
 their own safety by keeping 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. 
 5. 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, O king, to 
 bear up under so great a concern as I am un- 
 der, I have preferred the use of this bold liberty 
 that I now take, which may be for thy advan- 
 tage, if thou mind to get any profit by it, be- 
 fore my own safety. Wliither is thy under- 
 standing gone, and left thy soul empty ? 
 Whither is that extraordinary sagacity of tliine 
 gone, whereby thou hast performed so many 
 and such glorious actions ? Whence comes this 
 solitude, and desertion of thy friends and rela- 
 tions ? Of which I cannot but determine that 
 they are neither thy friends nor relations, while 
 they overlook such horrid wickedness in thy 
 once happy kingdom. Dost not thou perceive 
 what is doing? Wilt thou slay these two young 
 men, born of tliy queen, who are accomplished 
 with every virtue in the highest degree, and 
 leave thyself destitute in thy old age, but expos- 
 ed to one son, who liath very ill managed the 
 hopes thou liast given him, and to relations, 
 whose death thou hast so often resolved on 
 thyself? Dost not thou 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 the 
 poor unhappy youths, and hatred to those 
 that are the actors in this matter." — These 
 words the king lieard, and for some time with 
 good temper. But what can one say ? Wheo 
 Tero plainly touched upon the bad behaviour 
 and perfidiousness of his domestics, he was 
 moved at it ; but Tero went on farther, and 
 by degrees used an unbounded military free- 
 dom of speech, nor was he so well disciplineil 
 
 _r 
 
450 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 as fo 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 advantage, while 
 DC learned tliereby that both the soldiers ab- 
 liorred the thing he was about, and the offi- 
 cers had indignation at it, he gave order that 
 all whom Tero had named, and Tero himself, 
 should be bound and kept in prison. 
 
 6. When this was over, one Trypho, who 
 A'as the king's barber, took the oi)portunity, 
 and came and told the king that Tero would 
 often have persuaded him, wlien 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 re- 
 wards from iiim. 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 deliverance, and perceiv- 
 in<^ what would be the consequence of his 
 teii ible sufferings, said, that if the king would 
 free him and his father from these torments 
 for what he should say, he would tell tlie 
 truth. And when the king had given his 
 word to do so, he said tliat 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 vvas alone ; and that if, when he 
 had done the thing, he should suffer death for 
 it, as was not unlikely, it would be an act of ge- 
 nerosity done in favour of Alexander. This 
 was what Tero's son said, and thereby freed 
 his father from the distress he was in ; but un- 
 certain it is whether he had been thus forced to 
 speak what was true, or whether it were a con- 
 trivance of his, in order to procure his own and 
 his father's deliverance from their miseries. 
 
 7. As for Herod, if he had before any doubt 
 about the slaughter of his sons, there was now 
 no longer any room left in liis soul for it ; but 
 he had banished away whatsoever miglit af- 
 ford him the least suggestion of reasoning 
 better about this matter, so he already made 
 haste to bring his purpose to a conclusion. 
 He also brought out three hundred of the of- 
 ficers that were under an accusation, as also 
 'J'ero and his son, and the barber that accused 
 them, before an assembly, and brought an ac- 
 cusation against them all ; whom llie multi- 
 tude stoned with whatsoever came to hand, 
 and thereby slew them. Alexander also and 
 Aristobulus were brought to Subaste, by their 
 father's command, and there strangled ; but 
 their dead bodies were, in the night-time, car- 
 ried to Alexandrium, where their uncle, by 
 the motlier's side, and the greatest part of 
 their ancestors, had been deposited. 
 
 8. • And now perhaps it may not seem un- 
 
 » The reader is here to note, that this eighth section 
 U entirely wanting in the old Latin versiun, as Span- 
 ncim truly obsirics; nor is there any other reason for 
 it, I siipiKise, than the great difliculty of an exact trans- 
 kiuou. 
 
 BOOK XVI 
 
 reasonable to some, that such an inveterats 
 hatred might increase so much [on both 
 sides], as to proceed farther, and overcome 
 nature ; but it may justly deserve considera- 
 tion, whether it be to be laid to the charge of 
 the young men, that they gave such an occa- 
 sion 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 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 immoveable; or, indeed, whe- 
 ther fortune has not greater power than all 
 prudent reasonings ; whence we are persuad- 
 ed tliat 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 attributes somewhat to our- 
 selves, and renders men not unaccountable 
 for the different conducts of their lives ; which 
 notion is no other than the philosophical de- 
 termination of our ancient law. According- 
 ly, ot the two other causes of this sad event, 
 any body may lay the blame on tlie young 
 men, who acted by youthful vanity, and pride 
 of tiicir royal birth, that they should bear to 
 hear the calumnies that were raised against 
 their father, while certainly they were not equi- 
 table judges of the actions of his life, but ill- 
 natured in suspecting, and intemperate in 
 speaking of it, and on both accounts easily 
 caught by those that observed them, and re- 
 vealed them to gain favour ; yet cannot theii 
 father be thought worthy of excuse, as to tliat 
 horrid impiety which he was guilty of about 
 them, while he ventured, without any certain 
 evidence of their treacherous designs against 
 him, and without any proofs that they had 
 made preparations for such an attempt, to kill 
 his own sons, who were of very comely bodies, 
 and the great darlings of other men, and no 
 way delicient in their conduct, whether it 
 were in hunting, or in warlike exercises, or in 
 speaking upon occasional topics of discourse; 
 for in all these they were skilful, and especi- 
 ally Alexander, who was the eldest; for cer- 
 tai-nly it had been sufficient, even though ho 
 had condemned them, to have kept them alive 
 in bonds, or to kt them live at a distmce 
 from his dominions in banishment, while he 
 was surrounded by t!ie Konian forces, which 
 were a strong security to him, whose help 
 would prevent iiis suffering any thing by a 
 sudden onset, or by open force; but for him 
 to kill them on the sudden, in order to grati- 
 fy a passion that governed liim, vvas a demon- 
 stration of insufferable impiety. He also wa» 
 guilty of so great a crime in his older age • 
 
 "\ 
 
 .r" 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 457 
 
 nor will the delnys 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 aclioii, al- 
 though 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 frequent 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 thiM 
 temper he showed in wl)at he did afterward, 
 when he did not spare those that seemed to 
 be the best beloved of his friends that were 
 left, wherein, though the justice of the pu- 
 nishment caused those that |)erished to be the 
 less pitied, yet was 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 XVII. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF FOURTEEN YEARS. 
 
 FROM ALEXANDER AND ARISTOBULUS'S DEATH TO THE BANISH- 
 MENT OF ARCHELAUS. 
 
 CHAPTER r. 
 
 HOW AXTIPATF.R WAS HATED BY ALL THE NA- 
 TION [of the jews] for toe slaughter 
 
 OF HIS BRETHREN ; AND HOW, FOR THAT 
 REASON, HE GOT INTO PECULIAR FAVOUR 
 WITH HIS FRIENDS AT ROME, BY GIVING 
 THEM MANY PRESENTS ; AS HE DID ALSO 
 V/ITH SATURNINUS, THE PRESn:)ENT OF SY- 
 RIA, AND THE GOVERNORS WHO WERE UN- 
 DEB HIM; AND CONCERNING HEROD's WIVES 
 AND CHILDREN. 
 
 § 1. When Antipater had thus taken off his 
 brethren, and had brought liis 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 although 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 was be- 
 come very great ; and, besides this very disa- 
 greeable circumstance, the affairs of the sol- 
 diery grieved him still more, who were alien- 
 ated from him, from which yet these kings 
 derived all the safety which they had, when- 
 ever they found tlie nation desirous of inno- 
 vation : and all this danger was drawn upon 
 him by his destruction of his hretliren. How- 
 ever, he governed the nation jointly with his 
 father, being indeed no other than a king al- 
 ready ; and he was for that very reason trust- 
 
 ed, and the more firmly depended on, for 
 which he ought himself to have been put to 
 death, as ajipearing to liave betrayed his bre- 
 thren out of his concern for the preservation 
 of Kerod, and not rather out of his ill will 
 to tliem, and before them, to his father him- 
 self; and this was the accursed state he was 
 in. Now, all Antipater'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 afibrd him 
 their assistance, since they must thereby have 
 Aniipaler for their open enemy; insomuch 
 that the very plots he had laid against his bre- 
 thren, were occasioned by the hatred he bore 
 his father. But at tiiis time he was more 
 tlian ever set upon the execution of his at- 
 tempts against Herod, because, if he were 
 once dead, the government would now be 
 firmly secured to him; but if he were sufler- 
 ed to live any longer, he shoidd 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 account it was that he became 
 very bountiful to his father's friends, and he- 
 stowed great sums on several of them, in or- 
 der to surj)rise men with his good deeds, and 
 take off their hatred against them. And he 
 sent great presents to his friends at Rome 
 particularly, to gain their good-will ; and, 
 above all, to Saturninus, the president of Sy- 
 ria. He also hoped to gain the favour of Sa- 
 turninus's brother with the large presents he 
 
458 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 bestowed on bim ; as also be used the same 
 art to [Salome] tb« king's sister, who iiad 
 married one of Herod's chief friends. And, 
 wlien be counterfeited friend.siiip to those 
 with whom lie conversed, he was very subtle 
 in gaining their belief, and very cunning to 
 hide his hatred against any that he really did 
 hate. But be could not impose upon his 
 aunt, who understood bim of a long time, and 
 was a woman not easily to be deluded, espe- 
 cially while she had already used all possible 
 caution in preventing bis pernicious designs. 
 Altliough Antipater's uncle by the mother's 
 side was married to her daugliter, and tliis by 
 his own connivance and management, while 
 she bad before been married to Arisiobulus, 
 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 bow wiiked he was, in her discovering 
 his designs, as her former kindred to him 
 could not prevent her hatred of him. Now 
 Herod bad 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 accept 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 
 advantage. At this time also it was that He- 
 rod sent back king Archelaus's daughter, wlio 
 had been Alexander's wife, to her father, re- 
 turning the portion he had with her out of his 
 own estate, that there might be no dispute be- 
 tween them about it. 
 
 2. Now Herod brought up his sons' chil- 
 dren with great care ; for Alexander had two 
 sons by Glaphyra; and Aristobulus had three 
 sons by Bernice, Salome's daughter, and 
 two daughters; and as bis friends were once 
 with him, he presented the children before 
 them; and deploring the hard fortune of his 
 own sons, be 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 
 mase bim amends for his c:u-e of their edu- 
 cation. He also caused them to be betrothed 
 against they should come to the projier age 
 of marriage; the elder of Alexander's sons 
 to Pheroras's daughter, and Antipater's 
 daughter to Aristobulus's eldest son. He 
 also allotted one of Aristobulus's daughters 
 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 espousals for the chil- 
 dren, out of commiseration of them now they 
 
 BOOK XVII. 
 
 were fatherless, as endeavouring to render 
 Antipater kind to them by these intermar- 
 riages. But Antipater did not fail to bear 
 the same temper of mind to bis brothtr's 
 children which he had borne to his brothers 
 themselves ; and his father's concern about 
 them provoked his indignation against them 
 upon his supposal, that they would become 
 greater than ever his brothers had been ; while 
 Archelaus, a king, would sup|)oit his daugh- 
 ter's sons, and Pheroras, a tetrarch, would 
 accept of one of th^,- daughters as a wife to 
 his son. What provoked him also was this, 
 that all the multitude would so ccmmiseratt 
 these fatherless children, and so hate bim for 
 making them fatherless], that all would come 
 out, since they were no strangers to his vile 
 di'iposition towards his brethren. He con- 
 trived, therefore, to overturn his father's set 
 tlements, as thinking it a terrible thing that 
 they should be so related to bim, and be so 
 powerful withal. So Herod yielded to hini, 
 and changed bis resolution at his entreaty; 
 and the determination now was, that Antipa- 
 ter iiimself should marry Aristobulus's daugh- 
 ter, and Antipater's son should marry Pliero- 
 ras's daughter. So the espousals for the mar- 
 riages were changed after this manner, even 
 without the king's real approbation. 
 
 3. Now Herod • the king had at this time 
 nine wives ; one of tliem Antipater's mother, 
 
 I 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 sons were Antipas 
 and Archelaus, and whose daughter was Oiym- 
 pias ; which daughter was afterward married 
 to Joseph, the king's brother's son ; but Ar- 
 chelaus and Antipas were l)rought up with a 
 certain private man at Rome. Herod had 
 also to wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem, and by 
 her he had his sons Heiod and Piiilip ; which 
 last was also brought up at Rome : Pallas 
 also was one of his wives, nho bare him his 
 son Phasaelus ; and besides these, he liad for 
 his wives Phedra and Elpis, by whom he liad 
 his daughters Roxana and Salome. As for 
 his elder daughters by the same mother with 
 Alexander and Aristobulus, and whom Phe- 
 roras 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 tlie posterity of Herod. 
 
 • Those « ho hive a mind to know all the family and 
 ilosfcr.ilaiiti of Antiiutcr the Iiliiniciin, ami of MeriKl 'Jie 
 (ireat, his sun, and li.ive a niiinor; to preserve them all 
 distinctly, may consult Josciil'us, Antiq. b. xviii, ch. v, 
 sect, i; and Of the War, h. i, ch. xxviii, sect. 1 ; and 
 Nokljus in Havercamp's edition, p. 3oG; and S^ian- 
 hi'im, ib. p. 4ut! — Hii • and ileland, Palcklin. part i, p 
 1"5, 176. 
 
 ~v 
 
J~ 
 
 "V. 
 
 CHAl'. H. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 459 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CONOERNINC, ZAMARIS, THE BABYLONIAN JEW ; 
 CONCERNING THE PLOTS LAID BY ANTl'.'A- 
 TER AGAINST HIS FATHER J AND SOMEWHAT 
 ABOUT THE PHARISEES. 
 
 § 1. And now it was that Herod, being de- 
 sirous to secure liiniselt' 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 sallies 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 
 five hundred horsemen, all of whom could 
 shoot their arrows as they rode on horseback, 
 and, with a hundred of his relations, had 
 passed over Euphrates, and now abode at 
 Antioch by Daphne of Syria, where Saturni- 
 nus, who was then president, had given them 
 a place for habitation, called Valatha, he sent 
 for this man, with the multitude that fol- 
 lowed him, and promised to give him land in 
 the toparcliy called Batanea, which country 
 is Ijounded 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 customs as used 
 to be paid, and gave it him tax-free. 
 
 2. The Babylonian was induced by these 
 offers to come hither ; so he took possession 
 of the land, and built in it fortresses and a 
 village, and named it Bathyra. Whereby 
 this man became a safeguard to the inhabi- 
 tants against the Trachonites, and preserved 
 those Jews who came out of Babylon, to offer 
 their sacrifices at Jerusalem, from being hurt 
 by the Trachonite robbers ; so that a great 
 number came to him from all those parts 
 whore the ancient Jewish laws were observed, 
 and the country became full of people, by rea- 
 son of their universal freedom from taxes. 
 This continued during the life of Herod; but 
 wiien Philip, who was [tetrarch] after 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 have 
 now taken the government into their own 
 bands, they still gave them the privilege of 
 their freedom, but oppress them entirely with 
 the imposition of taxes. Of which matter I 
 shall treat more accurately in the progress 
 of this history* 
 
 3. At length Zamaris the Babylonian, to 
 
 • T'nis is now wanting. 
 
 wliom Herod had given that country for a pos- 
 session, died ; having lived virtuously, and 
 left children of a good cliaracter behind 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 woreguards to the forementioned 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 re- 
 spects also more eminent for his valour than 
 any of his contemporaries ; on which account 
 there was a confidence and firm friendsliip be- 
 tween him and king Agrippa. He had also 
 an army which he maintained, as great as that 
 of a king ; which he exercised and led where- 
 soever he had occasion to march. 
 
 4. When the afl'airs of Herod were in the 
 condition I have described, all the public af- 
 fairs depended upon Antipater ; and his pow- 
 er 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 fi- 
 delity to him ; and this till he ventured to 
 use his power still farther, because his v.'icked 
 designs were concealed from his father, and 
 lie 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 ; but he who principally cultivat- 
 ed a friendship with him was Pheroras, who 
 received the like marks of his friendship ; 
 while Antipater had cunningly encompassed 
 him about by a company of women, whom he 
 placed as guards about him ; for Pheroras 
 was greatly enslaved to his wife, and to her 
 mother, and to her sister; and this notwith- 
 standing the hatred be bare them, for the in 
 dignities they had offered to his virgin daugh- 
 ters. Yet did he bear them ; and nothing 
 was to be done without the women, who had 
 got this man into their circle, and continued 
 still to assist each other in all tilings, inso- 
 much that Antipater was entirely addicted to 
 them, both by himself and 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 hud looked about all their affairs, and 
 was apprised that this their friendship was 
 made, in order to do Herod soine inischitf, 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 contrived that their 
 meetings should not be discovered ; so they 
 pretended to hate one another, and abuse one 
 anotiier when time served, and especially when 
 Herod was present, or when any one was 
 
 • Pheroras's wife, aiid her mother and iistcr, ajid ]''e 
 ris, Ar.t)|ii»lor's iiiothejr. 
 
4(50 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF illK JEWS. 
 
 BOOK xyii 
 
 tlicro that would tell liim ; but still their in- 
 'tiinacy was firmer than over, when tliey were 
 private ; and this was the course tJiey took. 
 Hut tliey could not conceal from Salome 
 neither their first contrivance, when they set 
 about these tlieir intentions, nor when ihey 
 nad made some progress in them ; but she 
 searched out every thing, and, aggravating 
 the relations to her brother, declared to him, 
 as well their secret assemblies and compota- 
 tions, as their counsels taken in a clandestine 
 manner, which, if they were not in order to 
 destroy him, they might well enough have 
 been open and public ; but to appearance 
 they are at variance, and speak about one 
 another as if they intended one another a 
 nu'schief, but agree so well together when 
 they are out of the sight of the multitude; 
 for when they are alone by themselves they 
 act in conceit, and profess 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 un- 
 derstood 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 sister's 
 calumnies; for there w-as a certain sect of 
 men that were Jews, v\'ho valued themselves 
 highly upon the exact skill they had in the 
 Jaw of their fathers, and made men believe 
 they were highly favoured by God, by whom 
 this set of women were inveigled. These 
 are those that are called the sect of the Pha- 
 risees, who were in a capacity of greatly op- 
 posing kings. A cunning sect they were, 
 and soon elevated to a pitch of open fi^liting 
 and doing mischief. Accordingly, when all 
 the people of the Jews gave assurance of 
 their good-will to Caesar, and to the king's 
 government, these very men did not swear, 
 being above six thousand ; and when the 
 king imposed a fine upon them, Pheroras's 
 wife paid their fine for them. In order to 
 requite which kindness of hers, since they 
 were believed to have the foreknowledge of 
 things to come by divine inspiration, they 
 foretold how God had decreed tliat Herod's 
 government should cease, and his posterity 
 should be deprived of it ; but that the king- 
 dom should come to her and Pheroras, and 
 to their children. These predictions were 
 not concealed from Salome, but were told 
 the king ; as also how they had perverted 
 some persons about the palace itself. So tlie 
 king slew such of the Pharisees as were prin- 
 cipally accused, and IJagoas the eunuch, and 
 one Carus, who exceeded all men of that 
 time in comeliness, and one that was his ca- 
 tamite. He slew also all those of liis own 
 family who had consented to what the Phari- 
 sees foretold ; and for Bagoas, lie had been 
 puHed up by them, as though he sliould be 
 named tlu> father and the benefactor of liim 
 
 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. 
 
 CONTERMNG THE ENMITY BETWEEN' HEROD 
 AND PHERORAS ; HOW HEROD SENT ANTI- 
 PATEU TO C^SAB ; AND OF THE DEATH OF 
 PllEKORAS. 
 
 § 1. When Herod had punished those Pha- 
 risees wlio had been convicted of ihe forego- 
 ing crimes, he gathered an assembly together 
 of his friends, and accused Pheroras's wife; 
 and ascribiiig the abuses of the virgins to the 
 impudciice of that woman, brought an accu- 
 sation against her for the dishonour she had 
 brought upon 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 opi- 
 nion, put this his wife away, as one that will 
 still be the occasion of war between thee and 
 me. And now, Pheroras, if thou valuest 
 thy relation to me, 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 Piieroras (although 
 he was ])ressed 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 ho not leave off his atl'ection 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 oil 
 his anger against Pheroras on these accounts, 
 although he himself thereby underwent a very 
 uneasy punishment. However, he forbade 
 Antipater and his mother to have any con- 
 versation with Pheroras, and bade lliem to 
 take care to avoid the assemblies of the wo- 
 men : which they promised to do, but still 
 got together when occasion served ; and both 
 Piieroras and Antipater had their own merry 
 meetings. The report went also, that Anti- 
 pater had criminal conversation with Phero- 
 ras's wife, aiid that they were brought toge- 
 Uier by Antipater's mother. 
 
 2. But Antipater had now a suspicion of 
 his father, and was afraid that the effects of 
 his hatred to him might increase ; so he wrote 
 to his friends at Uunie, aud bade tliem send 
 
 "^ 
 
J~ 
 
 ■V 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 431 
 
 to Herod, that he would immediately send 
 Antipater to CiEsar ; vhich when it was done, 
 Herod sent Antipater thither, and sent most 
 noble presents along with him ; as also his 
 testament, wherein Antipater was appointed 
 to be his successor: and that if Antipater 
 should die first, his son [Herod Philip], by 
 the high-priest's daughter, should succeed. 
 And, together with Antipater, there went to 
 Rome, Sylleus the Arabian, although he had 
 done nothing of all that Ca?sar had enjoined 
 him. Antipater also accused him of tlie same 
 crimes of wliich he had been formerly accused 
 by Herod. Sylleus was also accused by Are- 
 tas, that without his consent he had slain 
 many of the chief of the 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 Sylleus was accused, 
 and that on the occasion following : — There 
 was one Corinthus, belonging to Herod, of 
 the guards of the king's body, and one who 
 was greatly trusted by him. Sylleus had per- 
 suaded 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 encou- 
 rage Corinthus not to fail of doing what he 
 nad undertaken to do ; and to assist liini with 
 tlieir own hands in the murder, if need should 
 re(]uire their assistance. So Saturninus, upon 
 Herod's discovering the whole to him, sent 
 them to Rome. 
 
 3. 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 entrust 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 Pherora^, but 
 remitted of his purpose [not to see himj 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 brougiit to Jerusalem, and buried there, 
 and appointed a solemn mourning for him. 
 This [death of Pheroras] became the origin 
 of Antipater's misfortunes, although he had 
 already sailed for Home, God now" being a- 
 
 bout to punish him for the murder of his 
 brethren. I will explain the history of this 
 matter very distinctly, that it may be for 
 a warning to mankind, that they take care 
 of conducting their whole lives by the rules 
 of virtue. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PHERORAS'S WIFE IS ACCUSED BY HIS FREED- 
 MEN AS GUILTY OF POISONING HLM ; AND 
 HOW HEROD, UPON EXAMINING OF THE 
 MATTER BY TORTURE, FOUND THE POISON ; 
 BUT SO THAT IT HAD BEEN PREPARED FOR 
 HIMSELF BY HIS SON ANTIPATER ; AND, UP- 
 ON AN INQUIRY BY TORTURE, HE DISCOVER- 
 ED THE DANGEROUS DESIGNS OF ANTIPATER. 
 
 § 1. 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 entreaied 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 ftll 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-po- 
 tion, 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 con- 
 fessedly a most intimate friend of one of Syl- 
 leus's mistresses ; and that both the mother 
 and the sister of Pheroras's wife had been at 
 the place where she lived, and had persuad- 
 ed 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 thera ; 
 and as the fact did not yet appear, because 
 none of them would confess it, at Iciigth 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 induced 
 Herod to increase the women's tortures, till 
 thereby all was discovered : their merry meet- 
 ings, their secret assemblies, and tiie disclos- 
 ing 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 
 a hundred talent? to him, not to liave any 
 conversation with Pheroras.) And what ha- 
 
 * His wife, her mother, and sister. 
 
 '\-_ 
 
462 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVII. 
 
 tred lie bore to his father ; and that he com- 
 plained to !iis mother how very lonij liis fa- 
 ther lived; and that he was himself almost an 
 old man, insomuch that if the kingdom should 
 come to him, it would no* afl'ord him any 
 great pleasure ; and that there werir' a great 
 many of his brothers, or brothers' cb.iidren, 
 bringing up, tliat 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 
 liad ordained that the government should be 
 conferred, not on his son, but rather on a bro- 
 ther. He also had 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.f 
 2. These confessions agreed with what his 
 sister had told him, and tended greatly to cor- 
 roborate her testimony, and to free her from 
 the suspicion of her unfaithfulness to him. 
 
 50 the king having satisfied hiinself of the 
 
 51 ite which Doris, Antipater's 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 Antipatcr, the procurator of 
 Antipater the king's son, vvlio, when he was 
 tortured, among other things, said that Anti- 
 pater had prepared a deadly potion, and given 
 it to Pheroras, with his desire that he would 
 give it to his father during his absence, and 
 when he was too rem.ote to have the least sus- 
 picion cast upon him thereto relating; that 
 Antiphilus, one of Atitipater's friends,biought 
 that potion out of Egypt ; and tliat it was sent 
 to Pheroras by Theudion, the brother of the 
 mother of Antipater, the king's son, and by 
 that means came to Pheroras's wife, her hus- 
 band 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 kill herself, because she fell upon her 
 feet : by w hich means, when the king had 
 comforted her, and had promised her and her 
 domestics pardon, upon condition of their 
 concealing notliing of the trutli from him, 
 but had tiireatened her with the utmost mise- 
 ries if she proved ungrateful [and concealed 
 any thing] ; so she promised him, and swore 
 that she would speak out every thing, and tell 
 
 t It seems to me, by this wtiole story put together, 
 that Pheroras was not Jiinisclf poisoned, as is commoi-.Iy 
 supposed; for Antipater had persuaded him to poison 
 Herod (ch. v, sect. 1), which wou'd fall to the sronD'l 
 if he were himself poisoned: nor could the poisoning 
 of Pheroras serve any desigii that appears now poing 
 fovNvaul ; it was only the supnosal of two of his freed- 
 nien, that this love-potion, or" poison, which thoy knew 
 was brought to Pheroras's wife, was made use of for 
 ■oisoninghim ; whereasit appears to have been brou(;ht 
 )r her h'lsbs.nd to poison Heiod wilhj!, as tlie future 
 iruuiailons demonstrate 
 
 I 
 
 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- 
 tipliilus, and that his brother, wlio was a phy- 
 sician, had procured it; and that, "when 
 Theudion brought it us, she kept it upon 
 Pheroras's committing it to her ; and that it 
 was prepared by Antipater for thee. When, 
 therefore, Pheroras was fallen sick, and thou 
 earnest to him and tookest care of him, and 
 when he saw the kindtiess thou hadst for him, 
 his mind was overbornL- thereby. So he call- 
 ed me to him, and said to me, ' O woman ! 
 Antipater hath circumvented me in thisaft'air 
 of his father and my brother, by persuading 
 me to have a murderous intention to him, and 
 procuring a potion to be subservient thereto : 
 do thou, therefore, go and fetch my potion 
 (since my brother appears to have still the 
 same virtuous disposition towards me which 
 he had formerly, and I do not expect to live 
 long myself, and that I may not defile my 
 forefathers by the murder of a brother) and 
 hnrn it before my face:' that accordingly she 
 immediately brought it, and did as her hus- 
 band bade her ; and that she burnt the great- 
 est part of the potion ; but that a little of it 
 was left, that if the king, after Piieroras'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, confessed the i 
 same things, and owned the box j^to be that \ 
 which had been brought out of Eizypt]. The ' 
 high-priest's daughter 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 blot- 
 ted her son out of his testament, wherein 
 he had been mentioned as one that was to 
 reign after him ; and he took the high-priest- 
 hood away from his father-in-law, Simeon the 
 son of Boethus, and appointed Matthias the 
 son of Theophilus, who was born at Jerusa- 
 lem, to be high-priest in his room. 
 
 3. Vv'hile this was doing, Bathyllus also, 
 Antipater's freedman, came from Rome, and 
 upon the torture was found to have brought 
 another potion, to give it into the hands of 
 Antipater's mother, and of Piieroras, that if 
 t!ie former potion did not operate upon t!ie 
 king, this at least might carry liim off. There 
 came also letters from Herod s friends at 
 Rome, by the approbation and at the sugges- 
 tion of Antipater, to accuse Archelaus and 
 Pliilip, as if they calumniated their father on 
 account of the slaughter of Alexander and 
 Arislobulus, and as if they commiserated tlteir 
 deaths, and as if, because they were sent for 
 home (for their father had already recalled 
 them), they concluded th.ey were themselves 
 also to be destroyed. These letters had been 
 
 ~\- 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 procured !)y great rewards, by Antipater's 
 friends; but Aiitipater himself 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 him- 
 self been very busy in the affair relating to 
 Sylleus, and in getting interest among the 
 great men ; and on that account had bought 
 splendid ornaments to present them withal, 
 which cost him two hundred talents. Now, 
 one may wonder how it came about, that 
 wliile 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 
 xvould run any hazard himself, to gain him 
 any advantages. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 antipater's navigation from ROiME TO HIS 
 FATHER ; AND HOW HE WAS ACCUSED BY 
 NICOLAUS OF DAMASCUS, AND CONDEMNED 
 TO DIE BY HIS FATHER, AND BY QUINTILI - 
 US VARUS, WHO WAS THEN PRESIDENT OF 
 SYRIA ; AND HOW HE WAS THEN BOUND 
 riLL C^SAR SHOULD BE INFORMED OF HIS 
 CAUSE. 
 
 § I. Now Herod, upon Antipater's writing 
 to him, that having dene &U 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 back to him, 
 and bade him not delay his journey, lest any 
 harm should befall himself in his absence. 
 At the same time also he made some little 
 complaint about his mother, but promised that 
 he would lay those comjilaints aside when lie 
 should return. He withal expressed his en- 
 tire affection for him, as fearing lest he should 
 have soine suspicion of him, and de'er his 
 journey to him ; and lest, while he lived at 
 Rome, he should lay [.lots for the kingdom, 
 and, moreover, do somewhat against himself. 
 This letter Antipater met with in Cilicia; but 
 had received an account of Pherora's death be- 
 fore at Tarentum. This last news affected him 
 deeply ; not out of any affection for Phero- 
 ras, but because he was dead without having 
 murdered his father, which he had promised 
 liim to do. And when he was at Celendris 
 in Cilicia, he began to deliberate with liim- 
 self about his sailing home, as being much 
 grieved with tlie ejection of his mother. Now, 
 some of his friends advised him that he should 
 tarry a while somewliere, in expectation of 
 fariiier information. But others advised him 
 to sail home witliout delay ; for that if he 
 
 463 
 
 were once come thither, he would soon put an 
 end to all accusations, and that nothing afford- 
 ed any weight to his accusers at present but 
 his absence. He was persuaded by these last, 
 and sailed on, and landed at the haven called 
 Sebastus, which Herod had built at vast ex- 
 penses in honour of Caesar, and called Sebas- 
 tus. 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 acclama- 
 tions; nor was there now any thing to hin- 
 der them from entertaining him, on the con- 
 trary, with bitter curses, while they supposed 
 he was come to receive his punishment for 
 the murder of his brethren. 
 
 2. Now Quintilius Varus was at this time 
 at Jerusalem, being sent to succeed Saturni- 
 nus as president of Syria, and was come as 
 an assessor to Herod, who had desired his ad- 
 vice in his present affairs ; and as they were 
 sitting together, Antipater came upon them, 
 without knowing any thing of the matter; so 
 he came into the palace clothed in purple. 
 The porters indeed received him in, but ex- 
 cluded his friends. And now he was in great 
 disorder, and presently understood the condi- 
 tion he was in, while, upon his going to sa- 
 lute his father, he was repulsed by him, who 
 called him a murderer of his brethren, 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 al- 
 ready upon him, with the greatness of which 
 he w ent 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 he learn- 
 ed all circumstances which concerned liiui, 
 and then prepared himself for his trial. 
 
 3. 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 besides these, some slaves 
 of Antipater's mother, who were taken up a 
 little before Antipater's coming, and brouglit 
 with them a written letter, the sum of which 
 was t-his : That he should not come back, be- 
 cause all was come to his father's knowledge 
 and that Caesar was the only refuge he hai 
 left to prevent both his and her 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 
 Herod 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 Antipater fell upon 
 him in his old age. IJe also reckoned up 
 what maintenance, and what education he had 
 
4G4. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, 
 
 I500K XVII 
 
 given them; and what seasonable supplies of i and this when it was doubtful wl'.cther he 
 wealth lie had afforded them, according to 
 their own desires ; 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 impious 
 manner, by tfiking away liis life before the 
 course of nature, their father's wishes, or 
 justiee, required that that kingdom should 
 come to them ; and that he wondered what 
 hopes could elevate Antipaier to sucli a pass 
 as to be hardy enough to attempt such things ; 
 that he had by his testament in writing de- 
 clared him his successor in the government; 
 and while he was alive, he was in no respect 
 inferior to him, either in his illustrious dig- 
 nity, or in power and authority, he having no 
 less than fifty talents for his yearly income, 
 and had received for his journey to Rome no 
 fewer than thirty talents. lie also objected 
 to him the case of his brethren whom he hud 
 accused ; and if they were guilty, he had imi- 
 tated their example ; and if not, he had 
 brought him groundless accusations against 
 his near relations; for that he had been ac- 
 quainted with all those things by him, and 
 by nobody else, and had done wiiat was done 
 by his approbation, and whom he now ab- 
 solved from all that was criminal, by becom- 
 ing the inheritor of the guilt of such their 
 parricide. 
 
 4. When Herod had thus spoken, he fell 
 a-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 acquainted with whatsoever he did, 
 and with the circumstances of his afl'airs, pro- 
 ceeded to what remained, and explained all 
 that concerned the demonstrations and evi- 
 dences of the facts. Upon which Antipater, 
 
 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 provision for every thing that was fit to 
 
 be foreseen befoiehand, as to giving him his 
 
 wisest advice; and vhenever there was oc- 
 casion 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 hin:, should be him- 
 self in a plot against him, and so lose all the 
 
 reputation he had gained for his virtue, by 
 
 his wickedness which succeeded it ; and tliis 
 
 while he had nothing to proliihit him, who 
 
 was already appointed his successor, 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 
 
 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 thev might not other- 
 wise have been discovered ; nay, vvas ths 
 author of the punishment inflicted u])on them, 
 when it appeared evidently that they were 
 guilty of a wicked attcmjjt against theirfather ; 
 and that even the contentions that were in 
 the king's family, were indications that he 
 had ever managed afl'airs out of the sincerest 
 affection to his father. And as to what he 
 had done at Rome, Cssar was a witness 
 thereto, who was yet no more to be imposed 
 upon than God himself; of whose opinions 
 his letters sent hither are sufficient evidence : 
 and that it was not reasonable to prefer the 
 calumnies of such as proposed to raise dis- 
 turbances, before those letters ; the greatest 
 part of which calumnies had been raised 
 during his absence, which gave scope to his 
 enemies to forge them, which they had not 
 been able to do if he had been there. More- 
 over he showed the weakness of the evidence 
 obtained by torture, which was commonly 
 false; because the distress men are in under 
 such tortures, naturally obliges them to say 
 many things, in order to please those that 
 govern them. He also offered himself to the 
 torture. 
 
 5. Hereupon there was a change observed 
 in the assembly, while they greatly jjitied 
 Antipater, who, by weeping and putting on 
 a countenance suitable to his sad case, made 
 them commiserate the same; insomuch that 
 his very enemies were moved to compassion ; 
 and it appeared jilainly that Herod himself 
 was afTected 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 bit- 
 terness; and summed up all the evidence 
 which arose from the tortures, or from the 
 testimonies. He principally and largely cri- 
 ed up the king's virtues, which he had exhi- 
 bited in the maintenance and education of h'n 
 sons ; while he never could gain any advan- 
 tage thereby, but still fell from one misfor 
 tune 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 amazetl at the horrid wicked- 
 ness of Antipater, who, although he had not 
 only had great benefits bestowed on him by 
 his fatlier, enough to t;:me his reason, yet 
 could not be more tamed than the most en - 
 
 any danger, and with a good character, should i venomed serpents; whereas even those crea- 
 buiit after the whole with infamy and danger, jtures ailmit of some mitigation, and will not 
 
^ 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 465 
 
 l>ite their benefactors, while Antipater nath 
 not let the tnist'ortuncs of his brethren he anv, 
 hindrance to him, but he hath gone on to im- 
 itate tiieir barbarity notwithstanding. " Yet 
 wast thou, O 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 
 imitate tneir profligate behaviour ; and we 
 discover thereby, that thou didst not act thus 
 for the safety of thy father, but for the de- 
 struction of thy brethren, that by such outside 
 hatred of their impiety thou mightest be be- 
 lieved a lover of tiiy father, and mightest 
 thereby get thee power enough to do mischief 
 with the greatest impunity; which design thy 
 actions indeed demonstrate. It is true, thou 
 tookest thy brethren off, because thou didst 
 convict 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 madest a cove- 
 nant with them against thy father, when thou 
 chosest to be the accuser of thy brethren, as 
 desirous to gain to thyself alone this advan- 
 tage of laying plots to kill thy father, and so 
 to enjoy double pleasure, which is truly wor- 
 thy of thy evil disposition, — which tliou hast 
 openly shown against thy brethren ; on which 
 account thou 4itlst rejoice, as having 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 contrive to hide thy treachery a- 
 gaiast thy father, thou didst hate them ; not 
 its plotters against thy father, for in that case 
 thou hadst not thyself fallen upon the like 
 crime, but as successors of his dominions, and 
 more worthy of that succession than thyself. 
 Tliou wouldest kill thy father after thy bre- 
 thren, lest thy lies raised against them might 
 be detected ; and lest thou shouldst suH'er 
 what punishment thou hadst deserved, thou 
 hadst a mind to exact that punishment of thy 
 unhapi)y 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 fa- 
 ther, 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 
 wast not forbidden to taste the sweetness of 
 authority already, and hadst the firm hope of 
 what was future by thy father's determination, 
 and the security of a written testament ; but 
 fur certain, thou didst not ineasure these things 
 according to thy father's various disposition, 
 but according to thy own thoughts and incli- 
 nations ; and wast desirous to take the part 
 thiit remained away from thy too'^uidulgent 
 
 father, and soughtest to destroy him with thy 
 deeds, whom thou in words pretendedst to 
 preserve. Nor wast thou content to be wick- 
 ed thyself, but thou filledst thy mother's head 
 with thy devices, and raisedst disturbance a- 
 mong thy brethren, and hadst the boldn'.'ss to 
 call thy father a wild beast ; while thou hadst 
 thyself a mind more cruel than any serpent, 
 whence thou sentest out that poison among 
 thy nearest kindred and greatest benefactors, 
 and invitedst them to assist thee and guard 
 thee, and didst hedge thyself in on all sides 
 by the artifices of both men and women, a- 
 gainst an old man, — as though that mind of 
 thine was not sufficient of itself to support so 
 great a hatred as thou barest to him ; and 
 here thou appearest, after the tortures of free- 
 men, of doinestics, of men and women, which 
 have been examined on thy account, and af- 
 ter the informations of thy fellow-conspira- 
 tors, as making haste to contradict the truth ; 
 and hast thought on ways not only liow to 
 take thy father out of the world, but to disan- 
 nul that written law which is against thee, 
 and the virtue of Varus, and the nature of 
 justice; nay, such is that impudence of thine 
 on which thou confidest, that thou desirest to 
 be put to the torture thyself, while thou al- 
 legest that the tortures of those already ex- 
 amined thereby have made them tell lies ; that 
 those that have been the deliverers of thy fa- 
 ther may not be allowed to have spoken the 
 truth ; but that thy tortures may be esteemed 
 the discoverers of truth. Wilt not thou, O 
 Varus ! deliver the king from the injuries of 
 his kindred ? Wilt not thou destroy this 
 wicked wild beast, which hath pretended kind- 
 ness to his father, in order to destroy his bre- 
 thren ; while yet he is himself alone ready to 
 carry off the kingdom immediately, and ap- 
 pears to be the most bloody butcher to him 
 of them all ? for thou art sensible that par- 
 ricide is a general injury both to nature and 
 to common life; and that the intention of 
 parricide is not inferior to its preparation ; 
 and he who does not punish it, is injurious to 
 nature itself." 
 
 6. Nicolaus added farther what belonged 
 to Antipater's mother, and whatsoever she 
 had prattled like a woman ; as also about the 
 predictions and the sacrifices relating to the 
 king ; and whatsoever Antipater had done 
 lasciviously in his cups and his amours among 
 Pheroras's women ; the examination upon 
 torture ; and whatsoever concerned the tes- 
 timonies of the witnesses, which were many, and 
 of various kinds; some prepared beforehand, 
 and others were sudden answers, which farther 
 declared and confirmed the foregoing evi. 
 dence. For those men who were not ac- 
 quainted 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 thai his great good for- 
 tune, which had supported him hilluTto, ha^jt 
 
J' 
 
 4GG 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 now evidently betrayed him into the hands of 
 his enemies, who were now insatiable in their 
 hatred to him, told all they Icnew of him ; and 
 ills ruin was now liaslened, not so much by 
 the enmity of those that were his accusers, by 
 his gross, impudent, and wicked contrivances, 
 and by his ill-will to liis father and his 
 brethren ; while he liad filled their house with 
 disturbance, and caused them to murder one 
 another ; and was neither fair in his hatred 
 nor kind in his friendship, 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 de- 
 termine about affairs without passion, but had 
 tjeen restrained from making any open com- 
 plaints before ; these, upon the leave now 
 given them, produced all that they knew be- 
 fore the public. The demonstrations also of 
 tliese wicked facts could no way be disproved ; 
 because the many witnesses there were did 
 neither speak out of favour to Herod, nor 
 were tl)ey obliged to keep what they had to 
 say silent, out of suspicion of any danger they 
 were in ; but they spake what they knew, be- 
 cause they thought such actions very wicked, 
 and that Antipater deserved the greatest pu- 
 nishment; and indeed not so much for He- 
 rod's safety, as on account of the man's own 
 wickedness. Many things were also said, 
 and those by a great number of persons, who 
 were no way 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 otf speaking, and had pro- 
 duced the evidence, Varus bade Antipater to 
 btta.ke himself to the making his defence, if 
 lie had prepared any tiling whereby it might 
 appear that he was not guilty of the crimes 
 lie was accused of; for that, as he was himself 
 desirous, so did he know that his father was 
 in like manner desirous 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, de- 
 siring that God would declare, by some evi- 
 dent signals, that he had not laid any plot a- 
 gainst his father. This being the usual me- 
 thod of all men destitute of virtue, tliat, when 
 they set about any wicked undertakings, they 
 fall to work according to their own inclina- 
 tions, as if they believed that God was uncon- 
 cerned in human affairs ; but when once they 
 are found out, and are in danger of undergo- 
 ing the punishment due to their crimes, they 
 endeavoured to overtlirow all the evidence a- 
 gainst them, by appealing to God ; which was 
 the very thing which Antipater now did ; for 
 viliereas he had done every thing as if there 
 were no God in the world, when he was on all 
 fides distressed by justice, and when he had 
 v.ti otiier advantage to expect fiom any legal, 
 
 BOOK XVII. 
 
 proofs, by which he might disprove the ac- 
 cusations laid against him, he impudently 
 abused the majesty of God, and ascribed it to 
 his power, that lie hath been preserved hither- 
 to ; and produced before them all what diffi- 
 culties he had ever undergone in his bold act- 
 ing for his father's preservation. 
 
 7. So when Varus, upon asking Antipater 
 what he had to say for 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 drank it by Va- 
 rus's command, he died presently. Then Va- 
 rus 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 palace of the Syrians; upor 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 lie went away ; though it was also gene- 
 rally supposed, that whatsoever Herod did af- 
 terward about liis son, was done with his ap 
 probation : but when Herod had bound his 
 son, he sent letters to Home to Cfesar about 
 him, and such messengers withal as should, 
 by word of mouth, inform Casar of Antipa- 
 ter's wickedness. Now, at this very time, 
 there was seized a letter of Antiphilus, written 
 to Antipater out of Egypt (for he lived there) ; 
 and, when it was opened by the king, it was 
 found to contain what follows : — " 1 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 in- 
 quiry about the other letter also, for it did not 
 appear; and Antiphiliis's slave, who biought 
 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 shne, 
 and a doubling of the cloth (for he had two 
 coats on) he guessed that the letter might l)e 
 within that doubling; which accordingly 
 proved to be true. So they took out the let- 
 ter ; and its contents were these: — "Acme 
 to Antipater. I liave written such a letter to 
 thy father as thou desiredst me. I have also 
 taken a copy and sent it, as if it came from 
 Saloirie, to my lady [Livia] ; which when thou 
 readest, I know that Herod will punish Salo- 
 me, as plotting against him." Now, this pre- 
 tended letter of Salome to her lady was com- 
 posed 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 Salo- 
 me written to m^' lady against tliee, 1 have 
 
 _r 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 written out a copy and sent it to thee ; witli 
 liuzard to myself, but for thy advantage. Tlie 
 reason why she wrote it was this, — that she 
 liad a mind to be married to Sylieus. 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, tiiat in compliance with his 
 command, she had both herself written to He- 
 rod, as if Salome had laid a sudden plot en- 
 tirely against him, and had herself sent a copy 
 of an epistle, as coming from Salome to her 
 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 
 againt his father and his aunt. 
 
 8. Hereupon Herod was so amazed at the 
 prodigious wickedness of Antipater, that he 
 was ready to have ordered him to be slain im- 
 mediately, 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 Csesar's 
 own domestics. Salome also provoked him 
 to it, beating her breast, and bidding him kill 
 her, if he could produce any credible testimo • 
 ny that she had acted in that manner. He- 
 rod 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 j 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 farther 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 before, and sent 
 more ambassadors and letters [to Rome] to 
 accuse his son, and an account of what assis- 
 tance Acme had given him in his wicked de- 
 signs, with copies of the epistles before men- 
 tioned. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONCERNING THE DISliASE THAT HEROD FELL 
 INTO, ANU THE SEDITION WHICH THE .lEWS 
 RAISED THEKEL'PON ; WITH THE PUNISH- 
 MENT OF THE SKDITIOUS. 
 
 § 1. Now Herod's ambassadors made haste to 
 Rome; but sent, as instructed beforehand, 
 what answers they were to make to the ques- 
 tions put to them. They also carried the 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 467 
 
 epistles with them. But Herod now fell in. 
 to a distemper, and made his will, and be- 
 queathed his kingdom to [ Antipas], his young, 
 est son; and this out of that hatred to Arche- 
 laus and Philip, which the calumnies of An- 
 tipater had raised against them. He also be- 
 queathed a thousand talents to Casar, and 
 live hundred to Julia, Caasar's wife, to Cae- 
 sar's children, and friends and freed-men. 
 He also distributed among his sons and their 
 sons his money, his revenues, and his lands. 
 He also made Salome, his sister, very rich, 
 because she had continued faithful to him in 
 all his circumstances, and was never so rash 
 as to do him any harm. And as he despair- 
 ed of recovering, for he was about the seven- 
 tieth year of his age, he grew fierce, and in- 
 dulged 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; besid3s which, 
 he resented a sedition which some of the 
 lower sort of men excited against him, the 
 occasion of which was as follows : — 
 
 2. There was one Judas, the son of Sar»- 
 pheus, and Matthias, the son of Margalothus, 
 two of the most eloquent men among the 
 Jews, and the most celebrated interpreters 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 
 M'orks which the king had erected contrary to 
 the law of their fathers, and thereby obtain 
 the rewards which the law will confer on 
 them for such actions of piety; for that it 
 was truly on account of Herod's rashness in 
 making such things as the law had forbidden, 
 that his other misfortunes, and tliis 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 whic!) lie was accused by Judas and Mat- 
 thias ; 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 tem- 
 ple. Now, the law forbids those that pro- 
 pose to live according to it, to erect images,* 
 or rejiresentations of any living creature. So 
 these wise men persuaded [their scholars] to 
 pull down the golden eagle; alleging, that 
 although they should incur any danger which 
 might bring them to tlieir deaths, the virtue 
 of the action now pro]Josed to them would 
 appear much more advantageous 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 
 
 * That the making of images, without an intention 
 to wor.ihip them, was not unlawful lo the Jews, see (h«> 
 note uu Antuj. b. viii, cl». vii, seet X 
 
 I 
 
J- 
 
 4(58 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVII. 
 
 acquire an everlasting fame and commenda- 
 tion ; since they would be both commended 
 l)y the present generation, and leave an ex- 
 ample of life that would never be forgotten 
 to posterity ; since that common calamity of 
 dying cannot be avoided by our living so as 
 to escape 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 tin)e to leave that repu- 
 tation 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. 
 
 3. And with such discourses as this did 
 these men excite the young men to this ac- 
 tion ; and a report being come to them that 
 the king was dead, this was an addition to the 
 wise men's persuasions ; so, in the very mid- 
 dle 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 cap- 
 tain, upon hearing what the undertaking was, 
 and supposing it was a thing of a higher na- 
 ture 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 midtitude 
 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 
 foolisli presumption rather than a cautious 
 circumspection, as is usual with the multi- 
 tude, and w^hile they were in disorder, and 
 incautious of what was for their advantage, — 
 so he caught no fewer tlian 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 Mat- 
 thias, who thought it an ignominious thing to 
 retire upon his approach, and led them to the 
 king. And when they were come to the king, 
 and he had asked them if they had been so 
 bold as to pull down what he had dedicated 
 to God, " Yes (said they) what was contrived 
 we contrived, and what hath been performed, 
 we performed it j and that with such a virtu- 
 ous courage as become 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 won- 
 dered at, if we esteem those laws which Moses 
 had suggested to him, and were taught him 
 by God, and wliich he wrote and left behind 
 liiin, more worthy of observation than thy 
 conjiiiands. Accordingly we will undergo 
 death, and all sorts of punishments which 
 thou canst inflict upon us, willi pleasure, since 
 Ae are conscious to ourselves that «e 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 pro- 
 fession, and equal to that with which they 
 readily set about this undertaking. And when 
 the king had ordered them to be bound, he 
 sent them to Jericho, and '?alled together the 
 principal men among die Jews; and when 
 they were come, he made them assemble in 
 the theatre, and because he could not himself 
 stand, he lay upon a couch, and enumerated 
 the many labours that he had long endured 
 on their account, and his building of the tem- 
 ple, and wliat a vast charge that was to him ; 
 wliile the Asamoneans, during the hundred 
 and twenty-five 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 do- 
 nations; on which account he hoped that he 
 bad left himself a memorial, and procured 
 hitnself a reputation after his death. He 
 then cried out, that these men had not ab- 
 stained from artVonting him, even in his life- 
 time, but that, in the very day-time, and in 
 the sight of the multitude, they had abused 
 him to that degree, as to fall upon what he 
 had dedicated, and in that way of abuse, had 
 pulled it down to the ground. Tliey pretend- 
 ed, indeed, that they did it to affront liiin ; 
 but if any one consider the thing truly, they 
 will find that they were guilty of sacrilege 
 against God therein. 
 
 4. 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 without approbation, 
 and that it seemed to them that the actors 
 might well be punished for what they had 
 done. But as for Herod, he dealt more mild- 
 ly with others [of the assembly^; but he de- 
 prived Matthias of the high-priesthood, as in 
 part an occasion of tuis action, and made 
 Joazar, who was Matthias's wife's brother, 
 hii'h-priest in his stead. Now it happened, 
 that during the time of the high -priesthood 
 of this Matthias, tliere 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,* 
 
 ♦ This fact, that one Joseph was made high-priest 
 for a single day, on occasion of the action liere specifi- 
 ed, thai befell Matthias, the real high-priest, in his 
 bleep, the night before the great day of expiation, is at- 
 tested to both in the Mishna and Talmud, as Dr. Hud- 
 son here informs us. And indeed from this fact, thus 
 fully attested, we may confute that pietended rule in 
 the Talmud here mentioned, and endeavoured to le 
 excused by lieland, that the high-priest was not suffer- 
 ed to .^leep the night before that great day of expiation j 
 which watching would surely rather unfit him for the 
 many nnportant duties he was to perform on that si>- 
 lenin day, than dispose him duly to perform them. Nor 
 do such Talmudical rules, when unsupported by beLter 
 eiidence, much less when contradicted thereby, seem to 
 me of weight enough to deserve that so great a man ai 
 Hcland sliould spend his time in en<!eavour» at their 
 \mdicatK)U. 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 to have conversation with his wife ; and be- 
 cause he could not officiate himself on that 
 account, Joseph, the son of Ellcmus, iiis 
 kinsman, assisted him in thaf sarred office. 
 But Herod deprived this Matthias of the iiij^h- 
 priesthood, and burnt the otiier Matthias, who 
 had raised the sedition, with iiis companions, 
 alive. And that very night there was an 
 eclipse of the moon.* 
 
 5. But now Herod's distemper greatly in- 
 creased upon him after a severe m.uiner, and 
 this by God's judgment upon him for Iiis 
 sins : for a fire glowed in him slowly, which 
 did not so much appear to the tou'-h out- 
 wardly, as it augmented his pains inwardly ; 
 for it brought upon him a vehemeril appetite 
 to eating, which lie could not- avoid to supply 
 with one sort of food or other. His entrials 
 were also exulcerated, and the chief violence 
 of his pain lay on his colon ; an aqueous and 
 transparent liquor also had settled itself about 
 his feet, and a like matter afflicted him at 
 the bottom of his belly. Nay, farther, his 
 privy-member was putrified, and produced 
 worms ; and when he sat upright he had a 
 difficulty of breathing, which was very loath- 
 some, on account of the stench of his bre>;th, 
 and the quickness of its returns ; he had also 
 convulsions in all parts of his body, which in- 
 creased his strength to an insuflerabie degree. 
 It was said by those who pretended to divine, 
 %nd wlio were endued with wisdom *o fore- 
 tell such things, that God inflicted this pu- 
 nishment on the king on account of his great 
 impiety ; yet was he still in hopes of recover- 
 ing, though his afflictions seemed greater than 
 any one could bear. He also sent for physi- 
 cians, and did not refuse to follow what they 
 prescribed for his assistance ; and went be- 
 yond the river Jordan, and bathed himself in 
 warm baths that were at Callirrhoe, which, be- 
 sides their other general virtues, were a'lso fit 
 to drink ; wliich water runs into the lake 
 called Asphaltiti-;. 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 
 liis domestics, he revived ; and havuig no 
 longer the least hopes of recovering, he gave 
 order that every soldier should be paid fifty 
 drachma; ; and he also gave a great deal >o 
 their conimanders, and to his friends, a.ii 
 came again to Jericho, where he grew so cho- 
 leric, that it brought him to do all things like 
 a madman ; and though he were near his 
 death, he contrived the following wicked do- 
 signs. He commanded that all the principal 
 
 • This eclipse of the moon (which is the only eclipse 
 of either of the luminaries nientiontd by our Josephus 
 in any of his writin;.s) is of the greatest consequence 
 for the determination of the time lor t^^ death of He- 
 rod and Aiitipater, and for the birth anu iiitire chrono- 
 logy of Jesus Christ. It happened March 15th, in the 
 jear of the Julian period 47111, and the -Ith year before 
 uie Christian sera. .See its calculation by ttie rules of 
 astiondmy, at the end of the Astronomical Lectures, 
 alit- Lai. p. 451, 452. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 469 
 
 men of the entire Jewish nation, wheresoever 
 they lived, should be called to him. Accord- 
 ingly, there were a great nunil>er that came, 
 because tlie whole nation was called, and all 
 men heard of this call, and death was the pe- 
 nalty 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 in- 
 nocent as well as those that had afforded him 
 ground for accusations : and when they were 
 come, he ordered them all to be shut up in 
 the hippodrome,f and sent for his sister Sa- 
 lome, 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 
 cheerfidiy 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 king's death. P'or that he was 
 not unacquainted with the temper of the Jews, 
 that his death would be a thing very desirable, 
 and exceedingly acceptable to them ; because 
 during his lifetime they were ready to revolt 
 from him, and to abuse the donations he had 
 dedicated to God : that it therefore was their 
 business to resolve to affiard him some allevia- 
 tion of his great sorrows on this occasion ; 
 for that, if they do not refuse him their con- 
 sent in what he desires, he shall have a great 
 mourning at his funeral, and such as neve' 
 any king had before him ; for then the whole 
 nation would mourn from their very soul, 
 wliich otherwise would be done in sport and 
 mockery only. He desired therefore that as 
 soon as they see he hath given up the ghost, 
 they shall place soldiers round the hippodrome, 
 while they do t'ot 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 j 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 condition, with tears in his eyes, 
 and obtested them by the kindness due from 
 them, as of his kindred, and by the faith they 
 ov.'cd to God, and begged of them that they 
 would not iiinder him of this honourable 
 mourrt'iig at his funeral. So they promised 
 hin ^ict to tiansgicss his commands. 
 
 6. Now any one may easily discover the 
 temper of this man's mind, which not only 
 toik 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 sa- 
 voured of no humanity since he took care, 
 when he was departing out of this life, that 
 the whole nation should be put into niourn- 
 
 f A place for the horse-r«ces. 
 
 ■V 
 
 -T 
 
470 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVII 
 
 ing, and indeed made desolate of their dear- 
 est 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 they justly esteemed their enemies. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 KEROD HAS THOUGHTS OF KILLING HIMSELF 
 WITH HIS OWN HAND ; AND A LITTLE AF- 
 TERWARDS HE ORDERS ANTIPATER TO BE 
 
 SLAIN. 
 
 § 1. As he vas giving these commands to his 
 relations, there came letters from his ambas- 
 sadors, who had been sent to Rome unto 
 Cx'sar, which 'vhcn ihey were read, their pur- 
 port w:as this : — That Acme was slain by Cse- 
 sar, out of his indignation at what hand slie 
 bad in Antipater's wicked practices; and that 
 as to Antipater himself, Ca;sar left it to He- 
 rod 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 tiiis, 
 he was somewhat better, out of the pleasure 
 be had from the contents of the letters, and 
 was elevated at the death of Acme, and at 
 the power that was given him over his son ; 
 but, as his pains were become very great, he 
 was now ready to faiiit 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 afterwards to cut it, 
 and eat it. Wlien he had got the knife, he 
 looked about, and had a mind to stab himself 
 with it; and lie had done it, had not his iiist 
 cousin, Achiahus, prevented him, and held 
 his hand, and cried out loudly. Wliereupon 
 a vvoful lamentation echoed through the pa- 
 lace, 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 discourse, as hoping to be imme- 
 diately and entirely released from his bonds, 
 and to take the kingdom into his hands, with- 
 out any more ado ; so he discoursed with the 
 jailor about letting him go, and in that case 
 promised him great things, both now and 
 iiereafter, as if that were the only ching now 
 in question ; but the jailor did not only re- 
 fuse to do wiiat Antipater would have him, 
 but informed the king of his intentions, and 
 how many solicitations he had had from him 
 [of that nature]. Hereupon Herod, who 
 had formerly no affection nor good-will to- 
 wards his son to restrain him, when he heard 
 what the jailor said, he cried ou,, and beat 
 his liead, although he was at death s door, 
 and raised himself upon his elbow, and sent 
 
 for some of his guards, and commanded them 
 to kill Antipater without any farther delay, 
 and to do it presently, and to bury him in 
 an ignoble manner at Hyrcania. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCERNING HEROD'S DEATH, AND TESTA- 
 MENT, AND DURIAL. 
 
 § I. And now Herod altered his testament 
 upon the alteration of liis mind ; for he ap- 
 ))ointed Antipas, to whom he iuid before left 
 the kingdom, to be tetrarch of Galilee and Be- 
 rea, and granted the kingdom to Archelaiis. 
 He also gave Gaulonitis, and Trachonitis, 
 and Paneas, to Philip, who was his son, but 
 own brother to Archelaus,* by the name of a 
 Tetrarchy ; and bequeathed Jamnia, and Ash- 
 dod, and Phasaelis, to Salome his sister, with 
 five hundred thousand [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 be- 
 queathed also to Csc-ar ten millions I of drach- 
 m;c] of coined money ; besides both vessels 
 of gold and silver, and garments exceeding 
 costly, to Julia, Cic:ar's wife ; and to certain 
 others, five millio/is. 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 Antigonusf to 
 be slain, thirty-four years ; but since he had 
 been declared king by the Romans, thirty-se- 
 ven. — A man he was of great barbarity to- 
 wards all men equally, and a slave to his pas- 
 sion ; but above the consideration of what was 
 right; yet was he favoured by fortune as 
 much as any man ever was, for Horn a private 
 man he became a king ; and though he were 
 encompassed with ten thousand dangers, he 
 got clear of them all, and continued his life 
 till a very old age ; but then, as to the af- 
 fairs of his family and children, in which, in- 
 deed, 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. 
 
 2. But then Salome and Alexas, before the 
 
 * When it is said that Philip the tetrarch, and Arthe- 
 laiis till' king, or etlaiareh, were aStXfm y^r^ioi, or ge- 
 nuine briithcrs, if tliose words mean ovn Lrot/icis, or 
 iKirn ol (lie si\ine fatlicr and mother, tliere must be here 
 some mistake ; because tliey had indeed the same fa- 
 ther, Herod, but different mothers : tlie former Cle(i|ia- 
 tra, — and Archelaus, Malthace. They were indeed 
 brought up altogether at Rome like own brothers ; ai.d 
 Philip was Avehelaus's deputy when he went to have his 
 ki-ngdom confirmed to nim at Rome, (eh. Ix. sect. j. 
 and Of the War, b. ii, eh. ii, sect. 1.' ; which intimacy is 
 perhaps all that Josephus intended by the words before 
 us. 
 
 t These numbers of years for Herod's reign, 31 and 
 37, are the very same with those (of the War, b. i, ch. 
 xxxiii, sect. 8 , and are among the principal chronologi- 
 cal characters belonging to the reign or death of Herod. 
 See Harm of the Evau. page loO — 155. 
 
 "V 
 
AxVTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. IX, 
 
 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, whicli was esteemed 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 Jericlio ; and the first thing 
 they did was, they read Herod's letter, writ- 
 ten to the soldiery, thanking them for their 
 fidelity and good-will to him, and exhorting 
 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 testament, which was to be of force 
 no otherwise than as it should stand when 
 Caesar had inspected it ; so there was present- 
 ly an acclamation made to Archelaus, as 
 king; 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 He- 
 rod ; and they prayed God to be assistant to 
 him. 
 
 3. After this was over, they prepared for 
 his funeral, it being Archehius'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 
 gO'lden bier, embroidered with very precious 
 stones 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 was 
 the soldiery distinguished according to their 
 several countries and denominations ; and 
 they were put into the following order : - 
 First of all went his guards ; then the band 
 of Thracians ; and after them the Germans ; 
 and next the band of Galalians, every one in 
 their habiliments of war ; and behind 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-mas- 
 ters 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. 
 
 4. Now Archelaus paid him so much re- 
 spect, as to continue his mourning till the 
 seventh day ; for so many days are appointed 
 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 acclamations and praises 
 
 * At eight stadia or furlongs a-day, as here, Herod's 
 funeral, conduoled to Herodium (which lay at tlie dis- 
 tance from Jericho, where he died, of 2i}0 stadia or fur- 
 longs (Of t!ie War, b. i, ch. xxxiii, sect. 9)7tuusthave 
 taken up no less than twenty-five days. 
 
 47 f 
 
 given him, which way soever he went, every 
 one striving with the rest who should appear 
 to use the loudest acclamations. So he as- 
 cended a high elevation made for him, and 
 took his si at, in a throne made of gold, and 
 spake kindly to the multitude, and declared 
 with what joy he received their acclamations, 
 and the marks of the good-will they showeil 
 to him : and returned them thanks that they 
 did not remember the injuries his father had 
 done them, to his disadvantage; and promis- 
 ed them he would endeavour not to be behind 
 hand with them in rewarding their alacrity 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 dignity, if Caesar should confirm and 
 settle that testament which his father had 
 made; and that it was on this account, that 
 when the army would have put the diade.n 
 on him at Jericho, he would not accept of 
 that honour, which is usually so much desir- 
 ed, because it was not yet evident that he wlio 
 was to be principally concerned in bestowing 
 it, would give it him ; although, by his ac- 
 ceptance 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 fa- 
 ther. Whereupon the multitude, as it is usu- 
 al with them, supposed that the first days of 
 those that enter upon such governments, de- 
 clare the intentions of those that accept them ; 
 and so by how much Archelaus spake the 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 clamour 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 towards 
 his preservation of the government. Here- 
 upon he went and offered sacrifice to God, 
 and then betook himself to feast with his 
 friends. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW THE PEOPLE RAISED A SEDITION AGAIVST 
 AUCHELAUS, AND HOW HE SAILED TO ROME. 
 
 § 1. At this time also it was that some of tlie 
 Jews got together, out of a desire of iniiova- 
 tion. They lamented Mattliias, and those 
 
 "V 
 
 J^ 
 
J' 
 
 472 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XV 11 
 
 that were slain with liim by Herod, who had ! would not let one of them speak. The se- 
 not any respect paid tliem by a funeral mourn- dition, also, was made by sucii as were in a 
 jng, out of the fear men were in of that man ; | great passion ; and it was evident that tliey 
 they were those who had been condemned for i were proceeding farther in seditious practices, 
 pulling down the golden eagle. The people by the multitude running so fast upon them, 
 made a great clamour and lamentation here- 3. Now, upon tlie approach of that feast 
 upon, and cast out soine reproaches against of unleavened bread, whidi the law of their 
 
 the king also, as if that tended to alleviate 
 the miseries of tiie deceased. The people 
 assembled together, and desired of Arclielaus, 
 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 Arclielaus, al- 
 though he was mightily offended at their im- 
 portunity, because he proposed to himself to 
 go to Rome immediately, to look after Cae- 
 sar's determination about hiin. However, he 
 sent tlie general of his forces to use persua- 
 sions, and to tell them that the death vviiich 
 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 govern- 
 ment by the consent of Ca;sar, and should 
 then be come back to them ; for that he would 
 then consult with them in common concern- 
 ing the purport of their petitions ; but that 
 they ought at present to be quiet, lest they 
 should seem seditious persons. 
 
 2. 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 ti.ey 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 pre- 
 vent their going on in their present courses, 
 .^because they had more concern to have all 
 their own wills performed than to yield obe- 
 dience 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 punished. So 
 tliey went on with thtir designs after a vio- 
 lent manner, and thought all to be lawful and 
 right which tended to please them, and being 
 unskilful in foreseeing what dangers they in- 
 curred ; 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 considerations ; 
 and although Arclielaus sent many to speak 
 to them, yet they treated them not as messen- 
 gers sent by hini, but as persons that came of 
 
 fathers had appointed for the Jews at this 
 time, which feast is called the Passover,* and 
 is a memorial of their deliverance 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 Mat- 
 thias, those teachers of the laws, and kept to- 
 gether in the temple, and had plenty of food, 
 because these seditious persons were not 
 ashamed to beg it. And as Arclielaus was 
 afraid lest some terrible thing should spring 
 up by means of these inen's madness, he sent 
 a regiment of armed men, and with them a 
 captain of a thousand, to suppress the violent 
 ertbrts of tlie seditious, before the whole mul- 
 titude should be infected with the like mad- 
 ness ; and gave them this charge, that if they 
 found any much more openly seditious than 
 others, and more busy in tumultuous prac- 
 tices, they should bring tliein to him. But 
 those that were seditious on account of those 
 teachers of tiie law, irritated the people by 
 the noise and clamours they used to encou- 
 rage 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, 
 although 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 their hands. Now 
 Archelaus thought there was no way to pre- 
 serve the entire government, but by cutting 
 ofl" 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 kil( 
 such as ran away from the footmen when 
 they thought themselves out of danger; wliicli 
 horsemen slew three thousand men, wliile tlie 
 rest went to the neighbouring mountains. 
 Then did Arclielaus order proclamation to be 
 made to them all, that they should retire to 
 their own homes ; so they went away, and lefc 
 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 mo- 
 ther, and took with him Nicolaus and Ptole- 
 my, and many others of his friends, and left 
 
 iheJr own accord to mitigate their anger, and ltd. 
 
 • This passover, when the sedition here mentioned 
 was moved agninst Aiitielaus, was not one, but tlnrtecn 
 onths afier the eclipse of the moon, already mention 
 
 ^ 
 
"V 
 
 uIIAP. IX, 
 
 Philip his brother as governor of all things 
 hulonging l)oth to his own family and to the 
 public. There went out also with him Sa- 
 lome, Herod's sister, who took with her her 
 children, and many of her kindred were with 
 her; which kindred of hers went, as they pre- 
 tended, to assist Archelaus in gaining tlie king- 
 dom, but in reality to oppose him, and chiefly 
 to make loud complaints of what he had done 
 in the temple. But Sabinus, Ca;sar's steward 
 for Syrian affairs, as he was making haste in- 
 to Judea, to preserve Herod's effects, met 
 with Archelaus at Caesarea ; but Varus (pre- 
 sident of Syria) came at that time, and re- 
 strained him from meddling with tliem, 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 per- 
 mitted Archelaus to have them, until Caesar 
 should declare his resolution about them ; so 
 that, upon this his promise, he tarried still at 
 Cajsarea. But after Archelaus was sailed for 
 Rome, and Varus was removed to Antioch, 
 Sabinus went to Jerusalem, and seized on the 
 king's palace. He also sent for the keepers 
 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 disjjos- 
 ed of the castles in tlie manner he pleased ; 
 but t! iose who kept tliem did not neglect what 
 Archelaus bad given them in command, but 
 continued to keep all things in the manner 
 they liad been enjoined them; and their pre- 
 tence was, that they kept them all for Caesar. 
 4. At the same lime also did Antipas, an- 
 other of Herod's sons, sail to Rome, in order 
 to gain the government ; being bnoyed up 
 by Salome with promises that he should take 
 that government ; and that he was a much 
 lionester and fitter 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 repu- 
 tation for sagacity, was intrusted with the af- 
 fairs of the kingdom, who most of all en- 
 couraged him to attemjjt to gain the kingdom ; 
 by whose nieans it was that, when some ad- 
 vised him to yield to Archelaus, as to his 
 elder brother, and who had been declared 
 king by their father's last will, he would not 
 submit so to do. And when he was 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 indeed 
 they were most of all desirous -qf gaining 
 their liberty, and to be put under a Roman 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 473 
 
 governor; but, if there were too great an op- 
 position made to that, they tliought Antipas 
 preferable to Archelaus, and so joined with 
 him, in order to procure the kingdom for him. 
 Saiiinus also, by letters, accused Archelaus to 
 Csesar. 
 
 5. Now when Archelaus had sent in his 
 papers to C;esar, wherein lie pleaded his right 
 to the kingdom and his failier's testament, 
 with the accounts of Herod's money, and with 
 Ptolemy, who brought Herod's seal, he so 
 expected the event ; but when C»sar had read 
 these papers, and Varus's and Sabinus's let- 
 ters, with the accounts of the money, and 
 what were the annual incomes of the kingdom, 
 and understood that Antipas had also sent 
 leiters to lay claim to the kingdom, he sum- 
 moned his friends together, to know their opi- 
 nions, and with them Caius, the son of A- 
 grippa, and of Julia his daughter, whom he 
 had adopted, and took him, and made him sit 
 first of all, and desired such as pleased to 
 speak their minds about the affairs now before 
 them. Now, Antipater, Salome's son, a very 
 subtle orator, and a bitter enemy to Archelaus, 
 spake first to this purpose: — That it was ridi- 
 culous in Archelaus to plead now to have the 
 kingdom given him, since he had, in reality, 
 taken already the power over it to himself, 
 before Caesar had granted it to him ; and ap- 
 pealed to those bold actions of his, in destroy- 
 ing so many at the Jewish festival ; and, if 
 the men had acted unjustly, it was but fit the 
 punishing of them should have been reserved 
 to those that were out of the country, but had 
 the power 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 determined for 
 him by Csesar ; 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 In'm, of which he had already depriv- 
 ed Csesar [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 before- 
 hand, and his determination of law-suits ; a!i 
 done as if he were no other than a king. He 
 appealed also to his concessions to those (hat 
 petitioned him on a public account, and in- 
 deed doing such things, than whicli he could 
 devise no greater if he had been already set- 
 tled in the kingdom by Caesar. He also as- 
 cribed to him the releasing of the prisoners 
 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 bo irsually 
 done by young men, and by such as, out of a 
 desire of ruling, seize upon ilie government 
 too soon. He also charged him wiih his ne- 
 iilect of the funeral mourning for his father 
 2 K 
 
 ~\_ 
 
471 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 and with having merry meetings the very 
 night in which he died ; and that it was 
 tlience the muhitude took the liandle of rais- 
 ing a tumult ; and if Arehelaus couhl tlius 
 requite his dead father, who had bestowed sucli 
 benefits upon him, and bequeatlied such great 
 things to him, by pretending to shed tears for 
 >iim in the day-time, hke an actor on tiie 
 stage, but every night making mirth for hav- 
 ing gotten tlie government, he would ajipear 
 to he the same Arciielaus with regard to Cse- 
 sar, if he granted him tlie kingdom, wiiicii he 
 hath 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 relat- 
 ed, and had been so great a benefactor to him. 
 But he said that the greatest crime of all was 
 tliis, that he came now before Cc-csar to ob- 
 tain the government by his grant, while he 
 had before acted in all things as he coidd have 
 acted if Caesar himself, wiio ruled all, had 
 fixed him firmly in the government. And 
 what he most aggravated 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 
 iead bodies : and all this was dene, not by 
 .in alien, but by one who pretended to the 
 .awful title of a king, that he might complete 
 the wicked tyranny wiiich liis aature prompt- 
 ed iiini to, and which is iiated by all men. 
 On which account his father never so much 
 as dreamed of making him his successor in 
 die kingdom, when he was of a sound niind, 
 because he knew his disposition ; and, in his 
 former and more autiientic testament, he ap- 
 pointed his antagonist Antipas to succeed ; 
 but that Arehelaus was called by his father to 
 that dignity, when he was in a dying condi- 
 tion, both of body and mind j while Antipas 
 was called when he was ripest in iiis judg- 
 ment, and of such strength of body as made 
 t)im capable of managing his own aflfairs : 
 I and if his father had the like notion of liim 
 formerly that lie iiath now shown, yet hatli he 
 given a sufficient specimen what a king lie is 
 likely to be wiicn he hath [in efiect] deprived 
 Cicsar of that power of disposing of the king- 
 dom, wliicli he justly hath, and hath not ab- 
 stained from making a terrible slaughter of 
 Ins fellow-citizens in the temple, while he was 
 but a private person. 
 
 C. So when ;\ntipater had made this speech, 
 and had confirmed wliat he had said by produc- 
 ing manv witnesses from among Archelaus's 
 own relations, he made an end of his jjleading. 
 Upon which Nicolaus arose up to plead lor 
 Arehelaus, and said, " That what had been 
 done at the temple was rather to be attributed 
 i to the mind of those tiiat had been killed, 
 I than to the authority of Arehelaus; for tliat 
 j those who were the authors of such tilings, 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
 BOOK XVII 
 
 are not only wicked in the injuries they do of 
 tiitniselves, but in forcing sober persons to 
 avenge themselves upon them. Now, it is 
 evident that what these did in way of opposi- 
 tion was done under pretence, indeed against 
 Arehelaus, but in reality against Ctesar him- 
 self, for they, after an injurious manner, at- 
 tacked and slew those who were sent by Ar- 
 ehelaus, 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 ashained to patronize, whether it he out 
 of his indulgence of an enmity to Arehelaus, or 
 out of his hatred of virtue and justice. For 
 as to those who begin such tumults, and first 
 set about such unrighteous actions, they are 
 the men who force those that punish them to 
 betake thtniselves 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 au- 
 thors; nor are those things evil in themselves, 
 but so represented only, in order to do harm 
 to Arehelaus. Such is these men's inclina- 
 tion to do an injury to a man that is of their 
 kindred, their father's benefactor, and familiar- 
 ly acquainted with them, and that hath ever 
 lived in friendship with them ; for that, as to 
 this testament, it was made by the king when 
 he was of a sound mind, and so ought to be 
 of more authority than his forn-.er testament ; 
 and that for this reason, because Caesar is 
 therein left to be the judge and disposer of 
 all therein contained ; and for Casar, he will 
 not, to be sure, at all imitate the unjust pro- 
 ceedings 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 determina- 
 tion, wliile tliey have not themselves had the 
 some regard to their kinsman [which Arehe- 
 laus had]. Cassar will not therefore disannul 
 the testament of a man whom he had entirely 
 supported, of his friend and confederate, and 
 that which is committed to him in trust to 
 ratify ; nor will Ciesar's virtuous and ujjright 
 disposition, which is known and uncontested 
 tlirough all the habitable world, imitate the 
 wickedness of these men in condemning a 
 king as a madman, and as having lost his rea- 
 son, while he hath bequeathed the succession 
 to a good son of his, and to one who flies to 
 Ca;sar's- upright determination for refuge. 
 Nor can Herod at any time have been mis- 
 taken in his judgment about a successor, 
 w liile he showed so much prudence as to sub- 
 mit all to Cicsar's determination," 
 
 7. Now when Nicolaus had laid these 
 things before Ca;sar, he ended his plea; 
 whereupon Caesar was so obliging to Arehe- 
 laus, that he raised him up when he had cast 
 himself down at his feet, and said, that he 
 well deserved the kingdom : and he s«x)i> iH 
 
"V. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 475 
 
 l)iem ktiow that he was so far moved in his 
 favour, that lie would not act otherwise than 
 his father's testament directed, and than was 
 for the advantage of Archelaus. However, 
 while he gave this encouragement to Arche- 
 laus to depend on him securely, he made no 
 full determination about him; and, when the 
 assembly was broken up, he considered by 
 himself whether he should confirm the king- 
 dom to Archelaus, or whether he should part 
 it among all Herod's posterity ; and this be- 
 cause they all stood in need of much assist- 
 ance to support them. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A. SEOrTIONT OF THE JER'S AGAfNST SABINUS ; 
 AND HOW VAllUS BROUGHT THE AUTHORS 
 OF IT TO PUNISHMENT. 
 
 § 1. But before these things could be brought 
 to a settlement, Malthace, Archelaus's mo- 
 ther; fell into a distemper, and died of it; 
 and letters came from Varus the prebident of 
 Syria, which informed Casar of the revolt of 
 the Jews; for after Archelaus was sailed, the 
 whole nation was in a tumult. So Varus, 
 since he was there himself, brought the au- 
 thors of the disturbance to punishment; and 
 when he 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 vvere now very fond of 
 innovation. Yet did not this at all avail to 
 put aii end to that their sedition, for, after 
 Varus was gone away, Sabinus, Caesar's pro- 
 curator, staid behind, and greatly distressed 
 the Jews, relying on the forces that wore left 
 there, that they would by their multitude pro- 
 tect him ; for he made use of them, and arm- 
 ed them as his guards, thereby so oppressing 
 the Jews, and giving them so great disturb- 
 ance, that at length they rebelled ; for be 
 used force in seizing the citadels, and zeal- 
 ously pressed on the search after the king's 
 money, in order to seize upon it by force, on 
 account of his love of gain, and his extraor- 
 dinary covetousness. 
 
 2. But on the approach of pentecost, which 
 is a festival of ours, so called from the days 
 of our forefathers, a great many ten tliousands 
 of men got together ; nor did they come only 
 to celebrate the festival, but out of their in- 
 dignation at the madness of Sabinas, and at 
 the injuries he offered them. A great num- 
 ber there was of Galileans, and Idumeans, 
 and many men from Jericho, and others who 
 had passed over the river Jordan, a:id inha- 
 bited those parts. This whole multitude 
 joined themselves to all the rest, and were 
 more zealous than the others in making an 
 liisault on .Sibinus, in order to" be avenged 
 
 on him ; so they parted themselves into three 
 bands, and encamped themselves in the places 
 following : — some of them seized on the Hip- 
 podrome ; and of the other two bands, one 
 pitched themselves from the northern part of 
 the temple to the southern, on the east quar- 
 ter; but the third hand held tiie 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 these men's num- 
 ber, 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 ene- 
 mies; so he sent immediately a letter to Va- 
 rus, and, as he used to do, was very pressing 
 with him, and entreated him to come quickly 
 to his assistance ; because the forces ho had 
 left vvere in imminent danger, and would 
 probably, in no long time, be seized upon, 
 and cut to pieces; while he did himself get 
 up to the highest tower of the fortress Pha- 
 saelus, which had been built in honour of 
 Phasaelus, king Herod's brother, and called 
 so when the Parthians had brought him to 
 his death.* So Sabinus gave thence a signal 
 to tlie Romans to fall upon the Jews, al 
 though he did not himself venture so much 
 as to come dov.m to his friends, and thought 
 he might expect that the others should exjjose 
 themselves first to die on account of his ava- 
 rice. However, the Romans ventured to 
 make a sally out of the place, and a terrible 
 battle ens-ued ; wherein, though it is true the 
 Romans beat their adversaries, yet were not 
 the Jews daunted in their resolutions, even 
 when they had the sight of that terrible 
 slaughter that was made of them ; but they 
 went round about, and got upon those clois- 
 ters which encompassed the outer court of the 
 temple, whore a great fight was still continued, 
 and they cast stones at the Romans, partly 
 with their hands, and partly with slings, a* 
 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 ware at an utter loss 
 what to do; for when they tried to shoot their 
 arrows against the Jews upwards, these ar. 
 rows could not reach them, insomucii that 
 the Jews vvere easily too hard for their ene- 
 mies. 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,f being fed by a great deal of conj- 
 
 * See Antiq. b. xiv, ch. xiii, sect. iO; and Of the 
 War, b. ii, d\. xii, .<ect. 9. 
 
 t TliL'sc great ilevastations maile about the temple 
 here, and Ut the War, b. li, ch. JM, seL't. 5, setin not :o 
 have been fully re-wiified in tho days of i\ero; till 
 whose time there were cij»ht'.-fn thousand vvoikinea 
 coiitinu.iUy employed in rebuilding and repairing that 
 
 ~\. 
 
476 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 bustible matter, caiiglit bold immediately on 
 tlie roof of tliu cloisters ; so the wood, wliicli 
 was full of pitch and wax, and whose gold 
 v\as laid on it with wax, yielded to the fiainc 
 presently, and those vast woiks, which were 
 of the liighest value and esteem, were de- 
 stroyed utterly, while those that were on the 
 roof unexpectedly perished at the same time; 
 for as the roof tumbled down, some of these 
 men tumbled down with it, and others of 
 ihcm were killed by their enemies who en- 
 compassed them. 1'here was a great number 
 more, who out of despair of saving their lives, 
 and out of astonishment at the misery thtit 
 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 desti- 
 tute of armour, insomuch that of those that 
 went up to the top of the roof, not one escap- 
 ed. The Romans also rushed through the 
 fire, where it gave them room so to do, and 
 seized on that treasure where the sacred mo- 
 ney was reposited : a great part of v.liich was 
 stolen by the soldiers ; and Sabinus got open- 
 ly four hundred talents. 
 
 3. But this calamity of the Jews' friends, 
 who fell in this battle, grieved them, as did 
 also this plundering of the money dedicated 
 to God in the temple. Accordingly that body 
 of them which contiiuicd best together, and 
 was the most warlike, encoinpassed the palace, 
 and threatened to set fire to it, and kill all 
 thiit were in it. Yet still iliey 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 deserted to 
 them, while Rufus and Grains, who had three 
 thousand of the njosl warlike of Herod's 
 army with them, who w ere iren of active bo- 
 dies, went over to the Romans. There was 
 also a band of horsemen imder tiie command 
 of Rufus, which itself went over to the Ro- 
 mans also. However, the Jews went on with 
 the siege, and dug mines under the palace- 
 wails, and besouglit those that w ere gone over 
 to the other side, not to be their hindrance, 
 now they had such a proper opi)ortiinity for 
 the recovery of their country's ancient liberty ; 
 and for S binus, truly he was desirous of go- 
 ing away with his soldiers, but was not able 
 to trust himself with the enemy, on account 
 of vviiat mischief he had already done them ; 
 and he took this great [pretended] lenity of 
 theirs for an argument why he should not 
 comply with tliem ; and so, because he ex- 
 temple, as JosephuF informs us. Aiituj. b. xx, cli. is, 
 Sivu 7. -'ice the iio'.e on th.-.t [■.lat'O. 
 
 BOOK XVU. 
 
 pected that Varus was coming, he still bore 
 the siege. 
 
 4. Now, at this time there were ten thou- 
 sand other disorders in Judea, which were 
 like tumult?, because a great number put 
 tliemselves into a warlike posture, either out 
 of hopes of gain to themselves, or out of en- 
 mity to the Jews. In particular, two thou- 
 sand of Herod's old soldiers, who had been 
 already disbanded, got together in Judea itself, 
 and fought ag:iin<t the king's troops, although 
 Achiabus, Herod's first cousin, opposed them ; 
 but as he was driven out of the plains into 
 the mountainous parts by tlse military skill of 
 those men, he kept himself in the fastnesses 
 that were there, and saved what he could. 
 
 5. 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 v.itli great difficulty been ciiiight by He- 
 rod. This .Tudas having gotten together a 
 multitude of men of a profligate character 
 about Sepphoris in Galilee, and made an as- 
 sault 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 
 witii him, and carried 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 
 rewaid, not of his virtuous skill in war, but 
 of Ills extravagance in doing injuries. 
 
 6. There was also Simon, who had been a 
 slave of Herod the king, but in other respects 
 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 dis- 
 orderly 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 luore 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' 
 houses in several places of tiie country, and 
 utterly destroyed them, and permitted those- 
 that were with him to take what was left in 
 
 * Unless this Judas, tlie son of Ezekias, be the same 
 with that 1 htuila!, ii-.tiitioiit-il Atts v,56, .Iosei)hiismi:sr 
 ha\e omitieil Inm ; for that other Theiulas, whcni he 
 afterwards mentions \iiider Fadiis, the Riiman governor, 
 b. XX, eh. V, sect. 1, is n.ucli too late to lorrcspord to 
 liim that is mentioned in the Acts. The names Tbeii- 
 dasj Thaddeiis, and Jiul;:s differ but little. See Arcli- 
 bishn]> Usher's Annals, at A. M. -IdUl. However, since 
 Josephus does not pretend to reckon up the heads of all 
 those ten thousand disorders in Jiidca, which he tells us 
 were then abroad, sec sect. 4 and 8, Ih* Ti.ciidas of the 
 Ads might tic at the head of one of those seditions, 
 though not particidnrly named by him. This he in- 
 t'ornis us here, sect, fi, and Of the War, b. ii, cli. iv, 
 sect. ;', that certain of the seditious came ar.d bunil the 
 royal palace at Amathus, or Belharamphtii, upon tJic 
 river Joidan. I'erhaps their leader, who i» uot named 
 by .losejluis. might be this Theiuias. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 477 
 
 them for a prey; anil he vould have done 
 greater things, unless care had been taken to 
 repress him immediately ; for Gratiis, wlien 
 he had joined himself to some Roman soldiers, 
 took the forces he had "itli him, and met Si- 
 mon, and after a great and a long figl't, no 
 small part of those that came from Perea, 
 who were a disordered body of men, and 
 fought ratlier in a bold than in a skilful man- 
 ner, were destroyed; and although Simon 
 had saved himself by flying away througli a 
 certain valley, yet Gratus overtook him, and 
 cut off his head. The royal palace also, at 
 Amathus, by the river Jordan, was burnt 
 down bv a party of men that were got toge- 
 ther, 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 be- 
 cause those foreigners, who came to reduce 
 the seditious to sobriety, did, on the contrary, 
 set them more in a flame, because of the in-- 
 juries they otl'ered them, and the avaricious 
 management of their aiTairs. 
 
 7. But because Atlironges, a person nei- 
 ther eminent by the dignity of progenitors, nor 
 for any great wealth lie 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 o- 
 thers in the strength of his hands, he was so 
 bold as to set up for king. This man thouglil 
 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 bre- 
 thren, who were tall men themselves, and 
 were believed to be superior to others in the 
 strength of their hands, and thereby were en- 
 couraged to aim at great things, and thought 
 that strengh 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 numerous. 
 They were every one of them also command- 
 ers ; but, when they came to fight, they were 
 subordinate to him, and fought for him, wliile 
 he put a diadem about his head, and assem- 
 bled a council to debate about what things 
 should be done ; and all things were done 
 according to his pleasure. And this man re- 
 tained his power a great while; lie was also 
 called king, and had nothing to hinder him 
 from doing what he pleased. He also, as 
 weli as his brethren, slew a great many both 
 of the 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 conduct they had 
 been allowed under Herod's government; 
 and they fell upon the Roinans, because of 
 the injuries they had so lately received from 
 them. Rut in process of time they grew 
 more cruel to all sorts of men ; nor could any 
 one escaue frt:in one or other of th^se sedi-^ 
 
 tions, since they slew some out of the hopes 
 of gain, and others from a mere custom of 
 shiying 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 commanded the 
 company, and shot forty of the best of his foot- 
 soldiers ; but the rest of tliem were aft'righted 
 at their slaughter, and left their dead behind 
 them, but saved themselves 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 na- 
 tion also a great deal of mischief) ; yet were 
 they afterwards subdued; one of them in a 
 fight with Gratus, another with Ptolemy ; 
 Archelaus also took the eldest of them pri- 
 soner ; 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 l)eing worn away with sickness and 
 continual labours, that he also delivered him- 
 self up to Archelaus, upon his promise and 
 oath to God to [preserve his life]. But 
 these things came to pass a good while after- 
 ward. 
 
 8. And now Judea was full of robberies , 
 and, as the several companies of the seditious 
 lighted upon any one to head them, he was 
 created a king immediately, in order to do mis- 
 chief to the public. They were in some small 
 measure indeed, and in small matters, hurtful 
 to the Romans, but the murders they coinmit- 
 ted upon their own people lasted a long while, 
 
 9. As soon as Varus was once informed of 
 the state of Judea by Sabinus's writing 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 afi'orded 
 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 expei'.ition should make haste to 
 
 j Piolemais. The citizens of Berytus also gave 
 ■ him fifteen hundred auxiliaries, as he passed 
 1 through their city. Aretas also, the king of 
 I Arabia Petrea, out of his hatred to Ileiod, 
 land in order to purchase tlie favour of tim 
 ' Romans, sent him no small assistance, be- 
 sides their footmen and horsemen : and 
 ! when he had now collected all his forces to- 
 i gether, he coinmitted part of tliem to his son, 
 I and to a friend of his, and sent them upon an 
 expedition into Galilee, '.vhich lies in tlie 
 I neighbourhood of Ptolemais ; who made an 
 ! attack upon the enemy, and put them to flight, 
 and took Sepplioris, and made its inhabitants 
 slaves, and burnt the city. But Varus him- 
 self pursued his march to Samaria with iiis 
 whole army : yet did not he mediiie with tlir 
 
4-78 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OK THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVII 
 
 city of that name, because it had not at all 
 joined with the seditious, 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 %vas Sampho, which the Arabians plun- 
 dered and burnt, although it was a fortified 
 and strong place* and all along this march 
 nothing escaped them, but all places were full 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 AN EMBASSAGK OF THE JEWS TO C>«SAR ; AND 
 HOW C^^SAR CONEIRMED HEROd's TESTA- 
 MENT. 
 
 § I. So when Varus had settled these affairs, 
 and had placed the former legion at Jerusa- 
 lem, he returned back to Antioch ; but as for 
 
 of fire and of slaughter. Emmaus was also I Archelaus, he had new sources of trouble 
 
 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 ]a^ there, and who 
 bad besieged the Roman legion, not bearing 
 the coming of this army, left the siege im- 
 perfect: bu' as to the Jerusalem Jevvs, when 
 Varus reproached them bitterly for what had 
 been done, they cleared themselves of the ac- 
 cusation ; and alleged that the conflux of the 
 people was occasioned by the feast ; that the 
 
 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 oxvn laws.* 
 Now, the number of the ambassadors that 
 were sent by the aulliority of the nation were 
 fifty, to which they joined above eight thou- 
 sand of the Jews that « ere at Rome already. 
 Hereupon Caasar assembled his friends, and 
 the chief men among the Romans, in the tem- 
 ple of Apol!(),f which he had built at a vast 
 
 war was not made with their approbation, but by [ charge ; whither the ambassadors came, and a 
 tlie rashness of the strangers ; while they were multitude of the Jews that were there already 
 
 on the side of the Romans, and be'iieged to 
 gether with them, rather than having any in- 
 clination to besiege them. There also came 
 beforehand to meet Varus, Joseph, the cousin- 
 german of king Herod, as also Grains and 
 Rufus, who brought their soldiers along whh 
 them, together with those Romans who had 
 been besieged ; but Sabinus did not come 
 into Varus's presence, but stole out of the 
 city privately, and went to the sea-side. 
 
 10. Upon this. Varus sent a part of his ar- 
 n>y into the country, to seek out those that 
 had been the authors of the revolt; and when 
 they were discovered, he punished some of 
 tliem that were most guilty, and some he dis- 
 missed : now the number of those that were 
 crucified on this account were two thousand : 
 after which he disbanded his army, which he 
 found nowise useful to him in the affairs he 
 came about ; for they behaved themselves ve- 
 ry 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 
 
 came with them, as did also Archelaus and his 
 friends ; but as for the several kinsmen which 
 Archelaus had, they woidd not join them- 
 selves 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 Casar's opinion to think of thus acting in 
 opposition to a man of their own kindred : 
 Philipl 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 governinent (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. 
 
 2. Now, upon the liberty that was given to 
 the Jewish ambassadors to speak, they who 
 hoped to obtain a dissolution of kingly go- 
 
 mischief they did. As for himself, when he 1 vernment, betook themselves to accuse He- 
 was informed that ten thousand Jews had '"od of his iniquities ; and they declared tiiat 
 gotten together, he made haste to catch them; (he was indeed in name a king, but that he 
 but they did not proceed so far as to fight I had taken to himself that uncontrollable au- 
 him, but, by the advice of Achiabus, they ( thority which tyrants exercise over their sub- 
 came together, and delivered themselves upljects, and had made use of that authority for 
 to him : hereupon Varus forgave the crime j'he destruction of the Jews, and did not ab- 
 of revolting to the multitude, but sent their , stain from making many innovations among 
 
 several commanders to Ca?sar, many of whom 
 C;i"sar dismissed ; but for the several rela- 
 tions of Herod who had been among these 
 men in this war, they were the only persons 
 whom he punished, who, without the least re- 
 gard to justice, fought against thtir own kin- 
 dred. 
 
 them besides, according to his own inclina- 
 tions ; 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 
 
 * See Of the War, b. ii. ch. ii, sect .5. 
 
 I vpc the note, of the U ar, b. li, di. vi, sett. 1 
 
 J He was tctraicli at'terwiircls. 
 
 r 
 
:hap. xt. 
 
 ANTIQUJTIESOF THE JEVVS. 
 
 479 
 
 far more miserable than those that suffered 
 undor him, not only by the anxiety they were 
 in from his looks and disposition towards 
 them, but from the danger their estates were 
 in of being taken away by him. That he dia 
 never leave off adorning these cities that lay 
 in their neighbourhood, but were inhal)ited 
 by foreiLtners ; but so that the cities belong- 
 ing to his own government were ruined, and 
 utterly destroyed : that whereas, when he 
 took the kingdom, it was in an extraordinary 
 flourishing condition, he had filled the nation 
 with the utmost 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 imposi- 
 tions which he laid up(>n every one of them, 
 they were to make liberal piesents to himself, 
 to iiis 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 vio- 
 lence, without giving either gold or silver for 
 it. That they would say nothing of the cor- 
 ruption of the chastity of their virgins, and 
 the reproach laid on their wives for inconti- 
 nency, and those things acted after an inso- 
 lent 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 llieir nation had passed through 
 many subversions and alterations of govern- 
 n\ent, tlieir history gave no account of any ca- 
 lamity 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 just- 
 ly and gladly salute Archelaus as king, upon 
 tills supposition, that whosoever should be 
 set over their kingdom, he would appear more 
 mild to them than Herod had !)een ; and that 
 Ihcy 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 modera- 
 tion from him ; but that he seemed to be 
 afraid lest he should not be deemed Herod's 
 own son ; and so, without any delay, he im- 
 mediately let the nation understand his mean- 
 ing, and this before his dominion was well es- 
 tal)lished, since the power of disposing of it 
 belonged to Ca?sar, who could eittier give it 
 to him or not as he pleased. That he had 
 given a specimen of his future virtue to his 
 subjects, and with what kind of moderation 
 and good administration he would govern 
 them, by that his first action which concerned 
 them, his own citizens, and God liim*elf also, 
 wlieji he made the slaughter of llnee thousand 
 
 of liis 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 op- 
 posed and contradicted him in the exercise of 
 his authority? Now, the main thing they de- 
 sired was this: Tliat tliey might be delivered 
 from kingly and the like forms of govern- 
 ment,* and might be added to Syria, and be 
 ])ut under the authority of such presidents: 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. 
 
 3. Now wlien the Jews had said this, Ni- 
 colaus vindicated the kings from those accu- 
 sations, and said, that as for Herod, since he 
 had never been thus accused -j- all the time of 
 his life, it was not fit for tliose that might 
 have accused him of lesser crimes than those 
 now mentioned, and might liave procured 
 him to be punished during his lifetime, to 
 bring an accusation against him now he h 
 dead. He also attributed the actions of Ar- 
 chelaus to the Jews' injuries to him, who, 
 aH'ecting to govern contrary to the laws, and 
 going about to kill those that would have 
 hindered them from acting unjustly, when 
 tliey were by him punished for what they had 
 done, made their complaints against him; so 
 he accused them of their attempts for innova- 
 tion, and of the pleasure they took in sedi- 
 tion, by reason of their not having learned to 
 submit to justice and to the laws, but still 
 desiring to be superior in all things. This 
 was the substance of what Nicolaus said. 
 
 4. When Ca;sar had heard these pleading-^, 
 lie dissolved the assembly; but a few days 
 afterwards 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, ami promised to give 
 him the royal dignity hereafter, if he govern 
 ed his part virtuously. But as for the othej 
 half, he divided it into two parts, and gave it 
 
 * If any one compare that divine prediction concern- 
 ing tlie tyrannical power which the Jewish kings would 
 exercise over them, if they would be so foolish as to 
 p efer it btfore their ancient theocracy or aristocracy, 
 (1 bam. viii, 1— '.'2 Antiq. b. vi.ch. iv,' sect. 4.), he will 
 soon find that it vv^is superabundantly fulfilled in the 
 days of Herod, and that to such a degree, that the nation 
 now at last .seemed sorely to repent of such their ancient 
 choice, in opposition to God's better choice fur them, 
 and had much rather be subject to evenapagaii Roman 
 govenimciit, and their deputies, than to be any longer 
 under tlie oppression of the family of Herod ; which re- 
 fjucsl of theiis .Vugiistus did not'iiow grant them, but 
 did it for the one half of that nation in a few years af 
 teiward, uu'in ficsh complaints made by the Jews 
 against .\rchilaus, who, under the more humble name 
 of an ctlmarch, which .Vugustu.^ would only now allow 
 him, soon took upon him the insolence and tyranny of 
 his father king Herod, as the remaining part of this 
 book will inform us, and particularly ch. xiii, sect. 2. 
 
 f This is not true See Antiq. b. xiv, cl . ix, sect. 
 ", 1 ; and ch. xii, sect. ''J, and ch. xiii, sect. 1, 2 ; An- 
 tic), b. XV, ch. ill, sect. 5; and ch. x, sect. 2, 3; Antio. 
 b xvi, ch. ix, sect> -5. 
 
-^80 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVII 
 
 to two other of Herod's sons, to Philip and 
 to Antipas, that Antipas who disputed with 
 Archelaus for the whole kingdom. Now, to 
 him it was that Perea and Galilee paid their 
 tribute, whicli amounted annually to 200 ta- 
 lents,* while Batanea with Trachonitis, as well 
 as Auranitis, with a certtu'n part of what was 
 called the Himse of' Zenodorvs,-f paid the tri- 
 bute of one liundred talents to Philip ; but 
 Idumea, and Judea, and the country of Sa- 
 maria, paid tribute to Archclaus, 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 tri- 
 bute to Archelaus : — Strato's Tower and Se- 
 baste, with Joppa and Jerusalem ; for as to 
 Gaza, Gadara, and Hippos, they were Gre- 
 cian cities, iviiich Caesar separated from his 
 government, and added them to the province 
 of Syria. Now the tribute-money tliat came 
 to Arciielaus every year from his own domi- 
 nions, amounted to six hundred talents. 
 
 5. And so much came to Herod's sons 
 from their father's inheritance; but Salome, 
 (jesides what her brother left her by his testa- 
 ment, which were Jamnia, Ashdod, and Pha- 
 saelis, and five hundred thousand [drachma] 
 of coined silver, Cssar made her a jiresent of 
 
 * since .loscjihus here informs us that Archelaus had 
 (me-half of the kingdom of Heiod, and inescnlly in- 
 fo; nis us farther, tliat Archelaus's annual inccjine, aficr 
 an abatement of one quarter for the ;)re;-ent, was COD 
 talents, we may therefore gather pretty nearly what was 
 Herod the Great's yearly income, 1 nuan about UiJDtii- 
 Icnts, which, at the known value of 300(1 shekels to a 
 talent, and about 2s. lod. to a shekel, in ti;e(ia\s of Jo- 
 sephus, see the note on Antiq. b. iii, eh. viii,' sect. 2, 
 amounts to L.68o,0(IO sterling per anniitn ; which in- 
 come, though great in itself, bearing no juoportion to 
 his vast expenses every where visible in Josephns, and to 
 the vast sums he left behind him in liis will (ch. viii, 
 sect. 1 ; and ch. xii, sect. 1), the rest must have arisen 
 either from his confiscation of those great men's estates 
 whom he put to death, or made to pay tine for the sav- 
 ing of then- lives, or from some otlier heavy methods 
 of oppression which sueh savage tyrants usually exercise 
 upon their miserable subjects; or rather from these se- 
 veral methods p.ut together, all which yet seem very 
 much too small for his expenses, being drawn from no 
 larger a nation than that of the .lews, wliich was very 
 populous, but wilho'it Ihe advantasie ot trade to bring 
 them riches; so tliat 1 cannot but scrongiy suspect that 
 no smaU jiart of this his weaUh arose from another 
 source; I mean from some vast sums he took out of 
 David's sepulchre, but concealed from the people. See 
 the note on Antiq. b. vii, ch. xv.sect. 5. 
 
 t Take here a very useful noie of Grotius, on Luke 
 lii, 1, here quoted by Dr. Hud on :— " When Josephus 
 says that some part of the house (or possession! of Ze- 
 nodorus [i. t: Abilene) was allotted to Philip, he there- 
 by declares that the larger part of it belonged to ano- 
 ther. This other was I.ysiinias, whom I, uke mentions, 
 of the posterity of that Lysanias who was possessed of 
 the same country called Abilene, from the city Abiia, 
 and by others Chalcidene, from the city of Chalcis, when 
 the goveniment of the east was under Antonius, and 
 this after i'tolcmy, the son of Meiiueus; from which 
 Lysanias, tliis country came to be commonly called the 
 Country of Lysanias ; and as, afier tlie death of the for- 
 nier Lysanirrs, it was called the Tetrarchy of Zeiiodor*is, 
 so after the death of Zenodorus, or when the tunc for 
 which he hired it was endtnl, wlien anoiher Lysanias, of 
 the same name with the former, wf.s jiossesscd of the 
 Kime country, it began to bo called the 'I'ctrar.hy of 
 Lysawias." However, since Josi'phus eUewhere jAntiq. 
 'j. xs, eh. vii, sect. 1) clearly disiingu:she< AbUent from 
 C'liitcidaie, Uiolius niunt ue here so far nii.t;iB.L:i. 
 
 a royal liahit.ation at Askelon : in all, her 
 revenues amounted to sixty talents by the 
 year, and her dwelling-house was within Ar- 
 chelaiis's government. The rest also of the 
 king's relations received what his testament 
 allotted them. Moreover, Cwsar made a pre- 
 sent to each of Herod's two virgin daughters, 
 besides what their father left thein, of tv.o 
 hundred and fifty thousand [drachmae] of sil- 
 ver, and married them to Plieroras's sons : he 
 also granted all that was bequeathed to him.- 
 self to the king's sons, which was one thou- 
 sand five hundred talents, excepting a few of 
 the vessels, which he reserved for himself; 
 and they were acceptable to hii^.i, not so much 
 for the gieat value tliey were of, as because 
 they were memorials of the king to him. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CONCERNING A SPURIOUS ALEXANDEB. 
 
 § 1. Whe.v these affairs had been thus set- 
 tled !)y Caesar, a certain yoimg man, by birth 
 a Jew, but bioughl up by a Roman freed-nian 
 in the city Sidon, ingrafted hiinself into the 
 kindred of Herod, by the resemblance of his 
 couHteiiance, which those that saw him at- 
 tested to be that of Alexander, the son of 
 Herod, whom he had slain ; and this was an 
 incitement to liim to endeavour to obtain the 
 government ; so he took to him as an assist- 
 ant, a man of his own country (one that was 
 well acquainted with the affairs of the pa- 
 lace, but, on other accounts, an ill man, and 
 one whose nature made him capable of caus- 
 ing great distuibances to the public, and one 
 that becaiTie a teacher of such a mischievous 
 contrivance to the other), and declared him- 
 self to be Alexander, and the son of Herod, 
 but stolen away by one of those that were 
 sent to slay him, wh.o, in reality, slew other 
 men, in order to deceive the spectators, but 
 saved both him and his brother Aristobulus. 
 Thus was this man elated, and able to im- 
 pose on those that came to hiin ; and when 
 he was 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 to 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 ho])es that he would 
 recover his father's principality, and reward 
 his benefactors ; so he made haste to Rome, 
 and was conducted thither by those strangers 
 who entertained him. He was also so fortu- 
 nate as, upon his landing at Dicearci.ia, to 
 bring the Jews that were there into the same 
 delusion ; and not only other people, but also 
 all those who had been great with Herod, or 
 had a kindiiiss for him, joined theni'iclves t< 
 
 Y- 
 
"V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 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 
 tliat he was no other but the very same per- 
 son, whicii they also confirmed to others by 
 oath ; insomuch 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 unexpectedly e- 
 scaped, and being very joyful on account of 
 bis mother's family. And when hewascome, 
 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 
 ^vas at the expense of those that entertained 
 him. 1'he multitude also flocked about him 
 greatly, and made mighty acclamations to 
 bim, and nothing was omitted which could 
 be thought suitable to such as had been so 
 i]nex{>ectedly preserved, 
 
 2. When this tbing 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, havmg some sus- 
 f>ii.ion it might be so, he sent one Celadus, a 
 freed- man of his, and one that had conversed 
 with the young men themselves, and hade 
 him bring Alexander into his presence: so 
 he brought him, being no more accurate in 
 judging about him tlian the rest of the mul- 
 titude. Yet did not he deceive Casar ; for 
 although there was a resemblance between 
 him and Alexander, yet it was not so exact as 
 to impose on such as were prudent in discern- 
 ing ; for this spurious Alexander had his hands 
 rough, by the labours he had been put to ; and 
 instead of that softness of body which the 
 other had, and this as derived from his deli- 
 oate and generous education, this man, for 
 the contrary reason, had a rugged body. 
 When, therefore, Cresar saw how the master 
 and the scholar agreed in this lying story, and 
 in a bold way of talking, he inquired about 
 Aristobulus, and asked what became of him, 
 who (it seems) was stolen away together with 
 him, and for what reason it was tliat 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 
 ♦.iie dangers of the sea, that, in case any acci- 
 dent should come to himself, the posterity of | 
 Mariamne might not utterly perish, but that' 
 Aristobulus might survive, and punish those 
 that laid such treacherous designs against 
 them ; and wlien he persevered in his affirma- 
 tions, and the author of the imposture agreed 
 in supporting it, Csesar took tiie young man 
 by himself, and said to him, " If thou wilt 
 not impose upon me, thou slialt have this for 
 thy reward, that thou shall escape with thy 
 life J tell me, then, who thou art Snd who it 
 
 481 
 
 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, be- 
 cause he had no other way to take, he told 
 Cffisar the contrivance, and after what man- 
 ner, and by whom, it was laid together. So 
 CfEsar, upon observing the spurious Alexan- 
 der 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 I'pon this spu- 
 rious Alexander. And such was the igno- 
 minious conclusion of this bold contrivance 
 about the spurious Alexander. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HOW ARCHET.AUS, UPON A SECOND ACCUSATION, 
 WAS BANISHED TO VIENNA. 
 
 § !. When Archelaus was entered on his 
 ethnarchy, and was come into Judea, he ac- 
 cused Joazar, the son of Boethus, of assisting 
 the seditious, and took away the high-priest- 
 hood from him, and put Eleazar his brother 
 in his place. He also magnificently rebuilt 
 the royal palace that had been at Jericho, and 
 be diverted half the water with which the vil- 
 lage 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 a village, and put his own name 
 upon it, and called it Archelais. Moreover, 
 he transgressed the law of our fathers,* and 
 married Glaphyra, the daughter of Archelaus, 
 who had been the wife of his brother Alex- 
 ander, which Alexander had three children by 
 her, wiiile 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 rooiu 
 while he was still living. 
 
 2. But in the tenth year of Archelaus's 
 government, both his brethren and the princi- 
 pal men of Judea and Samaria, not b^ing 
 able to bear his barbarous and tyrannical 
 usage of them, accused him before Csesar, 
 and that especially because they knew he had 
 broken the commands of Ca;sar, which oblig- 
 ed him to behave himself with moderation 
 among them. Whereupon Ca?sar, when he 
 heard it, was very angry, and called for Ar- 
 chelaus's steward, who took care of his affairs 
 at Rome, and whose name was Archelaus 
 
 » Spanheim seasonably observes here, th.it it was for 
 bi<ldeii the Jews to marrv their brother's wife when "^he 
 hail fhildren by her first husband; and that Zcnoraa 
 reites, or) interprets tlie clause before us accordiiialv. 
 2 8 
 
482 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVII 
 
 also ; and thinking it beneath him to write to 
 Archelaus, he bade him sail away as soon as 
 possible, and bring him to Rome j so the man 
 made haste in his voyage, and when he came 
 into Judea lie found Archelaus feasting with 
 his friends ; so he told him what Caesar had 
 sent him about, and hastened him away. Aiui 
 when he was come [to Rome], to Caesar, up- 
 on hearing what certain accusers of his had 
 to say, and what reply he could make, botli 
 banished him, and appointed Vienna, a city 
 of Gaul, to be the place of his habitation, 
 and took his money away from him. 
 
 3. 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, perfectly 
 ripe; which ears, as it seemed to him, were 
 devoured by oxen. And when he was awake 
 and gotten up, because the vision appeared to 
 be of great importance to him, he sent for 
 the diviners, whose study was employed about 
 dreams. And while some were of one opi- 
 nion and some of another (for all their inter- 
 pretations did not agree), Simon, a man of the 
 sect of the Essens, desired leave to speak his 
 mind freely, and said, (hat the vision denoted 
 a change in the affairs of Archelaus, and that 
 not for the bettor; that oxen, because that 
 animal takes uneasy pains in his labours, de- 
 noted afflictions, and indeed denoted, farther, 
 a change of affairs ; because that land which 
 is ploughed by oxen cannot remain in its for- 
 mer 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 Archelaus, that 
 was sent to Judea by Ca;sar to call him away, 
 came hither also. 
 
 4. The like accident befell Glaphyra his 
 wife, who was the daughter of king Arche 
 laus, who, as I said before, was married, while 
 she was a virgin, to Alexander, the son of 
 Herod, and brother of Archelaus ; but since 
 
 it fell out so that Alexander was slain by his 
 father, she was married to Juba, the king o^ 
 Libya ; and when he was dead, and she lived 
 in widowhood in Cappadocia with her father, 
 Archelaus divorced his former wife Mariam- 
 ne, and married her, so great was his affection 
 for her ; who, during her marriage to him, 
 saw the following dream: — She thought shr 
 saw Alexander standing by her; at which she 
 rejoiced, and embraced him with great atTec 
 tion ; but that he complained of her, and said, 
 O 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 bad we not 
 children between us ? Yet hast thou forgot- 
 ten 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, and in an inde- 
 cent and imprudent manner hast entered into 
 my house, and hast been married to Arche* 
 laus, thy husband and my brother. How- 
 ever, I will not forget thy former kind affec- 
 tion for me ; but will set thee free from every 
 such reproachful action, and cause thee to be 
 mine again, as thou once wast." When she 
 had related this to her female companions, in 
 a few days' time she departed this life. 
 
 5. Now, I did not think these histories im- 
 proper for the present discourse, both because 
 my discourse now is concerning kings, and 
 otherwise also on account of the advantage 
 hence to be drawn, as well for the confirma- 
 tion of the immortality of the soul, as of the 
 providence of God over human affairs, I 
 thought them fit to be set down ; but if any 
 one does not believe such relations, let him 
 indeed enjoy his own opinion, but let him not 
 hinder another that would thereby encourage 
 himself in virtue. So Archelaus's country 
 was laid to the province of Syria ; and Cyre- 
 nius, one that had been consul, was sent by 
 Cii'sar to take account of people's effects if 
 Syria, and to sell the house of Archelaus. 
 
 "Y. 
 
BOOK XVIII. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THIIITY-TWO YEARS. 
 
 ■ROM THE BANISHMENT OF ARCHELAUS TO THE DEPARTURE OI<" 
 THE JEWS FROM BABYLON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ROW CYRENIUS WAS SENT EY C^=ESAR TO JIAKE 
 A TAXATION OF SYRIA AND JUDEA ; AND 
 HOW COPONIUS WAS SENT TO BE PROCURA- 
 TOR OF JUDEA ; CONCERNING JUDAS OF GA- 
 LILEE, AND CONCERNING THE SECTS THAT 
 WERE AMONG THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. Now Cy renins, a Roman senator, and 
 one who had gone through other magistracies, 
 and had passed through them till he had been 
 consul, and one who, on other accounts, was 
 of groat dignity, came at this time into Syria, 
 ■with a few others, being sent by Caesar to be 
 s judge of that nation, and to take an account 
 of their substance : Coponius also, a i^ian of 
 the equestrian order, was sent together with 
 him, to have the supreme power over the 
 Jews. Moreover, Cyrenius came himself in- 
 to Judea, which was now added to tlie pro- 
 vince of Syria, to take an account of their 
 substance, and to dispose of Archelaiis's mo- 
 ney; but the Jews, although at the begin- 
 ning they took the report of a taxation hei- 
 nously, yet did they leave off any farther op- 
 position to it, by the persuasion of Joazar, 
 who was the son of Boethus, and high-priest. 
 So they, being over-persuaded by Joazar'G 
 words, gave an account of their estates, with- 
 out any dispute about it ; yet there was one 
 Judas, a Gaulonite,* of a city whose name 
 
 • Since St. Luke once (Acts v, 37), and Josephus 
 four several times once here (sect. 6 : and b. xx, ch. v, 
 sect. 2 ; Of the War, b. ii, ch. riii, sect. 1 ; and ch. xvii, 
 sect. 8), calls this Judas, who was the pestilent author of 
 that seditious doctrine and temper which brought the 
 Jewish nation to utter destruction, a Galilean ; but here 
 (sect. 1), Josephus calls him a Gaulonite, of the city of 
 Gamala; it is a great question where this Judas was 
 born, whether in Galilee on the west side, or in Gaulo- 
 nitis on the east side of the river Jordan ; while, in the 
 place just now cited out of the Antiquities (b. xx, ch. v, 
 sect. 2), he is not only called a Galilean, but it is added 
 to his stery, " as I haN* signified in the books that go 
 before these," as if he had still called him a Galilean in 
 those Antiquities before, as well as in that particular 
 place, as Dean Aklrich observes, Of the War, I), ii, ch. 
 viii, sect. 1. Nor can one well imagine why he should 
 here call him a Gaulonite.when, in tfie 6th sect, following 
 here, as well as twice Of the War, he still calls him a 
 Galilean. As for the city of Gamala, whence this Judas 
 was derived, it determines notliing, since there were 
 
 was Gamala, who, taking with him Sadduc,f 
 a Pharisee, became zealous to draw them to 
 a revolt, who both said that this taxation was 
 no better than an introduction to slavery, and 
 exhorted the nation to assert their liberty ; as 
 if they could procure them happiness and se- 
 curity for what they possessed, and an assur- 
 ed enjoyment of a still greater good, which 
 was tliat of the honour and glory they wou'd 
 thereby acquire for magnanimity. They also 
 said that God would not otherwise be assist- 
 ing to them, than upon their joining with 
 one another in such counsels as might be 
 successful, and for their own advantage ; 
 and this especially, if they would set about 
 great exploits, and not grow weary in execut- 
 ing the same ; so men received what they 
 said with pleasure, and this bold attempt pro- 
 ceeded to a great height. All sorts of mis- 
 fortunes also sprang from these men, and the 
 nation was infected with this doctrine to an 
 incredible degree ; one violent war came up- 
 on us after another, and we lost our friends, 
 who used to alleviate our pains; there were 
 also very great robbtries and murders of our 
 principal men. This was done in pre- 
 tence indeed for the public welfare, but in 
 reality for the hopes of gain to themselves ; 
 whence arose seditions, and from them mur- 
 ders of men, which sometimes fell on those 
 of their own people (by the madness of these 
 men towards one another, while their desire 
 was that none of the adverse party might be 
 left), and sometimes on their enemies ; a fa- 
 mine also ccfliing upon us, reduced us to the 
 last degree of despair, as did also the taking 
 
 two of that name, the one in Gaulonitis, the other 
 in Galilee. See Rcland on the city or town of that 
 name. 
 
 t It seems not very improbable to me that this Sad- 
 due, the Pharisee, was the very same man of whom the 
 Rabbins speak, as the unhappy but undesigning occa- 
 sion of the impiety or infidelity of tlie Saildueees ; noi 
 perhaps had the men this name of Sadducees till this 
 very time, though they were a distinct seel long before. 
 See the note on b. xiii, ch. x, sect. 5, and Dean i'ri- 
 deaux as there quoted ; nor do wc, that I know of, find 
 the least footsteps of such impiety or infidelity of these 
 Sadducees before this time, the 'Recognitions assuring 
 us that they began about the days of John the Baptist, 
 b. i, ch. liv 
 
484i 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 and demolishing of cities ; nay, the sedition at 
 last increased so high, that the very temple of 
 God was burnt down by their enemy's fire. 
 Such were the consequences of this, that the 
 customs of our fathers were altered, and such 
 a change was made, as added a mighty weight 
 toward bringing all to destruction, which these 
 men occasioned by thus conspiring together ; 
 for Judas and Sadduc,* who excited a fourth 
 philosophic sect among us, and had a great 
 many followers therein, filled our civil go- 
 vernment with tumults at present, and laid 
 the foundation of our future miseries, by this 
 system of philosopliy, 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. 
 
 SJ. The Jews had for a great while three 
 sects of philosophy peculiar to themselves ; 
 tlie sect of the Essens, and the sect of the 
 Sadducees, and the third sort of opinions 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. 
 
 3. Now, for the Pliarisees, 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 earnestly to strive 
 to observe reason's dictates for practice. 
 Tney also pay a respect to such as are in 
 vears ; nor are they so bold as to contradict 
 tlipui in any thing which tliey have introduc- 
 ed ; and, when they determine that all things 
 are done by fate, they do not take away the 
 freedom from men 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 tiiat the will of men can 
 act virtuously or viciously. They also be- 
 lieve 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 detained in an ever- 
 lasting 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 what- 
 soever they do about divine worship, prayers, 
 and sacrifices, 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. 
 
 4. But the doctrine of the Sadducees is 
 this : That souls die with the bodies ; nor do 
 they regard the observation of any thing be- 
 sides what the law enjoins them ; for they 
 
 • Sec the previous Note. 
 
 BOOK XVIl 
 
 think it an instance of virtue to dispute with 
 those teachers of philosophy whom they fre- 
 quent ; but this doctrine is received but by a 
 few, yet by those still of the greatest dignity ; 
 but they are able to do almost nothing of 
 themselves ; for when they become magis- 
 trates, as they are unwillingly and by force 
 sometimes obliged to be, they addict them- 
 selves to the notions of the Pharisees, be- 
 cause the multitude i\'ould not otherwise bear 
 them, 
 
 5. The doctrine of the Essens 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 offer sacrifices,! because 
 they have more pure lustrations of their own; 
 on which account they are excluded from the 
 common court of the temple, but offer their 
 sacrifices themselves ; yet is their course of 
 life better than that of other men ; and they 
 entirely addict themselves to husbandry. 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 degree, that as it hath never appear- 
 ed among any other men, neitlier Greeks nor 
 barbarians, no, not for a little time, so hath it 
 endured a long while 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 four thousand 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 receive 
 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 Essens in their 
 way of living, but do the most resemble those 
 Dacae who are called Polisl^e^ [dwellers in 
 cities.] 
 
 6. But of the fourth sect of Jewish philO' 
 
 t It seems by wtiat Josephus says here, and Philo 
 himself elsewhere (Op. p. 679), that these Essens did not 
 use to go to the Jewish festivals at Jerusalem, or to of- 
 fer sacrifices there, which may be one great occasion 
 why thsy are never mentioned in the ordinary books ot 
 the New Testament ; though, in the Apostolical C'on- 
 stitutions, they are mentioned as those that observed the 
 customs of their forefathers, and that without any such 
 ill character laid upon them as is there laid upon the 
 other sects among that people. 
 
 t Who these UnkKrjxi in Jnsephus, oi Krirrxi in 
 Strabo, among the Pylhagoric Uacfe were, it is not easy 
 to determine. Scaligcr offers no imjirobable conjecture, 
 that some of these Daoe lived alone, like monks, in 
 tents or caves ; but that others of them lived togethei 
 in built cities, and thence were called by such names a< 
 implied tlic same 
 
 "V 
 
JJMAP, II. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 485 
 
 sophy, Judas the Galilean was the author. 
 These men agree in all other things with the 
 Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable 
 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 in- 
 deed do they heed the deaths of their relations 
 and friends, nor can any such fear make 
 them call any man Lord ; and since this im- 
 moveable resolution of theirs is well known 
 to a great many, 1 shall speak no farther 
 about that matter ; nor am I afraid that any 
 tiling I have said of them should he disbeliev- 
 ed, 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, wlio was our procurator, and 
 who occasioned the Jews to go wild with it 
 by the abuse of his authority, and to make 
 tliem revolt from the Romans ; and these are 
 the sects of Jewish philosophy. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 HOW HEROD AND PHILIP BUILT SEVERAL CITIES 
 IN HONOUR or C^:SAR. CONCERNING THE 
 SUCCESSION OF PRIESTS AND PROCURATORS ; 
 AS ALSO WHAT BEreLL PHKAATES AND THE 
 PARTUIANS. 
 
 § 1. When Cyrennius had now disposed of 
 Archelaus's money, and when the taxings 
 were come to a conclusion, which were made in 
 the thirty-seventh year of Cassar's victory over 
 Antony at Actium, he deprived Joazar of the 
 high-priesthood, which dignity had heen con- 
 ferred on him by the multitude, and he ap- 
 pointed Ananus, the son of Seth, to be high- 
 pr'est ; while Herod and Philip had each of 
 them received their own tetrarchy, and settled 
 the aifairs 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 Betha- 
 ramphtha, which was itself a city also, and 
 called it Julias, from the name of the empe- 
 ror's wife. When Philip, also, had built Pa- 
 neas, a city, at the fountains of Jordan, he 
 named it Cesarea. He also advanced the vil- 
 lage Bethsaida, situate at the sake of Gennes- 
 areth, unto the dignity of a ciiy, 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 daughter. 
 2. As Coponius, who we told you was sent 
 along with Cyrenias, was exercising his office 
 of procurator, and governing Judea, the fol- 
 lowing accidents happened. As the Jews 
 were celebrating the feast of unleavened 
 bread, which we call the Passover, it was 
 customary for the priests to open the temple- 
 gates just after midnight. Wheny 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 after- 
 ward excluded them out of the temple, which 
 they had not used to do at such festivals ; and 
 on other accounts also they watched the tem- 
 ple more carefully than they had formerly 
 done. A little after which accident, Copo- 
 nius returned to Rome, and Marcus Ambi- 
 vius came to be his successor in that govern- 
 ment ; under whom Salome, the sister of king 
 Herod, died, and left to Julia [Ca;sar's wife], 
 Jamnia, all its toparchy, and Pliasaelis in the 
 plain, and Archelaus, where is a great planta- 
 tion of palm-trees, and their fruit is excellent 
 in its kind. After him came Annius Rufus, 
 under whom died Caesar, the second emperor 
 of the Romans, the duration of whose reign 
 was fifty-seven years, besides six months and 
 two days (of which time Antonius ruled to- 
 gether with him fourteen years; but the du- 
 ration of his life was seventy-seven years) ; 
 upon whose death Tiberius Nero, his wife 
 Julia's son, succeeded. He was now the 
 third emperor; and he sent Valerius Gratus 
 to be procurator of Judea, and to succeed 
 Annius Rufus. This man deprived Ananus 
 of the high-priesthood, and appointed Ismael, 
 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-priest 
 hood to Simon, the son of Camithus ; and^ 
 when he had possessed 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 
 Pilate came as his successor. 
 
 3. And now Herod the tetrarch, who was 
 in great favour with Tiberius, built a city of 
 tlie same name with him, and called.it Tibe- 
 rias. 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 in 
 habited this city; a great number of the in 
 habitants were Galileans also; and many 
 were necessitated by Herod to come thither 
 out of the country belonging to him, and were 
 by force compelled to be its inhabitants ; some 
 of them were persons of condition. He also 
 admitted 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 giv- 
 ing them land also ; for he was sensible, that 
 to make this place a habitation was to trans- 
 gresi the Jewish ancient laws, because many 
 
J-~ 
 
 486 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVHI 
 
 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.-}- 
 
 4. About this time died Phraates, king of 
 the Parthians, by the treachery of Phraataces 
 his son, upon the occasion following : — Wlwn 
 Phraates had had legitimate sons of his own, he 
 had also an Italian maid-servant, whose name 
 was Thermusa, who had been formerly sent to 
 him by Julius Ca2sar, among other presents. 
 He fVrst made her his concubine ; but he be- 
 ing a great admirer of her beauty, in process 
 of time having a son by her, whose name vvas 
 Phraataces, he made her his legitimate wife, 
 and had a great respect for her. Now, she 
 was able to persuade him to do any thing that 
 she said, and was earnest in procuring the 
 government of Parthia for her son ; but still 
 she saw that her endeavours would not suc- 
 ceed, unless she could contrive how to remove 
 Phraates's legitimate sous [out of the king- 
 dom] ; so she persuaded him to send those liis 
 sons as pledges of his fidelity to Home; and 
 they were sent to Rome accordingly, because 
 it was not easy for him to contradict her com- 
 mands. Now. while Phraataces was alone 
 brought up in order to succeed in the govern- 
 ment, 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 as- 
 sistance, 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 his mother to 
 be no way inferior to his parricide; and he 
 was by them, in a sedition, 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 governed without a king, while also 
 it was their constant practice to clioose 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 witli 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 conspiracy 
 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 
 
 * We may here take notice, as well as in the parallel 
 paits of the books Of the War, b. ii, cli. ix, sect. I, that 
 aftijr the death of Herod the Great, and the succession 
 of Archelaus, Josephus is very brief in his accounts of 
 Judea, till near his own time. I suppose the reason is, 
 th at after the large history of N jcolaus of Damascus, in- 
 cluding the hfe of Herod, and probably the succession 
 and Hrst actions of his sons, he had but few good histories 
 of those times before him. t Num. xix> 11—14. 
 
 general rep<>rt is, they slew him when they 
 had drawn him out a-hunting. So they sent 
 ambassadors to Rome, and desired they would 
 send one of those that were there as pledges, 
 to be their king. Accordingly, Vononeswas 
 preferred before the rest, and sent to tliem 
 (for he seemed capable oi such great fortune, 
 which two of the greatest kingdoms under 
 the sun now ofl'ercd him, his own and a 
 foreign one). However, the barbarians soon 
 changed tht^ir minds, they being naturally of 
 a mutable disposition, upon the supposal that 
 this man was not worthy to l>e their governor ; 
 for they could not think of obeying the com- 
 mands 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 riglit of war, but in time 
 of peace. So they presently invited Artaba- 
 nus, king of Media, to bo their king, he be- 
 ing 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 tlie mountains of Media. Yet 
 did he a little after gather a great army to- 
 getlier, and fought with Vonones, and beat 
 him ; whereupon Vonones fled away on horse- 
 back, with a few of his attendants about him, 
 to Selucia [upon Tigris]. So when Artaba- 
 nus 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 Ar- 
 menia ; and as soon as he came tliither, he 
 had an inclination to have the government of 
 the country given him, and sent ambassadors 
 to Rome [for tliat purpose]. But because 
 Tiberius refused it him, and because he want- 
 ed courage, and because the Parthian king 
 threatened him, and sent ambassadors to him 
 to denounce war against him if ht proceeded, 
 and because he 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 delivered up 
 himself to Silanus, the president 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. 
 
 5. At this time died Antiochus, the king of 
 Commagene ; whereupon tlie multitude con- 
 tended with the nobility, and both sent am- 
 bassadors [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 multitude desirous to 
 be under kings, as their fathers had been. So 
 the senate made a decree, tliat Germanicus 
 
 .r 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 should be sent to settle the affairs of the east, 
 fortune hereby taking a proper opportunity 
 for depriving 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 hiai, as hath been related else- 
 where. • 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SEDITION OF THE JEWS AGAINST PONTIUS PI- 
 LATE ; CONCERNING CHRIST, AND WHAT BE- 
 FELL PAULINA AND THE JEWS AT ROJIE. 
 
 § 1. But now Pilate, the procurator of Ju- 
 dea, removed the army from Cesarea to Jeru- 
 salem, to take their winter-quarters there, in 
 order to abolish the Jewish laws. So he in- 
 troduced 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 account the former pro- 
 curators were wont to make their entry into 
 the city with such ensigns as had not those 
 ornaraeiUs. Pilate was the first who brought 
 those images to Jerusalem, and set them up 
 there j which was done without the knowledge 
 of the people, because it was done in the 
 night-time ; but as soon as they knew it, they 
 came in multitudes to Cesarea, and interced- 
 ed with Pilate many days, that he would re- 
 move the images ; and when he would not 
 grant their requests, because it would lend to 
 the injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered 
 in their request, on the sixth day he 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 tlie 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 
 tlireatened 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 willing- 
 ly, 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 command- 
 ed the images to be carried back from Jeru- 
 salem to Cesarea. 
 
 2. But Pilate undertook to bring a current 
 of water to Jerusalem, and did it with the 
 sacred money, and derived the origin of the 
 stream from the distance of two hundred fur- 
 longs. However, the Jewsf were not pleased 
 
 » This citation is now wanting. 
 
 f These Jews, as they are here called, whose blood 
 Pilate shed on this occasion, may very well be those 
 very Galilean .lews, " whose blood Pilate had mingled 
 with tlieir sacrifices" (I uke xiiL 1, 2) : these tumulu 
 
 487 
 
 with what had been done about this water ; 
 and many ten thousands of the people got 
 together, and made a clamour against him, 
 and insisted that he should leave off that de- 
 sign. Some of them also used reproaches, 
 and abused the man, as crowds of such peo- 
 ple 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 com- 
 manded 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. 
 
 3. 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 amongst us, 
 had condemned him to the cross, | those that 
 loved him at the first did not forsake him, foi 
 he appeared to them aKve again the third day,|| 
 as the divine prophets had foretold these and 
 ten thousand other wonderful things concern- 
 ing him ; and the tribe of Christians, so nam- 
 ed from him, are not extinct at this day. 
 
 4. About tlie same time also another sad ca- 
 lamity put the Jews into disorder; and certain 
 shameful practices happened about the tem- 
 ple of Isis that was at Rome. I will now 
 first take notice of the wicked attempt about 
 the temple of Isis, and will then give an ac- 
 count of the Jewish affairs. Tliere was at 
 Rome a woman whose name was Paulina; 
 
 being usually excited at some o( the Jews' great festi 
 vals, when they slew abundance of s icrifices, and the 
 Galileans being commonly much more busy in such tu- 
 mulu than those of Judea and Jerusalem, as we learn 
 from the History of Archelaus (Antiq. b. xvii, ch. ix, 
 sect. 5 ; and ch. x, sect, 2, 9) ; though indeed, Jose- 
 phus's present copies say not one word of " those eigh- 
 teen upon whom the tower iu Siloam fell, and slew 
 them," which the 4th verse of the same 13th chapter 
 of St. Luke informs us of : but since our Gospel teaches 
 us (Luke xxiii, 6, 7), that " when Pilate heard of Ga- 
 lilee, he asked whether Jesus were a Galilean .' And as 
 soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdic- 
 tion, he sent him to Herod ;" and (ver. 12) " tfie same 
 day Pilate and Herod were made friends together ; for be- 
 fore, they had been at enmity between themselves ;" take 
 the very probable key of this matter in the words of the 
 learned Noldius, de Herod. No. 249. " The cause of 
 the enmity between Herod and Pilate (says he) seems 
 to have been this, that Pilate had interraed(iled with the 
 tetrarch's jurisdiction, and had slain some of his Gali- 
 lean subjects ;Luke xiii, 1) ; and, as he was willing to 
 correct that error, he sent Christ to Herod at this time." 
 
 t A. D. 5.3, April 5. 
 
 II April 5. 
 
-\ 
 
 4B8 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 one who, on account of the dignit)' of her an- 
 cestors, and by the regular conduct of a vir- 
 tuous life, had a great reputation : she was 
 also very rich ; and although she was of a 
 beautiful countenance, and in tliat flower of 
 her age wherein women are tlie 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 excellent charac- 
 ter. Decius Mundus fell in love with this 
 woman, who was a man very high in the e- 
 questrian order; and as she was of too great 
 dignity to be caught by presents, and had al- 
 ready rejected them, tliough they had been 
 sent in great abundance, he was still more in- 
 flamed with love to her, insomuch that he 
 promised to give her two hundred thousand 
 Attic drachmas for one night's lodging; and 
 when this would not prevail upon lier, and he 
 was not able to bear this misfortune in his 
 amours, he tlic ught it the best way to famish , 
 himself to death for want of food, on account 
 of Paulina's sad refusal ; and he deteruiineti 
 with himself to die after such a manner, and 
 he went on with his purpose accordingly. 
 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 resolution 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 
 liim to hope, by some promises she gave him, 
 that he might obtain a night's lodging with 
 Paulina; and when he joyfully hearkened to 
 lier entreaty, she said she wanted no more 
 than fifty thousand drachmae for the entrap- 
 ping of the woman. So when she had en- 
 couraged tlie young man, and gotten as much 
 money as she required, she did not take the 
 same methods as had been taken before, be- 
 cause she perceived that the woman was by 
 110 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 assur- 
 ances [of concealment], she persuaded them 
 by words, but chiefly by the offer of money, 
 of twenty -five thousand drachma? in hand, and 
 as much more when the thing had taken ef- 
 fect; and told them the passion of the young 
 ] man, and persuaded them to use all means 
 ' ])ossible to beguile the woman. So they were 
 I drawn in to promise so to do, by that large 
 j sum of gold they were to have. According- 
 ly, the oldest of them went immediately to 
 Paulina; and upon his admittance, he desired 
 to s] eajt with her by herself. When that was 
 granted him, he told her that he was sent by 
 tlie god Anubis, who was fallen in love with 
 tier, and enjoined her to come to him. Upon 
 this she took the message very kindly, and 
 valued lierself greatly u^Jon this condescen- 
 
 DOOK XMTl. 
 
 sion 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 ac- 
 ceptance of the offer, as fully satisfied with 
 the chastity of his wife. Accordingly, she 
 went to the temple; and after she had supped 
 there, and it was the hoiu- to go to sleep, the 
 priest shut Uie 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, 
 39 supposing he was the god ; antl when- he 
 was gone away, which was before those prJests 
 who knew nothing of this stratagem were stir- 
 ring, Paulina came early to her husband, and 
 told him how the god Aiuibis had appeared 
 to her. Among her friends also she declared 
 how great a value she put upon this favour, 
 who partly disbelieved the tiling, when they 
 reflected on its nature, and partly were amaz- 
 ed at it, as having no pretence for not believ- 
 ing it, when they considered the modesty and 
 the dignity of the person ; but now, on the 
 third day after \\hat had been done, Mundus 
 met Paulina, and said, " Nay, Paulina, thou 
 hast saved me two hundred tliousand drachm;e, 
 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 Mun- 
 dus, I value not tlte business of names ; but 
 I rejoice in the pleasure I reaped by what I 
 did, while I took to myself the nameof Anu- 
 bis. " When he had said this, he went his 
 way : but now she began to come to the sense 
 of the grossness 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 he discovered the fact to the 
 emperor ; whereupon Tiberius inquired into 
 the matter thoroughly, by examining the 
 priests about it, and ordered them to be cru- 
 cified, 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 tint her statue should be 
 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 con- 
 cerned the temple of Isis, and the injuries oc- 
 casioned 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. 
 
 .5. There was a man who was a Jew, but 
 had been driven away from his own country 
 by an accusation laid against him for trans- 
 gressing their laws, and by the fear he was 
 under of punishment for the same; but in all 
 respects a witked man ; — he then liviuij at 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP. IV 
 
 Rome, proresseJ to instruct men in the wis- 
 dom of the laws of Moses. He procured 
 also three other men, entirely of the same 
 character witli himself, to he his partners. 
 These men persuaded Fulvia, a woman of 
 great dignity, and one that liad embraced the 
 Jewish religion, 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 them- 
 selves ; on which account it was that they 
 at first required it of her. Wliereupon Ti- 
 berius, who had been informed of the thing 
 by Saturninus, the husband of Fulvia, who 
 desired inquiry might be made about it, or- 
 dered all the Jews to be banished out of 
 Rome ; at which time the consuls listed four 
 thousand men out of them, and sent them to 
 the island Sardinia ; but punished a greater 
 number of tiiem, who were unwilling to be- 
 come soldiers on accoutit of keeping the laws 
 of their forefathers.* Thus were these Jews 
 banished out of the city by the wickedness of 
 four men. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 489 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW THE SAMAKITANS MADE A TUMULT, AND 
 PILATE DESTROYED MANY OF THEM ; HOW 
 PILATE WAS ACCUSED, AND WHAT THINGS 
 WERE DONE BY VITELLIUS RELATING TO THE 
 JEWS AND THE PARTHIANS. 
 
 § 1. But the nation of the Samaritans did 
 not escape without tumults. The man who 
 excited them to it, was one who thought ly- 
 ing a thing of little consequence, and who 
 contrived every thing so, tliat the multitude , 
 might be pleased ; so he bade them get to- ! 
 getlier upon Mount Gerizzim, which is by | 
 Uiem looked upon as the most holy of all I 
 mountains, and assured them that, when they 
 were come thither, he would show them those ' 
 sacred vessels which were laid under that i 
 place, because Moses put them there. f So 
 
 * Of the banLshment of these four thousand Jews in- 
 to Sardiuia by Tiberius, see Suetonius in Tiber, sect. I 
 56. Hul as for Mr. Reland's note here, which supposes 
 that Jews could not, consistenily with their laws, be 
 soldiers, it is contradicted by one branch of the history 
 before us, and contrary to" innumerable instances of 
 their fighting, and proving excellent soldiers in war ; 
 ajid indeed many of the best of them, and even under 
 heathen kings tlKuiselves, did so; those, 1 mean, who 
 allowed them their rest on the Sabbath-day, and other 
 solemn festivals, and let them live according to their 
 own laws, as Alexander tlie Great and the Ptolemies of 
 Egypt did. It is tr\ie, they could not always obtain 
 those privileges, and then they got excused as well as 
 they could, or sometimes .ibsolutely refused to fight, 
 which seems to h3\ e been the case here, as to the major 
 part of the Jews now banished, but nothing more. See 
 several of the Roman decrees in tlieir favour as to such 
 matters, b. xiv, ch. x, 
 
 t Since Moses never came himself beyond Jordan, 
 nor particularly to Mount Gerizzim, and snice these Sa- 
 maritans liave a tradition among them, related liere by 
 Dr. Hudson, from Reland, who was very skilful in 
 Jewish and Samaritan learning, that iu the days of Uzzi 
 or Ozis the high-priest (1 CUron. vi, 6J. th^ark and 
 
 they came thither armed, and thought the dis. 
 course 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 jjrevented 
 their going up, by seizing ujjon the roads 
 with a great band of horsemen and footmen, 
 who fell upon those that were gotten toge- 
 ther in the village; and when they came to 
 an action, some of them they slew, and others 
 of them they put to fliglit, and took a great 
 many alive, the principal of wiiom, and also 
 the inost potent of those that Hed away, Pi- 
 late ordered to be slain. 
 
 2. But when this tunmlt was appeased, 
 the Samaritan senate sent an embassy to 
 Vitellius, a man that had been consul, and 
 who was now president of Syria, and accused 
 Pilate of the murder of those that were killed ; 
 for that they did not go to Tiratliaba in order 
 to revolt from the Romans, but to escape the 
 violence of Pilate. So Vitellius sent Marcel- 
 lus, a friend of his, to take care of the affairs 
 of Judea, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome, 
 to answer before the emperor to the accusation 
 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. 
 
 3, But Vitellius came into Judea, and 
 went up to Jerusalem ; it was at the time ot 
 that festival which is called the Passover. 
 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 tliem 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, al- 
 though at this time they were laid up in the 
 tower of Antonia, the citadel so called, and 
 that on the occasion following : — There was 
 one of the [high J priests, named Hyrcanus, 
 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 ge- 
 nerally 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 
 reposited 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 He- 
 rod came to be king, he rebuilt this tower, 
 which was very conveniently situated, in a 
 magnificent manner ; and because he was a 
 friend to Antonius, he called it by the name 
 
 other sacred vessels were, by God's command, laid up 
 or hidden in Mount Gerizzim, it is highly piobablethat 
 this was the foolish foundation the present Samaritans 
 went upon, in the sedition here describe<l, and that we 
 should read here Q.criui, instead of iliuunoit, ai tht text 
 of Josei>Uus. 
 
490 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVIH 
 of Antonia; and as he found these vestments nus's father's kinsmen and friends, that he 
 
 lying there, he retained them in the same place, 
 as believing that, wliile he had them in his 
 custody, the people would make no innova- 
 tions against him. The like to what Herod 
 did was done by his pon Archelaus, who was 
 made king after him ; after whom the Ro- 
 mans, when they entered on the government, 
 took possession of these vestments of the high- 
 priest, and had them reposited 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 deliver- 
 ed to them by the captain of the guard, when 
 the high-priest having purified them, and 
 made use of tliem, laid them up again in the 
 same chamber where they had been laid up 
 befo)'e, and this the very next day after the 
 feast was over. This was the practice at the 
 three yearly festivals, and on the fast-day ; 
 but Vitellius put those garments into our own 
 power, as in the days of our forefathers, 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 Caiphas, 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. 
 
 4. Moreover, Tiberius sent a letter to Vi- 
 tellius, and commanded him to make a league 
 of friendship with Artabanus, the king of 
 Parthia ; for, vvhfle he was his enemy, he ter- 
 rified him, because he had taken Armenia 
 away from him, lest he should proceed farther, 
 and told him he should no otherwise trust 
 him than upon his giving him hostages, and es- 
 pecially 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 Artaba- 
 nus; and although they would not do it them- 
 selves, yet did they give the Scythians a pas- 
 sage through their country, and opened the 
 
 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, be- 
 cause it was laid by the principal men, and 
 those a great many in number, and that it 
 would certainly take effect, — when he had es- 
 timated the number of those that were truly 
 faithful to him, as also of those who were al- 
 ready corrupted, but were deceitful in the 
 kindness they professed to him, and were 
 likely, upon trial, to go over to his enemies, 
 he made his escape to the upper provinces 
 where he afterwards raised a great army ou 
 of the Dallas and Saca, and fought with his 
 enemies, and retained his principality. 
 
 5. When Tiiierius had heard of these things, 
 he desired to have a league of friendship made 
 between him and Artabanus ; and when, up- 
 on this invitation, he received the proposal 
 kindly, Artabanus and Vitellius went to Eu- 
 phrates, and as a bridge was laid over the ri- 
 ver, 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 
 tetrarch erected a rich tent on the midst of 
 the passage, and made them a feast there. 
 Artabanus also, not long afterwards, 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 his tallness, was called a 
 giant. After which Vitellius went to An- 
 tioch, and Artabanus to Babylon ; but He- 
 rod [the tetrarch], being desirous to give Caj- 
 sar the first information that they had obtain- 
 ed hostages, sent posts with letters, wherein he 
 had accurately described all the particulars, 
 and had left nothing for the consular Vitellius 
 to inform him of. But when Vitellius's letters 
 were sent, and Csesar had let him know that he 
 was acquainted with the affairs already, because 
 Herod had given him an account of them be- 
 fore, Vitellius was very much troubled at it ; 
 and supposing that he had been thereby a 
 reater sufferer than he really was, he kept 
 
 Caspian gates to them, and brought them up- ' up a secret anger upon this occasion, till he 
 on Artabanus. So Armenia was again taken ' could be revenged on him ; which he was af- 
 from the Parthians, and (he country of Par- ter Caius had taken the government, 
 thia was filled with war, and the principal of I 6. About this time it was that Philip, He- 
 their men were slain, and all things were in [rod's brother, departed this life, in the twen- 
 disorder among them : the king's son also ^ tieth year of the reign of Tiberius,-|- after he 
 himself fell in these wars, together wilh many [ had been tetrarch of Trachonitis, and Gaulo- 
 ten thousands of his army. Vitellius had al- | nitis, and of the nation of the Bataneans al- 
 so sent such great sums of money to Artaba- 
 
 • This mention of the high-priest's sacred garments 
 received seven days before a festival, and purified in 
 those days against a festival, as having been jioUuted by 
 being in the custody of heathens, in Joscnhus, agrees 
 with the traditions of the Tahiiudists, as Ueland here 
 observes. Nor is there any question but the three feasts 
 here mentioned, were the Passover, Pentecost, and 
 Feast of Tabern;icles ; and the Fast, so called by way of 
 distinction (as Acts xxvii. y), was the great dayof expia- 
 kioii. 
 
 t This calculation, from all Josephus's Greek copies, 
 is exactly right; for since He:od died about .Septem- 
 ber, in the tourth year before the Christian aera, and 
 Tiberius began, as is well known, Aug 19, A. D. 11, it 
 is evident that the 37th year of Philip, reckoned from 
 his father's death, was the i;Oth of Tiberius, or near the 
 end of A. D. 35 (the very year of our Saviour's death al- 
 so), or, however, in the beginning of the next year, a. 
 B. 54. This Philip the tetrarch seems to ha\ e been the 
 best of all the posterity of Herod, for his love of peace 
 I and his love of justice. 
 
 "V 
 
 y 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 491 
 
 So, thirty -seven years. He had shown him- 
 self a person of moderation and quietness in 
 the conduct of his life and government j he 
 constantly lived in that country which was 
 subject to him ;* he used to make his pro- 
 gress 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 imme- 
 diately, wheresoever he happened to be, and 
 sat down upon it, and heard his complaint : 
 he there ordered the guilty that were convict- 
 ed to be punished, and absolved those that 
 had been accused unjustly. He died at Ju- 
 lias ; and when he was carried to that monu- 
 ment which he had already erected for him- 
 self beforehand, he was buried with great 
 pomp. His principality Tiberius took (for 
 he left no sons behind him) and added it to 
 the province of Syria, but gave orckr that the 
 tributes which arose from it should be col- 
 lected, and laid up in his tetrarchy. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HEROD THE TETRARCH MAKES WAR WITH ARE- 
 TAS, THE KING OF ARABIA, AND IS BEATEN 
 BY HIM ; AS ALSO CONCERNING THE DEATH 
 OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. HOW VITELLIUS 
 WENT UP TO JERUSALEM ; TOGETHER WITH 
 SOME ACCOUNT OF AGRIPPA, AND OF THE 
 POSTERITY OF HEROD THE GREAT. 
 
 § 1. About this time Aretas (the king of 
 Arabia Petrea) and Herod had a quarrel, on 
 the account following : Herod the tetrarch 
 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, f 
 wlio 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 He- 
 rod's wife, wLo was the daughter of Aristo- 
 bulus 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 habitation, and 
 
 » An excellent example this ! 
 
 ■f This Herod seems to have had the additional name 
 of Philip, as Antipas was nametl Herod- Autipas : and as 
 Antipas and Antipater seem to be in a manner the very- 
 same name, yet were the names of two sons of Herocl 
 the Great; so might Philip tne tetrarch and this Herod- 
 Philip be two difterent sons of the same father; all 
 which Grotius observes on Matt, xiv, 5. Nor was it, as 
 I agree with Grotius and others of the learned, Philip 
 the tetrarch, but this Herod-Philip, whose wife Herod 
 the tetrarch had married, and that in her first husband's 
 life-time, and when her first husband had issue by her ; 
 for which adulterous and incestuous marriage, John the 
 Baptist justly reproved Herod the tetrarch ; and for 
 which reproof Salome, the daughter of Herodias by 
 her iirst husband Herod-Philip, who was still ahve, oc- 
 casioned him to be uiviustly beheaded. 
 
 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 
 tliis agreement, sailed to Rome ; but when 
 he had done there the business he went about, 
 and was returned again, his wife having dis- 
 covered the agreement he had made with He- 
 rodias, 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 in- 
 forming him of any of her intentions. Ac- 
 cordingly Herod sent her thither, as thinking 
 his wife had not perceived anything; now 
 she had sent a good while before to Mache- 
 rus, 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 to another succes- 
 sively ; and she soon came to her father, and 
 told him of Herod's intentions. So Aretas 
 made this the first occasion of his enmity be 
 tween him and Herod, who had also some 
 quarrel with him about their limits at the 
 country of Gamalitis. So they raised armies 
 on botli sides, and prepared for war, and sent 
 their generals to fight instead of themselves ; 
 and, when they had joined battle, all Herod'3 
 army was destroyed by the treachery of some 
 fugitives, wlio, though they were of the te- 
 trarchy of Philip, joined with Aretas's army. 
 So Herod wrote about these affairs to Tibe- 
 rius ; who, being very angry at the attempt 
 made by Aretas, wrote to Vitellius, 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 Tiberius gave to the president of 
 Syria. 
 
 2. Now, some of the Jews thought that 
 the destruction of Herod's army came from 
 God, and that very justly, as a punishment 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 righteousuess towards one 
 another, and piety towards God, and so to 
 come to baptism ; 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 purified 
 beforehand by righteousness. Now, when 
 [many] others came in crowds about him, for 
 they were greatly moved [or pleased] by hear- 
 ing his words, Herod, who feared lest the 
 great influence John had over tl;e people 
 might put it into his power and inclmation to 
 raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do 
 any thing he should advise), thought it best, by 
 
 -V. 
 
 _r 
 
-\. 
 
 492 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVJIl 
 
 putting him to death, to prevent any mis- is a demonstration of the interposition of Pro- 
 chief he might cause, and not bring 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 suspicious temper, to Mache- 
 rus, 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 a punishment upon Herod, and a 
 mark of God's displeasure against him. 
 
 3. So Vitellius prepared to make war with 
 Aretas, having with him two legions of armed 
 men ; he also took witii him all those of light 
 armature, and of the horsemen which belong- 
 ed 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 princi- 
 pal men met him, and desired that he would 
 not thus march through their land ; for that 
 the laws* of their country would not permit 
 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 resolu-- 
 tion of his, which he had before taken in this 
 matter. Whereupon he ordered the army to 
 march along the Great Plain, while he him- 
 self, 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 
 tliere, and been honourably entertained by tlie 
 multitude of the Jews, he made a stay there 
 for three days, within which time he deprived 
 Jonathan ol' the high-priesthood, and gave it 
 to his brother Tlitophilus ; but when on the 
 fourth day letters came to him, which inform- 
 ed 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 win- 
 ter-quarters there, since, upon the devolution 
 of the empire upon Caius, lie had not the like 
 authority of making this war which he had 
 before. It was also reported, that when Are>- 
 tas heard of the coming of Vitellius to fight 
 him, he said, upon his consulting the diviners, 
 that it was impossible that this army of Vilel- 
 lius's could enter Petra; ibr that one of the 
 rulers would die, either he that gave orders 
 for the war, or he that was marching at the 
 other's desire, in order to be subservient to 
 his will, or else he against whom this army is 
 prepared. So Vitellius truly retired to An-- 
 tioch ; but Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus, 
 went up to Rome, a year before the deatli of 
 Tiberius, in order to treat of some afl'airs with 
 the emperor, if he might be permitted so to 
 do. 1 have now a mind to describe Herod 
 and his family, how it fared with them, partly 
 because it is suitable to this history to speak 
 
 of tliat matter, and partly because this tiiingj heini informi us. 
 
 vidence ; 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 towards 
 God ; for it hap})ened, that within the revolu- 
 tion of a hundred years, the posterity of He- 
 rod, who were a great many in number, were, 
 excepting a few, utterly destroyed.* One 
 may well apply this for tlio instruction of 
 mankind, and learn thence how unhappy they 
 were : it will also show us the history of A- 
 grippa, 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, advanced to great power and au- 
 thority. I have said something of them for- 
 merly ; but I shall now also speak accurately 
 about them. 
 
 4. Herod the Great had two daughters by 
 ]\Iariamne, 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 Cypres, who was herself married 
 also to her first cousin Antipatcr, the son of 
 Salome, Herod's sister. Phasaeleus had five 
 children by Salampsio ; Antipater, Herod, anf" 
 Alexander, and two daughters, Alexandra 
 and Cypros; which last, Agrippa, the son of 
 Aristobulus, married; and Timius of Cyprus 
 married 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, ftlariamne^ 
 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 He- 
 rod the Great by Bernice ; but Bernice was 
 the daughter of Costobarus and of Salome, 
 who was Herod's sister. Aristobulus left 
 tliese infants when he was slain by liis father, 
 together with his brother Alexander, as we 
 have already related ; but when they were ar- 
 rived at the years of puberty, this Herod, the 
 brother of Agrippa, married 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 by her a son, Aristo))ulus ; but Aris- 
 tobulus, the third brother of Agrijipa, married 
 Jotape, the daughter of Sampsigeramus, king 
 of Emesa;! they had a daughter who was 
 
 • Whether Uiis siiilden exthiction of almost the entire 
 lineage of Herod Uie Great, which was very iiumeious, 
 as we are bolh here and in the next section informed, 
 was not in part as a punishment for the gross incests 
 they were frequently guilty of, in marrjing their own 
 nephews and nieces, well deser\es to be considered. See 
 Le\it. xviii, 6, 7; xxi, 10; and Noldius, De Herod. 
 No. 209, 270. 
 
 f I heie are coins still extant of this Emesa, m Span- 
 
 -V 
 
CHAf». VI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 493 
 
 deaf, whose name also was Jotape ; and these 
 hitherto were the children of the male line ; 
 but Herodias, their sister, was married to He- 
 rod [Pliilipl, the son of Herod the Great, who 
 was born of Mariamne, the daughter of Si- 
 mon the high-priest, who Iiad a daughter, Sa- 
 lome ; after whose birth Herodias took upon 
 her to confound tiie laws of our country, and 
 divorce herself from her husband while he 
 was alive, and was married to Herod [Anti- 
 pas], her husband's brother by the father'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 Antipater 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 bro- 
 thers of Antipater, died cliildless. As to 
 Alexander, the son of Herod the king, who 
 was slain by his father, he had two sons, Alex- 
 ander and Tigranes, by the daughter of Arche- 
 laus, king of Cappadocia. 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 
 Armenia by Nero ; he had a son, Alexander, 
 who inarried Jotape,* the daughter of An- 
 tiochus, the king of Commagena ; Vespasian 
 made him king of an island in Cilicia. But 
 these descendants of Alexander, soon after 
 their birth, deserted the Jewisii religion, and 
 went over to that of the Gr<>eks ; but for the 
 rest of the daughters of Herod the king, it 
 happened that they died childless ; and as 
 these descendants of Herod, whom we have 
 enumerated, were in being at the same time 
 that Agrippa the Great took the kingdom, 
 and I have now given an account of them, it 
 now remains that I relate the several hard 
 fortunes which befell Agrippa, and how he 
 got clear of them, and war. advanced to the 
 greatest height of dignity and power. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OF THE NAVIGATION OF KING AGRIPPA TO 
 ROME, TO TIBERIUS CESAR ; AND HOW, UP- 
 ON HIS BEING ACCUSED BY HIS OWN FREED- 
 MAN, HE WAS BOUND ; HOW ALSO HE WAS 
 SET AT LIBERTY BY CAIUS, AFTER TIBERI- 
 US'S DEATH, AND WAS MADE KING OF THE 
 TETRARCHY OF PHILIP. 
 
 § I. A LITTLE before the death of Herod the 
 king, Agrippa lived at Rome, and was gene- 
 
 • Spanlieiin also infonns us of a coin still extant of 
 this Jtitape, daughter of the kiiig of Commagena 
 
 rally brought up and convorsed 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 ad-. 
 vancing her son. Now, as Agrippa was bj 
 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 immo- 
 derate presents lie 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 for- 
 bade 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. 
 
 2. For these reasons he went away from 
 Rome and sailed to Judea, but in evil cir- 
 cimistances, 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 retired to a certain tower 
 at Malatha, in Idumea, and had thoughts 
 of killing himself ; but his wife Cypros per. 
 ceived his intentions, and tried all sorts of 
 methods to divert him from his taking such a 
 course: so she sent a letter to hu sister He- 
 rodias, 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, 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, although she had not the like 
 wealth to do it withal. So they sent for 
 him, and allotted him Tiberias for his habita- 
 tion, and appointed him some income of mo- 
 ney 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, tliough 
 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 thouglit that vvas not to 
 be borne, while Herod hit him in the teeth 
 with his poverty, and with his owing his ne- 
 cessary food to him. So he went to Flaccus, 
 one that had been consul, and had been a ve- 
 ry great friend to him at Rome formerly, 
 and was now president of Syria. 
 
 3. Hereupon Flaccus received him kindly, 
 and he lived with him. Flaccus had also 
 with him ttiere Aristobulus, who was indeed 
 
J- 
 
 494 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Agrippa's brother, but was at variance 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 Damascens were at difference with the 
 Sidonians about their limits, and when Flac- 
 cus 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 promised him a great deal of money ; 
 so he was zealous in assisting tlie Damascens 
 as far as he was able. Now, Aristobulus had 
 gotten intelligence of this promise of money 
 to him, and accused him to Flaccus of the 
 same ; and when, upon a thorough examina- 
 tion of the matter, it appeared plainly so to 
 be, he rejected Agrippa out of tlie number of 
 his friends. So he was reduced to the ut- 
 most necessity, and came to Ptoleniais ; and 
 because he knew not where else to get a live- 
 lihood, he thought to sail to Italy ; but as he 
 was restrained from so doing by want of mo- 
 ney, he desired Marsyas, who was his freed- 
 man, to find some method for procuring him 
 so inuch 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, Agrippa's mother, 
 and by the right of her testament was be- 
 queathed to Antonia, to lend so much upon 
 Agrippa's own bond and security : but he ac- 
 cused Agrjj(pa of having defrauded him of 
 certain sums of money, and so obliged Mar- 
 syas, when he made the bond of twenty thou- 
 sand Attic drachmas, to accept of twenty-five 
 hundred drachmas* less than what he desired ; 
 wliich tlie other allowed of, because he could 
 not help it. Upon the receipt of this money, 
 Agrippa came to Anthedon, and took ship- 
 ping, and was going to set sail ; but Herennius 
 Capito, who was the procurator of Jamnia, sent 
 a band of soldiers to demand of him three hun- 
 dred thousand drachma? of silver, which were 
 by him owing to C'a?sar's treasi:ry while he 
 was at Rome, and so forced him to stay. He 
 then pretended that he would do as he bade 
 him ; but when night came on, he cut his 
 cables, and went of!', and sailed to Alexan- 
 dria, where he desired Alexander the ala- 
 barch f to lend him two hundred tliousand 
 drachmae ; but he said he would not lend it 
 to him, but would not refuse it to Cyi>ros, as 
 greatly astonished at her attection to her hus- 
 band, and at the other instances of her vir- 
 tue; so she undertook to repay it. Accord- 
 
 • Spanheim observes, that we have here an instince 
 of the Attic quantity of iisc-nioiiey, which was the 
 eighth jiart of til. ■ i i . i - "i, or I'.'J per end. for 
 such is the pro])Oi»',i; ■' :' , , _' ,000. 
 
 t The governor of liie Jcrs there. 
 
 BOOK XVIIl. 
 
 ingly, Alexander paid them five talents at 
 Alexandria, and promised to pay them the 
 rest of that sum at Dicearchia [Puteoli] ; 
 and this he did out of the fear he was in that 
 Agrippa would soon spend it. So this Cy- 
 pros set her husband free, and dismissed him 
 to go on with his navigation to Italy, while 
 she and her children departed for Judea. 
 
 4. And now Agrippa was come to Puteoli, 
 whence he wrote a letter to Tiberius Cassar, 
 who then lived at CapreaD, and told him that 
 he was come so far, in order to wait on hinn 
 and to pay him a visit ; and desired that hk 
 would give him leave to come over to Capreae: 
 so Tiberius made no difficulty, but wrote to 
 him in an obliging way in other respects ; and 
 withal told him he was glad of his safe re- 
 turn, and desired him to come to Capreae ; 
 and, when he was 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 
 letter to Caesar from Herennius Capito, to in- 
 form him that Agrippa had borrowed three 
 hundred thousand drachmae, and not paid ii 
 at the time appointed ; but, when it was de- 
 manded 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 Cassar had read this letter, he 
 was much troubled at it, and gave order that 
 Agrippa should be excluded from his presence 
 until he had paid that debt: upon which he 
 was no way daunted at Caesar's anger, but 
 entreated Antonia, the mother of Germanicus, 
 and of Claudius, who was afterwards Ca?sar 
 himself, to lend him those tiiree hundred 
 thousand drachma;, that he might not be de- 
 prived of Tiberius's friendship ; so, out of re- 
 gard to the memory of Bernice 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 hiiider Tiberius's 
 friendship to him. After iliis, Tiberius Cae- 
 sar recommended to him his grandson,* and 
 ordered tliat he should always accompany him 
 when he went abroad. But, upon Agrippa's 
 kind reception by Antonia, he betook him to 
 pay his respects to Caius, who was her grand- 
 son, and in very high reputation by reason of 
 the good-will they bare his father.f Now 
 there was one Thallus, a freed-man of Caesar, 
 of whom he borrowed a million of drachmae, 
 and thence repaid Antonia the debt he owed 
 her; and by sending the overplus in paying 
 his court to Caius, became a person of great 
 authority with him. 
 
 5. Now, as the friendship which Agrippa 
 had for Caius was come to a great height, there 
 happened some words to pass between them, 
 as they once were in a chariot together, con- 
 cerning Tiberius; Agrippa praying [to GodJ 
 
 Tiberius, junior. 
 
 f Germanieus. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
~v 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 495 
 
 (for they two sat by themselves) that Tiberius 
 might soon go off the stage, and leave the go- 
 vernment to Caius, who was in every respect 
 more worthy of it. Now, Eutychus, who 
 was Agrippa's freed-man, and drove his cha- 
 riot, heard these words, and at that time said 
 notliing of them ; but when Agrippa accused 
 him of stealing some garments of his (which 
 was certainly true), he ran away from him ; 
 but when he was caught, and brought before 
 I'iso, who was governor of the city, and the 
 man was asked why he ran away, he replied, 
 that he had somewhat to say to Casar, that 
 tended to his security and preservation : so 
 Piso bound him, and sent him to Caprea?. 
 But Tiberius, according to his usual custom, 
 kept him still in bonds, being a delayer of af- 
 fairs, if ever there was any other king or ty- 
 rant that was so; for he did not admit am- 
 bassadors quickly, and no successors were 
 dispatched away to governors or procurators 
 of the provinces that had been formerly sent, 
 kinless they were dead ; whence it was tliat he 
 was so negligent in hearing the causes of pri- 
 soners ; insomuch 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 their public reception 
 and dismission : that he permitted those go- 
 vernors 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 anuncertainty when they 
 shall be turned out, do the more severely hur- 
 ry themselves on to fleece the people ; but 
 that, if their government be long continued 
 to them, they are at last satiated with the 
 spoils, as having gotten a vast deal, and so 
 become at length less sliarp in their pillaging; 
 but that, if successors are sent quickly, the 
 poor subjects, who are exposed to them as a 
 prey, will not be able to bear the new ones, 
 while they shall not have the same time allow- 
 ed them wherein their predecessors had filled 
 themselves, and so grow more unconcerned 
 about getting more; and this because they 
 are removed before they have had time [for 
 their oppressions]. He gave them an exam- 
 ple to show his meaning : — A great number 
 of flies came about the sore places of a man 
 that had been wounded ; upon wliich one of 
 the standcrs-by pitied the man's misfortune, 
 and thinking he was not able to drive away 
 tliose 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 preposterous proceeding, 
 in preventing relief from his present misery; 
 to which he answered, " If thou drtvest 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, almost fa- 
 mished, and find me quite tired down already, 
 will be my destruction. For this cause, there- 
 fore, it is that I am myself careful not to send 
 such new governors perpetually to those my 
 subjects, who are already sufficiently harassed 
 by many oppressions, as may, like these flies, 
 farther distress them ; and so, besides their 
 natural desire of gain, may have this addi- 
 tional incitement to it, that they expect to be 
 suddenly deprived of that pleasure which they 
 take in it." And, as a farther 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, — Gratus, 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 sub- 
 jects. 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 mi- 
 series, while those wicked wretches have not 
 deserved any favour ; " but I do it, that by 
 being harassed with the present calamity, they 
 may undergo greater misery." 
 
 6. On this account it was that Eutychus 
 could not obtain a hearing, but was kept still 
 in prison. However, some time afterward, 
 Tiberius came from Caprese to Tusculanum, 
 which is about a hundred 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 bro- 
 ther Drusus's wife, and from her eminent 
 chastity ; * for though she was still a young 
 
 » This high commendation of Antonia for marrying 
 but once, given here, and supported elsewhere, Antiq. 
 b. xvii, ch. xiii, sect. 4 ; and this, notwithstanding the 
 strongest temp";allons, shows Iiow honourable single 
 marriages were both among the Jews and Romans, in 
 the days of Joscphus and of the apostles, and takes 
 away rnuch of that surprise which tlie modern Protest- 
 ants have at those laws of the apostles, where no wi- 
 dows, but those who had been the wives of one husband 
 only, are taken into the church list; and no bishops, 
 priests, or deacons, are allowed to marry more than 
 once, without leaving off to officiate as clergymen any 
 longer. See Luke ii, 56; 1 Tim. v, 11, 12; lii, 2, 12 ; 
 Tit. i, 10; Constitut Apost.'j. n, sect. 1, 2; b. vi, sect. 
 17 ; Can. b. xvii ; Grot, in Luc. ii, 5G ; and Respons. ad 
 Consult. Cassand. p. 14, and Cotelet. in Constit. b. vi, 
 sect. 17. And note, that Tertulian owns this law against 
 second marriages of the clergy, had tic-en once at least 
 executed in his time; and heavily complains elsewhere, 
 that the breach tliereof had not been always punished 
 by the Catholics, as it ought to have been. Jerome, 
 speaking of tlic ill reputation of marrying twice, says, 
 that no such person could be chosen into the clergy iu 
 his days; which Augustine testifies also ; and for Epi- 
 phanius, rather earlier, he is clear and full to the same 
 vurpose, and savs, that law obtained over the whale 
 
J' 
 
 496 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVIII 
 
 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 repu- 
 tation free from reproach. She had also been 
 the greatest benefactress to Tiberius, when 
 there was a very dangerous plot laid against 
 him by Sejanus, a man who had been her hus- 
 band's friend, and who had the greatest au- 
 thority, because he was general of the army, 
 and when many members of the senate, and 
 many of tht freed-men, joined with him, and 
 the soldiery was corrupted, and the plot was 
 
 ance, but would be taken off" by thee, and that 
 earth would be happy, and I happy also." 
 Now, Tiberius took these to be truly Agrip- 
 pa's words, and bearing a grudge withal at 
 Agrippa, because, when he had commanded 
 him to pay his respects to Tiberius, his grand- 
 son, 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 Macro, " Bind this man.'' 
 But Macro, not distinctly knowing which of 
 them it was whom he bade him bind, and not 
 expecting that he would have any such thing 
 
 come to a great heiglit. Now Sejanus had done to Agrippa, he forbore, and came to ask 
 certainly gained his point, had not Antonia's ' more distinctly what it was that he said. But 
 
 boldness been more wisely conducted than Se 
 janus'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 ser- 
 vants, and sent him to Capreje to Tiberius, 
 who, when he understood it, slew Sejanus and 
 his confederates ; so that Tiberius, who had 
 
 when Cffisar had gone round the hippodrome, 
 he found Agrippa standing;-^" For certain," 
 said he, " jNIacro, tiiis is the man I meant to 
 have bound ;" 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 «as brought up, 
 
 her in great esteem before, now looked upon and of Tiberius [his grandson] whom he had 
 her with still greater respect, and depended educated, but all to no purpose, for they led 
 upon her in all things. So, when Tiberius him about bound even in his purple garments, 
 was desired by this Antonia to examine Eu-jit was also very hot weather, and they had 
 tychus, he answered, '' If indeed Eutychus but little wine to their meal, so that he was 
 hath falsely accused Agrippa in what he hath [ very thirsty ; he was also in a sort of agony, 
 said of him, he hath had sufficient punish- ! and took this treatment of him heinously : as 
 ment by what I have done to him already ;' he therefore saw one of Caius's slaves, whose 
 
 but if, upon examination, the accusation ap- 
 pears to be true, let Agrippa have a care, lest, 
 out of desire of punishing his freed-man, he 
 do not rather bring a punishment upon him- 
 self." Now, when Antonia told Agrippa of 
 
 name was Tliaumastus, 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 heartily, and said, '' O 
 thou boy ! this service of thine to me will be 
 
 this, he was still much more pressing that the for thy advantage ; for, if I once get clear of 
 matter mi^ht be examined into ; so Antonia, these my bonds, I will soon procure thee thy 
 
 upon Agrippa's lying hard at her continually 
 to beg this favour, took the following oppor- 
 tunity : — As Tiberius lay once at his ease 
 upon his sedan, and was carried about, and 
 Caius, her grandson, and Agrippa, were be- 
 fore him after dinner, she walked by the se- 
 dan, and desired him to call Eutychus, and 
 have him examined J to which he replied, " O 
 Antonia ! the gods are my witnesses that I am 
 induced to do what I am going to do, not by 
 
 freedom from Caius, who has not been want- 
 ing to minister 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 i)roinised him, but made him 
 amends for what he had now done ; for, when 
 afterward Agrippa was come to the kingdom, 
 he took particidar care of Thaumastus, and 
 got him his liberty from Caius, and made him 
 the steward over his own estate ; and when 
 
 my own inclination, but because 1 am forced he died, he left him to Agrippa liis son, and 
 
 to it by thy prayers." When he had said this, 
 he ordered Macro, who succeeded Sejanus, 
 to bring Eutychus to him; accordingly, with- 
 out any delay, he was brought. Tlien Tibe- 
 rius asked him wliat he had to say against a 
 
 to Bernice his daughter, to minister to them 
 in the same capacity. The man also grew 
 old in that honourable post, and ti.erein died. 
 But all this happened a good while later. 
 7. Now Agrippa stood in his bonds before 
 
 man who had given hiin his liberty. Upon the royal palace, and leaned on a certain tree 
 which he said, " O my lord ! this Caius, and for grief, with many others, who were in 
 Agrippa with him, were once riding in acha- bonds also; and as a certain bird sat upon 
 riot, when 1 sat at their feet, and, among ; the tree on which Agrippa leaned (the Romans 
 other discourses that passed, Agrippa said to called this bird bubo), [an owl], one of those. 
 Caius, O that the day would once comewhtn that were bound, a German by nation, saw 
 this old fellow «ill die, and name thee for the him, and asked a soldier who that man in 
 governor of the habitable earth ! for then this purple was ; and v/hen he was informed that 
 Tiberius, his grandson, would be no hinder- j his name was Agrippa, and that he was by 
 
 nation a Jew, and one of the principal men 
 
 Catholic church in his ilay 
 cited authors inform us. 
 
 the places in the fore- 
 
 of tliat nation, he asked leave of the soldiei 
 
 ^. 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VI 
 
 lO 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, O young 
 man ! is grievous to thee, as bringing on 
 thee a manifold and very great adversity ; 
 nor wilt thou believe me, when I fortell 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 bribery, nor out of an endeavour 
 to make thee cheerful without cause ; for 
 iuch 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 ha- 
 zard of my own self, I think it fit to declare 
 to thee the prediction of the gods. It can- 
 not be that thou shouldst long continue in 
 these bonds ; but thou wilt soon be delivered 
 from them, and wilt be promoted to the high- 
 est 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 tliou remem- 
 ber, when thou seest this bird again, tliat thou 
 will 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 conceal 
 from thee what I foreknow concerning thee, 
 that, by thy knowing beforehand what happi- 
 ness is coming upon thee, thou mayest not 
 regard thy present misfortunes. But, when 
 this happiness shall actually befall thee, do 
 not forget wliat misery I am in myself, but en- 
 deavour to deliver me." So when the Ger- 
 man had said this, he made Agrippa laugh at 
 him as much as he afterwards appeared 
 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 Macro, 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 disposition, and that he might have leave 
 to bathe himself every day, and that his freed- 
 men and friends might S'ome to him, and that 
 other things that tended to ease him might be 
 indulged him. So his friend Silas came in 
 
 « Dr. Hudson here takes notice, out of Seneca, Epis- 
 tle V. tliat this was the custom of Tiberius, to couple 
 the prisoner and tlie soldier that guardetl_him together 
 in tlie same chain. 
 
 497 
 
 to him, and two of his freed-men, Marsyas 
 and Stechus, brought him such sorts of food 
 as be was fond of, and indeed took great care 
 of him ; they also brought him garments, un- 
 der pretence of selling them, and, when night 
 came on, they laid them under him ; and the 
 soldiers assisted them, as Macro had given 
 them order to do beforehand. And this was 
 Agrippa's condition for six mouths' time; 
 and in this case were his affairs. 
 
 8. But as for Tiberius, upon his return to 
 Caprea;, he fell sick. At first his distemper 
 was but gentle ; but, as that distemper in- 
 creased upon him, he had small or no hopes 
 of recovery. Hereupon he bade Euodus, 
 who was the freed-man whom he most of all 
 respected, to bring the childrenf 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 son, was 
 dead ; but Drusus's son Tiberius was still 
 living, whose additional name was Gemellus: 
 there was also living Caius, the son of Ger- 
 manicus, who was the son \ of his brother 
 [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 Gerraanicus, who had attained 
 the highest honour among the multitude, by 
 the firmness of his virtuous behaviour, by the 
 easiness and agreeableness of his conversing 
 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 af- 
 fected in the same manner by the report of 
 the others that had been with him ; and, up- 
 on his death, there was a lamentation made 
 by all men ; not such a one as was to be 
 made in way of flattery to their rulers, while 
 they did but counterfeit sorrow, but such as 
 was real ; while every body 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 advantage of his son among all ; and, 
 among others, the soldiery were so peculiarly 
 affected to him, that they reckoned it an eli- 
 gible thing, if need were, to die themselves, 
 if he might but attain to the government. 
 
 9. 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 govern- 
 
 t Tiberius his own grandson, and Caius his brother 
 Drusui's grandson. 
 
 +' t'O I correct Josephus's copy, which calls Gerir.ani- 
 cus his brother, who was his brother's son. 
 2 T 
 
"X. 
 
 493 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ment ; being very desirous to leave it to his 
 son's son, but still depending upon whiat God 
 would foresliow concerning them, more than 
 upon his own opinion and inclination ; so he 
 made this to be the omen, that the govern- 
 inent sliould be left to liim who should come 
 to him first the next day. When he had thus 
 resolved within himself, he sent to his grand- 
 son's tutor, and ordered Iiim to Oring the 
 child to him early in the morning, as suppos- 
 ing that God would permit him to be made 
 emperor. But God proved opposite to his 
 designation ; for, while Tiberius was thus 
 contriving matters, and as soon as it was at 
 all day, he bid Euodus to call in that child 
 which should be there ready. So he went 
 out, and found Caius before the door, for Ti- 
 berius was not yet come, but staid waiting 
 for his breakfast ; for Euodus knew nothing 
 of what his lo:-d intended ; so he said to Caius, 
 " Thy father calls thee," and then brought 
 liim in. As soon as Tibeiius saw Caius, and 
 not before, he reflected on the power of God, 
 and how the ability of bestowing the govern- 
 ir.ent on whom he would was entirely taken 
 from liim ; and thence he was not able to 
 establish what he had intended. So he great- 
 ly lamented that his power of establishing 
 what he had before contrived was taken from 
 hiiTi, and that his grandson Tiberius was not 
 only to lose the Roman empire by his fatali- 
 ty, but his own safety also ; because his pre- 
 servation would now depend upon such as 
 
 would be more potent than himself, wholnished." This was the speech which Tibe- 
 would think it a thing not to be borne, thatirius made; which did not persuade Caius to 
 
 BOOk XVIIl 
 
 tion 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 undei 
 that torment. Now, although he was disor- 
 dered at this unexpected revolution of the go. 
 vernment to those for whom he did not in- 
 tend it, he spake thus to Caius, though un- 
 willingly, and against his own inclination :— 
 " O child, although Tiberius be nearer relat- 
 ed to me than thou art, I, by my own deter- 
 inination, and the conspiring suffrage of the 
 gods, do give, and put into thy hand, the 
 Roman empire ; and I desire thee never to 
 be unmindful when thou comest to it, either 
 of my kindness to thee, who set thee in so 
 high a dignity, or of thy relation to Tiberius: 
 but as thou knowest that I am, together with 
 and after the gods, the procurer of so great 
 happiness to thee, so 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 
 empire 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 wiiich 
 directs men to do otherwise, to go off unpu- 
 
 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 tlie supreme authority, partly on 
 account of his being next to the empire, and 
 partly on account of his jierpelually contriv- 
 ing to get tlie 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- 
 
 act accordingly, although he promised so to 
 do ; but, when he was settled in the govern, 
 ment, he took off this Tiberius, as was pre- 
 dieted by the otlier Tiberius ; as he was also 
 himself, in no long time afterward, slain by a 
 secret plot laid against him. 
 
 10. So when Tiberius had at this time ap 
 pointed Caius to bo his successor, he outlived 
 but a few days, and then died, after he had 
 held the government twenty-two years five 
 
 tion of nativities ; and had spent his life in months and three days. Now Caius was the 
 the esteem of what predictions had proved j fourth emperor : but when the Romans un- 
 true, more than those whose profession it ' derstood that Tiberius was dead, they rejoiced 
 was. Accordingly, when he once saw Galba at the good news, but had not courage to be- 
 coming in to him, he said to his most inti- j licve it ; not because they were unwilling ii 
 mate friends, tliat there came in a man tiiat should be true, for they would have given 
 would one day liave the dignity of the llo- large sums of inoney that it might be so, but 
 man empire. So that tiiis Tiberius was more i because they were afraid that, if they had 
 addicted to all such sorts of diviners than any ' shown their joy when the news proved false, 
 other of the Roman emperors, because he j their joy should be openly known, and they 
 had found them to have told the truth in his! sliould be accused for it, and be thereby un- 
 own aifairs; and indeed he was now in great done; for this Tibeiius had brought a vas 
 distress upon this accident that had bufalien , number of miseries on the best families of tht 
 him, and was very much grieved at the de- Romans, since he was easily inflamed with 
 struction of his son's son, which he foresaw, i passion in all cases, and was of such a temper 
 and complained of himself, that he should as rendered his anger irrevocable, till he had 
 
 have made use of such a method of divina- 
 
 » Tliis U =1 knojirn tiling among the Roman histo- 
 rians ar.tl ports, that Tiberius was greatly given to as- 
 tiology and divinatlou. 
 
 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 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEW'S. 
 
 499 
 
 slightest offences ; insomuch tliat when the 
 Romans heard the rumour about liis death 
 gladly, they were restrained from the enjoy- 
 ment 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's death, came running to tell Agrip- 
 pa the news ; and finding him going out to 
 the bath, he gave him a nod, and said, in the 
 Hebrew tongue, " Tlie lion * is dead ;" who, 
 understanding his meaning, and being over- 
 joyed at the news, " Nay," said he, " but all 
 sorts of thanks and happiness attend thee for 
 this news of thine ; only I wish that what 
 thou sayest may prove true." Now the cen- 
 turion 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 
 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 farther pressing, 
 Agrippa, without more ado, told him, for lie 
 was already become his friend ; so he joined 
 with him in that pleasure which this news oc- 
 casioned, because it would be fortunate to 
 Agrippa, and made him a supper: but, as 
 diey were feasting, and the cups went about, 
 there came one wlio 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 Csesar ; so he thrust Agrippa 
 from the couch whereon he lay, and said, 
 " Dost thou think to cheat me by a lie aI)out 
 the emperor without punishment ? and shall 
 not thou pay for this thy malicious 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 se- 
 verer guard over him than fo<-merly, and in 
 that evil condition was Agrippa tliat 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. Se- 
 veral 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 go- 
 vernor of the city, which told him the same 
 thing. He also gnve order that Agrippa 
 should be removed out of the camp, and go 
 to that house where he lived before be was 
 put in prison ; so that he was now out of fear 
 as to his own affairs ; for, althougli he was 
 
 • The name of a Lion is often gi\ en to tyrants, espe- 
 cially by the Jews, such as Agrijjpa, and probably his 
 frc«1-maj) Marsyas, in effect were, Ezek. xix. 1, 9: 
 Estli. iv, 13; i Tim. iv. 17- They are also sometimes 
 compared to, or represented by, wild beasts, of which 
 the Uon is tlie principal Dan. vi- 3 H "Xiioc. xiii. 1 2.. 
 
 still in custody, yet it was now with ease to 
 his own affairs. Now, as soon as Caius was 
 come to Rome, and had brought Tiberius's 
 dead body with him, and had made a sumptu- 
 ous funeral for him, according to the laws of 
 his country, he was much disposed to set 
 Agrippa at liberty that very day ; but Anlo- 
 nia 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 plea- 
 sure, wlien he loosed one whom he had bound 
 immediately. 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 appointed him to be king 
 of the tetrarchy of Philip. He also gave him 
 tlie tetrarchy of Lysanias,f and changed his 
 iron chain for a golden one of equal vveiglit. 
 He also sent MaruUus to be procurator of 
 Judea. 
 
 11. Now, in the second year of the reign 
 of Caius Cfesar, Agrippa desired leave to be 
 given him to sail home, and settle the affairs 
 of his government ; and he promised to re- 
 turn again when he had put the rest in order, 
 as it ought to be put. So, upon the empe- 
 ror's permission, he came into his own coun- 
 try, and 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 liim for 
 the better. 
 
 CHAPTER Vil. 
 
 HOW HEROD THE TETRARCH WAS BANISHED. 
 
 § 1. But Herodias, Agrippa's sister, who 
 now lived as wife to that Herod who was te- 
 trarch of Galilee and Pert-a, took this autho- 
 rity of her brother in an envious manner, par- 
 ticularly 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 was come 
 back, it was because he was in a way of dig- 
 nity and of great fortune. She was therefore 
 grieved and much displeased at so great a 
 mutation of his affairs; and chiefly when she 
 saw him marching among the multitude with 
 the usual ensigns of royal autliority, slie was 
 not able to conceal how miserable slie was, by 
 reason of the envy she had towards him ; but 
 she excited her husband, and desired him that 
 he would sail to Rome, to court honoui-s 
 
 f Although Caius now promised to give Agrippa the 
 tetrarchy ot Lysanias, yet was it not actually conferred 
 upon him till the reign of Claudius, as we leaiii, Antiq 
 b. xix. chap. V. sect. 1 
 
^ 
 
 500 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 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 neces- 
 saries of life were forced to be entirely sup- 
 plied 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 bare to royal 
 authority, called upon him to gain the like dig- 
 nity, he sat still, and was contented with a 
 privater life. " But then, Herod, although 
 thou wast formerly not concerned to be in a 
 lower condition than thy father, from whom 
 thou wast derived, liad been, yet do thou now 
 seek after the dignity which thy kinsman hath 
 attained to ; and do not thou bear this con- 
 tempt, 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 
 Bliair.eful thing to be inferior to one who, the 
 otl'er day, lived upon thy charity. But let 
 us go to Rome, and let us spare no pains nor 
 expenses, either of silver or gold, since they 
 cannot be kept for any better use than for the 
 obtaining of a kingdom." 
 
 2. 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 
 kinT; and at last she left not off till she en- 
 gaged him, whether he would or not, to be 
 of her sentiments, because he could no other- 
 wise avoid her importunity. So he got all 
 things ready, after as sumptuous a manner 
 as lie was able, and spared for nothing, and 
 went up to Rome, and took Herodias along 
 with him. E-ut Agrippa, when he was made 
 sensible of their intentions and preparations, 
 he also prepared to go thither ; and as soon 
 as he heard tliey set sail, he sent Fortunatus, 
 one of his frecd-men, to Rome, to carry pre- 
 sents to the emperor, and letters against He- 
 rod, and to give Caius a particular account 
 of those matters, if he should have any op- 
 portunity. 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 liis letters ; for they both sailed to Di- 
 cearcliia, and found Caius at Baias, which is 
 itself a little city of Campania, at the distance 
 of about five furlongs £iom Dicearchia. There 
 are in that place royal palaces, with sump- 
 tuous iipartments, every enip.ror still endea- 
 vouring to outdo liis predecessor's magnifi- 
 rei'.ce : the jjlace also affords warm baths, 
 tiiat spring out of the ground of their own 
 accord, whii-li are of advantage for the reco- 
 
 BOOK XVHI 
 
 very of the health of those that make use of 
 them ; and, besides, they minister to men's 
 luxury also. Now Caius saluted Herod, fo» 
 he first met with him, and then looked upon 
 the letters which Agrippa had sent him, and 
 which were written in order to accuse He- 
 rod ; wherein he accused him, that he had 
 been in confederacy with Sejanus, against 
 Tiberius's government, and that he was now 
 confederate with Artabanus, the king of Par- 
 thia, in opposition to the government of 
 Caius ; as a demonstration of which, he al- 
 leged that he had armour sufficient for seven- 
 ty thousand men ready in his armoury. Caius 
 was moved at this information, and asked 
 Herod, whether what was said about the ar- 
 mour 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 king- 
 dom; he also gave Herod's money to Agrip- 
 pa, 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, O emperor! actest after a magnifi- 
 cent manner, and as becomes thyself, in \\hat 
 thou offerest me ; but the kindness which I 
 have for my husband hinders me from par- 
 taking 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 mis- 
 fortunes." Hereupon Caius was angry at 
 her, and sent her with Herod into banisli- 
 nient, and gave her estate to Agrippa. And 
 thus did God punish Herodias 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 year of 
 liis reign, and behaved himself with such mo- 
 deration, that he gained the good-will of the 
 Romans themselves, and of his other subjesjts. 
 But, in process of time, he went beyond the 
 bounds of human nature in his conceit ol 
 himself, and, by reason of the vastness of his 
 dominions, made himself a god, and took 
 upon himself to act in all things to tlic re- 
 proach of the Deity itself. 
 
J' 
 
 CHAP. VI 11 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 501 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCERNING THE EMBASSAGE OF THE JEWS TO 
 CAIUS ; * AND HOW CAIUS SENT PETRONIUS 
 INTO SYRIA, TO MAKE WAR AGAINST THE 
 JEWS, UNLESS THEY WOULD RECEIVE HIS 
 STATUE. 
 
 § 1. There was now a tumult arisen at 
 Alexandria, between the Jewish inhabitants 
 and tlie Greeks ; and three ambassadors f 
 were chosen out of each party that were at 
 variance, who came to Caius. Now, one of 
 these ambassadors from the people of Alex- 
 andria was Apion, who uttered many blasphe- 
 mies against the Jews; and, among other 
 things, that he said he charged them with ne- 
 glecting the honours 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 re- 
 ceived 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 Pliilo, 
 the principal of the Jewish embassage, a man 
 eminent on all accounts, brother to Alexan- 
 der the alabarch, \ and one not unskilful in 
 philosophy, was ready to betake himself to 
 make his defence against those accusations ; 
 but Caius prohibited him, and bade him be- 
 gone : he was also in such a rage, that it open- 
 ly 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 al- 
 ready set God against himself. 
 
 2. Hereupon Caius, taking it very hein- 
 
 * This is a most remarkable chapter, as containing 
 such instances of the interposition of Providence, as 
 have been always very rare among the other idolatrous 
 nations, but of old very many among the posterity of 
 Abraham, the worsliippers of the true God ; nor do 
 these seem much inferior to those in the Old Testament, 
 which are the more remarkable, because, among all tlieir 
 other follies and vices, the Jews were not at this time 
 idolaters; and the deliverances here mentioned were 
 done, in order to prevent their relapse into that idolatry 
 
 t Josephus here assures us, that the ambassadors from 
 Alexandria to Caius were on each part no more than 
 three in number, for the Jews, and for the Gentiles, 
 which are but six in all : whereas Philo, who was the 
 principal ambassador from the Jews, as Josephus here 
 confesses (as was Apion for the Gentiles), says, the Jews' 
 ambassadors were themselves no fewer than five, to- 
 wards the end of his legation to Caius ; which, if there 
 t)e no mistake in the copies, must be supposed the 
 truth ; nor, in that case, would Josephus have contra- 
 dicted so authentic a witness, had he seen that account 
 of Philo's ; which, that he ever did, does not appear. 
 
 X This Alexander, the alabarch, or governor of the 
 Jews, at Alexandria, and biother to Philo, is supposed, 
 by Bishop Pearson, in Act. Apost. p. 41, 42, to be the 
 same with that Alexander who is mentioned by St. 
 Luke, as of the kindred of tlie high-priesls.-^cts iv, 6. 
 
 ously 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 in- 
 vasion into Judea, with a great body of troops, 
 and, if they would admit of his statue wil- 
 lingly, to erect it in the temple of God ; but, 
 if tliey were obstinate, to conquer them by 
 war, and then to do it. Accordingly Petro- 
 nius took the government of Syria, and made 
 liaste to obey Caesar's epistle. He got toge- 
 ther as great a number of auxiliaries as he 
 possibly could, and took witli him two legions 
 of the Roman army, and came to Ftolemais, 
 and there wintered, as intending 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 Petronius, to Ptolemais, to offer their pe- 
 titions to him, that he would not compel them 
 to transgress and violate the law of their fore- 
 fathers ; " but if," said they, " thou art en- 
 tirely 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 authority of our legislator, 
 and by our forefathers' determination that 
 such prohibitions are instances of virtue.' 
 But Petronius 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 ne- 
 cessity 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, O Petronius ! that thou wilt not 
 disobey Caius's epistles, neither will we trans- 
 gress the commands of our law ; and as we 
 depend upon the excellency of our laws, and, 
 by the labours of our ancestors, have conti- 
 nued hitherto without suffering them to be 
 transgressed, we dare not by any means suf- 
 fer 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 misfortunes we will bear 
 them, in order to preserve our laws, as know- 
 ing that those who expose themselves to dan- 
 gers, have good hope of escaping them ; be- 
 cause God will stand on our side when, out 
 of regard to him, we undergo afflictions, and 
 sustain the uncertain turns of fortune. But, 
 if we should submit to thee, we should 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 thyself being judge, 
 is superior to Caius." 
 
 ^ 
 
 _r 
 
"Vi. 
 
 50-. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOh. XVIIl 
 
 3. 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 bloodshed, he took his friends, and 
 the servants that were about him, and hasted 
 to Tiberias, as wanting to know in what pos- 
 ture the afl'airs of the Jews were ; and many 
 ten thousands of the Jews met Petronius 
 again, when he was come to Tiberias. These 
 thought they must run a mighty hazard if 
 they should have a war with the Romans, but 
 ju igod t'nat the transgression of t!ie law was 
 of much greater consequence, and made sup- 
 plication to him, that he would by no means 
 reduce them to such distresses, nor defile their 
 city with the dedication of the statue. Then 
 Petronius said to them, " Will you then make 
 war with Caesar, without considering his great 
 preparations for war, and your own weak- 
 ness ?" They reiilied, " We will not by any 
 means make war with him ; but still 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 be slain ; and this they did for 
 forty days together, and in the mean time left 
 ofT the tilling of their ground, and that while 
 the season of the year required them to sow 
 It.* Tluis they continued firm in their reso- 
 lution, and proposed to themselves to die wil- 
 lingly, rather than to see the dedication of 
 the statue. 
 
 4. When matters were in this state, Aristo- 
 hulus, king Agrippa's 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 re- 
 solution of the multitude, he would not make 
 any alteration, and thereby drive them to de- 
 spair ; but would write to Caius, that the Jews 
 had an insuperable aversion to the reception 
 of the statue, and how they continued 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 transgressed : and how, 
 upon the land's continuing 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 
 uiuy then set about it himself. And thus did 
 Aristobiilus, and the rest with him, suppli- 
 
 • What Josephiis here, and sect. 6, relates as dene by 
 the Jews before seed-time, is in Philo, " not far oft' the 
 <nne when the corn was riije," who, as Le Clcrc notes, 
 dirter here one from the other. This is another indica- 
 tion that Josephus, when he wrote this account, liad not 
 Been Philos Legal, ad t'junn, otherwise he would hard- 
 ly have herein differed from him. 
 
 cate Petronius. So Petronius,-|- partly on ac- 
 count of the pressing instances which Aristo- 
 bulus and the rest with him made, and be- 
 cause of the great consequence of what ihey 
 desired, and the earnestness wherewith they 
 made their supplication, — partly on account 
 of the firmness of the opposition made by the 
 Jews, which he saw, while he thought it a 
 horrible 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 towards God, and after that to 
 pass his life in expectation of punishment; 
 Petronius, I say, thought it much better to 
 send to Caius, and to let him know liovv intole- 
 rable it was to him to bear the anger he might 
 have against him for not serving him sooner, 
 in obedience to his epistle, for that perhaps he 
 might persuade him; and that if this mad re- 
 solution continued, he might then begin the 
 war against diem ; nay, that in case he should 
 turn his hatred against himself, it was fit for 
 virtuous persons even to die for the sake of 
 such vast multitudes of men. Accordingly 
 he determined to heaiken to the petitions in 
 this matter. 
 
 5. He then called the Jews together to Ti- 
 berias, who came many ten thousands in num- 
 ber ; he also placed that army he now had 
 with him opposite to them •. but did not dis- 
 cover 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 com- 
 manded, 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 num- 
 ber, and endeavour to preserve 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 preserve it: nor, with the supreme assist- 
 ance and power of God, will 1 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 as- 
 sist 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 your- 
 selves ; and may God be your assistant, for 
 his authority is beyond all the contrivance and 
 power of men ; and may he procure you the 
 
 t This Publius Petronius wa-s after this still president 
 of .SjTia, under Claudius, and, .it the desire of Agrippa, 
 I>ublished a severe decree against the inhabitants of Do- 
 ra, who, in a sort of imiiation of Caius, had set up a 
 statue of Claudius iu a Jewish synagogue there. This 
 decree is extant, b. xix, eh. vi, sect. 5 ; and greatly eon- 
 firms the j)rcsent accounts of Josephus, as do the other 
 decrees ot t laudius, relating to the Jewish affairs, bi 
 xix. ch. V, sect. 2, 3; to which I refer the inquisitive 
 reader 
 
 "V 
 
~v. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 preservation of your ancient laws, and may 
 not he be deprived, though witliout your con- 
 sent, of his accustomed honours. But if 
 Caius be irritated, and turn the violence of 
 his rage upon me, I will rather undergo all 
 that danger and that 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, therefore, 
 every one of you, go your «ay about your 
 own occupations, and fall to the cultivation 
 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." 
 
 6. When Petronius had said this, and had 
 dismissed the assembly of the Jews, he desir- 
 ed the principal of them to take care of their 
 husbandry, and to speak kindly to the people, 
 and encourage them to liave good hope of 
 their affairs. Thus did lie readily bring the 
 multitude to be cheerful again. And now 
 did God show liis presence* to Petronius, and 
 signify to hiin, that he would aflbrd him his 
 assistance in his whole design ; for he had no 
 sooner finished the speed) thai 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 subject to a great drouglit, 
 and made men despair of any water from a- 
 bove, 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 without any 
 other expectation of it, the Jews hoped that 
 Petronius would by no moans fail in his pe- 
 t.tion for them. But as to Petronius, he was 
 migiitily surprised when he perceived that 
 God evidently took care of tlie Jews, and 
 gave very plain signs of his appearance,f and 
 this to such a degree, that those that were in 
 earnest much inclined to the contrary, had no 
 power left to contradict it. Tliis was also a- 
 mong 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 dis- 
 tracted ; whom, if he should slay (for without 
 war they would by no means suffer the laws 
 »f their worship to be set aside) he would lose 
 the revenue they paid him, and would be pub- 
 licly 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 
 
 * Josephus here uses the solemn New Testament 
 words, 3-«««!/«-i« aiid iTn^cmiKt, the prestnce and appear- 
 ance of God, for the extraordinary manifestation of his 
 powc-r and providence to Petronius, by sending rain in a 
 time of distress, immediately upon the resolution he 
 had taken to preserve the temple unpolluted, at the haz- 
 ard of his own life, witliout any otner miraculous ap- 
 pearance at all in that case; whieh well deserves to be 
 taken notice of here, and greatly illustrates several texts, 
 iioth in the Old and New Testament. ^ 
 
 t See the preceding note. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 503 
 
 no room for doubt about it ; — and this was 
 the business that Petronius was now engaged 
 in. 
 
 7. But king Agrippa, who now lived at 
 Rome, was more and more in the favour of 
 Caius; and when he had once made him a 
 supper, and was careful to exceed all others, 
 both in expenses and in such picparations 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 
 cicced it (such care had he taken before- 
 hand to exceed all men, and particularly to 
 inake all agreeable to Csesar) ; hereupon Caius 
 admired his understanding and magnificence, 
 that he should force liimself to do all to please 
 him, even beyond such expenses as he could 
 bear, and was desirous not to he behind A- 
 grippa in that generosity which he exerted, in 
 order to please him. So Caius, when he had 
 drank wine plentifully, and was merrier than 
 ordinary, said thus during the feast, when 
 Agrippa had drank 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 underwenlest under Tiberius on 
 that account ; nor hast thou omitted any thing 
 to show thy good-will towards us, even be- 
 yond thy ability; whence it would be a base 
 thing for me to be conquered by thy affection. 
 I am therefore desirous to make thee amends 
 for every thing in which I have been former- 
 ly deficient ; for all that I have bestowed on 
 thee, that may be called my gifts, is but little. 
 Every thing that may contribute to thy hap- 
 piness shall be at tliy service, and that cheer- 
 fully, and so far as my ability will roach ;" — 
 and this was what Caius said to Agrijipa, 
 thinking he would ask for some large coun- 
 try, or the revenues of certain cities ; but, al- 
 though he had prepared beforehand what lie 
 would ask, yet had he not discovered liis in- 
 tentio.is, but made this answer to Caius im- 
 mediately, that it was not out of any expecta- 
 tion of gain that he formerly paid his respects 
 to him, contrary to the commands of Tibe- 
 rius, 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 ujion 
 him were great, and beyond the hopes of even 
 a craving man ; for, although they may be 
 beneath thy power [«ho art the donor] yet 
 are they greater than my inclination and dig- 
 nity, who am the receiver; — and, as Caius 
 was astonished at Agrippa's inclinations, and 
 still the more pressed him to make his request 
 for somewhat which he might gratify him 
 with, Agripjxi replied, " Since tiiou, O my 
 Lord, declarest such is thy readiness to grant, 
 that I am worthy of thy gifts, I will ask no- 
 
 t Tliis behaviour of Caius to Agrippa, is very like Uiat 
 of Herod Antipas, his uncle, to Heiadias, Agrij pa's si» 
 ter, about Joan the Baptist, Matt, xiv t>— U. 
 
T 
 
 -^ 
 
 604. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 thiiif relating to my own felicity ; for what 
 thou hast ah-eady bestowed on me has made 
 me excel therein ; but I desire somewhat 
 which may make thee glorious for piety, and 
 render the Divinity assistant to thy designs, 
 and may be for an honour to me among those 
 that inquire about it, as showing that I never 
 once fail of obtaining what I desire of thee ; 
 for my petition is this, that thou wilt no 
 onger think of the dedication of that sta- 
 tue which thou hast ordered to be set up in 
 the Jewish temple by Petronius." 
 
 8. And thus did Agrippa venture to cast 
 the die upon this occcasion, so great was the 
 affair in his opinion, and in reality, though he 
 knew how dangerous a thing it was so to 
 speak ; for, had not Caius approved 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 thinking it a dishonourable thing to 
 be guilty of falsehood before so ma )y wit- 
 nesses, 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 de- 
 siring him at all to augment his own domi- 
 nions, either with larger revenues, or other au- 
 thority, but took care of the public tranquillity, 
 of the laws, and of the Divinity itself, he grant- 
 ed him w hat he requested. He also wrote thus 
 to Petronius, commending him for his assem- 
 bling his army, and then consulting him a- 
 bout 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 farther 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 great- 
 ly, that I am not able to contradict 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, informing him that tlie Jews were very 
 ready to revolt about this statue, and that 
 they seemed resolved to threaten war against 
 the Romans, and nothing else. When there- 
 fore Caius was much displeased that any at- 
 tempt 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 lionourable, and against 
 whomsoever he resolved to siiow his anger, I 
 and that for any cause whatsoever, he suffer- 
 ed not himself to be restrained by any admoni- 
 tion, 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 
 tny commands, and art grown insolent enough 
 to be subservient to their pleasure, I charge] 
 
 BOOK XVUl 
 
 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 
 inay not dare to contradict the commands of 
 their emperor." 
 
 9. This was the epistle which Caius wrote 
 to Petronius ; but Petronius did not receive 
 it while Caius was alive, that ship which carri- 
 ed it sailed so slow, the otlier letters came to 
 Petronius before this, by which he understood 
 that Caius was dead ; for God would not 
 forget the dangers Petronius had undertaken 
 on account of the Jews, and of his own 
 honour. But when he had taken Caius away, 
 out of his indignation of what he had so in- 
 solently attempted, in assuming to himseli 
 divine worship, both Rome and all that do- 
 minion 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 Petronius 
 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 afterwaid 
 came that which commanded ln'm to kill him- 
 self with his own hands. Wliereupon he re- 
 joiced at this coincidence as to the death ot 
 Caius, and admired God's providence, who, 
 without the least delay, and immediatly, gave 
 him a reward for the regard he had to the 
 temple, and the assistance he afforded the Jews 
 for avoiding the dangers they were in. And 
 by this means Petronius escaped that danger 
 of death which he could not foresee. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHAT BEFELL THE JEWS THAT WEllE IN BABY- 
 LON ON OCCASION OF ASINEU3 AND ANILLUS, 
 TWO EUETHREN. 
 
 § 1. A VERY sad calamity now befell tlie 
 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 together with a great slaugh- 
 ter 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 territory about 
 it ; and, besides its other advantages, full of 
 men also. It was, besides, not easily to be 
 assaulted by enemies, from the river Euphrates 
 encompassing it all round, and from the walls 
 that were built about it. There was also tin. 
 
 ■\. 
 
 _r 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 city Nisil)is, situate on the same current of tlie 
 river. For wiiicli reason the Jews, depending 
 on the natural strength of tiiese places, de- 
 posited in them that half shekel whicli every 
 one, by the custom of our country, offers 
 unto God, as well as they did other things de- 
 voted to him J for they made use of these 
 cities as a treasury, whence, at a proper time, 
 they were transmitted to Jerusalem ; and 
 many ten thousand men undertook 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 and Anileus, of the city Neerda 
 by birth, and brethren to one another. Tiiey 
 were destitute of a father ; and their mother 
 put them to learn the art of weaving 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 tliat they came too late to 
 their work, and punished them with stripes j 
 but they took this just punishment as an 
 afi'ront, and carried off all the weapons which 
 were kept in tliat house, which were not a 
 few, and went into a certain place where was 
 a partition of tlie rivers, and was a place na- 
 turally very fit for the feeding of cattle, and 
 for preserving such fruits as were 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 hindred 
 them from being their leaders into mischief; 
 for, as soon as they were become invincible, 
 and had built them 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 tlieir maintenance, proposing 
 also that they vi ould be their friends, if they 
 would submit to them, and that tliey would de- 
 fend 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 ; wliereby their for- 
 ces grew greater, and they became lords over 
 all they pleased, because they marched sud- 
 denly, and did them a mischief, insomuch that 
 every body who liad to do with them chose 
 to pay them respect ; and they became formi- 
 dable to such as came to assault them, till the 
 report about them came to the ears of the 
 king of Parthia himself. 
 
 2. But when the governor of Babylonia 
 understood this, and had a mind to put a stop 
 to them before they grew greater, and bei'ore 
 greater mischiefs should arise from them, he 
 got together as great an army as he could, 
 both of Parthians and Babylonians, and march- 
 eti 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 ; 
 
 'V. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 V.^ 
 
 505 i 
 
 but on the next day (it was the Snbbath, which 
 is among the Jews a day of rest from all sorts 
 of work) he supposed that the enemy would 
 not dare to figlit him thereon, but that he 
 would take them and carry them away prison- 
 ers, without fighting. He therefore proceed- 
 ed gradually, 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 afraiit 
 that some enemies are coming upon us to en- 
 compass us round. However, let somebody 
 go to look about, and make • report of what 
 reality there is in the present state of things ; 
 and may what I have said prove a false a- 
 larm !" "And when he had said this, some of 
 thein went out to spy out what was the mat- 
 ter ; and they came again immediately, and 
 said to him, that " neither hast thou been 
 niistaken 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 marching 
 upon us, while we are destitute of liands to 
 defend ourselves withal, because we are re- 
 strained 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 ne- 
 cessity they were fallen into, and break their 
 law by avenging themselves, althouKh tiiey 
 should die in the action, than by doing no- 
 thing to please their enemies in submitting to 
 be slain by them. Accordingly, he took up 
 his weapons, and infused 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 
 despised them, and came as to a certain vic- 
 tory, and put the rest to flight. 
 
 3. But when the news of this fight came 
 to the king of Parthia, he was surprised at 
 the boldness of these brethren, and was desir- 
 ous to sec them, and speak with them. He 
 therefore sent the most trusty of all his guards 
 to say thus to them : — " That king Artaba- 
 nus, although he had been unjustly treated 
 by you, who have made an attempt against 
 his government, yet hath he more regard 
 to your courageous behaviour than to the 
 anger he bears to you, and hatli sent me to 
 give you his right handf and security; and 
 
 * ''EvifrrixtTm is here, and in very many other places 
 of Joscptius, " immediately at hand," ana is to hi; so 
 cxpouiutcd, 2 Thess. ii, i.', when some falselv pretended 
 that St. Paul had said, cilher by word of niou'h or Ijv 
 an epistle, or by both, " that the day of Clinsi .xss \m- 
 mediately at hand ;" for still .St. Paul did then plainly 
 think that day not very many yeans future. 
 
 t The joining of the right hands was esteemed amor., 
 the Persians [and Parthians] in partieiilar, a most invi"!' 
 2 U 
 
506 
 
 ANTIQUITIE-S OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XVIII 
 
 he permits you to come to him safely, and 
 ■without any violence upon the road, and he 
 wants to have you address yourselves to him 
 as friends, vvithout meaning any guile or de- 
 ceit to you. He also promises to make you 
 presents, and to pay you those respects 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 pre- 
 sence ; and when Artabanus saw Anileus com- 
 ing alone, he inquired into the reason why 
 Asineus avoided to come along with him ; 
 and when he understood that he was afraid, 
 and staid 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 assur- 
 ances 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 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 suspect- 
 ed of injustice. When Artabanus 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 go- 
 vernors of provinces by the courage of these 
 Jewish brethren, lest they should make a 
 league with them ; for they were ready for a 
 revolt, and were disposed to rebel, h^d 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 revolted, the party of Asi- 
 neus and those in Babylonia should be aug- 
 mented, 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 farther mischief to 
 him. 
 
 4. When the king had these intentions, he 
 sent away Anileus; and Anileus prevailed 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 were 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 comparison, he 
 showed his soul to be, in all respects, superior 
 to his body ; and when, as they were drinking 
 together, he once showed Asineus to Abdaga- 
 
 able obligation to fidelity, as Dr. Hudson here observes, 
 ajid refers to the commentary on Justin, b. xi, ch. xv, 
 f'jr its confirmation. We often meet with the like use 
 Of it in Josephus. 
 • See the above note. 
 
 ses, one of the generals of his army, and told 
 him his name, and described the great cour- 
 age he was of in war, and Abdagases had de- 
 sired 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 my 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 beest 
 a truly warlike man, thou standest not in need 
 of my perjury. Go thou then, and avenge 
 the Parthian government; attack this man, 
 when he is returned back, and conquer him 
 by the forces that are under thy command, 
 without my privity." Hereupon the king 
 called for Asineus, and said to him, " It is 
 time for thee, O thou young man ! to retiu-n 
 home, and not provoke the indignation of my 
 generals in this place any fartlier, lest they 
 attempt to murder thee, and that without my 
 approbation. I commit to 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 inviol- 
 able to thee, and that not in trifling affairs, 
 but in those that concerned thy safety, and do 
 therefore deserve thou shouldst be kind to 
 me." W^hen he had said this, and given 
 Asineus some presents, he sent him away im- 
 mediately , who, when he was 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 were 'u\ 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 con- 
 dition of his for fifteen years. 
 
 5. 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 transgressed the laws cf 
 their forefathers, and fell under the domi- 
 nion 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 accom- 
 plishments, and particularl)' was admired 
 above all other women for her beauty. Ani- 
 leus, 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 obtain- 
 ing power over her as a captive, and partly 
 because he thought he could not conquer h'u 
 
 ^ 
 
■V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 507 
 
 inclinations for J.cr. As soon, therefore, as 
 her husband had been declared an enemy to 
 thetn, and was fallen in the battle, the widow 
 of the deceased was married to this her lover. 
 However, this woman did not come into 
 their house without producing great misfor- 
 tunes, both to Anileus himself, and to Asi- 
 neus also ; but brought great mischiefs upon 
 tliem 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 in their own houses, and 
 to carry them along with them when they go 
 into a foreign land ; agreeably to which cus- 
 tom of theirs she carried her idols with her. 
 Now, at first she performed her worship to 
 them privately, but when she was become 
 Anileus's married wife, she worshipped 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, 
 tliat 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 cere- 
 monies ; that he ought to consider, lest by 
 allowing himself in many pleasures of the 
 body, he might lose his principality, on ac- 
 count of the beauty of a wife, and that high 
 authority which, by God's blessing, he had 
 arrived at. But when they prevailed not at 
 all upon him, he slew one of them for whom 
 ne had the greatest respect, because of the 
 liberty he took with him ; who, when he was 
 dying, out of regard to the laws, imprecated 
 a punishment upon his murderer Anileus, 
 and upon Asineus also, and that all their com- 
 panions might come to a like end from their 
 enemies ; upon the two first as the principal 
 actors of this wickedness, and upon the rest 
 as those that would not assist him when he 
 suflTered in the defence of their laws. Now 
 these latter were sorely grieved, yet did they 
 tolerate these doings, because they remem- 
 bered that they had arrived at their present 
 happy state by no other means 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 long- 
 er ; and a greater number of them came to 
 Asineus, and loudly complained of Anileus, 
 and told him, that it had been well that he 
 had of himself seen what was advantageous 
 
 » This custom of the Mesopotamians to carry their 
 household-gods along with them wherever they'travel- 
 leii, is as old as the days of Jacob, when Rachel his wife 
 did the same (Gen. xxxi, 19, oo — 35) ; nor is it to pass 
 here uuobser\ed, what great miseries came on these 
 Jews, because they suffered one of tlieir leaders to mar- 
 ry ail idolatrous wife, contrary to the law of Moses. Of 
 which matter see the note on b. xix, ch. ^ sect. 3. 
 
 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 
 without a regard to tlieir old laws ; and that 
 the worship which this woman paid [to her 
 gods] was a reproach to the God whom tliey 
 worshipped. Now Asineus was sensible of 
 his brother's offence, that it had been already 
 the cause of great mischiefs, 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 cla- 
 mours about it became greater, he at length 
 spake to Anileus about these clamours, re 
 proving him for his former actions, and de- 
 siring 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 tumuli 
 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 in- 
 fused poison into Asineus's food, and thereby 
 took him off, and was now secure of prevail- 
 ing, when her lover was to be judge of what 
 should be done about her. 
 
 6. 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 mar- 
 ried king Artabanus's daughter ; he also plun- 
 dered 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 injury to him be- 
 forehand ; and he got together 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 was arrived 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 tl)is by a Syrian 
 stranger of another village, who not only gave 
 him an exact account of other circumstances, 
 but told him where Mithridates would have a 
 feast, he took his supper at a proper time, and 
 marched by night, witli an intent of falling 
 upon the Parthians while they were unap. 
 prised 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 
 
608 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 asleep, and others he put to flight, and took 
 Mithridates alive, and set him naked upon an 
 ass,* which, among the Partliians, 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 
 INIithridates, he soon told them his own mind 
 to the contrary, and said, that it was not right 
 to kill a man who was of one of the principal 
 families among the Parthians, and greatly 
 honoured with matching into the royal fami- 
 ly ; that so far as they had hitherto gone was 
 tolerable ; for although they had injured Mi- 
 thridates, 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 were once put to death, the king would 
 not be at rest till he had made a great slaugh- 
 ter of the Jews that dwelt at Babylon ; " to 
 whose safety ve ought to have a regard, both 
 on account of our relation to them, and be- 
 cause, 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 persuaded them to act according- 
 ly ; so Mithridates was let go. But, when 
 he was 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 
 tlie gods of their royal family, that she would 
 certainly dissolve her marriage with him. 
 Upon which, partly because he could not 
 bear the daily trouble of her taunts, and part- 
 ly because he was afraid of her insolence, lest 
 she should in earnest dissolve their marriage, 
 he unwillingly, and against his inclinations, 
 got together again as great an army as he 
 could, and marched along with them, as him- 
 self thinking it a thing not to be borne any 
 longer, tli^ he, a Parthian, should owe his 
 preservation to the Jews, when they had been 
 too hard for him in the war. 
 
 7. 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 opportunity 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 attempts. 
 Accordingly he led out his army ; and a 
 great many more joined themselves to that 
 army, in order to bct.ike themselves to plun- 
 der the people, and in order to terrify the e- 
 
 • This custom in Syria and Mesopotamia, of setting 
 men upon an ass, by way of disgrace, is still kept up at 
 Damascus in Syria ; where, in order to show their de- 
 BPite against the Christians, the Turks will not suffer 
 them to hire horses, but asses only, when they go abroad 
 to see tlie country, as Mr. Maundrell assures us, P- l-'X 
 
 BOOK XVIII. 
 
 nemy 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 be- 
 come very thirsty : and Mithridates 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 in to Ani- 
 leus a conflux 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 multi- 
 tude of those that perished in the fight. Yet 
 were not these men like to those that fell, be- 
 cause they were rash, and unexercised in war : 
 however, with these he came upon the vil- 
 lages of the Babylonians, and a mighty de- 
 vastation of all things was made there by the 
 injuries that Anileus did them. So the Ba- 
 bylonians, 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 de- 
 sire 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 discours- 
 ed witli Anileus about them. But the Baby- 
 lonians, upon taking a view of his situation, 
 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. 
 
 S. The Babylonians were now freed from 
 Anileus's heavy incursions, which had been a 
 great restraint to the eflfects of that hatred 
 they bore to the Jews : for they were almost 
 always at variance, by reason of the contrarie- 
 ty of their laws ; and which party soever grew 
 boldest before the other, they assaulted the 
 other-, and at this time in particular it was, 
 that upon the ruin of Anileus's party, the 
 Babyh nians attacked the Jews, which made 
 those Jews so vehemently to resent the inju- 
 ries they received from the BabyJonians, that, 
 being neither able to fight them, nor bearing 
 to live with them, they went to Seleucia, the 
 principal city of those parts, which was built 
 by Stljucus Nicator. It was inhabited by 
 many of the Macedonians, but by more of the 
 Grecians ; not a few of the Syriaiis also 
 , dwelt there; and thither did the Jews fly, and 
 
 'V 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 609 
 
 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 happen- 
 ed that a still heavier calamity came upon 
 them on that account, — which 1 am going to 
 relate immediatel)'. 
 
 9. Now the way of living of the people of 
 Seleucia, who were Greeks and Syrians, was 
 commonly quarrelsome, and full of discords, 
 though the Greeks were too hard for the Sy- 
 rians. When, therefore, the Jews were 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 had but one way of recovering 
 their former authority, and that was, if they 
 could prevent the agreement between the 
 Jews and the Syrians, they every one discours- 
 ed with such of the Syrians as were formerly 
 their acquaintance, and promised they would be 
 at peace and friendship with them. According- 
 ly, they gladly agreed so to do ; and when 
 tliis 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. Accordingly they fell upon them, and 
 slew about fifty thousand of them ; nay, the 
 Jews were all destroyed, excepting a few 
 who escaped, either by the compassion wliich 
 their friends or neighbours afforded them in 
 order to let them fly away. These retired lo 
 Ctt'siphon, 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 Se- 
 leucia hiiving little concern for the king's ho- 
 nour. Now the whole nation of the Jews 
 were in fear both of the Babylonians and ot 
 the Seleucians, because all the Syrians that 
 live in those places agreea with the Seleucians 
 in the war against the Jews ; so the most of 
 them gathered themselves together, and went to 
 Neerda and Nisibis, and obtained security 
 tliere by the strength of tiiose cities; besides 
 which, their inhabitants, who were a great 
 many, were all warlike men. And this was 
 the state of the Jews at this time in Baby- 
 lonia. 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 CONTAIN NG THE INTERVAL OF THREE YEARS AND A HALF. 
 
 FROM THE JEWS' DEPARTURE OUT OF BABYLON TO FADUS THE 
 ROMAN PROCURATOR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW CMOS • WAS SLAIN BY CHEfiEA. 
 
 § 1. Now this Caius f 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 
 
 • In this and the next three chapters we have, I think, 
 a larger and more distinct account of the slaujTtiter ol' 
 €aius, and the succession of Claudius, than we liuvc of 
 any such ancient facts whatsoever elsewhere. Som« of 
 the occasions of which probably were, Josephiis's bitter 
 hatred against tyranny ; and the pleasure he took in 
 giving the history of the slaugliter of such a barbarous 
 tyrant as was this Caius Caligula, as also the deliverance 
 his own nation had by that slaughter, of which he 
 speaks, sect. 2, together with the great intim.icy he had 
 with Agrippa, junior, whose father was deeply concerned 
 in the advancement of Claudius, upon the death of 
 Caius ; from which Agrippa, junior, Jo^ephus niiglitbe 
 fully informed of this history. 
 
 1 Called Caligula by the Roman* -^ 
 
 itself through all the earth and sea, so far as 
 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, whik> he deemed that not to be 
 any way more honourable than the rest of tlie 
 cities; but he pulled and liauled its other ci- 
 tizens, but especially the senate, and particu- 
 larly the nobility, and such as had been dig- 
 nified by illustrious ancestors ; he also had 
 ten tliousand devices against such of the 
 equestrian order, as it was styled, who were 
 esteemed by the citizens equal in digni- 
 ty and wealth with the senators, because 
 out of them the senators were themselves 
 chosen ; these he treated after an ignomini- 
 ous manner, and removed them out of liis 
 Way while they were at once slain, and their 
 
610 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 wealth plundered; because he slew men ge- 
 nerally, in order to seize on their riches. He 
 also asserted his own divinity, and insisted on 
 greater honours to be paid liim by his sub- 
 jects than are due to mankind. He also fre- 
 quented that temple of Jupiter which they 
 style the Capitol, which is with them the most 
 holy of ail tiinples, and had boldness enough 
 to call himself the brother of Jupiter. And 
 other pranks he did like a madman ; as when 
 he laid a bridge from the city Dicearchia, 
 wliich belongs to Campania, to Misenum, 
 anotl)er city upon the sea-side, from one pro- 
 montory 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 
 sl)ip, 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 obe- 
 dience as well as the earth ; so he enclosed 
 the whole bay within liis 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 
 sculptures, and the rest of the ornaments of 
 the statues and donations therein dedicated, 
 sliould be brought to him, saying, that the 
 best things ought to be set nowhere but in 
 the best place, and that the city of Rome was 
 that best place. He also adorned his own 
 house and his gardens with the curiosities 
 brought from those temples, together with the 
 houses belay at when he travelled all over Italy ; 
 wlience he did not scruple to give a command, 
 that the statue of Jupiter Olympius, 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 not he compass his end, be- 
 cause the architects told Memmius Regulus, 
 who was commanded to remove that statue of 
 Jupiter, that the workmanship was such as 
 would be spoiled, and would not bear the re- 
 moval. It was also reported that Memmius, 
 both on that account, and on account of some 
 such mighty prodigies as are of an incredible 
 nature, put oflf the taking it dowUj and wrote 
 to Cains those accounts, as his 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. 
 2. 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 cliiid 
 was common to him and to Jupiter, and de- 
 termined that she had two fathers, — but which 
 of these fathers were the greatest, he left un- 
 determine-' ; and yet mankind bore him in 
 such his pranks. He also gave leave to slaves 
 to accuse their masters of any crimes whatso- 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 ever they pleased ; for all such accusations 
 were terrible, because they were in great part 
 made to please him, and at his suggestion, 
 insomuch that Pollux, Cladius's slave, had 
 the boldness to lay an accusation against 
 Cladius 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 
 filled the whole habitable world which he go- 
 verned, 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 them- 
 selves, on account of the miseries they had al- 
 ready undergone from him ; and others made 
 attempts upon him, in order to take him off 
 before they should fall into such great miseries, 
 while his death came very fortunately for the 
 preservation of the laws of all men, and had 
 a great influence upon the public welfare • 
 and this happened most happily for our nation 
 in particular, which had almost utterly perish- 
 ed if he had not been suddenly slain ; and I 
 confess I have a mind to give a full account 
 of this matter particularly, because it will af- 
 ford great assurance of the power of God, and 
 great comfort to those that are under afflic- 
 tions, and wise caution to those who think 
 their happiness will never end, nor biing theiE 
 at length to the most lasting miseries, if they 
 do not conduct their lives by the principles 
 of virtue. 
 
 3. Now there were three several conspiracies 
 made, in order to take off Caius, and each of 
 these three were conducted by excellent per- 
 sons. Emilius Regulus, born at Corduba in 
 Spain, got some men together, and was de- 
 sirous to take Caius ofT, either by them or by 
 himself. Another conspiracy there was laid 
 by them, under the conduct of Cherea Cassius, 
 the tribune [of the pretorian band] ; Minuci. 
 anus 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: — Regulus had in- 
 dignation 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 communicated them to many 
 of his friends, and to others who seemed to 
 him persons of activity and vigour ; Munici-- 
 anus entered into this conspiracy, because of 
 the injustice done to Lepidus his particular 
 friend, and one of the best character of all the 
 citizens, whom Caius had slain, as also be- 
 cause he was afraid of himself, since Caius's 
 wrath tended to the slaughter of all alike : 
 and for Cherea, be came in, beacuse he 
 thought it a deed worthy of a free ingenuous 
 man to kill Caius, and was ashamed of the r<t> 
 
 '\. 
 
J~ 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 511 
 
 proaches he lay under from Caius, as though 
 he were a coward ; as also because he was 
 himself in danger every day from his friend- 
 ship with him, and the observance he paid 
 him. These men proposed this attempt to all 
 the rest that were concerned, who saw the in- 
 juries that were offered them, and were de- 
 sirous that Caius's slaughter might succeed 
 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 ap- 
 prove themselves to so many excellent per- 
 sons as earnestly wished to be partakers with 
 them in their design, for the delivery of the 
 city and of the government, even at the ha- 
 zard of their own lives*; but still Clierea was 
 the most zealous of them all, botli out of a 
 desire of getting himself 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. 
 
 4. 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 j who usually 
 did not think fit to deny them their requests, 
 but readily and gratefully granted them. Ac- 
 cordingly tliey most importunately desired 
 that Caius would now ease them in their tri- 
 butes, and abate somewhat of the rigour of 
 the taxes imposed upon them; but he would 
 not hear their petition ; and, when their cla- 
 mours increased, he sent soldiers, some one 
 way and some 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 com- 
 manded 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 therr money, brought immediate death up- 
 on 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 feasting, yet did 
 he restrain himself by some considerations ; 
 not that he Imd any doubt on him about kill- 
 ing him, but as watching for a proper season, 
 that the attempt might not be frustrated, but 
 that he might give the blow so as might cer- 
 tainly gain his purpose. 
 
 5. Cherea had been in the army a long 
 time, yet was he not pleased with conversing 
 CO muph with Caius : but Caius Ijad set hitn i 
 
 to require the tributes, and other dues, which, 
 when not paid in due time, were forfeited to 
 Cassar's treasury ; and he had made some de- 
 lays 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 provoked Caius 
 to anger by his sparing men, and pitying the 
 hard fortunes of those from whom he de- 
 manded the taxes; and Caius upbraided him 
 with his sloth and effeminacy in being so long 
 about collecting the taxes ; and indeed he did 
 not only affront him in other respects, but when 
 he gave him the watch-word of the day, to 
 whom it was to be given by his place, he 
 gave him feminine words, and those of a na- 
 ture very reproachful ; and these watch-words 
 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 sometimes 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 he, 
 by way of reproach, object the like womanish 
 behaviour to Cherea. But when Cherea re- 
 ceived the watch-word from him, he had in- 
 dignation at it, but had greater indignation 
 at the delivery of it to others, as being laugh- 
 ed at by those that received it ; insomuch 
 that his fellow-tribunes made him the subject 
 of their drollery ; for they would foretel that 
 he would bring them some of his usual watch- 
 words when he was about to take the watch- 
 word from Casar, and would thereby make 
 him ridiculous ; on which account he took 
 the courage of assuming certain partners to 
 him, as having just reasons for his indigna- 
 tion against Caius. Now there was one Pom- 
 pedius, a senator, and one who had gone 
 through almost all posts in the government, 
 but otherwise an Epicurean, and for that rea- 
 son loved to lead an inactive life. Now Ti- 
 midius, an enemy of his, had informed Caius 
 that he had used indecent reproaches against 
 him, and he made use of Quintilia for a wit- 
 ness to them : a woman she was much be- 
 loved 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 anj- 
 delay, to torture Quintilia, as he used to em 
 ploy Cherea in such bloody matters, and those 
 that required the torture, because he thought 
 he would do it the more barbarously, in order 
 to avoid that imputation of efleminacy which 
 he had laid upon him. But Quintilia, when 
 she was brought to the rack, trod upon the 
 foot of one of her associates, and let him 
 
 ■\. 
 
512 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Xl.X 
 
 know that he might be of good courage, and do, till soiDcbody becomes Caius's instrumen! 
 not be afraid of the consecjuence of her tor- ! in bringing the like miseries upon ourselves. 
 
 tares, 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 somewhat aflected 
 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 glorious 
 patience under such unsiifferable torments. 
 
 6. 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 wortl:y of consolation to Caius 
 himself; on which account he said to Clement 
 and to Papinius (of whom Clement was ge- 
 neral of the army, and Piipiniuswasatribune) : 
 " To be sure, O Clement, we Dave no w ay failed 
 in our guarding the emperor; for as to those 
 that have made conspiracies against his go- 
 vernment, 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 him- 
 self pitied them. How great then is our vir- 
 tue in submitting to conduct his armies!" 
 Clement held his peace, but showed the shame 
 lie was under in obeying Caius's orders, both 
 bv his eves and his blubhing countenance, while 
 he thought it by no means right to accuse the 
 cmperoi in express words, lest their own safe- 
 y should be endangered thereby. Upon 
 which Cherea took courage, and spake to him 
 without fear of the dangers that were before 
 him, and discoursed largely of the sore ca- 
 lamities under which the city and the govern- 
 ment then laboured, and said, " We may in- 
 deed pretend in words, that Caius is the per- 
 son 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, O 
 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 com- 
 mands 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 terribly injured the citizens and his sub- 
 iecfs, we are his guard in n^iischief and his 
 exttulioners, instead of his soldiers, and aie 
 the instruments of his cruelty. We bear 
 these weapons, not for our liberty, not for the 
 Roman government, but only for liis preser- 
 vation, who hath enslaved both their bodies 
 and their minds; and we are every day pol- 
 luted with the blood that we shed, and the 
 liiruierts we iiifli'-i upon otliers ; and this "e 
 
 Nor does he thus employ us, because he hatli 
 a kindness for us, but rather because he hath 
 a suspicion of us, as also because, when abun- 
 dance more have been killed (for 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 ex- 
 posed to his cruelty; whereas we ought to be 
 the means of confirming the security and li- 
 berty of all, and at the same time to resolve 
 to free ourselves from dangers. 
 
 7. Hereupon Clement openly commended 
 Cherea's intentions, but bade him hold his 
 tongue; for in that case his words should get 
 out among many, and such things should 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 pu- 
 nishment ; but that they should leave all to fu- 
 turity, and the hope which thence arose, that 
 some fortunate event would come to their as- 
 sistance : that, as for himself, his age would 
 not permit him to make any attempt in that 
 case. " However, although perhaps I could 
 not suggest what may be safer than what thou, 
 Cherea, hast contrived and said, yet how is it 
 possible for any one to suggest what is more 
 for thy reputation ?" So Clement went his 
 way home, with deep reflections on what he 
 liad heard, and what he had himself said. 
 Cherea also was under a concern, and went 
 quickly to Cornelius Sabinus, who was him- 
 self one of the tribunes, and whom he other- 
 wise knew to be a worthy man, and a lover of 
 liberty, and on that account very uneasy at 
 the present management of public affairs, he 
 being desirous to come immediately to the ex- 
 ecution of what had been determined, and 
 thinking it right for him to projiose it to the 
 other, and afiaid lest Clement should discover 
 them, and besides looking upon delays and 
 puttings-oir to be the next to desisting from 
 the enterprize. 
 
 8. 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 communi- 
 cate that design ; so having now met with onej 
 who not only promised to conceal what he 
 heard, but who had already 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 Minucia- 
 nus, who was as virtuous a man, and as zeal- 
 ous to do glorious actions as themselves, and 
 suspected by Caius on occasion of the slaugh- 
 ter of I^epidus; for Minucianus and Lejjidus 
 were intiniate 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 towards each of them 
 ill particular, and towards all of them in ge- 
 neral ; ai'd these men were aJ'raid of om' m\o- 
 
CIA I', 1. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 61& 
 
 ■.her, while they were yet uneasy at the pos- 
 ture of aliairs, but avoide'l to declare their 
 mii'.d and their hatred against Cains to one 
 another, out of fear of the dangers they might 
 be in thereby, ahhougli they perceived by otiier 
 means their mutual hatred against Caius, and 
 on that account were not averse to a mutual 
 kindness one towards another. 
 
 9. 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 ac- 
 count of his eminent dignity, for he was the 
 noblest of all the citizens, and highly com- 
 mended by all men, especially when he made 
 speeches to them), Minucianus began first, 
 and asked Cherea, What was the watch-word 
 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 confidence in 
 him as to discourse with him. " But do 
 tiiou," said he, " give me the watch-word of 
 liberty. And 1 return thee my thanks, that 
 thou hast so greatly encouraged me to exert 
 myself after an extraordinary manner ; nor 
 do I stand in need of many words to encou- 
 rage me, since both thou and I are of the 
 same mind, and partakers of the same resolu- 
 tions, and this before we have conferred to- 
 gether. I have indeed but one sword girt on, 
 but this one will serve us both. Come on, 
 therefore, let us set about tlie work. Do thou 
 go first, if thou hast a mind, and bid me fol- 
 low thee; or else I will go tirst, and thou 
 shall assist me, and we will assist one ano- 
 ther, and trust one another. Nor is there a 
 necessity for even one sword to such as have 
 a mind disposed to such works, by which 
 mind the sword uses to be successful. I am 
 zealous about this action, nor am I solicitous 
 what I may myself und<Tgo; for I am not 
 at leisure to consider the danger that may 
 come upon myself, so deeply am I troubled 
 at the slavery our once free country is now 
 under, and at the contempt cast upon our ex- 
 cellent laws, and at the destruction which 
 hangs over all men, by the means of Caius, 
 I wisli that I may be judged by thee, and that 
 thoii muyst esteem me worthy of credit in 
 these matters, seeing we are both of the same 
 opinion, and there is herein no difference be- 
 tween us." 
 
 10. When Minucianus saw the vehemency 
 with which Cherea deli\ered himself, he glad- 
 ly embraced him, and encouraged him in his 
 bold attempt, commending him, and embrac- 
 ing him ; so he let him go with his good 
 wishes ; and some affirm, that he thereby con- 
 firmed Minucianus in the prosecution of what 
 had been agreed among them ; for, as Ci)erea 
 entered into the court, tlie report runs, tliat a 
 
 ♦voice came from amoiiir the multiiude to en- 
 
 courage him, which bade him finish what l»e 
 was about, and take the opportunity that 
 Providence offered ; and that Cherea at first 
 suspected th.it some one of the conspirators 
 had betrayed bin., and he was caught ; but at 
 length perceived that it was by way of exhor- 
 tation. Whether someljody,* that was con- 
 scious of what he was about, gave a signal 
 for his encouragement, or whether it was God 
 himself, wlio looks upon the actions of men, 
 that encouraged hiin to go on boldly in his 
 design, is uncertain. The plot was now com- 
 municated to a great many, and they were all 
 in their armour ; some of the conspirators be- 
 ing senators, and some of the equestrian or- 
 der, and as many of the soldiery as were made 
 acquainted 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 behindhand in these vir- 
 tuous designs, but might be ready with all liis 
 alacrity or power, both by words and actions, 
 to complete this slaughter of a tyrant. And 
 besides these, Callistus also, who was a freed- 
 man of Caius, and was the only man that had 
 arrived at the greatest degree of power undtjr 
 him, — such a power, indeed, as was in a man- 
 ner 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 inju- 
 ries without bounds; and was more exlravju 
 gant in the use of his power in unjust pro- 
 ceedings than any other. He also knew the 
 disposition of Caius to be implacable, and 
 never to be turned from what he had resolved 
 on. He had withal many other reasons why 
 he thought himself in danger, and the vast- 
 ness of his wealth was not one of the least of 
 them : on which account he privately ingra- 
 tiated himself with Claudius, and transferred 
 his courtship to him, out of this hope, that in 
 case, upon the removal of Caius, the govern- 
 ment should come to him, his interest in such 
 changes should lay a foundation for his pre- 
 serving his dignity under him, since he laid 
 in beforehand a stock of merit, and did Clau- 
 dius good offices in liis promotion. He also 
 had the boldness to pretend, that he had been 
 persuaded to make away with Claudius, by poi- 
 soning him ; but had still invented ten thou- 
 sand excuses lor delaying to do it. But it 
 seems probable to me lh_iit Callistus only 
 counterfeited this, in order to ingratiate him- 
 self with Claudius; for if Caius had been in 
 earne.it resolved to take off Claudius, he 
 w«uld not have admitted of Callistus's ex- 
 cuses, nor would Callistus, if he had been en- 
 joined to do such an act as was desired by 
 
 • J ust such a voice as this is related to be, carae, and 
 from an unknown oiignial alsi.>, to the famous I'cly. 
 K-a: \t, as lie was sjoiii;; to niartyiitom, biitiliiig hun " pUy 
 vhc man ;" a.s iho curcU of bmyrna assures us in Itit-ir 
 a.L'ouii- of itiat hi.^ mariyidom, secu 9. 
 
 /^ 
 
J- 
 
 614. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Caius, have put it off, nor, if he had disobey- 
 ed those injunctions of his master, had he 
 escaped immediate punishment ; while Clau- 
 dius 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. 
 
 1 ] . However, the execution of Cherea's 
 designs 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, thinking every 
 time a fit time for it, for frequent opportuni- 
 ties olfered 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 head- 
 long, because the top of the palace, that looks 
 toward the market-place, was very high; and 
 also when he celebrated the mysteries, which 
 be had appointed at that time ; for he was 
 then no way secluded from the people, but 
 solicitous to do every thing carefully and de- 
 cently ; and was free from all suspicion that 
 he should be then assaulted by anybody; and 
 although the gods should afford him no di- 
 vine assistance to enable him to take away his 
 life, yet had he strength himself sufficient to 
 dispatch Caius, even without a sword. Thus 
 was Cherea angry at his fellow. conspirators, 
 for fear they siiould suffer a proper opportu- 
 nity to pass by ; and they were themselves 
 sensible that he had just cause to be angry at 
 ihem, and that his eagerness was for tlieir 
 advantage ; yet did they desire he would have 
 a little longer patience, lest, upon any disap- 
 pointment 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 there- 
 fore 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 govern- 
 ment, and transferred it to himself; galleries 
 being fixed before the palace, where the Ro- 
 mans that were patricians became specta- 
 tors, together with their children and their 
 wives, and Caesar himself was to be also 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 
 theui should have a mind to do it, would uot 
 here be able to give him any assistance. 
 
 • Here Josephus supposes that it was Augustus, and 
 not Julius Ctesar, who first changed the Roman com- 
 monwealth into a mcmarchv ; lor tliese shows were m 
 honour of A iigu^tus, as we shall Itaru in the next sec- 
 cion but ou'j 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 1''. Cherea consented to this delay; and 
 when the shows were exhibited, it was resolv- 
 ed to do the work the first day. But for- 
 tune, which allowed a farther delay to his 
 slaughter, was too hard for their foregoing re- 
 solution: and, as three days of the regular 
 time for these shows were now over, they 
 had much ado to get the business done on 
 the last day. Then Cherea called the con- 
 spirators 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 vve are engaged in ; 
 but more fatal will this delay prove if we be 
 discovered, and the de->ign be frustrated ;— 
 for Caius will then become more cruel in his 
 unjust proceedings. Do not we see how 
 long we deprive all our friends of their liber- 
 ty, and give Caius leave still to tyrannize 
 over them ? while we ought to have procured 
 them security for the future, and, by laying a 
 foundation for the happiness of others, gain 
 to ourselves great admiration and honour for 
 all time to come." Now, while the conspira- 
 tors 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, " O, 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, It is therefore for 
 your honour to let a man go out of your 
 hands who is a reproach 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 free-men, 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 cheeri'ully whatsoever shall 
 be the consequence 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 ?" 
 
 13. When Clierea had spoken thus, he 
 zealously 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 farther de- 
 lay. So he was at the palace in the morning, 
 with his equestrian sword girt on liim ; for it 
 was the custom that the tribunes should ask 
 for the watch-word with their swords on, and 
 this was the day on which Cherea was by cus- 
 tom to receive the watch-w ord ; and the mul- 
 titude were already come to the palace, to be 
 soon enough for seeing the shows, and that in 
 great crowds, and one tumultuously crushing 
 another, while Caius was delighted with thie 
 
 'X 
 
 J' 
 
"V, 
 
 CHAP. r. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 515 
 
 eagerness of the multitude ; for which reason 
 there was no order observed in the sealing men, 
 nor was any peculiar place appointed for the se- 
 nators, or for the equestrian order ; but they 
 sat at random, men and women together, and 
 iVeemen were mixed with the slaves. So 
 Caius came out in a solemn manner, and of- 
 fered sacrifice to Augustus Czesar, in whose 
 honour indeed these shows were celebrated. 
 Now it happened, upon the fall of a certain 
 priest, that the garment of Asprenas, a sena- 
 tor, was filled with blood, which made Caius 
 laugh, although this was an evident omen to 
 Asprenas, for he was slain at the same time 
 witli Caius. It is also related, that Caius was 
 that day, contrary to his usual custom, so very 
 affable and good-natured in his conversation, 
 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 purpose, as did also the 
 principal of his friends sit near him. Now 
 the parts of the theatre were so fastened to- 
 gether, as it used to be every year, in the 
 manner following : — It had two doors ; the 
 one door 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 Che- 
 rea, with the other tribunes were set down 
 also, and the right corner of the theatre 
 was allotted to Cffisar, one Vatinius, a sena- 
 tor, commander of the Pretorian band, asked 
 of Cluviua, one that sat by him, and was of 
 consular 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 slaughter of tyrants is to be 
 played this day." But Cluvius replied, " O 
 brave comrade ! hold thy oeace, 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 
 rareness, Caius was pleased with the birds 
 fighting for the fruits, and with the violence 
 wherewith the spectators seized upon them : 
 and here he perceived two prodigies that hap- 
 pened there ; for an actor was introduced, by 
 whom a leader of robbers was crucified, and 
 the pantomime brougiit in a play called Ciny- 
 ras, wherein he liimself was to be slain, as well 
 as his daughter Myrrha, and wherein a great 
 deal of fictitious blood was shed, both about 
 him that was crucified, and also about Ciny- 
 ras. It is also confessed, that tliis was the 
 same day wherein Pauaanias, a friend of Phi- 
 
 lip, the son of Amyntas, who was sing of 
 Macedonia, slew him as he was entering into 
 tlie theatre. And now Caius was in doubt 
 whether he should tarr;,- to the end of the 
 shows, because it was the last day, or whether 
 he should not go first to the bath, and to din- 
 ner, and then return and sit down as before 
 Hereupon Minucianus, who sat over Caius, 
 and was afraid that the opportunity should 
 fail them, got up, because he saw Cherea was 
 already gone out, ar/d made haste out, to 
 confirm him in his resolution ; but Caius 
 took hold of his garment in an obliging way, 
 and said to him, — *' O brave man? whither 
 art thou going ?" Whereupon, out of reve- 
 rence to Csesar, 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 noway oppose his going out, aa 
 thinking that he went out to perform some ne- 
 cessities of nature. And Asprenas, who was 
 one of the confederates, persuaded Caius to 
 go out to the bath, and to dinner, and tlien 
 to come in again ; as desirous that wiiat had 
 been resolved on might be brought to a con 
 elusion immediately. 
 
 1 4. 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 tediousness '•f the delays, 
 and that what they were about should be put 
 off 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 with- 
 out much bloodshed, both of the senators and 
 of those of the equestrian order that were 
 present ; and although he knew this must hap- 
 pen, yet had he a great mind to do so, aa 
 thinking it a right thing to procure security 
 and freedom to all, at the expense of such as 
 might perish at the same time. And as they 
 were just going back into the entrance to 
 the theatre, word was brought them tha 
 Caius was arisen, whereby a tumult was 
 made ; hereupon the conspirators thrust away 
 the crowd, under pretence as if Caius was 
 angry at them, but in reality as desirous to 
 have a quiet place, that should have none in 
 it to defend him, \\hile they set about Caius's 
 slaughter. Now Claudius, his uncle, was 
 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 dig- 
 nity hindered them so to do; then followed 
 j Caius, with Paulus Arruntius : and because 
 j Caius was now gotten witliin the palace, he 
 left the direct road, along which those his ser- 
 
 » Suetonius says Caius was slam about tlie sevcntk 
 liour of the day, Joseimus about the niniii. Tl>e seria 
 of the narration favours Josei'hui! 
 
 "X 
 
J~ 
 
 516 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ▼ants stood that were in waiting, and by 
 which road Claudius had gone out before, 
 Caius turned aside into a private narrow pas- 
 sage, in order to go to the place for bathing, 
 as also in order to take a view of tiie boys that 
 catne out of Asia, who were sent thence part- 
 ly to sing hymns in these mysteries which 
 were now celebrated, and partly to dance in 
 tfie Pyrrhic way of dancing upon tlie theatres. 
 So Cherea met him, and asked him for the 
 watch-word ; upon Caius's giving him one of 
 his ridiculous words, he immediately reproach- 
 ed 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 severely by a mul- 
 titude of wounds, yet does this story ajipear 
 to be incredible ; because 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, 
 in pleasing himself in his spite against Caius, 
 ratiier than immediately procuring safety to 
 himself and to his confederates from the dan- 
 gers they were in ; because there might many 
 things still happen for help'ng Caius's escape, 
 if he liad not already given up the ghost; for 
 certainly Cherea would have regard, not so 
 much to the punishment of Caius, as to the 
 afiliction 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, and not leave it to uncer- 
 tainty whether he should gain the end he aim- 
 •ed at or not; and after an unreasonable man- 
 ner to act as if he had a mind to ruin himself, 
 and lose the opjjortunity that lay before him. 
 But every body 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, be- 
 tween ihe shoulder and the neck, was hinder- 
 C'.l by the first bone of the breast from pro- 
 ceeding any farther. Nor did he either cry 
 out (in such astonishment was he), nor did he 
 call out for any of his friends; whetlier it 
 were tliat he had no confidence in them, or 
 that his mind was otherwise disordered, but 
 lie groaned under the pain he endured, and 
 presently went forward and fli.d, — when Cor- 
 nelius Sabinus, who was already prepared in 
 mind so to do, thrust him down upon his 
 knee, where many of them stood round about 
 hiu), and struck him with their swords, and 
 they cried out, and encouraged one another 
 all at once to strike him again ; but all agree 
 that Aquila gave him the finishing stroke, 
 vNliicli directly killed him. Eut 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 be- 
 fore all the rest to prepare for it; and was the 
 iitst man Itiat boldly bpake of it to the tq^I ; 
 
 BOOK XIX 
 
 and upon their admission of what he said 
 about It, he got the dispersed conspirators to- 
 gether ; he prepared every thing after a pru- 
 dent manner, and by suggesting good advice, 
 showed himself far superior to the rest, and 
 made obliging speeches to them, insomuch 
 tliat he even compelled them all to go on, who 
 otherwise had not couiage 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 
 virtuous 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 ad 
 vice, and bravery, and labours of the hands 
 of Cherea. 
 
 15. Thus did Caius come to his end, and 
 lay dead, by the many wounds which had 
 been given him. Now Cherea and his asso- 
 ciates, upon Caius's slaughter, saw that it was 
 impossible for them to save themselves, if they 
 sh.ould all go the same way, partly on account 
 of the astonishment they were under ; for it 
 was no small danger they had incurred by 
 killing an emperor, who was honoured and 
 loved by the madness of the people, especial- 
 ly when the soldiers were likely to make a 
 bloody inquiry after his muiderers. Tlie 
 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'? 
 guard that day ; whence it was that they went 
 by other ways, and came to the house of Ger- 
 manicus, the father of Caius, whom they had 
 now killed (which house adjoined to the pa- 
 lace ; for while the edifice was one, it was 
 built in its several parts by those particular 
 persons who had been emperors, and those 
 parts bare 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 
 tlie present out of danger, that is, so long as 
 the misfortune which had overtaken the em- 
 peror was not known. The Germans were 
 the first who perceived that Caius was slain. 
 These Germans were Caius's guard, and car- 
 ried the name of the country whence they 
 were chosen, and composed the Celtic legion. 
 The men of that country are naturally pas- 
 sionate, which is commonly the temper of 
 some otiier 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 at- 
 tacked 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 themselves received, Caius 
 being beloved by them, because of the money 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 51' 
 
 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 tlie 
 virtuous actions of iiis progenitors, for he had 
 been a gladiator, but he had obtained that 
 post in the army by liis having a robust body. 
 So these Germans marched along the houses 
 in quest of Cajsar's murderers, and cut Aspre- 
 nas to pieces, because he was the first man 
 they fell upon, and whose garment it was that 
 the blood of the sacrifices stained, as I liave 
 said already, and which foretold that this Iiis 
 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 a- 
 mong 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 to be willing 
 to die without a struggle for his life, until he 
 was surrounded by a great number of assail- 
 ants, 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 lie loved 
 to see Caius lie dead with liis own eyes, and 
 took a pleasure in that sight; for Caius had 
 Vanished Anteius's father, who was of the 
 same name with himself, and, being not sa- 
 tisfied with that, he sent out his soldiers, and 
 slew him ; so he was 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 whicli the Germans made, 
 while they barbarously slew those that were 
 guilty and those that were notguilly, and this 
 equally also. And thus were these [three] 
 persons slain. 
 
 16. But when the rumour that Caius was 
 slain reached the theatre, they were astonished 
 at it, and could not believe it : even some tiiat 
 entertained his destruction with great plea- 
 sure, and were more desirous 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, btcause they 
 were unwilling that any such thing should 
 come to Caius, nor could believe it, though it 
 were ever so true, because they thougiit 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 last sort had taken liis pay, 
 and in a manner tyrannized with liim, 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 youtli,, the • had 
 
 been inveigled with shows, and the figlitings 
 of the gladiators, and certain distributions ot 
 flesh-meat among them, which things in pre- 
 tence were designed for the pleasing of the 
 multitude, but in reality to satiate the barba- 
 rous cruelty and madness of Carus. Tlie 
 slaves also were sorry, because they were by 
 Caius allowed to accuse and to despise their 
 masters, and they could have recourse to his 
 assistance wlien they had unjustly affronted 
 them ; for he was very easy in believing them 
 against their masters, even when they accused 
 them falsely ; and, if they would discover what 
 money their masters had, they might soon ob- 
 tain botli riches and liberty, as the rewards of 
 their accusations, because the reward of these 
 informers was the eighth* part of the crimi- 
 nal's substance. As to the nobles, alfliough 
 the report appeared credible to some of them, 
 either because they knew of the plot before- 
 hand, or because they wished it might be 
 true; however, tliey 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 tliey had lliat if 
 the report proved false, they should be pu- 
 nished, tor having so soon let men know their 
 minds. But those that knew Caius vvas dead, 
 because they were partners with the conspira- 
 tors, 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, tliey might be informed against, 
 and punished. And another report went a- 
 bout, that although Caius had been wounded 
 indeed, yet was not he dead, but alive still, 
 and under the physician'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 lie was one tiiat hated 
 him, who therefore might be suspected to de- 
 serve the less credit, because of his ill will to 
 liim. Nay, it was said by some (and this in. 
 deed it vvas that deprived the nobility 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 was gotten away into the mar- 
 ket-place, and, bloody as he was, was mak- 
 ing an Iiarangiie to tlie people. And these 
 were the conjectural reports of those that were 
 so unreasonable as to endeavour to raise tu- 
 mults, which they turned different ways, a»> 
 cording 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 
 
 * This rnward i)rci})OSed liy t' e Romnn laws to in- 
 fonners, was siimetiimsan eighth part of thecimiinara 
 goods, ius here; and SDiuetinics a tourth part, as Span- 
 heiin assures us, from Suetonius and Tacitu« 
 
 -T 
 
J- 
 
 618 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 to the real intention with which tliey went 
 out, but according to the supposals of the ac- 
 cusers, and of the judges. 
 
 17. But now a multitude of Germans had 
 surrounded the theatre with their swords 
 drawn : all the spectators looked for nothing 
 but death ; and at every one's coming in, a 
 fear seized upon them, as if they were to be 
 cut in pitces immediately ; and in great dis- 
 tress 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 entire- 
 ly ignorant of every thing that related to such 
 seditious contrivances, and if tliere were any 
 sedition raised, they knew nothing of it ; they 
 therefore begged that they would spare them, 
 and not punish 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. Tlius did these people ap- 
 peal to God, and deplore their infelicity with 
 shedding of tears and 1 eating their faces, and 
 said every thing that the most imminent 
 danger, and the utmost concern for their lives, 
 could dictate 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 Asprenas 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 no way enjoy 
 the pleasure of his death, because they were 
 themselves in jeopardy of perishing together 
 with him ; nor had they hitherto any firm as- 
 surance of surviving. 
 
 18. There was at this time, one Euaristiis 
 Arruntius, a public crier in the market, and 
 therefore of a strong and audible voice, who 
 vied in wealth with the richest of the Romans, 
 and was able to do what he pleased in the 
 city, both then and afterward. Tliis 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 
 contrivance to gain his safety taught him so 
 to do, and prevailed over his present pleasure ; 
 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 
 tlicatre, 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. Ar- 
 runtius also went round about tlie pillars, and 
 called out to the Germans, as did the tribunes 
 with him, bidding them put up their swords, 
 and telling them that Caius was dead ; and 
 tin's proclamation it was plainly which saved 
 tliose that were collected together in the 
 theatre, and all the rest who any way met the 
 Germans; for while they had hopes that Caius 
 had still any breath in him, they abstained 
 from no sort of mischief ; and such an abun- 
 dant 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 they now left off the warm zeal 
 they had to punish his enemies, now they 
 were fully satisfied that Caius was dead, be- 
 cause it was now in vain for them to show 
 their zeal and kindness to him, when he who 
 should reward them was 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 difficulty, to that rage 
 which possessed the Germans on account of 
 Caius's death. 
 
 19. But Cherea was so much afraid for 
 Minucianus, lest he should light upon the 
 Germans, now they were in their fury, that 
 he went and spake to every one of the sol- 
 diers, and prayed them to take care of his 
 preservation, and made himself great inquiry 
 about him, lest he should have been 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 commended the virtue of those that con- 
 trived 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; but do not, 
 however, go hajipily out of the world, because 
 they are hated by the virtuous ; and that 
 Caius, together with all his unhappiness, was 
 become a conspirator against himself, before 
 these other men who attacked him did so ; 
 and by becoming intolerable, in setting aside 
 the wise provision the laws had made, taught 
 his clearest friends to treat him as an enemy ; 
 insomuch, that although in common dis- 
 course these conspirators were those that 
 slew Caius, yet that, in reality, he lies now 
 dead as perishing by his own self." 
 
 20. Now by this time the people in the 
 theatre were arisen from their seats, and those 
 that were within made a very great disturb- 
 ance ; the cause of which was this, that the 
 spectators were too hasty in getting away. 
 There was also one Alcyon, a physician, who 
 hurried away, as if to cure those that wcra 
 woundtid and, under that pretence, be sent 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP. II, 
 
 those that were with him to fetcli what things 
 were necessary for the healing of tliose wound- 
 ed persons, but in reality to get them clear of 
 the present dangers they were in. Now the 
 senate, during tliis interval, had met, and tlie 
 people also assembled together in the accus- 
 tomed 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 Va- 
 lerius of Asia, one that had been consul ; this 
 man went to the people, as they were in dis- 
 order, and very uneasy tliat they could not 
 yet discover who they were that had murdered 
 the emperor ; he was then earnestly asked by 
 them ail, who it was that had done it ? He 
 replied, " I wish I had been the man." The 
 consuls • also published an edict, wherein 
 they accused 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 un- 
 der ; 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 behavi- 
 our, if they should once betake themselves to 
 spoil the citizens, or plunder the temples. 
 And now the whole multitude of the senators 
 were assembled together, and especially those 
 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 magnani- 
 mity, as if the administration of public afl'airs 
 were already devolved upon them. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW THE SENATORS DETERMINED TO RESTORE 
 THE DEMOCRACY ; BUT THE SOLDIERS WERE 
 FOR PRESERVING THE MONARCHY. CON- 
 CERNING THE SLAUGHTER OF CAIUS's WIFE 
 AND DAUGHTER. A CHARACTER OF CAIUS's 
 MORALS, 
 
 § 1. When the public affairs were in this 
 posture, Claudius was on the sudden hurried 
 away out of his house ; for the soldiers had 
 a meeting together ; and when they had de- 
 bated about what was to be done, they saw 
 that a democracy was incapable of managing 
 such a vast weight of public affairs; and that 
 if it should be set up, it would not be for 
 their advantage ; and in case any one of those 
 already in the government should obtain the 
 supreme power, it would in all respects be to 
 their grief, if they were not assisting to him 
 
 • These consuls are named in the War of the Jews 
 i\>. ii, ch. xi, sect. 1), Sentiiis Satuniinus ami Pompo- 
 nius Sef.-nc'.us, as SpaJiheim notes liere. The speecli 
 of the former of them is set dowii in tlie next chapter. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 519 
 
 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 se- 
 nate, both on account of the virtues of his 
 ancestors, and of the learning he had acquir- 
 ed 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. Clau- 
 dius was therefore seized upon suddenly by 
 the soldiery. But Cneus Sentius Saturni- 
 nu3, although he understood that Claudius 
 wae seized, and that he intended to claim the 
 government, unwillingly indeed in appear- 
 ance, but in reality by his own free consent, 
 stood up in the senate, and, without being 
 dismayed, made an exhortatory oration to 
 them, and such a one indeed as was fit for 
 men of freedom and generosity, and spake 
 thus : — 
 
 2. " Athough it be a thing incredible, O 
 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 re- 
 joice, and be happy for the present, although 
 we may soon be deprived of it ; for one hour 
 is sufficient to those that are exercised in vir 
 tue, wherein we may live with a mind account- 
 able only to ourselves, in our own country, now 
 free, and governed by such laws as this coun- 
 try once flourished under. As for myself, I 
 cannot remember our former time of liberty, 
 as being borne 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 
 enjoyment 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 seem an 
 age to our old men, if they might die during 
 its happy duration : it may also be for tlie in- 
 struction of the younger sort, what kind of 
 virtue those men, from whose loins we are 
 derived, were exercised m. As for ourselves, 
 our business is, during the space of time, to 
 live virtuously, — 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 by 
 the relations of others; but as to our later 
 state, during my life-time, I have known it by 
 experience, and learned thereby what mischief 
 tyrannies have brought upon tliis couimou- 
 
 -T 
 
J" 
 
 o20 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 rtooK XIX. 
 
 *eatlii, discouraging all virtue, and depriving them, who, without fear of punishment, could 
 persons of magnanimity of their liberty, and j do mischief to the city, and had an uncon- 
 
 provmg tlie teachers of flattery and slavish 
 fear, because it leaves the public administra- 
 tion not to be governed by \vise laws, but by 
 the humour of those that govern. For since 
 Julius Caesar took it into iiis Iioad to dissolve 
 our democracy, and, by overbearing tlie regu- 
 lar system of oui laws, to bring disorders in- 
 to our administration, and to get al)ove riglit 
 and justice, and to be a slave to his own in- 
 clinations, there is no kind of misery but what 
 hath tended to the subversion of tliis city ; 
 while all tiicse that have succeeded him have 
 striven one with another to overthrow the an- 
 cient laws of their country, and have left it 
 destitute of such citizens as were of generous 
 principles; because they thought it tended to 
 their safety to have vicious men to converse 
 withal, and not only to break tlie 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 govern- 
 ment, this Caius, who hath been slain to-day, 
 hath brought more terrible calamities upon us 
 than did all tlie 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 punishments, 
 which they never deserved, he being equally 
 furious against men and against the gods; for 
 tyrants are not content to gain their sweet 
 pleasure, and this by acting injiuiously, 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 niibcliiefs they have 
 brought on these men, and how magnanimous- 
 ly they have borne their hard f(;rtunes, 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 tlie 
 world. Since, then, we are now gotten clear 
 of such great misfortunes, and are only ac- 
 countable to one another (which form of go- 
 vernment aflbrds us the best assurance of our 
 present concord, and promises us the best se- 
 curity 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 parti- 
 cular, to make provision for his own, and in 
 general for the public utility • or, on the con- 
 trary, they may declare their dissent to such 
 tilings as have been proposed, and this with- 
 out any hazard of danger to come upon them, 
 — because they have now no lord set over 
 
 troUable power to lake off those that freely 
 declared their opinions. Nor has any thing 
 so much contributed to this increase of ty- 
 ranny of late as sloth, and a timorous forbear- 
 ance 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 many of us as eithei 
 heard of intolerable calamities that happened 
 at a distance from us, or saw the miseries that 
 were near us, out of the dread of dying vir 
 tuously, endured a death joined with the ut 
 most infamy. We ought, then, in the first 
 place, to decree the greatest honours we 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 pro- 
 curer of our liberty. Nor ought we to forget 
 him now we have recovered our liberty, «ho, 
 under the foregoing tyranny, took counsel 
 beforehand, and beforehand hazarded himseif 
 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 ex- 
 cellent thing, and what becomes freemen, to 
 requite their benefactors, as this man liath 
 been a benefactor to us all, though not at all 
 like Cassius and Brutus, who slew Caius Ju- 
 lius [Cajsar]; for those men laid the founda- 
 tions of sedition and civil wars in our city; 
 — but this man, together with his slaughter 
 of the tyrant, hath set our city free from all 
 those sad miseries which arose from the ty 
 ranny." * 
 
 3. And 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 Tre- 
 bellius IVIaximus rose up hastily, and took 
 from Sentius's finger a ring, which had a 
 stone, with the image of Caius engraven uj;on 
 it, and which, in his zeal in sjieaking, and his 
 earnestness in doing what he was aliout, as it 
 was sujiposed, he had forgotten to take oil 
 himself. This sculpture was broken imme- 
 diately. But as it was now far in the night, 
 Cherea demanded of the consuls the watch, 
 word, who gave hira this word, Liberty. 
 These facts were the subjects of admiration 
 to themselves, and almost incredible; for it 
 was a hundred years f since the democracy 
 
 * In this oration of Sentius Satiimimis, we may see 
 tlie g'cat value virtuous men put upon public liherry, 
 anil the sail misery tliey umierwent while they weie ty 
 rannized over by such emjierors as Caius. See Jose. 
 pluis's own sliort but pitliy retlection at tlie end of the 
 chapter: " So difficult," says he, " it is for those to ob- 
 tain tlie virtue that is necessary to a wise man, who 
 have the absolute powei to do what they please without 
 control." 
 
 t Hence we learn that, in the opinion of Saturnirus, 
 the so\'creign authority of the consuls anil senate had 
 been taken away just one hundred years before tlie death 
 of Caius. A. D. 41 ; or iu the 6uth year before Uie CUri* 
 
 ■V 
 
J" 
 
 "V 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 521 
 
 had been laid aside, when this giving the 
 watch- word returned to the consuls ; for, be- 
 fore the city was subject to tyrants, they were 
 the commanders of the soldiers. Bat when 
 Cherea had received that watch-word, he de- 
 livered it to those who were on the senate's 
 side, which were four regiments, who esteem- 
 ed 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 cou- 
 rage, as having recovered their former de- 
 mociiicy, and no longer under an emperor ; 
 and Cherea was in very great esteem with 
 them, 
 
 4. 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 mat- 
 ter with the utmost zeal, and in order to satis- 
 fy his hatred of Caius, he sent Julius Lupus, 
 one of the tribunes, to kill Caius's wife and 
 daughter. They proposed this office to Lu- 
 pus 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 assisted his fellow-citizens, and that 
 he 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, because 
 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, hav- 
 ing rendered him distracted, was become the 
 author of all the mischiefs that had befallen 
 the Romans, and that habitable 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 accord- 
 ingly. Nor was there any delay made in 
 executing what he went about, but he was 
 subservient to those that sent him on the first 
 opportunity, as desirous to be no way blame- 
 able in wliat might be done for the advantage 
 of the people. So, when he was come into 
 the palace, he found Cesonia, who was Caius's 
 wife, lying by her husband's dead body, 
 which also lay down on tlie ground, and de- 
 stitute of all such tilings as the law allows to 
 
 tiiin a?ra, wlien the first triumvirate began under Cjcsar, 
 ] omuev. aiul CrasFUs. 
 
 -\, 
 
 the dead, and all over herself besmeared with 
 the blood of her husband's wounds, and be- 
 wailing the great affliction she was under, 
 her daughter lying by her also ; and nothing 
 else was heard in these her circumstances but 
 her complaint of Caius, as if he had not re- 
 garded 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 interpreted accord- 
 ing to tlie different inclinations of people. 
 Now some said that the words denoted, that 
 she had advised him to leave off his mad be- 
 haviour and his barbarous cruelty to the ci- 
 tizens, and to govern the public with mode- 
 ration 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 conspirators, 
 she desired Caius to make no delay, but im- 
 mediately 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 reproach- 
 ed 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 exe- 
 cute some design disagreeable to himself, 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 despairing of her life, and 
 bidding him not to boggle 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. 
 
 5. This was the end of Caius, after he had 
 reigned four years, within four months. He 
 was, even before he came to be emperor, ill- 
 natured, and one that had arrived at the ut- 
 most pitch of wickedness ; a slave to his plea- 
 sures, and a lover of calumny ; greatly affect- 
 ed by every terrible accident, and on that ac- 
 count of a very murderous disposition where 
 he durst show it. He enjoyed his exorbitant 
 power to this only purpose, to injure those 
 who least deserved it, with unreasonable inso- 
 lence, and got his wealth by murder and in- 
 justice. He laboured to appear above regard- 
 ing either what was divine or agreeable to the 
 laws, but was a slave to the commendations 
 of the populace ; and whatsoever the laws de- 
 termined to be shameful, and punished, that 
 he esteemed more honourable than what was 
 virtuous. He was unmindful of his friends, 
 how intimate soever, and though they were 
 2 X 
 
522 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THC JEWS. 
 
 persons of the highest character; and, if he 
 was once angry at any of them, lie would in- 
 flict punishment upon them on the smallest 
 occasions ; and esteemed every man that en- 
 deavoured to lead a virtuous life his enemy ! 
 And whatsoever he commmanded, 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 citi- 
 zens, that sort of incest not having been known 
 of a long time ; and so this provoked men to 
 distrust liim, and to hate him that was guilty 
 of it. And for any great or royal work that 
 he ever did, which might ha for the present 
 and for future ages, nobody can name any 
 such, but only the haven that he made about 
 Ilhegium and Sicily, for the reception of the 
 ships that brought corn from Egypt ; which 
 was indeed a woik without dispute very great 
 hi itself, and of very great advantage to the 
 navigation. Yet was not this work brought 
 to perfection by him, but vvas the one half of 
 it left imperfect, by reason of his want of ap- 
 plication to it ; the cause of which was this, 
 that he employed his studies about useless 
 matleis, and tliat 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 con- 
 sequence. Otherwise he was an excellent 
 orator, and thoroughly acquainted with tl;e 
 Greek tongue, as well as with his own country 
 or Roman language. He was also able, otl- 
 hand and readily, to give answers tocomposi- 
 -tions made by others, of considerable length 
 and accuracy. He was also more skilful in 
 persuading others to very great things than 
 any one else, and this from a natural atlability 
 of temper, wiiich had been in'proved by much 
 exercise and pains-taking ; for as he was the 
 grandson f of the brother of Tiberius, whose 
 successor he was, this was a strong inducement 
 to his acquiring of learning, because Tibeiius 
 aspired after the highest pitch of that sort of re- 
 putation : and Caiusaspired 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 citizens. 
 But the advantages he received from his learn- 
 ing did not countervail die mischief he brought 
 upon himself in the exercise of his authority ; 
 so difticult it is for tliose to obtain the virtue 
 that is necessary for a wise man, who have 
 the absolute power to do what they please 
 
 * Spaiiheim here notes from Suetonius, that the 
 nainp of Caiu^s sister, witii whom he was guilr>' of in- 
 cest, was DrusUla; and that Suetonius adds, he was 
 guilty of the same crime with .ill his sisters also. He 
 notes' farther that Suetonius omits the mention of the 
 h.iven for sliips, which our author esteem- theoniy pul>- 
 lie work for the good of the present and future ages 
 whicli Caiua left behind him, though in an impertect 
 condition. 
 
 + This Caiui was the son of that excellent person 
 Germanicits, who was the son of Drusus Uie brother of 
 Tiberius Uie emperor. 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 without control. At the first he got himself 
 such friends as were in all respects the most 
 worthy, and was greatly beloved by tiiein, 
 while lie imitated their zealous application to 
 the learning and to the glorious actions of tlie 
 best men ; but when he became insolent to- 
 wards them, they laid aside the kindness they 
 had for hiin, and began to hale him; from 
 which hatred came that plot which they raised 
 against him, and wherein he perished. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 UOWCLAUDIUSWAS SEIZED UPON, AND BROfGIlT 
 OUT OF HIS HOUSE, AND BROUGHT TO THE 
 CAMP; AND HOW THE SENATE SENT AN EM- 
 BASSAGE TO HIM. 
 
 § i. Now Claudius, as I said before, went 
 out of that way along which Caius was gone ; 
 and as the family was in a mighty disoider 
 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 liad no 
 otlier 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 pre- 
 sent fortune, apjilying himself to learning, 
 and especially to that of the Greeks, and 
 keeping himself entirely clear from every 
 thing that might bring on any disturbance. 
 But at this time the multitude were under a 
 consternation, and the whole palace was full 
 of t!ie soldiers' madness, and the very empe- 
 ror's guards seemed under the like fear and 
 disorder with private persons, the band called 
 jiretoriGH, 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 thi.-> consultation, had little regard to 
 the punishment Caius had suftered, because 
 heju-stly deserved such his fortune; but they 
 were rather considering their own circum- 
 stances, how they might take the best caie of 
 themselves, especially while the Germans were 
 busy in punishing the murderers of Caius; 
 whicii 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 As- 
 prenas anil his partners carried about. His 
 station had been on a certain elevated place, 
 whither a (aw steps led him, and whither he 
 !iad retired in the dark by himself. But w hen 
 Gratus, who was one of the soldiers that be- 
 longed to the palace, saw him, but did not 
 well know by his countenance who he was, 
 
 X The first pl.ice Claudius came to was inhabiied, 
 and called Hermcum, as Spanlieim here informs U4 
 from Suetonius, in Claud, c x. 
 
J' 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 because it was dark, though he could well 
 judge that it was a man who was privately 
 tiie-e on some design, he came nearer to him ; 
 and when Claudius desired that he would re- 
 tire, he discovered who he was, and owned 
 him to be Claudius. So he said to his fol- 
 lowers, " This is a Germanicus ;* come on, 
 let us choose him for our emperor," But 
 when Claudius saw they were making prepa- 
 rations for taking him away by force, and was 
 afraid they would kill him, as they had killed 
 Caius, he besought them to spare him, put- 
 ting them in mind how quietly he had de- 
 meaned himself, and that he was unacquaint- 
 ed 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 tlwughts, even of 
 obtaining the empire, which the gods, out of 
 their concern for the habitable world, by tak- 
 ing Caius out of the way, commit to thy vir- 
 tuous conduct. Go to, therefore, and accept 
 of the throne of thy ancestors." So they 
 took him up and carried him, because he was 
 not then able to go on foot, such was his 
 dread and his joy at what was told him. 
 
 2. Now there was already gathered toge- 
 ther about Gratus, a great number of the 
 guards ; and when they saw Claudius carried 
 off, they looked with a sad countenance, 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 public 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 consuls 
 should take cognizance of these matters ; and, 
 as slill more and more of the soldiery got to- 1 
 geiher, the crowd about him ran away, and 
 Claudius could hardly go on, his body was 
 then so weak ; and those who carried his se- 
 dan, upon an inquiry that was made about 
 liis being carried off, ran away and saved 
 themselves, as despairing of their lord's pre- 
 servation. But, when they were 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 Rome), and had just 
 reached the public treasury, many more sol- 
 diers 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 his brother, and had 
 left behind him a vast reputation among all 
 that were acquainted with him. They retlect- 
 ed also on the covetous temper of the leading 
 men of the senate, and what great errors they 
 had been guilty of when the senate had the 
 
 523 
 
 •f- How Claudius, another son of Drusus, which Dru- 
 sus was the father of Ciermanicus, could be liere him 
 self called Goi manicus, Suetonius iiiforms us, when he 
 assures us t!)at, by a decree of the seiiiite, the surname 
 of lieriiianiciis was txfstoweil upou Urusus, and h 
 uusteritv aUo. — CllauJ. c. i. ^ 
 
 government formerly ; they also considered 
 the impossibility of such an undertaking, as 
 also what dangers they should be in, if the 
 government should come to a single person, 
 and that such a one should possess it as they 
 had no hand in advancing, and not to Clau-' 
 dius, who would take it as their grant, and as 
 gained by their good-will to him, and would 
 remember the favours they had done him, and 
 would make them a sufficient recompense for 
 the same. 
 
 3. These were the discourses the soldiers 
 had one with another by themselves, and they 
 communicated them to all such as caine in to 
 them. Now those that inquired about this 
 matter, willingly embraced the invitation that 
 was made them tc join with the rest: so they 
 carried Claudius into the camp, crowding a- 
 bout him as his guard, and encompassing him 
 about, one chairman still succeeding another, 
 that their vehement endeavours might not be 
 hindered. But as to the populace and sena- 
 tors, they disagreed in their opinions. The 
 latter were very desirous to rej-over their for- 
 mer 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 cap- 
 able 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 Clau- 
 dius were made emperor, he would prevent a 
 civil war, such as tliere was in the days of 
 Pompey. But when 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 cliaracter 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 already, or hereafter to be a mem- 
 ber 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 dis- 
 posal of all that related to the public order, 
 and to remember how greatly the former ty- 
 rants had afflicted their city, and what dangers 
 both he and they had escaped under Caius; 
 and that he ought not to hate the heavy bur- 
 den 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 wiih them, and de- 
 monstrate that his firm resolution was to live 
 quietly and virtuously, he would liave the 
 greatest honours decreed to hiin that a fre« 
 people could bestow ; and by subjecting him- 
 self to the law, would obtain this branch of 
 commendation, that ha acted like a man of 
 virtue, both as a ruler and a subject ; but that 
 if he would act foolishly, and learn no » i* 
 dom bv C<i'us'ii death, they "ould not n.;iui 
 
 ■^. 
 
534 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 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 undertook to act 
 with virtue and goodness, who can he no o- 
 ther than such as 'Jght for the liberty of their 
 country. j 
 
 4. Now the ambassadors, Veranius and 
 Brocclius, who were both of them tribunes of! 
 the people, made this speech to Claudius;! 
 and falling down upon their knees, they I 
 begged of him that he would not throw the 
 city into wars and misfortunes ; but when 
 they saw what a multitude of soldiers encom- 
 passed an'l guarded Claudius, and that the 
 forces that were with the consuls were, in 
 comparison of them, perfectly inconsiderable, 
 they added, that if he did desire the govern- 
 ment, 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. 
 
 WHAT THINGS KING AGRIPPA DID TOR CLAU- 
 DIUS ; AND HOW CLAUDIUS, WHEN HE HAD 
 TAKEN THE GOVERNMENT, COMMANDED THE 
 MURDERERS OF CAIUS TO BE SLAIN. 
 
 § 1. Now Claudius, though he was sensible 
 after what an insolent manner the senate had 
 sent to him, yet did he, according to their ad- 
 vice, behave himself for the present with mo- 
 deration ; but not so far that he could not re- 
 cover himsejf out of his fright ; so he was 
 encouraged [to claim the government] partly 
 by the boldness of the soldiers, and partly by 
 the persuasion of king Agrippa, who exhorted 
 liim 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 
 Caius's body after he 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 vio- 
 lently by the soldiers, he rushed through the 
 crowd to him, and when he found that he was 
 in disorder, and ready to resign up the go- 
 vernnnent to the senate, he encouraged him, 
 aaid desired him to keep the government ; 
 j but when he had said this to Claudius, he re- 
 ' tired home. And, upon the senate's s-ending 
 j fcr liim, he anointed his head with ointment, 
 1 
 ■^ . 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 as if he had lately accompanied with his wife, 
 and had dismissed her, and then came to 
 them : he also asked of the senators what 
 Claudius did ; wiio told him the present state 
 of affairs, and then asked his opinion about 
 the settlement 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 go- 
 vernment, 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 abun- 
 dance, and money, and that as to an army, a 
 part of it was already collected together for 
 them, and tliey would raise a larger one by 
 giving the slaves their liberty, — Agrippa 
 made answer, " O senators! may you be able 
 to compass what you have a mind to; yet will 
 I immediately tell you my thoughts, because 
 they tend to your preservation. Take notice, 
 then, that the army which will fight for Clau 
 dius hath been long exercised in warlike af- 
 fairs ; 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 
 tight 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 Claudi 
 us, to persuade him to lay down the govern- 
 ment ; and I am ready to be one of your am- 
 bassadors." 
 
 2. Upon this speech of Agrippa, the senate 
 complied with him, and he was sent among 
 others, and privately informed Claudius of the 
 disorder the senate was in, and gave him in- 
 structions to answer them in a somewhat com- 
 manding strain, and as one invested with dig- 
 nity and authority. Accordingly Claudius 
 said to the ambassadors, that he did not won- 
 der the senate had ho mind to have an em- 
 peror over them, because they had been harass- 
 ed by tiie 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 on- 
 ly 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 an- 
 swer, were dismissed. But Claudius dis- 
 coursed with the army which was there gath- 
 ered together, who took oaths that they would 
 persist in tlieir fidelity to him ; upon which 
 he gave the guards every man live thousand* 
 
 * Tills number of drachmae to be distributed to each 
 private soldier, five thousand drachmae, equal to twen- 
 ty thousaud sestercts, or one hundicd and sixty-oji- 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 drachmae a-piece, and a proportionable quan- 
 tity to tlieir captains, and promised to give 
 the same to the rest of the armies wheresoe- 
 ver tliey were. 
 
 3. And now the consuls called the senate 
 together, into the temple of Jupiter the Con- 
 queror, while it was still night ; but some of 
 those senators concealed themselves in the 
 city, bti:ig 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 go- 
 ing, and despairing of liberty ; nay, these 
 supposed it much better for them to be slaves 
 without danger to themselves, and to live a 
 lazy and inactive life, than by claiming the 
 dignity of their forefathers, to run the hazard 
 of their own safety. However, a hundred, 
 and no more, were 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 multitude of 
 rulers. So they fully declared themselves to 
 be for the giving the government not to 
 all, but to one; but they gave the senate 
 leave to look out for a person worthy to be 
 set over them, insomuch, that now the affairs 
 of the senate were much worse than before ; 
 because they had not only failed in the reco- 
 very 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 accruing to them by 
 their marriages; for Marcus 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 discourag- 
 ed him, and made one delay after another in 
 proposing it : that Minucianus also, who was 
 one of Caius's murderers, restrained Valerius 
 of Asia from thinking of such things ; and a 
 prodigious slaughter there had been, if leave 
 had been given to these men to set up for 
 themselves, and oppose Claudius. There were 
 also a considerable number of gladiators be- 
 sides, and of 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, 
 
 i and others out of fear for their own persons. 
 
 i 4. But as soon as ever it was day, Cherea, 
 
 and those that were with him, came into the 
 
 pounds sterling, seems rauch too large, and directly 
 contradicts Suetonius, ch. x, wlio makes them in all 
 but fifteen sesterces, or two shillings arid fourjience. 
 Vet might Josephus have this number from Agrippa, 
 junior, though 1 doubt tiie thousands, or at least the 
 hundreds, have been added by the transcribers: of 
 which we h.ive had several examples already iu Jose- 
 
 llhua. 
 
 525 
 
 senate, and attempted to make speeches to the 
 soldiers. However, the multitude of those 
 soldiers, when they saw that they were mak- 
 ing 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 se- 
 nate one for their ruler, as not enduring any 
 longer delays. But the senate hesitated about 
 either their own governing, or how they should 
 themselves be governed, while the soldiers 
 would not admit them to govern ; and the 
 murderers of Caius would not permit the sol- 
 diers 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 
 watch- word from Eutychus. Now, this Eu- 
 tychus was charioteer of the green-band fac- 
 tion, 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 occasion- 
 ed Cherea to reproach them with him, and to 
 abuse them with much other scurrilous lau 
 guage ; and told them he would bring them 
 the head of Claudius ; and that it was an 
 amazing thing that, after their former mad 
 ness, they should commit their government to 
 a fool. Yet were not they 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 any body to defend 
 them ; and the very consuls differed nothing 
 from private persons. They were also under 
 consternation and sorrow, men not knowin"' 
 wl>at would become of theno, becaase Clau- 
 dius was very angry at them ; so they fell a 
 reproaching one another, and repented oi 
 what they had done. At which juncture Sa 
 binus, one of Caius's murderers, threatened 
 that he would sooner come into the midst oi 
 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 liber- 
 ty, 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. 
 
 5. These were the debates [about the se- 
 nate] ; but in the camp every body was crow d- 
 ing on all sides to pay their court to Clau- 
 dius ; and the other consul, Quintiis Pompo- 
 nius, was reproached by the soldiery as hav- 
 ing rather exhorted the senate to recover their 
 liberty ; whereupon they drew their swords, 
 and were goinjf to assault him, and tbey Iwd 
 
526 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 done it, if Claudius had not hindered them, 
 who snatclied the consul out of the danger he 
 was in, and set him by him. But he did not 
 receive that part of tiie senate wliieh was with j to. But for Sabinus. although Claudius not 
 
 BOOK xrx. 
 
 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 
 
 Quintus in the like honourable manne 
 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 danger. However, king Agrippa went 
 up to Claudius, and desired he\\ould treat 
 the senators more gently ; for if any miscl'.ief 
 should come to the senate, he would have no 
 others over whom to rule. Claudius com- 
 plied with him, and called the senate together 
 into the palacBj and was carried thither him- 
 self through tlie city, while the soldiery con • 
 ducted him, though this was to the great vex- 
 ation of the multitude ; for Cherea and Sabi- 
 nus, two of Caius's murderers, went in the 
 fore-front of them, in an open manner, while 
 Pollio, whoiii 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 com- 
 ing 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 perfidiousness, and thought it just 
 to inflict the punishment [of death] upon him, 
 to discountenance 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 Cherea 
 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 
 nurtfui to Lupus [t. e. 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 execu- 
 tioner, 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 de- 
 sired 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 fortune in go- 
 ing out of the world, since he was timorous, 
 and had many blows levelled at his neck, be- 
 cause he did not stretch it out boldly [as he 
 ought to iiave done], 
 
 6. Now a few days after this, as the Pa- 
 rental Solemnities were-.just at hand, the Ilo- 
 man multitude made their usual oblations to 
 their several ghosts, and put portions into the 
 fire in honour of Cherea, and besought him 
 
 • This piercing cold here complaineil of by Lupus, 
 agrees well to the time of tlic year when Claiiiiius be- 
 can his reign ; it being for certain about the months of 
 November, December, or January, and most probalily 
 a few (lays after January tlie twenty-fourth and a few 
 vL>vs before the Honiaii ParentaJia. 
 
 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 him 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 j- 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 how claudius restored to aghifpa his 
 grandvather's kingdoms, augmented 
 his dominions ; and how he published 
 an edict in bfjialf of the jews. 
 
 § 1. Now, when Clauditts had taken out of 
 the way all those soldiers whom he suspected, 
 which he did immediately, he published an 
 edict, and therein confirmed that kingdom to 
 Agrippa which Caius had given him, and 
 therein commended the king highly. He also 
 made an addition to it of all that country 
 over which Herod, who was his grandfathei. 
 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 
 
 t It is both here and elsewhere very remarkable, that 
 the murders of the vilest tyrants who yet highly deserv- 
 ed to die, when the murderers were under oaths, or 
 other the like obligations of fidelity to them, were usu- 
 ally revenged, and the i^urderers were cut oif them- 
 selves, and that after a remarkable manner; and this 
 sometimes, as in the present case, by those \ ery [arsons 
 who were not sorry for such murders, but got kingdoms 
 by them. The examples are very numerous, l>oih in 
 sacred and profane histories, and seem generally indica- 
 tions of divine vengeance on such murderers. Nor is 
 it unworthy of remark, that such murderers of tyrants 
 do it usually on such ill principles, in such a cruel man- 
 ner, and as ready to involve theiimoceut with the guilty, 
 which was the case here (chap, i, sect. 4, and chap. li, 
 sect. 4), as justly deserved the divine vengeance upon 
 them. Which seems to have been the case of Jehu al- 
 so, when, besides the house of Ahab, for whose slaugh- 
 ter he had a commission from God, without any such 
 commission, any justice or commiseration, he killed 
 Ahab's great men, and acquaintance, and priests, and 
 forty-two of the kindred of Ahaziah, 2 Kings, x, II — 
 14. See Hos. i, 4. I do not mean here to condemn 
 Ehud or Judith, or the like executioners of God's ven- 
 geance on those wicked tyrants who had unjustly ojv 
 pressed God's own people under their theocracy; who 
 as they appear still to have had no selfish designs nor 
 intentions to slay the innocent, so had they still a di- 
 vine commission, or a divine impulse, which w:is tlieir 
 commission, for what they did. Judges iii, I.i, r9, id ; 
 Judith ix, 2; Test. Levi. sect. 5, in Authent. Kcc ji. 
 512. See also page 432. 
 
 X Here St. Luke is in some measure confirmed, »heu 
 he informs us, eh. iii, 1, that LysanLis was son^e lime 
 before telrarch of Abilene, whose capital was Abila ; as 
 he is farther confinr.cd by Ptolemy, the great geogra- 
 pher, which Spanheiin here observes, wlien lie calls 
 that city Abila of Lysanias. See the note on b xvii, 
 eh. xi, sect. 4 ; and Prid. at the years thirty-six and 
 twenty-two. I esteem tliis principality to have belonged 
 to the land of Canaan originally, to have been the bury- 
 iiig-placeof Abel, and rciene<i to as such, Wat', xn iii, 
 5 >': Luke xi, 51. si* Au;hciit. Rec. luirt. ii. p. SKo— 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 made a league with this Agrippa, confirmed 
 by oaths, in the middle of tlie forum, in the 
 city of Rome ; he also took away from An- 
 tiochus that kingdoni which he was possessed 
 of, but gave him a certain part of Ciiicia and 
 Commagena : lie also set Alexander Lysima- 
 chus, tlio alabarch, at liberty, who had been 
 his old friend, and steward to his mother An- 
 tonia, l)Ut had been imprisoned by Caius, 
 whose son [Marcus] married Bernice, the 
 daughter of Agrippa. But when Marcus, 
 Alexander'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 Clialcis. 
 2. Now, about this time there was a sedi- 
 tion 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 distress by the peo- 
 ple of Alexandria recovered itself, and im- 
 mediately took up their arms to fight for 
 themselves. So Claudius sent an order to 
 tile 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, v/hose contents were as follows : 
 "Tiberius Claudius CcBsar Agustus Ger- 
 nianicus, high-priest, and tribune of the peo- 
 ple, ordains thus : — Since I am assured that 
 the Jews of 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, their rights and 
 privileges have been preserved by those presi- 
 dents who have at divers times been sent 
 thither ; and that no disi)ute had been raised 
 about those rights and privileges, even when 
 Aquila was governor of Alexandria ; and 
 that when the Jewish ethnarch was dead, Au- 
 gustus did not prohibit the making such eth- 
 narchs, as willing that all men should be so 
 subject [to the Romans] as to continue in 
 the observation of their own customs, and 
 not be forced to ti-ansgross the ancient rules 
 of their own country religion ; but that, in 
 the time of Caius, the Alexandrians became 
 insolent toward tlio Jews that were among 
 them, which Caius, out of his great madness, 
 and want of understanding, reduced the na- 
 tion 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 tltat no troubles 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF TIIK JEWS. 
 
 527 
 
 may arise after the promulgation of this o- 
 dict." 
 
 3. And such were the contents of this edict 
 on behalf of the Jews, that was sent to Alex- 
 aridria. But the edict that was sent into the 
 other parts of the habitable earth was this 
 which follosvs : — "Tiberius Claudius Caesar 
 Augustus Germanicus, high-priest, tribune 
 of the people, chosen consul the second time, 
 ordains thus: — Upon tlie petition of king 
 Agrippa and king Herod, who are personsvery 
 dear to me, that I would grant the same rights 
 and privileges should be preserved to the Jews 
 vi'hich 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 tlie 
 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 an- 
 cient customs without being hindered so to 
 do. And I do charge them also to use this 
 my kindness to them with moderation, and 
 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 magis- 
 trates of the cities and colonies, and munici- 
 pal places, both those within Italy and those 
 without it,, both kings and governors, by the 
 means of the ambassadors, and to have them 
 exposed to the public for full thirty days, in 
 such a place, whence it may plainly be read 
 from the ground." * 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WHAT THINGS WERE DONE BY AGRIPPA AT JE- 
 RUSALEM WHEN HE WAS RETURNED BACK 
 INTO JUDEA ; AND WHAT IT WAS THAT PE- 
 TRONIUS WROTE TO THE INHABITANTS OF 
 DORIS, IN BEHALF OF THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. Now Claudius Ca;sar, 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 
 Agri])pa away 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 jnovinces. liiat they 
 should treat him very kindly. Accordingly 
 he returned in haste, as was likely he would, 
 
 ' This, form was so known and frequent among the 
 Romans, as Dr. Hudson here tills us from tlie great 
 ScKien, that it useil to bs thus reiiresented at the bottom 
 of tlieir edicts by the initial letters only, U. D. P. R. 
 L. P., Unde De Piano Recte Lege Possit: " Wheuce it 
 may be jjlainly read from Uie ground." 
 
 "V 
 
.r 
 
 628 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 now he returned in much greater prosperity 
 than he had before. He also came to Jeru- 
 salem and offered all the sacrifices that be- 
 longed to him, and omitted nothing \%hich 
 the iaw required ; • on which account he or- 
 dained 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 might be a memorial of the 
 severe fate he had lain under, and a testimony 
 of 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, afTorded 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 
 afterwards got out of his bonds, and was ad- 
 vanced to be a more illustrious king than he 
 was before. W'lience men may understand, 
 that all that partake of human nature, how 
 great soever they are, may fall ; and that those 
 tliat fall may gain their former illustrious 
 dignity again. 
 
 2. And when Agrippa had entirely finish- 
 ed all the duties of the divine worship, he 
 removed Theophilus, the son of Ananus, 
 from the high-priesthood, and bestowed that 
 honour of his on Simon the sou of Boethus, 
 whose name was also Cantheras, whose daugh- 
 ter king Herod had married, as I have re- 
 lated above. Simon, therefore, had the [high] 
 priesthood with his brethren, and with his fa- 
 ther, in like manner as the sons of Simon, 
 the son of Onias, who were three, had it for- 
 merly under the government of the Macedo- 
 nians, as we have related in a former book. 
 
 3. When the king had settled the high- 
 priesthood after this manner, he returned the 
 kindness which the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
 had shown him ; for lie 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 wliile 
 the young men of Doris, preferring a rash at- 
 tempt before piety, and being naturally bold 
 
 * Josephus shows, both here and ch. vii, sect. 3, that 
 he had a much greater c()inion of king Agrippa I. than 
 Simon the learned rabbi, than the people of Cesarca 
 and Sebaste, ch. vii, sect. 4, and ch. ix, sect. 1 ; and 
 indeed than his double-dealing between the senate and 
 Claudius, chap, iv, sect. 2, than his slaughter of James, 
 the brother of John, and his imprisonment of Peter, 
 or his vain-glorious behaviour before he died, both in 
 Acts xii, 1, 2, .1 ; and here, eh. iv, sect. 1, will justify 
 or allow, Josephus's character was probably taken from 
 his son .^grippa, junior. 
 
 t This treasury-chamber seems to have been the very 
 same in which our Saviour taught, and where the peo- 
 ple offered their charity money, for the repairs or other 
 uses of the temple. IVlark xii, ■11, ic. ; Luke xxii, 1 ; 
 Jolm viii, '-'(». 
 
 BOOK XIX 
 
 and insolent, carried a statue of Ciesar into a 
 synagogue of the Jews, and erected it there. 
 This procedure of theirs greatly provoked 
 Agrippa ; for it plainly tended to the dissolu- 
 tion of the laws of his country. So he came 
 withou-t delay to Publius Petronius, who was 
 then president of Syria, and accused the peo- 
 ple of Doris. Nor did ht 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 pre- 
 sident under Tiberius Claudius Casar Au- 
 gustus Germanicus, to the magistrates of Do- 
 ris, ordains as follows: Since some of you 
 have had the boldness, or madness ratlier, 
 after the edict of Claudius Ca;sar Augustus 
 Germanicus, 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 forbidding the Jews to 
 assemble together in the synagogue, by re- 
 moving 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 it is 
 but a part of natural justice, that every ont 
 should have the power over the place belong- 
 ing 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 customs, as also gives order 
 that they enjoy equally the rights of citizens 
 with the Greeks themselves,— I therefore or- 
 dain, that Proculus Vitellius, the centurion, 
 bring those men to me, who, contrary to Au- 
 gustus's edict, liave been so insolent as to do 
 this thing, at which those very men who ap- 
 pear to be of principal reputation ainong 
 ihem, have an indignation also, and allege 
 for themselves, that it was not done witli 
 their consent, but by tlie violence of the mul- 
 titude, that they may give an account of what 
 hath been done. I also exhort the principal 
 magistrates 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 sedi- 
 tion or quarrel among 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 ho- 
 nour, haT* nothing more under our care than 
 that the nation of the Jews may have no oc- 
 casion 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 
 
CHAP. VIK 
 
 those edicts whi ii 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 ho- 
 nour, read them at that time before my tri- 
 bunal, and pleaded that the Jews ought not 
 to be deprived of those rights which Augus- 
 tus hath granted them. I therefore charge 
 you, that you do not, for the time to come, 
 seek for any occasion of sedition or disturb- 
 ance, but that every one be allowed to follow 
 their own religious customs." 
 
 4. Thus did Petronins take care of this 
 matter, that such a breach of the law might 
 be corrected, and that no such thing might 
 be attempted afterwards against the Jews. 
 And now king Agrippa took the [high] 
 priesthood away from Simon 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, •' O 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. 
 I am satisfied with having once put or the 
 sacred garments ; for I then put them on 
 after a more holy manner than I should now 
 receive them again. But, if thou desirest 
 tliat a person more worthy than myself shoBid 
 have this honourable employment, give me 
 leave to name thee such a cwie. I have a 
 brother that is pure from all sin against Cod, 
 and of all offences against thyself; I recom- 
 mend him to thee, as one that is fit for this 
 dignity." So the king was pleased with these 
 werds 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. 
 
 tX)NCERNING SILAS, AND ON WH.\T ACCOUNT 
 
 IT WAS THAT KING AGRIPPA WAS ANGRY AT 
 HUI. HOW AGRIPPA BKGAN TO ENCOMPASS 
 JERUSALEM WITH A WALL ; AND WHAT BE- 
 NEFITS HE BESTOWED ON THE INHABITANTS 
 OF BERYTUS. 
 
 § 1. Now Silas, the general of the king's 
 horse, because he had been faithful to him un- 
 der all his misfortunes, and liad never refused 
 to be a partaker with him in any of his dan- 
 gers, but had oftentimes undergone the most 
 hazardous dangers for him, was full of assur- 
 ance, and thought lie might expect a sort of 
 equality with the king, on account of the firm- 
 ness of the friendship he had shown to him. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 r.29 
 
 Accordingly, he would nowhere !et the king 
 sit as his superior, and took the like liberty 
 in speaking to him upon all occasions, till he 
 l)ecame troublesome to the king, when they 
 were merry together, extolling himself be- 
 yond measure, and oft putting the king 
 in mind of the severity of fortune he had 
 undergone, that he might, by way of os- 
 tentation, demonstrate what zeal he had 
 shown in his service ; and was conrinual- 
 ly 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, in- 
 somucli that he took this ungovernable liber- 
 ty of talking very ill at his hands. For the 
 commemoration of times, when men have 
 been under ignominy, is by no means agree- 
 able to them ; and he is a very silly man, 
 who is perpetually relating to a person what 
 kindness he had done him. At last, therefore, 
 Silas had so thoroughly provoked the king's 
 indignation, that he acted rather out of pas- 
 sion than good consideration, and did not on- 
 ly turn Silas out of his place, as general of his 
 horse, but sent him in bonds into his o%vn 
 country. But tne 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 birth-day, and 
 he gave festival entertainments to all his sub- 
 jects, he seirt for Silas on the sudden V3 be 
 his guest. But, as he was a very fran's man, 
 he thought he had now a just handle given 
 him to be angry; which he could not concea' 
 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 tJiose ori 
 ginal marks of the good-will I bore him, 
 which I once had from him ; but he hath 
 plundered me, and that unjustly also. Does 
 he think that I can leave oif tliat liberty of 
 speech, which, upon the consciousnosss of my 
 deserts, I shall use more loudly Uian before, 
 and shall relate how many misfortunes f have 
 delivered him from ? lx)w many labours I 
 have undergone for him, whereby I procur- 
 ed him deliverance and respect ? as a reward 
 for which I have borne the hardships of bonds 
 and a dark prison ! I shall never forget this 
 usage. Nay, perhaps, my very soul, when it 
 is departed out of the body, will not forget 
 the glorious actions I did on his account." 
 This was the clamour he made; and he or- 
 dered 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. 
 
 2. As for the walls of Jerusalem, that were 
 adjoining to the new city [Eezetha"|, he re- 
 paired them at the expense of the public, and 
 built them wider in breadth and higher in at 
 2 Y 
 
s 
 
 530 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 tilude ; and lie had made them too strong for 
 all human power to demolish, unless Marrus, 
 the then president of Syria, had by letter in- 
 formed Claudius Ccesar of what lie was do- 
 ing. And when Claudius had some suspi- 
 cion of attempts for innovation, he sent to 
 Agrippa to leave off the building of those 
 walls presently. So he obeyed, as not think- 
 ing it proper to contradict Claudius. 
 
 3. Now, this king was by nature very be- 
 neficent, and liberal in his gifts, and very am- 
 bitious to oblige people with such large dona- 
 tions; and he made himself very iiiustrious- 
 by the many chargeable presents he made 
 them. He took delight in giving, and re- 
 joiced in living with good reputation. He 
 was not at all like that Herod who reigned 
 before him ; for tliat Herod was ill-natured, 
 and severe in his punishments, and had no 
 mercy on thein that he hated ; and every 
 one perceived that he was more friendly to 
 the Greeks tlian to the Jews j 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 tem- 
 ples, and porticols*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 humane to foreigners, and 
 made them sensible 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 exact- 
 ly careful in the observance of the laws of 
 nis country. He therefore kept himself en- 
 tirely pure : nor did any day pass over his 
 head without its appointed sacrifice. 
 
 4. However, there was a certain man of the 
 Jewisli nation at Jerusalem, who appeared to 
 be very accurate in the knowledge of the 
 law. His name was Simon. Tliis man got 
 together an assembly, while the king was ab- 
 sent at Cesarea, and had the insolence to ac- 
 cuse him as not living holily, and that he 
 might justly be excluded out of the temple, 
 since it belonged 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 
 ne had nothing to say for himself, but begged 
 tiis pardon. So the king was more easily re- 
 conciled to him than one could have imagin- 
 ed, as 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. 
 
 5. Now, as Agrippa was a great builder in 
 many places, he paid a peculiar regard to tlie 
 
 people of Berytus ; for he erected a theatre 
 for them, superior to many others of that sort, 
 both in sumiJtuousness and elegance, as also 
 an amphitheatre, built at vast expenses; and 
 besides these, he built them baths and porti- 
 coes, and spared for no costs in any of his e- 
 difices, 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 delightful 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 
 seven hundred men to fight with seven hun- 
 dred other men ;* and allotted all the male- 
 factors he had for this exercise, that both the 
 malefactors might receive their punishment, 
 and that this operation of war might be a re- 
 creation in peace. And thus were these cri- 
 minals all destroyed at once. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WHAT OTHER ACTS WERE DONE BY AGRIFPA 
 UNTIL HIS DEATH ; AND AFTER WHAT MAN- 
 NER HE DIED. 
 
 § 1. When Agrippa had finished what I have 
 above related at Berytus, he removed to Ti- 
 berias, a city of Galilee. Now he was in great 
 esteem among other kings. Accordingly 
 there came to him Antiochus, king of Com- 
 magena, 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 
 entertainments, and after an obliging manner, 
 and so as 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 staid 
 with him, Marcus, the president of Syria, 
 came thither. So the king, in order to pre- 
 serve the respect that was due to the Romans, 
 went 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 Mar- 
 cus 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 
 
 • A strange number of condemned criminals to be 
 under sentence of death at once ; no fewerj it seems, 
 than MUu 1 
 
 ~v 
 
(^ 
 
 CHAP. VIIT. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 531 
 
 without further delay. This was very ill 
 taken by Agrippa, who after tliat i)ecame his 
 enemy. And now he took the hi<;h-priest- 
 hood av/ay from Matthias, and made Eiion- 
 eus, the son of Caatheras, high-priest in his 
 stead. 
 
 2. Now, when Agrippa had reigned three 
 years over all Judea, he came to the city Ce- 
 sarea, which was formerly called Strato's 
 Tower ; and there he exhibited shows in ho- 
 nour of Ca;sar, upon his being informed that 
 there was a certain festival celebrated to make 
 vows for his safety. At which festival, a great 
 multitude was gotten together of the princi- 
 pal persons, and such as were of dignity 
 through his province. On the second day of 
 ■which shows he put on a garment made ivhol- 
 ly 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 gar- 
 ment 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 liorror over those that looked in- 
 tently upon him : and presently his flatterers 
 cried out, one from one place, and another 
 from another (though not for liis good), that 
 he was a god : and they added, " Be thou 
 merciful to us ; for althougli we have hitherto 
 reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we 
 henceforth own thee as superior to mortal 
 nature." Upon this the king did neither re- 
 buke them, nor reject their impious flattery. 
 But, as he presently afterwards looked up, he 
 saw an owl • sitting on a certain rope over his 
 head, and immediately understood that this 
 
 • We have a mighty cry made here by some critics, 
 8S if the great Eusebius had on purpose falsified this 
 account of Josephus, so as to make it agree with the 
 parallel account in the Acts of the Apostles ; because 
 the present copies of his citation of it. Hist. Eccles. b. 
 ii, ch. X, omit the words (StuSUvx. — iti ff-vomm^rive;, i. e. 
 an owl — on a certain rope, which Josepffus's present co- 
 pies retain, and only have the explicatory word kj-^eAov, 
 or angel; as if he meant that ajigcl of the Lord which 
 St. Luke mentions as smiting Herod, Acts xii, "25, and 
 not that owl which Josephus called an angel or messen- 
 ger, formerly of good, but now of had news, to Agrippa. 
 j'his accusation is a somewhat strange one in the case of 
 the great Eusebius, who is known to have so accurately 
 and fav'hfully produced a vast number of other ancient 
 records, particularly not a few out of our Josephus al- 
 so, without suspicion of prevarication. Now, not to al- 
 lege how uncertain we are whether Josephus's and Euse- 
 bius's copies of the fourth century were just like the 
 present in this clause, which we have no distinct evi- 
 dence of, the following words, preserved still in Euse- 
 bius, will not admit of any such exposition: "Ihis 
 [bird] (says Eusebius) Agrippa presently perceived to be 
 the cause of ill fortune, as it was once of good fortune, 
 to him;" which can only belong to that bird, the owl, 
 which as it had formerly foreboded his happy deliver- 
 ance from imprisonment, Antiq. b. xviii, ch. v'i, sect. 7, 
 BO was it then foretold to prove afterward the unhappy 
 lorerunner of his death in five days' time. If the im- 
 proper words signifying cause, be changed for Jose- 
 phus's proper word acyyiXtv, angel or messenger, and 
 the foregoing words, fioui£,a.—i-n o-x.oi»'cv tivo;, lie in- 
 serted, Eusebius's text will truly represent that in Jose- 
 phus. Had this imperfection been in some heathen 
 author that was in go<id esteem with our modern critics, 
 they would have readily corrected these as barely errors 
 in thp copies ; but being in an ancient Christian writer, 
 not so well relished by manv of those critics, nothing 
 will serve but the ill-grounded supposal of wi(fui cor- 
 ruytion and prevarication. ^ 
 
 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 look- 
 ed upon his friends, and said, " I, whom you 
 call a god, am commanded presently to de- 
 part this life ; while Providence thus reproves 
 the lying words j-ou just now said to me ; and 
 1, who was by you called immortal, am im- 
 mediately to be hurried away by death. But 
 1 am bound to accept of what Providence al- 
 lots, as it pleases God ; for we have by no 
 means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy 
 manner." When he said this, his pain was 
 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. AH places were 
 also full of mourning and lamentation. Now 
 the king rested in a high chamber, and as he 
 saw them below lying prostrate on the ground, 
 he could not himself forbear weeping. And 
 when he had been quite worn out by the pain 
 in his belly for five days, he departed this life, 
 being in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and 
 in the seventh year of his reign ; for he reign- 
 ed four years under Caius Casar, three ot 
 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 Ciesar : in which 
 time he reigned over the fore-mentioned coun- 
 tries, and also had Judea added to them, as 
 also Samaria and Cesarea. The revenues that 
 he received out of them were very great, no 
 less than twelve millions of drachmje.f Yet 
 did he borrow great sums from others ; for he 
 was so very liberal, that his expenses exceed- 
 ed Ids incomes ; and his generosity was bound- 
 less. I 
 
 3. But before the multitude were inade ac- 
 quainted with Agrippa's being expired, He- 
 rod the king of Chalcis, and Helcias the mas- 
 ter of his horse, and the king's friend, sent 
 Aristo, one of the king's most faithful ser- 
 vants, and slew Silas, who had been their ene- 
 my, as if it had been done by the king's own 
 command. 
 
 t Tliis sum of twelve millions of draehmx, which is 
 equal to three millions of shekels, i. c. at 'is. l(Jd. a 
 shekel, equal to four hundred and twenty-five thousand 
 pounds sterling, was Agrippa the Great's yearly income, 
 or about three quarters of his grandfather Herod's in- 
 come, he having abated the tax upon houses at Jerusa- 
 lem, ch. vi, sect. 3 ; and was not so tyrannical as Herod 
 had been to the Jews. See the note on Antiq. b. xvii, 
 ch. xi, sect. •!. A large sum this ! but not, it seems, suf. 
 ficient for his extravagant expenses. 
 
 X Reland takes notice here, not improperly, that Jo- 
 sephus omits the reconciliation of this Herod Agrippa, 
 to the Tyrians and Sidonians, by the means of Blasliit 
 the king's chamberlain, mentioned Acts xii, 20. Nor 
 is there any history in the world so complete, as to omit 
 nothing that other historians take notice of, unless the 
 one bs taken out of the other, and accommodated toit> 
 
532 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHAT THINGS WERE DONE AFTER THE DEATH 
 or AGRIPPA ; AND HOW CLAUDIUS, ON AC- 
 COUNT OF THE YOUTH AND UNSKILFULNESS 
 OF AGRIPPA, JUNIOR, SENT CUSPIUS FADUS TO 
 BE PROCURATOR OF JUDEA, AND OF THE EN- 
 TIRE KINGDOM. 
 
 § 1. And thus did king Agrippa depart this 
 life. But he left behind him a son, Agrippa 
 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 Drusilla, were still vir- 
 gins ; the former was ten years old, and Dru- 
 silla six. Now these his daughters were thus 
 espoused by their father ; Mariamne to Ju- 
 lius Archelaus Epiphanes, the son of Antio- 
 chus, the son of Chelcias ; and Drusilla to 
 the king of Commagena. But when it was 
 known that Agrippa was departed this life, 
 the ii habitants of Cesarea and of Sebaste for- 
 got the kindnesses he had bestowed on them, 
 •md acted the part of the bitterest enemies j 
 for they cast such reproaches upon the de- 
 ceased as are not fit to be spoken of: and so 
 many of them as were then soldiers, which 
 were a great number, went to his house, and 
 hastily carried off" the statues • of this 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 general feast- 
 ings, with garlands on their heads, and with 
 ointments and libations to Charon, and drink- 
 ing to one another for joy that the king was 
 expired. Nay, they were not only unmind- 
 ful of Agrippa, who had extended his liber, 
 ality to them in abundance, but of his grand- 
 father Herod also, who had himself rebuilt 
 their cities, and had raised them havens and 
 temples at vast expenses. 
 
 • Photius, who made an extract out of this section, 
 says, they were not the statues or images, but the ladies 
 themselves, wlio were thuj basely abused by the sol- 
 diets. Cud. ccxxxviij. 
 
 BOOK XIX 
 
 2. Now Agrippa, the son of the deceased, 
 was at Rome, and brought up with Claudius 
 Caesar. And when Caesar was informed that 
 Agrippa was dead, and that the inhabitants 
 of Sebaste and Cesarea had abused him, he 
 was sorry for the first news, and was dis- 
 pleased with the ingratitude of those cities. 
 He was tlierefore disposed to send Agrippa, 
 junior, away presently to succeed his father in 
 the kingdom, and was willing to confirm him 
 in it by his oath. But those freemen and 
 friends of his who had the greatest authority 
 with him, dissuaded him from it, and said 
 that it was a dangerous experiment to permit 
 so large a kingdom to come under the go- 
 vernment 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 to a grown man. 
 So Caesar thought what they said to be rea- 
 sonable. — Accordingly he sent Cuspius Fadus 
 to be procurator of Judea, and of the entire 
 kingdom, and paid that respect to the de- 
 ceased 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, tliat he should chastise the 
 inhabitants of Cesarea and Sebaste for those 
 abuses they had ofll'ered to him that was de- 
 ceased, and their madness towards his daugh- 
 ters that were still alive ; and that he should 
 remove that body of soldiers that were at Ce- 
 sarea and Sebaste, with the five regiments, 
 into Pontus, that they might do their military 
 duty there, and that he should choose an equal 
 number of soldiers out of the Roman legions 
 that were in Syria, to supply their place. 
 Yet were not those that had such orders ac- 
 tually removed ; for by sending ambassadors 
 to Claudius, they mollified 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 Ves- 
 pasian had subdued the country, he removed 
 them out of his province, as we shall relate 
 hereafter, f 
 
 t This history is now wanting. 
 
 "V 
 
BOOK XX. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF TWENTY-TWO YEARS. 
 FROM FADUS THE PROCURATOR TO FLORUS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A SEDITION OF THE PHILADELPHIANS AGAINST 
 THE JEWS ; AND ALSO CONCERNING THE 
 VESTMENTS OF THE HIGH-PRIEST. 
 
 § 1. Upon the death of king Agrippa, which 
 we have related in the foregoing book, Clau- 
 dius Ca?sar sent Cassius Longinus as succes- 
 sor 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 Fad us, as soon as 
 he was come procurator into Judea, found 
 quarrelsome doings between tlie Jews that 
 dwelt in Perea and the people of Philadel- 
 phia, 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 Phila- 
 delphians. 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 raslily taken up arms against them. 
 So he seized upon three of their principal 
 men, who were also the causes of this sedi- 
 tion, and ordered them to be bound, and 
 afterward had one of them slain, whose name 
 was Hannibal ; and he banished the other 
 two, Amrara and Eleazar; Tholomy also, the 
 arch robber, 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, Ju- 
 dea 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 com- 
 mand of the emperor, and admonished them, 
 that they should lay up the long garment and 
 tlie sacred vestment, which it is customary 
 for nobody but the high-priest to wear, in the 
 tower of Antonia, that it might be under the 
 power of the Romans, as it had been former- 
 I ly. Now the Jews durst not coirtradict what 
 
 '\ 
 
 be had said, but desired Fabius, however, 
 and Longinus (which last was come to Jeru- 
 salem, and had brought a great army with 
 him, out of a fear that the ['■'g'''] 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 that their re- 
 quest. So they replied, that they would give 
 them leave to send their ambassadors, provid- 
 ed 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 com- 
 ing to Rome, Agrippa, junior, the son of the 
 deceased, understood the reason why they 
 came (for he dwelt with Claudius Ctesar, as 
 we said before), he besought Ceesar to granf 
 the Jews their request about the holy vestments, 
 and to send a message to Fadus accordingly. 
 2. Hereupon Claudius called for the am 
 bassadors, and told them that he granted theii 
 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 fol- 
 lowing letter by them : " Claudius Casar, 
 Germanicus, tribune of the people the fifth 
 time, and designed consul the fourth time, 
 and imperator 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 representation of 
 your ambassadors to me by Agrippa my friend, 
 whom I have brought up, and have now with 
 me, and who is a person 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 excellent per- 
 son Vitellius, who is very dear to me, had 
 done before me. And I have complied with 
 your desire, in the first place, out of regard 
 
531 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 to that piety wliicli I profess, and because I 
 would have every one worship God according 
 to the laws of their own country ; and this I do 
 al>A>, because 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 1 
 have the greatest friendship, and whom I 
 highly esteem, and look on as persons of the 
 best character. Now I have written about 
 these affairs to Cuspius Fadus, my procura- 
 tor. The names of those that brought me 
 your letter are Cornelius, the son of Cero, 
 Trypho, the son of Tlieudio, Dorotheus, the 
 son of Natlianiel, and John, the son of John. 
 This is dated before the fourth of the calends 
 of July, when Rufus and Pompeius Sylvanus 
 are consuls." 
 
 3. Herod also, the brother of the deceased 
 Agrippa, who was then {Kjssessed of the royal 
 authority over Chalcis, petitioned Claudius 
 Caesar for the authority over the temple, and 
 the money of the sacred treasure, and the 
 choice of the high-priests, and obtained all 
 that he petitioned for. So that after that time 
 this authority continued among all liis de- 
 scendants till the end of the war.* Accord- 
 ingly Herod removed the last high-priest, 
 called Cantheras, and bestowed that dignity 
 on his successor Joseph, the son of Camus. 
 
 CHAPTER II, 
 
 HOW HELENA, THE QUEEN OF ADIABENE, AND 
 HEIl SON IZATES, EMBRACED THE JEWISH 
 RELIGION ; AND HOW HELENA SUPPLIED THE 
 POOR WITH CORN, WHEN THERE WAS A GREAT 
 FAMINE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 § 1. About this time it was that Helena, 
 queen of Adiabene. and her son Izates, chang- 
 ed their course of life, and embraced the Jew- 
 ish customs, and this on the occasion follow- 
 ing : — Monobazus, the king of Adiabene, 
 who had also the name of Baaeus, fell in love 
 with his sister Helena, and took her to be his 
 wife, and begat her with child. But as be 
 was in bed with her one night, be laid his 
 hands upon his wife's belly, and fell asleep, 
 and seemed to hear a voice, which bade him 
 take his hand off his wife's belly, and not to 
 hurt the infant that was therein, which, by 
 God's providence, would be safely born, and 
 have a happy end. Tliis voice put him into 
 disorder; so he awaked immediately, and told 
 the story to his wife ; and when his son was 
 born, he called him Izates. He had indeed 
 
 • Here Is some error in the copies, or mistakes in Jo- 
 Bepfius; for the power of appointing high-priests, after 
 Herod king of Chalcis was dead, and Agrippw junior was 
 made king of Chalcis in his room, belonged to luni ; and 
 he exercised the same all alonp till Jenis,ilem was de- 
 stroyed, as Josei)hus elsewhere informs us, ch. viii, sect. 
 8, 1 1 ; ch. ix, sccU 1, 4, 6, 7 
 
 Monobazus, liis elder brother, by Helena also, 
 as lie had otiier sons by other wives besides. 
 Yet did he opeidy place all his affections on 
 tliis his only begotten j- son Izates, whicli was 
 the origin of that envy whicli his otlier bre- 
 thren, 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 before them 
 all. Now although their father was very sen- 
 sible of these their passions, yet did he forgive 
 them, as not indulging those passions out of 
 an ill disposition, but out of a desire eacli of 
 them had to be beloved by their father. How- 
 ever, he sent Izates, with many presents, to 
 Abennerig, 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 he 
 committed his son's preservation to him. 
 Upon which Abennerig gladly received the 
 young man, and had a great atfection for him, 
 and married him to his own daughter, whose 
 name was Samacha : he also bestowed a coun- 
 try upon him, from which he received large 
 revenues. 
 
 2. But when Monobazus was grown old, 
 and saw that lie Iiad but a little time to live, 
 he had a mind to come to the sight of his son 
 before he died. So he sent for him, and em- 
 braced him after the most affectionate man 
 ner, and bestowed on him the country called 
 Carrje; it was a soil that bare amomum in 
 great plenty : there are also in it the remains 
 of that ark, wherein it is related that Noalj 
 escaped the deluge, and where they are still 
 shown to such as are desirous to see them.| 
 Accordingly 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 king- 
 dom, and for those that had the armies com- 
 mitted to their command ; and when they were 
 come, she made the following speech to them : 
 — " I believe you are not unacquainted that 
 my husband was desirous Izates should sue 
 ceed him in the government, and thought him 
 worthy so to do. However, I wait your de- 
 termination ; for happy is he who receives a 
 kingdom, not from a single person only, bil* 
 from the willing suffrages of a great many.' 
 This she said, in order to try those that were 
 invited, and to di'^cover their sentiments. 
 Upon the hearing of which they tirst of all 
 paid their homage to the queen, as their cus- 
 tom was, and then they said that they confirm- 
 ed the king's determination, and would sub- 
 mit to it J and they rejoiced that Izates's fa. 
 
 t Josephus here uses tlie word //.otitymr,, an only-be- 
 golten son, for no other than one best-l)cloved, as does 
 bdth the Old and New Testament ; I mean where there 
 were one or more sons besides. Gen. xxd, 2; Heb. xi, 
 7- See the note on b. i, ch. xiii, sect. 1. 
 
 t It is here verj' remarkable, that the remains of 
 Noah's ark were believed to be still in being in the days 
 of Josephus. See the note on b. i, ch. 3, sect 6. 
 
ANTmUITlES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CMAP. II. 
 
 ther 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 kinsmen, that so the govern- 
 ment 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 exe- 
 cution of this slaughter of Izates's brethren 
 till he should be there himself, and give his 
 approbation to it. So since these men had 
 not prevailed with her when they adviied 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 kingdom till his brother should come; 
 who came suddenly upon hearing that his fa- 
 ther was dead, and succeeded his brother 
 Monobazus, who resigned up the government 
 to him. 
 
 3. Now, during the time Izates abode at 
 Charax-Spasini, a certain Jewish merchant, 
 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 be- 
 came known to Izates ; and persuaded him, 
 in like manner, to embrace that religion ; he 
 also, at the earnest entreaty of Izates, ac- 
 companied him when he was sent for by his 
 father to come to Adiabene; it also happened 
 that Helena, about the same time, was in- 
 structed by a certain other Jew, and went 
 over to them. But, when Izates had taken 
 the kingdom, and was 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 of 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 Cassar, and sent the others to 
 Artabanus, the king of Parthia, with the like 
 intentions. 
 
 4. And when he perceived that his mother 
 was highly pleased with the Jewish customs, 
 he made haste to change, and to embrace them 
 entirely ; and as he supposed that he could 
 not be thoroughly a Jew unless he were cir- 
 cumcised, he %vas ready to have it done. But 
 when bis mother understood vyjiat he was 
 
 ^^ 
 
 535 
 
 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 thereby bring himself 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 present 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 
 threatened 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 with- 
 out being circumcised, even though he did re- 
 solve 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 perform the 
 operation, while it was omitted out of neces- 
 sity, and for fear of his subjects. So the king 
 at that time complied with these persuasions 
 of Ananias. But afterwards, 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 Eleazer, and who was es- 
 teemed very skilful in the learning of his 
 country, persuaded 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, O king ! 
 that thou unjustly breakest the principal of 
 those laws, and art injurious to God himself, 
 [by omitting to be circumcised] ; 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 circum- 
 cision, and dost not know how great impiety 
 thou art guilty of by neglecting it, read it 
 now." Wlien the king had heard what he 
 said, he delayed the thing no longer, but re- 
 tired to another room, and sent for a surgeon, 
 and did what he was commanded 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 astonishment 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 ha- 
 zard, because they would be supposed the oc- 
 casion of his so doing. But it was God 
 himself who hindered what they feared from 
 taking effect ; for he preserved both Izates 
 
 r 
 
J~ 
 
 —\ 
 
 33G 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 himself and his sons when ihey fell into many 
 dangers, and procured their deliverance when 
 it seemed to be impossible, and demonstrated 
 thereby, that the fruit of piety does not perish 
 as to thckse that have regard to him, and fix 
 their faith upon him only : * — but these events 
 we sliall relate hereafter. 
 
 5. But as to Helena, the king's mother, 
 when she saw that the afl'airs of Izates's king- 
 dom 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 ef Jerusalem, in order to worship at 
 that temple of God which was so very fa- 
 mous 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 consent to what she desired very wil- 
 lingly, and made great preparations for her 
 dismission, and gave her a great deal of mo- 
 ney, and she went down to the city Jerusa- 
 lem, her son conducting her on her journey a 
 great way. Now her coming was of very 
 great advantage to the people of Jerusalem ; 
 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 her servants to Alexan- 
 dria with 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 
 were come back, and had brought tliose pro- 
 visions, which was done very quickly, she dis- 
 tributed food to those that were in want of it, 
 and left a most excellent memorial behind her 
 of this l)eiiefaction, 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 Jeru- 
 salem. However, what favours this queen 
 and king conferred upon our city Jerusalem, 
 shall be farther related hereafter.f 
 
 * Joseph us is very full and express iii these three 
 chapters (Hi. iv. and v.) in observing how carefully 
 Divine Providence preserved this Izates, king of Adia- 
 bene, and his sons, while he did what he thought was 
 his bounden duty, notwithstanding the strongest political 
 motives to the contrary. 
 
 •(•This farther account of the benefactions of Izates 
 and Helena to the Jerusalem Jews which Josephus here 
 promises, is I think, nowhere performed by him in his 
 present works; but of this terrible famine itself in Ju- 
 dea, take Dr. Hudson's note here: — " This ;says he) 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 
 cons.il the second time, and Casina was his colleague, 
 as Scaliger says upon Eusebius, p. 174." Now, when 
 Jo.icphus had said a little afterward (ch. v. sect. 2.) that 
 " Tiberius Alexander succeeded Cuspius Fadus as pro- 
 curator," he immediately subjoins, tnat " under these 
 procurators there happened a great famine in Judea." 
 vVhence it is plain that this famnie continued for many 
 years, on account of its duration under those two pro- 
 curators. Now Fadus was not sent into Judea till .ifter 
 the death of king Agrippa, i. e. towards the latter end 
 ofthe'lth year of ctauciius : so that this famine fore- 
 told by Aj^abus, happened upon the 5th, Cth, and 7th 
 years of Claudius, as says Valesius on Euseb. ii. 12. Of 
 this famine also, and queen Helena's supplies, and her 
 monument, see Moses Chorencnsis, p. HI, H5 ; where 
 it is observed in the notes, that Pausanias mentions that 
 her monument also 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW ARTABANUS, 'TOE KING OF PARTHIA, OtrT 
 OF FEAR OF THE SECRET CONTRIVANCES 01 
 HIS S0BJEC1'S AGAINST HIM, WENT TO IZA- 
 TES, AND WAS BY HIM REINSTATED IN HIS 
 GOVERNiMENT; AS ALSO HOW EARDANES, 
 HIS SON, DENOUNCED WAR AGAINST IZATES. 
 
 § 1. 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 bim to continue among 
 them ; but resolved to go to Izates, ir> hopes 
 of finding some way for his preservation by 
 his means, and, if possible, for his return to 
 his own dominions. So be came to Izates, 
 and brought a thousand 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 
 liim, " O king ! do not thou overlook me thy 
 servant, 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 in need of 
 thy assistance. Have regard, therefore, un- 
 to the uncertainty of fortune, and esteem the 
 care thou shall take of me to be taken of thy- 
 self also ; for if I be neglected, and my sub- 
 jects go off unpunished, many other subjects 
 will become the more insolent towards other 
 kings also." And this speech Artabanus made 
 with tears in his eyes,and with a dejected coun- 
 tenance. Now, as soon as Izates heard Artaba- 
 nus's name, and saw him stand as a supplicant 
 before him, ho leaped down from his horse 
 immediately, and said to him, " Take courage, 
 O king ! nor be disturbed at thy present ca- 
 lamity, as if it were incurable; for the change 
 of thy sad condition shall be sudden ; for thou 
 shall find me to be more thy friend and thy 
 assistant than thy hopes can promise thee ; 
 for I will either re-establish thee in the king- 
 dom of Parthia, or lose my own." 
 
 2. Wlien 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 Artaba- 
 nus saw, he was very uneasy at it, and sware 
 by his present fortune and honour, that he 
 would get doivn from his horse, unless Izates 
 would get upon his horse again and go be- 
 fore 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 toge- 
 ther, — and he gave him the upper place at 
 festivals also, as regarding not his present for- 
 tune, but his former dignity ; and that upon 
 this consideration also, that the changes «>f 
 
 .r 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 537 
 
 fortune are common to all men. He also 
 wrote to the Parthians, to persuade them to 
 receive Artabanus again; and gave them his 
 right hand and his faith, that he should for- 
 get what was past and done, and that he 
 would undertake for this as a mediator be- 
 tween 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 go- 
 vernment to another person, who had accept- 
 ed of it, and whose name was Cinnamus j 
 and that they were afraid lest a civil war 
 should arise on this account. When Cinna- 
 mus understood their intentions, he wrote to 
 Artabanus himself, for he had been brouglit 
 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 domi- 
 nions again. Accordingly Artabanus trusted 
 him, and returned home ; when Cinnamus 
 met him, worshipped him, and saluted him as 
 a king, and took the diadem off his own head, 
 and put it on the head of Artabanus. 
 
 3. 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 unmindful of the 
 benefits he had conferred upon him, but re- 
 warded him with such honours 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 be- 
 stowed it upon him. The name of the 
 country is Nisibis, wherein the Macedonians 
 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. 
 
 4. 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 fortune of the Romans, 
 that he took Bardanes 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 restrain- 
 ed Bardanes, telling him perpetually of the 
 great armies and famous actions of the Ro- 
 mans, and thought thereby to terrify him, and 
 desired thereby to binder him from that expe-- 
 
 • Thjj privilege of wearing the tiar» upriaht, or 
 with the tip of tlie cone erect, is known to have Deen of 
 old peculiar to great kings, from Xenophou and others, 
 as Ur. Hudson observes ll«. '^ 
 
 dition. But the Parthian king was provok- 
 ed at this his behaviour, and denounced war 
 immediately against Izates. Yet did lie gain 
 no advantage by this war, because God cut 
 off all his hopes therein ; for the Parthians, 
 perceiving Bardanes's intention, and how he 
 had determined to make war with the Romans, 
 slew him, and gave his kingdom to his brother 
 Gofarzes. 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. 
 
 HOW IZATES WAS BETRAYED BY HIS OWN SUB- 
 JECTS, AND FOUGHT AGAINST BY THE ARA- 
 BIANS; AND HOW IZATES, BY THE PROVI- 
 DENCE or GOD, WAS DELIVERED OUT OF 
 THEIR HANDS. 
 
 § 1. Now when the king's brother, Monoba- 
 zus, and his other kindred, saw how Izates, 
 by his piety to God, was 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 discovered by Izates's sub- 
 jects. 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 
 punishment upon them. Accordingly, they 
 wrote to Abia, king of the Arabians, and pro- 
 mised him great sums of money, if he would 
 make an expedition against their king : and 
 they farther promised liim, that, on the first 
 onset, they would desert their king, because 
 they were desirous to pimish 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 this design. The king 
 of Arabia complied with their desires, and 
 brought a great army into the field, and march- 
 ed against Izates; and, in the beginning 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 up- 
 on their enemies, ran away. Yet was not 
 Izates dismayed at this ; but when he under- 
 stood 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 had made this conspiracy with 
 the king of Arabia, he cut off those that were 
 found guilty ; and renewing tlie fight on the 
 next day, he slew the greatest part of his ene- 
 mies, and forced all the rest to betake them 
 
J' 
 
 338 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 selves to flight. He also pursued their king, 
 ami drove him into a fortress called Arsamus, 
 and, following on the siege vigorously, he 
 took that fortress. And, when he had plun- 
 dered it of all the prey that was in it, which 
 was not small, he returned to Adiabene ; yet 
 did not he take Abia alive ; because, when he 
 found himself encompassed upon every side, 
 he slew himself. 
 
 2. But although the grandees of Adiabene 
 had failed in their first attempt, as being de- 
 livered up by God into 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 Iz- 
 ates, and set over them some other potentate, 
 who should be of a Parthian family; for they 
 said that they hated their own king for abro- 
 gating the laws of their forefathers, and em- 
 bracing foreign customs. When tlie king of 
 Parthia heard this, he boldly made war upon 
 Izates; and, as he liad no just pretence for 
 this war, he sent to him, and demanded back 
 those honourable privileges wliich 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 re- 
 proach upon him to appear to resign those 
 privileges 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 his 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 was come, with a 
 great army of footmen and horsemen, wliich 
 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 six thousand horsemen. 
 But there came a messenger to Izates, sent 
 by the king of Parthia, who told him Iww 
 large his dominions were, as reaching from 
 the river Euphrates to Bactria, and enumer- 
 ated that king's subjects; he also threatened 
 him that he should be punished, as a person 
 ungrateful to his lords; and said that the 
 God whom he worshipped coukl not deliver 
 him out of the king's hands. When the 
 messenger had delivered this his message, Iz- 
 ates replied, that he knew the king of Par- 
 thia'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 him- 
 self to make supplication to God, and threw 
 
 BOOK AX. 
 
 himself on the ground, and put ashes upon 
 his head, in testimony of his confusion, and 
 fasted, together with his wives and children,* 
 Then he called upon God, and said, " O 
 Lord and Governor, if I have not in vain 
 committed myself to thy goodness, but have 
 justly determined that thou only art the Loid 
 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 \X\j 
 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 Tery night 
 Vologases received letters, the contents of 
 which were these, that a great band of Dahae 
 and Sac.B, despising 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 es- 
 caped the threatenings of the Parthians, by 
 the providence of God. 
 
 3. It was not long ere Izates died, when 
 he had completed fifty-five years of his life, 
 and had ruled his kingdom twenty-four years. 
 He left behind him twenty-four sons and 
 twenty-four daughters. However, he gave 
 order that his brother Monobazus should suc- 
 ceed in the government, 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 to her that she 
 heard the succession came to her eldest son. 
 Accordingly she went to him in haste ; and 
 when she was come into Adiabene, she did 
 not long outlive her son Izates. But Mono~ 
 bazus sent her bones, as well as those of Iza- 
 tes, his brother, to Jerusalem, and gave order 
 that they should be buried at the pyramids f 
 which their mother had erected ; they were 
 three in number, and distant no more than 
 three furlongs from the city of Jerusalem. But 
 for the actions of Monobazus the king, which 
 he did during the rest of his life, we will re- 
 late them hereafter. I 
 
 * This mourning, and fasting, and praying, used by 
 Izates, with prostration of hio body, and ashes upon 
 his head, are plain signs that he was become either a 
 Jew, or an Ebionite Christian, who indeed differed not 
 much from proper Jews. See chap, vi, sect. 1. How- 
 ever, his supplications were heard, and he was provi- 
 dentially dehvered from that imminent danger he was 
 in. 
 
 t These pyramids or pillars, erected by Helena, 
 queen of Adiabene, near Jerusalem, three in number, 
 are mentioned by f^usebius, in his Eocl. His. b. "2. eh. 
 li. for which Dr. Hudson refers us to Valesius's notes 
 
 upon that place They are also mentioned by Pausani- 
 
 iis, as hath been already noted, chap, ii sect. 6. R^ 
 land guesses that that now called Absalom's Pillar may 
 be one of them. 
 
 i This account is now wanting. 
 
 .r 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 539 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONCERNING THEUDA3, AND THE SONS OF JU- 
 DAS THE GALILEAN ; AS ALSO WHAT CALA- 
 MITY FELL UPON THE JEWS ON THE DAY OF 
 THE PASSOVER. 
 
 § 1. Now it came to pass, while Fadus was 
 procurator of Judea, that a certain magician, 
 whose name was Theudas,* persuaded a great 
 part of the people to take their effects with 
 them, and follow him to the riter Jordan ; 
 for he told them he was a prophet, and that 
 he would, by iiis 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 
 troop of horsemen out against them; who, 
 falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many 
 of them and took many 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 Fa- 
 dus's government. 
 
 2. Then came Tiberius Alexander as suc- 
 cessor to Fadus ; he was the son of Alexan- 
 der the alabarch of Alexandria ; which Alex- 
 ander was a principal person among all his 
 -ontemporaries, both for his family and wealth : 
 he was also more eminent for his piety than 
 .his his son Alexander, for he did not conti- 
 nue in the religion of his country. Under 
 these procurators that great famine happened 
 in Judea, in which queen Helena bought corn 
 in Egypt at a great expense, and distributed 
 it to those that were in want, as I have relat- 
 ed already ; and besides this, the sons of Ju- 
 das 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 es- 
 tates of the Jews, as we have shown in a fore- 
 going book. The names of those sons were 
 James and Simon, whom Alexander com- 
 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 novf it was that Curaanus came as suc- 
 cessor to Tiberius Alexander ; as also that 
 Herod, brotlier of 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 Hyrca- 
 nus, both whom he had by Bernice his bro- 
 ther's daughter ; but Claudius Casar bestow- 
 ed his dominions on Agrippa, junior. 
 
 3. Now, while the Jewish affairs were un- 
 
 * This Theudas, who arose under Fadus the procu- 
 rator, about A. D. 45 or 46, could not be that Theudas 
 who arose iu the days of the taxing, under CjTenius ; 
 or about A. d. 7, Acts v. 36. 57. Who-sthat earlier 
 Theudas was, see the note on b. xvii. eh. x. sect. 5 
 
 der the administration of Cumanus, there 
 happened a great tumult at the city of Jeru- 
 salem, and many of the Jews perished there- 
 in ; 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 was gathered to- 
 gether from all parts to that feast, Cumanus 
 was afraid lest some attempt of innovation 
 should then be n)ade 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 of innovation, if per- 
 chance 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 multitude, which put those that saw him 
 into a furious rage, and made them cry out 
 that this impious action was not done to re- 
 proach them, but God himself; nay, some of 
 them reproached Curaanus, 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 ar- 
 mour, and come to Antonia, which was a for- 
 tress, as we have said already, which over- 
 looked the temple; but when the multitude 
 saw the soldiers there, they were affrighted at 
 them, and ran away hastily ; but as the pas- 
 sages out were but narrew, and as they 
 thought their enemies followed them, they 
 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 twenty thousand that perished 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 themselves to lamentation and 
 weeping; so great an affliction did the impu- 
 dent obsceneness of a single soldier bring up- 
 on tJiem.f 
 
 4. 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 travelling along the 
 public road, about a hundred furlongs from 
 the city, robbed Stephanus, a servant of Cae- 
 sar, as he was journeying, and plundered him 
 of all that he had with him ; which things 
 
 +This and many more tumults and seditions, which 
 arose at the Jewish festivals, in Josephus, illustrate the 
 cautious procedure of the Jewish governors, when thej 
 said. Matt xxvi, 5, " Let us not take Jesus on thf 
 feast-day, lest there be an " uproar among the people;" 
 as Reland well observes on this place. Josephus also 
 takes notice of the same thiug. Of the War, B. i. ch. 
 iv, secL 3. 
 
 "V. 
 
 _/~ 
 
540 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 when Cumanus heard of, he sent soldiers im- 
 mediately, and ordered them to plunder the 
 neighbouring villages, and to bring the most 
 eminent persons among them in bonds to 
 liini. 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 Cesarea, 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. 
 
 HOW THERE HAPPENED A QUARREL BETWEEN 
 THE JEWS AND THE SAMARITANS ; AND 
 HOW CLAUDIUS PUT AN END TO THEIR DIF- 
 FERENCES. 
 
 § 1. Now there arose a quarrel between the 
 Samaritans and the Jews on the occasion fol- 
 lowing : — It was the custom of the Galileans, 
 when they came to the holy city at the festi- 
 vals, to take their journeys through the country 
 of the Samaritans ;* and at this time there lay, 
 n the road they took, a village that was called 
 Ginea, which was situated in the limits of Sa- 
 maria and the great plain, where certain per- 
 sons thereto belonging fought with the Gali- 
 leans, and killed a great many of them ; but, 
 when the principal of the Galileans were in- 
 formed of what had been done, they came to 
 Cumanus, and desired him to avenge the 
 murdtc of those that were killed j but he was 
 induced by the Samaritans, with money, to 
 do nothing in the matter j upon which the 
 Galileans were much displeased, and per- 
 suaded the multitude of the Jews to betake 
 themselves to arms, and to regain their liber- 
 ty, saying, that slavery was in itself a bitter 
 thing, but that, when it was joined with di- 
 rect injuries, it was perfectly intolerable. 
 And when their principal men endeavoured 
 
 • This constant passage of the Galileans through the 
 country of Samaria, as they went to Judea and Jerusa- 
 lem, illustrates several passages in the Gospels to the 
 same purpose, as Dr. Hudson rightly observes. See 
 Luke xvii ; 1 John iv, 4. See also Josephus in his own 
 Life (sect. 52), whcj that journey is determined to three 
 days. 
 
 BOOK XX. 
 
 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 entreated 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 Cumanus heard of this action of theirs, 
 he took the band of Sebaste, with four regi- 
 ments 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 eminent persons at Jeru- 
 salem, 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 heap- 
 ed ashes upon their heads, and by all possible 
 means besought the seditious, and persuaded 
 them that they would set before their eyes 
 the utter subversion of their country, the con- 
 flagration of their temple, and the slavery of 
 themselves, their wives, and children,-}- which 
 would be the consequences of what they were 
 doing, and would alter their minds, would 
 cast away their weapons, and for the future 
 be quiet, 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. 
 
 2. But the principal of the Samaritans 
 went to Ummidius Quadratus, the president 
 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 con- 
 tempt 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 devasta- 
 tion, as if they had not the Romans for their 
 governors ; on which account 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 gif*£, and passed over the 
 murder of those that were slain in silence ;— 
 which allegations when Quadratus 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 
 
 f Our Saviour had foretold that the Jews' rejection 
 of his Gospel would bring upon them, among otiier mi- 
 seiaes, these three, which they themselves here show 
 they expected would be the consequences of their pre- 
 sent tumults and seditions; the utter subversion of their 
 country, the conflagration of their temple, and the sla- 
 very of themselves, their wives, and children. Se« 
 Luke xxi 6 — 25. 
 
 "V 
 
 -^ 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 exact knowledge of the truth of that matter. 
 So these men went away without success. 
 Yet was it not long ere Quadratus came to 
 Samaria ; where, upon hearing the cause, he 
 supposed that the Samaritans were the authors 
 of that disturbance. But when he was in- 
 formed that certain of the Jews were making 
 innovations, he ordered those to be crucified 
 whom Curaanus 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 secord 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 innovaters with him, 
 four in number, persuaded the multitude to a 
 revolt from the Romans ; whom Quadratus 
 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 Cassar. 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 
 determine their differences one with another. 
 But he came again to the city of Jerusalem, 
 out of his fear that the multitude of the Jews 
 should attempt some innovations; but he 
 found the city in a peaceable state, and cele- 
 brating one of the usual festivals of their 
 country to God. So he believed that tliey 
 would not attenipt any innovations, and left 
 them at the celebration of the festival, and re- 
 turned to Antioch. 
 
 8. 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 Ceasar's freed-men 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 a- 
 greeable 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 vp to him 
 should be slain, and that Cumanus should be 
 banished. He also gave order that Celer the 
 tribune should be carried back to Jerusalem, 
 and should be drawn through the city in the 
 sight of all the people, and then should be 
 slain. 
 
 bU 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FELIX IS MADE PROCURATOR OF JUDEA ; AS 
 ALSO CONCERNING AGRIPPA, JUNIOR, AND 
 HIS SISTERS. 
 
 § 1. So Claudius sent Felix, the brother of 
 Pallans, to take care of the affairs of Judea ; 
 and, when he had already completed the 
 twelfth year of his reign, he bestowed upon 
 Agrippa the tetrarchy of Philip, and Batanea, 
 and added thereto Trachonitis, with Abila; 
 which last had been the tetrarchy of Lysa- 
 nius ; but he took from him Chalcis, when he 
 had been governor thereof four years. And 
 when Agrippa had received these countries as 
 the gift of Caesar, he gave his sister Drusilla 
 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 pro- 
 mise. He also gave Mariamne in marriage 
 to Archelaus, the son of Helcias, to whom 
 she had formerly been betrothed by Agrippa 
 her father ; from which marriage was derived 
 a daughter, whose name was Bernice. 
 
 2. But for the marriage of Drusilla with 
 Azizus, it was in no long time afterward dis- 
 solved, upon the following occasion : — While 
 Ft'lix was procurator of Judea, he saw this 
 Drusilla, and fell in love with her ; for she 
 did indeed 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, 
 
 * This Simon, a friend of Felix, a Jew, bom in Cy 
 pnis, though he pretended to be a magician, and seems 
 to have been wicked enough, could hardly be that fa- 
 mous Simon the magician, in the Acts of the Apostles 
 (viii, 9, &c.), as some are ready to suppose. The Si- 
 mon mentioned in the Acts was hot proi)erly a Jew, but 
 a Samaritan, of the town of Gittje, in the country of 
 Samaria, as the Apostolical Constitutions, vi, 7, the 
 Recognitions of Clement, ii, 6, and Justin MartjT, 
 himself bom in the country of Samaria, Apology, i, 
 34, inform us. He was also the author, not of any an- 
 cient Jewish, but of the first Gentile heresies, as the 
 forementioned authors assure us. So I suppose him a 
 different person from the other. I mean this only upon 
 the hypothesis that Josephus was not misinformeo as to 
 his being a Cyyriot Jew ; for othersvise the time, the 
 name, the profession, and the wickedness of them both, 
 would strongly incline one to l)elieve them the very 
 same. As to that Drusilla, the sister of Agrippa, ju- 
 nior, as Josephus informs us here, and a Jewess, as St. 
 Luke informs us, .^cts xxiv, 24, whom this Simon men- 
 tioned by Josephus persuaded to leave her former hus- 
 band, Azizus, king of Emesa, a proselyte of justice, 
 and to marry Felix, the heathen procurator of Judia, 
 Tacitus (Hist, v, 9) supposes her to l)e a heathen, and 
 the grand-daughter of Antonius and Cleopatra, contrary 
 both to St. Luke and Josephus. Now Tacitus lived 
 somewhat too remote, lx)th as to time and place, to be 
 compared with either of those Jewish writers, in a mat- 
 ter concerning the Jews in Judea in their own days, and 
 concerningasisterof Agrippa, junior, with which Agrip- 
 pa Josephus was himself so well acquainted. It is pro- 
 bable that Taeitns may say true, when he informs us 
 that this Felix (who had in all three wives, or queens, 
 as Suetonius in Claudius, sect. i.'8, assures us) did once 
 marry such a grandchild of Antonius and Cleopatra ; 
 and, finding the name of one of them to have been 
 DrusUla, he mistook her for that other wife, whose 
 name he did not know. 
 
J- 
 
 ~v 
 
 542 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 and by birth a Cypriot, and one who pretend- 
 ed 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 laws of her 
 forefathers, and to marry Felix ; and when 
 he had had a son by her, he named him Agrip- 
 pa. But after what manner tliat young man, 
 with his wife, perished at the conflagration 
 of the mountain Vesuvius,* in the days of 
 Titus Caesar, shall be related hereafter, f 
 
 3. 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 convereation with her brother 
 [Agrippa, junior] she persuaded Polemo, who 
 was king of Cilicia, 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 not this matrimony endure long; but 
 Bernice 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 Arche- 
 laus, and was married to Demetrius, the prin- 
 cipal man among the Alexandrian Jews, botli 
 for his family and his wealth ; and indeed he 
 was tlien their alabarch. So siie named her 
 son whom she had by him Agrippinus. But 
 of all these particulars we shall hereafter treat 
 more exactly. \ 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AFTER WHAT MANNER, UPON THE DEATH OF 
 CLAUDIUS, NERO SUCCEEDED IN THE GO- 
 VERNMENT; AS ALSO WHAT BARBAROUS 
 THINGS HE DID. CONCERNING THE ROB- 
 BERS, MURDERERS, AND IMPOSTORS, THAT 
 AROSE WHILE FELIX AND FESTUS WEBE PRO- 
 CURATORS OF JUDEA. 
 
 § 1. Now Claudius Casar died when he had 
 reigned thirteen years, eight months, and 
 
 • Tliis eruption of Vesuvius was one of the greatest 
 we have in history. See Uyanchini's curious and im- 
 portant observations on this Vesuvius, and its seven se- 
 veral great eruptions, with their remains vitrified, and 
 still existing, in so many diflerent strata under ground, 
 till tlie diggers eamo to the antediluvian waters, with 
 tlieir proportionalile interstiees, iiruilying the Deluge 
 to have been above two thousand Ave hundred ycais 
 before the Christian a;ra, according to our exactest cliro 
 nology. 
 
 f This Is now wanting. 
 This also is now wanting. 
 
 twenty days ; § and a report went about that 
 he was poisoned by his wife Agrippina. Her 
 father was Germanicus, the brotiier of Caesar. 
 Her husband was Domitius iEnobarbus, one 
 of the most illustrious persons that was in the 
 city of Rome ; aftei 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 
 liis father. He had before this slain his wife 
 Messalina, out of jealousy, by whom he had 
 his children Britannicns and Octavia ; their 
 eldest sister was Antonia, whtim he had by 
 Pelina his first wife. He also married Oc- 
 tavia to Nero ; for tliat was the name that 
 Casar gave him afterward, upon his adopting 
 him for his son. 
 
 iJ. But now Agrippina was afraid, lest, 
 when Britannicus should come to man's estate, 
 he should succeed his father in the govern- 
 ment, and desired to seize upon the principa- 
 lity beforehand for her own son [Nero]; upon 
 which the report went, that she thence com- 
 passed the death of Claudius. Accordingly 
 she sent Burrhus, the general of the army, 
 immediately, and with him the tribunes, and 
 such also of the freed-men as were of the 
 greatest authority, to bring Nero away into 
 the camp, and to salute him emperor. And 
 when Nero had thus obtained 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 her this requital, not 
 only for being born of her, but for bringing 
 it so about by her contrivances, that he ob- 
 tained the Roman empire. He also slew 
 Octavia his ov/n wife, and manj' other illus- 
 trious persons, under this pretence, that they 
 plotted against him. 
 
 3. But I omit any farther 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 be- 
 nefits from him ; while others, out of hatred 
 to him, and the great ill-will which they bare 
 him, have so impudently raved against him 
 with their lies, that they justly deserved to be 
 condemned. Nor do I wonder at such as 
 have told lies of Nero, since they have not in 
 their writings preserved the truth of history 
 as to those facts that were earlier than his 
 time, even when the actors could have no way 
 incurred their hatred, since those writers liv- 
 ed 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 truth our 
 direct aim, we shall briefly touch upon what 
 only belongs remotely to this undertaking, 
 
 § This duration of the reign of Claudius agrees with 
 Dio, as Dr. Hudson here remarks; as he also remarks 
 that .\ero's name, whieli was at first L. Domitms ifino 
 barbus, afterClaudius had adopted him was Nero Clau- 
 dius Ca-'sar Drusus Germanicus. 
 
 X 
 
 -J- 
 
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. viir. 
 
 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 there- 
 fore return to the relation of our own affairs, 
 
 4. For in the first year of the reign of 
 Nero, upon the death of Azizus, king of 
 Emesa, Soemus,* his brother, succeeded in 
 his kingdom, and Aristobulus, the son of 
 Herod, king of Chalcis, was intrusted by 
 Nero with the government of the Lesser Arme- 
 nia. Caesar also bestowed on Agrippa a cer- 
 tain part of Galilee, Tiberias and TaricheK,f 
 and ordered them to submit to his jurisdic- 
 tion. He gave him also Julias, a city of Pe- 
 rea, with fourteen villages that lay about it. 
 
 5. Now, as for the affairs of the Jews, they 
 grew worse and worse continually ; for the 
 country was again filled with robbers and im- 
 postors, who deluded the multitude. Yet did 
 Felix catch and put to death many of those 
 impostors every day, together with the rob- 
 bers. He also caught Eleazar, the son of 
 Dineus, who had gotten together a company 
 of robbers ; and this he did by treachery ; 
 for he gave him assurance that he should suf- 
 fer no harm, and thereby persuaded him to 
 come to him ; but wlien he came, he bound 
 him and sent him to Rome. Felix also bore 
 an ill-will to Jonathan, the high-priest, be- 
 cause he frequently gave him admonitions 
 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 desired Cassar to send him as 
 procurator of Judea. So Felix contrived a 
 method whereby he might get rid of him, 
 now he was become so continually trouble- 
 some to him ; for such continual admonitions 
 are 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 by promising to give 
 him a great deal of money for so doing. 
 Doras complied with the proposal, and con- 
 trived matters so, that the robbers might 
 murder him after the following manner: — 
 Cert«in 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 mul- 
 titude, they slew Jonathan ;:f and as this mur- 
 
 ♦ This Soemus is elsewhere mentioned [by Josephus, 
 in his own Life, sect. 11, as also] by Dio Cassius and 
 Tacitus, as Dr. Hudson informs us. 
 
 1 This afjrees with Josephus's frequent accounts else- 
 where in his awn Life, that Tibenas, and Tarichea;, 
 and Gamala, were under this Agrippa, junior, till Jus- 
 tus, the son of Pistus, seized upon thera for the Jews, 
 upon the breaking out of the war. 
 
 t This treacherous and barbarous murder of the good 
 high-priest Jonathan, by the contrivance of tins wicked 
 procurator Felix, was the immediate oec^ision of the en- 
 suing murders by the sicarii or rutiians, and one great 
 cause of the following horrid cruelties an4, miseries of 
 I the Jewish nation, as Josephus here supposes : whose 
 
 513 
 
 der was never avenged, the robbers went up 
 with the greatest security at the festivals after 
 this time ; and having weapons concealed in 
 like manner as before, and mingling them- 
 selves 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 boldness 
 to murder men there, without thinking of the 
 impiety of which they were guilty. And this 
 seems to me 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 bfought the Ro- 
 mans 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. 
 
 6. These works, that were done by the 
 robbers, filled the city with all sorts of im- 
 piety. And now these impostors and deceiv- 
 ers II persuaded the multitude to follow them 
 into the wilderness, and pretended that they 
 would exhibit manifest wonders and signs, 
 that should be performed by the providence 
 of God. And many that were prevailed on 
 by them suflTered the punishments of their 
 folly ; for Felix brought them back, and then 
 punished them. Moreover, there came out 
 
 excellent redection on the gross wickedness of that na- 
 tion, as the direct cause of their terrible destruction, is 
 well worthy the attention of every Jewish and Christian 
 reader. And, since we are soon coniing to the cata- 
 logue of Jewish high-priests, it may not be amiss, with 
 Reland, to insert this Jonathan amon^ thera ; and to 
 transcribe his particular catalogue of the last twenty- 
 eight high-priests, taken out of Josephus, and begin 
 with Ananelus, who was made by Herod the Great. 
 See Anti j. b. xv, ch. ii, sect. 4, and the note there. 
 
 1. Ananelus. 
 
 2. Aristobulus. 
 
 5. Jesus, the son of Fabus. 
 
 4. Simon, the son of Boethus. 
 
 5. Matthias, the son of Theophilus. 
 
 6. Joazar, the son of Boethus. 
 
 7. Eleazar, the son of Koethus. 
 
 8. Jesus, the son of Sic 
 
 9- [Annas, or] Ananus, the son of Setb' 
 
 10. l<mael, the son of Fabus. 
 
 1 1. Eleazar, the son of Ananus. 
 
 12. Simon, the son of Cam i thus. 
 
 13. Josephus Caiaphas, the son-in-law to Ananus. 
 1 1. Jonathan, the son of Ananus. 
 
 15- Theophilus, his brother, and son of Ananus. 
 
 16. Simon, the son of Uocthus. 
 
 17. Matthias, the brother of Jonathan, and son of Ana- 
 
 nus. 
 H. Aljoneus. 
 
 19. Josephus, the son of Camydus. 
 20- .'Vnanias, the son of Nebedeus. 
 
 21. Jonathas. 
 
 22. Ismael, the son of Fabi. 
 
 23. Joseph Cabi, the son of Simon. 
 
 24. Ananus, the son of Anaiius- 
 
 25. Jesus, the son of Damncus. 
 
 26. Jesus, the son of Gamaliel. 
 
 27. Matthris the son of I heophiius. 
 
 28. Phannias, the son of .'>amuel. 
 
 As for Ananus and Joseph Caiaphas, here mentioned 
 about the middle of this catalogue, they are no other 
 than those Annas and Caiaphas so often mentioned in 
 the Four Gospels; and that .Xnaniiis, the son of Nebe- 
 deus, was that high-priest Ijefore whom St. Paul pleaded 
 his own cause. Acts xxiv. 
 
 ij Of tliese .lewish impostors and false prophets, with 
 many other circumstances and miseries of the Jews, UU 
 their utier destruction, foretold by our Saviour, sc« 
 Litt. Accouivl. of Proph. p. 58 — ^5 
 
J- 
 
 544 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 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 agamst the city, and at 
 the distance of five furlongs. He said far- 
 ther, that he would show tliem 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 were 
 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 
 four hundred of them, and took two hundred 
 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. 
 
 7. And now it was that a great sedition 
 arose between the Jews that inhabited Cesarea, 
 and the Syrians who dwelt tiiere also, con- 
 cerning their equal right to the privileges be- 
 longing to citizens ; for the 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, re- 
 proached them again, and hoped to provoke 
 them by such reproaches. However, the Syri- 
 ans, 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 lan- 
 guage 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 was 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 tJiem, and slew many of them, and took 
 more of them alive, and permitted his soldiers 
 to plunder some of the houses of the citizens, 
 
 * Of this Egyptian impostor, and the number of his 
 CoUowers, ai Josephus, see Acts xxi 38. 
 
 BOOK XX. 
 
 which were full of riches. Now those Jews 
 that were more moderate, and of principal 
 dignity among them, were afraid of them- 
 selves, and desired of Fvlix that he would 
 sound a retreat to his soldiers, and spare them 
 for the future, and afford them room for re- 
 pentance for what they had done ; and Felix 
 was prevailed upon to do so. 
 
 8. 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 
 reproachful words against one another, and 
 by throwing stones also. And there was no- 
 body to reprove them ; but these disorders 
 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 tiiey had 
 the hardness to send their servants into the 
 thrashing-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. 
 
 9. 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 had in 
 the greatest honour by him. Two of the 
 principal Syrians in Cesarea persuaded Burr- 
 hus, 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 hither- 
 to enjoyed. So Burrhus, by his solicitations, 
 obtained leave of the emperor, that an epistle 
 should be written to that purpose. This epis- 
 tle became the occasion of the following mi- 
 series that befell our nation ; for, when the 
 Jews of Cesarea were informed of the contents 
 of this epistle to tlie Syrians, they were more 
 disorderly than before, till a war was kindled. 
 
 10. Upon Festus's coming into Judea, it 
 happened that Judea was afflicted by the rob- 
 bers, while all the villages were set on fire, 
 and plundered by them. And then it was 
 (hat the sicarii, as tliey were called, who were 
 robbers, grew numerous. They made use of 
 small swords, not much diHerent in length 
 from the Persian acmaca; but somewhat 
 crooked, and Hke the Roman sicte [or sickles], 
 
 f The wirfcedncss here was very peculiar and extra- 
 ordinary, that the high-priests should so oppress their 
 bretliren the priests, as to starve the poorest of them to 
 death. See the like presently, ch. ix, sect. 2. Such 
 fatal crimes are covetousness and tyranny in the clc-fy, 
 as well as in the laity, in all ages. 
 
 ^ 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 543 
 
 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 multi- 
 tude 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 
 enemies, with their weapons, and plundered 
 them, and set tliem on fire. So Fesius sent 
 forces, both horsemen and footmen, to fall 
 upon those that had been seduced by a certain 
 impostor, who promised them deliverance and 
 freedom from the miseries they were under, 
 if they would but follow him as far as the 
 wilderness. Accordingly those forces that 
 were sent destroyed both him that had deluded 
 them, and those that were his followers also. 
 11. About the same time king Agrippa 
 built himself a very large dining-room in the 
 royal palace at Jerusalem, near to the portico. 
 Now this palace had been erected of old by 
 the children of Asamoneus, and was situate 
 upon an elevation, and afforded a most de- 
 lightful 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 agree- 
 able 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 towards 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 tem- 
 ple also, where it was that the Romans kept 
 guards for the temple at the festivals. At 
 these doings both king Agrippa, and princi- 
 pally Festus the procurator, were much dis- 
 pleased ; and Festus ordered them to pull the 
 wall down again : but the Jews petitioned 
 him to give them leave to send an embassage 
 about this mater to Nero ; for they said they 
 could not endure to live if any part of the 
 temple should be demolished ; and when Fes- 
 tus liad given them leave so to do, they sent 
 itn of their principal men to Nero, as also 
 Isniael the high-priest, and Helcias, the keeper 
 of the sacred treasure. And when Nero had 
 heard what they had to say, he not only for- 
 gave* them what they had already done, but 
 
 * We have here one eminen* example of Nero's 
 mildness and eoodness in his government towards tlie 
 Jews, durnig the first five years of his reign, so famous 
 in antiquity ; we have perhaps another in Joscphus's 
 own Life, sect. 3 ; and a tliird, though of a very difler- 
 ent nature, here in sect. 9, just before. However, both 
 the generous acts of kindness were obtained of Nero by 
 bis queen Poppea, who was a religious lady, and per- 
 
 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 requested these fa- 
 vours of Nero, and who gave order to the ten 
 ambassadors to go their way home ; but re- 
 tained Helcias and Ismael as hostages with 
 herself. As soon as tiie king heard this news, 
 he gave the high. priesthood to Joseph, who 
 was called Cabi, the son of Simon, formerly 
 high-priest. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CONCERNING ALBINUS, UNDER WHOSE PROCU- 
 RATORSHIF JAMES WAS SLAIN ; AS ALSO WHAT 
 EDIFICES WERE BUILT BY AGRIPPA. 
 
 § 1. And now Ctesar, upon hearing the death 
 of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procu- 
 rator ; but the king deprived Joseph of the 
 higli-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 God, and he had himself enjoyed that dig- 
 nity a long time formerly, which had never 
 happened to any other of our high-priests ; 
 but this younger Ananus, who, as we have 
 told jftu already, took the high-priesthood, 
 was a bold man i-n his temper, and very inso- 
 lent ; he was also of the sect of the Saddu- 
 cees,f who are very rigid in judging offen- 
 ders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we 
 have already observed ; when, therefore. A- 
 nanus 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 heasseni. 
 bled the sanhedrim of judges, and brough 
 before them the brother of Jesus, who was 
 called Christ, whose name was James, and 
 some others, [or, some of his compam'ons] ; 
 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 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], desiring 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 
 
 haps privately a Jewish proselyte, and so were not ow- 
 ing entirely to Nero's own goodness. 
 
 t It hence evidently appears tliat Sadducees might be 
 high-priests in the days of Josephus, and that these Sad- 
 ducees were usually very severe and inexorable judges, 
 while the Pharisees were much milder, and more mer- 
 ciful, as appears by Reland's instances in his note on 
 this place, and on Josephus's Life, sect. 54, and those 
 taken from the New Testament, from Josephus him- 
 self, and from the rabbins ; nor do we meet -ivith any 
 Sadducees later than this high-priest in all Josephui- 
 2 Z 
 
5i{j 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his 
 journey from Alexandria, and informed him 
 that it was not lawful for Ananusto assemble 
 a sanhedrim without his consent:* — where- 
 upon Albinus complied with what they said, 
 and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threaten- 
 ed that he would bring him to punishment 
 for what he had done ; on which king Agrip- 
 pa took the high-priesthood from him, when 
 lie had ruled but three months, and made Je- 
 sus, the son of Damneus, high-priest. 
 
 2. Now, as soon as Albinus was come to 
 the city of Jerusalem, he used all his endea- 
 vours and care that the country might be 
 kept in peace, and this by destroying many 
 of the sicarii; but as for the high-priest Ana- 
 nias,f he increased in glory every day, and 
 this to a great degree, and had obtained the 
 favour and esteeni of the citizens in a signal 
 manner ; for he was a great border up of mo- 
 ney : 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 joined themselves 
 to the boldest sort of the people, and went to 
 the thrashing-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 thhes to them. So the other 
 high-priests acted in the like manner, as did 
 tliose his servants, without anyone being able 
 to prohibit them ; so that [some of the] priests, 
 that of old were wont to be supported with 
 tliose tithes, died for want of food. 
 
 3. 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 Elea- 
 zar, who was the son of Ananus (Ananias) 
 the high-priest, and bound him, and carried 
 him away with them ; after which they sent 
 to Ananias, and said that they would send the 
 scribe to him, if he would persuade Albinus 
 to release ten of those prisoners which he had 
 taught of their party j so Ananias was plain- 
 
 * Of this condemnation of James the Just, and its 
 causes, as also tliat he did not die till long afterwanls, 
 see Prim. Christ. Revived, vol. iii, eh. 43 — \G. The 
 sanhedrim condemned our .Saviour, but could not put 
 him to death without the approbation of the Roman 
 procurator: nor could therefore Ananias and his sanhe- 
 drim do more here, since they never had Albinus's ajv 
 probation for the putting this James to death. 
 
 f This Ananias was not the son of Ncbetieus, as I 
 take it, but he who was called Annas or Annanus the 
 Elder, the 9th in the cat.i!ogu£, and who had been es- 
 teemed high-priest for a long time; and besides, Csia- 
 phas his son-in-law had five of his own sons high-priests 
 after him, who were those of numbers 1 1, 14, 15, 17, 
 2 1, in the foregoing catalogue. Nor ought we to pass 
 siighlly.over what Jospphus here says of this Annas or 
 Ananiasi that he was high-priest a long time before his 
 children were so; he was the son of Seth, and is set 
 clown first for high-priest in the foregoing catalogue, 
 under immber 9. He was made by Quirinus, and con- 
 tinued till Ismael, the 10th in number, for about twen- 
 t)--three years ; which long duration of his high-priest- 
 hood, joined to the successions of his son-in-law, and 
 five children of his own, made him a sort of perpetual 
 nigh-priest, and was perhaps the occasion that former 
 high-priests kept their titles ever aferwaids; for I be- 
 lieve it is hardly met with before him. 
 
 ly forced to persuade Albinus, and gained his 
 request of him. Tliis was the beginning of 
 greater calamities; for the robbers perpetual- 
 ly contrived to catch some of Ananias's ser- 
 vants ; 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. 
 
 4. About this time it was that Agrippa 
 built Cesarea Philippi larger than it was be- 
 fore, and, in honour of Nero, named it Nero- 
 nias; and when he had built a theatre at Be- 
 rytus, with vast expenses, he bestowed on 
 them shows, to be exhibited every year, and 
 spent therein many ten thousand [drachmae] ; 
 he also gave the people a largess of corn, and 
 distributed oil among them, and adorned the 
 entire city with statues of his own donation, 
 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 ordinari- 
 ly 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, became 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-priesto, with regard to one another ; 
 for they got together bodies of the boldest sort 
 of the people, and frequently came, from re- 
 proaches, to throwing 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 also, 
 and Saulus, did themselves get together a 
 multitude of wicked wretches, and this be- 
 cause they were of the royal family ; and so 
 they obtained favour among 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 them- 
 selves. 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. 
 
 5. But when Albinus heard that Gessius 
 Florus was coming to succeed liim, he was 
 desirous to appear to do somewhat that might 
 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 ordered them to be put to death accord- 
 ingly. 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. 
 
 6. Now, as many of the Levites,* which is 
 a tribe of ours, as were singers of hymns, 
 
 * This insolent petition of some of the Levites, to 
 wear the sacerdotal garments when ihey sung hymns tu 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 persuaded the king to assemble a sanhedrim, 
 and to give them leave to wear linen garments, 
 as well as the priests ; for they said that this 
 would be a work worthy the times of his go- 
 vernment, 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 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 547 
 
 aside their former garments, and wear such a -many of them there had been at the end of 
 
 linen one as they desired ; and as a part of 
 this tribe ministered in the temple, he also 
 permitted them to learn those hymns as thev 
 had besought him for. Now all this was 
 contrary to tlie laws of our country, which 
 whenever t';ey have been transgressed, we 
 have never been able to avoid the punishment 
 of such transgressions. 
 
 7. And now it was that the temple was 
 finished.* So, when the people saw that the 
 workmen were unemployed, who were above 
 eighteen thousand, and that they, receiving 
 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 their treasuries that were there 
 deposited, out of fear of [their being carried 
 away by] the Romans ; 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 clois- 
 ters belonged to the outer court, and were 
 situated in a deep valley, and had walls that 
 reached four hundred 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. I'his was 
 the work of king Solomon, f who first of all 
 built the 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 to those cloisters, which would 
 require a considerable time, and great sums 
 of money, he denied the petitioners their re- 
 quest about that matter ; but he did not ob- 
 struct them when they desired the city might 
 be paved with white stone. He also deprived 
 Jesus, the son of Gamaliel, of the high-priest- 
 hood, and gave it to Matthias, the son of 
 Theophilus, under %vliom the Jews' war with 
 the Romans took its beginning. 
 
 God in the temple, was rerv probably owinp; to the 
 ereat depression and contempt the haughty high-priests 
 had now Drought their bietliren the priests into ; of 
 which sue ch. viii, sect. 8; and ch. ix, sect. 'J. 
 
 * Of this finishing, not of the N«o,- or /lo!^ house, 
 but of the ijjov, or courts about it, called in general the 
 temple, see tlsc note on b, xvii, ch. x, sect 2. 
 
 t Of these cloisters of Solomon, see the description 
 of the temple, ch. xii.— They seem, by Jo^phus's words, 
 to have been built from the bottom of the valley 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AN ENUMERATION OF THE HIGH-PRIESTS. 
 
 § 1. And now I think it proper, and agree- 
 able to this historj', to give an account of our 
 high-priests ; how they began, who those are 
 which are capable of that dignity, and how 
 
 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 imme- 
 diately ; and that this dignity hath been con- 
 tinued down from them all to their posterity. 
 Whence it is a custom of our country, that 
 no one should take the high-priesthood of 
 God, but he who is of the blood of Aaron, 
 while every one that is of another stock, 
 though he were a king, can never obtain that 
 high-priesthood. Accordingly, 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 dur- 
 ing the war by the seditious, was eighty-three; 
 of whom thirteen ofi[iciated as high-priests in 
 the wilderness, from the days of Moses, while 
 the tabernacle was standing, until the people 
 came into Judca, when king Solomon erect- 
 ed 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 thirteen, who 
 were the descendants of two of the sons of 
 Aaron, received this dignity by succession, 
 one after another ; for their form of govern- 
 ment was an aristocracy, and after that a mo- 
 narchy, and in the third place the government 
 was regal. Now, the number of years dur- 
 ing the rule of these thirteen, from the day 
 when our fathers departed out of Egypt, un- 
 der Moses their leader, until the building of 
 that temple which king Solomon erected at 
 Jerusalem, were six hundred and twelve. 
 After those thirteen high-priests, eighteen 
 took the high-priesthood at Jerusalem, «ne in 
 succession to another, fiom the days of king 
 Solomon until Nebuchadnezzar, king of Ba- 
 bylon, 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 government. But after 
 the term of seventy years' captivity under tlie 
 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 higli-priestliood over the captives when 
 they were returned home. Now he snd his 
 posterity, who were in all fifteen, unto kin<r 
 
 ■\_ 
 
548 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK XX 
 
 Antiochus Eupator, were under a democratical 
 government for four hundred and fourteen 
 years ; and then the forementioned Antiochus 
 and Lysias the general of his army, deprived 
 Onias, who was also called 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 account 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 I'hilometor, and Cleopatra his wife, 
 and persuaded them io 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 frequency already. Now, 
 when Jacimus had retained the priesthood 
 three years, he died, and there was no one 
 that succeeded him, but the city continued 
 seven years without a higb-priest. But then 
 the posterity of the sons of Asamoneus, who 
 had the government of the nation conferred 
 upon them, when they had beaten the Mace- 
 donians in war, appointed Jonathan to be 
 their high-priest, who ruled over them seven 
 years. And when he had been slain by the 
 treacherous contrivance of Trypho, as we 
 have related somewhere, Simon his brother 
 took the high-priesthood ; and when he was 
 destroyed at a feast by the treachery of his 
 son-in-law, his own son, whose name was Hyr- 
 canus, succeeded him, after he had held the 
 high-priesthood one year longer than his bro- 
 ther. This Hyrcanus enjoyed that dignity 
 thirty years, and died an old man, leaving the 
 succession to Judas, who was also called Aris- 
 tobulus, 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 Alexander had been 
 both king and high-priest twenty-seven years, 
 he departed this life, and permitted his wife 
 Alexandra to appoint him that should be 
 high-priest ; so she gave the high-priesthood 
 to Hyrcanus, but retained t!ie kingdom her- 
 self nine years, and then departed this life. 
 The like duration [and no longer] did her 
 8on Hyrcanus enjoy the higii-priestliood ; for 
 after her death his brother Aristobulus fought 
 ao-ainst him, and beat him, and deprived him 
 of his principality; and he did himself both 
 reign and perform the office of high-priest to 
 God. But when he had reigned 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 re- 
 stored the high-priesthood to Hyrcanus, and 
 made him governor of the nation, but for- 
 
 bade him to wear a diadem. This Hyrcanu* 
 ruled, besides his first nine years, twenty-four 
 years more, when Barzapharnes and Pacorus, 
 the generals of the Parthians, passed over Eu- 
 phrates, and fought with Hyrcanus, and took 
 him alive, and made Antigonus, the son of 
 Aristobulus, king; and when he had reigned 
 three years and three months, Sosiusand He- 
 rod besieged him, and took him, when An- 
 tony had him brought to Antioch, and slain 
 there. Herod was then made king by the 
 Romans, 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 gave that dig- 
 nity to Aristobulus ; for when lie had made this 
 Aristobulus, the grandson of that Hyrcanus 
 who was then taken by tl>e Parthians, and had 
 taken his sister Mariamne to wife, he thereby 
 aimed to win the good-will of the people, who 
 had a kind remembrance of Hyrcanus [his 
 grandfather]. Yet did he afterward, out of 
 his fear lest they should all bend their inclin- 
 ations 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 tliis 
 man, he never intrusted the higii-priesthood. 
 to the posterity of the sons of Asamoneus. 
 Archelaus also, Herod's son, did like his fa- 
 ther in the appointment of the high-priests, 
 as did the Romans also, who took the govern- 
 ment over the Jews into their hands after- 
 ward. Accordingly the number 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 a hun- 
 dred and seven years. Some of these were 
 the political goverrwrs of the people under 
 the reign of Herod, and under the reign of 
 Archelaus his son, although, after their death, 
 the government became an aristocracy, and 
 the high-priests were intrusted with a domi- 
 nion over the nation. And thus much may 
 suffice to be said concerning our high-priests. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CONCERNING FI.OUUS THE PROCURATOR, WHO 
 NECESSITATED THE JEWS TO TAKE UP ARMS 
 AGAINST THE ROMANS. THE CONCLUSION. 
 
 § 1. Now Gessius Florus, who was sent as 
 successor to AU)inus by Nero, filled Judea 
 with abundance of miseries. He was by birth 
 of the city of Clazomena;, and brought along 
 with him his wife Cleopatra (by whose friend- 
 ship with Poppea, Nero's wife, he obtained 
 this government), who was no way different 
 from him in wickedness. This Florus waa 
 so wicked, and so violent in the use of his au- 
 
"V. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS. 
 
 549 
 
 thority, that the Jews took Albinus to have 
 been [comparatively] their benefactor ; so ex- 
 cessive were the mischiefs that he brought up- 
 on them. For Albinus concealed his wick- 
 edness, and was 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 every body, made a pom- 
 pous ostentation of them to our nation, as ne- 
 ver omitting any sort of violence, nor any 
 unjust sort of 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 security, and depending on 
 him, that he would save them harmless in 
 their particular robberies ; so that there were 
 no bounds set to the nation's miseries ; but 
 the unhappy Jews, when they were not able 
 to bear the devastations which the robbers 
 made among them, were all under a necessi- 
 ty of leaving their own habitations, and of fly- 
 ing away, as hoping to dwell more easily any- 
 where else in the world among foreigners 
 [than in their own country]. And what need 
 I say any more upon this head ? since it was 
 this Florus who necessitated 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 se- 
 cond 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 
 Jewisii war. 
 
 2. I shall now, therefore, make an end here 
 of my Antiquities; after the conclusion of 
 ■which events, I began to write that account 
 of the war ; and these Antiquities contain 
 what hath been delivered down to us from 
 the original creation of man, until the twelfth 
 year of the reign of Nero, as to what hath 
 befallen the Jews, as well in Egypt as in Sy- 
 ria, and in Palestine, and what we have suf- 
 fered from the Assyrians and Babylonians, 
 and what afflictions the Persians and Mace- 
 donians, and after them the Romans, have 
 brought upon us ; for I think I may say that 
 I have composed this history with sufficient 
 accuracy in all things. I have attempted to 
 enumerate those high-priests that we have had 
 during th« interval of two thousand years; 
 I have also carried down the succession of 
 our kings, and related their actions, and po- 
 litical administration, without [considerable] 
 errors, as also the power of our monarchs ; 
 and all according to what is written in our 
 sacred books ; for tiiis it was that I promised 
 to do in the beginning of this histo^-. And 
 I am so bold as to say, now I have so com- 
 
 pletely perfected the work I proposed to my- 
 self 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 accurately 
 deliver these accounts to the Greeks as is 
 done in these books. For those of my own 
 nation freely acknowledge that I far exceed 
 them in the learning belonging to the Jews ; 
 I have also taken a great deal of pains to ob- 
 tain the learning of the Greeks, and under- 
 stand the elements of the Greek language, 
 although I have so long accustomed myself 
 to speak our own tongue, that I cannot pro- 
 nounce Greek with sufficient exactness : 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 ; because they look upon this 
 sort of accomplishment as common, not only 
 to all sorts of freemen, but to as many of the 
 servants as please to learn them. But they 
 give liim tiie 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 endeavours with great patience to 
 obtain this learning, there l>ave yet hardly 
 been so many as two or three that have suc- 
 ceeded therein, who were immediately well 
 rewarded for ttieir pains. 
 
 3. And now it will not be perhaps an in- 
 vidious thing, if I treat briefly of my own 
 family, and of the actions of my own life,* 
 while there are still living such as can eithei 
 prove what I say to be false, or can attest 
 that it is true; with which accounts I shall 
 put an end to these Antiquities, wliich are 
 contained in twenty books, and sixty thousand 
 verses. And if Godf permit me, I will 
 
 * The Life here referred to, will be found at the be- 
 ginning of the volume. 
 
 t What Josephus here declares his intention to do, 
 if God permitted, to give the public again an abridg- 
 ment of the Jeu'ish ffar, and to add what bejel them 
 farther to that very day, the 15th of Domitian, or a. d. 
 95, is not, that I have observed, taken distinct notice of 
 by any one ; nor do we ever hear of it elsewhere, who- 
 tlier 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 had been guiltv of 
 in the two first books of those seven books of the VVar, 
 which were 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 those many passages which himself, as 
 well as those several passages which others refer to, as 
 written by him, but which are not extant in his present 
 works. However, since maiiv of his own references to 
 what he had written ekewhere, as well as most of his 
 own errors, belong to such early times as could not well 
 come into this abridgment of the Jewish VVar; and since 
 none of those that quote things not now extant in his 
 work, including himself as well as others, ever cite any 
 such abridgment, 1 am forced rather to suppose that 
 he never did publish any such work at all ; I mean, as 
 dUtinct from his own Life, written bv himself, for an 
 appendix to these Antiquities, and this at least se\en 
 years after these Antiquities were finished. Nor indeed 
 does it appear to me that Josephus ever published that 
 other work here mentioned, as intended by him for the 
 public also. I mean the three or four books concerning 
 God and his Essence, and concerning the Jeuish Lawa i 
 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 promised, if Qnd 
 jicrmiitedt at the conclusion of his Preface to thesr An 
 
 .r 
 
550 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OP THE JEWS. 
 
 briefly run «ver this war again, with what be- 
 fi'l us therein to this very day, which is the 
 thirteenth year of the reign of Cassar Donii- 
 tian, and tJie fifty-sixth of my own life. I 
 have also an intention to write three books 
 
 tiquitjes ; nor do I suppose that he ever published any 
 of them. The death of all his friends at court, Vespa- 
 sian, Titus, and Domitian, and the coming of those he 
 
 BOOK XX. 
 
 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. 
 
 had no acquaintance with to the crovm, I mean Nerva 
 and Trajan, together with his removal from Home to 
 Judea, with what followed it, might easily interrupt 
 such his intentions, and prevent his publication of those 
 work£. 
 
 "V 
 
J- 
 
 -V- 
 
 THE 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS; 
 
 OR 
 
 THE HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM, 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 5 1. * Whereas the war which the Jews 
 made with the Romans hath been the great- 
 3st of all those, not only that haTe 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 nations ; while some men who were 
 not concerned in the affairs themselves, have 
 gotten together vain and contradictory stories 
 by hearsay, and have written them down af- 
 ter a sophistical manner ; and while those 
 that were there present have given false ac- 
 counts of things, and this either out of a hu- 
 mour of flattery to the Romans, or of hatred 
 towards the Jews ; and while their writings 
 contain sometimes accusations, and sometimes 
 encomiums, but nowhere the accurate truth 
 of the facts, I have proposed to myself, for 
 the sake of such as live under the government 
 of the Romans, to translate those books into 
 the Greek tongue, which I formerly composed 
 
 • I have already observed more than once, that this 
 history of the Jewish War was Josephus's first work, and 
 published about a. d. 75, when he was but 38 years of 
 age ; and that when he wrote it, he was not thoroughly 
 acquainteil with several circuinstauces of history from 
 the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, with which it begins, 
 till near his own times, contained in the first and for- 
 mer part of the second Iwok, and so committed many 
 involuntary errors therein. That he published his An- 
 tiquities eighteen years afterward, in the 15th year of 
 Domitian, a. d. 95, when he was much more complete- 
 ly acquainted with those ancient times, and after he 
 had perused those most authentic histories, the first 
 book of Maccabees, and the Chronicles of the Priest- 
 hood of John Hyrcanus, &c. — That accordingly he 
 then reviewed those parts of this work, and gave the 
 public a more faithful, complete, and accurate account 
 of the facts therein related ; and honestly corrected the 
 errors he had before run into. 
 
 in the language of our country, and sent to 
 the Upper Barbarians ;f I Joseph, the son of 
 Matthias, by birth an Hebrew, a priest also, 
 and one who at first fought against the Ro- 
 mans myself, and was forced to be present at 
 what was done afterwards, [am the author of 
 this work.] 
 
 2. Now at the time when this great concus- 
 sion of affairs happened, tlie alfairs of the Ro- 
 mans themselves were in great disorder. 
 Those Jews also, who were lor innovations, 
 then arose when the times were disturbed; 
 they were also in a flourishing 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 be- 
 yond Euphrates would have raised an insur 
 rection together with them. The Gauls al- 
 so, 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 
 
 + Who these Upper Barbarians, remote from the sea, 
 were, Josephus himself will inform us, sect. 2. mz. the 
 Parthians and Babylonians, and remotest Arabians [or 
 the Jews among them]; besides the Jews beyond Eu- 
 phrates, and the Adiabeni, or Assyrians. Whence wa 
 also learn, that these Parthians, Babylonians, the re- 
 motest Arabians [or at least the Jews among them], as 
 also the Jews beyond Euphrates, and Adiabeni, or As- 
 syrians, understood Josephus's Hebrew, or rather Chal 
 daic, books of the Jewish War, before they were put in- 
 to the Greek language. 
 
 "^_ 
 
"S 
 
 552 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 absurd thing to see the truth falsified in af- 
 fairs of such great consequence, and to lake 
 no notice of it ; but to suffer those Greeks 
 and Romans that were not i-n the wars to be 
 ignorant of these things, and to read either 
 flatteries or fictions, while the Parthians, and 
 the Babylonians, and tlie remotest Arabians, 
 and those of our nation beyond Euphrates, 
 with the Adiabeni, by my means, knew accu- 
 rately both whence the war begun, what mi- 
 series it brought upon us, and after what man- 
 ner it ended, 
 
 3. It is true, these writers have the confi- 
 dence to call their accounts histories; where- 
 in 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 discerning how it cannot be that those 
 must appear to be great who have only con. 
 
 are not so considerable as they were ; whiU 
 the authors of them were not foreigners nei- 
 ther. This makes it impossible for me to con- 
 tain my lamentations. But, if any one be 
 inflexible in his censures of me, let him attri- 
 bute the facts themselves to the historical 
 part, and the lamentations to the writer him- 
 self only. 
 
 5. 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 comparison, quite eclipse 
 the old wars, do yet sit as judges of those af- 
 fairs, and pass bitter censures upon the labours 
 of the best writers of antiquity ) which mo- 
 derns, although they may be superior to the 
 old writers in eloquence, yet are they inferior 
 to them in the execution of wlrat they intend- 
 ed to do. While these also write new histo- 
 ries about the Assyrians and Medes, as if the 
 ancient writers had not described their affairs 
 
 quered those that were little ; nor are they as they ought to have done ; although these 
 
 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 Je- 
 rusalem will be deemed inglorious, if what 
 they achieved be reckoned but a small matter. 
 4. However, I will not go to the other ex- 
 treme, out of opposition to those men who 
 extol the Romans, nor will I determine to 
 raise the actions of my countrymen too high ; 
 but I will prosecute the actions of both par- 
 ties with accuracy. Yet shall I suit my lan- 
 guage to the passions I am under, as to the 
 affairs I describe, and must be allowed to in- 
 dulge some lamentations upon the miseries 
 undergone by my own country ; for that it 
 was a seditious temper of our own that de- 
 stroyed it ; and that they were the tyrants 
 among the Jews who brought the Roman 
 power upon us, who unwillingly attacked us, 
 and occasioned the burning of our holy tem- 
 ple ; Titus Caesar, who destroyed it, is himself 
 a witness, who, during the entire war, pitied 
 the people who were kept under by the sedi- 
 tious, and did often voluntarily delay the tak- 
 ing 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 rob- 
 bers, or sorely bewail the misfortunes of our 
 country, let him indulge my affections herein, 
 though it be contrary to the rules for writing 
 history ; because it had so come to pass, that 
 our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher 
 degree of felicity than any other city under 
 the Roman government, and yet at last fell 
 into the sorest of calamities again. Accord- 
 ingly it appears to me, that the misfortunes 
 of all men, from the beginning of tiie world, 
 if they be compared to these of the Jews, • 
 
 • That these calamities of the Jews, who were our 
 Saviour's luurdeiers, were to be the greatest tliat had 
 
 be as far inferior to them in abilities as they 
 are different 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 re- 
 proachful to write lies, when they must be 
 known by the readers to be such. But then, 
 an undertaking to preserve the memory ot 
 what hath not been before recorded, and to 
 represent the affairs of one's own time to those 
 that come afterwards, is really worthy of praise 
 and commendation. Now, he is to be es- 
 teemed to have taken good pains in earnest, 
 not who does no more than change the dis- 
 position and order of other men's works, but 
 he who not only relates what had not been 
 rehtted before, but composes an entire body 
 of history of his own : accordingly, I have 
 been at great charges, and have taken very 
 great pains [about this history], though I be 
 a foreigner; and do dedicate this work, as a 
 memorial of great actions, botli to the Greeks 
 and to the Barbarians. But, for some of out 
 own principal men, their mouths are wide 
 open, and their tongues loosed presently, for 
 gain and law-suits, but quite muzzled up 
 when they are to write history, wliere they 
 must speak truth and gather facts together 
 with a great deal of pains ; and so they leave 
 the writing such histories to weaker people, 
 and to such as are not acquainted ivith 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 
 liistorians. 
 
 6. To write concerning the Antiquities of 
 the Jews, who they were [originally], and 
 how they revolted from the Egyptians, and 
 
 ever tieen since the beginning of the world, our Saviour 
 had directly foretold. Matt, xxiv, 21; Mark xiii. J9 
 Luke xxi, y.), 21 ; and Uiat they proved to be such ao 
 cordingly, Josephus is here a most authentic witness. 
 
 "V 
 
 .r 
 
'V 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 5b6 
 
 what country they travelled over, and what Jews" affairs were become very bad, Mero 
 countries t!)ey seized upon afterward, and how dii'd ; and Vespasian, when he was going to 
 they were reinovod out of them, I think this attack Jerusalem, was called back to take tlie 
 not to be a fit opportunity, and, on other ac- government upon him ; what signs happened 
 counts, also superfluous; and this because to liim relating to his gaining that government, 
 many Jews before me have composed the his- ' and what mutations of government then h.ip- 
 tories of our ancestors very exactly; as have ' pened at Rome, and how he was unwillingly 
 some of the Greeks done it also, and have made emperor by his soldiers ; and how, u; on 
 translated our histories into their own tongue, his departure to Egypt, to take upon t.im 
 and have not much mistaken the truth in their the guvernment of the empire, the affair of 
 histories. But then, wliere the writers of the Jews became very tumultuous ; as also 
 these affairs and our propliets leave off, thence how the tyrants rose up against them, and lell 
 shall I take my rise, and begin my history, into dissensions amongst themselves. 
 Now, as to what concerns that war %vhich I 10. ]\Ioreover, [I shall relate] how Titus 
 happened in my own time, 1 will go over it marched out of Egypt into Judea the secnnd 
 very largely, and with all the diligence I am time ; as also how and where, and how many 
 able ; but, for what preceded mine own age, ; forces he got together ; and in what state the 
 that I shall run over briefly. I city was, by means of the seditious, at his 
 
 7. [For example, I shall relate] bow Anti- ' coming ; what attacks he made, and how many 
 ochus, who was named Epiphanes, took Je- j ramparts he cast up; of the three walls that 
 rusalem by force, and held it three years and encompassed the city, and of their measures ; 
 three montlis, and was then ejected out of the' of the strength of the city, and the structure 
 country by the sons of Asamoneus : after that, of the temple and holy house; and besides, 
 how their posterity quarrelled about the go- ' the measures of those edifices, and of the altar, 
 verninent, and brought upon their settlement and all accurately determined. A description 
 the Romans and Pompey ; how Herod also, also of certain of their festivals, and seven pu- 
 the son of Antipater, dissolved their govern- rifications or days of purity,* and the sacred 
 ment, and brought Socius upon them; as ministrations of the priests, with the garments 
 also how our people made a sedition upon , of the priests, and of the high-priests ; and of 
 Herod's death, while Augustus was the Ro- ' the nature of the most holy place of the tern. 
 man emperor, and Quintiiius Varus was in pie; without concealing any thing, or adding 
 that country; and how the war broke out in ' any thing to the known truth of things. 
 
 the twelfth year of Nero, with what happened I 1 1. After this, I shall relate the barbarity 
 to Cestius ; aiid what places the Jews as- ; of the tyrants towards the people of their own 
 saulted in an hostile manner in the first sallies I nation, as well as the indulgence of the Ro- 
 of the war. mans in sparing foreigners ; and how often 
 
 8. As also, [I shall relate] how they built j Titus, out of his desire to preserve the city 
 Malls about the neighbouring cities ; and j and the temple, invited the seditious to come 
 how Nero, upon Cestius's defeat, was in fear i to terms of accommodation. I shall also dis- 
 of the entire event of the war, and thereupon i tinguish the sufFerings of the people, and their 
 made Vespasian general in this war, and j calamities ; how far they were afflicted by the 
 how this Vespasian, with the elder of his sedition, and how far by the famine, and at 
 sons,* made an expedition into the country ; length were taken. Nor shall I omit to 
 of Judea; what was the number of the Ro- mention the misfortunes of the deserters, nor 
 man army that he made use of; and how the punishments inflicted on the captives ; as 
 many of his auxiliaries were cut off' in all also, how the temple was burnt, against the 
 Galilee; and how he took some of its cities consent of Casar , and how many sacred 
 entirely, and by force, and others of them by ; things that had been laid up in the temple, 
 treaty, and on terms. Now, when I am come so were snatched out of the fire ; the destruc- 
 far, I shall describe tlie good order of the i tion also of the entire city, with the signs 
 Romans in war, and the discipline of their 'and wonders that went before it; and the 
 legions: the amplitude of both the Gali- taking the tyran;s capiive, and the multitude 
 lees, with its nature, and the limits of Judea. of those that were made slaves, and into what 
 And, besides this, I shall particularly go over different misfortunes they were every one dis- 
 what is peculiar to the country, the lakes and tributed. Moreover, what the Romans did 
 fountains that are in them, and what miseries to the remains of the wall; and how they 
 
 happened to every city as they were taken ; 
 and all this with accuracy, as 1 saw the things 
 done, or suffered in them; for I shall not 
 
 demolished the strong-holds that were in the 
 country ; and how Titus went over the whole 
 country, and settled its affairs; together with 
 
 conceal any of'the calamities I myself endured, 1 his return into Italy, and liis triumph, 
 since I shall relate them to such as know the | 12. 1 have comprehended all these things 
 ti'uth of them. | 
 
 9. After this [I shall relate] how, when the 
 
 • These seven, or rather fi\-e, degrees of purity, ct 
 riiriticatioii, arc enumfratetl hereafter, b. v. ih. v, mi'i, 
 t. The r. bl)ii:!- ruake ten degrees of them, ao HeLaui] 
 t-i re informs us. 
 
 3 A 
 
.554 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 in seven books; and have left no occasion for 
 complaint or accusation to such as have been 
 acquainted vvilh this war; and I liave written 
 it down for the sake of those that love truth, 
 
 but not for those that please themselves [with 
 fictitious relations]. And I will begin my 
 account of these things, with wliat I call my 
 First Chapter. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS. 
 
 FROM ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES TAKING JERUSALEM TO THE DEATH 
 OF HEROD THE GREAT, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW THE CITY OF JERUSALEM WAS TAKEN, 
 AND THE TEMPLE PILLAGED [bY ANTIOCHUS 
 EPIPHANEs]. AS ALSO CONCERNING THE 
 ACTIONS OF THE MACCABEES, MATTHIAS 
 AND JUDAS ; AND CONCERNING THE DEATH 
 OF JUDAS. 
 
 § 1. 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 
 tlie men of power in Judea, and they had a 
 contention about obtaining the government ; 
 while each of those that were of dignity could 
 not endure to be subject to tlieir equals. 
 However, Onias, one of the high .priests, got 
 the better, and cast the sons of Tobias out of 
 the city ; who fled to Antiochus, and be- 
 sought him to make use of them for his lead- 
 ers, and to make an expedition into Judea. 
 The king being thereto disposed 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 
 tliat favoured Ptolemy, and sent out his sol- 
 diers to plunder them, without mercy, i-le 
 also spoiled tiie temple, and put a stop to the 
 constant practice of oflering a daily sacrifice 
 of expiation for three years and six months. 
 But Onias, the higli-priest, fled to Ptolemy, 
 and received a place from him in tlie Nomus 
 of Heliopolis, where he built a city resemb- 
 ling Jerusalem, and a temple that was like its 
 temple ;* concerning which we shall speak 
 more in its proper place hereafter. 
 
 » I see little difference in the several accounts in Jo- 
 sephus about the PIgyptian temple Onion, of which 
 large complaints aie made by liis commentators. Onias, 
 it seems, hoped to have made it very like that at Jeru- 
 salem, and of the same dimensions ; and so he appears 
 to have really done, as far as he was able, and thought 
 proper. Uf this temple, see Antiq b. xiii, eh. iii, seeL 
 I, 2, 3 ; and Of the War, b. vii, ch. x. sect 3 
 
 2. Now Antiochus was not satisfied either 
 with his unexpected taking the city, or with 
 its pillage, or with the great slaughter he had 
 made there ; but being overcome with his 
 violent passions, and remeinbering what he 
 had sufl'ered during the siege, he compelled 
 the Jews to dissolve the laws of their coun- 
 try, and to keep their infiints uncircumcised, 
 and to sacrifice swine's flesh upon the altar ; 
 against 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 com- 
 mands, joined to his own natural barbarity, 
 indulged all sorts of the extremest wicked- 
 ness, and tormented the worthiest of the in- 
 habitants, 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. 
 
 3. Accordingly Matthias, the son of Asa- 
 moneus, one of the priests who lived in a 
 village called Modin, armed himself, together 
 with his own 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 moun- 
 tains ; and so many of the people followed 
 hiin, that he was encouraged to come down 
 from the mountains, and to give battle to 
 Antiochus's generals, vi'hen he beat them, 
 and drove them out of Judea. So he came 
 to the government by this his success, and 
 became the prince of his own people by their 
 own free consent, and then died, leaving the 
 government to Judas, his eldest son. 
 
 4. 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 expeiiition into it, and 
 
 r 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 535 
 
 this by giving, him a great defeat there ; and 
 •when he was warmed by this great success, 
 he made an assault upon the garrison that 
 xvas in the city, for it had not been cut off 
 hitherto ; so he ejected them out of tlie upper 
 city, and drove the soldiers into the lower, 
 which part of the city was called the Citadel. 
 He then got the temple under his power, and 
 cleansed the whole place, and walled it round 
 about, and made new vessels fur sacred mi- 
 nistrations, fyid brought them into the temple, 
 because the former vessels had Ijcen profaned. 
 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 suc- 
 ceeded him in the kingdom, and in his hatred 
 to the Jews also. 
 
 5. So this Antiochus got together fifty 
 thousand footmen, and five thousand horse- 
 men, and fourscore 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 higliest of the elephants 
 adorned with a large tower, and with mili- 
 tary trappings of gold to guard him, and sup- 
 posing that Antiochus himself was upon him, 
 he ran a great way before his own army, and 
 cutting his way through tlw; enemies' troops, 
 he got up to the elejAant ; yet could not 
 reach him who seemed to be the king, by 
 reason of his being so high ; but still fie 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 
 attempted 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, P'.leazar 
 had performed nothing more by this bold 
 stroke than that it might appear he chose to 
 die, when he had the bare hope of thereby 
 doing a glorious action ; nay, this disappoint- 
 ment 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; but the king's forces, being superior 
 in number, and having fortune on their side, 
 obtained the victory; and when a great manv 
 of his men were slain, Judas took the rest 
 with him, and fled to the toparchy of Goph - 
 na. So Antiochus went to Jerusalem, and 
 staid there but a few days, for he wanted pro- 
 visions, and so he went his way. He left 
 indeed a garrison behind him, such as he 
 thought sufficient to keep the place ; but 
 drew the rest of his army off, to take their 
 winter-quarters in Syria. 
 
 6. Now, after the king was departed, Ju- 
 das was not idle ; for as many of bis own na- 
 tion came to hiu), so did he gather those that 
 
 had escaped out of the battle together, and 
 gave battle again to Antioclius'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 ilain by 
 them. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CONCERNING THE SUCCESSORS OF JUDAS, WHO 
 WERE JONATHAN, SI.MEON, AND JOHN H\R- 
 CANUS. 
 
 § 1. When Jonathan, who was Judas's bro- 
 ther, succeeded him, he behaved himself with 
 great circumspection in other respects, with 
 relation to his own people ; and he corrobo' 
 rated his authority by preserving his friend- 
 ship with the Romans. He also made a league 
 with Antiochus the son. Yet was not all this 
 sufficient for his security ; for the tyrant Try- 
 pho, who was guardian to Antiochus's son, 
 laid a plot against him ; and, besides that, en- 
 deavoured to take off his friends, and caught 
 Jonathan by a wile, as he was going to Pto- 
 lemais to Antiochus, with a few persons in 
 his company, and put them in bonds, and then 
 made an expedition 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. 
 
 2. However, Simeon inanaged the public 
 aflairs after a courageous manner, and took 
 Gazara, and Joppa, and Jamnia, which were 
 cities in the neighbourhood. He also got the 
 garrison under, and demolished the citadel. 
 He was afterwards an auxiliary to Antioclius, 
 against Trypho, \\hom he besieged in Dora, 
 before be went on his expedition against the 
 Wedes ; yet could not he make the king a- 
 shamed of his ambition, though he had as- 
 sisted him in killing Trypho ; for it was not 
 long ere Antioclius sent Cendebeus his gene- 
 ral 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 tnan. He also sent his sons witli a 
 band of strong men against Antiochus, while 
 he took part of the army himself 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 supe- 
 rior 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 Ma- 
 cedonians, after a hundred and seventy years 
 of the empire [of Seleucus]. 
 
 3. This Simeon had also a plot laid against 
 him, and was slain at a feast by his son-iti- 
 
6bG 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 law Ptolemy, "ho put his wife and two sons 
 into prison, and sent some persons 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 confi- 
 dence in the people there, both on account of 
 the memory of the glorious actions of his fa- 
 ther, and of the hatred they could not but 
 bear to the injustice 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 of the fortresses that 
 were above Jericho, which was called Dagon. 
 Now, when Hyrcanus had recei\ed the high- 
 priesthood, which his father had held before, 
 and had ofiercd sacrifice to God, he made 
 great haste to attack Ptolemy, that he might 
 afford relief to his mother and brethren. 
 
 4. 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 tliem upon the wall, and 
 beat them with rods in every body's sight, 
 and threatened, that, unless he would go away 
 immediately, he would throw them down 
 headlong; at which sight Hyrcanus's com- 
 miseration 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 );e 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 mo- 
 ther, 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 affections. 
 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 Zeiio, who was also called Coty- 
 las, who was the tyrant of Philadelphia. 
 
 5. And now Antiochus was so angry at 
 what he had suffered from Simeon, that he 
 
 • Why this John the son of Simeon, the high-priest 
 anil governor of the Jews, was called Hyrcanus, Jose- 
 phus nowhere informs us; nor is he called other than 
 John at the end of the firit l)ook of the Maccabi-es. 
 Howev*?r, SJxtus Sencr.si?, when he gives us an enitonie 
 of the Ortek version of the book here aliridgcd by Jo- 
 sephus, or of the Chronicles of this John Hyrcanus, 
 tlien extant, assures us Uiat he was called Hyrcanus, 
 from his conquest of one of that name. See Authent. 
 l\ee. part i, p. 27. But of this younger Antiochus, see 
 Dean Aidridi"s nolo licro 
 
 made an expedition info Jiidea, and sat down 
 before Jerusalem, and besieged Hyrcanus ; 
 but Hyrcanus opened the sepulchre of David, 
 who was the richest of all kings, and took 
 thence about three thousand 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. 
 
 6. However, at another time, when Anti- 
 ochus was gone upon an expedition against 
 the Medes, and so gave Hyrcanus an oppor 
 tunity of being avenged upon him, he imme»- 
 d lately made an attack upon the cities of Sy- 
 ria, as thinking, what proved to be the case 
 with them, that he should find them empty 
 of good troops. So he took Medaba and Sa- 
 mea, 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 Idimiea, with Adoreon and Marissa. 
 
 7. 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 sous, A- 
 ristobulus and Antigonus, over the siege; 
 who pushed it on so hard, that a famine so far 
 prevailed within the city, that they were forc- 
 ed to eat what never was esteemed food. 
 They also invited Antiochus, who was called 
 Cyzicenus, to come to their assistance ; where- 
 upon he got ready, and complied with their 
 invitation, but was beaten by Aristobulus and 
 Antigonus ; and indeed he was pursued as far 
 as Scythopolis by these brethren, and fled 
 away froin them. So they returned back to 
 Samaria, and shut the multitude again within 
 the wall ; and when they had taken the city 
 they demolished it, and made slaves of its in- 
 habitants. And, as they had still great suc- 
 cess in their undertakings, they did not sufler 
 their zeal to cool, but marched witli an army 
 as far as Scythopolis, and made an incursion 
 upon it, and laid waste all the country that 
 lay within mount Carmel.. 
 
 8. But then, these successes of John and 
 of his sons made them be envied, and occa- 
 sioned a sedition in the country ; and many 
 there were who got together, and would not 
 be at rest till they brake out into open war, 
 in which war they were beaten. So John 
 lived the rest of his life very happily, and ad- 
 ministered the government after a most extra- 
 ordinary manner, and this for thirty-three en- 
 tire years together. He died, leaving five 
 sons behind him. He was certainly a very 
 happy man, and afforded no occasion to have 
 any eom})laint made of fortune on his account. 
 He it was who alone had three of the most 
 desirable things in the world, — the govern- 
 ment of his nation, and the high-priesthood. 
 
CHAP, in. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 557 
 
 and the gift of prophecy ; for the Deity con- 
 versed with him, — and he was not ignorant 
 of any thing that was to come afterwards ; 
 insomuch that he foresaw and foretold that 
 his two eldest sons would not continue mas- 
 ters of the government: and it will highly 
 deserve our narration to describe their catas- 
 trophe, and how far inferior these men were 
 to their father in felicity. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW ARISTOBULUS WAS THE FIRST THAT TUT 
 A DIAUEM ABOUT HIS HEAD ; AND, AFTEB 
 HE HAD PUT HIS MOTHER AND BKOTHEB 
 TO DEATH, DIED HIMSELF, WHEN HE HAD 
 KEIGNED NO MORE THAN A YEAR. 
 
 § 1. For after the death of their father, the 
 elder of them, Aristobulus, changed the go- 
 vernment into a kingdom, and was the first 
 that put a diadem upon his head, four hun- 
 dred 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 affection for Antigonus, who was 
 next to nim, and made him his equal ; but, 
 for the rest, he bound Ihem, 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 governess of pub- 
 lic aff'airs. He also proceeded to that degree 
 of barbarity as to cause her to be pined to 
 death in prison. 
 
 2. But vengeance circumvented him in the 
 affair of his brother Antigonus, whom he 
 loved, and whom he made his partner in the 
 kingdom j for he slew him by the means of 
 the calumnies which ill men about the palace 
 contrived against him. At first indeed, Aris- 
 tobulus 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 talcs 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, Antigo- 
 nus came up to it, with his armed men about 
 him, and this v hen he was adorned in the 
 finest manner possible ; and that, in a great 
 measure, to pray to God on the behalf of liis 
 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 
 came, and with what insolence Antigonus 
 marched, and that such his insolence was too 
 great for a private person, and that accord- 
 ingly he was 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. 
 
 3. Now Aristobulus, by degrees, and un, 
 willingly, gave credit to these accusations ; 
 and accordingly he took care not to discovei 
 his suspicion openly, though he provided to 
 be secure against any accidents ; so he placed 
 the guards of his body in a certain dark sub- 
 terraneous passage ; for be lay sick in a cer- 
 tain place called formerly the Citadel, though 
 afterwards 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 occasion, the queen very cun- 
 ningly 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 brotiier 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 mucli desired to see him now in his ar- 
 mour, because, said he, in a little time thou 
 art going away from me. 
 
 ■i. 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 be was going along that dark pas- 
 sage, which was called Strato's Tov/er, he was 
 slain by the body guards, and became an emi- 
 nent instance how calumny destroys all good- 
 viill and natural affection, and how none of 
 our good aftections are strong enough to re- 
 sist envy perpetually. 
 
 5. And truly any one would be surprised 
 at Judas upon this occasion. Ho was of the 
 sect of the Essens, and had never failed or de- 
 ceived men in his predictions before. Now, 
 this man saw Antigonus as he was passing 
 along by the temple, and cried out to his ac- 
 quaintance (they were not a few who attended 
 upon him as his scholars), " O strange !" 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, v/ho 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 ba 
 fulfilled." And when the old man had said 
 this, he was dejected in his mind, and so con- 
 tinued. 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 sea-side ; and this am'oiguity it was 
 which caused the prophet's disorder. 
 
£58 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 6. Hereupon Aristobiilus repented of the ' ander besieged Gadara, and took it ; as alsc 
 great crime he had been guilty of, and this 'he did Amathus, which was the strongest ot 
 gave occasion to the increase of his disteni]>er. all the fortresses that were about Jordan, and 
 He also grew worse and worse, and his soul therein were the most precious of all the pos- 
 was constantlv disturbed at the thought of I sessions of Tlieodorus, tlie son of Zeno. 
 what he had done, till his very bowels being} Whereupon Tlieodorus marched against him, 
 torn to pieces by the intolerable grief he was | and took what belonged to himself, as well as 
 under, he threw up a great quantity of blood, j the king's baggage, and slew ten thousand of 
 
 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 lamentable 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 Jews. However, Alexander recovered 
 this blow, and turned his force towards the 
 maritime parts, and took Raphia, and Gaza, 
 with Anthedon also, which was afterwards 
 called Agiippias by king Herod. 
 
 3. But when he had made slaves of the ci- 
 tizens of all these cities, the nation of the Jews 
 iTiade an insurrection against him at a festi- 
 val ; for at those feasts seditions are general- 
 ly begun : and it looked as if he should not 
 be able to escape tlie plot they had laid for 
 
 the cause of it ; and while nobody durst tell I him, had not his foreign auxiliaries, the Pisi- 
 him, he pressed them so much the more to dians and Cilicians, assisted him ; for, as to 
 let him know what was the matter ; so, at the Syrians, he never admitted them ainong 
 length, when he had threatened them, and his mercenary troops, on account of their in • 
 forced them to speak out, they told; where- nate enmity against the Jewish nation. And 
 
 upon he burst intc tears, and groaned, and 
 said, " So I perceive I am not like to escape 
 the all-seeing eye of God, as to the great crimes 
 I have coinmitted ; but the vengeance of the 
 blootl of my kinsman pursues me hastily. O 
 thou most iinpudent body ! how long wilt 
 thou retain a soul that ought to die, on ac- 
 count of that piMiishment it ought lo suffer 
 for a mother and a brother slain ! how long 
 shall I myself spend my blood drop by drop I 
 let them take it all at once; and let their 
 ghosts no longer be disappointed by a few 
 parcels of my bowels ofi'ercd to them." As 
 soon as he had said these words, he presently 
 died, when he had reigned no longer than a 
 year. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WHAT ACTIONS WEKE DONE BY ALEXANDER 
 JANNEUS, WHO UEIGNED TWENTY-SEVEN 
 YKAUS. 
 
 § 1. And now the kin^^'s wife loosed the 
 king's brethren, and made Alexander king, 
 who appeared both elder in age and more mo- 
 derate in his temper than tlie rest ; who, 
 when he caine to the government, slew one of 
 his brethren, as afTecling to govern himself; 
 but had the other of them in great esteem, as 
 loving a quiet life, without meddling with pu- 
 blic attairs. 
 
 2. Now it happened tliat there was a battle 
 between him and Ptolemy, who was called La- 
 thyrus, who had taken the city Asochis. He 
 indeed slew a great many of his eneinies ; but 
 the victory rather inclined to Ptolemy. But, 
 when this Ptolemy was pursued by his mo- 
 Iher Cleopatra, and retired into Egypt, Alex- 
 
 when he had slain more than six thousand of 
 the rebels, he made an incursion into Arabia, 
 and when he had taken that country, together 
 with the Gileadites and IMoabites, he enjoined 
 them to pay him tribute, and returned to A- 
 mathus; and as Tlieodorus was surprised at 
 his great success, he took the fortress, and de • 
 molislied it. 
 
 4. However, when ho. fought with Obodts, 
 king of the Arabians, who had laid an ambush 
 for him near Golan, ant' 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 pro- 
 voked the multitude, who hated him before, 
 to make an insurrection 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 not 
 fewer than fifty thousand of the Jews, in the 
 interval 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 mutability and irregula- 
 rity 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 Deme- 
 trius, who was called Eucerus, to assist them ; 
 and as he readily coinplied with their request, 
 in hopes of great advantages, and came with 
 his army, the Jews joined with those their 
 auxiliaries about Shecheni 
 
r^' 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 559 
 
 5. Yet did Alexander meet both these forces 
 with one thousand horsemen, and eight thou- 
 sand mercenaries that were on foot. He had 
 also with him that part of the Jews which fa- 
 voured him, to the number of fen thousand ; 
 while the adverse party had tiiree thousand 
 horsemen, and fourteen thousand footmen. 
 Now, before they joined battle, the kings 
 made proclamation, and endeavoured to draw 
 off each otiier's soldiers, and make them re- 
 volt ; while Demetrius lioped to induce Alex- 
 ander's mercenaries to leave him, — and Alex- 
 ander 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 unfaithful, they came 
 to an engagement, and to a close fight with 
 their weapons. In which battle Demetrius 
 was the conqueror, although 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 that invited Demetrius to come to them 
 continue firm to him, though he was con- 
 queror ; and six thousand Jews, out of pity 
 to the change of Alexander's condition, when 
 he was fled to the mountains, came over to 
 him. Yet could not Demetrius bear this 
 turn of affairs ; but, supposing that Alexan- 
 der was already l)ecome a match for him 
 again, and that all the nation would [at length] 
 run to him, he left the country, and went his 
 way. 
 
 6. 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 tliem, 
 and driven the rest into the city Bemeselis ; 
 and when he had demolished that city, he car- 
 ried the captives to Jerusalem, Nay, his 
 rage was grown so extravagant, that his bar- 
 barity proceeded to a degree of impiety ; for 
 when he had ordered eight hundred to be 
 hung upon crosses in tlie 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 
 with his concubines. Upon which, so deep a 
 surprise seized on the people, that eight thou- 
 sand of his opposers fled away the very next 
 night, out of all Judea, whose flight was on- 
 ly terminated by Alexander's death ; so at 
 last, though not till late, and with great diffi- 
 culty, he, by such actions, procured quiet to 
 his kingdom, and left off fighting any more. 
 
 7. 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 Se- 
 leucid.'fi. • Alexander was afraid of him, 
 
 • Josephus here calls this Antiochus the last of the 
 Seleucidas althoiif>h there remained still' a shadow of 
 another kinj; of tJiat family, Antiochus Asiaticus, oc 
 
 when he was marching against the Arabians ; 
 so he cut a deep trench between 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 hinder any sudden approaches; but still 
 he was not able to exclude Antiochus, for he 
 burnt the towers, and filled up the trenches, 
 and 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 retired into such 
 parts of the country as were fittest for engag- 
 ing the enemy, and then on the sudden made 
 his horse turn back, who were in number ten 
 thousand, 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 he was 
 in the fore-front, in the utmost danger, in 
 rallying his troops, they all gave ground, and 
 the greatest part of his army were destroyed, 
 either in the action or the flight ; and for the 
 rest, who fled to the village of Cana, it hap- 
 pened that they were all consumed by want 
 of necessaries, a few only excepted 
 
 8. About this time it was that the people 
 of Damascus, out of their hatred to Ptolemy, 
 the son of Menneus, invited Aretas [to take 
 the government], and made him king of Ce~ 
 lesyria. This man also made an expedition 
 against Judea, and beat Alexander in battle; 
 but afterwards retired by mutual agreement. 
 But Alexander, when he had taken Pella, 
 marched to Gerasa again, out of the cove- 
 tous desire he had of Theodorus's possessions; 
 and when he had built a triple wall about the 
 garrison, he took the place by force. He 
 also demolished Golan, and Seleucla, and 
 what was called the Valley of Antiochus ; 
 besides which, he look the strong fortress ot 
 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 
 tliree 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 again in 
 martial affairs, he should get rid of this dis- 
 temper; but, by making such expeditions at 
 unseasonable times, and forcing his body to 
 undergo greater hardships than it was able to 
 bear, he brought himself to his end. He 
 died, therefore, in the midst of his troubles, 
 after he had reigned seven- and-twenty years, 
 
 Commagenus, who reigned, or rather lay hid, till Pom- 
 pey quite turned him out, as Dean Aldrich here notes, 
 from Appian and Justin. 
 
 I 
 
5(30 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 , anara to put to death the rest of those who 
 
 had irritated him against them. Now, she 
 
 was so superstitious as to comply with their 
 
 I desires, and accordingly they slew whom they 
 
 ALEXANDRA IIEIGNS NINE YEARS; DURING pleased themselves. But the principal of those 
 
 WHICH TiiME THE PHARISEES WERE THE that were in danger fled to Aristobulus, who 
 
 persuaded his mother to spare the men on ac- 
 count of their dignity, but to expel them out 
 of the city, unless she took them to be inno- 
 
 CH AFTER V. 
 
 REAL RULERS OF THE NATION. 
 
 ^ 1. Now Alexander left tlie kingdom to 
 
 Alexandra his wife, and depended upon it ! cent ; so they were suffered to go unpunished 
 
 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 got the good-will of the people. 
 Nor was he mistaken as to his expectations ; 
 for this woman kept the dominion, by the 
 opinion that the people had of her piety ; for 
 she chiefly studied the ancient customs of her 
 country, and cast those men out of the go- 
 vernment that offended against their holy 
 laws. And as she had two sons by Alexan- 
 der, she made Hyrcanus, the elder, high- 
 priest, on account of his age ; as also, besides 
 that, on account of his inactive temper noway 
 disposing him to disturb the public. But she 
 retained the younger, Aristobulus, with her 
 as a private person, by reason of the warmth 
 of his temper. 
 
 2. And now the Pharisees joined themselves 
 to her, to assist her in the government. These 
 are a certain sect of the Jews that appear 
 more religious than others, and seem to inter- 
 pret the laws more accurately. Now, Alex- 
 andia hearkened to them to an extraordinary 
 degree, as being herself a woman of great 
 piety towards God. But these Pharisees art- 
 fully insinuated themselves into her favour by 
 little and little, and became themselves the 
 real administrators of the public affairs : they 
 banished and reduced whom they jileased ; 
 they bound and loosed [men] at their plea- 
 sure ; * f and, to say all at once, they had the 
 enjoyment of the royal authority, whilst the 
 expenses and the difficulties of it belonged to 
 Alexandra. 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 became not only very power- 
 ful at home, but terrible also to foreign po- 
 tentates, while she governed other people, and 
 the Pharisees governed her. 
 
 3. 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 eight liundred men [before 
 mentioned]. They also prevailed with Alex- 
 
 * Matt, xvi, 19; xviii, 18. 
 
 t Here v.e have the oUest and most authentic Jewish 
 exijosition of binding and loosing, for punishing or at> 
 Bdlviug men ; not for declaring actions lawful or unlaw- 
 fij, as" some more modern Jews and Christians vainly 
 L>n.i(;nd 
 
 and were dispersed all over the country. But, 
 when Alexandra sent out her army to Damas- 
 cus, under pretence that Ptolemy was always 
 oppressing that city, she got possession of it ; 
 nor did it make any considerable resistance. 
 She also prevailed with Tigranes, king of Ar- 
 menia, who lay with his troops about Ptole 
 mais, and besieged Cleopatra, | by agreements 
 and presents, to go away. Accordingly Ti- 
 granes soon arose from the siege, by reason ol 
 those domestic tumults which happened up- 
 on Lucullus's expedition into Armenia. 
 
 4. In the mean time, Alexandra fell sick, 
 and Aristobulus, her younger son, took hold 
 of this opportunity, with his domestics, of 
 which he had a great many, who were all ol 
 them his friends, on account of the warmth 
 of their youth, and got possession of all the 
 fortresses. He also used the sums of money 
 he found in tliem, to get together a number 
 of mercenary soldiers, and made himself 
 king; and besides this, upon Hyrcanus's com- 
 plaint to his mother, she compassionated his 
 case, and put Aribtobulus's wife and sons un- 
 der restraint in Antonia, which was a fortress 
 that joined to the north part of the temple. 
 It was, as I have already said, of old called 
 the Citadel, but afterwards got the name of 
 Antonia, when Antony was lord [of the east], 
 just as the other cities, Sebaste and Agrip- 
 pias, had their names changed, and these 
 given them from Sebastus and Agrippa. But 
 Alexandra died before she could puni!.h Aris- 
 tobulus for his disinheriting his biotlK'r, ai'ter 
 she had reigned nine years. 
 
 CPIAPTER VI. 
 
 WHEN HYRCANUS, WHO WAS ALEXANDER'S 
 HEIR, RECEDED FROM HIS CLAIM TO THE 
 CROWN, ARISTOBULUS IS JIADE KING ; AND 
 AFTERWARD THE SAME HYRCANUS, RY THE 
 MEANS OF ANTH'ATER, IS BROUGHT BACK 
 BY ARETAS. AT LAST POMI'EY IS MADE 
 THE ARBITRATOR OF THE DISPUTE BETWEEN 
 THE BROTHERS. 
 
 § 1- 
 
 dom 
 
 Now Hyrcanus was heir to the king- 
 and to him did his mother commit it 
 
 t Straho, h. xvi, p. 740, relates, that this Selene 
 Cleopiitra was besieged by Tigranes, not in I'lolemais. 
 as here, but after she had left Syria, in Scleueia, a ciUi 
 del m Mfiopolaraia; and adds, that when hu had kei> 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 f)Cl 
 
 before she died : but Aristobulus was supe- 
 rior to him in power and magnanimity ; and 
 when there was a battle between them, to de- 
 cide tlie dispute about the kingdom, near Je- 
 richo, the greatest part deserted Hyrcanus, 
 and went over to Aristobulus; but Hyrca- 
 nus, with those of his parly who staid with 
 him, fled to Antonia, and got into liis power 
 the hostages that might be for his preserva- 
 tion (which were Anstobulus'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 retain 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 tlieir 
 houses; while Aristobulus went to the royal 
 palace, and Hyrcanus retired to the house of 
 Aristobulus. 
 
 2. Now, those other people who were at 
 variance with Aristobulus were afraid, upon 
 his unexpectedly obtaining the government ; 
 and especially this concerned Antipater, • 
 whom Aristobulus hated of old. He was 
 by birth an Idumean, and one of the princi- 
 pal of that nation, on account of his ances- 
 tors and riches, and other authority to him 
 belonging : he also persuaded 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 re- 
 proaches upon Aristobulus, as to his morals, 
 and gave great commendations to Hyrcanus, 
 and exhorted Aretas to receive him, and told 
 liim how becoming a thing it would be for 
 him, who ruled so great a kingdom, to afford 
 his assistance to such as are injured ; alleg- 
 ing that Hyrcanus was treated unjustly, by 
 being deprived of that dominion which be- 
 longed to him by the prerogative of his birth. 
 And when he had predisposed them both to 
 do what he would have them, he took Hyr- 
 canus by night, and ran away from the city ; 
 and, continuing his flight with great swift- 
 ness, he escaped to the place called Petra, 
 which is the royal seat of the king of Arabia, 
 where he put Hyrcanus into Aretas's hands ; 
 and by discoursing much with him, and gain- 
 ing upon him witli many presents, he pre- 
 vailed with him to give him an army that 
 might restore him to his kingdom. This 
 army consisted of fifty thousand footmen and 
 
 her a while in prison, he put h'?r to death. Dean AM- 
 rioh supposes here tliat htrabo contradicts Josephus, 
 which does not appear to mc;for akhoiigh Josephus 
 says both here and in the Antiq. b. xiii, ch. xvi, sect, 4, 
 that Tigranes besieged her now in Ptolemais, and tliat 
 he took the city, as the Antiquities inform us, yet does 
 he nowliere intimate that he now took the queen her- 
 self; so that both the narrations of Strabo and Josephus 
 may still be true notwithstanding. 
 
 » Tliat this Antipater, the father of Herod the Great, 
 was an Idumean, a-. Josephus afiirms here, see the note 
 on Antiq. b. xiv, eh. xv, sect. a. 
 
 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, liad 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 Tigranes; 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 baste 
 thither as to a certain booty. 
 
 3. As soon, therefore, as he was come in- 
 to the country, there came ambassadors from 
 both the brothers, each of them desiring his 
 assistance ; but Aristobulus's three hundred 
 talents had more weight with him than the 
 justice of the cause ; which sum, when Scau* 
 I us had received, he sent a herald to Hyrca- 
 nus and the Arabians, and threatened tliem 
 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 sa- 
 tisfied with escaping [out of his brother's 
 hands], but gathered all his forces together 
 and pursued his enemies, and fought them at 
 a place called Papyron, and slew above sis 
 thousand of them, and, together with them, 
 Antijiater's brother Phalion. 
 
 4. When Hyrcanus and Antipater were 
 thus deprived of their hopes from the Arabi- 
 ans, they transferred the same to their adver- 
 saries ; and because Pompey had passed 
 through Syria, and was come to Damascus, 
 they fled to him for assistance ; and, uithout 
 any bribes, | they made the same equitable 
 pleas that they had used to Aretas, and be- 
 sought him to hate the violent behaviour oi 
 Aristobulus, and to bestow the kingdom up- 
 on him to whom it justly belonged, both on 
 account of his good character, and on account 
 of his superiority in age. However, neitlier 
 was Aristobulus wanting to himself in tliis 
 case, as relying on the bribes that Scaurus 
 had received : he was also there himself, and 
 adorned liimself af.cr 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, and could not endure 
 to serve his own ends in a way so much more 
 abject than he was used to ; so he departed 
 irom Diospolis. 
 
 5. At this his behaviour Pompey had great 
 
 t It is somewhat probable, as Havcicamii supposes, 
 and partly Spanhcim also, that the Latin copy is licit 
 the truest ; that Pompey did take the many presents 
 ojlered him by Hyicaiuis, as he would have done the 
 others from .Vi'istobulus (sect. 6) ; although his remark- 
 able abstinence from the 2i)()0 talents that were in the 
 Jewish temple, when he took it a little aflciwaid -ch. 
 vii, sect 6, and Antiii b. xiv, ch. iv, sect 4 , will hard- 
 ly permit us to desert the Greek copies; all which a^jree 
 that he did not take them. 
 
66-2 
 
 AVARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 indignation ; Hyrcanu* also and his friends 
 made great intercession to Pompey ; so he 
 took not only his Ilonian forces, hut many of 
 his Syrian auxiliaries, and marched against 
 Aristobukis. But when he had passed by 
 Pella and Scytliopolis, and was come to Corea, 
 where you enter into the country of Judea, 
 when you go up to it through the Mediter- 
 ranean parts, he heard that Aristohulua was 
 fled to Alexandrium, which is a strong-hold, 
 fortified with the utmost magnificence, and 
 situated upon a high mountain, and he sent 
 to him, and commanded liim to come down. 
 Now his inclination was to try liis fortune in 
 a battle, since he was called in such an impe- 
 rious manner, rather than to comply with that 
 call. However, he saw the multitude were 
 in great fear, and his friends exliorted him to 
 consider what the power of the Romans was, 
 and how it 'vas irresistible ; so he complied 
 with their advice, and came down to Pompey ; 
 and when he had made a long apology fry 
 himself, and for the justness of his cause in 
 taking the government, he returned to the 
 fortress. And when his brotlier invited him 
 again [to plead his cause], he came down and 
 spake about the justice of it, and then went 
 away without any hindrance from Pompey : 
 so he was between hope and fear. And « hen 
 he came down, it was to prevail with Pompey 
 to allow him the government entirely j and 
 when he went up to tlie citadel, it was that 
 he might not appear to debase himself too 
 low. However, Pompey commanded him to 
 give up his fortified jilaces, 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 hand-writing. Accordingly he did what 
 he was ordered to do ; but had still an indig- 
 nation at what was done, and retired to Jeru- 
 salem, and prepared to fight with Pompey. 
 
 6. But Pompey did not give him time 
 to make any preparations [for a siege'', but 
 followed him at his heels ; he was also 
 obliged to make haste in his attempt, by the 
 death of Mithridates, of which he was inform- 
 ed 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 Pom- 
 pey pitched his camp in that place one night, 
 and then hasted away the next morning to 
 Jerusalem ; but Aristobulus was so affViglited 
 at his aj)proach, 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 into his disposal ;— and 
 thereby he mitigated the anger of Pompey, 
 
 » Of the famous palm-trees and balsam alxiut Jericho 
 and Eugaddi, see th^notesin tlavercainp'sedition, both 
 Ucre and b. ii, ch. ix, sect. 1. They are somewhat too 
 long to be transcribed in this place. 
 
 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 had promised. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW FOMPEY HAD THE CITY OF JERUSALEM 
 UELIVEUED UP TO HlJl, BUT TOOK THE TEM- 
 PLE [by FOKCE]. HOW HE WENT INTO THE 
 HOLY OF HOLIES ; AS ALSO WHAT WEKE HIS 
 OTHER EXPLOITS IN JUDEA. 
 
 § 1. At this treatment Pompey was very an- 
 gry, and took Aristobulus into custody; and 
 when he was come to the city he looked a- 
 bout wliere he might make his attack ; for 
 he s.iw the walls were so firm that it would 
 be hard to overcome them, and that the val- 
 ley before the walls was terrible ; and that 
 the temple, wliich was within that valley, was 
 itself encompassed with a very strong wall, 
 insomuch that if the city were taken, the tem- 
 ple would be a second place of refuge for the 
 enemy to retire to. 
 
 2. Now, as he was long in deliberating a- 
 bout 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 jiarty of Hyrcanus were for 
 opening the gates to Poinpey ; and the dread 
 people were in, occasioned these last to be a 
 very numerous 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 com- 
 munication 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 any one 
 of those that had fl'ed to the temple to come to 
 terms of accommodation ; 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. 
 
 3. But Pompey hiinself 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 that pur- 
 pose. And indeed i' was a hard thing to fill 
 up that valley, by reason of its immense depth, 
 especially as the Jews used all the means pos- 
 sible to repel them from their superior station; 
 nor had the Romans succeeded in their en- 
 deavours, had not Pompey taken notice of 
 the seventh days, on whifh the Jews abstain 
 
 '^- 
 
 J^ 
 
CKAP. VII. 
 
 WARS OK THE JEWS. 
 
 563 
 
 from all sorts of work on a religious account, 
 and raised his bank, but restrained his soldiers 
 from fighting on those days; for the Jews 
 only acted defensively on Sabl)atii-days, But 
 as soon as Pompey 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 bat- 
 ter it down ; and the slingers of stones beat 
 off tliose that stood above them, and drove 
 tliem away : but the towers on this side of 
 the city made very great resistance, and were 
 indeed extraordinary both for largeness and 
 magnificenc-e. 
 
 4. Now, here it was that, upon the many 
 hardships wiiicli the Romans underwent, 
 Pompey could not but admire not only at the 
 other instances of the Jews' fortitude, but es- 
 pecially that they did not at all intermit their 
 religious services, even when they were en- 
 compassed with darts on all sides ; for, as if 
 the city were in full peace, their daily sacri- 
 fices and purifications, and every branc';i of 
 their religious 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 could even with great difficulty 
 overthrow one of the towers, and get into the 
 temple. Now he that first of all ventured to 
 get over the wall, was Faustus Cornelius, the 
 son 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 encompassed 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 de- 
 fence. 
 
 5. And now did many of the priests, even 
 when they saw their enemies assailing them 
 \vith swords in their hands, without any dis- 
 turbance, go on with their divine worship, and 
 were slain while they were offering their drink- 
 offerings and burning their incense, as pre- 
 ferring the duties about their worship to God 
 before their own preservation. The greatest 
 part of them were slain by tlieir own country- 
 men of the adverse faction, and an innumer- 
 able multitude threw themselves down preci- 
 pieces ; nay some there were who were so dis- 
 tracted among the insuperable difficulties they 
 were under, that they set fire to the buildings 
 that were near to the wall, and were burnt to- 
 gether with them. Now of the Jews were 
 slain twelve thousand ; but of the Romans 
 very few were slain, but a greater number 
 was wounded. 
 
 6. 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,* whether it was not lawful for any to 
 enter but tlie liigli-priest, and saw what was 
 rcposited 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 two tliousand talents of sacred money. 
 Yet did not he touch the money, nor an> 
 thing else that was there rtposited ; but he 
 commanded the ministers about the temple, 
 the very nest day after he had taken it, to 
 cleanse it, and to perform tlieir accustomed sa- 
 crifices. Moreover, he made Hyrcanus high- 
 priest, as one that not only in other respects 
 had shown great alacrity, on his side, during 
 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 to have done ; by wliich 
 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, who was also his uncle, so those that 
 were the mo>t guilty he punished with de- 
 collation ; but rewarded Faustus, and those 
 with him that had fouglit so bravely, with 
 glorious presents ; and laid a tribute upon the 
 country, and upon Jerusalem itself. 
 
 7. 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 appointed to be 
 the Roman president there, and reduced Ju- 
 deu within its proper bounds. He also re- 
 built f Gadara, that had been demolished by 
 the Jews, in order to gratify one Demetrius, 
 who was of Gadara, and was one of his own 
 freed-men. 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 
 Seythopolis, as also Pella, and Samaria, and 
 Marissa ; and besides these, Ashdod, and Jara- 
 nia, and Arethusa; and in like manner dealt 
 he with the maritime cities, Gaza, and Joppa, 
 and Dora, and that wliich was anciently called 
 Strato's Tower, but was afterward rebuilt 
 with the most magnificent 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 
 
 • Thus says Tacitus ; — Cii. Pompeius first of all S'j|> 
 dued the Jews, and went into their temple, by right of 
 concjuest. Hist. b. v, ch. ix Nor did ne touch any of 
 its riches, as has been ol>aer\'ed on the parallel place of 
 the Antiquities, b. aav, ch. it, sect. 4, out of Cicero 
 himself. 
 
 t The coin of this Gadara, still extant, with its date 
 from this sera, is a certain evidence of this its rebuilding 
 by Poinpev. as Sjwnheim here assures us. 
 
6(ii 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 ne made all tlie l;aste he could himself to go 
 ihroiigli Cilicia, in his way to Home, having 
 Aristobulus and his children along with him, 
 as his captives. They were two daughters 
 and two sons ; the one of which sons, Alex- 
 ander, ran away as he was going ; but the 
 younger, Antigonus, with his sisters, were 
 carried to Rome. 
 
 CHAPTER VI If. 
 
 ALEXANDEU, THE SON OF ARISTOEULUS, WHO 
 KAN AWAV JKOM POJIPEV, MAKES AN EXPE- 
 DITION AGAINST HYllCANL'S; BUT BEING 
 OVEUCOJIE BY GABINIUS, HE DELIVERS UP 
 THE EOUTRES3ES TO HLM. AFTER THIS, 
 ARISTOBULUS ESCAPES FROM ROME, AND 
 GATHERS .\N ARMY TOGETHER ; BUT BEING 
 BEATEN BY THE ROMANS, HE IS BROUGHT 
 BACK TO ROME ; WITH OTHER THINGS RE- 
 LATING TO GABINIUS, CRASSUS, AND CAS- 
 SlUS. 
 
 § 1. In the mean time Scaurus made an ex- 
 jiedition into Arabia, but was stopped by the 
 difficulty of the places about Petra. How- 
 ever, ho laid waste the country about Pella, 
 though even there he was under great hard- 
 ship, for his army was afflicted witli famine. 
 In order to supply wliicli want, Hyrcanus af- 
 forded him some assistance, and sent liim pro- 
 visions by the means of Antipater ; whom al- 
 so Scaurus sent to Aretas, as one well ac- 
 quainted with him, to induce him to pay him 
 money to buy his peace. The king of Ara- 
 bia complied w ith the proposal, and gave liim 
 three hundred talents; upon which Scaurus 
 drew his army out of Arabia. • 
 
 2. But as for Alexander, that son of Aris- 
 tobulus who ran away from Pompey, in some 
 time he got a considerable band of men to- 
 gether, and lay heavy upon Hyrcanus, and 
 over-ran Judea, and was liiiely to overturn 
 him quickly ; and indeed he had come to 
 Jerusalem, and had ventured to rebuild its 
 wall that was thrown down by Pompey, bad 
 not Gabinius, who was sent as successor to 
 Scaurus into Syria, shown his bravery, as in 
 many other points, so in making an expedi- 
 tion against Alexander who, as he was 
 afraid that lie would attack him, so he got 
 together a large army, composed of ten thou: 
 sand armed footmen, and fifteen hundred 
 Jiorsemen. He also built walls about proper 
 places; Alexandrium, and Hyrcanium, and 
 
 » Take the like attestation to the truth of tliis sul)- 
 mission of Aretas king of Arabia to Seaurus the Roman 
 general, in the words of Dean Aldrich. " Hence (says 
 he is derived that old and famous denarius belonging 
 to the Kinilian family [reprebeiitea in Havcrcamir»_edi- 
 tion^, wl 
 tion,' and taking 
 
 Macherus, that lay upon the mountains of 
 Arabia. 
 
 3. However, Gabinius sent before hitn 
 Marcus Antonius, and followed himself with 
 his whole army ; but for the select body of 
 soldiers that were about Antipater, and ano- 
 ther body of Jews under the command cf 
 Malichus and Pitliolaus, these joined them- 
 selves to those captains that were about Mar- 
 cus Antonius, and met Alexander ; to which 
 body came Gabinius 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 six thousand men in the 
 battle ; three thousand of whom fell down 
 dead, and three thousand were taken alive; 
 so he fltd with the remainder to Alexandrium. 
 
 4. Now, when Gabinius was come to Alex- 
 andrium, because he found a great many there 
 encamped, he tried, by promising them par- 
 don for their former ofTences, to induce them 
 to come over to him before it came to a fight; 
 but when they would hearken to no terms of 
 accommodation, he slew a great number of 
 them, and shut up a great number of them 
 in the citadel. Now INIarcus Antonius, their 
 leader, signalized himself in this battle, who, 
 as he always showed great courage, so did he 
 never show it so much as now ; but Gabi- 
 nius, 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 following cities were restored: 
 — Scyihopolis, Samaria, Anthedon, Apollo- 
 nia, Jamnia, Raphia, Marissa, Adoreus, Ga- 
 mala, Ashdod, and many others ; while a 
 great number of men readily ran to each of 
 them, and became their inhabitants. 
 
 5. When Gabinius had taken care of these 
 cities, he returned to Alexandrium, and press- 
 ed on the siege. So when Alexander de- 
 spaired of ever obtaining the government, he 
 sent ambassadors to him, and prayed him to 
 forgive what he had offended him in, and 
 gave up to him the remaining fortresses, Hyr- 
 canium and Macherus, as he put Alexandri- 
 um into his hands afterwards : all which Ga- 
 binius demolished, at the persuasion of Alex- 
 ander's mother, that they might not be recep- 
 tacles of men in a second 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 Jerusalem, and committed the 
 care of the temple to liim ; but ordained the 
 political government to be by an aristocracy. 
 He also parted the whole nation into five 
 conventions, assigning one portion to Jerusa- 
 
 Aretas appears in a posture of supplica- ' 5 ,° ., „. „„„,i,„_ ,j,„,,M 
 
 ^ „ g hold of a camel's bridle with his left ' 1 em, another to Gadara, that another should 
 
 nand,"and with his right band presentitig a branch of [^^.l^,,^ to Amathus, a fourth to Jericho, and 
 the frankincense-tree, with thio inscription iM.htAU- ,„"«,•,. j;,.- :„„ „„, cU^tt^A Spnnhoris. a 
 
 RL'S K* S. C; and beneath, HEX .■VRETAS." 
 
 to the fifth division was allotted Sepphoris, a 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 6')6 
 
 city of Galilee. So the people were glad to 
 1)6 thus freed from monarchical government, 
 and were governed for the future by an aris- 
 tocracy. 
 
 6. Yet did Aiistobulns afford a new foun- 
 dation for other disturbances. He fled away 
 from Rome, and got together again many of 
 the Jews that were desirous of a change, such 
 as liad borne an affection lo him of old ; and 
 when be had taken Alexandriuni 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 
 Servilius, he was aware of it, and retreated 
 to Macherus. And as for the unprofitable 
 multitude, he dismissed ihem, and only march- 
 ed on with those that were armed, being to 
 the number of eight thousand, among whom 
 vras Pitholaus, who had been the lieutenant 
 at Jerusalem, but deserted to Aristobulus 
 with a thousand of his men : so the Romans 
 followed him, and when it came to a battle, 
 Aristobulus's party for a long time fought 
 courageously ; but at length they were over- 
 borne by the Romans, and of them five thou ■ 
 sand fell dead, and about two thousand fled 
 to a certain little hill, but the thousand that 
 remained with Aristobulus brake through the 
 Roman army, and marched together to Ma- 
 cherus ; 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 a while; 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 abilities, for two 
 days, and then was taken, and brought a pri- 
 soner 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 confinement, but returned his children 
 back to Judea, because Gabinius informed 
 tliem by letters, that he had promised Aristo- 
 bulus's mother to do so, for her delivering 
 the fortresses up to him. 
 
 7. But now as Gabinius was marching to 
 the war against the Partiiiaiis, he was hinder- 
 ed by Ptolemy, whom, upon his return from 
 Euphrates, he brought back into Egypt, mak- 
 ing use of Hyrcanus and Antipater to pro- 
 vide every thing that was necessary for this 
 expedition ; for Antipater furnished him with 
 money, and weapons, and corn, and auxiliar- 
 ies ; he also prevailed with the Jews that were 
 there, and guarded the avenues at Pelusium, 
 to let them pass. But now, upon Gabinius's 
 absence, the otlier part of Syria was in mo- 
 tion, and Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, 
 wrought the Jews to revolt again. Accord- 
 ingly, he got together a very great army, and 
 set about killing all the Romans that were in 
 the country; hereupon Gabinius was afraid 
 (for he was come back already out oC^Egvpt, 
 ai)d obliged to come back quickly by these 
 
 tumults), and sent Antipitcr, who prevailed 
 with some of the revolters to be quiet. How- 
 ever, thirty thousand still continued with 
 Alexander, who was himself eager to fio-ht 
 also; accordingly, Gabinius went out to fight 
 when the Jews met him ; and, as the battle 
 was fought near Mount Tabor, ten thousand 
 of them were slain, and the rest of the mul- 
 titude dispersed themselves, and fled away. 
 So Gabinius came to Jerusalem, and settled 
 the government as Antipater would liave it ; i 
 (hence he marched, and fought and beat the | 
 Nabateans: as for Mithrinarcs and Orsanes, f 
 who fled out of Parthia, he sent them away 1 
 privately, but gave it out among the soldiers ! 
 that they had run away. 
 
 8. In the mean time, Crassus came as sue 
 cessor to Gabinius in Syria. He took away 
 all the rest of the gold belonging to the tem- 
 ple of Jerusalem, in order to furnish himself 
 for his expedition against the Parthians. He 
 also took away the two thousand 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], 
 
 9. But now Cassius, after Crassus, put a 
 stop to the Parthians, who were marchin", in 
 order to enter Syria. Cassius had fled into 
 that province, and when he had taken posses- 
 sion of the same, he made a hasty march into 
 Judea ; and, upon his taking Taricheae, he 
 carried thirty thousand Jews into slavery. He 
 also slew Pitholaus, who had supported the 
 seditious followers of Aristobulus ; and it 
 was Antipater who advised him so to do. 
 Now this Antipater married a wife of an emi- 
 nent family among the Arabians, whose name 
 was Cypres, and had four sons born to him 
 by her, Pijasaelus and Herod, who was after- 
 wards king, and besides, Joseph and Pheroras ; 
 and he had a daughter, whose name was Sa- 
 lome, Now, as he made himself friends 
 among the men of power everywhere, by tlie 
 kind oflices he did them, and the hospitable 
 manner that he treated them ; so did he con- 
 tract the greatest friendship with the king of 
 Arabia, by marrying his relation ; insomuch 
 that when he made war with Aristobulus, he 
 sent and intrusted his children with him. So, 
 when Cassiua had forced Alexander to come 
 to terms and to be qtu'et, he returned to Eu- 
 phrates, in order to prevent the Parthians 
 from repassing it ; concerning wliich matter 
 we shall speak elsewhere.* 
 
 • This citation is now wanting 
 
606 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 the city ; in the attack of which place, Anti- 
 pater principally 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, 
 
 4. Thus was Pelusium taken. But still, 
 as they were marching on, those Egyptian 
 Jews that inhabited the country, called the 
 HE ALSO PERI-OKMS GUKAT ACTIONS IN THAT country of Onias, Stopped them. Tiien did 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ARISTOBULUS IS TAKEN OFF BY POiMPEYS 
 FRIENDS, AS IS HIS SON ALEXANDER BY 
 SCIPIO. ANTIPATER CULTIVATES A FRIEND- 
 SHIP WITH C^SAR, AFTER POMPEY's DEATH; 
 
 WAR, WHEREIN HE ASSISTED WIXHRIDATES. 
 
 § 1. Now, upon the flight of Pompey and 
 of the senate beyond the Ionian Sea, Ca;sar 
 got Rome and the empire under his power, 
 and released AristobuUis from !iis 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 Ctesar ; for he was taken off 
 by poison given him by those of Pompey'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, 
 
 2. His son Alexander also was beheaded 
 by Scipio at Antioch, and that by the com- 
 mand of Pompey, and upon an accusation 
 laid against him before his tribunal, for the 
 mischiefs ho had done to the Romans. But 
 Ptolemy, the soa of Menneus, who was then 
 ruler of Chalcis, under Libanus, took his 
 brethren to him, by sending his son Philippic 
 for them to Ascalon ; who took Antigonus, 
 as well as his sisters, away from Aristobulus's 
 "vife, and brought them to his faiher ; and 
 falling in love with the younger daughter, he 
 married her, and was afterward siain by his 
 father on her account ; for Ptolemy himself, 
 after he had slain his son, married her, whose 
 name was Alexandra; on account of which 
 marriage, he took the greater care of her 
 brother and sister. 
 
 3. Now, after Pompey was dead, Antipa- 
 ter changed sides, and cultivated a friendship 
 with Caesar. And, since Mithridates of Per- 
 gamus, with the forces he led against Egypt, 
 was excluded from the avenues about Pelusi- 
 um, and was forced to stay at Ascalon, he 
 persuaded the Arabians among whom he had c^SAR MAKES ANTIPATER PROCURATOR OF 
 lived, to assist him, and came liiniself to him, 
 at the head of tliree thousand men. He al- 
 so encouraged the men of power in Syria to 
 come to his assistance ; as also of the inhabi- 
 tants of Libanus, Ptolemy, and Jamblicus, 
 and another Ptolemy ; by which means the 
 cities of that country came readily into this 
 war; insomuch that Mithridates ventured 
 now, in dependence upon the additional 
 
 . strength that he had gotten by Antipater, to 
 march forward to Pelusium ; and when thev 
 
 Antipater not only persuade them not to stop 
 them, but to aflbrd provisions 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 success he fell upon those that 
 pursued Mithridates, 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 Mithrida- 
 tes lost, during the pursuit that was made af- 
 ter him, about eight hundred. He was also 
 himself saved unexpectedly, and became 
 unreproachable witness to Caesar of the grea 
 actions of Antipater. 
 
 5. W'hereupon Caesar encouraged Antipa- 
 ter to undertake other hazardous enterprizes 
 for him, and that by giving him great com- 
 mendations and hopes of reward. In all 
 which enterprizes he readily exposed himself 
 to many dangers, and became a most coura- 
 geous warrior ; and had many wounds all 
 over his body, as demonstrations of his valour. 
 And when Csesar had settled the afTiiirs of 
 Egypt, and was returning into Syria again, 
 he gave him the privilege of a Roman citizen, 
 and freedom from taxes, and rendered liira 
 an object of admiration by the honours and 
 marks of friendship he bestowed upon him. 
 On this account it was that he also confirmed 
 Hyrcanus iu the high -priesthood. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 JUDEA ; AS DOES ANTIPATER APPOINT PHA- 
 SAEI.US TO BE GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM, 
 AND HEUOD GOVERNOR OF GALILEE ; WHO, 
 IN SOAIE TIME, WAS CALLED TO ANSWER FOR 
 HIMSELF [before THE SANHEDRLM], WHF.RK 
 HE IS ACQUITTED. SEXTUS dSAR IS TREA- 
 CHEROUSLY KILLED BY BASSUS, AND IS SUC- 
 CEEDLD BY MARCUS. 
 
 § 1. About this time it was that Antigonus, 
 the son of Aristobulus, came to Caesar, and 
 refused him a passage tiirough it, he besieged ! became, in a surprising manner, the occasion 
 
OH A p. X. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 561 
 
 of A nti pater's farther advancement ; for, 
 whereas he ought to have lamented that his 
 father appeared to have been poisoned on ac- 
 count of his quarrels with Pompey, and to 
 have complained of Scipio's barbarity towards 
 his brother, and not to mix any invidious pas- 
 sion when suing for mercy; instead of those 
 things, he came before Caesar, and accused 
 Hyrcanus and Antipater, how they had driven 
 him and his brethren entirely out of their na- 
 tive country, and liad acted in a great many 
 instances unjustly and extravagantly with re- 
 gard to their nation ; and that as to the assist- 
 ance they bad 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, 
 
 2. Hereupon Antipater threw away his gar- 
 ments, and showed the multitude of the 
 wounds he had, and said, that as to his good- 
 will to Caesar, lie had no occasion to say a 
 word, because his body cried aloud, tliougli 
 he said nothing himself: that he wondered at 
 Antigonus's boldness, while he was himself 
 no otlier than the son of an enemy to the Ro- 
 mans, and of a fugitive, and had it by inhe- 
 ritance from his father to be fond of innova- 
 tions and seditions, that he should undertake 
 to accuse other men before the Roman gover- 
 nor, and endeavour to gain some advantages 
 to himself, when he ought to be contented that 
 he was suffered to live ; for that the reason of 
 his desii'e of governing 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. 
 
 3. When Ca;sar heard this, he declared 
 Hyrcanus to be the most worthy of the high- 
 priesthood, and gave leave to Antipater to 
 choose what authority he pleased; but he left 
 the determination of such dignity to him tliat 
 bestowed the dignity upon iiim ; so l)e was 
 constituted procurator of all Judea, and ob- 
 tained leave, 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, tliat 
 tliey might stand there as indications of his 
 own justice, and of the virtue of Antipater. 
 
 4. But as soon as Antipater had conducted 
 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 Pom- 
 pey had overthrown, and then to go over tlie 
 country, and to quiet the tumults that were 
 
 '^ What k lierc noted by Huc^son and Spanheim, that 
 this grant of leave to rebuild the walls of the cities of 
 Judea was made by Julius Ca;sar, uotas here to Antipa- 
 ter, bat to Hyrcanus (Antiq. b. xiv. uh. viii. sect. 5), has 
 hardly an appearance of a contradiction ; Antipater being 
 now pel Ivaps considered only as Hyrcanus's deputy and 
 miDister, although he afterwards made a cypher of Hyr- 
 canus, and, under great decency of behaviour to him, 
 look the real authority to himself. 
 
 therein ; where he partly threatened, and partly 
 advised, every one, and told them that, in case 
 they would submit to Hyrcanus, they would 
 live happily and peaceably, and enjoy what 
 they possessed, and that with universal peace 
 and quietness ; but that, in case they hearken- 
 ed to such as had some frigid hopes by rais- 
 ing new troubles, to get themselves some gain, 
 they should then find him to be their lord, 
 instead of their procurator, and find Hyrcanus 
 to be a tyrant, instead of a king, — and both 
 the Romans and Cassar to be their enemies, 
 instead of rulers ; for that they would not suffer 
 him to be removed from the government, 
 whom they had made their governor ; and, at 
 the same time that he said this, he settled the 
 affairs of the country by himself, because he 
 saw that Hyrcanus was inactive, and not fit 
 to manage the affairs of the kingdom. So he 
 constituted his eldest son, Phasaelus, governor 
 of Jerusalem, and of the parts about it ; he 
 also sent his next son, Herod, who was very 
 young,* with equal authority into Galilee. 
 
 5. Now Herod was an active man, and 
 soon found proper materials for his active 
 spirit to work upon. As therefore he found 
 that Hezekias, the head of the robbers, ran 
 over the neighbouring parts of Syria with a 
 great band of men, he caught him and slew 
 him, and many more of the robbers with him ; 
 which exploit was chiefly grateful to the Sy 
 rians, insomuch that hymns were sung in He- 
 rod's commendation, both in the villages and 
 in the cities, as having procured their quiet- 
 ness, and having preserved what they possess. 
 ed to them ; on which occasion he became 
 acquainted with Sextus Ca?sar, a kinsman of 
 the great Caesar, and president of Syria. A 
 just emulation of his glorious actions excited 
 Phasaelus also to imitate him. 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 disagreeable 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 fide 
 lily which he owed to Hyrcanus. 
 
 6. However, he found it impossible to es- 
 cape envy in such his prosperity : for the 
 glory of these young men affected even Hyr- 
 canus himself already privately, though he 
 said nothing of it to any body; 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 undertak 
 ings. There were also many people in th^ 
 royal palace itself who inflamed his envy at 
 him; those, I mean, who were obstructed in 
 
 t Or 25 years of age. See note on Antiq. b. 1, eh. icii, 
 sect. 5 ; and on b xiv, ch. ix, sect. 2 ; and Of the War 
 b ii ch. xi, sect. 6 ; and Polyb. b. xvii, p. 725 
 
568 
 
 WARS OF TflH JEWS. 
 
 tlieir (Icsfgns by the prudence either of the 
 young inen, or of Antipater, These men 
 said, that by committing the public adairs to 
 the management of Antipater and of his sons, 
 he sat down with nothing but the bare name 
 of a ting, without any of its authority ; and 
 they asked him how long he would so far mis- 
 take himself as to breed up king3 against his 
 own interest ; for that they did not now conceal 
 tlieir government of affairs any longer, but 
 were plainly lords of the nation, and had thrust 
 him out of his authority ; that this was the 
 case when Herod slew so many men witliout 
 his giving him any command to do it, either 
 by word of mouth or by his letter, and this in 
 contradiction to the law of the Jews ; who 
 therefore, in case he be not a king, but a pri- 
 vate man, still ought to come to his trial, and 
 answer it to him, and to the laws of his coun- 
 try, which d J not permit any one to be killed 
 till he had been condemned in judgment. 
 
 7. Now Hyrcanus was by degrees inflamed 
 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 soon as the affairs of Galilee would 
 give him leave, he came uj) [to Jerusalem], 
 when he had ♦irst placed garrisons in Galilee: 
 however, he came with a sufficient body of 
 soldiers, so many indeed that he niiglit not 
 appear to have with him an army able to over- 
 throw Hyrcanus's government, nor yet so few 
 as to expose him to the insults of those that 
 envied him. However, Seztus Caesar was in 
 fear for the young man, lest he should be 
 taken by his enemies, and brought to punish- 
 ment ; so he sent some to denounce expressly 
 to Hyrcanus, that he should acquit Herod of 
 the capital charge against him ; who acquitted 
 him accordingly, as being otherwise inclined 
 also so to do, for he loved Herod. 
 
 8. 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 
 iiim if he should summon him again ; where- 
 upon those tliat were evil disposed irritated 
 Hyrcanus, and told him that Herod was 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 
 himself; and now, since Herod was made ge- 
 neral of Celesyria and Samaria by Sextus 
 Ca-sar, 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 utmost degree of ter- 
 
 or, and expected he would presently march 
 against him with his army. 
 
 9. Nor was he mistaken in the conjecture 
 he made; for Herod got his army together, 
 out of the anger he bare him for his threaten- 
 ing him witli the accusation in a public court, 
 and led it to Jerusalem, in order to throw 
 
 Hyrcanus down from his kingilom ; and this 
 he had soon done, unless his father and bro. 
 ther had gone out together and broken the 
 force of his fury, and this by exhorting hhn 
 to carry his revenge no farther than to threat- 
 ening and affrighting, but to spare the king, 
 under whom he had been advanced to such a 
 degree 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 acquitted; 
 nor so long to tliink upon what was of a me- 
 lancholy nature, as to be ungrateful for his 
 deliverance ; and if we ought to reckon that 
 God is the arbitrator of success in war, an 
 unjust cause is of more disadvantage than an 
 army can be of advantage ; and that there- 
 fore he ought not to be entirely confident of 
 success 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 counsellors, and this no far- 
 ther than by bringing a shadow of injustice 
 upon him. So Herod was prevailed upon 
 by these arguments, and supposed that what 
 he had already done was sufficient for his fu- 
 ture hopes, and that he had enough shown liis 
 power to the nation. 
 
 10. In the mean time, there was a distur- 
 bance among the Romans about Apamia, and 
 a civil war occasioned by tlie treacherous 
 slaughter of Sextus Cfesar,* by Cecilius Bas- 
 sus, which he perpetrated out of his good-will 
 to Pompey ; he also took the authority over 
 his forces ; but, as the rest of Caesar's com- 
 manders attacked Bassus with their whole 
 army, in order to punish him for the murder 
 of Caesar, Antipater 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 con- 
 Riderable length, Marcus came out of Italy as 
 successor to Sextus. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HI:R0D is made procurator of all SYRIA ; 
 MALTCHUS IS AFRAID OF HIM, AND TAKES 
 ANTIPATER OFF BY POISON : WHEREUPON 
 THE TRIBUNES OF THE SOLDIERS ARE PRE- 
 VAILED WITH TO KILL HI.%L 
 
 § 1. There was at this time a mighty war 
 raised among the Romans, upon the sudden 
 and treacherous slaughter of Casar by Cassius 
 and Brutus, after he had held the govern- 
 ment for three years and seven months, -f- 
 
 • Many writers of the Roman history give an ac- 
 count of this niiinier of Sextus Cjesar, and of the war of 
 Ap.iMiia upon that occasion. 1 hey are citfd in Uean 
 AJilrich's note. 
 
 t In the Antiquities, b. xiv, oh. xi, sect. 1, the dura- 
 tion of tlie r«ga of Julius (.'a^sar is tlire« yaar* sue 
 
CHAl'. XI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 569 
 
 Upon this murde*- there were very great agi- 
 tations, 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 (>*" advancing themselves. 
 Accordingly, Cassius came into Syria, in or- 
 der to receive the forces that were at Apamia, 
 where he procured a reconciliation between 
 Bassus and Marcus, and the legions whicli 
 were at difference with him : so he raised the 
 siege of Apamia, and took upon him the 
 command of the army, and went about ex- 
 acting tribute of the cities, and demanding 
 their money to such a degree as they were 
 not able to bear. 
 
 2. So he gave command that the Jews 
 should bring in seven hundred talents : where- 
 upon Antipater, out of his dread of Cassius's 
 threats, parted the raising of this sum among 
 his sons, and among others of his acquaint- 
 ance, and to be done immediately ; and a- 
 mong them he required one Malichus, who 
 svas at enmity with him, to do his part also, 
 which necessity forced him to do. Now He- 
 rod, in the first place, mitigated the passion 
 of Cassius, by bringing his sliare out of Ga- 
 lilee, which was a hundred talents, on which 
 account he was in the highest favour with 
 him; and when he reproached tlie rest for 
 being tardy, he was angry st the cities them- 
 selves ; so he made slaves of Gophna and 
 Emmaus, and two others of less note : nay, 
 ne proceeded as if he would kill Malichus, 
 because he had not made greater haste in ex- 
 acting his tribute ; but Antipater prevented 
 the ruin of this man, and of the other cities, 
 and got into Cassius's favour by bringing in a 
 hundred talents immediately.* 
 
 3. However, when Cassius was gone, Ma- 
 lichus forgot the kindness that Antipater had 
 done him, and laid frequent plots against him 
 that had saved him, as making haste to get 
 him out of the way, who was an obstacle to 
 bis wicked practices; but Antipater was so 
 much afraid of the power and cunning of the 
 man, that lie went beyond Jordan, in order to 
 get an army to guard himself against his 
 treacherous designs; but when Malichus was 
 caught in his plot, he put upon Antipater's 
 sons by his impudence, for he thoroughly de- 
 luded Phasaclus, who was the guardian of 
 Jerusalem, and Herod who was entrusted 
 with the weapons of war, and this by a great 
 many excuses and oaths, and persuaded them 
 
 months; but here three years seven months, beginning 
 rightly, says Dean AWrich, from his second diclator- 
 ship. It is probable the rual duration might be three 
 years, aud between six and seven months. 
 
 » It ajipears evidently bv Josephus's accounts, both 
 here and in his Antiquities,' (b. xiv, cli. xi, sect. 2), that 
 this Cassius, one of Caesar's murderers, was a bitter op- 
 pressor, and exacter of tribute in Judea. These seven 
 hundred talents .imount to about three hundred thou- 
 sand pounds sterling, and are about half the yearly re- 
 venues of king Hesod afterwards. See the note on \n- 
 tiq. b. xvii, ch. xi, sect. 4. It also appears that Galilee 
 then paid no mote than one hundred talent^ or the se- 
 »et>th part of tlie sum to be levied in all the countrj 
 
 to procure his reconciliation to his father 
 Thus was he preserved again by Antipater, 
 who dissuaded Marcus, the then president of 
 Syria, from his resolution of killing Malichus, 
 on account of his attempts for innovation. 
 
 4. 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 Sy- 
 ria ; and because Herod was likely to have a 
 great share in providing necessaries, they then 
 made him procurator of all Syria, and gave 
 him an army of foot and horse. Cassius pro- 
 mised him also, that after the war was over, 
 he would make him king of Judea ; but it 
 so happened, that the power and hojjes of his 
 son became the cause of his perdition ; for, 
 as Malichus was afraid of this, he corrupted 
 one of the king's cup-bearers with money, to 
 give a poisoned potion to Antipater; so he 
 became a sacrifice to Malichus's wickedness, 
 and died at a feast. He vi'as a man, in other 
 respects, aciive in the management of affairs, 
 and one that recovered the government to 
 Hyrcanus, and preserved it in his hands. 
 
 5. 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 tiiat Herod would be quiet, who in- 
 deed came, upon him with an army presently, 
 in order to revenge his father's death ; but, 
 upon hearing the advice of his brother Pha- 
 saelus, not to punish him in an open man- 
 ner, lest the multitude should fall into a se- 
 dition, he admitted of Malichus's apology, 
 and professed that he cleared him of the sus- 
 picion ; he also made a pompous funeral for 
 his father. 
 
 6. So Herod went to Samaria, which v,-as 
 then in a tumult, and settled the city in 
 peace ; after which, at the [ Pentecost] festi- 
 val, he returned to Jerusalem, having hig 
 armed men with him ; hereupon Hyrcanus, 
 at the request of Malichus, who feared his 
 approach, forbade them to introduce foreign- 
 ers to mix themselves with the people of the 
 country, while they were purifying them- 
 selves ; 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 of his lamen- 
 tation as real], although he liad much ado to 
 restrain his passion at him ; however, he did 
 himself bewail the murder of his father in his 
 letters to Cassius, who, on other accounts, 
 also hated Malichus. Cassius 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. 
 
 3 B 
 
670 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 7. And because, upon ths taking of Lao- 
 tlicta by Cassius, the men of power were got- 
 ten together from all quarters, with presents 
 and crowns in their hands, Herod allotted 
 this time for the punisliment of Malichus. 
 When Malichus suspected that, and was at 
 Tvre, he resolved to withdraw his son pri- 
 vately from among the Tyrians, who was an 
 hostage there, while he got ready to fly away 
 into Jiidea; the despair he was in of escap- 
 ing, 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. 
 
 8. But fate laughed at the hopes he had, 
 for Ilerod 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 tilings ready 
 for supper, but in reality to give notice be- 
 forehand about the plot that was laid against 
 him ; accordingly they called to mind what 
 or(Jers Cassius had given them, and went out 
 of the city with their swords in their hands 
 upon the sea-shore, where they encompassed 
 Malichus round about, and killed him with 
 many wounds. Upon which Hyrcanus was 
 immediately afiVighted, till he swooned away, 
 and fell down at the surprise he was in ; and 
 it was with difficulty that he was recovered, 
 when he asked who it was that had killed 
 
 by himself too hard for Felix, and reproached 
 Hyrcanus on account of his ingratitude, botli 
 for what assistance he had afibrded Malichus, 
 and for overlooking Malichus's brother, when 
 he possessed himseif of the fortresses ; for he 
 had gotten a great many of them already, and 
 among them the strongest of them all. Ma- 
 sad a. 
 
 2. However, nothing could be sufficient 
 for him against the force of Herod, who, as 
 soon as he was recovered, took the other for- 
 tresses again, and drove him out of Masada 
 in the posture of a supplicant ; he also drove 
 away Marion, the tyrant of the Tyrians, oul 
 of Galilee, when he had already })Ossessed 
 himself of three fortified places; but as to 
 those Tyrians whom he had caught, he [ire- 
 served them all alive ; nay, some of them he 
 gave presents to, and so sent them away, and 
 thereby procured good-will to him.self from the 
 city, and hatred to the tyrant. Marion had in- 
 deed obtained that tyrannical power of Cassius, 
 who set tyrants over all Syria;* and out of 
 hatred to Her.-^d it was that he assisted Anii- 
 gonus, the son of Aristobulus, and princi- 
 pally on Fabius's account, whom Antigonus 
 liad made his assistant by money, and Iiad 
 hira accordingly on his side when he made 
 his descent ; but it was Ptolemy, the kins- 
 man of Antigonus, that supplied all that he 
 wanted. 
 
 3. When Herod had fought against these 
 in the avenues of Judea, he was conqueror in 
 the battle, and drove away Antigonus, and 
 
 Malichus. And when one of the tribunes returned to Jerusalem, beloved by every body 
 
 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, 
 tbyt he was obliged to commend the action 
 by saying so, is uncertain; hc^-ever, by this 
 method Herod inflicted punishment upon 
 Muli'-hus. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 I'llASAtl.US IS TOO HAllD lOR FEUX ; HEROD 
 ALSO OVEUCOMES ANTIGONUS IN BATTLE : 
 ANU THE JEWS ACCUSE BOTH HEROD AND 
 IHASAEI.US ; EUT ANTONIUS At:QUlTS THEM, 
 AND MAICES THEiM TETRARCHS. 
 
 ^f 1. WtlEN Cassius was gone out of Syria, 
 anotiier sedition arose at Jerusalem, wherein 
 Felix assaulted Phasaelus with an army, that 
 he might revenge the death of Malichus up- 
 on lleiod, by falling upon his brother. Now 
 ilerod happened then to be witli Fabius, the 
 governor of Damascus, and as he was going 
 to his brother's assistance, he was detained 
 by sickness ; in the mean time, Phasaelus was 
 
 for the glorious action he had done ; for 
 those who did not before favour him, did 
 join themselves to him now, because of his 
 marriage into the family of Hyrcanus ; for 
 as he had formerly married a wife out of his 
 own country of no ignoble blood, who was 
 called Doris, of whom lie begat Antipater, sc 
 did he now marry Mariamne, the daughter of 
 Alexander, the son of Aristobuius, and the 
 grand-daughter of Hyrcanus, and was be- 
 come thereby a relation of the king. 
 
 4. Rut when Ca;sar and Antony had slain 
 Cassius near Philippi, and Ca;sar was gone 
 to Italy, and Antony to Asia, amongst 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 
 Antony his friend by the large sums of mo- 
 ney he gave hmi, he brought him to such a 
 temper as not to hear the others speak against 
 him ; and thus did they jiart at this time. 
 
 5. However, after this there came a iiun- 
 
 « t'ere we sec that Cassiuij^set tyrants over all Syria; 
 so that his assisting to destroy Ca;sar does not seciii to 
 have proceeded from l\is true zeal for public liberly 
 but from a desire to boa tyrant J"irase!/. 
 
CHAP. xm. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 67) 
 
 (Ired of the principal men among the Jews to 
 Daphne by Antioch, to Antony, who was al- 
 ready in love with Cleopatra to the degree of 
 slavery ; these Jews put those men that were 
 the most potent, both in dignity and elo- 
 quence, foremost, and accused the brethren.* 
 But Messala opposed them, and defended the 
 brethren, 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 fittest to go- 
 vern; who replied, that Herod and his party 
 were the fittest, Antony was glad of that 
 answer, for he had been formerly treated in 
 an hospitable and obliging manner by his fa- 
 ther Antipater, when he marched into Judea 
 with Gabinius ; so he constituted the breth- 
 ren tetrarchs, and committed to them the go- 
 vernment of Judea. 
 
 6. But vi'hen the ambassadors had indig- 
 nation at this procedure, Antony tisok 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 occa- 
 sion a still greater tumult arose at Jerusa- 
 lem ; so they sent again a thousand ambassa- 
 dors to Tyre, where Antony now abode, as 
 he was marching to Jerusalem ; upon these 
 men who made a clamour, he sent out the 
 governor of Tyre, and ordered him to punish 
 all that he could catch of them, and to settle 
 those in the administration whom he had 
 made tetrarchs. 
 
 7. But before this, Herod and Hyrcanus 
 went out upon the sea-shore, and earnestly 
 desired of these ambas'-;adors that they would 
 neither bring ruin upon themselves, nor war 
 upon their native country, by their rash con- 
 tentions ; and when they grew still more out- 
 rageous, Antony sent out armed men, and 
 slew a great many, and wounded more of 
 them : of whom those that were slain were 
 buried by 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 affairs of the city into such 
 disorder, and so provoked Antony, that lie 
 slew those whom lie had put in bonds also. 
 
 cnAPTE.li xnr. 
 
 THE PARTIIIANS BRING ANTIGONUS BACK INTO 
 JUDEA, AND CAST HYRCiVNUS AND PHASAE- 
 LUS INTO PRISON. THE FLIGHT OF HEROD, 
 AND THE TAKING OF JERUSALEM, AND V/HAT 
 HYRCANUS AND PHASAELUS SUFFERED. 
 
 § 1. Now two years afterward, when Barza- 
 pharnes, a governor among the Parthians, 
 and Pacorus, the king's son, had possessed 
 themselves of Syria, and when Lysanias had 
 
 • riiaiieliii aiid Herod. ^ 
 
 already succeeded, upon the death of his father 
 Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, in the govern- 
 ment [of Chalcis], he prevailed with the go- 
 vernor, by a promise of a thousand talents, 
 and five hundred women, to bring back An- 
 tigonus to his kingdom, and to turn Hyrca- 
 nus out of it. Pacorus was by these means 
 induced so to do, and marched along the 
 sea-coast, while he ordered Barzapharnes to 
 fall upon the Jews as he went along the Me- 
 diterranean part of the coimtry ; but of the 
 maritime people, the Tyrians would not re- 
 ceive Pacorus, although those of Ptolemais 
 and Sidon had received him ; so he commit- 
 ted a troop of his horse to a certain cup- 
 bearer belonging to the royal family, of hi* 
 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 assist- 
 I ance. 
 
 I 2. Now, as these men were ravaging C<)r- 
 mel, many of the Jews ran together to Anti- 
 gonus, and showed themselves ready to make 
 an incursion into the country ; so he sent 
 them before into that place called Drymus 
 [the woodland], f to seize upon the place; 
 whereupon a battle was fought between them; 
 and they drove the enemy away, and pur- 
 sued them, and ran after them as far as Je- 
 rusalem, and as tlieir numbers increased, they 
 proceeded as f;ir as the king's palace; but as 
 Hyrcanus and Phasaelus received them with 
 a strong body of men, there happened a bat- 
 tle in the market-place, in which Herod's 
 party beat the enemy, and shut them up in 
 the temple, and set sixty men in the houses 
 adjoining as a guard on them. But the peo- 
 ple that were tumultuous against the breth- 
 ren came in and burnt those men ; while He- 
 rod, in his rage for killing them, attacked 
 and slew many of the people, till one party 
 made incursions on the other by turns, day 
 by d:iy, in the way of ambushes ; and slaugh- 
 ters were made continually among them. 
 
 3 Now, when that festival which we call 
 
 Pentecost was at hand, all the places about 
 
 the temple, and the whole city was full of a 
 
 multitude of people that were come out of the 
 
 country, and who were the greatest part of 
 
 them armed also, at which time Phasaelus 
 
 guarded the wall, and Herod, with a few, 
 
 guarded the royal palace ; and when he made 
 
 an assault upon his enemies, as they were out 
 
 j of their ranks, on the north quarter of tlie 
 
 j city, he slew a very great number of them, 
 
 and put them all to flight; and some of them 
 
 I he shut up within the city, and otlsers within 
 
 I the outward rampart. In the mean time An- 
 
 * tigonus desired that Pacorus might be admit- 
 
 j t Tills large and noted wood, or woodland, bclongrng 
 I to Carmel, called A^uus; by the Septiiagint, ii mention- 
 led in the Old Testament, t' Kings xix, 23; and Isa 
 xxxvii, '.'4; and StralK), b. xvi, p. "58; as both AlJrich 
 I and Spanheim here remark very jMirtineutly. 
 
hl'i 
 
 WARS OF THK JEWS. 
 
 BOOK X 
 
 ted to l)e a reconciler between them ; and 
 Phasaelus was prevailed upon to admit the 
 Parthian into the city with tive hundred horse, 
 and to treat him in an hospitable manner, 
 wlio pretended that he came to quell the tu- 
 mult, but in reality he came to assist Anti- 
 gonus ; however, he laid a plot for Phasae- 
 lus, and persuaded him to go as an ambassa- 
 dor to Barzapharnes, in order to put an end 
 to the war, although Herod was very earnest 
 with him to the contrary, and exhorted him 
 to kill the plotter, but not expose himself to 
 the snares he had laid for him, because the 
 barbarians are naturally perfidious. How- 
 ever, Pacorus went out and took Hyrcanus 
 with him, that he might be the less suspected ; 
 be also * left some of the horsemen, called the 
 Freemen, with Herod, and conducted Phasa- 
 elus with the rest. 
 
 4, But now, when they were come to Ga- 
 lilee, they found that the people of that coun- 
 try had revolted, and were in arms, who came 
 very cunningly to their leader, and besought 
 him to conceal his treacherous intentions by 
 an obliging behaviour to thetn ; accordingly, 
 he at first made thein presents, and afterward, 
 as they went away, laid ambushes for them ; 
 and, when they were come to one of the mari- 
 time cities called Ecdippon, they perceived 
 that a plot was laid for them ; for they were 
 there informed of the promise of a thousand 
 talents, and how Antigonus had devoted the 
 greatest number of the women that were there 
 with them, among the five hundred, to the 
 Parthians ; they also perceived that an am- 
 bush was always laid for them by the barba- 
 rians in the night-time ; they had also been 
 seized on before this, unless they had waited 
 for the seizure of Herod first at Jerusalem, 
 because, if he were once informed of this 
 treachery of theirs, he would take care of 
 liimEelf J nor was this a mere report, for 
 they saw the guards already not far ofi' them. 
 5. Nor would Phasaelus think of forsaking 
 Hyrcanus and fiying away, although Ophel- 
 lius earnestly persuaded him to it; for this 
 man had learned the whole scheme of the plot 
 from Saramalla, the richest of all the Syrians. 
 15ut Phasaelus went up to the Parthian go- 
 vernor, and reproached Iiim to his face for 
 laying this treacherous plot against them, and 
 chieHy because he had done it for money ; 
 and he promised him, that he would give him 
 more money for their preservation, than An- 
 tigonus had promised to give for the king- 
 dom. But the sly Parthian endeavoured to 
 remove all his suspicion by apologies and by 
 oaths, and then went to [the other] Pacorus ; 
 immediately after which those Parthians who 
 were left, and had it in charge, seized upon 
 
 • These accounts, both here and Antiq. b. xiv. ch. 
 xiii, sect fj, that the Parthians fought chiefly on horse- 
 Vjack, and that only some few of their soldiers were free- 
 men, perfectlv agree with Trogus Pompeius, in Jus- 
 tin, b. xli, -J, '5, as Dean Aldrieh well observes this 
 pbce. 
 
 Pliasaelus and Hyrcanus, who could do no 
 more than curse their perfidiousness and their 
 perjury. 
 
 6. In the mean titne the cup-bearer was 
 sent [back], and laid a plot how to seize upon 
 Herod, by deluding him, and getting him out 
 of the city, as he vvas commanded to do. 
 But Herod suspected the barbarians from the 
 beginning; and having then received intelli. 
 gence tliat a messenger, who was to bring 
 Jiim the letters that informed him of the 
 treachery intended, had fallen among the ene- 
 my, he would not go out of the city ; though 
 Pacorus said, very positively, that he ought 
 to go out, and meet the messengers tiiat 
 brought the letters, for that the enemy had not 
 taken them, and that the contents of them were 
 not accounts oi' any plots upon them, but of 
 what Phasaelus had done; yet had he heard 
 from others that his brother was seized ; and 
 Alexandra,-)- the shrewdest woman in the 
 world, Hyrcanus's daughter, begged of him 
 that he would not go out, nor trust himself 
 to those barbarians, who now were come to 
 make an attempt upon him openly. 
 
 7. Now, as Pacorus and his friends were 
 considering how they might bring their plot 
 to bear privately, because it was not possible 
 to circumvent a man of so great prudence by 
 openly attacking him, Herod prevented them, 
 and went off with the persons that were the 
 most nearly related to him by night, and this 
 without their enemies being apprised of it. 
 But, as soon as the Parthians perceived it, 
 they pursued after them ; and, as he gave or- 
 ders for his mother, and sister, and the young 
 woman who was betrothed to him, with her 
 mother, and his youngest brother, to make 
 the best of their vvay, he himself, vvith liis 
 servants, took all the care they could to keep 
 off the barbarians ; and when, at every assault, 
 he had slain a great many of them, he came 
 to the strong-hold of Masada. 
 
 8. Nay, he found by experience that the 
 Jews fell more heavily upon him than did 
 the Parthians, and created him troubles per- 
 petually, and this ever since he was gotten 
 sixty furlongs from the city ; these sometimes 
 brought it to a sort of a regular battle. Now, 
 in the place where Herod beat them, and kill- 
 ed a great number of them, there he afterward 
 built a citadel, in memory of the great actions 
 he did there, and adorned it with the most 
 costly palaces, and erected very strong forti- 
 fications, and called it, from his own name, 
 Herodium. Now, as they were in their flight, 
 many joined themselves to him every day ; 
 and at a place called Thressa of Idumea, his 
 brother Joseph met him, and advised him to 
 ease himself of a great number of his follow- 
 ers ; because Masada would not contain so 
 great a multitude, which were above nine 
 thousand. Herod complied with this advice, 
 
 T Mariamne here, in the coi^icr. 
 
CHAP. XIV. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 573 
 
 and sent away the most cumbersome part of 
 his retinue, that they might go into Itlumea, 
 and gave them provisions for tlieir journey ; 
 but he got safe to the fortress with his nearest 
 relations, and retained with him only the 
 stoutest of his followers; and there it was 
 that he left eight hundred of his men as a 
 guard for the women, and provisions suOicient 
 for a siege ; but he made haste himself to 
 Petra of Arabia. 
 
 9. As for the Parthians in Jerusalem, they 
 betook themselves to plundering, and fell upon 
 tlie houses of those that were fled, and upon 
 the king's palace, and spared nothing but 
 Hyrcanus's money, which was not above three 
 hundred talents. They lighted on other men's 
 money also, but not so much as they hoped 
 for; for Herod, having a long while Tiad a 
 suspicion of the perfidiousness of the barbari- 
 ans, liad taken care to have what was most 
 splendid among his treasures conveyed into 
 Iduniea, as every one belonging to him had 
 in like manner done also. But the Parthians 
 proceeded to that degree of injustice, as to 
 fill all the country with war without denounc- 
 ing it, and to demolish the city ]Marissa, and 
 not only to set up Antigonus for king, but to 
 \Jeliver Phasaelus and Hyrcanus bound into 
 his hands, in order to their being tormented 
 by him. Antigonus himself also bit off Hyr- 
 canus's ears with his own teeth, as he fell 
 down upon his knees to hiin, that so he might 
 never be able, upon any mutation of affairs, 
 to take the high-priesthood again ; for the 
 high-priests that officiated were to be complete, 
 and without blemisli. 
 
 10. However, he failed in liis purpose of 
 abusing Phasaelus, Ijy reason of his courage, 
 for though he neither had the command of his 
 sword nor of his hands, he prevented all abuses 
 by dashing his head against a stone ; so he de- 
 monstrated himself to be Herod's owiibrother, 
 and Hyrcanus a most degenerate relation, and 
 died with great bravery, and made the end of 
 his life agreeable to the actions of it. There 
 is also another report about his end, viz. that 
 he recovered of that stroke, and that a sur- 
 geon, who was sent by Antigonus to heal 
 him, filled the wound with poisonous ingre- 
 dients, and so killed him. Whichsoever of 
 these deaths he came to, the beginning of it 
 was glorious. It is also reported, that before 
 he expired, he was informed by a certain poor 
 v\ Oman how Herod had escaped out of their 
 hands, and that he said thereupon, " I now 
 die with comfort, since I leave behind me one 
 alive that will avenge me of mine enemies." 
 
 11. Tills was the death of Pliasaelus ; but 
 die Parthians, although they had failed of the 
 women they cliiefly desired, yet did they put 
 Uie government of Jerusalem into the hands 
 of Antigonus, and took away Hyrcanus, and 
 bound him, and carried liim to Partbia. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHEN HEROD IS REJECTED IN ARABIA, HE 
 MAKES HASTE TO ROME, WHERE ANTONY 
 AND C'.liSAR JOIN THEIR INTEREST TO MAKE 
 HIM KING OF THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. Now Herod did the more zealouslv pur- 
 sue 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 lie hoped to prevail 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 re- 
 deem his brother, and put into his hands, as a 
 pledge, the son of him that was to be redeem- 
 ed. Accordingly he led his brother's son 
 along with him, wiio was of the age of seven 
 years. Now lie was ready to give three hun- 
 dred 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 since Pliasaelus 
 was dead, Herod's brotherly love was now in 
 vain. Moreover, he was notable 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- 
 thians as a pretence for so doing, as though 
 thtse had denounced to hiin by their ambas- 
 sadors 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 advice of those who, equally with 
 himself, were v.illing to deprive Herod of 
 what Aniipater had deposited among them ; 
 and these men were the most potent of all 
 whom he had in his kingdom. 
 
 2. So when Herod had found that the Ara- 
 bians were his enemies, and tliis 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 ?.nd went for Egj pt. Now he 
 lodged the first evening at one of the temples 
 of that country, in order to nieet with those 
 whom he left behind ; but on the next day word 
 was brought him, as he was going to llhino- 
 curura, that his brothc«r was dead, and how he 
 came by his death ; and when he had lament- 
 ed him as much as his present ciicumstances 
 could bear, he soon laid aside such cares, and 
 proceeded on his journey. But now, after 
 some time, the king of Arabia repented of 
 what he had done, and sent presently away 
 i messengers to call him back : Herod had pre* 
 
574 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 vented them, and was come to Pulusium, I 
 where he could not obtain a passage from 
 those that lay witli the fleet, so he besought 
 their captains to let him go by them ; accord- 
 ingly, out of tlie reverence they bore to the 
 fame and dignity of the man, they conducted 
 him to A lexandria ; and %vhen lie came into 
 the city, he was received by Cleopatra with 
 great splendour, — who hoped he might bv 
 persuaded to be commander of her forces in 
 the expedition she was now about. But he 
 rejected the queen's solicitations, and being 
 neither affrighted at the height of that storm 
 which then happened, nor at the tumults that 
 were now in Italy, he sailed for Rome. 
 
 3. But as he was in peril about Pamphy- 
 lia, and obliged to cast out the greatest part 
 of the ship's lading, he, with difficulty, got 
 safe to Rhodes, a place which had been griev- 
 ously 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 I'ome with all speed; where he first of all 
 went to Antony, on account of the friendship 
 his father had vNith l-im, and laid before him 
 the calamities of huiiself and his family; 
 and that he had left his nearest relations be- 
 sieged in a fortress, and had sailed to him 
 through a storm, to make supplication to him 
 for assistance. 
 
 4. 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 himself formerly made tetrarch. The 
 contest 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 as a seditious per- 
 son, 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 
 liad shown to him ; besides the activity which 
 he saw in Herod himself. So he called the 
 senate together, wherein Messalas, and after 
 him Atratinus, produced Herod before them, 
 and gave a full account of the merits of liis 
 father; and his own good will to the Romans. 
 At the same time they demonstrated that An- 
 tigonus was their enemy, not only because he 
 soon (juarrelled with them, but because he 
 now overlooked the Romans, and took the 
 government by the means of the Parthians. 
 
 » This Breiitfsium or nrundiisium has coins still 
 preserved, on which is written BPENAH210IiN, as 
 Spaiineim infurms lis- 
 
 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 Csesar 
 went out, with Herod between them; while 
 the consul and the rest of the magistrates 
 went before them, in order to offer sacrifices, 
 and to lay the decree in the Capitol. Antony 
 Iso made a feast for Herod on the first day 
 of his reiiin. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ANTIGONUS BESIEGES THOSE THAT WERE IN 
 JIASADA, WHOM HEKOD FREES FROM CON- 
 FINEMENT WHEN HE CAME LACK FROM 
 ROME, AND PRESENTLY MARCHES TO JERU- 
 SAEKM, WHERE HE FINDS SILO CORRLITED 
 BY BUIEES. 
 
 § 1. Now during this time, Antigonus be- 
 sieged those that were in Masada, who had all 
 other necessaries in sufficient rjiiantity, but 
 were in want of water ; on which account 
 Joseph, Herod's brother, was disposed to run 
 away to the Arabians, «ith two hundred 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, 
 insomuch that his reservoirs were full of wa- 
 ter, and so he was under no necessity of run- 
 ning away. After which, therefore, they 
 made an irruption upon Antigonus's party, 
 and slew a great many of them, some in open 
 battles, and soine in private ambush ; nor had 
 they always success in their attempts, for 
 sometimes they were beaten, and ran away. 
 
 2. In the mean time Ventidius, the Roman 
 general, 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 Jerusa- 
 lem, as soon as he had got money enough, he 
 went away with the greatest ))art 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 Antigonus hoped that the 
 Parthians would come again to Iris assistance, 
 and therefore cultivated a good understanding 
 with Silo in the mean time, lest any interrup- 
 tion should be given to his hopes. 
 
 3. Now by this time Herod liad sailed out 
 of Italy, and was come to Ptolemais : and as 
 soon as be had gotten together no small army 
 
 1 of foreigners, and of his own countrymen, he 
 
 "V 
 
 _r 
 
"V 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 marched through Galilee against Antigonus, 
 wherein he was assisted by Ventidius and Si- 
 lo, both whom Dellius,* a person sent by 
 Antony, persuaded to bring Herod j^into his 
 kingdom]. Now Ventidius was at this time 
 among the cities, and composing the distur- 
 bances which had happened by means of the 
 Partliians, as was Silo in Judea corrupted by 
 the bribes that Antigonus had given him ; yet 
 was not Herod himself destitute of power, 
 but the number of his forces increased every 
 day as he went along, and all Galilee, with 
 few exceptions, joined themselves to him. 
 So he proposed to himself to set about his 
 most necessary enterprise, and that was Mas- 
 ada, 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 Jerusalem, no fortress might be 
 left in the enemies' power behind liim. Silo 
 also willingly joined him, as having now a 
 plausible occasion of drawing off liis forces 
 [from Jerusalem] ; and when the Jews pur- 
 sued him, and pressed upon him [in his re- 
 treat], Herod made an excursion upon them 
 with a small body of liis men, and soon put 
 them to flight, and saved Silo when he was in 
 distress. 
 
 4. After this, Herod took Joppa, and then 
 made haste to Masada to free his relations. 
 Now, as he was marching, many came in to 
 him ; some induced by their friendship to his 
 father, some by the reputation he iiad already , 
 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 tiie hopi's from him, when he ' 
 should be established in his kingdom ; so that 
 he had gotten together already an army h;ird \ 
 to be conquered. But Antigonus laid an 
 ambush for him as lie marched out, in which : 
 lie did little or no harm to his enemies. How- ' 
 ever, he easily recoverea his relations again , 
 that were in Masada, as well as the fortress 
 liessa, and then marched to Jerusalem, ' 
 where the soldiers that were with Silo joined 
 themselves to his own, as did many out of 
 tlie city, from a dread of his power. 
 
 5. 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 i 
 darts at them, while others ran out in com- 
 panics, and attacked those in the fore-front ; ' 
 but Herod commanded 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 tc be revenged I 
 on his open enemies, but to grant oblivion to 
 them, though they had been the most obsti- 
 nate against him. Now the soldiers that 
 
 » This Delliiis is famous, or rather infamous, in the I 
 History of Mark Antony, asSpanlieiin and Aliiriuh here 
 uote, from tlu' conis from Plutarcli and Uio. ' 
 
 bit 
 
 were for Antigonus made a contrary clamour, 
 and did neither permit any body 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 flight. 
 
 6. And here it was that Silo discovered he 
 had taken bribes ; for he set many of the sol- 
 diers to clamour about tlieir want of necessa- 
 ries, 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 quarters ; because all tlie parts about 
 the city were laid waste by the means of An- 
 tigonus's army, which had taken all things 
 away. By this he moved the army, and at- 
 tempted to get them ofl' the siege ; but He- 
 rod went to the captains that were under Si- 
 lo, and to a great many of the soldiers, and 
 begged of them not to leave him, who was 
 sent thither by Caesar and 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 oft' 
 all Silo's pretences ; and, in order to provide 
 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 inultitude 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 liim ten cohorts, five of them were Ro- 
 mans, and five were Jewish cohorts, together 
 with some mercenary troops intermixed a- 
 mong them, and besides those a few horse- 
 men, and came to Jericho; and when became 
 he found the city deserted, but that there 
 were five hundred men, with tlieir wives and 
 children, who had taken possession of the 
 tops of the mountains; these he took, and 
 dismissed them, wliile the Romans fell upon 
 the rest of the city, and plundered it, having 
 found the houses full of all sorts of good 
 things. So the king left a garrison at Je- 
 richo, and came back, and sent the Roman 
 army into those cities which were come over 
 to him, to lake their winter quarters there, 
 viz. into Judea [or Idumea], and Galilee, and 
 Samaria. Antigonus also, by bribes, obtain- 
 ed of Silo to let a part of his army be received 
 at Lydda, as a compliment to Antonius. 
 
576 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HEROD TAKES SEPPHOUIS, AND SUBDUES THE 
 UOBBERS THAT WERE IN THE CAVES ; HE 
 AFTER THAT AVENGES HIMSELF UPON MA- 
 CHERAS, AS UPON AN ENEMY OF HIS, AND 
 GOES TO ANTONY, AS HE WAS BESIEGING SA- 
 MOSATA. 
 
 § 1. So the Romans lived in plenty of all 
 things, and rested from war. However, He- 
 rod did not lie at rest, but seized upon Idu- 
 mea, and kept it, with two thousand foot- 
 men, and four hundred horsemen ; and this 
 he did by sending his brother Joseph thither, 
 that no innovation might be made by Antigo- 
 nus. He also removed his mother, and all his 
 relations, who had been in IMasada, to Sama- 
 ria ; and wlien he had settled them securely, 
 he marched to take the remaining parts of 
 Galilee, and to drive away the garrisons placed 
 there by Antigonus. 
 
 2. But when Herod had reached Seppho- 
 ris,* in a very great snow, he took tlie city 
 without any difficulty, the guards that should 
 have kept it flying away before it was assault- 
 ed ; where he gave an opportunity to his fol- 
 lowers that had been in distress to refresh 
 themselves, there being in that city a great a- 
 bundance of necessaries. After which he 
 hasted away to the robbers that were in the 
 caves, who overran a great part of the coun- 
 try, and did as great mischief to its inhabitants 
 as a war itself could have done. Accordingly, 
 he sent beforehand three cohorts of footmen, 
 and one troop of horsemen, to the village Ar- 
 bela, and came himself forty days afterwardsf 
 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 boldness 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: hut 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 tlie 
 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. 
 
 3. But Herod followed them, and slew 
 
 • This Sepphori.-;, the metropolis of Galilee, so often 
 mejitionedby.losephiis, has coins still remaining, 2E11- 
 *i2PHNUN, as Spanheim here informs us. 
 
 t This way of speaking, " after forty days," is inter 
 preted by Josephus himself, " on the fourtieth day ;" 
 Antiq. b. xiv, eh. xv, sect. 4. In litLe manner, when 
 Josephus savs, ch. xxxiii, sect. 8, that Herod lived 
 •' after" he 'had ordered Antip.ater to be slam " five 
 davs ;" this is by himself interpreted, Antiq. b. xvii, ch. 
 vii'i, sect. I, that he died " on the fifth day afterward." 
 So also what is iu this book, chan. xiii, sect. 1, " af- 
 ter two years," is, Antiq. b. xiv, ch. xiii, sect, .i, " on 
 the second year ;" and I)ean Aldrieh here notes, that 
 this way of speaking is familiar to Josephus. 
 
 them as he followed them, and destroyed a 
 great part of them, till those that remained 
 were scattered beyond the river [Jordan] ; and 
 Galilee was freed from the terrors they had 
 been under, excepting from those that remain- 
 ed, and lay concealed in caves, which requir- 
 ed longer time ere they could be conquered. 
 In order to which, Herod, in the first place, 
 distributed the fruits of their former labours 
 to the soldiers, and gave every one of them a 
 hundred and fifty 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 provisions, and to 
 build a wall about Alexandriura; who took 
 care of both those injunctions accordingly. 
 
 4. In the mean time Antony abode at A- 
 thens, while Ventidius called for Silo and 
 Herod to come to the war against the Par- 
 thians, but ordered them first to settle the af- 
 fairs of Judea : so Herod willingly dismissed 
 Silo to go to Ventidius; but he made an ex- 
 pedition himself against those that lay in tlie 
 caves. Now these caves were in the preci- 
 pices of craggy mountains, and could not be 
 come at from any side, since they had only 
 some winding path-ways, 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 perpendicular 
 declivity ; insomuch that the king was doubt- 
 ful 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 rob- 
 bers and their families, and when they made 
 resistance, they sent in fire upon them, [and 
 burnt them] ; and as Herod was desirous of 
 saving some of them, he had proclamation 
 made, that they should come and deliver 
 themselves up to liim ; but not one of them 
 came willingly to him; and of those that 
 were coinpelled to come, many preferred 
 death to captivity. And here a certain old 
 man, the father of seven children, whose chil- 
 dren, together with their mother, desired him 
 to give them leave to go out, upon the assur- 
 ance and -right hand that was offered them, 
 slew them after the following manner : — He 
 ordered every one of them to go out, while 
 he stood himself at the cave's mouth, and 
 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 to 
 spare his children ; yet did not he relent at 
 all upon what he said, but over and above re- 
 proached Herod on the lowncss of his descent, 
 and slew his wife as well as his children ; and 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. XVII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 577 
 
 when he had thrown their dead bodies down 
 the precipice, he at last tlirew himself down 
 ai'tef tlieni. 
 
 5. By this means Herod subdued these 
 caves, and the robbers that were in them. He 
 then left there a part of liis army, as many as 
 he thought sufficient to prevent any sedition, 
 and made Ptolemy their general, and return- 
 ed to Samaria : he led also with him three 
 thousand armed footmen, and six hundred 
 horsemen, against Antigonus. Now here 
 those that used to raise tumults in Galilee, 
 having liberty so to do upon his departure, 
 fell unexpectedly upon Ptolemy, 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 thisinsurrection, 
 he came to tlie 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 a hundred talents of his enemies, 
 as a penalty for the mutations they had made 
 in the country. 
 
 6. By this time (the Parthians being already 
 driven out of the country, and Pacorus slainj 
 Ventidius, by Antony's command, sent a 
 thousand horsemen, and two legions, as auxi- 
 liaries to Herod, against Antigonus. Now 
 Antigonus besought Maclieras, 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 ; and promised to give 
 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 pre- 
 tended friendship to Antigonus, but came as 
 a spy to discover his affairs, although he did 
 not herein comply with Herod, who dissuaded 
 bim from so doing; but Antigonus perceived 
 what his intentions were beforehand, and ex- 
 cluded him out of the city, and defended him- 
 self against him as against an enemy, from 
 the walls ; till Macberas was ashamed of what 
 he had done, and retired to Einmaus to He- 
 rod ; and, as he was in a rage at his disap- 
 pointment, he slew all the Jews whom he met 
 with, without sparing tl)ose that were for He- 
 rod, but using them all as if they were for 
 Antigonus. 
 
 7. Hereupon Herod was very angry at him, 
 and was going to figlit against INIacheras as 
 his enemy; but he restrained his indignation, 
 and marched to Antony to accuse Macherasof 
 mal-adniinistration; but Macheras was made 
 sensil)le of his offences, and followed after the 
 king immediately, and earnestly begged and 
 obtained that he would be reconciled to him. 
 However, Herod did not desist from his reso- 
 lution of going to Antony; but when he 
 
 A. 
 
 heard that he was besieging Samosata * with 
 a great army, which is a strong city near to 
 Euphrates, he made the greater haste; as ob- 
 serving that this was a proper opportunity for 
 showing at once his courage, 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 bar- 
 barians, and took from them a large prey ; 
 insomuch tliat Antony, who admired his cou- 
 rage 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 XVri. 
 
 THE DEATH OF JOSEPH [HFROD'S BROTHER], 
 WHICH HAD BEEK SIGNIFIED TO HEROD IN 
 DREAJIS. HOW HEROD WAS PRESERVED 
 TWICE, AFTER A WONDERFUL MANNER. 
 HE COTS OFF THE HEAD OF PAPPUS, WHO 
 WAS THE JIURDERER OF HIS BROTHER, AND 
 SENDS THAT HEAD TO [HIS OTHER BRO- 
 THER] PHERORAS. AND IN NO LONG TIME 
 HE BESIEGES JERUSALEM, AND MARRIES 
 MARIAJINE. 
 
 § I. Ik 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 
 Antigouus till his return; for that Macheras 
 would rot 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 ne- 
 glected the charge he had received, and march- 
 ed towards 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 difficult 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 of Syria, 
 and there was no mixture of those called ve- 
 teran soldiers among them, who might have 
 supported those that were unskilful in war. 
 
 2. This victory was not sufficient for An- 
 tigonus ; but he proceeded to that degree of 
 rage, as to treat the dead body of Joseph bar- 
 barously ; for when he had gotten possession 
 of the bodies of those that were slain, he cut 
 
 * This Samosata, the metropolis of Commagena, ii 
 weH known) from its coins, as Ppanlicim here assure? us. 
 Dean Aldrich also confirms what Josephuf hpre riolts, 
 that Herod wAti a great intans of taking *Jiv- eily bv Ai» 
 tony, and that from PluUrctj aud Dio. 
 
 3 C 
 
578 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 off his head, although his brother Pheroras 
 would liave given fifty 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 Antigo- 
 nus's party brought the principal men tliat 
 ■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 fortresses, 
 that was called Gittha. But Herod 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 against An- 
 tigonus, 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. 
 
 3. Now when Herod was at Daphne, by 
 Antioch, he had some dreams which clearly 
 foreboded his brother's death ; and as he leap- 
 ed out of his bed in a disturbed manner, there 
 came messengers that acquainted him with that 
 calamity. So when he had lamented this mis- 
 fortune for a while, he put off" tlie main part 
 of his mourning, and made haste to marcli 
 against his enemies ; and when he had per- 
 forir\ed a march that was above his strength, 
 and was gone as far as Libanus, he got eight 
 nundred 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 irruption into Gali- 
 lee, and met his enemies, and drove them 
 back to the place which tiiey had left. He 
 also made an immediate and continued 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 them- 
 selves to him, the enemy were affrighted at 
 his power, and left their fortifications in the 
 night-time. 
 
 4. After this he marched through Jericho, 
 as making what haste he could to be avenged 
 on his brother's murderers: where happened 
 to him a providential sign, out of whicli when 
 he had unexpectedly escaped, he had the re- 
 putation 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 were gone out, the house fell 
 down immediately. 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 six thousand of his enemies come 
 running down from the mountains, and be- 
 gan to fight with those in his fore-front ; yet 
 durst they not be so very bold as to engage 
 the Romans hand to hand, but threw sljones 
 and darts at thero at a distance, by which 
 
 means they wounded a considerable number' 
 in which action Herod's own side was wound- 
 ed with a dart. 
 
 5. Now as Antigonus had a mind to ap- 
 pear 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 Ma- 
 cheras. But Herod overran the enemies' 
 country, and demolished five little cities, and 
 destroyed two thousand men that were in 
 them, and burned their houses, and then re- 
 turned to his catup ; but liis head-quarters 
 were at the village called Cana. 
 
 G. Now a great multitude of Jews resorted 
 to him every day, both out of Jericho and the 
 other parts of tlie country. Some were mov- 
 ed so to do out of their hatred to Antigonus, 
 and some out of regard to 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 thein ; and it came to a 
 close fight. Now other parts of their army 
 made resistance for a while: but Herod, run- 
 ning the utmost hasard, 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 al- 
 ways turned his force against those that stood 
 to it still, and pursued them all ; so tliat a 
 great slaughter was made, while some were 
 forced back into that village whence they 
 came out; he also pressed hard upon the hin- 
 dermost, and slew a vast number of them ; 
 he also fell into the village with the enemy, 
 where every house was filled with armed men, 
 and the upper rooms were crowded above with 
 soldiers for their defence ; and when he had 
 beaten those that were on the outside, he 
 pulled the houses to pieces, and plucked out 
 those that were within ; upon many he had 
 the roofs shaken down, whereby they perished 
 by heaps ; and as for those that fled out of 
 the ruins, the soldiers received them with 
 their swords in their hands ; and the multi- 
 tude of those slain and lying in heaps was so 
 great, that the conquerors could not pass along 
 the roads. Now the enemy could not bear 
 this blow, so that when the multitude of them 
 which was gathered together, saw that those 
 in the village were slain, they dispersed them- 
 selves and fled away ; upon the confidence of 
 which victory, Herod had marched immedi- 
 ately to Jerusalem, unless he had been hin- 
 dered by the depth of winter's [coming on]. 
 This was the impediment that lay in the way 
 of this his entire glorious progress, and was 
 what hindered Antigonus from being now 
 conquered, who was already disposed to for- 
 sake the city. 
 
 7. Now when at the evening Herod had 
 
 '-Y. 
 
CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 579 
 
 already dismissed liis friends to refresh them- 
 selves after their fatijfue, and when he was 
 gone himself, while he was still liot in his 
 armour, like a common soldier, to bathe him- 
 self, and had but one servant that attended 
 him, and before he was gotten into the bath, 
 one of the enemies met him in the face with 
 a sword in his hand, and then a second, and 
 tlien a third, and after that more of them ; 
 these were men wiio Lad riui away out of the 
 battle into the bath in their armour, and tliey 
 had lain there for some time in great terror, 
 and in privacy ; and when they saw the Icing, 
 they trembled for fear, and ran by him in a 
 fright, although he was naked, and endea- 
 voured to get off into the public road. Now 
 there was by chance nobody else at hand that 
 might seize upon these men ; and for Herod, 
 he was contented to have come to no harm 
 himself, so tliat they all got away in safety. 
 
 8. But on the next day Herod had Pap- 
 pus's head cut oil', who was the general for 
 Antigonus, and was siuin in the battle, and 
 sent it to his brullicr Plieroras, by way of 
 punishment for their slain breither ; for he 
 was the man that slew Joseph. Now as win- 
 ter was going olf, Herod marched to Jerusa- 
 lem, and brought his army to the wall of it ; 
 this was tlie tliird year since he had been 
 made king at Rome ; so he pitched his camp 
 before the temple, fur on that side it might 
 be besieged ; and there it was that Pompey 
 took the city. So he parted the work among 
 the army, and demolished the suburbs, and 
 raised three banks, and gave orders to have 
 towers built upon those banks, and left the 
 most laborious of his acquaintance at the 
 works. But he went himself to Samaria, to 
 take the daughter of Alexander, the son of 
 Aristobulus, to wife, who had been betrothed 
 to him before, as we have already said ; and 
 thus he accomplished this by the bye, during 
 the siege of the city, for he had his enemies in 
 great contempt already, 
 
 9, When he had tlius married Mariatnne, 
 he came back to Jerusalem with a greater 
 army. Sosius also joined him with a large 
 army, both of horsemen and footmen, which 
 he sent before him through the midland parts, 
 while he marched himself along Phoenicia ; 
 and when the whole army was gotten toge- 
 ther, which were eleven regiments of foot- 
 men, and six thousand horsemen, besides the 
 Syrian auxiliaries, which were no small part 
 of tlie army, they pitched their camp near to 
 the north wall. Herod's dependence was 
 upon the decree of the senaie, by whicli he 
 was made king ; and Sosius relied upon An- 
 tony, who sent the army that was under him 
 to Herod's assistance. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 HOW HEROD AND SOSIUS TOOK JERUSALEM BY 
 FORCE ; AND WHAT DEATH ANTIGONUS CAME 
 TO. ALSO, CONCERNING CLEOPATRa's AVA- 
 KICIOUS TEMPER. 
 
 § 1. Now the multitude of the Jews that were 
 in the city were divideil into several factions, 
 for the people that crowded about the temple, 
 being the weaker part of them, gave it out 
 th.at, as the times were, he was the happiest 
 and most religious man who should die first. 
 But as to the more bold and hardy men, they 
 got together in bodies, and fell a robbing 
 others after various manners, and these par- 
 ticularly plundered the places that were about 
 the city, and this because there was no food 
 left either for the horses or the men ; yet 
 some of the warlike men, who were used to 
 fight regularly, were appointed to defend the 
 «ity during the siege, and these drove those 
 that raised the banks away from the wall ; 
 and these were always inventing one engine 
 or another to be a hindrance to the engines 
 of the enemy; nor had they so much success 
 any way as in the mines under ground. 
 
 2. Now. as for tlie robberies which were 
 committed, the king contrived that ambushes 
 should be so laid, that they might restrain 
 their excursions ; and as for the want of 
 provisions, he provided tiiat they should be 
 brought to them from great distances. He 
 was also too hard for the Jews, by the Ro- 
 mans' skill in the art of war; although they 
 were bold to the utmost degree, now they 
 durst not come to a plain battle with the Ro- 
 mans, which was certain deatli ; but through 
 their mines undv.r ground they would appear 
 in the midst of them on the sudden, and be- 
 fore they could batter down one wall, they 
 built them another in its stead ; and to sum 
 up all at once, they did not show any want 
 either of painstaking or of contrivances, as 
 having resolved to hold out to the very last. 
 Indeed, though they had so great an army 
 lying round about tliem, they bore a siege of 
 five months, till some of Herod's chosen men 
 ventured to get upon the wall, and fell into 
 the city, as did Sosius's centurions after them ; 
 and now the first of all seized upon what was 
 about the temple ; and upon the pouring in 
 of the army, there was slaughter of vast mul- 
 titudes everywhere, by reason of the rage the 
 Romans were in at the length of the siege, 
 and by reason that the Jews that nure about 
 i Herod earnestly cndea*'oured that none of 
 their adversaries might remain ; so they were 
 cut to pieces by great multitudes, and as 
 they were crowded together in narrov/ streets, 
 and in houses, or were running away to the 
 temple ; nor was there any mercy shown either 
 to infants, or to the aged, or to the wejkr 
 
580 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 sex; insomuch, that although the king sent 
 about and desired them to spare the people, 
 nobody could be persuaded to withhold their 
 right hand from slaughter, but they slew 
 people of all ages, like madmen, Tlien it 
 was that Antigonus, without any regard to 
 his former or to his present fortune, came 
 down from the citadel and fell down at So- 
 sius's feet, who, without pitying him at all, 
 upon the change of his condition, laughed at 
 him beyond measure, and called him Anti- 
 gona. * Yet did he not treat him like a wo- 
 man, or let him go free, but put him into 
 bonds, and kept him in custody. 
 
 3. But Herod's concern at present, now he 
 had gotten his enemies under his power, was 
 to restrain the zeal of his foreign auxiliaries ; 
 for the multitude of the strange people were 
 very eager to see the temple, and what was 
 sacred in the holy house itself; but the king 
 endeavoured to restrain them, partly by his 
 exhortations, partly by his threatenings, nay, 
 partly by force, as thinking the victory worse 
 than a defeat to him, if any thing that ought 
 not to be seen were seen by them. He also 
 forbade, at the same time, the spoiling of the 
 city, asking Sosius in the most earnest man- 
 ner, whether the Romans, by thus emptying 
 the city of money and men, had a mind to 
 leave him king of a desert, — and told him, that 
 he judged the dominion of the habitable earth 
 too small a compensation for the slaughter of so 
 many citizens. And when Sosius said, that it 
 was but just to allow the soldiers this plun 
 der, as a reward for what they suffered during 
 the siege, Herod made answer, that he would 
 give every one of the soldiers a reward out of his 
 own money. So he purchased the deliverance 
 of his country, and performed his promises to 
 them, and made presents after a magnificent 
 manner to each soldier, and proportionably to 
 their commanders, and with a most royal 
 bounty to Sossius himself, whereby nobody 
 went away but in a wealthy condition. Here- 
 upon Sosbius dedicated a crown of gold to 
 God, and then went away from Jerusalem, 
 leading Antigonus away in bonds to Antony ; 
 then did the axe bring him to his end,! who 
 still had a fond desire of life, and some frigid 
 hopes of it to the last; but by his cowardly 
 behaviour well deserved to die by it. 
 
 4. Hereupon king Herod distinguished the 
 multitude that was in the city ; and for those 
 that were of his side, he made them still more 
 his friends by the honours he conferred on 
 them ; but for those of Antigonus's party, he 
 slew them : and as his money ran low, he 
 turned all the ornaments he had into money, 
 and sent it to Antony, and to those about 
 him. Yet could he not hereby purchase an 
 
 • This is a woman, not a man. 
 
 t This death of Antigonus is confirmed by Plutarch 
 and Strabo ; the latter of whom is cited for it by Jose- 
 phus himself, Antiq. b. xv, ch. i, sect. 2. as Dean Aid- 
 rich here obstrv«s. 
 
 exemption from all sufferings; for Antony 
 was now bewitched by his love to Cleopatra, 
 and was entirely conquered by her charms. 
 Now Cleopatra had put to death all her kin- 
 dred, till no one near her in blood remained 
 alive, and after that she fell a slaying those 
 no way related to her. So she calumniated 
 the principal men among the Syrians to An- 
 tony, and persuaded him to have ihem slain, 
 that so she might easily gain to be mistress or 
 what they h-id ; nay, she extended her avari- 
 cious humour to the Jews and Arabians, and 
 secretly laboured to have Herod and Malichus, 
 the kings of both those nations, slain by his 
 order. 
 
 5. Now as to these her injunctions to An~ 
 tony, he complied in part ; for though he es- 
 teemed 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 bestowed them upon her ; as also 
 all the cities on this side the river Eleutherus, 
 Tyre and Sidon | excepted. And when she 
 was become mistress of these, and had con- 
 ducted 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 two hundred 
 talents. He conducted her also as far as Pe- 
 lusium, and paid her all the respects possible. 
 Now it was not long after this that Antony 
 was come back from Parthia, and 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 v/as taken with him. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 HOW ANTONY, AT THE PERSUASION OF CLEO- 
 PATRA, SENT HEROD TO FIGHT AGAINST 
 THE ARABIANS ; AND HOW, AFTER SEVERAL 
 BATTLES, HE AT LENGTH GOl THE VICTO- 
 RY. AS ALSO CONCERNING A GREAT EARTH 
 QUAKE. 
 
 § 1. Now when the war about Actium waj 
 begun, Herod prepared to come to tiie assist- 
 ance of Antony, as being already freed from 
 his troubles in Judea, and having gained Hyr- 
 cania, which was a place that was held by 
 
 X This ancient name of Tyre and Sidon under the 
 Romans, taken notice of by'Josephus, botli hire and 
 Antiq. b. xv, ch. iv, sect. 1. is confirmed by the testi- 
 mony of Strabo, b. xvi, p. 75", as Dean Aldrich re- 
 marks ; although, as he justly adds, this liberty lasted 
 a little while longer, when Augustus took it away from 
 tlieiu 
 
 '^- 
 
"V 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 581 
 
 Antigonus's sister. However, he was cun- 
 ningly hindered from partaking of the ha- 
 zards tlmt Antony went tlirough by Cleopa- 
 tra ; for since, as we have already noted, she 
 had laid a plot against the kings [of Jiidea 
 and Arabia], she prevailed with Antony to 
 commit the war against the Arabians to He- 
 rod ; that so, if he got the better, she might 
 become mistress of Arabia, or, if he were 
 worsted, of Judea; and that she might de- 
 stroy one of those kings by the other. 
 
 2. However, this contrivance tended to the 
 advantage of Herod ; for at the very first he 
 took hostages from the enemy, and got toge- 
 ther a great body of horse, and ordered them 
 to march against them about Diospolis ; and 
 he conquered that army although it fought 
 resolutely against him. After which defeat, 
 the Arabians were in great motion, and as- 
 sembled themselves together at Kanatha, a 
 city of Celesyria, in vast multitudes, and 
 waited for the Jews. And when Herod was 
 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 presently attacked 
 the Arabians, and beat them at the first onset, 
 and then pursued them ; yet were there snares 
 laid for Herod in that pursuit ; while Athe- 
 nio, who was one of Cleopatra's generals, 
 and always an antagonist to Herod, sent out 
 of Kanatha the men of that country against 
 him ; for, upon this fresh onset, the Arabians 
 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 mer. to the rout, and made 
 a great slaughter of them; but those that es. 
 caped out of the battle fled to Ormiza, where 
 the Arabians surrounded their camp, and took 
 it, with all the men in it. 
 
 3. In a little time after this calamity, He- 
 rod 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; forbad not the fight begun so sud- 
 denly, Athenio had not found a proper sea- 
 son for the snares he laid for Herod ; however, 
 lie was even with the Arabians afterward, and 
 over-ran their country, and did them more 
 harm than their single victory could compen- 
 sate. But as he was avenging himself on his 
 enemies, there fell upon him another pro- 
 vidential calamity ; for in the seventh • year 
 of his reign, when the war about Actium was 
 
 * This seventh year of the reign of Herod [from the 
 conquest or dtalh of Aiitigonuj], with the great earth- 
 quake in the beginning of the same spnng, which are 
 here fuUy implied to be not mueh liclore the fight at 
 Actium, between Octavius. and Antony, and which is 
 known from the Roman historians to have been in t)ie 
 beginning of yeptember, in the 31st year before the 
 Lhristiaji aera, determines the chronology of Josephusas 
 to the reign ..f Herod, \\z. that he began in the year.>7, 
 beyond rational contradiction. Nor is it quite unworthy 
 vCoui notioe, that this seventh year of the reigivof Herod, j 
 
 at the height, at the beginning of the spring, 
 the earth was shaken, and destroyed an im- 
 mense number of cattle, with thirty thousand 
 men ; but the army received no harm, because 
 it lay in the open air. In the mean time, 
 the fame of this earthquake elevated the Ara- 
 bians to greater courage, and this by augment- 
 ing it to a fabulous height, as is constantly 
 the case in melancholy accidents, and pretend- 
 ing that all Judea was overthrown. Upon 
 tliis supposal, therefore, that they should easily 
 get a land that was destitute of inhabitants 
 into their power, they first sacrificed those 
 ambassadors who were come to them from the 
 Jews, and then marched into Judea immedi- 
 ately. Now the Jewish nation were affright- 
 ed at this invasion, and quite dispirited at the 
 greatness of their calamities one after another ; 
 whom yet Herod got together, and endeavour- 
 ed to encourage to defend themselves by the 
 following speech which he made to thera : — 
 4. " The present dread you are under, 
 seems to me to have seized upon you very 
 unseasonably. It is true, you might justly 
 be dismayed at the providential chastisement 
 which hath befallen you ; but to suffer your- 
 selves 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 pre- 
 sent invasion proceeds more from our acci- 
 dental misfortunes, than that they have any 
 great dependence on their weapons, or their 
 own fitness foraction. Now that hope which de- 
 pends 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 ob- 
 serve, that fortune is mutable, and goes from 
 one side to another ; and this you may readi- 
 ly learn from examples among yourselves; for 
 when you were once victors in the formei 
 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 timorousness, 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 treachery took place ; but your 
 present slowness and seeming dejection of 
 mind, is to me a pledge and assurance of vic- 
 tory ; and indeed it is proper beforehand to 
 be thus provident : but when we come to ac- 
 tion, we ought to erect our minds, and to 
 make our enemies, be they ever so wicked, 
 
 or the 31st before the Christian aera, contained the lattct 
 part of a Sabbatic year ; on which Sabbatic year, there- 
 fore, it is plain this great earthquake happend in Judub 
 
582 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 believe, that neither any human, no, nor any tie-array every day, and invited the Arabiani 
 providential misfortune, can ever depress the to fight; but as none of them came out ot 
 courage of Jews while they are alive; nor their camp, for they were in a terrible fright, 
 will any of them ever overlook an Arabian, and their general, Elihemus, was not able to 
 or suffer such a one to become lord of his say a word for fear, — so Herod came upon 
 good things, whom he has in a manner taken them, and pulled their fortification to pieces, 
 captive, and that many times also : — and do by which means they were compelled to come 
 not you disturb yourselves at the quaking of out to fight, wliich they did in disorder, and 
 inanimate creatures, nor do you imagine that so that the horsemen and footmen were 
 this earthquake is a sign of another calamity; ' mixed together. They were indeed superior 
 for such aflections of the elements are accord- to the Jews in number, but inferior in their 
 to the course of nature ; nor does it im - 1 alacrity, although they were obliged to expose 
 
 port any thing farther to men, than what 
 mischief it does immediately of itself. Per- 
 haps, there may come some short sign before- 
 hand in the case of pestilences, and famines, 
 and earthquakes ; but these calamities tliem-. 
 selves have their force limited by themselves, 
 [without foreboding 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 visi- 
 ble, 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 ambas- 
 sadors, contrary to the common law of man- 
 kind ; 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 invincible right hand ; 
 c»nd 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 there- 
 
 thems;elves to danger by their very despair oi 
 victory. 
 
 6. 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 perished, till five 
 thousand were fallen down dead in their 
 flight, while the rest of the multitude pre- 
 vented their immediate death, by crowding 
 into the fortification. Herod encompassed 
 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 wa- 
 ter ; for the king was above hearkening to 
 their ambassadors ; and when they offered five 
 hundred talents, as the price of their redemp- 
 tion, he pressed still 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 four thousand of them were put into 
 bonds ; and on the sixth day the multitude 
 
 fore go on and fight, not so much for his w ife j that were left despaired of saving themselves, 
 or his children, or for the danger his country j atid came out to fight : with these Herod 
 
 fought, and slew again about seven thousand, 
 insomuch that he punished Arabia so severe- 
 ly, and so far extinguished the spirits of the 
 men, that he was chosen by the nation for 
 their ruler. 
 
 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 rash- 
 ly." * 
 
 5. When Herod had encouraged them by 
 this speech, and he saw with what alacrity j 
 they went, he offered sacrifice to God; and i HEROD is 
 after that sacrifice, he passed over the river | C^sar, 
 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 ofj§ 1. But now Herod was under immediate 
 the fortification, while he himself went in the I concern about a most important aflfair, on ac- 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CONFIRMED IN HIS KINGDOM BY 
 AND CULTIVATES A FRIENDSHIP 
 WITH THE EMPEROR BY JIAGNIFICENT PRE- 
 SENTS ; WHILE C^SAR RETURNS HIS KIND- 
 NESS BY BESTOWING ON HIM THAT PART OF 
 HIS KINGDOM WHICH HAD BEEN TAKEN 
 AWAY FROM IT BY CLEOPATRA, WITH THB 
 ADDITION OF ZENODORUS's COUNTRY ALSO, 
 
 fore-front of the army, which he put in bat- 
 
 » This speecli of Herod is set dovm twice by Jose- 
 phus, here and Aiitiq. b. xv, cli. v, seit. 5, to the very 
 same purpose, but by no means in the same words ; 
 whence it appears tliat tlie sense was Herod's, but the 
 composition Josephus's. 
 
 count of his friendship with Antony, who was 
 already overcome at Aetiuin by Caesar, yet he 
 was more afraid than hurt ; for Ciesar did 
 not think he had quite undone Antony, while 
 Herod continued his assistance to him. How- 
 ever, the king resolved to expose himself to 
 
CHAP. XX. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 583 
 
 dangers : accordingly he sailed fo Rhodes, I 
 where Caesar then abode, and came to him 
 without bis diadem, and in the habit and 
 appearance of a private person, but in his 
 behaviour as a king. So he concealed nothing 
 of the truth, but spake thus before his face : 
 — " O Caesar, as I was made king of the Jews, 
 by Antony, so do I profess that I have used 
 my royal authority in the best manner, and 
 entirely for his advantage ; nor will I conceal 
 this farther, that thou hadst certainly found 
 me in arms, and an inseparable companion of 
 his, had not the Arabians hindered me. How- 
 ever, I sent him as many auxiliaries as I was 
 able, and many ten thousand [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 fo 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 Cleopatra 
 stopped his ears, as did God himself also, 
 who hath bestowed the government on thee. 
 I own myself also to be overcome 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." 
 
 2. Caesar replied to him thus: — "Nay, 
 thou shalt not only be in safety, but shalt be 
 a king, and that more 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 constant in thy friendship to me 
 upon my good success, which is what I de- 
 pend upon from the generosity of thy dispo- 
 sition. However, Antony hath done well in 
 preferring Cleopatra to tiiee; for by this 
 means we have gained thee by her madness, 
 and thus thou hast begun to be my friend be- 
 fore I began to be thine; on which account 
 Quintus Didius hath written to me that thou 
 sentest him assistance against the gladiators. 
 I do therefore assure thee tiiat I will confirm 
 the kingdom to thee by decree; I shall also 
 endeavour to do thee some farther kindness 
 hereafter, that thou mayest find no loss in the 
 want of Antony." 
 
 f). When Casar had spoken such obliging 
 tilings to the king, and had put the diadem 
 again about his head, he proclaimed what he 
 had bestowed on him by a decree, in which 
 he enlarged in the commendation of the man 
 after a magnificent manner. Whereupon 
 Herod obliged him to be kind to liim by the 
 presents he gave him, and he desired him to 
 forgive Alexander^ one of Antonj's friends. 
 
 who was become a supplicant to him. But 
 Caesar's anger against him prevailed, and he 
 complained of the many and very great of- 
 fences the man whom he petitioned for had 
 been guilty of; and by that means he reject- 
 ed his petition. After this, Caesar went for 
 Egypt through Syria, when Herod received 
 him with royal and rich entertainments; and 
 then did he first of all ride along with Caesar, 
 as he was reviewing his army about Ptole- 
 mais, and feasted him with all his friends, and 
 then distributed 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, w) ich he 
 did also in like manner on their return thence • 
 nor were there any necessaries wanting to that 
 army. It was therefore the opinion, both of 
 Ca>sar and of his soldiers, that Herod's king- 
 dom was too small for those generous presents 
 he made them ; for which reason, when Cas- 
 sar was come into Egypt, and Cleopatra and 
 Antony were dead, he did not only bestow o- 
 ther .Tnarks of honour upon him, but made an 
 addition to his kingdom, by giving him not 
 only the country which had been taken from 
 him by Cleopatra, but, besides that, Gadara, 
 and Hippos, and Samaria ; and moreover, of 
 the maritime cities, Gaza, • and AnthedoD, 
 and Joppa, and Strato's Tower. He alsc 
 made him a present of four hundred Galls 
 [ Galatians] as a guard for his body, which 
 they had been to Cleopatra before. Nor did I 
 any thing so strongly induce Caesar to make 
 these presents as the generosity of him that 
 received them. i 
 
 4. Moreover, after the first games at Ac- 
 tium, he added to his kingdom both the re- 
 gion called Trachonitis, and what lay in its 
 neighbourhood, Batanea, and the country of 
 Auranitis ; and that on the following occa- i 
 sion :— Zenodorus, who had hired the house of I 
 Lysanias, had all along sent robbers out of I 
 Trachonitis among the Damascens; who there- 
 upon had recourse to Varro, the president of 
 Syria, and desired of him that he would re- 
 present the calamity they were in to Ca>sar, 
 When Cassar was acquainted with it, he sent 
 back orders that this nest of robbers should 
 be destroyed. Varro therefore made an ex- 
 pedition against them, and cleared the land 
 of those men, and took it away from Zenodo- 
 rus. Cwsar did also afterward bestow it on 
 Herod, that it might not again become a re- 
 ceptacle for those robbers that had come a. 
 
 » Since Josehpus, both here and in his Antiq. b. xv, 
 ch. vii, set't. 5, reckons Gaza, which had been a free 
 city, among ti e cities given Herod by Augustus, and 
 yet implies that Herod had made Costobarus a governor 
 of it before, Anti(i. b. xv, ch. vii, sect. 9, Harduin hai 
 some pretence for saying tliat Josephus here con tra- 
 dictcd himself. But perhaps Hero<l thouglit he had 
 sufficient authority to put a governor into Gaza, after 
 he was made tctn-.rch or king, in times of war, l>efore 
 the city was deliverer aitirely into his hands by Augu> 
 tus. 
 
 "\. 
 
584 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK 1 
 
 gainst Damascus™ He also made him a pro- 
 curator of all Syria, and this on the tenth 
 year afterwai-d, when he came again into that 
 province ; and this was so established, that 
 the other procurators could not do any thing 
 in the administration witiiout his advice: but 
 wiien Zenodorus was dead, Ca'sar bestowed 
 on him all tliat land which lay between Tra- 
 chonitis and Galilee. Yet, what was still of 
 more consequence to Herod, he was beloved 
 by Casar next after Agrippa, and by Agrip- 
 pa next after Ctesar; whence he arrived at a 
 very great degree of felicity ; yet did the 
 greatness of his soul exceed it; and the mani 
 part of his magnanimity was extended to the 
 promotion of piety. 
 
 CHAPTER XXr. 
 
 or THE [temple and] cities that were 
 
 BUILT BY HEROB, AND ERECTED FROM THE 
 VERY FOUNDATIONS ; AS ALSO OF THOSE 
 OTHER EDIFICES THAT WERE ERECTED BY 
 HIM ; AND WHAT MAGNIFICENCE HE SHOW- 
 ED TO FOREIGNERS ; AND HOW FORTUNS 
 WAS IN ALL THINGS FAVOURABLE TO HIM. 
 
 5 1. Accordingly, in the fifteenth year oi" 
 his reign, Herod rebuilt tlie temple, and en- 
 corrvpassed a piece of land about it with a 
 wall ; which land was twice as large as that 
 before enclosed. The expenses lie laid out 
 upon it were vastly large also, and the riches 
 aljout it were unspeakable. A sign of which 
 you have in the great cloisters that were erect- 
 ed about the temple, and tlie citadel * which 
 was on its north side. The cloisters he built 
 from the foundation, but the citadel he repair- 
 ed at a vast expense ; nor was it other than a 
 royal palace, wliich he called Antonia, in ho . 
 nour of Antony. He also built himself a pa- 
 lace in the upper city, containing two very 
 large and most beautiful apartments ; to whicli 
 the holy house itself could not be compared 
 I in largeness]. Tlie one apartment he named 
 Cassareum, and the other Agrippium, from 
 liis [two great] friends. 
 
 2. Yet did he not preserve their memory 
 by particular buildings onlv, with their names 
 given them, but his generosity went as far as 
 entire cities; for when he had built a most 
 beautiful wall round a country in Samaria, 
 twenty furlongs long, and had brought six 
 thousand inhabitants into it, and had allotted 
 to it a most fruitful piece of land, and in the 
 
 • This fort was first built, as is supposed, by JoJin 
 Hyrcanus. see Prirt. at they-car 107, and called " 'Baris," 
 the Tower or Citadel. It was afterwards rebuilt, wilh 
 great improvements, by Herod, under the government 
 of Antonius, and was named from him " the Tower of 
 Antonia;" aid about the time when Herod reiiuilt Ihc 
 temple, he seems to have put his last hand to it. See 
 Antiq. b. xviii, eh. v, sect. 4. Of the War, b. i, ch. iii, 
 sect. 3, and eh. v, sect 4. It lay on the north-west 
 side of the temple, and was a tjuarter as l.irge. 
 
 midst of this city, thus buili, had erected a 
 very large temple to Caesar, and had laid 
 round about it a portion of saored land of 
 three furlongs and a half, he called the city 
 Sfbaste, from Sebastus, or Augustus, and set- 
 tled tlie affairs of the city after a most regular 
 manner. 
 
 3. And when Csesar had farther bestowed 
 upon him another additional country, he built 
 there also a temple of white marble, hard by 
 the fountains of Jordan : the place is called 
 Paniuin, 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 v.hich there is a horrible pre- 
 cipice, that descends abruptly to a vast depth : 
 it contains a mighty quantity of water, which 
 is immoveable; and when any body lets down 
 any thing to measure the depth of tlie earth 
 beneath the water, no length of cord is suffi- 
 cient to reach it. Now the fountains of Jor- 
 dan 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 accurately in our following history. 
 
 4. But the king erected other places at 
 Jericho also, between the citadel Cypros and 
 the former palace, such as were better and 
 more useful than the former for travellers, 
 and named tliem from the same friends of his. 
 To say all at once, there was not any plact of 
 his kingdom fit for the purpose, that was pei 
 mitted to be without somewhat that was foi 
 Ctesar's honour ; and when he had filled hi& 
 own country with temples, he poured out the 
 like plentiful marks of his esteem into his pro- 
 vince, and built many cities which he called 
 Cesareas. 
 
 5. And when he observed that there was a 
 city by the sea-side 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 sea-shore be- 
 tween Dora and Joppa, in the middle, between 
 which this city is situated, had no good haven, 
 insomuch that every one that sailed from Phoe- 
 nicia for Egypt was obliged to lie iri 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 a great ferment for a long way. 
 But the king, by the expenses he was at, and 
 the liberal disposal of them, overcame nature, 
 and built a haven larger than was the Pyre- 
 cum * [at Athens] ; and in the inner retire- 
 
 • That Josephus speaks truth, when he assures us 
 that the haven of this Cesarea was made by Herocl not 
 let.;, nay raihei larger, than that famous haven at Athens 
 called the Fyrecum, will ai)pear, s-ays Dean Aldricit, to 
 hiin who coniirares the description of that at '\thfr.sin 
 rh'icyciides and Pausanias, with this of Cesarea in J* 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. XXI 
 
 ments of the water he built other deep sta- 
 tions [for the ships also]. 
 
 6. Now, although the place where he built 
 was greatly opposite to his purposes, yet did 
 he so fully struggle with that difficulty, that 
 the firmness of his building could not easily 
 be conquered by the sea; and the beauty and 
 ornament of the works were such, as though 
 be bad not had any difficulty in the operation; 
 for when he had measured out as large a 
 space as we have before mentioned, he let 
 down stones into twenty-fathom water, the 
 greatest part of which were fifty feet iu length, 
 and nine in depth, and ten in breadth, and 
 some still larger. But when the haven was 
 filled up to that depth, he eidarged that wall 
 which was thus already extant above the sea, 
 till it was two hundred feet wide ; one hun- 
 dred of which had buildings before it, in or- 
 der to break the force of the waves, whence it 
 was called Procumatia, or the first breaker of 
 the waves; but the rest of the space was un- 
 der a stone-wall that ran round it. On this 
 wall were very large towers, the principal 
 and most beautiful of which was called Dru- 
 sium, from Drusus, who was son-in-law to 
 Ca'sar. 
 
 7. 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 landing-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 Colossi, supported by pillars, 
 where those Colossi that are on your lel't hand 
 as you sail into the port, are supported by a 
 solid tower ; but those on the right band are 
 supported by two upright stones joined toge- 
 ther, which stones were larger than that tower 
 which was on the other side of the entrance. 
 Now there were continual 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 distances one from another. And over- 
 against the mouth of the haven, upon an ele- 
 vation, there was a temple for Caesar, which 
 was excellent botli in beauty and largeness; 
 and therein was a Colossus of Ca sar, not 
 less than that of Jupiter Olyinpius, which it 
 was made to resemble. The other Colossus 
 of Rome was equal to that of Juno at Argos. 
 So he dedicated the city to the province, 
 and the liaven to the sailors there ; but the 
 honour of the building he ascribed to Cxsar,' 
 and named it Cesarea accordingly. 
 
 8. He also built the other edifices, the am- 
 
 sephus here, and in the Antiq. b. xv, ch. ix, sect. 6, and 
 b. xvii, ch. iX, sect, 1. 
 
 » These buildings of cities by the name of Carear, 
 and institution of solemn games m honour of Augustus 
 (C«sar, as here and in the Antiquities, related of HeruU 
 by Josophus, the Roman historians attest to as tnings 
 then frequent in the province of that empirt, as Deaii, 
 Aldrich obseixes on lhi» chapter ^ 
 
 585 
 
 phitheatre, and theatre, and market-place, in 
 a manner agreeable to that denomination ; 
 and appointed games every fifth year, and 
 called them, in like manner, Ciesar's Games; 
 and he first himself proposed the largest prizes 
 upon the hundred ninety-second Olympiad ; 
 in which not oidy the victors themselves, but 
 those that came next to them, and even those 
 that came in the third place, were partakers 
 of his royal bounty. He also rebuilt Anthe- 
 don, a city that lay on the coast, and had been 
 demolished in the wars, and named it Agrip- 
 peum. 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. 
 
 9. Herod was also a lover of his father, if 
 any other person ever was so; for he made a 
 monument for his father, even tiiat 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 ano- 
 ther city in the valley that leads northward 
 from Jericho, and named it Phasaelus. 
 
 10. And as he transmitted to eternity his 
 family and friends, so did he not neglect a 
 memorial for himself, but built a fortress upon 
 a mountain towards Arabia, and named it from 
 himself Herodium ;f and he called tbat hill 
 that was of the shape of a woman's breast, and 
 was sixty furlongs 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, ana 
 filled up the remaining space with the most 
 costly palaces round about, insomuch that not 
 only the sight of the inner apartments 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 two hundred 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, inso-- 
 much that on account of its containing all ne- 
 cessaries, the fortress might seem to be a city, 
 but, by the bounds it had, a palace only. 
 
 + There were two cities, or citadels, called Herodium, 
 in Judea, and both mentioned bv Josephus, not oidy here, 
 but Antiq. b. xiv, ch. xiii, sect. 9 ; b. xv, ch. ix, »ect. o. 
 Cf the War, b. i, chap xiii, stct. S; b. ni. ch.iii.seot, A. 
 One of them was 200, and the other 61) furlongs instant 
 from Jerusalem. One of them is mentioned by Hliny, 
 Hist. Nat. b. V, chap, xiv, as Dean Aldrich oti»ci-v<fi 
 here. 
 
J' 
 
 586 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 11. And when he bad 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 maiket-places at Berytus and Tyre, with 
 theatres at Sidon and Damascus. He also 
 built acqueducts for those Laodiceans wlio 
 lived by the sea-side ; and for those of Ascalon 
 he buih baths and costly fountains, as also 
 cloisters round a court, that were admirable 
 both for their workmanship and largeness. 
 Moreover, he dedicated 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 levenues, and those for ever 
 also, on the settlements for exercises, and ap- 
 pointed for them, as well as for the people of 
 Cos, that such rewards should never be want- 
 ing. He also gave corn to all such as want- 
 ed 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 
 manner than it was before. What need I 
 speak of the presents he made to the Lycians 
 and Samnians ! or of his great liberality 
 tlirough all Ionia ! and that according to 
 ever)' body's wants of them. And are not 
 the Athenians, and Lacedemonians, and Nico- 
 poHtans, and that Pergamus which is in My- 
 ^ia, full of donations tliat Herod presented 
 them withal ! And as for that large open 
 place belonging to Antioch in Syria, did not 
 lie pave it with polished marble, though it 
 were twenty furlongs long ! and this when it 
 was shunned by 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. 
 
 1 2. It is true, a man may say, these were 
 favours peculiar to those particular places on 
 which he bestowed his benefits ; but then what 
 favours he bestowed on the Eleans, was a do- 
 nation not only in common 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 money, and that the only remains of 
 ancient Greece were in a manner gone, he not 
 only became one of the combatants in that re- 
 turn of the fifth year games, which in his sail- 
 ing to Rome he liappened to be present at, 
 but he settled upon tliem revenues of money 
 for perpetuity, insomuch that his memorial 
 as a combatant there can never fail. It would 
 be an inlinite task if I should go over his pay- 
 ments 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, 
 ibe fear iie was in much disturbed the great- 
 
 ness of his soul, lest he should be exposed to 
 envy, or saem to hunt after greater things than 
 he ought, while he bestowed more liberal gifts 
 upon these cities than did their owners them- 
 selves. 
 
 13. Now Herod had a body suited to his 
 soul, and was ever a most excellent hunter, 
 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 replenished 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 readiness 
 in his exercises, when they saw him throw the 
 javelin directly forward, and shoot the arrow 
 upon the mark ; and then, besides these per- 
 formances of his depending on his own strengUi 
 of mind and body, fortune was also very fa- 
 vourable 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 de- 
 feat. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE MURDEa OF ARISTOBULUS AND HYRCANUS, 
 THE HIGH PRIESTS; AS ALSO OF MARIAMNK 
 THE QUEEN. 
 
 § 1. However, fortune was avenged on He- 
 rod in his exernal great successes, 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 whom he had before married when 
 he was a private person, and who was born 
 at Jerusalem, whose name was Doris, and 
 married Mariamne, the daughter of Alexan- 
 der, the son of Aristobulus ; on whose ac- 
 count disturbances arose in his family, and 
 that in part very soon, but chiefly after his 
 return from Rome ; for, first of all, he expell- 
 ed Antipater the son of Doris, for the sake of 
 his sons by Mariamne, out of the city, and 
 jiermitted him to come thither at no other 
 times than at the festivals. After this he slew 
 his wife's grandfather, Hyrcanus, when he 
 was returned out of Partliia to him, under 
 this pretence, that he suspected him of plot- 
 ting against him. Now this Hyrcanus had 
 been carried captive to Barzapliarnes, when 
 he overran Syria; but those of his own coun- 
 try beyond Euphrates were desirous he would 
 stay with them, and this out of the commise- 
 
 * Here seems to be a small defect in the copies 
 which describe the wild beasts which were hunted in a 
 certain country by Herod, without naming any su<* 
 country at ali. 
 
 -^V. 
 
CIIAF XXIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 587 
 
 '1 
 
 ration they had for his condition ; and Iiad he 
 complied with their desires, when they exhort- 
 ed him not to go over tlie river to Herod, he 
 had not perished: but the marriage of his 
 grand-daughter [to Herod] was his tempta- 
 tion ; 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, 
 
 2. Now of the five children which Herod 
 had by Mariamne, two of them were daugh- 
 ters, and three were sons ; and the youngest 
 of tliese sons was educated at Rome, and there 
 died ; but the two eldest he treated as those 
 of royal blood, on account 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 bare to Mari- 
 amne, and which inflamed him every day to a 
 great degree, and so far conspired with the 
 other motives, that he felt no other troubles, 
 on account of her he loved so entirely ; but 
 Mariamne's hatred to him was not inferior to 
 his love to her. Slie 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 reproached him with 
 what he had done to her grandfather Hyr- 
 canus, and to her brother Aristobulus, for 
 he had not spared this Aristobulus, though he 
 were but a child ; for when he had given him 
 the high-priesthood at the age of seventeen, 
 he slew him quickly after he had conferred 
 that dignity upon him ; but when Aristobulus 
 !iad put on the holy vestments, and had ap- 
 proached to the altar at a festival, the multi- 
 tude, in great crowds, fell into tears ; where- 
 upon the child was sent by night to Jericho, 
 and was there dipped by the Galls, at Herod's 
 command, in a pool till he was drowned. 
 
 3. For these reasons Mariamne reproached 
 Herod, and his sister and mother, after a most 
 contumelious manner, while he was dumb on 
 account of his aff'ection for lier ; yet had the 
 women great indignation at her, and raised a 
 calumny against her, that she was false to his 
 bed : which thing they thought most likely to 
 move Herod to anger. Tliey also contrived to 
 have many other circumstances believed, in or- 
 der to make the thingmore credible, and accus- 
 ed her of having sent her picture into Egypt to 
 Antony, and that her lust was so extravagant, 
 as to have thus shown herself, though she was 
 absent to a man that ran mad after women, 
 and to a man that had it in his power to use 
 violence to her. This charge fell like a thun- 
 derbolt upon Herod, and put him into dis- 
 order ; and that especially, because his love to 
 her occasioned him to be jealous, and because 
 he considered with himself that Cleopatra was 
 a shrewd woman, and that on her account 
 Lysanias the king was taken off as well as 
 Malichus the Arabian ; for his fear ^id not 
 
 only extend to the dissolving of bis marriagei 
 but to the danger of his life. 
 
 4. When therefore he was about to take a 
 journey abroad, he committed his wife to Jo- 
 seph, his sister Salome's husband, as to one 
 v/ho would be faithful to him, and bare hinc 
 good-will on account of their kindred : ho 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 
 demonstrate the king's love to his wife, bow 
 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 
 was come back, and as tliey 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 the injunc- 
 tions tliou gavest Joseph, when thou com- 
 mandedst him to kill me."* 
 
 5. When he heard that this grand secret 
 was discovered, he was like a distracted man, 
 and said, that Joseph would never have dis- 
 closed that injunction of his, unless he had 
 debauched her. His passion also made him 
 stark mad, and leaping out of his bed, he rao 
 about the palace after a wild manner ; at 
 which time his sister Salome took the opportu- 
 nity also to blast her reputation, and confirm- 
 ed his suspicion about Joseph ; whereupon, 
 out of his ungovernable jealousy and rage, ha 
 commanded both of them to be slain immedi- 
 ately ; but as soon as ever his passion was 
 over, he repented of what he had done, and as 
 soon as his anger was worn oft', his affections 
 were kindled again ; and indeed the flame of 
 his desires for her was so ardent, that he could 
 not think she was dead, but would appear, 
 under his disorders, to speak to her as if she 
 were still alive, till he were better instructed 
 by time, when his grief and trouble, now s!ie 
 was dead, appeared as great as his affection 
 had been for her while she was living. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 CALUStNIES AGAIN'ST THE SONS OF MARIAMNE. 
 ANTIFATER IS PIIEFERRF.D BEFORE THEM 
 THEY ARE ACCUSED BEFORE CiESAR, ANP US- 
 ROD IS RECONCILED TO THEM. 
 
 § 1 . Now Mariamne's sons were heirs to thai 
 hatred wliich had Dcen borne their mother ; 
 and when tliey considered the greatness of 
 Herod's crime towards her, they were suspi- 
 
 * Here is either a defect or a great mistake, in Joso- 
 phiis's present copies or memory ; for Mariamne did not 
 now leprodcli Herod witli this his first iniunetion to 
 Joseph to kill her, it' he liimself were >Iain 'by Antony, 
 but that lie had given tlie like command a second time 
 to Siiei'.ius also, when he v.i-; afraid of beiiig slain ^>y 
 Auaiiitus. Antiq. b. xv, eh. iii, sp<-t. S. 
 
 -\. 
 
J- 
 
 588 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 cious of him as of an enemy of tlieirs ; and this 
 first while they were educated at Home, hut 
 Btill more when they were returned to Judca. 
 Tliis temper of theirs increased upon them as 
 they grew up to be men ; and when they were 
 come to an age fit for marrriage, 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. And now 
 they used boldness in speaking, as well as 
 bore hatred in their minds. Now those that 
 calumniated them took a handle from such 
 their boldness, and certain of them spake now 
 more plainly to the king, that there wtre 
 treacherous designs laid against him by both 
 his sons ; and he that was son-in-law to Arche- 
 laus, relying upon his father-in-law, was pre- 
 paring to fly away, in order to accuse Herod 
 before Caesar ; and when Herod's head had 
 been long enough filled with these calumnies, 
 he brought Aniipater, whom he had by Doris, 
 into favour again, as a defence to him against 
 his other sons, and began all the ways he pos- 
 sibly could to prefer him before them. 
 
 2. But these sons were not able to bear 
 this change in their affairs; for when they 
 saw him that was born of a mother of no fa- 
 mily, the nobility of their birth made them 
 unable to contain their indignation ; but 
 whensoever they were uneasy, they showed 
 tiie ariger they had at it ; and as these sons 
 did day after day improve in that their anger, 
 Antipater already exercised all his own abili- 
 ties, which were very great, in flattering his 
 father, and in contriving many sorts of calum- 
 nies against his brethren, while he told some 
 stones of them himself, and put it upon other 
 proper persons to raise other stories against 
 them ; till at length he entirely cut his bre- 
 thren oft' from all hopes of succeeding to the 
 kingdom; for he was already publicly put 
 into his father's will as his successor. Ac- 
 cordingly he was sent with royal ornaments, 
 and other marks of royalty, to Casar, except- 
 ing the diadem. He was also able in time to 
 introduce his mother again into Mariamne's 
 bed. The two sorts of weapons he made use 
 of against his brethren, were flattery and ca- 
 lumny, whereby he brought matters privately 
 to such a pass, that the king had thoughts of 
 putting his sons to death. 
 
 3. So the father drew Alexander as far as 
 Rome, and charged liim with an attempt of 
 poisoning him, before Casar. Alexander 
 could hardly speak for lamentation ; but 
 having a judge that was more skilful than 
 Antipater, and more wise than Herod, he 
 modestly avoided laying any imputation upon 
 liis father, but with great strength of reason 
 confuted the calumnies laid against him ; and 
 when he had demonstrated the innocency of 
 his brother, who was in the like danger h itli 
 himstif, he at last bewailed the craftiness of 
 Antipater, and the disgrace they were under. 
 
 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 ob- 
 jected this crime to them, it was in his power 
 to put them to death, he made all the audi- 
 ence weep ; and he brought Caesar to that 
 pass, as to reject the accusations, and to recon- 
 cile their father to them immediately. But 
 the conditions of this reconciliation were 
 these, that they should in all things be obedi- 
 ent to their father, and that he should have 
 power to leave the kingdom to which of them 
 he pleased. 
 
 4. 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 followed by Antipater, who was the 
 fountain-head of those accusations; 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 E- 
 leusa,* where Archelaus treated them in the 
 most obliging manner, and gave him thanks 
 for the deliverance of his son-in-law, and was 
 rriuch pleased at their reconciliation; and tliis 
 the more, because he had formerly written to 
 his friends at Rome that they should be as- 
 sisting to Alexander at his trial. So he con 
 ducted Herod as far as Zephyrium, and made 
 him presents to the value of thirty talents. 
 
 5. Now when Herod was come to Jerusa- 
 lem, he gathered the people together, and 
 presented to them his three sons, and gave 
 them an apologetic accoimt of his absence, 
 and thanked God greatly, and thanked Caesar 
 greatly also, for settling his house when it was 
 under disturbances, and had procured con- 
 cord among his sons, which was of greater 
 consequence than the kingdom itself, — " and 
 which I will render still more firm; for Cu;- 
 sar hath put into my power to dispose of the 
 government, and to appoint my successor 
 Accordingly, in way of requital for his kind 
 ness, 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 succession. Nay, in- 
 deed, my kingdom is so large, that it may be 
 sufficient for more kings. Now do you keep 
 those in their places whom Casar hath joined 
 and their father hath appointed ; and do not 
 you pay undue or unequal respects to them, 
 
 • That this island Eleusa, afterward called Sebaste, 
 near Cilicia, had in it the royal paiace of this Archelaus, 
 liing of Cappadocia, Strabo testifies b xv, p. %'i\. Ste 
 phallus of tiyziintiiim also calls it " an island of Cilicia, 
 which is now Sebaste ;" both whose testimonies are per- 
 tinently cited here by Dr. Hu<lson. See the 3:in>e his- 
 tory. Antiii. b. XVI, ill. X, SLCt. 7. 
 
 ~V 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 589 
 
 but to every one according to the prerogative 
 of their births ; for he that pays such respects 
 unduly, will thereby not 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 «ill so constitute 
 them, that they may be securities for their 
 concord; as well knowing that the ill tempers 
 of those with whom they converse, will pro- 
 duce quarrels and contentions among them ; 
 but that, if these with whom they converse be 
 of good tempers, they will preserve their na- 
 tural afiections 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 administration will rest upon my- 
 self whether 1 will or not. And let every 
 one consider what age I am of; how I have 
 conducted my life, and what piety I have ex- 
 ercised ; 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 towards 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 my 
 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 insolent. And if every one that comes 
 near them does but revolve 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 complaisance shall get him 
 nothing from him to whom it is shown, I 
 suppose they will all be of ray side, that is, 
 of my sons' side ; for it will be for their ad- 
 vantage that I reign, and that I be at concord 
 with them. But do you, O my good chil- 
 dren, reflect upon the holiness of nature it- 
 self, by whose means natural affection is pre- 
 served, even among wild beasts ; in the next 
 place, reflect upon Caesar, who hath made 
 this reconciliation among us ; and, in the third 
 place, reflect upon me, who entreat you to do 
 what I have power to command you, — con- 
 tinue brethren. I give you royal garments, 
 and royal honours ; and I pray to God to 
 preserve what I have determined, in case you 
 be at concord one with another." 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 
 
 j who wished for a change of affairs, they pre- 
 tended they did not so much as hear wliat he 
 said. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE MALICE OF ANTIPATER AND DORIS. ALEX- 
 ANDER IS VERY UNEASY ON GLAPHYRA's AC- 
 COUNT. HEROD PARDONS PHERORAS, WHOM 
 HE SUSPECTED, AND SALOME, WHOM HE 
 KNEW TO MAKE MISCHIEF AMONG THEM. 
 HEROD'S EUNUCHS ARE TORTURED, AND 
 ALEXANDER IS BOUND. 
 
 § 1. 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. Alexander and 
 Aristobulus were much grieved that the pri 
 vilege of the first-born was confirmed to An- 
 tipater ; 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 cun- 
 ning, and thereby concealed the hatred he 
 bore to them ; while the former, depending 
 on the nobility of their births, had every thing 
 upon their tongues which was in their minds. 
 Many also there were who provoked them 
 farther, and many of their [seeming] friends 
 insinuated themselves into their acquaintance, 
 to spy out what they did. Now every thing 
 that was said by Alexander 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 
 simplicity of his heart, without giving offence, 
 but what he said was still turned to calumny 
 against him. And if he had been at any tim€ 
 a little free in his conversation, great impu- 
 tations were forged from the smallest occasions, 
 Antipater also was perpetually setting some 
 to provoke him to speak, that the lies he 
 raised of him might seem to have some foun- 
 dation of truth ; and if, among the many 
 stories that were given out, but one of them 
 could be proved true, that was supposed to 
 imply the rest to be true also. And as to 
 Antipater's friends, they were all either na- 
 turally 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 ir 
 he called the life of Antipater a mystery of 
 wickedness; for he either corrupted Alexan- 
 der's acquaintance 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 cunningly in all points, and 
 wrought himself a passage by his calumnies 
 with the greatest shrewdness ; while he put on 
 
6yo 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 a face as if he were a kind brother to Alexan- 
 der and Aiistobiilus, but suborned other 
 njen to inform of what they did to Herod. 
 And when any thing was told against Alex- 
 ander, he would come in and pretend [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 an indignation at him. His gene- 
 ral 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 confirmation to these calumnies as did An- 
 tipater's apologies for him. 
 
 2. By these methods Herod was inflamed, 
 and, as much as his natural affection to the 
 young men did every day diminish, so much 
 did it increase towards Antipater. The cour- 
 tiers 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 
 
 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 delighting in many ; all whom 
 hated Alexander, on account of Glaphyra's 
 boasting and reproaches. 
 
 3. Nay, Aristobulus liad raised a quarrel 
 between himself and Salome, who was his 
 mother-in-law, besides the anger he had con- 
 ceived at Glapiiyra's reproaches ; for he per- 
 petually upbraided his wife with the mean- 
 ness of her family, and complained, that as 
 he had married a woman of a low family, so 
 had his brother Alexander married one of 
 royal blood. At this Salome's daughter wept, 
 and told it her with this addition, that Alex- 
 ander threatened the mothers of In's other 
 brethren, that wlien 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 
 
 in all : and what was the bitterest part of all | instructed, to fittheni for such an employment. 
 to Alexander, Antipater's mother was also all j Hereupon Salome could not contain her an- 
 in all : she was one that gave counsel against | ger, but told all to Herod ; nor could her tes- 
 them, and was more harsh than a step-mo- I timony be suspected, since it was against her 
 ther, and one that hated the queen's sons own son-in-law. Tliere was also another ca- 
 
 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 this 
 charge to his most intimate friends, that they 
 should not come near, nor pay any regard, to 
 Alexander, or to his friends. Herod was also 
 become terrible, not only to his domestics about 
 the court, but to his friends abroad ; for Cae- 
 sar 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 un- 
 der his own jurisdiction. Now the young 
 men were not acquainted with the calum- 
 ries raised ag linet them ; for which reason 
 they could not guard themselves again t them. 
 
 lumny that ran abroad, and inflamed tht 
 king's mind ; for he heard that these sons oi 
 his were perpetually speaking of their mo- 
 ther, and, among their lamentations for her, 
 did not abstain from cursing him ; and thai 
 when he made presents of any of Mariamne's 
 garments to his later wives, these threatened, 
 that in a little time, instead of royal garments 
 they would clothe them in no better than hair- 
 cloth. 
 
 4. Now upon these accounts, though He- 
 rod was somewhat afraid of the young men's 
 high spirit, yet did he not despair of reducing 
 them to a better mind ; but before he went to 
 Rome, whither he was now going by sea, he 
 called thein to him, and partly threatened 
 them a little, as a king ; but for the main, he 
 admonished them as a father, and exhorted 
 
 but fell under them ; for their father did not I them to love their brethren ; and told them 
 make any public complaints against either of that he would i)ardon their former offences, 
 them ; though in a little time they perceived ; if they would amend for the time to come, 
 how things were, by in's coldness to them, and j But they refuted the calumnies that had been 
 by the great uneasiness he showed upon any raised of them, and said they were false, and 
 thing that troubled him. Antipater had also ! alleged that their actions were sufficient for 
 made their uncle Piieroras to be their enemy, 
 as well as their aunt Salome, while he was al- 
 ways talking with her as with a wile, and irritat- 
 ing her against them. Moreover, Alexander's 
 wife, Glaphyra, augmented this hatred against 
 them, by deriving lier nobility and geiiealogy 
 [from great persons], and pretending that she 
 was a lady superior to all others in that king- 
 dom, as being derived by her father's side 
 from Temenus, and by her mother's side from 
 Darius, tlie son of Hystaspes. She also fre- 
 quently reproached Herod's sister and wives 
 With the ignoblhty of their descent ; and that thu be«inuins it was not so." Matt, xix, 8; Mark x, o. 
 
 their vindication ; and said withal, that he 
 himself ought to shut his ears against such 
 
 * That it was an immemorial custom among the 
 Jews, and Iheir forefathers, the patriarchs, to have 
 sometimes more wives, or wi\cs and co]icubini's, tlian 
 one at the same time, and that this polygamy was not 
 directly forbidden in the law of Moses, is evident ; but 
 that polygainy was ever properly and distinctly permit- 
 ted in that law of Moses, m the places here cited by 
 Dean .Mdrioh, Deut. xvii, 16, 17; or xxi, 15, or indeed 
 any where eUe, does not appear to me. .'\nd what our 
 .Saviour says about the common Jewish divorces, which 
 may lay much greater claim to such a permission than 
 polygamy, seems to me t.ue in this case abo; that Mo- 
 ses, " foi' the hardness of their hearts," sufleicd them 
 to have several wivesatthe same time ; but that " from 
 
J- 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 591 
 
 tales, and not to be too easy in believing them, 
 for that there would never be wanting those 
 that would tell lies to their disadvantage, as 
 long as any would give ear to them. 
 
 5. When they had thns soon pacified him, 
 as being their father, they got clear of tlie pre- 
 sent fear thej- were in. Yet did they see oc- 
 casion for sorrow in some time afterwards ; 
 for they knew that Salome, as well as their 
 uncle Pheroras, were their enemies ; who were 
 both of them lieavy and severe persons, and 
 especially Pheroras, who was a partner with 
 Herod in all the affairs of the kingdom, ex- 
 cepting his diadem. He liad also a 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 bro- 
 ther, who had asked of Cajsar to make liim 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 es- 
 poused to him liis own eldest daughter, with 
 a dowry of three hundred talents; but Phero- 
 ras refused to consummate this royal marriage, 
 out of his affection to a maid-servant of his. 
 Upon which account Herod was very angry, 
 and gave that daughter in marriage to a bro- 
 ther's son of his [Joseph], who was siain after- 
 ward by the Parthiaiis ; but in some time he 
 lad aside his anger against Pheroras, and par- 
 doned him, as one not able to overcome his 
 foolish passion for the maid-servant. 
 
 6. Nay, Pheroras had been accused long 
 before, while the queen [Mariamnc] was alive, 
 as if he were in a plot to poison Herod ; and 
 there came so great a number of informers, 
 that Herod himself, though he was an exceed- 
 ing lover of his brethren, was brought to be- 
 lieve what was said, and to be afraid of it also ; 
 and when he had b»'ought many of those that 
 were under suspicion to the torture, he came 
 at last to Pberoras'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 Par- 
 ihians. Costobarus also, the husband of Sa- 
 lome, to whom the king had given her in mar- 
 riage, after her former husband had been put 
 to death for adultery, was instrumental in 
 bringing about this contrivance and flight of 
 his. Nor did Salome escape all calumny upon 
 herself ; for her brother Pheroras accused her, 
 that she had made an agreement to marry Sil- 
 ieus, 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, she obtained her 
 pardon. The king also pardoned Pheroras 
 himself the crimes he had been accused of. 
 
 7. 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 the highest esteem with the king, 
 ns was plain by the offices they wereTn 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 manner; which, 
 when it was told to the king, they were tor- 
 tured, and found guilty, and presently con- 
 fessed the criminal conversation he had with 
 them. They also oiscoveied the promises by 
 which tliey were induced so to do, and how 
 they were deluded by Alexander, who had told 
 tiiem that they ought not to fix their hopes 
 upon Herod, an old man, and one so shame- 
 less as to colour his hair, unless they thought 
 that would make him young again ; but thai 
 they ought to fix their attention to him who 
 was to be his successor in the kingdom, whe- 
 ther he would or not; and who in no long 
 time would avenge himself on his enemies, 
 and make his friends happy and blessed, and 
 themselves in the first place ; that the men of 
 power did already pay respects to Alexander 
 privately, and that the captains of the soldiery, 
 and the officers, did secretly come to him. 
 
 8. These confessions did so terrify Herod, 
 that he durst not immediately publisli 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 hor- 
 ribly unjust proceedings; for every body for- 
 ged 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 tliose with 
 whom they had quarrels, and lies were easily 
 believed, and punishments were inflicted soon- 
 er than the calumnies were forged. He who 
 had just then been accusing another, was ac- 
 cused himself, and was led away to execution 
 together with him whom he had convicted ; for 
 the danger the king was in of his life made 
 examinations be very short. He also proceed- 
 ed 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 towards his 
 own friends. Accordingly, he forbade a great 
 many of them to come to court, and to those 
 whom he had not power to punish actually, 
 he spake harshly ; but for Antipater, he in- 
 sulted Alexander, now he was under his mis- 
 fortunes, and got a stout company of his kin- 
 dred together, and raised 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 
 
 S' 
 
jr 
 
 592 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I, 
 
 their consciences ; but some of them, being 
 forced to speak falsely by the pains they en- 
 dured, aaid that Alexander, and his brother 
 Arislobulus, plotted against him, and waited 
 for an opportunity to kill him as he was hunt- 
 ing, and then fly away to Rome. These ac- 
 cusations, though they were of an incredible 
 nature, and only framed upon the great dis- 
 tress they were in, were readily believed by 
 the king, who thought it some comfort to 
 him, after he had bound his son, tliat it might 
 appear he had not done it unjustly. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ARCHELAUS PROCURES A RECONCIHATION BE- 
 TWEEN ALEXANDER, PHERORAS, AND HE- 
 ROD. 
 
 § 1. Now as to Alexander, since he perceived 
 it impossible to persuade his father [that he 
 was innocent], he resolved to meet his calami- 
 ties, how severe soever they were ; so he com- 
 posed four books against his enemies, and 
 confessed that he had been in a plot ; but de- 
 clared 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 pro- 
 per assistant, and in a very pfadent manner, 
 and by a stratagem he obliged the king not to 
 execute what he had threatened ; for when he 
 was come to him, he cried out, " Where in 
 the world is this wretched son-in-law of mine ? 
 Where shall I see the head of him who had 
 contrived to murder his father, which I will 
 tear to 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 part- 
 ner 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 Alexander be still alive; for as 
 I came with what haste I could from Cappa- 
 docia, I expected to find him put to death for 
 his crimes long ago ; but still, in order to 
 ma'ke an examination with thee about my 
 daughter, whom, out of regard to thee, and 
 thy dignity, I had espoused to him in mar- 
 riage, but now we must take counsel about 
 them both ; and if thy paternal aliection be so 
 great, that thou canst not punish thy son, who 
 hath plotted against thee, let us change our 
 right hands, and let us succeed one to the 
 other in expressing our rage upon this occa- 
 sion." 
 
 2. When he had made this pompous decla- 
 
 j ration, he got Herod to remit of his anger, 
 though he was in disorder, who tliereupon 
 I gave him the books which Alexander had 
 I composed to be read by him ; and as he came 
 to every head, he considered of it, together 
 I with Herod. So Archelaus took hence ti)e 
 ' 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, 
 land 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 agjunst by 
 such a number of wicked wretches, and not 
 thou plotted against by the young man ; /jor 
 I cannot see any occasion for his falling into 
 so horrid a crime, since he enjoys the advan- 
 tages of royalty already, and has the expecta- 
 tion of being one of thy successors ; 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." 
 
 3. Herod assented to what he had said, and, 
 by degrees, abated of his anger against Alex- 
 ander ; but was more angry at Pheroras, who 
 perceiving that the 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 impudence. 
 So he left Alexander, and hr.d recourse to 
 Archelaus; who told him that he did not see 
 how he could get him excused, now he was 
 directly caught in so many crimes, whereby 
 it was evidently deinonstrated 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 more- 
 over leave off his cunning knavery and his 
 denials 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 atl'ord him 
 all the assistance he was able. 
 
 4. With this advice Pheroras complied, 
 and, putting himself into such a habit as 
 might most move coinpassion, 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 wicked- 
 ly, and was guilty of every thing that he had 
 been accused oi, and lamented that disorder 
 of his mind and distraction which his love tc 
 a woman, he said, had brought him to. Sf. 
 when Archelaus had brought Pheroras to ac- 
 cuse and bear witness against himself, he ther 
 made an excuse for him, and mitigated He- 
 rod's anger towards him, and this by using 
 certain domestic examples ; for that when he 
 
 "V 
 
"V 
 
 CHAP. XXVt. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 593 
 
 had sufTered much greater mischiefs from a 
 brother of his own, lie preferred the obliga- 
 tions of nature before the passion of revenge ; 
 because it is in kingdoms as it is in gross 
 bodies, where some member or other is ever 
 swelled by the body's weight; in wiiich case 
 it is not proper to cut off such member, but 
 to heal it by a gentle method of cure. 
 
 5. Upon Archelaus's saying this, and much 
 more to the same purpose, Herod's displea- 
 sure against Pheroras was molified ; yet did 
 he persevere in his own indignation against 
 Alexander, and said he would have his daugh- 
 ter divorced and taken away from him, and 
 this till lie had brought Herod to that pass, 
 that, contrary to his former behaviour to him, 
 lie petitioned Archelaus for the young man, 
 and that he wouH let his daughter continue 
 espoused to him : but Archelaus made him 
 strongly believe that he would permit her to 
 be married to any one else, but not to Alex- 
 ander ; 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 his fall- 
 ing into despair ; because such young men's 
 attempts are best mollified when they are di- 
 verted from them by settling their affections at 
 home. So Archelaus 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 sent 
 to Rome to discourse with Caesar, because he 
 liad already written a full account to him of 
 tJ)is whole matter. 
 
 6 Thus a period was put to Archelaus's 
 rtratagem, whereby he delivered his son-in- 
 iaw out of the dangers he was in : but when 
 these reconciliations were over, they spent 
 their time in feastings and agreeable enter- 
 tainments; and when .'\rchelaus was going 
 away, Herod made him a present of seventy 
 talents, with a golden throne set with precious 
 stones, and some eunuchs, and a concubine 
 who was called Pannychis. He also paid 
 due honours to every one of Lis friends ac- 
 cording to their dignity. In like manner did 
 all the king's kindred, by bis command, mako 
 glorious presents to Archelaus ; and so he 
 was conducted on his way by Herod and his 
 uobiluy as far as Antioch. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 HOW EURYCLES * CALUMNIATED THE SONS OP 
 MAKIAMNE; AND HOW EUARATUS'S APOLOCy 
 HAD NO EFFECT. 
 
 § 1. Now a little afterward there came into 
 Judea a man that was much superior to Ar- 
 chelaus's stratagems, who did not only over- 
 turn that reconciliation that had been so wisely 
 made with Alexander, but proved the occa- 
 sion of his ruin. He was a Lacedemonian, 
 and his name was Eurycles. He was so cor- 
 rupt a man, that out of 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 received them back again mani- 
 fold ; yet did he esteem bare gifts as nothing, , 
 unless he imbrued the kingdom in blood by 
 his purchases. Accordingly, he imposed up- 
 on the king by flattering him, and by talking 
 subtilely to him, as also by the lying encomi- 
 ums 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 king and all that were 
 about him, had a great regard for this Spartan^ 
 on account of his country.f ' 
 
 2. Now as soon as this fellow perceived 
 the rotten parts of the family, and what quarrels 
 the brothers had one with another, and in what 
 disposition the father was towards each of therr^. 
 he chose to take his lodging at the first in the. 
 house of Antipater, but deluded Alexander 
 witii a pretence of friendship to him, and 
 falsely claimed to be an old acquaintance of 
 Archelaus ; for which reason he was presently 
 admitted into Alexander's familiarity as a 
 faithful friend. He also soon recommended 
 himself to his brother Aristobulus; and wheitr 
 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 betray-, 
 ed Alexander, and this by reproaching Anti- 
 pater, because, while he was tlie eldest son, 
 he overlooked the intrigues of those who 
 stood in the way of his expectations ; and bv 
 reproaching Alexander, because he who was 
 
 * Tiiis vile fellow, Eurycles the Lacedemonian, seems, 
 to have been the same who is mentioneil by Plutarch^ 
 as (t\vc:ity-five years before) a eomnaiiion to Mark .^ii- 
 txjny, and as livin" with Herod ; wnence h^ might easi 
 ly in.iinuate himself into the acquaintanre of HeriMl'i 
 sons, Antipater and Alexander, as Usher, Hudson, aint 
 Spanheim, justly suppose. The reason why his betug 
 a Spartan rendered him acceptable to tlie Jews, as we 
 here see he was, is visible from the public records of th& 
 Jews and Spartans, owning tliose Spartans to be of kia 
 to the Jews, and derived from their common anccsto; 
 .Abraham, the first patriarch of the Jewish nation. ,\n 
 tiq. b. xii, chap, iv, sect. 10 ; b. xiii, ch.ip. v, sect ti 
 and 1 Mace. chap, xii, ver. 7. 
 
 t See the preceding note. 
 
 3 D 
 
J- 
 
 594 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK 1. 
 
 born of a queen, and was married to a king's 
 daughter, permitted one that was horn of a 
 mean woman to lay 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 otlierthan faitliful by the 
 young man, because of his protended friend- 
 ship with Archelaus: on which account it was 
 that Alexander lamented to him Antipater's 
 behaviour with regard to himself, and this 
 without concealing any tiling from hiui ; and 
 now it was no wonder if Ilerod, after he had 
 killed their mother, should deprive them of 
 her kingdom. Upon this Eurycks pretended 
 to commiserate his condition, and to grieve 
 with him. He also, by a bait tliat he laid for 
 him, procured Aristobulus to say the same 
 things. Tlius did he inveigle both the bro- 
 thers 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 
 intelligence he received a great sum of money, 
 and on that account he commended Antipater 
 before his father, and at length undertook tlie 
 work of bringing Alexander and Aristobulus 
 to their graves, and accused 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 preserve his light [of life] by way of 
 retribution for his kind entertainment; for that 
 a sword had been long whetted, and Alex- 
 ander's right hand had been long stretciied out 
 against him : but that he had laid imjiediments 
 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 toothers, 
 and to make dilapidations in their nioiher's 
 government after he had killed her ; but be- 
 sides all this, that he introduced a spurious 
 successor, and proposed to give the ki:igdom 
 of their ancestors to that pestilent ft ilow Anti- 
 pater : — that he would now ajipease the ghosts 
 •of Hyrcanus and Mariamne, by taking ven- 
 geance on him ; for that it was not fit for him 
 to take the succession 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 nothing at all, but 
 it affords occasion for calumny against him ; 
 for that, if any mention be made of nobility 
 or birth, even in other cases, he is abused un- 
 justly, while his father would say that nobody, 
 to be sure, is of noble birth but Alexander, 
 
 accounts, if this plot floes not take he is very 
 wiliinglo diej but that in case he kill his father 
 he hath sufficient opportunity for saving him- 
 self. In the first place, he hath Archelaus 
 his father-in-law,, to whom he can easily fly; 
 and in tl.e next place, he hath Caesar, who 
 iiad 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 thci'e to terrify him ; and that he 
 will not then produce the accusations that 
 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 prac- 
 tices that wealth is spent which was gotten by 
 bloodshed ; what sort of persons they are that 
 get our riches, and to whom those cities be- 
 long, upon whom he bestows his favours ; 
 that he would have inquiry made what be- 
 came of his grandfather [Hyrcanus], and his 
 mother [Mariamne], and would openly pro- 
 claim the gross ^vickedness that was in the 
 kingdom ; on which accounts he should not 
 be deemed a parricide. 
 
 3. When Eurycles had made this porten- 
 tous speech, he greatly commended Antipa- 
 ter, as the only child that had an affection foi 
 his father, and on that account was an impe- 
 diment to the otlier's plot against him. Here 
 upon the king, who had hardly repressed his 
 anger upon the former accusations, was exas. 
 perated to an incurable degree. At which 
 time Antipater look another occasion to send 
 in other persons to his father to accuse his 
 brethren, and to tell him that they had pri- 
 vately discoursed with Jncundus and Tyran- 
 nu3, 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 in- 
 formations, and presently ordered those men 
 to be tortured : yet did not they confess any 
 thing of what the king had been informed ; 
 hut a certain letter was produced, as written 
 by Alexander to the governor of a castle, to 
 desire him to receive him and Aristobulus 
 into the castle when he had kilted liis father, 
 and to give them weapons, and what other 
 assistance he could, upon that occasion. Al- 
 exander said that this letter was a forgery of 
 Diophantus. This Diojihantus was tlie king's 
 secretaty, a bold man, cunning in counter 
 feiting 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 tlie 
 governor of the castle to be tortured ; but got 
 nothing out of him of what the accusations 
 
 and that his father was inglorious for want of suggested. 
 
 such nobility. If they be at any time Iiunt- j 4. However, although Herod found the 
 ing, and he says nothing, he gives offence; proofs too weak, he gave order to have his 
 and if he commends any body, they take it in sons kept in custody; for till now they had 
 way of jest: that they always find tlicir father been at liberty. He also called that pest of 
 unmercifully severe, and have no natnral affcc- his family, and forger of all this vile accusa- 
 tion foranyofthembut for Antipater; on which tion, Eurycles, his saN-iour and benefactor. 
 
■V 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 595 
 
 and gave him a reward of fifty talents. Up- 
 on whicli he prevented any accurate accounts 
 that could come of what he had done, by go- 
 ing immediately into Cappadocia, and there 
 he got money of Archelaus, having the im- 
 pudence to pretend that he had reconciled 
 Herod to Alexander. He thence passed over 
 into Greece, and used what he had thus wick- 
 edly gotten to the like wicked purposes. Ac- 
 cordingly, he was twice accused before Caesar, 
 that he had filled Achaia with sedition, 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. 
 
 5. 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 tra- 
 vels at the same lime that Eurycles 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 tlie 
 young men ; yet did this testimony avail no- 
 thing for the clearing those miserable crea- 
 tures ; 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 indignation at them. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 HEROD, BY Cesar's direction, accuses his 
 
 SONS AT BERYTUS. THtY ARE NOT PRO- 
 DUCED BEFORE THE COURT, BUT YET ARE 
 CONDEMNED ; AND IN A LITTLE TIME ARE 
 SENT TO SEBASTE, AND STRANGLED THERE. 
 
 § 1. Moreover, Salome exasperated Herod's 
 cruelty against his sons; for Aristobulus was 
 desirous to bring her, who was his mother-in- 
 law and his aunt, into the like dangers with 
 themselves : so he sent to her to take care of 
 her own safety, and told her that the king was 
 preparing to put her to death, on account of 
 the accusation that was laid agamst her, as if 
 when she formerly endeavoured to marry her- 
 self to Sylleus the Arabian, she had disco- 
 vered the king's grand secrets to him, who 
 was the king's enemy ; and this it was tliat 
 came as the last storm, and entirely sunk tlie 
 young men who were in great danger before ; 
 for Salome came running to the king, and in. 
 formed him of what admonition had been 
 given her ; whereupon he could bear no 
 longer, l)ut commanded both the young men 
 to be bound, and kept the one asunder from 
 the other. He also sent Volumnius, the ge- 
 neral of his army, to Ciesar immediately, as 
 also his friend Olympus with him, wlio car 
 ried the informations in writing aloV)-; witl- 
 
 them. Now, as soon as they had sailed to 
 Rome and delivered the king's letters to Ca;- 
 sar, Csesar was mightily troubled at the case 
 of the young men ; yet did not he think be 
 ought to take the power from the father of 
 condemning his sons ; so he wrote back to 
 him, and appointed him to have tlie power 
 over his sons; but said wittjal, that he would 
 do well to make an examination into tliis mat- 
 ter 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 ; but if they appear to have thought of 
 no more than only flying away from him, 
 that he should, in that case, moderate their 
 punishment. 
 
 2. With these directions Herod complied, 
 and came to Berytus, where Caesar had or- 
 dered the court to be assembled, and got the 
 judicature together. The presidents sat first, 
 as Caesar's letters had appointed, who were 
 Saturninus and Pedanius, and their lieutenants 
 that were with them, with whom was the pro- 
 curator Volumnius also; next to them sat the 
 king's kinsmen and friends, with Salome also, 
 and Pheroras ; after whom sat the principal 
 men of all Syria, excepting Archelaus ; for 
 Herod had a suspicion of him, because he 
 was Alexander'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, Alex- 
 ander would easily have answered what they 
 were accused of; but they were in custody at 
 Platane, a village of the Sidonians. 
 
 3. So the king got up, and inveighed against 
 his sons as if they were present ; and as for 
 tliat part of the accusation that they had plot- 
 ted against him, he urged it but faintly, be- 
 cause he was destitute of proofs ; but he in- 
 sisted before the assessors on the reproaches,, 
 and jests, and injurious carriage, and ten tliou- 
 sand the like offences against them, wliicfa 
 were heavier than death itself; and when no- 
 body contradicted him, he moved them to 
 pity his case, as thougli tie had been con- 
 demned himself, now he had gained a bitter 
 victory against his sons. So he asked every 
 one's sentence; which sentence was first of 
 all given by Siiturninus, and was this : — That 
 he condemned the young men, but not to 
 death ; for that it was not fit for him, who 
 had three sous of his own now present, to give 
 his vote for the destruction of the sons of ano- 
 ther. The two lieutenants also gave the like 
 vote ; some others there were also who fol- 
 lowed their example ; but Volumnius began 
 to vote on the more melancholy side, and all 
 those that came after him condemned the 
 young men to die; some out of flaliery, and 
 some out of hatred to Herod ; but none out 
 of indi^i:natio» at their crimes. And now al 
 
 "^^ 
 
596 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK. I. 
 
 Syria and Judca was in great expectation, and 
 waited for the last act of this tragedy ; yet did 
 nobody suppose that Herod would be so bar- 
 barous 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. 
 
 4. 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 parti- 
 cularly loved the young men. Tais soldier 
 was in a manner distracted, out of the excess 
 of the indignation he had at what was doing; 
 and at first he cried out aloud, as he went 
 about, that justice was trampled under foot; 
 that truth was perished, and nature confound- 
 ed ; and that the life of man was full of ini- 
 quity, 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 miser- 
 able man, wlien thou hearkenest to most wick- 
 ed wretclics, against those that ought to be 
 dearest to thee ; since thou hast frequently re- 
 solved 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 
 ewn 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, witii Tevo himself, and his 
 son, to be seized upon immediately. 
 
 5. At which time there was a certain bar- 
 ber, 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 persuade me also 
 to cut tiiy throat with my razor when I trim- 
 med thee ; and promised that Alexander 
 should give me large presents for so dning." 
 When Herod heard this, he examined Tero, 
 with his son and the barber, by the torture; 
 but as the others denied the accusation, and 
 be said notiiing farther, Herod gave or- 
 der that Tero sliouid be racked more severe- 
 ly : but his son, out of pity to his father, pro- 
 mised to discover the whole to tlie 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 intention to kill him. 
 Now some st'id tliis 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 t(^ether 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 
 the stones that were thrown at them. He al- 
 so sent his sons to Sebaste, a city not far from 
 Cesarea, and ordered them to be there stran- 
 gled ; and as what he had ordered was exe- 
 cuted immediately, so he commanded that 
 their dead bodies should be brought to the 
 fortress Alexandrium, to be buried with Alex- 
 ander, their grandfather by the mother's side. 
 And this was the end of Alexander and Aris- 
 tobulus. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIIJ. 
 
 HOW ANTIPATEIl IS HATKD OF ALL JIEN ; AND 
 HOW THE KING ESPOUSES THE SONS OP 
 THOSE THAT HAD BEEN SLAIN TO HIS KIN- 
 DRED ; BUT THAT ANTIPATER MADE HIM 
 CHANGE THEJI FOR OTHER WOJIEN. OF 
 HEROD'S MARRIAGES AND CHILDREN. 
 
 § 1. But an intolerable hatred fell upon An 
 tipater from the nation, though he had now 
 an indisputable title to the succession ; be- 
 cause they all knew tliat he was the person 
 who contrived all the calumnies against his 
 brethren. However, he began to be in a ter- 
 rible fear, as he saw the posterity of those 
 that had been slain growing up ; for Alex- 
 ander had two sons by Glaphyra, Tygranes 
 and Alexander; and Aristobulus had Herod, 
 and Agrippa, and Aristobulus, his sons, with 
 Herodias and Mariamne, his daughters ; and 
 all by Bernice, Salome's daughter. As for 
 Glaphyra, Herod, as soon as he had killed 
 Alexander, sent her back, together with hei 
 portion, to Capadocia. He married Bernice. 
 Aristobulus's daughter, to Antipater'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 Rome ; 
 Saturniuus also, and his friends in Syria, 
 were all well replenislied with the presents lie 
 made them ; yet, the more he gave the more 
 he was hated, as not making these presents 
 out of generosity, but spending his money out 
 of fear. Accordingly it so fell out, that the 
 receivers bore him no more good-will than be- 
 fore, but that those to whom he gave nothing 
 were his more bitter enemies. However, he 
 iestowed 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 repentance for killing their fiilhers, by hia 
 commistration of those that sprang from them. 
 2 Accordingly, Herod got together hi« 
 
CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 697 
 
 kindred and friends, and set before them tlie 
 children, and with his eyes full of tears, said 
 thus to them : " It was an unlucky fate that 
 took away from me these children's fathers, 
 which children are recommended to me by 
 that natural commiseration which their or- 
 phan condition requires ; however, I will en- 
 deavour, though I have been a most unfortu- 
 nate father, to appear a better grandfather, 
 and to leave these children such curators af- 
 ter myself as are dearest to me. I therefore 
 betroth thy daughter, Pheroras, to the elder of 
 these brethren, the children of Alexander, that 
 thou mayest be obliged to take care of them, 
 lalso betroth to thy son, Antipater, the daugh- 
 ter 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 tliese dispositions, 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 kingdom, and of my posterity ; and 
 may he look down with eyes more serene 
 upon them than he looked upon their fa- 
 tliers !" 
 
 3. While he spake these words, he wept, 
 and joined the children's right hands toge- 
 ther : after which he embraced them every one 
 after an affectionate manner, and dismissed 
 the assembly. Upon this Antipater was in 
 great disorder immediately, and lamented 
 publicly at what was done ; for he supposed 
 tliat this dignity, which was conferred on these 
 orphans, was for his own destruction, even in 
 liis father's life-time, and that he should run 
 another risk of losing the government if 
 Alexander's sons should have both Archelaus 
 [a king", and Pheroras a tetrarch, to support 
 them. He also considered how he was him 
 self hated by the nation, and how they pitied 
 these orphans : how great affection the Jews 
 bare to those brethren of his when they were 
 alive, and how gladly they remembered them, 
 now they had perished by his means. So he 
 resolved by all the ways possible to get these 
 espousals dissolved. 
 
 4. 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 before 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 besought him ear- 
 nestly, since there were so many of the royal 
 family alive, that he would change those [in- 
 tended] marriages. New the king had nine 
 
 wives,* and children by seven of them ; An- 
 tipater was himself born of Doris, and He- 
 rod [Philip] of Mariamne, the high- priest's 
 daughter; Antipas also and Archelaus were 
 by IMalthace, the Samaritan, as was his daugh- 
 ter Olympias, which his brother Joseph's j- son 
 had married. By Cleopatra of Jerusalem he 
 had Herod and Philip ; and by Pallas, Pha- 
 saelus : he had also two daughters, Rosana 
 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 othei 
 his niece ; and besides these he had two daugh- 
 ters, the sisters of Alexander and Aristobulus, 
 by Mariamne. Since, therefore, the royal 
 family was so numerous, Antipater prayed 
 him to change these intended marriages. 
 
 5. When the king perceived what disposi- 
 tion he was in towards 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 raatle Antipater a long and a 
 peevish answer, and bade him begone. Yet 
 was he afterwards prevailed upon cunningly 
 by his flatteries, and changed the marriages ; 
 he mairied Aristobulus's daughter to him, 
 and his son to Pheroras's daughter. 
 
 6. Now one may learn, in this instance, 
 how very much this flattering Antipater could 
 do, — even what Salome in the like circum- 
 stances could not do ; for when she, who was 
 his sister, had by the means of Julia, Ca-sar's 
 wife, earnestly desired leave to be married to 
 Sylleus tiie Arabian, 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 Alesas's son, 
 and the other to Antipater's uncle by the 
 mother's side. And for the daughters that 
 the king had by IMariamne, the one was mar- 
 ried to Antipater, his sister's son, and the 
 other to his brother's son, Phasaelus. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ANTIPATER BECOMES INTOLERABLE. HE IS 
 SEXT TO ROJIE, AND CARRIES HEKGD's 
 TESTAMENT WITH HIM. PHERORAS LEAVES 
 HIS EHOTIIER, THAT HE MAY KEEP HIS WIFE. 
 HE DIES AT HOME. 
 
 § 1. Now when Antipater had cut oflF tha 
 
 * Dean Aldrich takes notice here, that these nine 
 wives of Herod were a'ive at the same time, and tliat 
 if the cclibrated Mariumne, who was now dead, be 
 reckoned, those wives were in all tan. \ct it is remark- 
 able that he had no more than fifteen children by them 
 al!. 
 
 t To prevent confusion. It may not be amiss,, with 
 Dean Aldrich, to distinguish between four Joseph? i;i 
 Uie history of Herod. I. Joseph, Herod's unele. aiiJ 
 
598 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 hopes of the orphans, and had contracted such 
 affinities as would be most for his own advan- 
 tage, he proceeded brisiily, as having a certain 
 expectation of the kingdom ; and as he had 
 now assurances added to his wickedness, he 
 became intolerable ; for not being able to avoid 
 the hatred of all people, he built his security 
 upon the terror he struck into them. Phe- 
 roras also assisted him in his designs, looking 
 upon him as already fixed in the kingdom. 
 There was also a company of women in the 
 court, who excited new disturbances ; for 
 Pheroras's wife, together with her motlier 
 and sister, as also Antipater's mother, grew 
 very impudent in the palace. She also was 
 so insolent as toaHVont the king's two daugh- 
 ters,* 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 only Salome who opposed 
 their good agreement, and informed the king 
 of their meetings, as not being for the advan- 
 tage of his aflairs ; 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 friend- 
 ly entertainments of one another ; nay, on 
 the contrary, they pretended to quarrel one 
 with another when the king was within hear- 
 ing. The like dissimulation did Antipater 
 make use of; and when matters were public, 
 he opposed Pheroras : but still they had pri- 
 vate cabals, and merry meetings in the night- 
 time ; nor did the observation of others do any 
 more than confirm their mutual agreement. 
 However, Saloine knew every thing they did, i 
 and told every thing to Herod. | 
 
 2. But he was inflamed with anger at them, ] 
 and chiefly at Pheroras's wife ; for Salome j 
 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 offer- 
 ed his daughters ; and that she had supplied 
 the Pharisees 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 
 iiis brother, or witii his wife ? And when 
 Pheroras said that he certainly would die ra- 
 her than forsake his wife,f — Herod, not 
 
 the [second] husband of his sister Salome, slain by 
 Herod oa account of Mariamne. 2. Joseph, Herod's 
 quaestor, or treasurer, slain on tlie same acco'.nit. 3. 
 Joseph, Herod's brother, slain in battle agaii>-:t Antigo- 
 nus. 4. Joseph, Herod's nephew, the husband of Olym- 
 pian, nitntioned in this place. 
 
 » These daughters of Herod, whom Pheroras's wife 
 afl'ronted, were Salome and Iloxana, two virgins, who 
 were born to him of his two wives, Klpide and Phedra, 
 See Heiod's genealogy, Antiq. b. xvii, ch. i, sect. 3. 
 
 t Xliis strange obstinacy of Pheroras in retaining his 
 wife, who was one of a low family, and refusing to mar- 
 ry one nearly related to Herod, though he so earnestly 
 licsiied it, as also that wife's admission to the councils 
 
 knowing what to do farther in that matter 
 turned his speech to Antipater, and charged 
 him to have no intercourse either with Phe- 
 roras's wife, or with Pheroras himself, or with 
 any one belonging to her. Now, though 
 Antipater did not transgress that his injunc- 
 tion publicly, yet did he in secret come to 
 their night-meetings : and because he yvas a- 
 fraid 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 delay, but sent him, and that with a 
 splendid attendance, and a great deal of mo- 
 ney, and gave him his 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 Mariamne, the 
 high-priest's daughter. 
 
 3. Sylleus also, the Arabian, sailed to 
 Rome, without any regard to Csesar's injunc- 
 tions, and this in order to oppose .\ntipater 
 with all his might, as to that law-suit which 
 Nicolaus had with him before. This Sylleus 
 had also a great contest with Aretas his own 
 king ; for he had slain many otliers of Aretas's 
 friends, and particularly Sohemus, the most 
 potent man in the city Petra. Moreover, he had 
 prevailed with Phabatus, who yvas Herod's 
 steward, by giving him a great sum of money, 
 to assist him against Herod ; but yvhen Herod 
 gave him more, he induced him to leave Syl- 
 leus, and by his means he demanded of liim 
 all that Ca'sar had reqtiired of him to pay ; 
 but when Sylleus paid nothing of what he yvas 
 to pay, and did also accuse Phabatus to Cae- 
 sar, and said that he yvas not a steyvard for 
 Cssar's advantage, but for Herod's, Phabatus 
 yvas angry at him on tliat account, but yvas 
 still in very great esteem yvith Herod, and 
 discovered Sylleus's grand secrets, and told 
 the king that Sylleus had corrupted Corin- 
 thus, one of the guards of his body, by brib. 
 ing him, and of yvhom he must therefore have 
 a care. Accordingly the king complied ; for 
 this Corinthus, though he yvas brought up in 
 Herod's kingdoin, yet yvas by birth an Arabi- 
 an ; so the king ordered him to be taken up 
 immediately, and not only him, but two other 
 Arabians, who yvere caught yvith 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 yvith 
 Corinthus, for a large sum of money, to kill 
 
 of the other great court-ladies, together with Her. d's 
 own importunity as to Pheroras's divorce and other 
 marriage, all >o remarkable here, or in the Antiq. b. 
 xvii, ch. ii, sect 4; and ch. iii, sect 3. cannot be well 
 accounted for, but on the supposal that Ptieroras be- 
 lieved, and Herod suspected, that the Pharisees' jire- 
 diction, as if the crown of Judea should be translated 
 from Herod to Pheroras's ])Osterity, and that most pro- 
 bably lo Pheroras's posterity by this his wife, also would 
 prove true. See AntiQ. b. kvii, ch. ii, sect. 4; and ch 
 
 1 III MUt i 
 
CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Herod ; and when they had been farther ex- 
 amined before Saturninus, the president of 
 Syria, they were sent to Rome. 
 
 4. However, Herod did not leave ofTimpor- 
 tuning 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 
 ill such great uneasiness at her, tiiat 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, be- 
 yond 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, be- 
 cause he had a mind to leave some injunc- 
 tions with him before he died : but Herod 
 unexpectedly recovered. A little afterward 
 Pheroras himself fell sick, when Herod 
 shewed great moderation ; for he came to him 
 and pitied his case, and took care of him : but 
 his aH'ection for him did him no good, for Phe- 
 roras dipd a little afterward. Now, though 
 Herod had so great an atfection for him to the 
 last day of his life, yet was a report spread 
 abroad that he had killed him by poison. 
 However, he took care to have his dead body 
 carried to Jerusalem, and appointed a very 
 great mourning to t!)e whole nation for him, 
 and bestowed a most pompous funeral upon 
 him ; and this was the end that one of Al- 
 exander's and Aristobulus's murderers came 
 to. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 WHEN HEHOD MADE IXQUIRY ABOUT PHERO- 
 KAS S DEATH, A DISCOVERY WAS MADE THAT 
 ANTIPATER HAD PHEPAUED A POISONOUS 
 DRAUGHT FOR HIM. HEROD CASTS DORIS 
 AND HER ACCOMPLICES, AS ALSO MARIAMNE, 
 OUT OF THE PALACE, AND BLOTS HER SON 
 HEROD OUT OF HIS TESTAMENT. 
 
 § 1. But now the punishment was transfer- 
 red unto the original autho'', Antipater, and 
 took its rise from tiie death of Pheroras ; for 
 certain of his freed -men 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 prepared after an unusual manner, and 
 that upon his eating it, he presently fell into 
 his distemper ; that Antipater's mother and 
 .■^ister, two days before, brought a woman out 
 of Arabia that was skilful in mixing such 
 drugs, that she might prepare a love-potion 
 for Pheroras; and that, instead of a iQve-po- 
 tion, she had given him deadly poison ; and that 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 599 
 
 this was done by the management of Sylleus, 
 who was acfjuninted with tiiat woman. 
 
 2. The king was deeply affected with so 
 many suspicions, and had the maid-servants 
 and some of the free women also tortured ; 
 one of whom cried out in her agonies, " May 
 that God that governs the earth and the lieavcn, 
 punish the author of all these our miseries, 
 Antipater's mother !" The king took a handle 
 from this confession, and proceeded to inquire 
 farther into the trutii of this matter. So this 
 woman discovered the fiiendship of Antipa- 
 ter's mother to Pheroras and Antipater's wo- 
 men, as also their secret meetings, and that 
 Plieroras and Antipater had drank with them 
 for a whole night together as they returned 
 from the king, and would not suffer any body, 
 either man-servant or maid-servant, to be 
 there ; while one of the free women discover- 
 ed the whole of the matter. 
 
 3. Upon this, Herod tortured the maid- 
 servants, every one by themselves separately ; 
 who all unanimously agreed in tlie foregoing 
 discoveries, and that accordingly by agree- 
 ment they went away, Antipater to Rome, 
 and Pheroras to Perea ; for that they often- 
 times talked to one another thus : — That after 
 Herod had slain Alexander and Aristobulus, 
 he would fall upon them, and upon their 
 wives, because, after he had not spared Mari- 
 amne and her children, he would spare nobo- 
 dy ; and that for this reason it was best to gel 
 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 grey hairs upon his head, 
 and that his father grew younger again every 
 day, and that perhaps death would overtake 
 him before he should begin 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 
 Hydra, the sons of Alexander and Aristobu- 
 lus, were growing up : that he was deprived 
 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 chil- 
 dren. Yet does he hate his brother still worse ; 
 whence it was that he a while ago gave him- 
 self a hundred talents, that he should not 
 have any intercourse with Pheroras. And 
 when Pheroras said, wlierein have we done 
 him any harm? Antipater replied, "I wish 
 he would but deprive us of all we have, and 
 leave us naked and alive only ; but it is in- 
 deed impossible to escape this wild beast, who 
 is thus given to murder; who will not permit 
 us to love any person openly, although we he 
 
600 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK 1. 
 
 liave liated him that is so affectionate to me, 
 and have contrived to kill him who is in such 
 disorder for mc before I am dead. As for 
 myself, 1 receive the recompense of my im- 
 piety ; but do thou bring what poison was left 
 with us by Antipater, and which thou keepest, 
 in order to destroy him, and consume it im- 
 mediately in the fire in my siglit, 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 it into the fire, but re 
 served a little of it for my own use against un 
 certain futurity, and out of my fear of thee." 
 7. 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, and 
 transferred the tortures to Antiphilus's mo 
 ther 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 Aies-- 
 andria. Then did the ghosts of Alexander 
 and Aristobulus 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 suspi- 
 cion to be examined ; whereby it was disco- 
 covered that Mariamne, the high-priest's 
 daughter, was conscious of this plot ; and her 
 very brothers, when they were tortured, de- 
 lared it so to be. Whereupon tlie king 
 avenged this insolent attempt of the mother 
 upon her son, and blotted Herod, whom ha 
 had by her, out of his testament, who haa 
 been before named therein as successor to 
 Antipater. 
 
 together privately ; yet may we be so openly 
 too, if we are but endowed with the courage 
 and the hands of men." 
 
 4. These things were said by die women 
 upon the torture : as also that Pheroras re- 
 solved to fly with them to Perea. Now He- 
 rod g^ve ciedit to all they said, on account of 
 the affair of the hundred talents ; for he had 
 had no discourse with any body 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. He also took care of Pheroras's wo- 
 men after their tortures, as being now lecon- 
 ciled to them ; but he was in great consterna- 
 tion himself, and inflamed upon every sus- 
 picion, and had many innocent persons led to 
 tlie torture, ojt of his fear, lest he should per- 
 haps leave any guilty person untortured. 
 
 5. 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 Antiphilus, a companion of his ; 
 that Theudio, the uncle of Antipater, had it 
 from him, and delivered it to Fheroras ; 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 re- 
 ceived 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 tor- 
 ture from the king. However, it came to 
 
 pass, as it seems by the providence of God, 
 
 when lie intended to bring Antipater to pu- 
 nishment, 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 herself 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 of it to be buried. 
 
 6. Upon this the woman paused a little, 
 
 and then said, " why do I spare to speak of 
 
 these grand secrets, now Pheroras is dead ! 
 
 that would only tend to save Antipater, who 
 
 is all our destruction. Hear then, O kin 
 
 and be thou, and God himself, who cannot be I the letters which he wrote against his breth- 
 
 deceived, witnesses to the truth of what I am ren, Archelaus and Philip, who were the 
 
 going to say. When thou didst sit weeping ' king's sons, and educated at Rome, being 
 
 by Plieroras as he was dying, then it was that yet youths, but of generous dispositions. 
 
 he called me to him, and said, — ' My dear Antipater set himself to get nd of these as 
 
 wife, I have been greatly mistaken as to the j soon as he could, that they might not be 
 
 disposition of iny brother towards me, and | iirejudicial to his hopes ; and to tliat evd he 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 ANTIPATER IS CONVICTED BY BATHYLLUS ; BlTi' 
 HE STILL RETURNS FROM ROME, WITHOUT 
 KNOWING IT. HEROD BRINGS HIM TO HiS 
 TRIAL. 
 
 § 1. After these things were over, BathyJ- 
 lus came under examination, in order to con- 
 vict Antipater, who proved the concluding 
 attestation to Antipater's designs ; for indeed 
 he was no other than his fieed-man. This 
 man came, and brought another deadly po- 
 tion, the poison of asps and the juices of 
 other serpents, that if the first potion did not 
 do the business, Pheroras and his wife might 
 be armed with this also to destroy the king. 
 He brought also an addition to Antipater's 
 insolent attempts against his father, which was 
 
cfiAP. xxxr. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 601 
 
 forged letters against tliem, in the name of 
 his friends at Rome. Some of these he cor- 
 rupted by bribes, to write how they grossly 
 reproached their father, and did openly bo- 
 wail Alexander and Aristobulus, and wore 
 Hfieasy at their being recalled ; for their fa- 
 ther had already sent for tiicm, vvhich was 
 the very thing Uiat troubled Antipater. 
 
 2. Nay indeed, while Antipater was in 
 Jiidea, and before he was upon his journey 
 to Rome, he gave money 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 con- 
 tained 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 breiliren, did he aim to 
 bring his accounts into confusion, by birjing 
 costly garments, and carpets of various con- 
 textures, wth silver and gold cups, and a 
 great many more curious things, that so, 
 among the very great expenses laid out upon 
 such furniture, he might conceal the money 
 he had used in hiring men [to write the let- 
 ters] ; for lie brough.t in an account of his ex- 
 penses, amounting to two hundred talents, his 
 main pretence for which, was the law-suit 
 that he had been in with Sylleus. So wliile 
 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 tliat came 
 to Rome inform him of his misfortunes in 
 Judea, although seven months had intervened 
 between his conviction and his return, — so 
 great was the iiatred which they all bore to 
 him. And perhaps they were the ghosts of 
 those bretliren of his that had been murdered, 
 that stopped the montlisof those that intended 
 to have told him. He then wrote from Rome, 
 and informed his [friends] that he would soon 
 come to them, and how he was dismissed with 
 honour by Casar. 
 
 3. Now the king being desirous to get 
 this plotter against him into his hands, and 
 being also afraid lest lie should some way 
 come to tiie knowledge how his afTairs stood, 
 and be upon his guard, he dissembled his 
 «nger 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 motiicr ; for Antipater was not ig- 
 norant that ills mother had been expelled out 
 of the palace. However, he had before receiv- 
 ed a letter, which contained an account of the 
 d*atb of Piieroras, at Tarentum,* — and made 
 
 * This Tarentum has coins still extant, as KeUnd in- 
 •ocnis us here in his note. 
 
 great lamentations at it; for which some com- 
 mended him, as being for his own uncle; 
 though probably this confusion arose on ac- 
 count of Ids 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] Piieroras : 
 moreover, a sort of fear came upon him as to 
 his designs, lest the poison should have been 
 discovered. However, when he was in Cili- 
 cia he received the forementioned epistle from 
 his father, and made great haste accordingly. 
 But when he had sailed to Celenderis, a sus- 
 picion came into his mind relating to his mo- 
 ther's misfortunes ; as if his soul foreboded 
 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 wliy 
 his mother had been ejected, because they 
 were afraid that he might be involved in the 
 calumnies that had been cast upon his mother; 
 but those that were less considerate, and had 
 more regard to their own desires of seeing 
 their native country than to Antipater's safe- 
 ty, persuaded him to make haste home, and 
 not, by delaying his journey, afTord 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 betn moved to his 
 disadvantage, it was owing to his absence, 
 which dur;st not have been done had he been 
 present ; — and they said it was absurd to de- 
 prive himself of certain happiness, for the sake 
 of an uncertain suspicion, and not rather to 
 return to his father, and take the royal autho- 
 rity upon iiim, which was in a state of fluctu- 
 ation on his account only. Antijiater com- 
 plied with this last advice; for Providence 
 hurried him on [to his destruction!. So he 
 passed over the sea, and landed at Sebastus, 
 the haven of Cesarea. 
 
 4. And here he found a perfect and unex- 
 pected solitude, while every body 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 wore 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 Antipater himself was the only 
 person who was ignorant of them ; for as no 
 man was dismissed more magnificently when 
 he began liis 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 counte- 
 nance. Nor could he now fly any whither, 
 nor had he any way of emerging out of the 
 difficulties which encompassed him; nor in- 
 deed had he even there any certain intelligence 
 of the affairs of the royal family, by reasoij 
 3 £ 
 
602 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 of the tlireats 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, vvhirh were the only things 
 he relied upon for his deliverance. 
 
 5. And with these hopes did he screen 
 himself, till he came to the palace, without 
 any friends with him ; for these were affront- 
 ed, and shut out at the first gate. Now Va- 
 rus, the president of Syria, happened to be 
 in the palace [at this juncture] ; so Antipater 
 went in to his father, and, putting on a bold 
 face, he came near to salute iiim. But He- 
 rod stretched out his hands, and turned his 
 head away from him, and cried out, " Even 
 this is an indication of a parricide, to be de- 
 sirous to get me into his arms, when he is 
 under such heinous accusations. God con- 
 found 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 seasona- 
 bly here, to be thy judge ; and get thou thy 
 defence ready against to-morrow, for I give 
 thee so much time to prepare suitable excuses 
 for thyself." And as Antipater was so con- 
 founded, that he was able to make no answer 
 to this charge, he went away ; but his mother 
 and wife came to him, and told him of all the 
 evidence they had gotten against him. Here- 
 upon he recollected himself, and considered 
 what defence he should make against the ac- 
 cusations. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 ANTIPATER IS ACCUSED BEFORE VARUS, AND 
 IS CONVICTED OF LAYING A PLOT [aGAINST 
 HIS FATHER BY THE STRONGEST EVIDENCE. 
 HEROD PUTS OFF HIS PUNISHMENT TILL HE 
 SHOULD BE RECOVERED, AND IN THE MEAN 
 TLME ALTERS HIS TESTAMENT. 
 
 § 1. Now the day following, the king assem- 
 bled a court of his 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 order- 
 ed them to be brought in ; among whom some 
 of the domestic servants of Antipater's mo- 
 ther were brought in also, who had but a little 
 while before been caught, as they were carry- 
 ing tho 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." Wlien this and the other wit- 
 nesses 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 defence ; for if 
 thou wilt give me leave, I will demonstrate 
 that I am innocent. 
 
 2. 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 determine that 
 A ntipater 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 cala- 
 mity for begetting such children ; while yet I 
 ought rather to be pitied, who iiave 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 education 
 at Rome, I had made them the friends of 
 C;Esar, 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 suc- 
 cessor, 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 my- 
 self; for I 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 nc 
 esteem before, and for thrusting out those 
 sons of mine that were born of the queen, 
 and for making him a successor to my domi> 
 nions, I confess to thee, O Varus, 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 Anti- 
 pater ; 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 successor to my dominions in my testa- 
 ment, and given him a yearly revenue of his 
 own of fifty talents, and supplied him with 
 money to an extravagant degree out of my 
 own revenue; and when he was about to sail 
 to Rome, I gave him three hundred talents, 
 ahd recommended him, and him alone of all 
 my cnildren, to Cassar, as his father's deli- 
 verer. Now what crimes were these other 
 sons of mine guilty of like those of Antipa- 
 ter ! and what evidence was there brought 
 against tliem so strong as there is to deiuon- 
 strals this son to have plotted against me ! 
 Yet does this parricide presume to speak for 
 himself, and hopes to obscure the truth by 
 liis cunning tricks. Thou, O Varus, must 
 guard thyself against him; for I know the 
 wild beast, and I foresee how plausibly he 
 will talk, and his counterfeit lamentatioa 
 
 "X 
 
CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 60:i 
 
 This was lie who exhorted me to have a care 
 of Alexander, 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 se- 
 cured me from any fear of danger, who com- 
 forted me under the trouble I was in upon 
 the slaugliter of my sons, and looked to see 
 what afl'ection my surviving brethren bore 
 me ! This was my protector, and the guar- 
 dian of my body ! And when I call to mind, 
 
 Varus, his craftiness upon every occasion, 
 and his art of dissembling, I can hardly be- 
 lieve that I am still alive, and I wonder how 
 
 1 have escaped such a deep plotter of mis- 
 chief ! However, since some fate or other 
 makes my house desolate, and perpetually 
 raises up those that are dearest to me against 
 me, I will, with tears, lament my iiard for- 
 tune, and privately groan under my lonesome 
 condition 5 yet am I resolved that no one who 
 thirsts after my blood shall escape punish- 
 ment, although the evidence should extend 
 itself to all my sons. 
 
 3. Upon Herod's saying this, he was 
 'nterrupted by the confusion he was in ; but 
 ordered Nicolaus, one of his friends, to ])ro- 
 duce 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, O 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 
 callest 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 understand 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 brethren came to, on wiioni God inflicted 
 60 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 I not beloved by thee? and what 
 other fear could I have ? Nay, by preserving 
 thee safe, I was a terror to others. Did I 
 want money ? No : for who was able to ex- 
 pend so much as myself ? Indeed, father, had 
 I been the most execrable of all mankind, and 
 had I 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 broughtest 
 [into the palace] ; whom thou didst prefer be- 
 fore so many of thy sons; whom thou madest 
 a king in tliine own life-time, and, by the vast 
 magnitude of the otliei advantages thou be- 
 stowedst on me, thou madest me an object of 
 
 envy. O miserable man ! that thou shouldst 
 undergo this bitter absence, and thereby afford 
 a great 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 Sylleiis might not treat thee 
 with contempt in thine old age. Rome is 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 calumnies raised here ; these 
 letters are my only apology ; these I use as 
 tlie 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, O father, 
 however unwillingly, who hast been my ruin, 
 by forcing me to allow time for the calumnies 
 against me, and envy at me. However, I am 
 come hither, and am ready to hear the evid- 
 ence there is against me. If I be a parricide, I 
 have passed by land and by sea, without suffer- 
 ing any misfortune on either of them : but this 
 method of trial is no advantage to me ; for it 
 seems, O father, that I am already condemned, 
 both before God and before thee; and as I am 
 already condemned, 1 beg that thou wilt not be- 
 lieve the others that bave been tortured, but let 
 fire be brought to torment me; let the racks 
 march tiirough my bowels ; have no regard 
 to any lamentations that this polluted body 
 can make ; for if I be a parricide, I ought not 
 to die without torture." Tlius did Antipater 
 cry out with lamentation and weeping, and 
 moved all the rest, and Varus in particular, to 
 commiserate his case. Herod was the only 
 person whose passion was too strong to per- 
 mit him to weep, as knowing that the testi- 
 monies against him were true. 
 
 4. And now it was that, at the king's com- 
 mand, Nicolaus, when he had premised a 
 great deal about the craftines of Antipater, 
 and had prevented the effects of their com- 
 miseration to him, afterwards brought in a 
 bitter and large accusation against him, ascrib- 
 ing all the wickedness that had been in the 
 kingdom to him, and especially the murder 
 of his brethren, and demonstrated that they 
 had perishjed by the calumnies he had raised 
 against them. He also said that he had laid 
 designs against them that were still alive, as 
 if they were laying jilots for the succession ; 
 and (^said he) how can it be supposed that he 
 who prepared poison for his father, sliould ab- 
 stain from mischief as to his brethren ? He 
 then proceeded to convict him of the attempt 
 to poison Herod, and gave an account, in or- 
 der, of the several discoveries that had been 
 made ; and had great indignation as to the 
 affair of Pheroras, because Antipater had been 
 for making him murder his brother, and had 
 
 » A lover of his father 
 
604 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK t 
 
 corrupted tliose tliat were dearest to the king, 
 and filled the whole palace with wickedness ; 
 and when he had insisted on many other ac- 
 cusations, and the proofs of them, he left off". 
 
 5. Then Varus bade Antipater make his 
 defence ; but he lay long in silence, and 
 said no more but this : — " God is my witness 
 that I am entirely innocent." So Varus 
 asked for the potion, and gave it to be drank 
 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 as- 
 sembly to Caesar, went away, after a day's 
 stay. The king also bound Antipater, and 
 sent away to inform Caesar of his misfortunes. 
 
 6. Now after this, it was discovered that 
 Antipater had laid a plot against Salome also ; 
 for one of Antiphilus's domestic servants 
 came, and brought letters from Rome, from 
 a maid-servant of Julia, [Caesar's wife], whose 
 name was Acme. By her a message was sent 
 to the king, that she bad 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 htr 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 per- 
 suaded that the king will not spare his sister 
 when he reads it. Thou wilt do well to re- 
 member what thou hast promised, when all 
 is accomplished.'' 
 
 7. When this epistle was discovered, and 
 what the epistle forged against Salome con- 
 tained, a suspicion came into the king's mind, 
 that perhaps the letters against Alexander 
 were also forged : he was moreover 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 punishment for all ijis 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 Anti- 
 pater had blasted their reputations with him ; 
 but he bequeathed to Caesar, besides other 
 presents tliat he gave him, a thousand talents j 
 as also to hij wife, and children, and friends, 
 and freed-men about five hundered : he also 
 bequeathed to all others a great quantity of 
 lanti, and of money, and showed his respects 
 to Salome his sister, by giving her most splen- 
 did gifts. And this was what was contained 
 in his testament, as it was now altered. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE GOLDEX EAGI.E IS CUT TO PIECES. HEROU'i 
 BARBARITY WHEN HE WAS READY TO DIE. 
 HE ATTEMPTS TO KILL HIAiSELF. HE COM- 
 MANDS ANTIPATER TO BE SLAIN. HE SUR- 
 VIVES HIM FIVE DAYS, AND THEN DIES. 
 
 § 1. Now Herod's distemper became more and 
 more severe to him, and this becaiise 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 caiouiities 
 that happened to him about his children, 
 whereby he had no pleasure in life, even r hen 
 he was in health ; the grief also thai Antipa- 
 ter was still alive aggravated his disease, whom 
 he resolved to put to death now, not at ran- 
 dom, but as soon as he should be well again , 
 and resolved to have him slain [in a public 
 manner]. 
 
 2. There also now happened to him among 
 his other calamities, a certain popular sedition. 
 There were two men of learning 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 nation ; they were, the one Judas, the son 
 of Sepphoris, and the other Matthias, the 
 son of Margalus. There was a great concourse 
 of the young men to these men when they 
 expounded the laws, and there got 'ogether 
 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 wear* 
 ing away with melancholy, and with a dis- 
 temper, they dropped words to their acquaint- 
 ance, 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 
 their 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 gieat 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 ; be- 
 cause that the soul was immortal, and that an 
 eternal enjoyment of happiness did await such 
 as died on that account ; while the mean-spL 
 rited, 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. 
 
 3. 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 therefore let them- 
 selves down from the top of the temple with 
 
 ~\_ 
 
r'' 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 605 
 
 thick cords, and this at mid-day, 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 king'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, whither 
 they had been so hardy as to cut down the gold- 
 en ea^le, tliey confessed they had done so ; and 
 when he asked tliem by whose command they 
 had done it, they replied, at the command of 
 the law of tiieir country ; and when he farther 
 asked them how they could be so joyful when 
 they were to be put to death, they replied, 
 because they sliould enjoy greater happiness 
 after they were dead.* 
 
 4. At this the king was in such an extra- 
 vagant passion, tliat he overcame his disease 
 [for the timel, and went out, and spake to 
 the people; wherein he made a teriible accu- 
 sation against those men, as being guilty of 
 sacrilege, and as making greater attempts un- 
 der pretence of their law ; and he thought 
 they deserved to be punished as impious per- 
 sons. Whereupon the people were afraid 
 lest a great number should be found guilty, 
 and desired that when he had first pu:.ished 
 those that put them upon this work, and then 
 those that were cauglit in it, he would leave 
 off his anger as to the rest. With this the 
 king complied, 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. 
 
 5. 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 intolerable 
 itching over all the surface of his body, and 
 continual pains in bis colon, and dropsical 
 
 * Since in these two sections we have an evident ac- 
 count of the Jewish opinions in the days of Josephus, 
 about a future happy state, and the resurrection of the 
 dead, as in the New i estament (John xi, iN ), 1 shall here 
 refer to the other places in Josephus, before he became a 
 Catholic Christian, which concern the same matters. Of 
 the War, b. ii, ch. viii, sect. 10, 1 1 ; b. iii, eh. viii. sect. 
 4; b. vii, ch. vi, sect. 7; Contr. Apion, b. ii, sect, 30; 
 where we may obsene, that none of these passages are 
 in his Books of Antiquities, written peculiarly for the 
 use of the Gentiles, to wliom lie thought it not proper 
 to insist on topics so much out of their way as these 
 were. Nor is this olwervation to be omitted litre, espe- 
 cially on account of the sensible difference we have now 
 before us in Josephus's representation of the arguments 
 useQ by the rabbins to persuade their scholars to hazard 
 their lives for the vindication of God's law against ima- 
 ges, by Moses, as well as of the answers those scholars 
 made to Herod, when they were caught, and ready to 
 die tor the same; 1 mean as compaicS with the parallel 
 arguments and answers represented in the Antiquities, 
 b. xvii, ch. vi, sect. 2, 3. A like difference between Jew- 
 ish and Gentile notions, the reader will find in my notes 
 ou Antiquities, b. iii, ch. vii, sect. 7 ; b. xv, ch. ix, sect. 
 1. See the like also iu the case of the three Jewish sects 
 in the Antiquities, b. xiii, ch. v, sect. 9, and ch. x, sect. 
 4 and 5 ; b. xviii, ch. i, sect. 5 ; and compared with this 
 in his Wars of the Jews, b. ii, ch. viii, sect 2, 11. Nor 
 does St. Paul himself reason to Gentiles at Atneos, Acts 
 Kvii, 10, 51, a£ he dne^ to Jews in tm £vii>tles 
 
 tumours about his feet, and an inflammation of 
 the abdomen,— and a putrefaction of his privy 
 member, that produced worms. Besides which 
 he had adifBculty 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 con- 
 sidered of several methods of cure. Accord- 
 ingly, he went over Jordan, and made use of 
 those hot baths at Callirrhoe, which run into 
 the lake Asphaltitis, but are themselves sweet 
 enough to be drank. And here the physicians 
 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 dy- 
 ing ; 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 a-piece, and that his commanders 
 and friends should have great sums of mouey 
 given them, 
 
 6. He then returned back and came tc 
 Jericho, in such a melancholy state of body as 
 almost threatened him with present death, 
 when he proceeded to attempt a horrid wicked- 
 ness ; for he got together the most illustrious 
 men of the whole Jewish nation, out of everv 
 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; — "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 encompass these 
 men that are now in custody, and slay them 
 immediately upon my death, and then all 
 Judea, and every family of them, will weep at 
 it whether they will or no." 
 
 7. These were the commands he gave them : 
 when there came letters from his ambassadors 
 at Rome, whereby information was given that 
 Acme was put to death at Caesar's command, 
 and tliat Antipater was condemned to die; 
 however, they wrote witlxal, 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 pre« 
 vent 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 Achiabus, his first cousin, 
 
J' 
 
 606 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 came running to him, and held his hand, and 
 hindered him from so doing; on which occa- 
 sion a very great lamentation was made in the 
 palace as if the king were expiring. As soon 
 as ever Antipater heard tnat, he took courage, 
 and with joy in his looks, besought his keep- 
 ers, 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 designs 
 was; hereupon the king cried out louder than 
 his distemper would well bear, and immedi- 
 ately sent some of his guards and slew Anti- 
 pater; he also gave order to have him buried 
 at Hyrcanium, and altered his testament 
 again, — and therein made Archelaus, his eld- 
 est son, and the brother of Antipas, his suc- 
 cessor ; and made Antipas tetrarch. 
 
 8. So Herod, having survived the slaughter 
 of his son five days, died, having reigned 
 thirty-four years, since he had caused Antigo- 
 nus to be slain, and obtained his kingdom ; 
 but thirty-seven years since he had been made 
 king by the Romans. Now, as for his for- 
 tune, 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 bis domestic affairs, he was 
 a most unfortunate man. Now before the 
 soldiers knew of his death, Salome and her 
 husband came out and dismissed those that 
 were in bonds, whom tlie king had command- 
 ed to be slain, and told them that he had al- 
 tered his mind, and would have every one of 
 them sent to their own homes. Wlien 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 his signet- 
 ring came before them, and spake of the hap- 
 piness the king had attained, and comforted 
 the multitude, and read tlie epistle which had 
 been left for the soldiers^ wbereiu be earues.t- 
 
 ly exhorted them to bear good-will to his suc- 
 cessor ; and after he had read the epistle, he 
 opened and read his testament, wherein Phi- 
 lip was to inherit Tracbonitis, and the neiglj- 
 bouring countries, and Antipas was to be te- 
 trarch, as we said before, and Archelaus was 
 made king. Hfe had also been commanded 
 to carry Herod's ring to C«sar, and the settle- 
 ments he had made, sealed up, because Ca&- 
 sar was to be lord of all the settlements 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 for- 
 mer testament. 
 
 9. So there was an acclamation made to 
 Archelaus, to congratulate him upon his ad- 
 vancement; and tlie soldiers, with the multi- 
 tude, went round about in troops, and pro- 
 mised hira their good-will, and besides, prayed 
 God to bless his government. After this, 
 they betook themselves to prepare for the 
 king's funeral ; and Archelaus omitted no- 
 thing of magnificence therein, but brought out 
 all the royal ornaments to augment the pomp 
 of >he deceased. There was a bier all of gold, 
 embroidered with precious stones, and a pur- 
 ple bed of various contexture, with the dead 
 body upon it, covered with purple; and a dia- 
 dem %vas 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 ; nest to whom 
 cnme his guards, and the regiment of Thra- 
 cians, tlie Germans also and Gauls, all ac- 
 coutred as if tliey were going to war ; but the 
 rest of the army went foremost, armed, and 
 following their captains and officers in a re- 
 gular manner; after whom, five hundred of 
 his domestic servants and freed-men followed, 
 with sweet spices in their bands ; and the 
 body was carried two hundred furlongs, to 
 Herodium, where he had given order to be 
 buried. And this shall suffice for the con- 
 clusion of the life of Herod» 
 
 "^. 
 
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 L 
 
 ARCHELAUS MAKES A FONERAL FEAST FOR THE 
 PEOPLE, ON THE ACCOUNT OF HEROD. AF- 
 TER WHICH A GREAT TUMULT IS RAISED BY 
 THE MULTITUDE, AND HE SENDS THE SOL- 
 DIERS OUT UPON THEM, WHO DESTROY ABOUT 
 THREE THOUSAND OF THEM. 
 
 § 1. 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 per- 
 son), 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 submission 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 by the testament, confirms 
 the succession ; for that when the soldiers 
 would have set the diadem on his bead at Je- 
 richo, he would not accept of it ; but that he 
 would make abundant requitals, not to the 
 soldiers only, but to the people, for their ala- 
 
 • Hear Dean Aldrich's note on this place : " The law 
 or custom of the Jews (says he) requires seven days 
 mourning for the dead (Antiq. b. xvii, ch. viii, sect, 
 iv.); whence the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus 
 (eh. xxii, 12) assigns seven days as the proper time of 
 mourning for the dead, and (ch. 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, l(i. Funeral feasts are also 
 mentioned as of considerable antiquity, Ezek. xxiv, 
 17; Jer. xvi, 7; Prov. xxxi, 6; Deut. xxx4, 14; Jose- 
 phus, (Of the War, b. iii, ch. ix, sect. 5,) 
 
 ^i 
 
 crity and good-will to him, when the superior 
 lords [the Romans] should have given him a 
 complete title to the kingdom ; for that it 
 should be his study to appear in all things 
 better than his father. 
 
 2. Upon this the multitude were pleased, 
 and presently made a trial of what he intend- 
 ed, 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 commodities ; 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 towards 
 the evening, and began then to mourn on 
 their own account, when the public mourning 
 for the king was over. These lamented those 
 that were put to death by Herod, because tliey 
 had cut down the golden eagle that had been 
 over the gate of the temple. Nor was this 
 mourning of a private nature, but the lamen- 
 tations were very great, the mourning solemn 
 and the weeping such as was loudly heard al, 
 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 pu- 
 nishment 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 deprived ; and 
 that it was fit to choose a person of greater 
 piety and purity than he was. 
 
 3. 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. 
 Accordingly, he made trial to quiet the inno- 
 vators 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 him 
 
308 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK 11. 
 
 away, as he came into the temple, and before 
 he coiiid say any thing to tliem. The like 
 treatment tlw-'y showed to others, who came to 
 them after him, many of wliom were sent hy 
 Arclielaus, in order to reduce them to sobrie- 
 ty, and these answered still on all occasions 
 after a passionate manner; and it openly ap- 
 peared 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 sacrifices, an innumerable 
 multitude of the people came out of the coun- 
 try to worship: some of these stood in the 
 temple bewailing 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 private- 
 ty sent a tribune, with his cohoit 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 betook themselves to their sacrifices, as 
 if they had done no mischief; nor did it ap- 
 pear 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, fall- 
 ing upon them on the sudden, as they were 
 cli'ering their sacrifices, destroyed about three 
 thousand of them; but the rest of the multi- 
 tude were dispersed upon the adjoining moun- 
 tains : these were followed by Archelaus's 
 heralds, who commanded every one to retire 
 to their own homes ; whither they all went, 
 and left the festival. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ARCHELAUS GOES TO ROME WITH A GREAT 
 NUMBER OF HIS KINDRED : HE IS THERE 
 ACCUSED BEFOllE CiESAR BY ANTIPATEK ; 
 BUT IS SUPERIOR TO HIS ACCUSERS IN JUDG- 
 MENT, BY THE MEANS OF THAT DEFENCE 
 WHICH NICOLAUS MADE FOR HIM. 
 
 § 1. Archelaus went down now to the 
 sea-side, with his mother and his friends, 
 Poplas, and I'tolemy, and Nicolaus, and left 
 buhind him Pliilip, to be his steward in the 
 palace, and to take care of his domestic af- 
 fairs. Salome went also along with him with 
 lier sons, as did also tlie king's brethren and 
 sans-in-law. Tliese, 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 bj 
 what he had done at the temple. 
 
 2. But as tlicy were come to Cesarea, Sa- 
 binus, the procurator of Syria, met them ; he 
 was going up to Judea, 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 Ptolemj'. At 
 this time, indeed, 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 e.Tsar should have taken cogniz- 
 ance 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 imme- 
 diately went on to Jerusalem, and seized up- 
 on 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 governors 
 of those citadels were not unmindful of the 
 commands laid upon them by Archelaus, and 
 continued to guard them, and said, the cus- 
 tody of them rather belonged to Casar tlian 
 to Archelaus. 
 
 3. In the mean time Antipas went also to 
 Rome, to strive for the kingdom, and to insist 
 that the former testament, wherein he was 
 named to be king, was valid before the latter 
 testament. Salome had also promised to as. 
 sist him, as had many of Archelaus's kindred, 
 who sailed along with Archelaus himself also. 
 He also carried along with him his motlier, 
 and Ptolemy, the brother of Nicolaus, wIjo 
 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 Ireneus, 
 the orator; upon whose authority he had re- 
 jected such as advised him to yield to Arche- 
 laus, because he was his elder brother, and 
 because the second testament gave the king- 
 dom to him. The inclinations also of all 
 Archelaus's kindred, who hated him, were re- 
 moved to Antipas, when they came to Rome; 
 although, in the first place, every one rather 
 desired to live under their own laws [without 
 a kingl, and to be under a Roman governor; 
 but if they should fail in that point, these 
 desired that Antipas might be their king. 
 
 4. 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 Antipas, Salome abo, 
 and those %viih her, put the crimes which they 
 accused Archelaus of in cw'der, and put them 
 into Casar's hands ; and after they had done 
 that, Arclielaus wrote down the reasons of 
 his claim, and, by Ptolemy, sent in his father s 
 ring, and his father's accounts; flnd when 
 ,Cu;sar had maturely weighed by himself what 
 
CHAP. III. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 609 
 
 both had to allege for themselves, as also had 
 considered of the great burden of the king- 
 dom, and largeness of the revenues, and witli- 
 al the number of the children Herod had left 
 behind him, and had moreover read the letters 
 he had received from Varus and Sabinus on 
 this occasion, he assembled the principal per- 
 sons among the Romans together (in wliicli 
 assembly Caius, the son of Agrippa and his 
 daughter Julias, but by himself adopted for 
 his own son, sat in the first seal) and gave the 
 pleaders leave to speak, 
 
 5. 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 exercised royal authority, 
 and so did insult C.fsar in desiring to be now 
 heard on that account, since he had not 
 staid for his determination about the succes- 
 sion, and since he had suborned certain per- 
 sons, after Herod's death, to move for putting 
 the diadem upon his head ; since he liad set 
 himself down in the throne, and given answers 
 as a king, and altered the disposition of the 
 army, and granted to some higher dignities : 
 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 fa- 
 ther, for most important reasons. Now, af- 
 ter all this, he desires the shadow of that royal 
 authority, whose substance he had already 
 seized to himself, and so hath made Caesar 
 lord, not of things, but of words. He also 
 reproached him farther, that his mourning for 
 his father was only pretended, while he put 
 on a sad countenance in the day-time, but 
 drank to great excess in the night; from 
 which behaviour, he said, the late disturbances 
 among the multitude came, while they had 
 an indignation thereat; and indeed the pur- 
 port of his whole discourse was to aggravate 
 Archelaus'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 temple, as even a fo- 
 reign war, should that come upon them [sud- 
 denly], before it was denounced, could not 
 have heaped together ; and he added, that it 
 was the foresight his father had of that his 
 barbarity, which made him never give him 
 any hopes of th^ kingdom ; but when his 
 mind was more infirm than his body, and he 
 was not able to reason soundly, and did not 
 well know what was the 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 uhom he had named before, when he was 
 sound in body, and when his mind was free 
 from all passion. That, however, if ahy one 
 
 should siii)pose Herod's judgment, when he 
 was sick, was superior to that at another time, 
 yet had Arclidaus forefeited his kingdom by 
 his own behaviour, and tliose his actions, 
 which were cc.itrary to the law, and to its 
 disadvantage. Or what sort of a kmg will 
 this man be, when he hath obtained the go- 
 vernment from C i^sar, who hath slain so many 
 before he iiath obtained it! 
 
 6. When Antipater had spoken largely to 
 this purpose, and ha! produced a great num- 
 ber of Archelaus's kindred as witnesses, to 
 prove every part of the accusation, lie 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 ene- 
 mies not to Archelaus's kingdom only, but to 
 Caesar, who was to determine about him. 
 He also demonstrated, that Archelaus's ac- 
 cusers had advised him to perpetrate other 
 things of which he might have been accused ; 
 but he insisted that the latter testament should, 
 for this reason, above all others, be estemed 
 valid, because Herod had therein appointed 
 Caesar to be the person who should confirno 
 the succession ; for he who showed such pru- 
 dence as to recede from his own power, and 
 yield it up to the lord of the world, cannot 
 be supposed mistaken in his judgment a- 
 bout him that was to be his heir ; and he 
 that so well knew whom to choose for arbi- 
 trator of the succession, could not be unac- 
 quainted with him whom he chose for his suc- 
 cessor. 
 
 7. When Nicolaus had gone through all 
 he liad to say, Archelaus came, and fell 
 down before Crcsar's knees, without any noise; 
 — upon which he raised him up, after a very 
 obliging manner, and declared, that truly 
 lie was worthy to succeed his father. How. 
 ever, he still made no firm determination in 
 his case; but when he had dismissed tliose 
 assessors that had been with him that day, 
 he deliberated by himself about the allega- 
 tions which he had heard, whether it were fit 
 to constitute any of those named in the testa- 
 ments for Herod's successor, or whether the 
 government should be parted among all his 
 posterity ; and this because of the number of 
 those that seemed to stand in need of support 
 therefrom. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE JEWS FIGHT A GREAT BATTLE WITH SA- 
 BINUS'S SOLDIERS, AND A GREAT DESTRUC- 
 TION IS MADE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 § 1. Now before Casar had determined any 
 thing about these afiairs, Malthace, Arche- 
 laus's mother, fell sick and died. Letters also 
 were brought out of Syria from Varus, about a 
 revolt of the Jews. This was foreseen b^ Varus 
 
 V. 
 
 -T 
 
610 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 who accordingly, after Archelaus was sailed, 
 went up to Jerusalem to restrain tlie promo- 
 ters of the sedition, since it was manifest that 
 the nation would not be at rest ; so he left 
 one of those legions \vhich he brought with 
 him out of Syria in the city, and went him- 
 self to Antioch. But Sabinus came, after he 
 was gone, and gave them an occasion of mak- 
 ing innovations ; for he compelled the keep- 
 ers of the citadels to deliver them up to him, 
 and made a bitter search after the king's mo- 
 ney, as depending 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 af- 
 ter seven weeks, and which the Jews called 
 Pentecost (t. e. the 50th day) was at hand, its 
 name being taken from the number of the 
 days [after the Passover], the people got to- 
 gether, but not on account of the accustomed 
 divine worship, but of the indignation they 
 had [at the present state of affairs]. Where- 
 fore an immense multitude ran together, out 
 of Galilee, and Idumea, and Jericho, and 
 Perea that was beyond Jordan ; but the peo- 
 ple that naturally belonged to Judea itself 
 were above the rest both in number and in the 
 alacrity of the men. So they distributed them- 
 selves 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 Hip- 
 podrome, and the third part were at the pa- 
 lace on the west. So they lay round about 
 the Romans on every side, and beseiged 
 them. 
 
 2. Now Sabinus was affrighted, both at 
 their multitude and at their courage, and sent 
 messengers to Varus continually, and be- 
 sought 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 tlie fortress, which was 
 called Phasaelus j it is of the same name with 
 Herod's brother, who was destroyed by the 
 Parthians ; and then he made signs to the sol 
 diers 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- 
 wards 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 light them liand to hand. 
 
 3. 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. Whereupon those that were 
 above them were presently encompassed with 
 the flame, and many of them perished there- 
 in ; as 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 reason of the astonishment they were un- 
 der; until at last some of the Jews being de- 
 stroyed, and others dispersed by the terror 
 tliey were in, the soldiers fell upon the trea- 
 sure of God, which was now deserted, and 
 plundered about four hundred talents, of 
 which sum Sabinus got together all that was 
 not carried away by the soldiers. 
 
 4. However, this destruction of the works 
 [about the temple], and of the men, occasion- 
 ed a much greater number, and those of a 
 more warlike sort, to get together, to oppose 
 the Romans. These encompassed the palace 
 round, and threatened to destroy all that were 
 in it, unless they went their ways quickly ; for 
 they promised 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 assisted 
 the Jews; yet did the most warlike body of 
 them all, who were three thousand 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 %valls 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 liber- 
 ty which their forefathers had enjoyed. Sa- 
 bmus indeed was well contented to get out of 
 the danger he was in; but he distrusted the 
 assurances the Jews gave him, and suspected 
 such gentle 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 
 
 A- 
 
CHAP. IV. V 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 611 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 herod's veteran soldiers become tumul- 
 tuous. THE robberies OF JUDAS. SIMON 
 AND ATHBONGEUS TAKE THE NAME OF KING 
 UPON THEM. 
 
 § 1. At this time there were great disturb- 
 ances in the country, and that in many places ; 
 and the opportunity that now offered itself in- 
 duced a great many to set up for kings ; and 
 indeed in Idumea two thousand of Herod's 
 veteran soldiers got together, and armed them- 
 selves, 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 forti- 
 fied ; 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 arch robber Hezekias, who formerly over- 
 ran the country, and had been subdued by 
 king Herod) ; this man got no small multi- 
 tude together, and broke open the place where 
 tlie royal armour was laid up, and armed 
 those about him, and attacked those that were 
 so earnest to gain the dominion. 
 
 2. In Perea also, Simon, one of the ser- 
 vants to the king, relying upon the handsome 
 appearance, and tallness of his body, put a 
 diadem upon his own head also ; he also went 
 about with a company of robbers 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 warlike of 
 Sebaste, and met the man. His footmen 
 were slain in the battle in abundance ; Gratus 
 also cut to pieces Simon himself, as he was 
 flying along a strait 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. 
 
 3. At this time it was that a certain shep- 
 herd ventured to set himself up for a king : 
 he was called Athrongeus. It was his strength 
 of body that made him expect such a dignity, 
 as well as his soul, which despised death ; and 
 besides these qualifications, he had four breth- 
 ren like himself. He put a troop of armed 
 men under each of these his brethren, and 
 made use of them as his generals and com- 
 manders, when he made his incursions, 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 over-run the^country 
 
 for no little time with his brethren, and be- 
 came their leader in killing both the Romans 
 and those of the king's party ; nor did any 
 Jew escape him, if any gain could accrue to 
 him thereby. He once ventured to encom- 
 pass 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, escaped; and 
 when 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 Ar- 
 chelaus, the two next by falling into the hands 
 of Gratus and Ptolemeus; but the fourth de- 
 livered himself up to Archelaus, upon his giv- 
 ing him his right band for his security. How- 
 ever, this their end was not till afterward, 
 while at present they tilled all Judea with a 
 piratic war. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 varus COMPOSES THE TUMULTS IN JUDEA, AND 
 CRUCIFIES ABOUT TWO THOUSAND OF THE 
 SEDITIOUS. 
 
 § 1. Upon Varus's reception of the letters 
 that were written by Sabinus and tlie 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 legions, 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. Moreover, he received 
 from the people of Berytus, as he passed 
 through their city, fifteen hundred 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 Ptole- 
 mais, and Caius, one of his friends, for their 
 captain. This Caius put those that met hin- 
 to flight, and took the city Sepphoris, and 
 burnt it, and made slaves of its inhabitants. 
 But as for Varus himself, he marched to Sa- 
 maria 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 certain 
 village which was called Arus. It belonged 
 to Ptolemy, and on that account was plun- 
 dered by the Arabians, who were very angry 
 even at Herod's friends also. He tlience 
 marched on to the village Sampho, another 
 
 "V 
 
 jT 
 
-^ 
 
 619 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS 
 
 fortified place, which they plundered, as tliey 
 liaJ done the other. As they carried off al\ the 
 money they lighted upon belonging to the pub- 
 lic revenues, all was now full of fire and 
 bloodshed, and nothing could resist the plun- 
 ders of the Arabians. Emmaus was also 
 burnt, upon the flight of its iniiabitants, and 
 this at the command of Varus, out of his rage 
 at the slaughter of those that were about 
 Alius. 
 
 2. Thence he marched on to Jerusalem, 
 and as soon as he was but seen by the Jews, 
 he made tiieir camps disperse themselves : tliey 
 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 com- 
 motions, but had only been forced to admit 
 the multitude, because of the festival, and 
 that they were rather besieged together with 
 the Romans, than assisted those that had re- 
 volted. There had before tliis met him Jo- 
 seph, the first cousin of Archelaus, and Gra- 
 tus, 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 accustomed manner ; for as 
 to Sabinus, he durst not come into Varus's 
 sight, but was gone out of the city before 
 this, to the sea-side. But Varus sent a part 
 of his army into the country, against th.ose 
 that had been the authors of this commotion, 
 and as they caught great numbers of them, 
 those tiiat appeared to have been the least 
 concerned in these tumults he put into cus- 
 tody, but such as were the most guilty he 
 crucified ; these were in number about two 
 thousand. 
 
 3, He was also informed that there conti- 
 nued in Idumca ten thousand men still in 
 arms ; but when he found that the Arabians 
 did not act like auxiliaries, but managed thu 
 war according to their own passions, and did 
 mischief to the country otherwise than he in- 
 tended, 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 Achia- 
 bus, delivered themselves up to him before it 
 came to a battle. Ttien did Varus forgive 
 the multitude their oflf'ences, but sent their 
 captains to Csesar to be examined by him. 
 Now Casar forgave the rest, but gave orders 
 tliat certain of the king'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, tlierefore. Varus had 
 settled matters at Jerusalem after this man- 
 ner, and had left the former legion there as a 
 garrison, he returned to Antioch. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE JEWS GREATLY COMPLAIN OF ARCHELAUS, 
 AND DESIRE THAT THEY MAY BE MADE SUB- 
 JECT TO ROMAN GOVERNORS. BUT WHEN 
 C^SAR HAD HEARD WHAT THEY HAD TO 
 SAY, HE DISTRIBUTED HEROD's DOMINIONS 
 AMONG HIS SONS, ACCORDING TO HIS OWN 
 PLEASURE. 
 
 § 1. 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 revolt, 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 eight 
 thousand of the Jews at Rome who support- 
 ed them ; and when Ca'sar had assembled a 
 council of the principal Romans in Apollo's • 
 temple, that was in the palace (this was what 
 he had himself built and adorned, at a vast 
 expense), 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 nei- 
 ther 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. Be- 
 sides these, there was present Archelaus's 
 brother, Philip, being sent thither before- 
 hand, out of kindness, by Varus, for two rea- 
 sons : the one was this, that he might be as- 
 sisting to Archelaus ; and the other was this, 
 that in case Caesar should make a distribution 
 of what Herod possessed among his posterity, 
 he might obtain some share of it. 
 
 2. And now, upon the permission that was 
 given the accusers to speak, tliey, in the first 
 place, went over Herod's breaclies 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 suflerings 
 they imderv/ent from him : that when a very 
 great number had been slain by him, those 
 that were left had endured such miseries, that 
 they 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 belonged to foreigners ; 
 and he 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 iniquitj', instead 
 of that happiness and those laws which they 
 had anciently enjoyed ; that, in short, the 
 
 * This holiling of a council in the temple of Apollo, 
 in the emperor's palace at Home, bv Augustus, and even 
 the building of this temple magnificently by himself in 
 that paliicc, are exactly agreeable to Augustus, iu his 
 elder years, as Aklrich and Spaiiheim observe and prove 
 front buetonius and Properuus. 
 
 -r 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS, 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Jews had borne more calamities from Herod, 
 in a few years, than had their forefathers dur-- 
 >ng all that interval of time that had passed 
 since tliey had come out of Babylon, and re- 
 turned home, in the reign of Xerxes ; * that, 
 however, the nation was come to so low a con- 
 dition, 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 Arche- 
 laus, lest he should be in danger of not being 
 thought the genuine son of Herod, began his 
 reign with the murder of three thousand ci- 
 tizens; as if he had a mind to offer so many 
 bloody sacrifices to God for his government, 
 and to fill the temple with the like number of 
 dead bodies at that festival : that, however, 
 those that were left after so many miseries, 
 had just reason to consider now at last the ca- 
 lamities 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 up- 
 on the [poor] remains of Judea, and not ex- 
 pose what was left of them to such as barba- 
 rously tore them to pieces, and that they 
 would join their country to Syria, and admi- 
 nister the government by their own comman- 
 ders, whereby it would [soon] be demonstrated 
 that those who are now under the calumny of 
 seditious persons, and lovers of war, know 
 now to bear governors that are set over them, 
 if they be but tolerable ones. So the Jews 
 concluded their accusations with this request. 
 Then rose up Nicolaus, and confuted the ac- 
 cusations that were brought against the kings, 
 and himself accused the Jewish nation, as 
 hard to be ruled, and as naturally disobedient 
 to kings. He also reproaclied all those kins- 
 men of Arciielaus who had left him, and were 
 gone over to his accusers. 
 
 3. 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 rendered 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 A'chelaus. Un- 
 der this last was Perea and Galilee, with are- 
 venue of two hundred talents: but Batanea, 
 and Trachonitis, and Auranitis, and certain 
 
 * Here we have a strong confirmation that it was 
 Xerxes, and not Arfaxerxes, iiniter wliom the main part 
 of the Jews returnea out of the Babylonian captivity; 
 i. e. in tlie days of Ezra and Nehemiah. T^ie same 
 thing is m the Antiq. b. xi, cliap. v, sect. 1. 
 
 613 
 
 parts of Zeno's house about Jarmila, with a 
 revenue of a hundred talents, were made sub- 
 ject to Piiilip ; while Idumca, 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 ci- 
 ties, viz. Strato's Tower, and Sehaste, and 
 Joppa, and Jerusalem ; but as to the Grecian 
 cities Gaza, and Gadara, and Hippos, he cut 
 them off from the kingdom, and added tliem 
 to Syria. Now the revenue of the country 
 that was given to Archelaus, was four hun- 
 dred talents. Salome also, besides what the 
 king had left her in his testaments, was now 
 made mistress of Jamnia, and Ashdod, and 
 Phasaelis. Cajsar 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 off- 
 spring, they received what was bequeathed to 
 them in his testaments ; but, besides that, Cse~ 
 sar granted to Herod's two virgin daughters 
 five hundred thousand [drachmae] of silver, and 
 gave them in marriage to the sons of Pheroras: 
 but after this fatnily distribution, he gave be- 
 tween them what had been bequeathed to him 
 by Herod, which was a thousand talents, re- 
 serving to himself only some inconsiderable 
 presents, in honour of the deceased. 
 
 CHAPTER Vir. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE SPURIOUS ALEXANDER. 
 ARCHELAUS IS BANISHED, AND GI.APUYRA 
 DIES, AFIER WHAT WAS TO HAPPEN TO 
 BOTH OF THEM HAD BEEN SHOWN THEJI IN 
 DREAMS. 
 
 § 1. In the mean time there was a man, who 
 was by birth a Jew, but brought up at Sidon 
 with one of the Roman freed-men, who falsely 
 pretended, on account of the resemblance 
 of their countenances, that he was tliat Alex- 
 ander who was slain by Herod. This man 
 came to Rome, in tiopes of not being detect- 
 ed. He had one who was his assistant, of 
 his own nation, and who knew all the affairs 
 of the kingdom, and instructed him to say how 
 those that were sent to kill him and Aristo- 
 bulus 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 travelling in splendour ; 
 and thence sailed to ]Melos, where he was 
 thought so certainly genuine, that he got a 
 great deal more money, and prevailed with 
 those who nad treated him to sail along with 
 him to Rome. So he landed at Dicearc'iia 
 1 Puteoli], and got vffy large presents hmn 
 
J' 
 
 614 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 the Jews who dwelt there, and was conduct- 
 ed by liis father's friends as if he were a king ; 
 nay, tlie resemhlance in his countenance pro- 
 cured 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 innimierable 
 multitude there was who stood in the narrow 
 places through which he was carried ; for 
 those of Melos were so far distracted, that 
 they carried him in a sedan, and maintained 
 a royal attendance for him at their own "pro- 
 per charges. 
 
 2. But Cassar, who knew perfectly well 
 the lineaments of Alexander's face, because 
 he had been accused by Herod before him, 
 discerned the fallacy in his countenance, even 
 before he saw the man. However, lie sufier- 
 ed the agreeable fame that went of him to 
 have some weight with him, and sent Cela- 
 dus, one who well knew Alexander, and or- 
 dered him to bring the young man to him. 
 But when Cffsar 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 whole was a con- 
 trivance. But the impudence of what he 
 said greatly provoked him to be angry at him ; 
 for when he was asked about Aristobulus, he 
 said that he was also preserved alive, and was 
 left on purpose in Cyprus, for fear of trea- 
 chery, because 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 sto- 
 ries." So he said that he would discover 
 him, and followed C;csar, and poirted 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. Casar laughed at 
 the contrivance, and put this spurious Alex- 
 ander 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 sufficient- 
 ly punished for their folly, by the expenses 
 they had been at on his account. 
 
 3. 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 tliey both of them 
 ient ambassadors against him to Causar ; and 
 in the ninth year of his government he was 
 banished to Vienna, a city of Gaul, and his 
 effects were put into Casar's trtasury. But 
 the report goes, that before he was sent (or 
 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 thouglit it portended ; and when 
 one of them had one interiiretation, and ano- 
 ther liad another, Simon, one of the sect ot 
 the Essens, said that he thought the ears of 
 corn denoted years ; and the oxen denoted a 
 mutation of things, because by their plough 
 ing they made an alteration of the country. 
 That therefore he should reign as many years 
 as there were ears of corn ; and after he had 
 passed through various alterations of fortune, 
 should die. Now five days after Archelaus 
 had heard this interpretation, he was called to 
 his trial. 
 
 4. 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, concerning 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 Mariamne, 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 Alexander 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 him, but 
 art returned again to my family, to a third 
 husband ; and him, thou impudent woman, 
 hast thou chosen for thine husband, 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 IS REDUCED INTO A 
 [ROM an] province. THE SEDITION OF JU- 
 DAS OF GALILEE. THE THREE SECTS OF THE 
 JEWS. 
 
 § 1. And now Archelaus's part of Judea 
 was reduced into a province, and Coponius, 
 one of the equestrian order among the Ro- 
 mans, was sent as a procurator, having the 
 power of [life and] death put into his hands 
 by Cajsar. Under liis administration it was 
 that a certain Galilean, whose name was Judas, 
 prevailed with his countrymen to revolt ; and 
 said tiiey were cowards if they wowld endure 
 to pay a tax to the Romans, and would, after 
 Got!, submit to mortal men as tlieir lords. 
 
 ■Y 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 This man was a teacher of a peculiar sect of 
 his own, and was not at all like the rest of 
 those their leaders. 
 
 2. 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 pretends 
 to a severer discipline, are called Essens. 
 These last are Jews by birth, and seem to 
 have a greater affection for one another than 
 the other sects have. These Essens reject 
 pleasures as an evil, but esteem continence, 
 and the conquest over our passions, to be vir- 
 tue. They neglect wedlock, but choose out 
 other persons' children, while they are pliable, 
 and fit for learning ; and esteem them to be of 
 their kindred, and form them according 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. 
 
 S. These men are despisers of riches, and 
 so very communicative as raises our admir- 
 ation. 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 intermingled 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 
 of them be anointed without his own approba- 
 tion, it is wiped off his body ; for they think 
 to be sweaty is 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, wiio every one of them have 
 no separate business for any, but what is for 
 the use of them all. 
 
 4. They have no certain city, but many of 
 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 be- 
 fore, as if they had been ever so long acquaint- 
 ed with them. For which reason they carry 
 nothing with them when they travel into re- 
 mote parts, though still they take their wea- 
 pons with them, for fear of thieves. Accord- 
 ingly 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 chil- 
 dren 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 out by time. Nor do they 
 either buy or sell any thing to one another ; 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 615 
 
 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 ple.ise. 
 
 5. And as for their piety towards God, 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 frotn their forefathers, as if they 
 made a supplication for its rising. After this 
 every one of them are sent away by their cu- 
 rators, to exercise some of those arts wherein 
 they are skilled, in wiiich they labour with 
 great diligence till the fifth hour. After 
 which they assemble themselves together a- 
 gain 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 permitted to any of another 
 sect to enter ; while they go, after a pure 
 manner, into the dining-room, as into a cer- 
 tain 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 unlawful for any one to taste 
 of the food before grace be said. The same 
 priest, when he hath dined, says grace again af- 
 ter 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 supper, 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 tre- 
 mendous 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 abund- 
 antly sufficient for them. 
 
 6. 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 shew mercy ; for they are permitted of 
 their own accord to afford succour to such as 
 deserve it, when they stand in need of it, and 
 to bestow food on those that are in distress; 
 but they cannot give any thing to their kin- 
 dred without the curators. They dispense 
 their anger after a just manner, and re- 
 strain their passion. They are eminent for 
 fidelity, and are the ministers of peace ; what- 
 
J- 
 
 616 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS, 
 
 600K 11. 
 
 soever they say also is firmer than an oatli ; but 
 swearing is avoided by them, and they cstem 
 it worse tlian perjury;* for they say, that he 
 who cannot be believed witiiout | swearing by] 
 God, is aheady condemned. Tliey also take 
 great pains in studying the writings of the an- 
 cients, and choose out of them w hat is most 
 for the advantage of their soul and body ; and 
 they inquire after such roots and medicinal 
 stones as may cure their distempers. 
 
 6. But now, if any one liath a mind to 
 come over to their sect, he is not immediately 
 admitted, but he is prescribed the same me- 
 thod of living which they use, for a year, 
 w hile he continues excluded ; and they give 
 him a small hatchet, and the fore-mentioned 
 girdle, and the white garment. And when 
 he hath given evidence, during tliat time, that 
 ho can observe 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 in- 
 to their society. And before he is allowed 
 to touch their common food, he is obliged to 
 take tremendous oaths ; that, in the first place, 
 he will exercise piety towards God ; and tlien, 
 that he will observe justice towards men ; and 
 that he will do no harm to any one, either of 
 his own accord, or by the command of othert; 
 that he will always liate 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 perpetu- 
 ally a lover of truth, and propose to himself 
 to reprove those that tell lies; that he will 
 keep liis hands clear from theft, and his soul 
 from unlawful gains ; and that he will neither 
 conceal any thing from thosi 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, 
 
 • This practice of the Essens, in refusing to swear, 
 and esteeming swearing, on ordinary uccasions, worse 
 than perjury, isdehvered here in general words, as are 
 the parallel injunctions of our Saviour, Matth. vi, 34; 
 xxiii. 16; and'of Sit. James v, 12 ; but all admit of par- 
 ticular exceptions for .solemn causes, and on great and 
 necessary occasions. Thus these very Essens, who here 
 do so zealously avoid swearing, are relaled in the very 
 next section, to admit none till they take tremendous 
 oaths to perform their se\eral duties to God, and to their 
 neighbour, without supposing they ihrtby hieak this 
 rule. Not to swear at all. The case is the same in t'hiis- 
 tianity, as we learn IVom the Apostolical Constitutions, 
 which, although they aj^ree with Christ and St. James, 
 in forbidding to swear in general, ch. v, Xt, vi, to ; yet 
 do they explain it el.sewhere, by a\oiding to swear false- 
 ly, and to swear often and in vain, ch. ii, .3t. ; and again 
 by "not swearing at all" but withal adding, that " if that 
 cannot be avoided, to sv/ear truly," ch. vii, 3 ; which 
 abundantly explain to us the nature of the measure of 
 tius general injunction. 
 
 he swears to communicacc their doctrines to 
 no one any otherwise than as he received thetn 
 himself; that he will abstain from robbery, 
 and will equally preserve the books belonging 
 to their sect, and the names of the angels f 
 [or messengers]. These are the oaths by 
 which they secure their proselytes to them- 
 selves. 
 
 8. But for those that are caught in any 
 heinous sins, they cast them out of their so- 
 ciety ; and he who is thus separated from 
 them, does often die after a miserable man- 
 ner ; for as he is bound by the oath he hath 
 taken, and by the customs he hath been en- 
 gaged in, he is not at liberty to partake ot 
 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 reascji 
 they receive many of them again when they 
 are at their last gasp, out of compassion to 
 them, as thinking the miseries they have en- 
 dured till they came to the very brink of 
 death, to be a sufficient punishment for the 
 sins they had been guilty of. 
 
 9. But in the judgments they exercise they 
 are most accurate and just; nor do they pass 
 sentence by the votes of a court that is fewer 
 than a hundred. And as to what is once de- 
 termined by that number, it is unalterable. 
 Wiiat they most of all honour, after God him- 
 self, 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. Ac- 
 cordingly, if ten of them be sitting together, 
 no one ot them will speak while the other 
 nine are 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 got tiieir food 
 ready the day before, that they may not be 
 obliged to kindle a tire 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 small 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 
 rays of light, they ease themselves into that 
 pit, after which they put the earth that was 
 
 t This mention of the " names of angels," so parti 
 euiarly preserved by the Essens (if it means more than 
 those " messengers" who were employed to bring them 
 the peculiar books of their sect), looks like a prelude to 
 that " worshipping of angels," blamed by St. Paul, as 
 superstitious and unlawful, in some such sort of people 
 as these Essens were, Coloss. ii, 8. As is the prayer to 
 or towards the Sun, for his rising every morning, men- 
 tioned before, sect. ,5, very like those not much later 
 observances made mention of in t!ie preaching of Peter, 
 Authent. Rec. part ii, page (69, ana regarding a kind 
 of worship of angels, of the month, and of the moon, 
 and not celebrating the new moons, or other festivals, 
 unless the moon appeared. Which, indeed, seems to 
 me the earliest mention of any regard to the moon's 
 phases in fixing the Jewish calendar, of which the Tal- 
 mud and later rabbins talk so much, and upon so very 
 liiile aiieient foundation. 
 
 _/■ 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 617 
 
 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. 
 
 10. Now after the time of their preparato- 
 ry 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 them- 
 selves, as if they had intermixed themselves 
 with the company of a foreigner. They are 
 long-lived also ; insomuch that many of them 
 live above a hundred years, by means of the 
 simplicity of their diet ; nay, as I think, by 
 means of the regular course of life they ob- 
 serve 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 liv- 
 ing always ; and indeed our war with the 
 Romans gave abundant evidence what great 
 souls they had in their trials, wherein, al- 
 though 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 le- 
 gislator, 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 
 veiy pains, and laughed those to scorn who 
 inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned 
 up their souls with great alacrity, as expect- 
 ing to receive them again. 
 
 1 1, 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 natu- 
 ral 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 ha- 
 bitations 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 perpetually blowing from 
 the ocean ; while they allot to bad souls a dark 
 and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing 
 punishments. 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 heroes and demi- 
 gods ; and to the souls of the wicked, the re- 
 gion of the ungodly, in Hades, where their 
 fables relate that certain persons, such as Sisy- 
 phus, and Tantalus, and Ixion, and Tityus, 
 are punished ; which is built on this first sup- 
 position, that souls are immortal ; and^thence 
 
 ■"-^ 
 
 are those exhortations to virtue, and dehorta. 
 tions from wickedness collected ; whereby 
 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 feat 
 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 Essens* 
 about the soul, which lay an unavoidable bait 
 for such as have once had a taste of their phi- 
 losophy. 
 
 12. There are also those among them who 
 undertake to foretel things to come, f by 
 reading the holy books, and using several 
 sorts of purifications, and being perpetually 
 conversant in the discourses of the prophets ; 
 and it is but seldom that they miss in their 
 predictions. 
 
 13. Moreover, there is another order of 
 Essens, who agree with the rest as to their 
 way of living, and customs, and laws, but 
 differ from them in the point of marriage, 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 mankind 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 fruit- 
 ful, 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 plea- 
 sure, 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 cus- 
 toms of this order of Essens, 
 
 14. But then as to the two other orders at 
 first mentioned ; the Pharisees are those who 
 are esteemed most skilful in the exact expli- 
 cation of their laws, and introduce the first 
 sect. These ascribe all to fate [or provi- 
 dence], and to God, and yet allow, that to 
 act what is right, or the contrary, is princi- 
 pally in the power of men, although fate does 
 co-operate in every action. They say that all 
 souls are incorruptible ; but that the souls ^ of 
 
 * Of these Jewish or Essene (and indeed Christian) 
 doctrines concerning souls, both good and bad, in Hades, 
 see that excellent discourse or homily of our Josephus 
 concerning Hades, at the end of the volume. 
 
 t Dean Aicbich reckons up three examples of this 
 gift of prophecy, in several of these Essens out of Jose- 
 phus himself, viz. in the History of the War, b. i, ch. 
 lii, sect. 5. Judas foretold the death of Antigonus at 
 Strato's Tower; b. ii, ch. vii, sect. 3. Simon foretold 
 that Archelaus should reign but nine or ten years ; and 
 Antiq. b. XV, ch. x, sect. 4, 5. Mcnahem foretold that 
 Herod should be king, and should reign tyrannically, 
 and that for more than twenty or even thirty years. All 
 which came to pass accordingly. 
 
 X There is so much more here about the lessens than 
 is cited from Josephus in Porphyry and Eusebius, and 
 vet so much less about the Pharisees and Sadducees, 
 the two other Jewish sects, than would naturally be e* 
 pectctl in proportion to the Essens or third sect, nay 
 
618 
 
 WARS OF THE JEAVS. 
 
 good men are only removed into other bodies, 
 — but that the souls of bad men are subject 
 to eternal punisliment. But the Sadducees 
 are those that compose the second order, and 
 take away fate entirely, and suppose that God 
 is not concerned in our doing 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 immor- 
 tal duration of the soul, and tlie punishments 
 and rewards in Hades. Moreover, tlie Pha- 
 lisees are friendly to one another, and are for 
 the exercise of concord and regard for the 
 public. But the behaviour of the Sadducees 
 one towards 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. 
 
 THE DFATH OF SALOME. THE CITIES WHICH 
 HEROD AND PHILIP BUILT. PILATE OCCA- 
 SIONS aiSTURBAXCES. TIBEUIUS PUTS AGRir- 
 FA INTO BONDS, BUT CAIUS FIIEES HIM FROM 
 THEM, AND MAKES HIM KING. U£a01> AN- 
 TIPAS IS BANISHED, 
 
 § 1. And now, as the ethnarchy of Arche- 
 laus was fallen into a Roman province, the 
 other sons of Herod, Philip, and that Herod 
 who was called Antipas, each of them took 
 upon tliem the administration of their own te- 
 trarchies ; for wiien Salome died, she bequeath- 
 ed to Julia, the wife of Augustus, both her 
 toparchy, and Jamnia, as also her plantation 
 of palm-trees that were in Phasaelis *. But 
 
 tlian seems to be referred to by himself elsewhere, that 
 one is tempted to suppose Joseplius liad at first written 
 less of the one, and move of the two others, than his 
 
 {iresent copies afford us; as also, that, by some un- 
 mown accident, our i)re3ent cojiies are liere made up of 
 the larger edition in the first case, and of the smaller 
 in the second. See the note in Havercamp's edition. 
 However, what Josephus says in llic name of tlic 
 Pharisees, that only the souls of goorl men go out of 
 one body into another, although all souls be immor- 
 tal, and still the souls of the bad are liable to eternal 
 punishment; as also what he says afterwards, Antiq. b. 
 xviii, chap, i, sect. .", that the soul's vigour is immortal, 
 aiid that under the earth they receive rewards or pun- 
 ishments according .is their lives liave been virtuous or 
 vicious in the present world; that to the bad is allotted 
 an eternal prison, but tl!,'it the good are permitted to 
 live again in this v/orld, are nearly .igreeableto the doc- 
 trines of Christianity. Only Joscphus's rejection of the 
 return of the wicked into other bodies, or into this 
 wprld, wliich he grants to the good, looks somewhat 
 like a contradiction to St. Paul's account of the doc 
 trine of the Jews, that " themselves allowed that there 
 should be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just 
 and unjust," Acts, ch. xxiv, 15 ; yet, because Joscphus's 
 account is that of the Pharisees, and St. Paul's tliat of 
 the Jews in general, and of himself, the contradiction 
 is not very certain. 
 
 « We have here, in that Greek MS. ivhich was once 
 Alexander Petavius's, but it is now in the library .it 
 Lcyden, two most remarkable additions totheconunou 
 
 when the Roman einpire 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 continued in their tetrarchies ; and the 
 latter of them built the city Cesarea, at the 
 fountains of Jordan, and in the region of Pa- ' 
 neas ; as also the city Julias, in the Lower 
 Gaulonitis. Herod also built the city Tiberi- 
 as in Galilee, and in Perea [beyond Jordan] 
 another that was also called, Julias. 
 
 2. Now Pilate, who was sent as procura- 
 tor into Judea by Tiberius, sent by night 
 those images of Ca'sar that are called Ensigns, 
 into Jerusalem. This excited a very great 
 tumult ainong 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 tlie 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 besought iiim to carry 
 those ensigns out of Jerusalem, and to pre- 
 serve them their ancient laws inviolable ; but 
 upon Pilate's denial of their request, they fell 
 down prostrate upcn the ground, and con- 
 tinued immoveable in that posture for five 
 days and as many nights. 
 
 3. On the nest day Pilate sat upon his 
 tribunal, in the open marketplace, and call- 
 ed to liiin the multitude, as desirous to give 
 them an answer ; and then gave a signal to 
 tile soldiers that they should all by agreement 
 at once encoi^pass the Jews witii their wea- 
 pons ; so the band of soldiers stood round a- 
 bout the Jews in three ranks. The Jews 
 were under the utmost consternation at that 
 unexpected sight. Pilate also said to them, 
 that they should be cut in pieces, unless they 
 would admit of C:esar"s images ; and gave 
 intimation to the soldiers to draw their na- 
 ked swords. Hereupon tlie Jews, as it were 
 at one signal, fell down in vast numbers to- 
 gether, and exposed their necks liare, and 
 cried out that they were sooner ready to be 
 slain, than that their law should be transgress- 
 ed. Hereupon Pilate was greatly surprised 
 at their prodigious superstition, and gave or- 
 der that the ensigns should be presently car- 
 ried out of Jei iisalem, 
 
 4. After this he raised another disturbance, 
 by expending that sacred treasure which is 
 
 copies, thougli deemed worth little remark by the edi- 
 tor; which, upon the mention of Tilierius's coining 
 to the empire, insirts first the famous testimony of 
 Josephus concerning Jesus Christ, as it stands ver- 
 batim in the Antiq. b. xviii, chap, iii, sect. 3. with 
 some parts of that excellent discourse or homily of 
 Josephus concerning Hades, annexed to the work. But 
 what is here principally to be noted is this, that in this 
 homily, Josephus, having just mentioned Christ, as 
 " God the Word, and the Judge of the world, appoint- 
 ed by the Father," &c. Jidds, that " he had himself else- 
 where spoken about him more nicely or particularly " 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 GIO 
 
 called Corbau * upon aqueducts, whereby he 
 brought water from the distance of four hun- 
 dred furlongs. At this the multitude had 
 great indignation ; and when Pilate was come 
 to Jerusalem, they came abouthis tribunal, and 
 made a clamour at it. Now when he was 
 apprised aforehand 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 to beat those that made the cla- 
 mour. He then gave the signal from his tri- 
 bunal [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. 
 
 5. In the mean time Agrippa, the son of 
 that Aristobulus who had been slain by his fa- 
 ther Herod, came to Tiberius to accuse He- 
 rod the tetrarch ; who not admitting of his ac- 
 cusation, he staid 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 j 
 and as he was very complaisant to him on 
 several other accounts, he at length stretched 
 out his hands, and openly wished that Tiberius 
 might die, and that he might quickly see him 
 emperor of the world. This was told to Ti- 
 berius by one of Agrippa's domestics; who 
 thereupon was very angry, and ordered A- 
 grippa to be bound, and had him very ill treat- 
 ed in the prison for six months, until Ti- 
 berius died, after he had reigned twenty-two 
 vears, and six months,, and three days. 
 
 6. But when Caius was made Cssar, he re- 
 leased 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 inflamed the ambitious desires of 
 Herod the tetrarch, who was chiefly induced 
 to hope for the royal authority by his wife 
 Herodias, 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 Casar had 
 made Agrippa a king, from a private person, 
 much more would he advance him from a te- 
 trarch to that dignity. These arguments pre- 
 vailed with Herod, so that he came to Cuius, 
 by whom he was punished for his ambition, 
 by being banished into Spain ; for Agrippa 
 followed liim, in order to accuse him ; to 
 whom also Cuius gave his tetrarchy, by way of 
 addition. So Herod died in Spain, whether 
 his wife had followed him. 
 
 • his u.ie of cor'ban or oblation, as here applied 
 to tlie sacred iriJiiey dedicated to God in the treasury of ' 
 the temulc, iUusudtes owr Sa^^o^lr's words, Mark vii 
 11, 12. ^ I 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CAR'S COMM.VNDS THAT HIS STATUE SHOULD 
 EE SET UP IN THE TEMPLE ITSELF; AND 
 WHAT PETHONIUS DID THEREUPON. 
 
 § 1. Now Caius CiBsar did so grossly abuse 
 the fortune he had arrived at, as to take him- 
 self to be a god, and to desire to be so called 
 also, and to cut off those of the greatest no- 
 bility 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 tern pie, -j- and com- 
 manded him that, in case the Jews would not 
 admit of them, he should slay those that op- 
 posed it, and carry all the rest of the nation 
 into captivity: but God concerned himself 
 with these his commands. However, Petro- 
 nius marched out of Antioch into Judea, 
 with three legions, and many Syrian auxilia- 
 ries. 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 them- 
 selves, and the terror diffused itself presently 
 through them all; for the army was already 
 come to Ptolemais. 
 
 2. Tliis Ptolemais is a maritime city of 
 Galilee, built in the great plain. It is en- 
 compassed with mountains: that on the easl 
 side, sixty furlongs oif, belongs to Galilee; 
 but that on the south belongs to Carmel, 
 which is distant from it a hundred and twen- 
 ty furlongs ; and that on the north is the high- 
 est of them all, and is called by the people of 
 the country. The Ladder of the 'J'yrians, 
 which is at the distance of a hundred furlongs. 
 The very small river Belusf 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 a hundred cu- 
 bits, 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 tlie 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 still more 
 wonderful, that glassy sand which is super- 
 fluous, and is once removed out of the 
 
 t TaciSiis owns that Caius commanded the Jews to 
 place his effigies in liieir tejnple though he t)e mistaken 
 when he adds tiiat tlie Jews thi reui)on took arn.s. 
 
 t Tliis account of a place near the mouth of the river 
 Belus m Phoenicia, whence came tliat sand out of which 
 the antients made their glass, is a known thing in his- 
 tory ; particularly iu Tacitusand Strabo, and more large- 
 ly in Pliny. 
 
 § This Meranon had several monuments ; and one 
 of them appears, both by Strabo and Diodorus, to 
 have been in Syria, ai'.d not imiitoljably in this ver* 
 lilare. ' ' 
 
 ~v 
 
620 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 place, becomes bare common sand again ; and 
 this is the nature of the place we are speak- 
 ing of. 
 
 3. 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 themselves. 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 call- 
 ed together the multitude and all the men of 
 note to Tiberias, and showed them the power 
 of the Romans, and the threatenings of Cse- 
 sar ; and, besides this, proved that their peti- 
 tion was unreasonable, because, while all the 
 nations in subjection to them had placed the 
 images of Casar in their several cities, among 
 the rest of their gods, — for them alone to op- 
 pose it, was almost like the behaviour of re- 
 volters, and was injurious to Caesar. 
 
 4. And when they insisted on their law, 
 and the custom of their country, and how it 
 was not only not permitted them to make ei- 
 ther 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, Petro- 
 nius replied, " And am not I also," said he, 
 *' bound to keep the laws of my own lord ? 
 For if I transgress it, and spare you, it is but 
 just that I perish ; while he that sent me, 
 and not I, will commence a war against you ; 
 for 1 am under command as well as you." 
 Hereupon the whole multitude cried out, that 
 they were ready to suflfer for their law. Pe- 
 tronius then quieted them, and said to them, 
 " Will you then make war against Casar ?" 
 The Jews said, ' We offer sacrifices twice 
 every day for Ca?sar, and for the Roman peo- 
 ple ;' but that if he would place the images a- 
 mong them, he must first sacrifice the whole 
 Jewish nation ; and that they were ready to 
 expose themselves, 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. 
 
 5. But on the following days, he got toge- 
 ther the men of power privately, and the mul- 
 titude publicly, and sometimes he used per- 
 suasions to them, and sometimes he gave the.Ti 
 his advice ; but he chiefly made use of threat- 
 enings to them, and insisted upon the power 
 of the Romans, and the anger of Caius ; and 
 besides, upon the necessity he was himself 
 under [to do as he was enjoined]. But as 
 they could no way be prevailed upon, and he 
 saw that the country was in danger of lying 
 without tillage (for it was about seed-time 
 that the multitude continued for fifty days to- 
 gether idle), so he at last got them together, 
 and told them, that it was best for him to run 
 
 some hazard himself; " for either, by the di- 
 vine assistance, I shall prevail witli Caesar ; 
 and shall myself escape the danger as well 33 
 you, which will be matter of joy to us both ; 
 or, in case Caesar continue in his rage, I will 
 be ready to expose my own life for such a 
 great number as you are." Whereupon he 
 dismissed the multitude, who prayed greatly 
 for his prosperity ; and he took tlie army out 
 of Ptolemais, and returned to Antioch; from 
 wliiMce he presently sent an epistle to Csesar, 
 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 permit them to keep their law, and must 
 countermand his former injunction. Caius 
 answered that epistle in a violent way, and 
 threatened to have Petronius put to death 
 for his being so tardy in the execution 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, seven-and-twenty days be- 
 fore he received that which was against him- 
 self. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CONCERNING THE GOVERNMENT OF CLAUDIUS, 
 AND THE REIGN Of AGKIPPA. CONCERNING 
 THE DEATH OF AGKIPPA AND OF HEROD, 
 AND WHAT CHILDREN THEY BOTH LEFT BE- 
 HIND TIlEiM. 
 
 § 1. Now when Caius had reigned three years 
 and eight months, and had been slain by trea- 
 chery, Claudius was hurried away by the ar- 
 mies that were at Rome to take the govern- 
 ment upon him ; but the senate, upon the re- 
 ference of the consuls, Sentius Saturninus, 
 and Pomponius Secundus, gave orders to the 
 three regiments of soldiers that staid with 
 them, to keep the city quiet, and went up in- 
 to the Capitol in great numbers, and resolved 
 to oppose Claudius by force, on account of 
 the barbarous treatment they had met with 
 from Caius ; and they determined either to 
 settle the nation under an aristocracy, as they 
 had of old been governed, or at least to choose 
 by vote such a one for emperor as might be 
 worthy of it. 
 
 2. 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 sent for him 
 out of the camp, that he miglit be serviceable 
 to him, as he should have occasion for his 
 service. So lie, perceiving that Claudius was 
 in effect made Cicsar already, went to him, 
 
"V_ 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 621 
 
 who sent liim, as an ambassador to the senate, 
 to let them know what his intentions were : 
 that, in the first place, it was without his seek- 
 ing, 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 for- 
 tune would be in uncertainty ; for that it was 
 a dangerous case to have been once called to 
 the empire. He added farther, that he would 
 administer the government as a good prince, 
 and not like a tyrant ; for that he would be 
 satisfied with the honour of being called Em- 
 peror, bilt would, in every one of his actions, 
 permit them all to give him their advice j for 
 that although he had not been by nature for 
 moderation, yet would the death of Caius af- 
 ford him a sufficient demonstration how so- 
 berly he ought to act in that station. 
 
 3. 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 sla- 
 very, W^heu Claudius heard what answer 
 the senate had made, he sent Agrippa to them 
 again, with the following message : — That he 
 could not bear the thoughts of betraying them 
 that had given their oaths to be true to him ; 
 and that he saw he must fight, though un- 
 willingly, 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 
 city for the war ; because 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 this 
 message, he delivered it to the senators. 
 
 4. In the mean time, one of the soldiers 
 belonging to the senate drew his sword, and 
 cried out, "O my fellow-soldiers, what is the 
 meaning of this choice of ours, to kill our 
 brethren, and to use violence to our 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 re- 
 gard to those against whom we are going to 
 fight!" 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, be- 
 cause there appeared no other way whither 
 they could turn themselves for deliverance, 
 they made haste the same way with the sol- 
 diers, and went to Claudius. But those that 
 had the greatest luck in flattering the good 
 fortune of Claudius betimes, met them be- 
 fore the walls with their naked swords, and 
 there was reason to fear that those that came 
 first might have been in danger, before Clau- 
 dius could know what violence the soldiers 
 were going to offer tliem, 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. 
 
 5. 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 proper upon his first coming to 
 the empire. Moreover, he bestowed on A- 
 grippa his whole paternal kingdom immedi ■ 
 ately, and added to it, besides those countries 
 that had been given by Augustus to Herod, 
 Trachonitis, and Auranitis, and still besides 
 these, that kingdom which was called the 
 kingdom of Lysanias. This gift he declared 
 to the people by a decree, but ordered the 
 magistrates to have the donation engraved on the 
 tables of brass, and to be set up in the Capi- 
 tol. He bestowed on his brother Herod, who 
 was also his son-in-law, by marrying [his 
 daughter] Bernice, the kingdom of Chalcis. 
 
 6. So now riches flowed in to Agrippa by 
 his enjoyment of so large a dominion ; nor 
 did he abuse the money he had on small mat- 
 ters, but he began to encompass Jerusalem 
 with such a wall, which, had it been brought 
 to perfection, had made it impracticable for the 
 Romans to take it by siege; but his 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, Mariarane, and 
 Drusilla ; and a son born of the same mother, 
 whose name was Agrippa : he was left a very 
 young child, so that Claudius made the coun- 
 try a Roman province, and sent Cuspius 
 Fadus to be its procurator, and after him Ti- 
 berius Alexander, who, making no alterations 
 of the ancient laws, kept the nation in tran- 
 quillity. 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 Mariamne, 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 born to Herod by Mariamne, and were 
 slain by him. But as for Alexander's poste* 
 rity, they reigned in Armenia. 
 
 .r 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MANY TUMULTS UNDER CUMANUS, U'HICH WERE 
 COMPOSED BY QUADRATUS. FKLIX IS PRO- 
 CURATOR OF JUUEA. AGRIPPA IS ADVANCED 
 FROM CHALCIS TO A GREATER KINGDOM. 
 
 § 1. Now after the death of Ilerod, king of 
 Chalcis, Claudius set Agrippa, the son of A- 
 grippa, over his uncle's kingdom, while Cu- 
 manus took upon him the office of procurator 
 of the rest, which was a Roman province, "and 
 therein he succeeded Alexander ; under wiiich 
 Cumanus began the troubles, and the Jews' 
 ruin came on ; for when the multitude were 
 come together to Jerusalem, to the feast of un- 
 leavened bread, and a Roman cohort stood 
 over the cloisters of the temple (for they al- 
 ways were armed and kept guard at the fes- 
 tivals, to prevent any innovation which the 
 multitude thus gatliered together might make), 
 one of the soldiers pulled back his garment, 
 and cowering down after an indecent manner, 
 turned his breech to the Jews, and spake such 
 words as you might expect upon such a pos- 
 ture. At this the whole multitude had indig- 
 nation, and made a clamour to Cumanus, that 
 he would punish 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 sol- 
 diers. 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 they came in great numbers into the 
 cloisters, the Jews were in a very great conster- 
 nation ; 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 another, till ten thousand of them were 
 killed, insomuch that this feast became the 
 cause of mourning to the whole nation, and 
 every family lamented [their own relations]. 
 
 2. Now there followed after this anothor 
 calamity, which arose from a tumult made by 
 robbers ; for at the public road of Betli-horen, 
 one Stephen, a seivantof Ccesar, carried some 
 furniture, which the robbers fell upon and 
 seized. Upon this Cumanus sent men to go 
 round about to the neighbouring villaj^es, and 
 to bring their inhabitants to him bound, as 
 laying it to their chaige that they liad not pur- 
 sued 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 tlie Jews 
 were in great disorder, as if their whole coun- 
 try were in a flame, and assembled themselves 
 
 » Relanrt notes here, that the Talmud, in rccouiitini; 
 ten sad aeciiieiits for which the Jews ought to rend tlieir 
 garments, reckons this for one ; — " When they licar that 
 the law of ood is burnt." 
 
 so many of them by their leal for their religion, 
 as by an engine ; and ran together with united 
 clamour to Cesarea, to Cumanus, and made 
 supplication to him that he would not over- 
 look this man, who had offered such an affront 
 to God, and to his law ; but ])unish him for 
 what he had done. Accordingly, he perceiv- 
 ing that the multitude would not be quiet 
 unless they had a comfortable answer from 
 him, ga\e order that the soldier should be 
 brought, and drawn through those that re- 
 quired to have him punished, to execution ; 
 which being done, the Jews went their ways. 
 
 3. 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 Samaria ; where, 
 as a great number of Jews were going up to 
 Jerusalem to the feast [of tabernacles], a cer- 
 tain Galilean was slain ; and besides, a vast 
 number of people 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 Gali- 
 lee, and bring the authors of this murder to 
 punishment ; for that there was no other way 
 to make the multitude separate, without com- 
 ing to blows. However, Cumanus postponed 
 their supplications to the other affairs he was 
 then about, and sent the petitioners away 
 without success. 
 
 4. But when the affair of this murder 
 came to be told at Jerusalem, it put the mul- 
 titude 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 ma- 
 gistrates that were set over them ; but they 
 were managed by one Eleazar, the son of 
 Dineus, and by Alexander, in these their 
 thievish and seditious attempts. These men 
 fell upon those that were in the neighbourhood 
 of the Acrabatene toparchy, and slew them, 
 without sparing any age, and set the villages 
 on fire. 
 
 5. But Cumanus took one troop of horse- 
 men, called the Troop of Sebaste, out of Ce- 
 sarea, and came to the assistance of those that 
 were spoiled ; he also seized upon a great num- 
 ber of those that followed Eleazar, and slew 
 more of them. And as for the rest of the 
 multitude of those that went so zealously to 
 fight with the Samaritans, the rulers of Jeru- 
 salem ran out, clothed witli sackcloth, and 
 having ashes on their heads, and begged of 
 them to go their ways, lest by their attempt 
 to revenge themselves upon the Samaritans, 
 ihey should provoke the Romans to come 
 against Jerusalem ; to have compassion upon 
 their country and temple, their children 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 tlic«e persuasions ot 
 
 ■v 
 
 r" 
 
A_ 
 
 CHAP, xm 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 623 
 
 theirs, and dispersed themselves; but still 
 there were a great number who betook them- 
 selves to robbing, in hopes of impunity ; and 
 rapines and insurrections 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 punished: 
 the great men also of the Jews, and Jonathan 
 the son of Ananus, the high-priest, came 
 thither, and said tliat the Samaritans were the 
 beginners of the disturbance, on account of 
 that murder they had committed ; and that 
 Cumanus had given occasion to what had hap- 
 pened, by his unwillingness to punish the 
 original authors of that murder. 
 
 6. But Quadratus put both parties off for 
 that time, and told them, that when he should 
 come to those places he would make a dili- 
 gent inquiry after every circumstance. After 
 which he went to Cesarea, and crucified all 
 those whom Cumanus 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 ; bat lie sent two 
 others of those 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 
 be did in like manner by the most illustrious 
 of the Samaritans. He also ordered that Cu- 
 manus [the procurator] and Celer the tribune 
 should sail to Rome, in order to give an ac- 
 count of what had been done to Ca;sar. When 
 he had finished these matters, he went up from 
 Lydda to Jerusalem, and finding the multi- 
 tude celebrating their feast of unleavened 
 bread without any tumult, he returned to An- 
 tioch. 
 
 7. Now when Casar at Rome had heard 
 what Cumanus and the Samaritans bad to 
 say (where it was done in the hearing of 
 Agrippa, who zealously espauscd the cause of 
 tlie Jews, as in like manner many of the great 
 men stood by Cumanus), he condemned 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 Jerusalem, to be delivered 
 over to the Jews to be tormented ; that he 
 should be drawn round the city, and then be- 
 lieaded. 
 
 8. After this, Caesar sent Felix, f the bro- 
 
 • This Ummidius, or Numidius, or, as Tacitus calls 
 him, Vinid.ius Quadratus, is mentioned in an ancient in- 
 scription, still preservert, as Simnheini here informs us, 
 which calls liim Ummidius Quadratus. 
 
 + Take the character of this Felix (who Is well kno\vii 
 from the Acts of the Apostles, particularly from his 
 trembling when St. Paul discoursed of " righteousness, 
 chastity, and judgment to come" (Acts xxiv, 25 ; and 
 no wonder, when we liave elsewhere seen that he lived 
 in adultery with Drusilla, imother man's wife (~Antiq. b. 
 
 ther of Pallas, to be procurator of Galilee, 
 and Samaria, and Perea, and removed Agrip. 
 pa from Chalcis unto a greater kingdom; for 
 he gave him the tetrarchy which had belonged 
 to Philip, which contained Batanea, Tracho- 
 nitis, and Gaulonitis : he added to it the king- 
 dom of Lysanias. and that province [Abilene] 
 which Varus had governed. But Claudius 
 himself, when he had administered the govern- 
 ment thirteen years, eight months, 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 Biitannicus, by Messalina 
 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 Antonia. 
 
 CHAPTER Xlir. 
 
 NERO ADDS FOUR CITIES TO AGRIPPA's KIXG- 
 DOM ; BUT THE OTHER PARTS OF JUDEA 
 WERE UNDER FELIX. THE DISTURBANCES 
 WHICH WERE RAISED BY THE SICARII, THE 
 MAGICIANS, AND AN EGYPTIAN FALSE PRO- 
 PHET. THE JEWS AND SYRIANS HAVE A 
 CONTEST AT CESAREA. 
 
 § 1. Now as to the many things in which 
 Nero acted like a madman, out of the extra- 
 vagant degree of the felicity and riches whidi 
 he enjoyed, and by that means used his good 
 fortune to the injury of otliers; and after 
 what manner he slew his brother, and wife, 
 and motlier ; 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 
 
 XX, ch. vii, sect 1), in the words of Tacitus, produced 
 here by Dean AUhich: " Felix exercised (says Tacitus) 
 the authority of a king, with the disposition of a slave, 
 and relying upon the great power of his brother Pallas 
 at court, thought he might safely be guilty of all kinds 
 of wicked practices." Observe also the time when he 
 was made procurator, A. D. 52 ; that when St. Paul 
 pleaded his cause before him, A. d. 58, he might have 
 been " many years a judge unto that nation," as St. I'aul 
 says he had then been (Acts xxiv, Ic) ; but as to what 
 Tacitus here says, that before the death of Cumanus, 
 Felix was procurator over Samaria only, it does n:i( 
 well agree with St. Paul's words, who would hardly 
 have called Samaria a Jewish nation. In short, since 
 what Tacitus here says is about countries very remote 
 from Rome, where he lived; since what he says of two 
 Roman procurators, the one over Galilee, the other 
 over Samaria at the same time, is without all example 
 elsewhere; and since Josephus, who lived at that very 
 time in Judea, appears to have known nothmg of this 
 procuratorship of Felix, before the death of Cumanus, 
 — I much suspect the story itself as nothing better than 
 a mistake of Tacitus, especially when it seems not only 
 omitted, but contradicted by Josephus, as any one may 
 find that compares their histories together. Possibly 
 Felix might have been a subordinate judge among the 
 Jews sometime before, under Cumanus ; biit that he was 
 in earnest a procurator of Samaria before, I do not be- 
 lieve, bishop Pearson, as well as Bishop Lloyd, quote 
 this account, but with a doubtful clause ; Sic'jhles To- 
 cito, " If we may l)elievc Tacitus." Pears. Annal. Pau 
 lin. page 8 ; Marshall's Tables, at a. ». ii 
 
^^ 
 
 624 
 
 AVARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 upon the theatre, — I omit to say any more so he sent some horsemen, and footmen both 
 
 about them, because there are writers enougli 
 upon those subjects everywhere ; but I shall 
 turn myself to those actions of his time in 
 which the Jews were concerned. 
 
 2. Nero therefore bestowed the kingdom 
 of the Lesser Armenia upon Aristobulus, 
 Herod's* son, and he added to Aggrippa's 
 kingdom four cities, with the toparchies to 
 them belonging : I mean Abila, and that Ju- 
 lias which is in Perea, Tarichea also, and Ti- 
 berias of Galilee ; but over the rest of Judea 
 he made Felix procurator. This Felix took 
 Eleazar the arch robber, and many that were 
 with liim, alive, when they had ravaged the 
 country for twenty years together, and sent 
 them to Rome; but as to the number of the 
 robbers whom he caused to be crucified, and of' 
 whom who were caught among them, and 
 those he brought to punishment, they were a 
 multitude not to be enumerated. 
 
 3. 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 day-time, and in the midst of 
 the city ; this they did chiefly at the festivals, 
 when they mingled themselves among the 
 multitude, and concealed daggers under their 
 garments, with which they stabbed those that 
 were their enemies ; 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 reputa- 
 tion, that they could by no means be discover- 
 ed. 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 wore in of being so served, was more 
 afflicting than the calamity itself; and while 
 every body expected death every hour, as men 
 do in war, so men were obliged to look be- 
 fore them, and to take notice of their enemies 
 at a great distance ; nor, if their friends were 
 coming to them, durst they trust them any 
 longer ; but, in the midst of their suspicions 
 and guarding of themselves, they were slain. 
 Such was the celerity of the plotters against 
 them, and so cunning was their contriv- 
 ance. 
 
 4. There was also another body of wicked 
 men gotten together, not so impure in their 
 actions, but more wicked in their intentions, 
 who laid waste the happy state of the city no 
 less than did these murderers. These were 
 such men as deceived and deluded the people 
 under pretence of divine inspiration, but 
 were for procuring innovations and changes 
 of tlie government ; and these prevailed with 
 the multitude to act like madmen, and went 
 before them into the wilderness, as pretend- 
 ing that God would there shew them the sig- 
 nals of liberty ; but Felix thought this pro- 
 ledure was to be the beginning of a revolt ; 
 
 , e. Herod, kiiif; o*' Chalcis. 
 
 armed, who destroyed a great number of 
 them. 
 
 5. But there was an Egyptian false pro- 
 phet that did the Jews more mischief than 
 the former ; for he was a cheat, and pretend- 
 ed to be a prophet also, and got together thir- 
 ty thousand men that were deluded by him ; 
 these he led round about from the wilderness 
 to the mount which was called the Mount of 
 Olives, and was ready to break into Jerusa- 
 lem 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 Felix 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 great, 
 est part of those that were with him were ei- 
 ther destroyed or taken alive ; but the rest of 
 the multitude were dispersed every one to 
 their own homes and there concealed them- 
 selves. 
 
 6. Now, when these were quieted, it happen- 
 ed, as it does in a diseased body, that another 
 part was subject to an inflammation ; for a 
 company of deceivers and robbers got togeth- 
 er, and persuaded the Jews to revolt, and ex- 
 horted them to assert their liberty, inflicting 
 death on those that continued in obedience to 
 the Roman government, 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. 
 
 7. 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 pretended that the 
 city was (heirs, and said that he who built it 
 was a Jew ; meaning king Herod. The Sy- 
 rians confessed also that its builder was a 
 Jew; but they still said, however, that the 
 city was a Grecian city ; for that he wiio set 
 up statues and temples in it could not design 
 it for Jews. On which account both parties 
 had a contest with one another ; and this con- 
 test 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 tumultuous, and the 
 Greeks thought it a shame for them to be o- 
 vercome by the Jews. Now these Jews ex- 
 ceeded the others in riches and strength of 
 
 "V 
 
J' 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 62 o 
 
 body ; but the Grecian part had the advantage 
 of assistance from the soldiery ; for the great- 
 est part of the Roman garrison was raised 
 out of Syria; and being thus related to the 
 Syrian part, they were ready to assist it. 
 However, the governors of the city were con- 
 cerned to keep all quiet, and whenever they 
 caught those that were most for fighting on 
 either side, they punished 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 en- 
 gaged 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 continued, he chose out the 
 most eminent men on both sides as ambassa- 
 dors to Nero, to argue about their several pri- 
 vileges. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 »ESTUS SUCCEEDS FELIX, WHO IS SUCCEEDED BY 
 ALBINUS, AS HE IS BY FLORUS ; WHO, BY 
 THE BARBARITY OF HIS GOVERNMENT, FOR- 
 CES THE JEWS INTO THE WAR. 
 
 § 1. 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 wicked- 
 ness 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 rob- 
 bery, and had been laid there, either by the 
 senate of every city, or by the former procu- 
 rators, to redeem them for money ; and no- 
 body remained in the prisons as a malefactor 
 but he who gave him nothing. At this time 
 it was that the enterprises of the seditious at 
 Jerusalem were very formidable ; the princi- 
 pal men among them purchasing leave of Al- 
 binus to go on with their seditious practices j 
 while that part of the people who delighted 
 in disturbances joined themselves to such as 
 had fellowship with Albinus; and every one 
 of these wicked wretches were encompassed 
 with his own band of robbers, while he him- 
 self, like an arch robber, or a tyrant,-^made a 
 figure among his company, 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 sufTered ; but those who had 
 escaped, 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 generally tolerated ; 
 and at this time were those seeds sown which 
 brought the city to destruction. 
 
 2. And although such was the character of 
 Albinus, yet did Gessius Florus, * who suc- 
 ceeded him, demonstrate him to have been a 
 most excellent person, upon the comparison : 
 for the former did the greatest part of his ro- 
 gueries in private, and with a sort of dissimu- 
 lation ; but Gessius did his unjust actions to 
 the harm of the nation after a pompous man- 
 ner ; and as though he had been sent as an 
 executioner to punish condemned malefactors, 
 he omitted no sort of rapine, or of vexation ; 
 where the case was really pitiable, he was 
 most barbarous ; and in things of the greatest 
 turpitude, he was most impudent ; 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 ofl'ence to get money out of single 
 persons; so he spoiled wholecities, and ruined 
 entire bodies of men at once, and did almost 
 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 
 country, and fled into foreign provinces. 
 
 3. And truly, while Cestius Gallus was pre- 
 sident of the province of Syria, nobody durst do 
 so much as send an embassage to him against 
 Florus ; but when he was come to Jerusalem, 
 upon the approach of the feast of unleavened 
 bread, the people came about him not fewer 
 in number than three millions f; these be- 
 sought him to commiserate the calamities of 
 their nation, and cried out upon Florus as the 
 bane of their country. But as he was pre- 
 
 * Not long after this beginning of Florus, the wicked 
 est of all the Roman procurators of Judea, and the im- 
 mediate occasion of the Jewish war, at the twelfth jeat 
 of Nero, and the seventeenth of Agrippa, or a n. 66, 
 the history in the twenty books of Joseph us's Antiquities 
 ends ; although Josephus did not finish these books till 
 the thirteenth of Domitian, or a. d 9'5 ; twenty-sc-. en 
 years afterward ; as he did not finish their Aj)peudix, 
 containing an account of his own Ife, till Agrippa was 
 dead, which happened in the third year of Trajan, or 
 A. D. 100 ; as I have several times observed before. 
 
 + Here we may note, that three millions of tlie Jews 
 were present at the passover, a. d. 65 ; which confiims 
 what Josephus elsewhere informs us of, that at a passover 
 a little later, they counted two hundred and fifty-six 
 thousand five hundred paschal lambs; which, at twelve 
 to each lamb, which is no immoderate calculation, come 
 to three millions seventy eight thousand. See b. vi, chap. 
 ix, sect. 3. 
 
 3 Q 
 
d26 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 sent, and stood by Cestiiis^ he laughed at thuir 
 words. However, Cestius, wlien he had 
 quieted the iniiltiludc, and had assured them 
 that he would take care that Florus should 
 hereafter treat them in a more gentle manner, 
 returned to Antioch ; Florus also conducted 
 him as far as Cesarea, and deluded him, 
 though he had at that very time the purpose of 
 showing his anger at the nation, and procur- 
 ing 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 Ca;sar ; 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 cala- 
 mities, in order to induce them to a rebellion. 
 4. Now at this time it happened that the 
 Grecians at Cesarea had been too hard for 
 the Jews, and had obtained of Nero the go- 
 vernment of the city, and had brought the 
 judicial determination : at the same time be- 
 gan the war, in the twelfth year of the reign of 
 Nero, and the seventeenth of the reigu of Agri p- 
 pa, in the month of Artemissus [Jyar. ] Now 
 the occasion of this war was by no means pro- 
 portionable 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 
 Jews had endeavoured frequently to have 
 purchased the possession of the place, and 
 had offered many times its value 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 made working- 
 shops of them, and left them but a narrow 
 passage, and such as was very troublesome for 
 tliem to go along to their synagogue ; where- 
 upon the waimer 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 John the publican, being in 
 the utmost distress what to do, persuaded 
 Florus, with the offer of eight talents, to 
 hinder the work. He then, being intent up- 
 on nothing but getting money, promised he 
 would do for them all they desired of him, 
 I 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 
 1 out. 
 
 j 5. Now on the nest day, which was the se- 
 ' venth 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 up- 
 ward, at the entrance of that synagogue, and 
 sacrificed birds.* This thing provoked the 
 
 * TaJte here Dr. Hudson's very pertinent note. " By 
 
 this action," says he, " th; kiUing of a bird over an 
 
 eartlicn vessel, the Jews were exposed as a leprous peo- 
 
 I Die- for that was to be done by the law in tlie cleansing 
 
 I 
 
 Jews to an incurable degree, because their 
 laws were affronted, and the place was pollu- 
 ted ; whereupon the sober and moderate part 
 of the Jews thought it proper to have recourse 
 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 endea- 
 voured to put a stop to the sedition ; 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, dis- 
 tant from Cesarea sixty furlongs. But John, 
 and twelve of the principal men with him, 
 went to Florus, to Sebaste, and made a la- 
 mentable complaint of their case, and be- 
 sought him to help them ; and with all pos- 
 sible decency, put him in mind of the eight 
 talents tiiey had given him ; but he had the 
 men seized upon, and put in prison, and ac- 
 cused them for carrying the books of the law 
 out of Cesarea. 
 
 6. Moreover, as to the citizens of Jerusa- 
 lem, although they took this matter very ill, 
 yet did they restrain their passion ; but Flo- 
 rus 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 Cssar wanted 
 them. At this the people were in confusion 
 iminediately, and ran together to the temple, 
 with prodigious clamours, and called upon 
 Cajsar by name, and besought him lo free 
 them from the tyranny of Florus. Some al- 
 so of the seditious cried out upon Florus, and 
 cast the greatest reproaches upon him, and 
 carried a basket about, and begged some spells 
 of money for him, as for one that was desti- 
 tute of possessions, and in a miserable condi- 
 tion. 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 Cesarea, 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 hastily 
 with an army of horsemen and footmen 
 against Jerusalem, that he might gain his 
 will by the arms of the Romans, and might, 
 by his terror, and by his threatenings, bring 
 the city into subjection. 
 
 of a leper (Levit. ch. xlv). It is also known that the 
 G«ntiles reproached the Jews as subject to the leprosy, 
 and believed that they were driven out of Egypt on thai 
 account This that eminent person Mt. Reiand sug 
 gested to me." 
 
CHAP. XV 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 627 
 
 7. But the people were desirous of making 
 Florus ashamed of his attempt, and met his 
 soldiers with acclamations, and put them- 
 selves in order to receive him very submis- 
 sively ; but he sent Capito, a centurion, be- 
 forehand, with fifty soldiers, to bid them go 
 back, and not now make a show of lecciving 
 him in an obliging manner, whom they had 
 so foully reproached before ; and said that it 
 was incumbent on them, in case they had ge- 
 nerous souls, and were free speakers, to jest 
 upon him to his face, and appear to be lo- 
 vers of liberty, not only in words but with 
 their weapons also. With this message was 
 the multitude amazed ; and upon the coming 
 of Capito's horsemen into the midst of them, 
 they were dispersed before they could salute 
 Florus, or manifest their submissive beha- 
 viour to him. Accordingly they retired to 
 their own houses, and spent that night in fear 
 and confusion of face. 
 
 8. 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 up- 
 on it, when the high-priests, and the men of 
 power, and those of the greatest eminence in 
 the city, came all before that tribunal ; upon 
 which Florus commanded 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 de- 
 monstrated that the people were peaceably dis- 
 posed, and they begged forgiveness 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 distinguish those tiiat 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 peace of the nation, and to 
 take sucli 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. 
 
 9. Florus was more provoked at this, and 
 called out 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 de- 
 sire of gain, did not only plunder 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 Florus, %vhom he first chastised 
 with stripes, and then crucified. According- 
 
 ly, the whole number of those that were de- 
 stroyed that daj', with tueir wives and chil- 
 dren (for they did not spare even the infants 
 themselves), was about three thousand and six 
 hundred ; and what made this calamity the 
 heavier, was this new inetliod of Roman bar- 
 barity ; for Florus ventured then to do what 
 no one had done before, that is, to have men 
 of the equestrian order whipped,* and nailed 
 to the cross before his tribunal ; who, although 
 they were by birth Jews, yet were they of 
 Roman dignity notwithstanding. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COKCEROTNG EEIINICE's PETITION TO FLORUS, 
 TO SPARE THE JEWS, BUT IN VAIN ; AS ALSO 
 HOW, AFTER THE SEDITIOUS FLAME WAS 
 QUENCHED, IT WAS KINDLED AGAIN BV^ FLO- 
 RINS. 
 
 § 1. Aeodt this very time king Agrippa was 
 going to Alexandria, to congratulate Alexan- 
 der upon his having obtained the government 
 of Egypt from Nero ; but as his sister Ber- 
 nice was come to Jerusalem, and saw the 
 wicked practices of the soldiers, she was sore- 
 ly affected at it, and frequently sent the mas- 
 ters of her horse and her guards to Florus, 
 and begged of him to leave off these slaugh- 
 ters ; but he would not comply with her re- 
 quest, nor have any regard either to the mul- 
 titude of those already slain, or to the nobi- 
 lity of her that interceded, but only to the 
 advantage lie should make by his plundering; 
 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 flying to the palace, and had staid 
 there all night with her guards, which she had 
 about her for fear of an insult from the sol- 
 diers. Now she dwelt then at Jerusalem, in 
 order to perform a vow f which she had made 
 
 * Here we have examples of native Jews who were 
 of tlie equestrian order among the Romans, and so 
 ought never to have been whipped or crucified, accord- 
 ing to ttie Roman laws. See almost tlie like case in St. 
 Paul himself, Acts xxii, 25—29. 
 
 t This ^-ow which Bemice (here and elsewhere called 
 Queen, not only as a daughter and sister to two kings, 
 Agrippa the Great, and Agrippa junior, but the widow 
 of Herod, king of Chalcis) came now to accomplish at 
 Jerusalem, was not that of a Nazarite, but such a one 
 as religious Jews used to make, in hopes of any deliver- 
 ance from a disease, or other danger, as Josephus here 
 intimates. However, these thirty days abode at Jeru- 
 salem, for fasting and preparation against the oblation 
 of a proper sacrifice, seems to be too long, unless it 
 were wholly voluntary in this great lady. It is not re- 
 quired in the law of Moses relating to Nazarites, Numb, 
 vi ; and is very dilferent from St. Paul's time for such 
 preparation, which was but one day. Acts xxi, 26. So 
 we want already the continuation of the Antiquities to 
 afford us light here, as they have hitherto done, on so 
 many occasions elsewhere. Perhaps in this age the tra- 
 ditions of the Pharisees had obliged the Jews to thic 
 degree of rigour, not only as to these thirty days' pre- 
 
628 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK ri 
 
 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 sacri- 
 fices, to abstain from wine, and to shave the 
 hair of their head. Which things Bernice 
 was now performing, and stood barefoot be- 
 fore Florus's tribunal, and besought Lim [to 
 spare the Jews]. Yet could she neither have 
 reverence paid to her, nor could she escape 
 without some danger of being slain herself. 
 
 2. This happened upon the sixteenth day 
 of the month Artemissus [Jyar], Now on 
 the next dav, tlie multitude, who were in a 
 great agony, ran together to the upper mar- 
 ket-place, and made the loudest lamentations 
 for those that had perished ; and the greatest 
 part of the cries were such as refiected on 
 Flonis; at which the men of power were af- 
 frighted, toge'hcr with the high-priests, and 
 rent their garments, and fell down before each 
 of tliem, and besought them to leave off, and 
 not to provoke Florus to some incurable pro- 
 cedure, besides what they had already suffer, 
 ed. Accordingly, the multitude complied im- 
 mediately, 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 in- 
 juries. 
 
 3. So Florus was troubled that the distur- 
 bances were over, and endeavoured to kindle 
 that flame again, and sent for the high-priests, 
 with the other eminent persons, 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 directions to the 
 centurions of the cohorts, that they should 
 give notice to those that were under them, not 
 to return the Jews' salutations; and that if 
 they made any reply to liis 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 cohorts very civilly, 
 before their miserable case should become in- 
 curable. Now the seditious part would not 
 comply with these persuasions ; but the con- 
 sideration of those that had been destroyed 
 made them incline to tliose that were the bold- 
 est for action. 
 
 paration, but as to the going barefoot all that time, — 
 which liere Bernice submitted to also. For we know 
 that as (;o(J's and our Saviour's yoke is usually easy, 
 and his burden comparatively light, in such positive 
 injunctions, Mat. xi, 3U, so did tlie Scrilx;s and Phari- 
 sees sometimes " bind upon men heavy burdens, and 
 grievous to be borne," even when they themselves 
 " would not touch them with one of their fingers," 
 Mat. xxiii, 4; Luke xi, 46. However, Noldiu= well 
 observes, De Herod. No. 404, 414, that Juvenal, in his 
 sixth satire, alludes to this remarkable penance oi sub- 
 mission of this Bernice to Jewish discipline, and jests 
 upon her for it; as do Tacitus, Dio, Suetonius, and 
 Sextus Aureliui, mention her as one well known at 
 Kom". — Ibid. 
 
 4. At this time if was that every priest, 
 and every servant of God, brought out the 
 holy vessels, and the ornamental garments 
 wherein they used to minister in sacred things. 
 —The liarpers also, and the singers of hymns, 
 came out with their instruments of music, 
 and fell down before the multitude, and beg- 
 ged 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 tiien the high-priests them- 
 selves, with dust sprinkle-d in great plenty 
 upon their heads, with besoms deprived of 
 any covering but what was rent ; these be- 
 sought 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 \\i;re desirous to have it 
 laid waste ; saying, " What benefit will it 
 bring to the soldiers 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 thein ? and that if they saluted them 
 civilly, all liandle would be cut off from Flo- 
 rus to begin a war ; that they should thereby 
 gain their country, and freedom from all far- 
 ther sufferings ; and that, besides, it would 
 be a sign of great want of command of them- 
 selves, 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." 
 
 5. By these persuasions, which they used 
 to the multitude and to the seditious, they re- 
 strained 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 sa- 
 luted them ; but when they made no answer, 
 the seditious exclaimed against Florus, which 
 was the signal given for falling upon them. 
 The soldiers therefore encompassed 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 ano- 
 ther. Now there was a terrible crowding a- 
 bout the gates, and while every body was 
 making haste to get before another, the flight 
 of them all was retarded, and a terrible de- 
 struction there was among those that fell 
 down, for they were suffocated, and broken 
 to pieces by the multitude of those that were 
 upperinost; nor could any of them be distin- 
 guished by his relations, in order to the care 
 of his funeral ; 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 
 
 » I take this Bezetha to be that small hill adjoining 
 to the north side of the temple, whereon was the hos- 
 
CHAP. XVI 
 
 WARS OK THE JEWSj 
 
 629 
 
 in and seize upon the temple, and the tower 
 Antonia. Florus also, being desirous to get 
 those places into his possession, brouglit such 
 as were with him out of the king's palace, and 
 would have compelled them to get as far as 
 tlie citadel [Antonia] ; but his attempt failed, 
 for the people immediately turned back upon 
 him, and stopped tiie violence of his attempt; 
 and as they stood upon the tops of their 
 houses they threw their darts at the Romans, 
 who, as they were sorely galled tliereby, be- 
 cause 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. 
 
 6, But for the seditious, they were afraid 
 lest Florus should come again, and get pos- 
 session of the temple, through Antonia ; so 
 they got immediately upon those cloisters of 
 the temple that joined to Antonia, and cut 
 them down. This cooled the avarice of Flo- 
 rus ; for whereas he was eager to obtain the 
 treasures of God [in the temple^, and on that 
 account was desirous 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 tlie city, 
 but that he would leave them as large a gar- 
 rison as they should desire. Hereupon they 
 promised that they would make no innova- 
 tions, 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 sufTer- 
 ' ed from it ; so he changed the band as they 
 desired, and with the rest of his forces return- 
 ed to Cesarea, 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CESTIUS SEN'DS NEOPOLITANL'S THE TRIBUNE TO 
 SEE IN WHAT CONDITION THE ATFAIRS OF 
 THE JEWS WERE. AGRIPPA MAKES A SPEECH 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF THE JEWS, THAT HE MAf 
 DIVERT THEM FROM THEIR INTENTIONS OF 
 MAKING WAR WITH THE ROMANS. 
 
 § 1. HowEVFR, Florus contrived another way 
 to oblige the Jews to begin the war, and sent 
 to Cestius and accused the Jews falsely of re- 
 volting [from the Roman government], and 
 imputed tlie beginning of the former fight to 
 
 pital with five porticos or cloisters, and beneath which 
 was the sheep-pool of Bethesda ; into which an aiigel 
 or messenger, at a certain season, descended ; and where 
 he or they, who were the " first put into the pool," 
 were cured, John v. 1 , &;c. This situation of Bezetha, 
 in Josephus, on tlie north side of the temple, and not 
 far off the tower Antonia, exactly agrees to the place of 
 the same pool at this day ; only the remaining cloisters 
 are but three. See Maundrel, page 1(6. 'flie entire 
 buildings seem to have been called the New Citv; and 
 this part, where was the hospital, peculiarlv Bezetha or 
 Bethesda. See eh. six, sect. 4. 
 
 them, and pretended they had been the authors 
 of that disturbance, wherein they were only 
 the sufferers. 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 cap- 
 tains [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 himself to send 
 one of his intimate friends beforehand, to see 
 the state of affairs, and to give him a faithful 
 account of the intentions of the Jews. Accord- 
 ingly he sent one of his tribunes, whose name 
 was Neopolitanus, who met with king Agrippa 
 as he was returning from Alexandria, at Jain- 
 nia, and told him who it was that sent him, and 
 on what errands he was sent. 
 
 2. And here it was that the high-priests, 
 and men of power among the Jews, as well 
 as the sanhedrim, came to congratulate the 
 king [upon his safe return] ; and after thejr 
 had paid him their respects, they lament- 
 ed their own calamities, and related to him 
 what barbarous treatment they had met with 
 from Florus. At which barbarity Agrippa 
 had great indignation, but transferred, after a 
 subtle manner, his anger towards 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 themselves. So these 
 great tnen, as of better understanding than the 
 rest, and desirous of peace, because of the pos- 
 sessions 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 congra- 
 tulated both Agrippa and Neoplitanus ; but 
 the wives of those that iiad been slain came 
 running first of all and lamenting. The peo. 
 pie also, when they heard their mourning, fell 
 into lamentations also, and besought Agrippa 
 to assist them : they also cried out to Neopoli- 
 tanus, and complained of the many miseries 
 they had endured under Florus ; and they 
 showed them, wlien they were come into the 
 city, how the market-place was made desolate, 
 and the houses plundered. They then per- 
 suaded Neopolitanus, by the means of Agrippa, 
 that he would walk round the city, vvith only 
 one servant, as far as Siloam, that he might 
 inforin himself that the Jews submitted to all 
 the rest of the Romans, and were only dis- 
 pleased at Florus, by reason of his exceeding 
 barbarity to them. So he walked round, and 
 hdd sufficient experience of the good temper 
 the people were in, and then went up to the 
 temple, where he called the multitude together 
 in i highly commended them for their fidelity 
 
 r 
 
630 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 to the Romans, and earnestly exhorted them to 
 keep the peace ; and having performed such 
 parts of divine worship at the temple as he was 
 allowed to do, he returned to Cestius. 
 
 3. But as for the multitude of the Jews, 
 tliey 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 silence afford a sus- 
 picion tliat they had been the occasion of such 
 great slaughters as had been made, and were 
 disposed to revolt, 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 ap- 
 peared openly that they would not be quiet, if 
 any body should hinder them from sending such 
 an embassage. But Agrippa, although he 
 thought it too dangerous 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 gal- 
 lery, at the passage to the upper city, where 
 the bridge joined the temple to the gallery), 
 and spake to them as follows : — 
 
 4. • " Had I perceived that you were all 
 zealously disposed to go to war with the Ro- 
 mans, and that the purer and more sincere 
 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 dis- 
 courses that tend to persuade men to do what 
 they ought to do is superfluous, when the 
 hearers are agreed to do the contrary. But 
 because some are earnest to go to war because 
 they are young, and without experience of 
 the miseries it brings ; and because some are 
 
 « In this speech of king Agrippa we have an autlien- 
 tic account of tlie extent and strength of the Roman 
 empire when the Jevvisli war began. And this speech, 
 with other circumstances in Joseplius, demonstrates how 
 wise and how great a person Agrippa was, and wliy Jo- 
 sephus elscwliere calls him iixuucuriarrxro; , a most won. 
 derful, or admirable man, Centr. Ap. i, 9. He is the 
 same Agrippa who said to Paul, " Almost thou persuad 
 est me to be a Christian," Acts xxvi, 28 ; and of whom 
 St. Paul s;iid, " He was expert in all the customs and 
 questions of the Jews," v. 3. See another imitation of 
 the hmits of the same Roman empire. Of the War, b. 
 iii, ch. v, sect. 7. Hut what seems to me very remark- 
 able here is this, that when Josephus, in imitation of 
 the Greeks and Romans, for w hose use he wrote his An- 
 tiquities, did himself frequently compose the speeches 
 which he put into their mouths, they appear, by the 
 politeness of their composition, and their flights of 
 oratory, to be not the real speeches of the persons con- 
 cerned, who usually were no orators, but of his own 
 elegant composition. The speech before us is of ano- 
 ther nature, full of undeniable facts, and composed in 
 a plain and unartful, but moving way ; so it appe.-u-s to 
 be king Agrippa's own speech, and to liave been given 
 Josephus by .\grippa liimself, with whom Josephus had 
 the greatest friendship. Nor may we omit Agrippa's 
 constant doctrine here, that this Roman empire was 
 raised and supported by Divine Providence; and that 
 therefore it was in vain for the Jews, or any others, to 
 think of destroying it. Nor may we neglect to take 
 notice of Agrippa's solemn appeal to the angels, here 
 used; the like appeals to which we have in St. Paul, 1 
 Tim. v, 22, and by the apostles in general, in the form 
 of tlie ordination of bishops, Constitut. Apost. viii, 4. 
 
 for it, out of an unreasonable expectation of 
 regaining 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 thein, I have 
 thought proper to get you all together, and 
 to say to you what I think to be for your ad- 
 vantage ; 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 
 iome others. And let not any one be tumult- 
 uous 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 procura- 
 tors, and concerning the glorious advantages 
 of liberty ; but before I begin the inquiry, 
 who you are that must go to war, and who 
 they are against whom you must fight, — 1 
 shall first separate those pretences 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 servitude intolerable, to what pur- 
 pose serve your complaints against your par- 
 ticular governors ? for if they treated you 
 with moderation, it would still be equally an 
 unworthy thing to be in servitude. Consider 
 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 subiiiissive to 
 those in authority, and not give them any 
 provocation : but when you reproach men 
 greatly for small offences, you excite those 
 whom you reproach to be your adversaries; 
 for this will only make thein leave off hurt- 
 ing you privately, and with some degree ol 
 modesty, and to lay what you have waste 
 openly. Now nothing so much damps the 
 force of strokes as bearing them with pa- 
 tience ; and the quietness of tliose who are 
 injured, diverts the injurious persons from 
 attlicting. But let us take it for granted, that 
 the Roman ministers are injurious to you, 
 and are incurably severe ; yet are they not all 
 the Romans who thus injure you ; nor hath 
 CiBsar, against whoin you are going to make 
 war, injured you : it is not by their command 
 that any wicked governor is sent to you ; for 
 they who are in the west cannot see those that 
 are in the east ; nor indeed is it easy for them 
 there, even to hoar what is done in these parts. 
 Now it is absurd to make war witti a great 
 many for the sake of one ; to do so with such 
 
CHAP. XVI. 
 
 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 
 complain 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 easi- 
 ly laid down again, nor borne without calami- 
 ties coming therewith. However, as to the 
 desire of recovering your liberty, it is unsea- 
 sonable to indulge it so late; whereas you 
 ought to have laboured earnestly in old time 
 that you might never have lost it : for the 
 fiist experience 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, and 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 came first into the country. But so 
 it was, that our ancestors and their kings, 
 who were in much better circumstances 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 not accustomed yourselves to 
 obedience from one generation to another, 
 and who are so much inferior to those who 
 first submitted in your circumstances, will 
 venture to oppose the entire empire of the 
 Romans ; while those Athenians, who, in or- 
 der 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 gieat a 
 part of Asia at 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 governing city of Greece. 
 —Those Lacedemonians also, who got the 
 great victories at Thermopylae and Platea, 
 and had Agesilaus [for their king], and 
 searched every corner of Asia, are contented 
 to admit the same lords. These Macedoni- 
 ans 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 whom fortune hath 
 advanced in their stead. — Moreover, ten thou- 
 sand 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 
 think it a disgrace to be servants to tliose to 
 whom all the world hath submitted. What sort 
 of an army do you rely on ? Wliat are the arms 
 you depend on ? Where is your fleet that 
 may seize upon the Roman seas .' ^and wliere 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 631 
 
 are those treasures which may be suflicient for 
 your undertakings ? Do you suppose, I pray 
 you, that you are to make war with the Egyp- 
 tians, and 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 beyond that ; for all Euphra- 
 tes is not a sufficient boundary for them on 
 the east side, nor the Danube on the north ; 
 and for their southern limit, Libya hath been 
 searched over by them, as far as countries un- 
 inhabited, as is Cadiz their limit on the west; 
 nay, indeed, they have sought for another ha- 
 bitable earth beyond the ocean, and have 
 carried their arms as far as such 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 habitable earth ? — What 
 confidence is it that elevates you to oppose 
 the Romans ? Perhaps it will be said, It is 
 hard to endure slavery. Yes ; but how much 
 harder is it to the Greeks, who were es- 
 teemed the noblest of all people under the 
 sun ! These, though they inhabit in a large 
 country, 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 five hundred cities of Asia ? do they not 
 submit to a single governor, and to the con- 
 sular bundle of rods ? What need I speak ol 
 the Heniochi, and Colchi, and the nation oi 
 Tauri, those that inhabit the Bcsphorus, and 
 the nations about Pontus, and Meotis, who 
 formerly knew not so much as a lord of their 
 own, but are now subject to three thousand 
 armed men, and where forty long ships keep 
 the sea in peace, which before was not navi- 
 gable, and very tempestuous ? How strong a 
 plea may Bithynia, and Cappadocia, and the 
 people of Pamphylia, the Lycians, and Cili-- 
 cians, put in for liberty ! but they are made 
 tributary without an army. What are the 
 circumstances of the Thracians, wliose coun- 
 try 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, suffi- 
 cient to keep otr armies from attacking them ? 
 do not they submit to two thousand men of 
 the Roman garrisons? Are not the lilyrians, 
 who inhabit the country adjoining, as far as 
 Dalmatia and the Danube, governed by bare- 
 ly two legions ? by which also they put a 
 stop to the incursions of the Dacians; and for 
 tlie Dalmatians, who have made such fre- 
 quent insurrections, in order to regain their 
 liberty, and who could never before be so 
 thoroughly subdued, but that they aJwaysga- 
 
b32 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 tliered their forces together again, and re- 
 volted, yet are they now very quiet under one 
 Roman legion. Moreover, if great advan- 
 tages might provoke any people to revolt, the 
 Gauls might do it best of all, as being so 
 thororighly walled round by nature ; on the 
 east side by the Alps, on the north by the 
 river Rhine, on the south by the Pyrenean 
 "T.ountains, and on the west by the ocean. — 
 Now, although these Gauls have such ob- 
 stacles before them to prevent any attack up- 
 on them, and have no fe\ver than three hun- 
 dred and five nations among them, nay have, 
 as one may say, the fountains of domestic 
 happiness within themselves, and send out 
 plentiful streams of happiness over almost the 
 whole world, these bear to be tributary to 
 the Romans, and derive their prosperous con- 
 dition from them ; and they undergo this, not 
 because they are of effeminate minds, or be- 
 cause they arecf an ignoble stock, as having 
 borne a war of eighty years, in order to pre- 
 serve their liberty ; but by reason of the great 
 regard they have to the power of the Romans, 
 and their good fortune, which is of greater 
 efficacy than their arms. These Gauls, there- 
 fore, are kept in servitude by twelve hundred 
 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 tlieir 
 vast distance from the Romans by land and 
 by sea do it; nor could the martial tribes of 
 the Lusitanians and Spaniards escape ; no 
 more could the ocean, with its tide, which 
 yet was terrible to the ancient inhabitants. 
 Nay, the Romans l^ave 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 Ger- 
 mans ? You have, to be sure, yourselves seen 
 them to be strong and tall, and that frequent- 
 ly, since the Romans have them among their 
 captives everywhere ; yet these Germans, 
 who dwell in an immense c-ountrj', who have 
 minds greater than their bodies, and a soul 
 that despises death, and who are in rage 
 more fierce tlian wild beasts, have the Rhine 
 for the boundary of their enterprises, and are 
 tamed by eight Roman legions. Such of 
 them as were taken captives became their ser- 
 vants ; and the rest of the entire nation were 
 obliged to 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 inhabited 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 Par- 
 thians, that most warlike body of men, and 
 lords of so many nations, and encompassed 
 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 notion of peace, submitting to serve 
 them. Now, when almost all people under 
 the sun submit to the Roman arms, will you 
 be the only people that make war against 
 them ? and this without regarding the fate 
 of the Carthaginians, who, in the midst of 
 their brags of the great Hannibal, and the 
 nobility of their Phenician original, fell by 
 the hand of Scipio. Nor indeed have the Cy- 
 renians, derived from the Lacedemonians, nor 
 the Marmaridae, a nation extended 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 
 them, and which is bounded by the Atlantic 
 sea, and the Pillars of Hercules, and feeds an 
 innumerable multitude of Ethiopians, as far 
 as the Red sea, these have the Romans sub- 
 dued entirely. And besides 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 
 affords revenues suitable to the necessities of 
 the government. Nor do they, like you, es- 
 teem such injunctions a disgrace to them, al- 
 though tliey have but one Roman legion that 
 abides among them ; and indeed what occa- 
 sion is there for showing you the power of the 
 Romans over remote countries, when it is so 
 easy to learn it from Egyp*^, in your neigh- 
 bourhood ? This country is extended as far as 
 the Ethiopians, and Arabia the Happy, and 
 borders upon India ; it hath seven millions 
 five hundred thousand men, besides the inha- 
 bitants of Alexandria, as may be learned from 
 the revenue of the poll-tax ; yet it is not 
 ashamed to submit to the Roman government, 
 although it hath Alexandria as a grand temp- 
 tation to a revolt, by reason it is so full et 
 people and of riches, and is besides exceeding 
 large, its length being thirty furlongs, and its 
 breadth no less than ten ; and it pays more 
 trihi'.te 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 al- 
 most 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 ; however, two 
 legions that lie in that ciiy are a bridle both 
 for the remoter parts of Egypt, and for the 
 
CHAP. XVI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 633 
 
 parts inhabited by the more noble Macedo- 
 nians. Where then are those people whom 
 you are to have for your auxiliaries ? Must 
 they come from the parts of the world that are 
 uninhabited ? for all that are in the habitable 
 earth are [under the] Romans. — Unless any 
 of you extend his hopes as far as beyond the 
 Eup.irates, and suppose that those of your 
 ow.i nation that dwell in Adiabene will come 
 t' your assistance (but certainly these will 
 .lot embarras themselves with an unjustifiable 
 war, nor, if they should follow such ill ad- 
 vice, 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 cove-- 
 nants between them, if any under their go- 
 vernment march against the Romans. What 
 remains, therefore, is this, that you have re- 
 course to divine assistance ; but this is already 
 on the side of the Romans ; for it is impos- 
 sible that so vast an empire should be settled 
 without God's providence. Reflect upon it, 
 hov/ impossible it is your zealous observation 
 of your religious customs to be here preserv- 
 ed, wliich are hard to be observed, even when 
 you fight with those ■vi^hom 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 there- 
 on, you will easily be taken, as were your 
 forefathers by Pompey, who was the busiest 
 in his siege on those days on which the be- 
 sieged 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 forefa- 
 thers; and how will you call upon God to 
 assist you, when you are voluntarily trans- 
 gressing against his religion ? Now, all men 
 that go to war, do it either as depending on di- 
 vine or on human assistance; but since your 
 going to war will cut off both ihose assist- 
 ances, those that are for going to war choose 
 evident destruction. What hinders you from 
 slaying your children and wives with your 
 own hands, and burning this most excellent 
 native city of yours ? for by this mad prank 
 you will, however, escape the reproach of 
 being beaten ; but it were best, O my friends, 
 it were best, while the vessel is still in the ha- 
 ven, to foresee the impending 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 manifest ruin, he 
 gains reproaches [instead of commiseration]. 
 But certainly no one can imagine that you i 
 can enter into a war as by an agreement, or 
 tliat when the Romans have got you undei 
 their power, they will use you with modera- 
 
 tion, or will not rather, for an example to other 
 nations, burn your holy city, and utterly des- 
 troy 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 already, or are 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 por- 
 tion 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 slaughter 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 walxs ; spare 
 the temple, and preserve the holy house, with 
 its holy furniture, for yourselves ; for if the 
 Romans get you under their power, they will 
 no longer abstain from them, when their for 
 mer abstinence shall have been so ungratefully 
 requited. I call to witness your sanctuary, 
 and the holy angels of God, and tliis country 
 common to us all, that I have not kept back 
 any thing that is for your preservation ; and 
 if you will follow that advice which you ou^ht 
 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." 
 
 5. When Agrippa had spoken thus, both he 
 and his sister wept, and by their tears repress- 
 ed a great deal of the violence of the people ; 
 but still tliey cried out, that they would not 
 fight against the Romans but against Floras, 
 on account of what they had suflTered by his 
 means. To which Agrippa replied, that what 
 they had already done was like such as make 
 war against tlie Romans ; " for you have not 
 paid the tribute which is due to Caesar;* and 
 you have cut oflT the cloisters [of the temple] 
 from joining to the tower Antonia. You will 
 therefore prevent any occasion 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," 
 
 * Julius Csesar had ilecreed, that tlie Jews of Jerusa- 
 lem should pay an annual tribute to the Romiuis, exceirt- 
 ing the city of Joppa, and tor the Sabbatical year; aa 
 Siianheim obserTt'S from the Antiq. b. xiv, chap, x, 
 sect. 6. 
 
6U 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 HOW THE WAR OF THE JEWS WITH THE ROMANS 
 BEGAN ; AND CONCERNING AIANAHEM. 
 
 § 1. 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 divided themsolves 
 into the villages, and collected the tributes, 
 and soon got together forty talents, which was 
 the sum that was deficient. And thus diil A- 
 grippa then put a stop to that war which was 
 threatened. Moreover, he attempted to per- 
 suade the multitude to obey Florus, until Ca'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, togutlier 
 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 re- 
 tired into his own kingdom. 
 
 2. And at this time it was that some of 
 those that principally excited the people to go 
 to war, made an assault upon a certain for- 
 tress called Masada. They took it by treach- 
 ery, and slew the Romans that were there, and 
 put others of their own party to keep it. At 
 the same time Eleazar, the son 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 
 
 eceive no gift or sacrifice for any foreigner. 
 And this was the true beginning of our war 
 with the Romans ; for they rejected the sacri- 
 fice of Ca;sar on this account : and when 
 many of the high-priests and principal men 
 besought them not to omit the sacrifice, which 
 it was customary for them to oflTer 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. 
 
 3. Hereupon the men of power got toge- 
 ther, and conferred with the high-priests, as 
 did also the principal of the Pliarisees ; and 
 thinking all was at stake, and that their cala- 
 mities were becoming incurable, took counsel 
 what was to be done. Accordingly they de- 
 termined to try what they could do with the 
 seditious by words, and assembled tlie people 
 before the brazen gate, which was liiat gate 
 of the inner temple (court of the priests] 
 which looked towards the sun-rising. And, 
 in the first place, they showed the great in- 
 dignation they had at this attempt for a re- 
 
 volt, 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 tem- 
 ple 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 
 rejecting any person's sacrifice (which would 
 be the highest instance of impiety), that they 
 had themselves placed those donations about 
 the temple which were still visible, and had 
 remained there so long a time ; that they did 
 now irritate the Romans 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 
 impiety, while they would not allow any fo- 
 reigner but Jews only, either to sacrifice or to 
 worship tlierein. And if such a law should 
 ever be introduced in the case of a single per- 
 son only, he would have indignation at it, 
 as an instance of inhumainty determined a- 
 gainst him ; while they have no regard to the 
 Romans or to Casar, and forbade even their 
 oblations to be received also : that however 
 they cannot but fear, lest, by thus rejecting 
 their sacrifices, they shall not be allowed to 
 ofler their own ; and that this city will lose 
 its principality, unless they grow wiser quick- 
 ly, and restore the sacrifices as formerly; 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. 
 
 4. And as they said these things, they pro- 
 duced those priests that were skilful in the 
 customs of their country, who made the re- 
 port, that all their forefathers had received 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 ser- 
 vice, but were preparing matters for beginning 
 the war. So the men of power, perceiving 
 that the sedition was too liard for them to 
 subdue, and that the danger which would 
 arise from the Romans would come upon 
 them first of all, endeavoured to save them- 
 selves, and sent ambassadors ; some to Flo- 
 rus, the chief of whom was Simon the son of 
 Ananias J and others to Agrippa, among whom 
 the most eminent were Saul, and Antipas, 
 and Costobarus, who were of the king's kin- 
 dred ; and they desired of them both that 
 tlicy 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 be- 
 cause his design was to have a war kindled, 
 he gave the ambassadors 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 de- 
 sirous to preserve the Jews for the Romans 
 
CHAP. XVlf. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 635 
 
 and the temple and metropolis for the Jews ; 
 he was also sensible that it was not for his 
 own advantage that the disturbanc<.'s should 
 proceed ; so he sent three thousand horsemen 
 to the assistance of the people out of Aurani- 
 tis, and Batanea, and Trachonitis, and these 
 under Darius, the master of his horse ; and 
 Philip the son of Jacimus, the general of his 
 army. 
 
 5. Upon this the men of power, with the 
 high-priests, as also all the part of the mul- 
 titude that were desirous of peace, took cou- 
 rage, 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 conti- 
 nually on both sides ; and sometimes it hap- 
 pened that they made excursions by troops, 
 and fought it out hand to hand, while the se- 
 ditious were superior in boldness, but the 
 king's soldiers in skill. Tliese last strove 
 chiefly to gain the temple, and to drive those 
 out of it who profaned it ; as did the sediti-- 
 ous, 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 neither side would 
 yield up the parts they had seized upon. 
 
 6. Now the next day was the festival of 
 Xylophory ; irpon which the custom was for 
 every one to bring wood for the altar (that 
 there might never be a want of fuel for that 
 Are which was unquenchable and always burn- 
 ing). Upon that day tliey excluded the op- 
 posite party from the observation of this part 
 of religion. And when they had joined to 
 themselves many of the Sicarii, who crowded 
 in among the weaker people (that was the 
 name for such robbers as had under their bo- 
 soms s^vords called Sicse), they grew bolder, 
 and carried their undertakings farther; inso- 
 much that the king's soldiers were overpow- 
 ered by their multitude and boldness; and so 
 they gave way, and were driven out of the up. 
 per 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 reposited, and made haste 
 to burn the contracts belonging to their cre- 
 ditors, 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 tlie more wealthy ; so the 
 keepers of the records fled away, and the rest 
 set lire to them. And when they had thus 
 burnt down tlie 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 con- 
 cealed themselves, while others fled with the 
 king's soldiers to >he upper palace, and shut 
 
 the gates immediately : among whom were 
 Ananias the high-priest, and the ambassadors 
 that had been sent to Agrippa. And now 
 the seditious were contented with the victory 
 they had got'en, and the buildings they had 
 burnt down, and proceeded no farther. 
 
 7. But on the next day, which was the 
 fifteenth of the month Lous [Abl, they made 
 an assault upon Antonia, and besieged the 
 garrison which was in it two days, and then 
 took the garrison, and slew tiiem, 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 as- 
 saulted them were so numerous ; but they dis- 
 tributed themselves into the breast-works and 
 turrets, and shot at the besiegers, 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 sup- 
 posed that those within would grow weary for 
 want of food ; and those without, supposed the 
 others would do the like by the tediousness of 
 the siege. 
 
 8. 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 tliey were subject to the Ro- 
 mans) took some of the men of note with him, 
 and retired to Masada, where he broke open 
 king Herod's armoury, 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 Laving done that, they set on fire what 
 was combustible, and left it ; and when the 
 foundations 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 beforehand of what 
 they w^ere doing, and probably the tower 
 shook as it was undermining ; so they provid- 
 ed themselves of ano'.i)er fortification ; which 
 when the besiegers unexpectedly saw, wliile 
 they thouglit they had already gained the 
 place, they were under some consternation. 
 However, those that were within sent to Ma- 
 nahem, and to the other leaders of the sedition, 
 and desired they might go out upon a capi- 
 tulation ; this was granted to the king's sol- 
 diers and their own countrymen 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 
 
636 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK u. 
 
 a multitude ; and to desire them to give tliem 
 their right hand for their security, they tliought 
 would be a reproach to them ; and besides, if 
 they should give it them, they durst not de- 
 pend upon it ; so they deserted their camp, 
 as easily taken, and ran away to the royal 
 towers, — that called Hippicus, that called Pha- 
 saelus, and that called Mariamne. But Ma- I 
 nahem and his party fell upon the place whence 
 the soldiers were fled, and slew as many of them 
 as they could catch, before they got up to the I 
 towers, and plundered what they left behind | 
 them, and set fire to their camp. This was 
 executed on the sixtli day of the month Gor- 
 pieus [Elul], 
 
 9. I3ut on the next day the high-priest was 
 caught where he had concealed himself in an 
 aqueduct ; he was slain, together with Heze- 
 kiah his brother, by the robbers : 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 
 management of afiairs with him, he was no 
 better than an insupportable tyrant : but Elea- 
 zar 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 themselves ; 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 worship in a pompous 
 manner, and adorned with royal garments, 
 and had his followers with him in their ar- 
 mour. But Eleazar and his party fell vio- 
 lently upon him, as did also the rest of the 
 people, and taking up stones to attack him 
 withal, they threw them at the sophistcr, and 
 thought that if he were once ruined, the en- 
 tire sedition would fall to the ground. Now 
 Manahem and his party made resistance for a 
 while ; but when they perceived that the whole 
 multitude were failing upon them, they fled 
 which way every one was able ; those that 
 were cauglrt were slain, and those that hid 
 themselves were searciied for. A few there 
 were of them who privately escaped to Masada, 
 among whom was Eleazar, the son of Jarius, 
 who was of kin to Manahem, and acted the 
 part of a tyrant at Masada afterward. As for 
 jManahem himself, he ran away to the place 
 called Ophla, and there lay skulking in pri- 
 vate ; but they took him alive, and tlrew him 
 out before them all ; they then tortured him 
 with many sorts of torments, and after all 
 slew him, as they did by those that were cap- 
 tains under him also, and particularly by the 
 
 principal instrument of his tyranny, whose 
 name was Apsalom. 
 
 10. And, as I said, so far truly the people 
 assisted them, while they hoped this might af. 
 ford some amendment to the seditious prac- 
 tices ; 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 de- 
 sired that they would leave off besieging the 
 soldiers, they were the more earnest in pres^ 
 ing it forward, and this till Metilius, who was 
 the Roman general, sent to Eleazar, and de- 
 sired 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, sent to them Gorion, the son 
 of Nicodemus, and Ananias, the son of Sad- 
 duk, and Judas, the son of Jonathan, that 
 they might give them the security of their 
 right hands, and of their oaths : af^ter which 
 Metilius brought down his soldiers ; which 
 soldiers, 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 capitula- 
 tion, they had all laid down their shields and 
 their swords, and were under no farther suspi- 
 cion of any harm, but were going away, Elc- 
 azar's men attacked them after a violent man- 
 ner, and encompassed them round, and slew 
 them, while they neither defended themselves 
 nor entreated for mercy, but only cried out 
 upon the breach of their articles of capitula- 
 tion and their oaths. And thus were all these 
 men barbarously murdered, excepting Meti- 
 lius ; for when he entreated for mercy, and 
 promised that he would turn Jew, and be cir- 
 cumcised, they saved him alive, but none else. 
 This loss to the Romans was but light, there 
 being no more than a few slain out of an im- 
 m.ense army ; but still it appeared to be a 
 prelude to the Jews' own destruction, while 
 men made public lamentation when they saw 
 that such occasions were afi'orded for a nar as 
 were incurable ; that the city was all over 
 polluted with such abominations, from which 
 it was but reasonable to expect some ven- 
 geance, even though they should escape re- 
 venge from the Romans ; so that the city was 
 filled with sadness, and every one of the mo- 
 derate men in it were under great disturbance, 
 as likely themselves to undergo punishment 
 for the wickedness of the seditious; for in. 
 deed it so happened that this murder was per- 
 petrated on the Sabbath day, on which day 
 the Jews have a respite from their works on 
 account of divine worship. 
 
 V 
 
cnAi'. xvm. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 G37 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIT. 
 
 THE CALAMITIES AND SLAUGHTERS THAT CAME 
 UPON THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. Now the people of Cesarea had slain 
 the Jews that were among them on the very 
 same day 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 twenty 
 Uiousand Jews were killed, and all Cesarea 
 was emptied of its Jewish inhabitants ; for 
 Floras 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 Scytlio- 
 polls, 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 Cesarea; nor was either Sebaste (Samaria) 
 or Askelon, able to oppase the violence with 
 which they were attacked ; and when they 
 had burned these to the ground, they entirely 
 demolished Anthedon and Gazaj 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. 
 
 2. However, the Syrians were even with 
 the Jews in the multitude of the men whom 
 they slew ; for th^y killed tliose whom they 
 caught in their cities, and that not only out 
 of the hatred they bare them, as formerly, but 
 to prevent the danger under which they were 
 from them ; so that ihe 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 day-time 
 was spent in shedding of blood, and the night 
 in fear, — which was of tlie two the more ter- 
 rible ; for when the Syrians thought they had 
 ruined tbe Jews, they had the Judaizers in 
 suspicion also ; and as each side did not care 
 to slay those whom they only suspected on 
 the other, so did they greatly fear them when 
 tliey were mingled with the other, as if they 
 were certainly foreigners. Moreover, greedi- 
 ness of gain was a provocation to kill the op- 
 posite party, even to such as had of old ap- 
 peared very mild and gentle towards them ; 
 for they witliout fear plundered the effects of 
 the slain, and carried ofl" 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 gdl 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 scat- 
 tered about together ; women also lay amongst 
 tliem, without any covering for their naked- 
 ness : you might then see the whole province 
 full of inexpressible calamities, while the 
 dread of still more barbarous practices which 
 were threatened, was everywhere greater than 
 what had been already perpetrated. 
 
 3. And thus far the conflict had been be- 
 tween Jews and foreigners ; but when they 
 made excursions to Scythopolis, they found 
 Jews that acted as enemies ; for as they stood 
 in battle array with those of Scythopolis, and 
 preferred their own safety before their relation 
 to us, tliey fought against their own country- 
 men ; 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- 
 titne, and to their great misfortune, should 
 thereby make an apology for themselves to 
 their own people for their revolt from them. 
 So they commanded them, that in case they 
 would confirm their aijreement and demon- 
 strate 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 had done as they were 
 commanded, without suspecting any thing, 
 the people of Scythopolis lay still for the in- 
 terval of two days, to tempt them to be se- 
 cure ; 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 thirteen thousand, and then they 
 plundered them of all that they had. 
 
 4. 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 boldness of his conduct, 
 although he abused them both to the mis- 
 chieving of his countrymen ; 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 army's conquering. But a just pu- 
 nishment overtook him for the murders he 
 had committed upon those of the same nation 
 with him ; for when the people of Scythopo- 
 lis threw their darts at them in the grove, he 
 drew his sword, but did not attack any of the 
 enemy; for he saw that he could do nothing 
 against such a multitude; but he cried out, 
 after a very moving manner, and said, — " O 
 you people of Scythopolis, I deservedly sutTet 
 for what I have done with relation to you, 
 wlien 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 
 
 V 
 
 J- 
 
_/"■ 
 
 638 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 experience the perfidiousness 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 brag of, that he it was that 
 slew me ; and no one may insult upon me 
 as I fall." Now when he had said this, he 
 looked round about him upon his family 
 with eyes of commiseration 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 grey liairs, and 
 ran his sword through 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 offer- 
 ing themselves to his sword, as desirous to 
 prevent being slain by their enemies ; so when 
 he had gone over all his 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 [a- 
 gainst his own countrymen] he suffered de- 
 servedly. 
 
 5. Besides this murder at Scythopolis, the 
 other cities rose up against the Jews that were 
 among them : those of Askelon slew two thou- 
 sand five hundred, and those of Ptolemais two 
 thousand, and put not 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 Gadara 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, according as they every one either 
 hated them or were afraid of thera ; only the 
 Antiochians, the Sidonians, and Apamians, 
 spared those that dwelt with them, and they 
 would not endure either to kill any of the 
 Jews, or to put them in bonds. And perhaps 
 they spared thera, because their own number 
 was so great that they despised their attempts. 
 But I think that the greatest part of this fa- 
 vour was owing to their commiseration of 
 those whom they saw to make no iunovatione. 
 As for the Gerasens, they did no harm to 
 tliosc that abode with tiiem ; and for those 
 who had a mind to go away, they conducted 
 them as far as their borders reached. 
 
 6. There was also a plot laid against the 
 Jews in Agrippa's kingdom ; for he was him- 
 self gone to Cestius Gallus, to Antioch, but 
 had left one of his companions, whose name i 
 was Noarus, to take care of the public af- 
 fairs ; w hich Noarus was of kin to king So- 1 
 
 hemus.* Now there came certain men, se- 
 venty 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 liappen, they might 
 have about tliem a guard sufficient to restrain 
 such as might rise up against them. This 
 Noarus sent out some of the king's armed 
 men by night, and 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 wick- 
 ed to his own countrymen, although he brought 
 ruin on the kingdom thereby ; and thus cru- 
 elly did he treat that nation, and this contrary 
 to the laws also, until Agrippa was informed 
 of it, who did not indeed dare to put him to 
 death, out of regard to Sohemus; but still he 
 put an end to his procuratorship immediately. 
 But as to the seditious, they took the citadel 
 which was called Cypros, and was above Je- 
 richo, 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 persuaded 
 the Remans who were in garrison to leave the 
 place, and deliver it up to them. These Ro- 
 mans 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 garrison foi 
 their own security, and held it in their own 
 power. 
 
 7. But for Alexandria, the sedition of the 
 people of the place against the Jews was per- 
 petual, and this from that very time when 
 Alexander [the Great], upon finding the rea- 
 diness of the Jews in assisting him against the 
 Egyptians, and as a reward for such their as- 
 sistance, gave them equal privileges in this 
 ci'ty with the Grecians themselves ; — which 
 honorary reward continued among them un- 
 der his successors, who also set apart for them 
 a particular place, that they might live with- 
 out being polluted [l)y the Gentiles], and were 
 thereby not so much intermixed with foreign- 
 ers as before : they also gave them this far- 
 ther privilege, that they should be called Ma- 
 cedonians. Nay, when the Romans got pos- 
 session of Egypt, neither the first Csesar, nor 
 any one that came after him, thought of di- 
 minishing the honours which Alexander had 
 bestowed on the Jews. But still conflicts 
 perpetually arose with the Grecians ; and al- 
 though the governors did every day punish 
 many of them, yet did the sedition grow 
 worse ; but at this time especially, when there 
 were tumults in other places also, the disor- 
 
 * Of this Sohemus we have mention made by Taci- 
 tus. We also learn from Dio, that his father was king 
 of tlie Arabians of Iturea, [which Iturea is mentioned 
 by St. Luke, iii, I,] both whose testimonies are quoted 
 here by Dr. Hudson. See Noldius, No. 371. 
 
 _r 
 
CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 639 
 
 ders among them were put into a greater 
 flame ; for when the Alexandrians had once a 
 public assembly, to deliberate about an em- 
 bassage they were sending to Nero, a great 
 number of Jews came flocking to the theatre ; 
 but when their adversaries saw them, they im- 
 mediately 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 haul- 
 ed Uiem along, in order to have them burnt 
 alive ; but all the Jews came in a body to de- 
 fend them, who at first threw stones at the 
 Grecians ; but after tiiat they took lamps, 
 and rushed with violence into the theatre, 
 and threatened that they would burn the peo- 
 ple to a man ; and this they had soon done, 
 unless Tiberius Alexander, the governor of 
 the city, had restrained their passions. How- 
 ever, this man did not begin to teach them 
 wisdom by arms, but sent among them pri- 
 vately some of the principal men, and there- 
 by entreated them to be quiet, and not pro- 
 voke the Roman army against them ; but the 
 seditious made a jest of the entreaties of Ti- 
 berius, and reproached him for so doing. 
 
 8. 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 le- 
 gions that were in the city, and together with 
 them five thousand other soldiers, who, by 
 chance, were come together out of Libya, to 
 the ruin of the Jews. They were also per- 
 mitted 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 tlie 
 best armed among them in the fore-front, 
 and made resistance for a great while ; but 
 when once they gave back, they were de- 
 stroyed unmercifully ; and this their destruc- 
 tion was complete, some being caught in the 
 open field, and others forced into their houses, 
 which houses were first plundered of what 
 was in tliem, 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 in the slaughter of persons of 
 every age, till all the place was overflowed 
 with blood, and fifty thousand of them lay 
 dead upon heaps ; nor had the remainder 
 been preserved, had they not betaken them- 
 selves to supplication. So Alexander com- 
 miserated their condition, and gave orders to 
 the Romans to retire : accordingly, these, 
 being accustomed to obey orders, left off kil- 
 ling at the first intimation ; but the populace 
 of Alexandria bare so very great hatred to 
 
 the Jews, that it was difficult to recal them > 
 and it was a hard thing to make them leave 
 their dead bodies. 
 
 9. 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 everywiiere up in 
 arms ; so he took out of Antioch the twelfth 
 legion entire, and out of each of the rest he 
 selected two thousand, with six cohorts of foot- 
 men, and four troops of horsemen, besides 
 those auxiliaries which were sent by the kings ; 
 of which Antiochus * sent two thousand 
 horsemen, and three thousand footmen, with 
 as many archers ; and Agrippa sent the same 
 number of footmen, and one thousand horse- 
 men ; Sohemus also followed with four thou- 
 sand, a third part whereof were horsemen, 
 but most part were archers, and thus did he 
 march to Ptolemais. There were also great 
 numbers of auxiliaries gathered together from 
 the [free] cities, 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 in skill. There came also along 
 witli 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 Zabulon, 
 a strong city of Galilee, which was called the 
 City of At en, and divides the country of Ptole- 
 mais 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 ad- 
 mirable beauty, and had its houses built like 
 those in Tyre, and Sidon, and Berytus. Af- 
 ter 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 two thousand of them. 
 
 10. And now Cestius himself marched from 
 Ptolemais, and came to Cesarea ; but he sent 
 part of his army before him to Joppa, 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 attack them, they then should stay 
 for him, and for the rest of the army. So 
 some of them made a brisk marcii 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 pro- 
 vision aforehand for a flight, nor had gotten 
 
 * Spanheim notes on the place, that tliis latter Antio- 
 chus, who was called Epiphanes, is mentioned by Dio, 
 lix, p. 6^5 ; and that he is mentioned by Josephus else- 
 where twice also, b. v, chap, xi, sect. 3 ; »o(i Antiq. b. 
 xix, chap, viii, sect. 1. 
 
 ^ 
 
J' 
 
 ^ 
 
 640 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK U 
 
 any thing ready for fighting, the soldiers fell 
 upon thetu, and ilew them all, with their fa- 
 milies, and then plundered and burnt the 
 city. The number of the slain was eight thou- 
 sand four hundred. In like manner Cestius 
 sent also a considerable body of horsemen to 
 the topaixhy of Narbatene, that adjoined to 
 Cesarea, who destroyed the country, and slew 
 a great multitude of its people ; they also 
 plundered what they had, and burnt their vil- 
 lages. 
 
 11. But Cestius sent Gallus, the command- 
 er of the twelfth legion, into Galilee, and de- 
 livered to him as many of his forces as he 
 supposed sufficient to subdue that nation. 
 He was received by the strongest city of Ga- 
 lilee, which was Sepphoris, with acclamations 
 of joy; which wise conduct of that city oc- 
 casioned the rest of the cities to be in quiet; 
 while the s?ditious part ami the robbers ran 
 away to that mountain which lies in the very 
 middle of Galilee, and is situated over against 
 Sepphoris ; it is called Asamon. So Gallus 
 brought his forces against them ; but while 
 those men were in the superior parts above 
 the Romans they easily threw their darts up- 
 on the Romans, as they made their approach- 
 es, and slew about two hundred of tliem ; but 
 when the Romans had gone round the moim. 
 tains, 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 ; in- 
 somuch that only some few concealed them- 
 selves in certain places hard to be come at, 
 among the mountains, while the rest, above 
 two thousand in number, were slain. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WHAT CESTIUS DID AGAINST THE JEWS ; AND 
 HOW, UPON HIS BESIEGING JERUSALEM, HE 
 UETREATED FROM THE CITY, WITHOUT ANY 
 JUST OCCASION IN THE WORLD. AS ALSO 
 WHAT SEVERE CALAMITIES HE UNDERWENT 
 IROM THE JEWS IN HIS RETREAT. 
 
 § 1. And now Gallus, seeing nothing more 
 that looked towards an innovation in Galilee, 
 returned with his army to Cesarea : but Ces- 
 tius removed with his whole army, and march- 
 ed to Antipatris ; and when he was informed 
 that there was a great body of Jewish forces 
 gotten togetlier in a certain tower called 
 Aphek, he sent a party before to tight them ; 
 but this party dispersed the Jews bj affright- 
 ing them before it came to a battle : so they 
 came, a.id finding their camp deserted, they 
 burnt it, as well as the villages that layabout 
 it. But when Cestius had marched from 
 Antipatris to Lydda, he found the city empty 
 
 of its men, for the whole multitude • were 
 gone up to Jerusalem to the feiast of taberna- 
 cles ; yet did he destroy fifty of those that 
 showed themselves, and burnt the city, and 
 so marched forw-ards ; and ascending by Beth* 
 oron, he pitched his camp at a certain place 
 called Gabao, fifty furlongs distant frsm Je- 
 rusalem. 
 
 2. But as for 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 multi- 
 tude, went in a sudden and disorderly man- 
 ner to the fight, with a great noise, and with- 
 out any consideration 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 such 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 slaughter as they went, inso- 
 much that unless the horsemen, and such part 
 of the footmen as were not yet tired in the 
 action, had wheeled round, and succoured 
 that part of the army which was not yet bro^ 
 ken, Cestius, with his whole army, had been 
 in danger: however, five hundred and fifteen 
 of the Romans were slain, of which number 
 four hundred w ere footmen, and the rest horse- 
 men, while the Jews lost only twenty-two, of 
 whom the most valiant were the kinsmen of 
 Monobazus, kingof Adiabene, and their names 
 were Monobazus and Kenedeus ; and next to 
 them were Niger of Perea, and Silas of Ba- 
 bylon, who had deserted from king Agrippa 
 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 
 
 * Here we have an eminent example of tliat Jewish 
 language, which Dr. Wall truly obseries, we several 
 times find used in the sacred writings; I mean where 
 the words " all," or " whole multitude," &c. are used 
 for much tlie greatest part only ; but not so as to include 
 every person, without exception; for when Josephus 
 had said, that " the whole multitude" [all the males] of 
 Lydda were gone to the feast of tabernacles, he imme- 
 diately ailds, that, however, no fewer than tifty of them 
 appeared, and were slain by the lionians. Other exam- 
 ples semewhat like this I have observed elsewhere in 
 Josephus; but, as I think, none so remarkable as this. 
 See Wall's Critical Observations on the Old Testament, 
 p. 49, 50. 
 
 \<*e have also in this and the next section, two emi- 
 nent facts to be observed, viz the first examjile, that I 
 remember tn Josephus, of the onset of the Jews' ene- 
 mies upon their country when their males were gone up 
 to Jerusalem to one of their three sacred festivals; 
 which, durmg the theocracy, God had promised to pre 
 serve them from, Exod. xxxiv, 24. The second fact in 
 tliis, the breach of the Sabbath by the seditious Jews in 
 an offensive fight, contrary to the universal doctrine 
 and practice of their nation in these ages, and sven con- 
 trary to what they themseh es afterward practised in the 
 rest of this war. bee the note on Antiq. b. xvi, ch. ^. 
 sect. 4. 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 641 
 
 many of the beasts that carried the weapons 
 of war, and led them into the city ; but as 
 Cestius tarried there three days, the Jews 
 seized upon the elevated parts of the city, and 
 set watches at the entrances into the city, and 
 appeared openly resolved not to rest wlien once 
 the Romans should begin to march. 
 
 3. And now when Agrippa observed that 
 even the affairs of the Romans were likely to 
 be in danger, while such an immense multi- 
 tude of their enemies had seized upon the 
 mountains round about, he determined 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 Bo'^eus and Phebus, the per- 
 sons of his party that were the best known 
 to them, and promised them that Cestius 
 should give them his right hand, 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 security 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. And when the peo- 
 ple were very angry at this, they had the se- 
 ditious beaten with stones and clubs, and 
 drove them before them into the city. 
 
 4. But now Cestius, obstrviiig that the dis- 
 turbances that were begun among the Jews 
 afforded him a proper opportunity to attack 
 them, took his whole army along with him, 
 and put the Jews to flight, and pursued them 
 to Jerusalem, He then pitched his camp up- 
 on the elevation called Scopus [or watch- 
 tower , which was distant seven furlongs from 
 the city ; yet did he not assault them in three 
 days' time, out of expectation that those with- 
 in might perhaps yield a little ; and in the 
 mean time he sent out a great many of his 
 soldiers into neighbouring villages, to seize 
 upon their corn ; and on the fourth day, 
 which was the thirtieth of the month Hyper- 
 bereteus [Tisri], when he put his army in 
 array, he brought it into the city. Now for 
 the people, they were kept under by the sedi- 
 tious ; but the seditious themselves were great- 
 ly 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 ser the part called Bezetha, which 
 is also called Cenopolis, [or the new city], on 
 fire ; as he did also to the timber market ; af- 
 ter which he came into the upper <?tv, and 
 pitched his camp over-against the royal pa 
 lace ; and had he l)ut at this very time at- 
 tempted to get within the walls by force, he 
 had won the city presently, and the war had 
 
 been put an end to at once ; but Tyrannius 
 Priscus, the muster-master of the army, and 
 a great number of the officers of the horse, 
 had been corrupted by Florus, and divertea 
 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 iucur- 
 able calamities. 
 
 5. In the mean time, many of the princi- 
 pal men of the city were persuaded by Ana- 
 nus, the son of Jonathan, and invited Cestius 
 into the city, and were about to open the 
 gales for him ; but he overlooked this off'er, 
 partly out of his anger at the Jews, and part- 
 ly because he did not thoroughly believe they 
 were in earnest ; whence it was that he delay- 
 ed the matter so long, that the seditious per 
 ceived the treachery, and threw Ananus and 
 those of bis 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, and threw their 
 darts at those that were getting over the wall. 
 Thus did the Romans make their attack a- 
 gainst the wall for five days, but to no pur 
 pose. But on the next day, Cestius took a 
 great many of his choicest men, and with 
 them the archers, and attempted to break in- 
 to the temple at the northern quarter of it: 
 but the Jews beat them oft' from the cloisters, 
 and repulsed them several times when they 
 were gotten near to the wall, till at length the 
 multitude of the darts cut them oflf, and made 
 them retire : but the first rank of tlie Ro- 
 mans rested their shields upon the wall, and 
 so did those that were behind them, and tlie 
 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 thrown fell, and slided off^ 
 without doing them any harm ; so the soldiers 
 undermined the wall, without being them 
 selves hurt, and got all tilings ready for set- 
 ting fire to the gate of the temple. 
 
 3. And now it was that a horrible fear seiz- 
 ed upon the seditious, insomuch that many Oi 
 them ran out of the city, as though it were to 
 betaken 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 open the gates, and to 
 admit Cestius as their benefactor, who, bad 
 he but continued the siege a little longer, had 
 certainly taken the city ; but it M-as, I sup- 
 pose, owing to the aversion God had already 
 at the city and the sanctuary, that he was bin- 
 dered from putting an end to the war that 
 very day.* 
 
 * There may another very important, and very pro- 
 vidential, reason be here assigned for this strange and 
 foolish retreat of Cestius ; which, if Josephus had been 
 now a Christian, he might probably have taken notice 
 of also ; and that is, the affording the Jewish Christians 
 In the city an opportunity of calling to mind the pre- 
 diction and caution given them by ( hrist about thirty- 
 three years and a half before, that " when they shoultt 
 see tht a boininatioii of desolation " [the idolatrous I{(^ 
 3 H 
 
642 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 7. 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 soldiers from 
 the place, and bydespairing of any expectation 1 
 of taking it, without having received any dis- 
 grace, he retired from the city, without any 
 reason in the world. That when the robbers 
 perceived this unexpected retreat of his, they 
 resumed their courage, and ran after the hinder 
 parts of his army, and destroyed a considerable 
 number of both their horsemen and footmen ; 
 and now Cestius lay all night at the camp, 
 which was at Scopus ; and as be went off far- 
 ther next day, he thereby invited the enemy 
 to follow him, who still fell upon the hind- 
 most, 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 th.?m behind, as imagining that t!ie 
 multitude of those that pursued them was 
 immense; nor did they venture to drive away 
 those that pressed upon ti^em 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 were light and 
 ready for making incursions upon them. And 
 this was the reason why the Romans suffered 
 greatly, without being able to revenge them- 
 selves upon their enemies ; so they were galled 
 all the way, and their ranks were put into dis- 
 order, and tho':e that were thus put out of their 
 ranks were slain ; among whom were Priscus 
 the commander of the sixth legion, and Lon- 
 ginus the tribuni", and Emilius Secundus. the 
 commander of a troop of horsemen. So it 
 was not without difficulty that they got to 
 Gabao, their former camp, and that not with- 
 out the loss of a great part of their baggage. 
 There it was that Cestius staid 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 grc ;ter number of 
 enemies, and all the parts round about him 
 full of Jews, he understood that his delay was 
 to his own detriment, and that if he staid any 
 longer there, he should have still more ene- 
 mies upon him. 
 
 8. That therefore he might fly the faster, 
 ho gave orders to castaway wliat might hinder 
 his army's march ; so they killed the mules 
 and other creatures, excepting those that 
 carried their darts and machines, which they 
 
 man armies, with the images of their idols in their en- 
 signs, ready to lay Jerusalem desolate,] " stand where 
 it ought not ;" or, •• in the holy place ;" or, ' ' when they 
 siiouM see Jerusalem encompassed with armies," they 
 should then " tlec to the mountains." By complying 
 with whicii those Jewish Christians fled to the moun- 
 tains of Perea, and escaped this destruction. See Lit. 
 Accompl. of Proph. page 69, 70. Nor was there, per- 
 haps, any one instance of a more unpolitic, but more 
 Erovidential conduct than this retreat of Cestius, visi- 
 le during this whole siege of Jerusalem ; whicli yet 
 was proviiientiallv such a " great tribulation, as Had 
 not liccn from the' beginning of the world to that time ; 
 ni>, nor eyr should be.' — Ibid, pages 7i!. 71. 
 
 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 preis upon them when they 
 were in large open places ; but when they 
 were penned up in their descent through nar- 
 row passages, then did some of them get be- 
 fore, and hindered them from getting out ot 
 them ; and others of them thrust the hinder- 
 most 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 vvhich 
 circumstances, as the footmen knew not how 
 to defend themselves, so the danger pressed 
 the horseinen still more, for they were so pelt- 
 ed, 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 val- 
 leys into which they frequently fell, and tum- 
 bled down, were such on each side of them, 
 that there was neither place for their flight, 
 nor any contrivance could be thought of 
 for their defence ; till the distress they were 
 at last in was so great, that they betook them- 
 selves 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 en- 
 tire army prisoners, had not the night come 
 on, when the Romans fled to Bethoron, and 
 the Jews seized upon all the places rour»d 
 about them, and watched for their coming out 
 [in the morning]. 
 
 9. And then it was that Cestius, despairing 
 of obtaining room for a public march, contriv- 
 ed how he might best run away; and when 
 he had selected four hundred 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 morn- 
 ing guard, tliey should erect their ensigns, that 
 the Jews might be marie to believe that the 
 entire army was there still, while he himself 
 took the rest of his forces with him, and 
 marched, without any nol^>e, thirty furlongs. 
 But when the Jews perceived, in the morning, 
 that the camp was empty, they ran upon 
 those four hundred who iiad deluded them, 
 and immediately threw their darts at them, 
 and slew them ; and then pursued after Ces- 
 tius. But he had already made use of a great 
 part of the night in his flight, and still march- 
 ed quicker when it was day ; insomuch, that 
 the soldiers, through the astonishment and 
 fear they were in, left behind them their en- 
 gines for sieges, and for throwing of stones, 
 and a great part of the instruments of war. 
 So the Jews went on pursuing the Romansa 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 645 
 
 far as Antipalris ; after which, seeing they 
 could not overtake tliem, they came bade and 
 took the engines, and spoiled the dead liodies ; 
 and gatliered the prey together wliich the Ro- 
 mans had left behind them, and came back 
 running and singing to their metropolis ; 
 while they had themselves lost a few only, 
 but had slain of the Romans tive thousand and 
 three hundred footmen, and three hundred 
 and eighty horsemen. This defeat happened 
 on the eighth day of the month Dins I Mar- 
 hesvan], ia the twelfth year of the reign of 
 Nero. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CESTIUS SENDS AMBASSADORS TO NEKO. THE 
 PKOPI.E OF DAMASCUS SLAY THOSE JEWS 
 THAT LIVED WITH THEM. THE PEOPLE OF 
 JERUSALEM, AFTER [THEY HAD LEFT OFF] 
 PURSUING CESTIUS, RETURN TO THE CITY, 
 AND GET THINGS READY FOR ITS DEFENCE, 
 AND MAKE A GREAT MANY GENERALS FOft 
 THEIR ARMIES, AND PARTICULARLY JOSE- 
 PHUS, THE WRITER OF THESE BOOKS. SOME 
 ACCOUNT OF HIS ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 § 1. After this calamity had befallen Cesti. 
 us, 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 
 Pliilip, the son of Jacimus, who was the com- 
 mander of king Agrippa's forces, ran away 
 from the city, and went to Coslius. But then 
 how Antipas, who had been besieged with 
 them in the king's palace, but would not fly 
 away with them, was after^^■ard slain by the 
 seditious, we shall relate hereafter. However 
 Cestius sent Saul and liis fricnas, 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 liis own danger, by pro- 
 voking his indignation against Florus. 
 
 2. In the mean time, the people of Da- 
 mascus, when they were informed of the de- 
 struction of the Romans, set about the slaugh- 
 ter of those Jews that were among them ; and 
 as they had tiiem already cooped up together 
 in tlie place of public exercises, which they had 
 done, out of the suspicion they had of them, they 
 thought they should meet with no difficulty in 
 the attempt; yet did they distrust their own 
 wives, which were almost all of them addict- 
 ed to the Jewish religion; on which account 
 it was that their greatest concern was, iiow 
 they might conceal these things from them ; 
 80 they came upon the Jews, and cut their 
 throats, as being in a narrow place, in num- 
 ber ten thousand, and all of them unarmed, 
 anil this in one hour's time, without anybody 
 to disturb them. 
 
 3. But as to those who had pursue4 after 
 
 Cestius, when they were returned back to Je- 
 rusalem, they overbore some of those that fa- 
 voured the Romans by violence, and some 
 they persuaded [by entreaties] to join with 
 them, and got together in great numbers in 
 the temple, and appointed a great many gene- 
 rals 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 ordain 
 Eleazar the son of Simon to that office, al- 
 though he had gotten into his possession the 
 prey they had taken from the Romans, and 
 the money they had taken from Cestius, to- 
 gether with a great part of the public treasures, 
 because they saw he was of a tyrannical tem- 
 per ; and that his followers were, in their be- 
 haviour, like guards about him. However, 
 the want they were in of Eleazar's money, 
 and the subtile tricks used by him, brought 
 all so about, that tiie people were circumvent- 
 ed, and submitted themselves to his authority 
 in all public aflairs. 
 
 4. They also chose other generals for Idu- 
 mea ; Jesus the son of Sapphias, one of the 
 high-priests ; and Eleazar the son of Ananias, 
 the high-priest; they also enjoined Niger, the 
 then governor of Idumea,f who was of a fa- 
 mily that belonged to Perea, beyond Jordan, 
 and was thence called the Peraitc, that Ive 
 should be obedient to those forenamed com- 
 manders. Nor did they neglect the care of 
 other parts ot the country ; but Josepli 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 tlie toparchies of Gophnitica 
 and Acrabastene ; as was Josephus, the son 
 of ISIatthias, of both the Galilees. Gamala 
 also, which was the strongest city in those 
 parts, was put under his command. 
 
 5. So every one of the other commanders 
 administered the affairs of his portion with 
 that alacrity and prudence they were masters 
 of; but as to Josephus, when he came into 
 Galilee, his first care was to gain the good- 
 will of the people of that country, 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 communicated part of his power to the 
 
 • From this name of Joseph the scm of Gorion, or 
 Gorion the son of Joseph, as (b. iv, chap, iii, sect. 9.) 
 one of the governors of Jerusaleai, who was slain at the 
 boginnina of the tumults by the zealots (b. iv, chap, vi, 
 sect. 1), tile much later Jewish author of an history of 
 that nation takes his title, and yet personates our true 
 Josephus, the son of Matthias : but the cheat is too gross 
 to be put upon the learned world. 
 
 f We may observe here, that the Idumeans, as hav- 
 ing been proselytes of justice since the clays of John 
 Hvrcanus, durnig about 195 years, were now esteemed 
 as part of the JeWish nation, and here provided with a 
 Jewish commander accordingly. See the note i'po» 
 Antiq. b. xiii. chap, ix, sect. I. 
 
644 
 
 WAns OF THE JEWS. 
 
 great men, lie 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 tlieir own country, 
 and with whom they were well acquainted ; 
 he chose out seventy* of the 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. 
 
 6. Josephus also, when he had settled these 
 rules for determining causes by the law, with 
 regard to the people's dealings one with ano- 
 ther, betook himself to make provisions for 
 tlieir safety against external violence ; and as 
 hj knew the Romans would fall upon Gali- 
 lee, he built walls in proper pl.ices about Jota- 
 pata, and Bersabee, and Salaniis ; and besides 
 these about Caphareccho, and Japha, and Sigo, 
 and what they call Mount Tabor, and Tari- 
 chece, 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 Seleu- 
 cia, ?.nd Sogane, and Gainala; but as to those 
 of S,?pphoris, 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 Gisch- 
 ala, which had a wall built about it by John 
 the son cf Levi himself, but with the consent 
 of JosepliUi- ; 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. 
 
 * We see here, and in Josephus's account of his own 
 hfe, sect. 14, how exactly he imitated his legislator 
 Moses, or perhaps only obeyed what he took to be his 
 perpetual law, in appointing seven lesser judges, for 
 smaller causes, in particular cities, and perhaps for fhe 
 first hearing of Greater causes, with the liberty of an ap- 
 peal to seventy-one supreme fudges, especially in those 
 causes where life and death is concerned ; as Antiq. b. 
 IV, ch. viii, sect. 14; and of his Life, sect. l-i. See also 
 Of the War, b. iv, cb. v, sect. 4. Moreover, we find 
 (sect. 7) that he imitated Moses, as well as the Romans, 
 in the number and distribution of the subaltern officers 
 of his army, as Exod. xviii, 25 ; Deut. ii, 15 ; and in his 
 charge against the offences cummcn among soldiers, as 
 Deut. xxiii, 9 ; in all which he showed his great wis- 
 dom and piety, and skilful conduct in martial affairs. 
 Vet may we oiscern in his very high character of Ana- 
 tius the high-priest, b. iv, ch. v, sect. '2, who seems to 
 have been the same that condemned St. James, bishop 
 of Jerusalem to be stoned, under Albinus the procura- 
 tor, that when he wrote these booksof the War, he was 
 not so much as an Ebiouite Christian ; otiierwise he 
 would not have failed, according to his usua! custom, to 
 have reckoned this his barbarous murder as a just pu- 
 nishment upon him for that his cruelty to the chief, or 
 rather only Christian bishop of the circuKicision. Nor, 
 had he been then a Christian, could he immediately 
 have spoken so movii.'gly of the causes of the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, without one word of either tlie ccm- 
 demnntion of James, or crucifixion of Christ, as he did 
 when he was become a Christian aftcrwaid. 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 He also got together an army out of Galilee, 
 of more than a hundred thousand young men, 
 all of whom he armed with the old weapons 
 which he had collected together and prepared 
 for them. 
 
 7. And when he had considered that the 
 Roman power became invincible, chiefly by 
 their readiness in obeying orders, and the 
 constant exercise of their arms, he despaired 
 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 theii 
 officers, he made his partitions in his army 
 more after the 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 hun- 
 dreds, 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 soldiers by the trumpets, how- 
 to expand the wings of an army, and make 
 them wheel about ; and when one wing hath 
 had success, to turn again and assist those 
 that were hard set, and to join in the defence 
 of what had most suffered. He also conti- 
 nually instructed them in what concerned the 
 courage of the soul and the hardiness of the 
 bocCy ; and, above all, he exercised them for 
 war, by declaring to them distinctly 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 ca&e 
 they would abstain from the crimes they used 
 to indulge tliemselves 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 them- 
 selves ; for that wars are then managed the 
 best when the warriors preserve a good con- 
 science ; but that such as are ill men in pri- 
 vate life, will not only have those for enemies 
 which attack them, but God himself also for 
 their antagonist. 
 
 8. And thus did be continue to admonish 
 them. Now he chose for the war such an 
 army as was sufficient, L e. sixty thousand 
 footmen, and two hundred and fifty horse- 
 men ; f and besides these, on which he put 
 the greatest truf.t, there were about four thou 
 sand five hundred mercenaries: he had also 
 six htindred men as guards of his body. Now 
 the cities easily maintained the rest of his 
 
 t I should think tliat an army of sixty thousand foot- 
 men should require many more than two hundred and 
 fifty horsemen ; and we find Josephus had more horse- , 
 men under his command than two hundred and fifty in 
 his future history. I suppose the iiumoer of the thoi 
 sands is dropped in our present copies. 
 
CHAP. XXI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 643 
 
 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 them; insomuch that the one part went to 
 the war, and the other part to their work : 
 and so those that sent out their corn were 
 paid for it by those that were in arms, by that 
 security which ihey enjoyed from them. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 CONCERNING JOHN OF GISCHALA. JOSEPHUS 
 USES STRATAGEMS AGAINST THE PLOTS JOHN 
 LAID AGAINST HIM, AND RECOVERS CERTAIN 
 CITIES WHICH HAD REVOLTED FROM HIM. 
 
 § 1, Now, as Josephus was thus engaged in 
 the administration of the affairs of Galilee, 
 there arose a treacherous person, a man of 
 Gischala, the son of Levi, whose name was 
 John. His character was that of a very cun- 
 ning, and very knavish person, 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 hin- 
 derance to him in his wicked designs. He 
 was a ready liar, and yet very sharp in gain- 
 ing 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 pretender to humani- 
 ty, but, where he had hopes of gain, he spar- 
 ed not the shedding of blood : his desires 
 were ever carried to great things, and he en- 
 couraged his liopes from those mean wicked 
 tricks which he was the author of. He had 
 a peculiar knack at thieving ; but in some 
 time he got certain companions in his impu- 
 dent 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 con- 
 stitutions of body, and the greatest courage 
 of soul, together with great skill in martial 
 aflfairs ; so he got together a band of four 
 hundred 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 Galilee, and 
 irritated a considerable number, who were in 
 great expectation of a war then suddenly to 
 arise among tiiem. 
 
 2. However, John's want of money had 
 hitherto restrained him in his ambition after 
 command, and in his attempts to advance 
 himself; but when be saw that Josephus was 
 highly pleased with the activity of his temper, 
 he persuaded him, in the first place, to intrust 
 him with the repairing of the walls of hi^ na- 
 
 tive 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 Josephus to send 
 oil to their borders; so he bought four am- 
 phorae with such Tyrian money as was of the 
 value of four Attic drachma?, and sold every 
 half-amphora at the same price ; and as Ga- 
 lilee was very fruitful in oil, and was pecu- 
 liarly so at that time, by sending away great 
 quantities, and having tlie sole privilege so to 
 do, he gathered an immense sum of monev 
 together, vhich 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 robbers 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 negli- 
 gence to the people of the country. He also 
 spread abroad a report far and near, that 
 Josephus was delivering up the adminis- 
 tration of affairs to the Romans ; — and many 
 such plots did he lay, in order to ruin him. 
 
 3. 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 Bernice'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 sil- 
 ver cups, and six hundred pieces of gold ; yet 
 were they not able to conceal what they had 
 stolen, but brought it all to Josephus, to Ta- 
 richese. 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 n;,in of Ta- 
 richea^, with an intention of sending the things 
 back to the owners at a proper time ; which 
 act of Josephus brought him into the greatest 
 danger ; for those that had stolen the things, 
 had an indignation at him, both because they 
 gained no share of it for themselves, and be- 
 cause they perceived beforehand what was Jo- 
 sephus's intention, and that he would freely 
 deliver up what had cost them so much 
 pains to the king and queen. These ran 
 away by night to their several villages, and 
 declared to all men that Josephus was going 
 to betray them ; they also raised great disor- 
 ders in all the neighbouring cities, insomuch 
 that in the morning a hundred thousand arm- 
 ed men came running togetiier; which mul- 
 titude was crowded together in the hippo- 
 drome at Taricliew, and made a vcy peevis-h 
 
646 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ""\ 
 
 BOOK It 
 
 clamour against him ; while some cried out, 
 that they should depose the traitor ; and o- 
 thers, 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 mul- 
 titude, 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 nei- 
 ther surprised at his being himself deserted, 
 nor at the great multitude that came against 1 
 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 bis neck. At this sight his friends, espe- t 
 cially those of Taricheae, commiserated his 
 condition ; but those that came out of the 
 country, and those in their neighbourhood, i 
 to whom his government seemed burdensome, , 
 reproached him, and bade him produce the 
 money which belonged to them all immedi- 
 ately, and to confess the agreement he had 
 made to betray them ; for they imagined, from 
 the habit in which he appeared, that he could 
 deny nothing of what they suspected concern- 
 ing him, and that it was in order to obtain 
 pardon, that he had put himself entirely into 
 so pitiable a posture ; but this humble appear- 
 ance was only designed as preparatory to a 
 stratagem of his, who thereby contrived to 
 set those that were so angry at him at vari- 
 ance one with another about the things they 
 were angry at. However, he promised he 
 would confess all : hereupon he was permit- 
 ted 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 
 disadvantage, to be my advantage. But, O 
 you people of Tarichea", 1 saw that your city 
 stood in more need than others of fortification 
 for your security, and that it wanted money, 
 in order for the building it a wall. I was 
 also afraid lest the people of Tiberias and o- 
 ther cities should lay a plot to seize upon 
 these spoils, and therefore it was that I in- 
 tended to retain this money 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 plun- 
 der it I but if 1 have conducted myself so 
 well as to jilease you, you may, if you please, 
 punisn your benefactor." 
 
 4. Hereupon the people of Tarichea loudly 
 commended him ; but tliose of Tiberias, with 
 the rest of the company, gave him hard names, 
 and threatened what they would do to him ; 
 so both iides left off quarrelling with Josephus, 
 and fell to quarrelling with one another. So 
 he grew bold upon tlie dependence he had on 
 
 his friends, which were the people of Tarichea*, 
 and about forty thousand 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 Tarichea?, and would put 
 the other cities in a state of security also ; foi 
 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 to be 
 irritated against him who had procured it for 
 them. 
 
 5. Hereupon the rest of the multitude that 
 had been deluded retired ; but yet so that they 
 went away angry, and two thousand of tlicm 
 made an assault upon him in tiieir armour 
 and as he was already gone to his own house, 
 they stood without and threatened 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 tiiem, 
 " 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 nil 
 their demands, in case they would but send 
 some of their number in to him that might 
 talk with him about it. And when the prin- 
 cipal 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 lie 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 long dis- 
 course with those that were gone in, abou* 
 M-hat they claimed of him. He had then 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. 
 
 6. But as for John, his envy grew greater 
 [upon this escape of Josephus], and he framed 
 a new plot against him ; he pretended 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 provide 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 persuaded them 
 to revolt from Josephus. Tliis Silas, who was 
 appointed guardian of the city by Josephus, 
 wrote to him immediately, and informed him 
 of the plot against him ; which epistle, when 
 Josephus had received, he marched with great 
 diligence all night, and came early in the morn- 
 
 I ing to Tiberias ; at whicii time the rest of the 
 I multitude met him. But John, who suspected 
 1 that his coming w;is not for his advantage, sent 
 
CHAP. XXI. 
 
 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 Joseph us had got the people of Ti- 
 berias together in the stadium, and tried to dis- 
 course with them al)outthe letters that he had 
 received, John privately sent some armed men, 
 and gave them orders to slay him. But when 
 the people sawthatthearmedmen wereaboutto 
 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 sea- 
 shore, and left off that speech whicli he was go- 
 ing to make to the people, upon an elevation of 
 six cubits high. He then seized on a ship 
 which lay in the haven, and leaped into it, with 
 two of his guards, and fled away into the 
 midst of the lake. 
 
 7. But now the soldiers he had with him 
 took up their arms immediately, and marched 
 against tlie plotters , but Josephus 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 tliem tliat they 
 should do no more than provide for their own 
 safety ; that they should not kill any body, 
 nor accuse any for the occasion they had af- 
 forded [of a disorder]. Accordingly these 
 men obeyed his orders, and were quiet ; but 
 the people of the neighbouring country, when 
 they were informed of this plot, and of the 
 plotter, got together in great multitudes to 
 oppose John. But he prevented their at- 
 tempt, and fled away to Gischala, his native 
 city, while the Galileans came running out of 
 their several cities to Josephus ; and as tliey 
 were now become many ten thousands of 
 armed men, they cried out, that they were 
 come against John the common plotter against 
 their interest, and would at the same time 
 burn him, and that city which had received 
 him. Hereupon Josephus told them that he 
 took their good-will to him kindly, but still 
 he restrained tlieir fury, and intended to sub- 
 due his enemies by prudent conduct, rather 
 than by slaying tliem ; so he excepted those 
 of every city which had joined in this revolt 
 with John, by name, who had readily been 
 shown him by those that came from every 
 city, and caused public proclamation to be 
 ■jiade, that he would seize upon 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 three 
 thousand of John's party left him immediate- 
 ly, who came to Josephus, and threw their 
 arms down at his feet. John then betook 
 himself, together with his two tliousand Sy- 
 rian runagates, from open attempts, to more 
 secret ways of treachery. Accordingly he 
 privately sent messengers to Jerusalem, to 
 accuse Josephus, as having too gre:U power, 
 and to let them know that he would soon 
 come as a tyrant to their metropolis^ un- 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 647 
 
 less they prevented him. This accusation the 
 people were aware of beforehand, but had no 
 regard to it. However, some of the gran- 
 dees, out of envy, and some of the rulers al- 
 so, sent money to John privately, that he 
 might be able to get together mercenary 
 soldiers, in order to fight Josephus ; they al- 
 so made a decree of themselves, and this for 
 recalling him from his government, yet did 
 they not think that decree sufficient ; so they 
 sent withal two thousand five hundred armed 
 men, and four persons of the highest rank 
 amongst them ; Joazar the son of Noinicus, 
 and Ananias the son of Saduuk; 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. Thesehaditin charge, that if 
 he would voluntarily come away, they should 
 permit him to[comeand] give an account of his 
 conduct ; but if he obstinately insisted upon 
 continuing in his government, they should treat 
 him as an enemy. Now, Josephus's friends 
 had sent liim word that an army was coming 
 against him, but they gave him no notice be- 
 forehand what the reason of their coming was, 
 that being only known among some secret 
 councils of his enemies ; and by this means 
 it was that four cities revolted from him im- 
 mediately, Sepphoris, and Gamala, and Gis- 
 chala, and Tiberias. Yet did he recover these 
 cities without war ; and when he had routed 
 those four commanders 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 run- 
 ning away. 
 
 8. Now John was detained afterward within 
 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 or 
 his authority there] ; and when he did not 
 come at the time appointed, and when a few 
 Roman horsemen appeared that day, they ex- 
 pelled Josephus out of the city. Now, this 
 revolt of theirs was presently known at Tari- 
 chece ; and as Josephus 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, because 
 he was afraid the king's soldiers might prevent 
 him if he tarried, and might get into the city ; 
 for he did not intend to do any thing on the 
 next day, because it was the Sai>bath-day, and 
 would hinder his proceeding. So he con- 
 trived to circumvent the revoltors by a strata- 
 gem ; and in the first place, he ordered the 
 gates of Tarichea? to be shut, that nobody 
 might go out and inform [those of Tiberiasl, 
 for whom it was intended, what stratagem be 
 was about -. he then got together all the ships 
 
648 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 that were upon the lake, which were found 
 to be two hundred and thirty, and in each of 
 them he put no more than four mariners. So 
 he sailed 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 un- 
 armed also, went so near as to be seen ; but 
 when his adversaries, who were still reproach- 
 ing 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 intercession they be- 
 sought him to spare the city. 
 
 9. 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 be- 
 forehand 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 
 intercessors from them that might make some 
 excuse for them, and with whom he would 
 make such agreements as might be for tlie 
 city's security. Hereupon ten of the most 
 potent men of Tiberias came down to him pre 
 
 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 Sep 
 phoris, 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 instruc- 
 tion, while at the same time be regained their 
 good-will by restoring them their money 
 ascain. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE JEWS MAKE ALL READY FOR THE WAR 
 AND SIiMON, THE SON OF GIORAS, FALLS TC 
 PLUNDERING. 
 
 § 1. And thus were the disturbances of Ga- 
 lilee quieted, when, upon their ceasing to pro- 
 secute their civil dissensions, they betook 
 themselves to make preparations for the war 
 
 sently, and when he had taken them into one ^ with the Romans. Now in Jerusalem the 
 
 of his vessels, he ordered them to be carried 
 a great way off" from the city. He then com- 
 manded that fifty others of their senate, such 
 as were men of the greatest eminence, 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 order 
 to the masters of those vessels which he had 
 thus filled, to sail away immediately for Ta- 
 richece, and to confine those men in the prison 
 there ; till at length he took all their senate, 
 consisting of six hundred persons, and about 
 two thousand of the populace, and carried 
 them away to Taricheae. 
 
 10. 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 Jo- 
 sephus, whose intention it was to slay nobody, 
 commanded one Levi us, belonging to his 
 guards, to go out of l"he vessel, in order to 
 cut off both Clitus's hands ; yet was Levins 
 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 him- 
 self; he begged tlierefore from the shore, 
 that he would leave him one of his hands, 
 which Josephus agreed to, upon condition 
 
 high-priest Ananus, and as many of the men 
 of power as were not in the interest of the 
 Romans, both repaired the walls, and made a 
 great many warlike instruments, insomuch 
 that, in all parts of the city, darts and all sorts 
 of armour 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 pros- 
 pect they had of the calamities that were 
 coming 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 kin- 
 dled the war interpreted so as to suit tlieir 
 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 concern was this, to lay 
 aside, for a while, the preparations for the 
 war, and to persuade the seditious to consult 
 their own interest, and to restrain the madness 
 of those that had the name of zealots : but 
 their violence was too hard for him ; and what 
 end he came to we shall relate hereafter. 
 2. But as for the Acrabbene toparrhy, Si- 
 
 * I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus, 
 which is related botli here and in his Life, sect. 5'.', 33, 
 to he one of the finest that ever was invented and execut- 
 ed by any warrior wliatsoever. 
 
"V 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 649 
 
 mon, the son of Gioras, got a great number of 
 those that were fond of innovations together, 
 and betook liinnself to ravage the country ; 
 nor did he only harass the rich men's houses, 
 but tormented their bodies, and appeared 
 openly and beforehand to affect tyranny in 
 his go'/ernment. 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 Masada, and staid there, and 
 
 plundered the country of Idumea with them, 
 till both Ananus and his otber adversaries 
 were slain ; and until tlie rulers of that coun- 
 try were so alBicled with the multitude of 
 those that were slain, and with the continual 
 ravage of what tliey had, that they raised an 
 army, and put garrisons into the villages, to 
 secure them from those insults. And in this 
 state were the aflairs of Judea at that time. 
 
 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 rs SENT INTO SYaiA BY NERO, TO 
 MAKE WAR WITH THE JEWS. 
 
 § 1. When Nero was informed of the Ro 
 mans' ill success in Judea, a concealed con- 
 sternation and terror, as is usual in s«ich 
 cases, fell upon him ; although he openly 
 looked very big, and was very angry, and 
 said, that what had happened was rather ow- 
 ing 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 
 wliole empire, to despise such misfortunes, he 
 now pretended so to do, and to have a soul 
 superior 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]. 
 
 2. And as he was deliberating lo 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 re- 
 bellion, and might prevent the same distem- 
 per from seizing upon the neighbouring na- 
 tions 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 
 .^as 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 sub- 
 ject to the Romans, when it had been put in- 
 to disorder by the Germans : he had alsS^ re- 
 
 covered to them Britain by his arms, which 
 had been little known before;* whereby he 
 procured to his father Claudius to have a 
 triumph bestowed on him without any sweat 
 or labour of his own. 
 
 3. So Nero esteemed these circumstances 
 as favourable omens, and saw that Vespasian'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 instru- 
 ments under their father's prudence. Per- 
 haps also there was some interposition of Pro. 
 vidence, which was paving the way for Ves- 
 pasian's being himself emperor afterwards. 
 Upon the whole, he sent this man to take up- 
 on him the command of the armies that were 
 in Syria ; but this not without great encomi- 
 ums and flattering compellations, such as ne- 
 cessity required, and such as might mollify 
 him into complaisance. So Vespasian sent 
 his son Titus from Achaia, where he had been 
 with Nero, to Alexandria, to bring back with 
 him from thence the fifth and tenth legions, 
 while he himself, when he had passed over 
 the Hellespont, came by land into Syria, 
 
 • Take the confirmation of this in tlie words of Sue- 
 tonius, here produced by Dr. Hudson :— " In the reign 
 of Claudius," says he, " Vespasian, for the sal<eof Nar- 
 cissus, was sent as a lieutenant of a legion into Ger- 
 many. Thence he removed into Hritam, and fou<»ht 
 thirty battles witli the enemy." In Vesp. sect. 4. ?Ve 
 may also here note from Josephus, that Claudius the 
 emperor, who triumphed for tne conquest of Britain, 
 was enabled so to do by Vespasian's conduct and bra\'- 
 ery, and that he is here styled " the Father of Ve.ua 
 siaii." 
 
 3 I 
 
650 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 where he gathered together the Roman forces, 
 with a considerable number of auxiliaries 
 from the kings in that neighbourhood. 
 
 CHAPTER II, 
 
 A GREAT SLAUGHTER OF THE JEWS ABOUT 
 ASCAI.ON. VESPASIAN COMES TO PTOLE- 
 MAIS. 
 
 § 1. Now the Jews, after they had beaten 
 Cestius, were so much elevated with their un- 
 expected 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. Accordingly, they pre- 
 sently 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 five hundred and 
 twenty furlongs, and was always an enemy 
 to the Jews ; on which account they deter- 
 mined to make their first eflTort against it, and 
 to make their approaches to it as near as pos- 
 sible. This excursion was led on by three 
 men, who were the chief of them all, both for 
 strength and sagacity : Niger, called the Pe- 
 raite, Silas of Babylon, and besides them, 
 John the Essene. Now Ascalon was strong- 
 ly 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 Anto- 
 nius. 
 
 2. These Jevi's, therefore, out of their an- 
 ger, marched faster than ordinary, and, as if 
 they had come but a little way, approached 
 very near the city, and were come even to 
 it; but Antonius, who was not unapprised 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 courage of the enemy, received their 
 first attacks 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 disorder, to fight 
 those that were united together ;' they were 
 poorly armedj to fight those that were com~ 
 pletely so ; they were to fight more by their 
 rage than by sober counsel, and were expos- 
 ed to soldiers that were exactly obedient, and 
 did every thing they were bidden upon the 
 least intimation. So they were easily beaten ; 
 for as soon as ever their first ranks were once 
 in disorder, they were put to flight by the e- 
 nemy'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 gire way to the attacks of 
 
 the horsemen, and were dispersed all tlie plain 
 over, which plain was wide, and all fit for the 
 horsemen ; 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 overrun 
 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, in- 
 somuch that others encompassed others of 
 them, and drove them before them whitherso- 
 ever (hey turned themselves, and slew them 
 easily with their arrows; and the great num- 
 ber 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 multi- 
 tude ; and as the former strove zealously un- 
 der their misfortunes, out of the shame of a 
 sudden flight, and hopes of the change in 
 their success, so did the latter feel no weari- 
 ness by reason of their good fortune ; inso- 
 much that the fight lasted till the evening, till 
 ten thousand men of the Jews' side lay dead, 
 with two of their generals, John and Silas; 
 and the greater part of the remainder were 
 wounded, with Niger, their remaining gene- 
 ral, who fled away together to a small city of 
 Idumea, called Sallis. Some few also of the 
 Romans were wounded in this battle. 
 
 3. Yet were not the spirits of the Jews 
 broken by so great a calamity, but the losses 
 they had sustained rather quickened their re- 
 solution for other attempts ; for, overlooking 
 the dead bodies which lay under their feet, 
 they were enticed by their former glorious ac- 
 tions 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 num 
 bers, to Ascalon ; but their former ill fortune 
 followed them, as the consequence of their 
 unskilfulnoss, and other deficiencies in war; 
 for Antonius 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 eight thou- 
 sand of them slain : so all the rest of them 
 ran away, and with them Niger, who still did 
 a great many bold exploits in his flight. How- 
 ever, they were driven along together by the 
 enemy, who pressed hard upon them, into a 
 certain strong tower belonging to a village 
 called Bezedel. However, Antonius and his 
 party, that they might neither spend any con- 
 siderable time about this tower, which was 
 hard to be taken, nor suffer their commander, 
 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 
 
 ~\. 
 
■^ 
 
 CHAP. HI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 651 
 
 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 
 innermost 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. 
 
 4. And now Vespasian took along with him 
 his army from Antioch (which is the metro- 
 polis of Syria, and, without dispute, deserves 
 the place of the third city in the habitable 
 earth that was under the Roman empire,* 
 both in magnitude and other marks of pros- 
 perity) where he found king Agrippa, with 
 all his forces, waiting for his coming, and 
 marched to Ptolemais. At this city also the 
 inhabitants of Sepphoris 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 tlie power of 
 tlie Romans, they had been with Cestius Gal- 
 lus before Vespasian came, and had given 
 their faith to him, and received the security 
 of his right hand ; and had received a Roman 
 garrison ; and at this time withal they receiv- 
 ed Vespasian, the Roman 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 that 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. 
 
 A DESCRIPTIO.V OF GALILEE, SAMAUIA AND 
 JUDEA. 
 
 § 1. Now Phoenicia and Syria encompass 
 about the Galilees, which are two, and called 
 the Upper Galilee and the Lower. They are 
 bounded towards the sun-setting, with the 
 borders of the territory belonging to Ptolemais, 
 and by Carmel ; which mountain had former, 
 ly belonged to the Galileans, but now belong- 
 ed to the Tyrians; to which mountain adjoins 
 Gaba, which is called the City of Horsemen, be- 
 cause those horsemen that were dismissed by 
 
 • Spanheim and Re'nnd both agree, that the two 
 cities here esteemed gnater than Antioch, the metro- 
 pohs of Syria, were Itonie aiid Alexandria ^jior is there 
 »ny occasion for doubt in so plain a case ' 
 
 Herod the king dwelt therein ; they are bound- 
 ed on the south with Samaria and Scylhopolis, 
 as far as the river Jordan ; on the east with 
 Hippene and Gadaris, and also with Gaula- 
 nitis, and the borders of the kingdom of A- 
 grippa ; its northern parts are bounded by Tyre, 
 and the country of the Tyrians. As for that 
 Galilee which is called the Lower, it extends 
 in length from Tiberias to Zabulon, and or 
 the maritime places, Ptolemais is its neigh- 
 bour; its breadth is from the village called 
 Xaloth, which lies in the great plain, as far as 
 Bersabe, from which beginning also is taken 
 the breadth of the Upper Galilee, as far as the 
 village Baca, whi«;h divides the land of the 
 Tyrians from it; its length is also from Me- 
 loth to Tliella, a village near to Jordan. 
 
 2. 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 in- 
 fancy, 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 invites the most 
 slothful to take pains in its cultivation, by its 
 fruitfulness: accordingly, it is all cultivated by 
 its inhabitants, and no part of it lies idle. 
 Moreover, the cities lie here very thick ; and 
 the very many villages there are here, are 
 everywhere so full of people, by the riclinesa 
 of their soil, that the very least of them con- 
 tain above fifteen thousand inhabitants, 
 
 S. In short, if any one will suppose that 
 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 ol 
 fruits, and its plains are planted with trees ol 
 all sorts, while yet the olive-tree, the vine, and 
 the palm-tree, are chiefly cultivated there. It is 
 also sufficiently watered with torrents, which 
 issue out of the mountains, and with sprino-s 
 that never fail to run, even when the torrents 
 fail them, as they do in the dog-days. Noiv 
 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 wostern with 
 Jordan ; the land of Moab is its southern 
 border, and its eastern limits reach to Arabia, 
 and Silbonitis, and besides to Philadelphene 
 and Gerasa. 
 
 4. Now, as to the country of Samaria, it 
 lies between Judea and Galilee; it ben-ins at 
 a village tiiat is in the great plain called Gi- 
 nea, and ends at the Acrabbene foparchy 
 
 •>_ 
 
^ 
 
 652 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 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 naturally 
 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 iii 
 other places ; and, wliat is the greatest sign 
 of excellency and of abundance, they each of 
 them are very full of people. 
 
 5. In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies 
 the village Anuath, which is also named Bor- 
 cuos. This is the northern boundary of Ju- 
 dea. The southern parts of Judea, if they be 
 measured lengthways, are bounded by a vil- 
 lage adjoining to the confines of Arabia; the 
 Jews that dwell there call it Jordan, How- 
 ever, its breadth is extended from the river 
 Jordan to Joppa. The city Jerusalem is si- 
 tuated in the very middle; on which account 
 some have, with sagacity enough, called that 
 city the Navel of the country. Nor indeed is 
 Judea destitute of such delights as come from 
 the sea, since its maritime places extend as far 
 as Ptolemais : it was parted into eleven por- 
 tions, of which the royal city Jerusalem was 
 the supreme, and presided over all the neigh- 
 bouring country, as the head does over the 
 body. As to the other cities that were infe- 
 rior 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 Engaddi, and Hero- 
 dium, and Jericho ; and after them came Jam- 
 nia and Joppa, as presiding over the neigh- 
 bouring people ; and besides these there was 
 the region of Ganiala, and Gaulanitis, and 
 Batanea, and Trachonitis, which are also 
 parts of the kingdom of 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 pos- 
 sible brevity, described the country of Judea, 
 and those that lie round about it. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 JOSEPHUS MAKES AN ATTEMPT UPON SEPPHO- 
 RIS, BUT IS REPELLED. TITUS COMES WITH 
 A GREAT ARMY TO PTOLEMAIS. 
 
 § 1. Now the auxiliaries who were sent to as- 
 sist the people of Sepphoris, being a thousand 
 
 horsemen, and six thousand footmen, under 
 Placidus the tribune, pitched their camp in 
 two bodies in the great plain. The foot were 
 put into tiie city to be a guard to it ; but the 
 horse lodged abroad in the camp. These 
 last, by marching continually one way or 
 other, and over-running the parts of the ad- 
 joining country, were very troublesome to 
 Josephus and his men; they also plundered 
 all the places that were out of the city's liber- 
 ty, and intercepted such as durst go abroad. 
 On this account it was that Josephus marched 
 against the city, as hoping to take what ho 
 had lately encompassed with so strong a wall, 
 before they revolted from the rest of the Ga- 
 lileans, that the Romans would have much 
 ado to take it ; by wln'ch means he proved too 
 weak, and failed of his hopes, both as to forc- 
 ing 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 tlie plain, 
 or stealing away the cattle that were in the 
 country, and killing whatsoever appeared ca- 
 pable of fighting 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 Josephus. 
 
 2. But as to Titus, he sailed over from 
 Achaia to Alexandria, and that sooner than 
 the winter season did usually permit; so he 
 took with him those forces he was sent for, 
 and marching with great expedition, 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 his father : eighteen cohorts 
 followed these legions ; there came also five 
 cohorts from Cesarea, with one troop of horse- 
 men, and five other troops of horsemen from 
 Syria. Now these ten cohorts had severally 
 a thousand footmen, but the other thirteen 
 cohorts had no more than six hundred foot- 
 men a-piece, with a hundred and twenty horse- 
 men. There were also a considerable num- 
 ber of auxiliaries got togetlier, that came from 
 the kings Antiochus, and Agrippa, and Sohe- 
 mus, each of them contributing one thousand 
 footmen that were archers, and a thousand 
 horsemen. Malclius also, the king of Ara- 
 bia, sent a thousand horsemen, besides five 
 thousand footmen, the greatest part of whom 
 were archers ; so that the whole army, includ- 
 ing the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well 
 iiorsemen as footmen, when all were united 
 together, amounted to sixty thousand, besides 
 the servants, who, as they followed in vast 
 
X 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 653 
 
 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 
 thev were inferior to none, either in skill or 
 in strength, only they were subject to their 
 masters. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE ROMAN ARMIES AND 
 ROMAN CAMPS ; AND WHAT THE ROMANS ARE 
 COMMENDED FOR, 
 
 § 1. Now here one cannot but admire at the 
 precaution of the Romans, in providing them- 
 selves of such household servants, as might 
 not only serve at other times for the 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 mi- 
 litary discipline, 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 be- 
 gin to use their weapons first in time of war, 
 nor do they then put their hands first 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 exercises ; 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 every soldier is 
 every day exercised, and that with great dili- 
 gence, as if it were in time of war, which is 
 the reason why they bear the fatigue of bat- 
 tles 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 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 exercises. 
 Nor can their enemies easily surprise 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 hap- 
 pens that the ground is uneven, it is first le- 
 velled : their camp is also four-square by 
 measure, and carpenters are ready, in great 
 numbers, with their tools, to erect their build- 
 ings for tliera. • 
 
 » This description of the exact symmetry and regu- 
 larity of the Roman army, and of the Roman encamp- 
 ments, with the soundinj; their trumpets, dtc and ox- 
 
 2. As for what is within the camp, it is set 
 apart for tents, but the outward circumference 
 hath the resemblance of a wall, amd 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 an- 
 noy 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 !n 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 rnarket-place, and place 
 for handicraft trades, and with seats for the 
 officers, superior and inferio-'; where, if any 
 differences arise, their causes •»re heard and 
 determined. The camp, and all ihat is in it, 
 is encompassed with a wall round about, and 
 that sooner than one would imagine, and tliis 
 by the multitude and the skill of the labour- 
 ers ; and, if occasion require, a trench is drawn 
 round the whole, whose depth is four cubits 
 and its breadth equal. 
 
 3. When they have thus secured themselves, 
 they live together by companies, with quiet- 
 ness 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, bu 
 all together. Their times also for sleeping, 
 and watching, and rising, are notified before- 
 hand 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 centurions to their tri- 
 bunes, to salute them ; with whom all the 
 superior officers go to the general of the whole 
 army, who then gives them of course the watch- 
 word and other orders, to be by them carried 
 to all that are under their command ; which 
 is also observed when they go to fight, and 
 thereby they turn themselves about on the sud- 
 den, when there is occasion for making sallies, 
 as they come back when they are recalled, in 
 crowds also. 
 
 4. When they are to go out of their camp, 
 the trumpet gives a sound, at which time no- 
 body lies still, but at the first intimation they 
 
 der of war, described in this and the next chanter, is so 
 very like to the symmetry and regularity of the people 
 of Israel in the wilderness (see Description of the Tem- 
 ples, eh. ix,) that one camiot well avoid the supposal, 
 that the one was the ultimate pattern of the other, and 
 that the tactics of the ancients were taken from the 
 rules given by God to Moses. And it is thouglit by 
 some skilful in these matters, that these accounts of Jo- 
 sephus, IS to the Roman camp and armour, and con- 
 duct m war, are preferable to tliose in the Komau au 
 i thors themselves. 
 
654 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 take clown their tents, and all is made ready 
 for tlieir going out; then do the trumpets 
 sound again, to order them to get ready for 
 the march ; then do tliey lay their baggage 
 suddenly upon their mules and other beasts of 
 burden, and stand, at the place for start- 
 ing, 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 ene- 
 mies. Then do the trumpets give a sound 
 the third time, tliat they are to go out in order 
 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 
 which they reply 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 at the time that they so 
 cry out, they lift up their right hands also. 
 
 5. 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 breast-plates and head- 
 pieces, and have swords on each side ; but the 
 sword which is upon their left side is much 
 longer than the other; for thaton the right side 
 is not longer than a span. Those footmen also 
 tha*. are chosen out from amongst 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 pick-axe 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 horsemen 
 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 head-pieces and 
 breast-plates, in like manner as have all the 
 footmen. And for those that are chosen to 
 be about the general, their armour no way 
 differs from that of the horsemen belonging 
 to other troops; and he always leads the 
 legions forth, to whom the lot assigns that em- 
 ployment. 
 
 6. 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 ofi'-hand, but counsel 
 is ever first taken before any work is begun, 
 and what hath been there resolved upon is 
 put in execution presently ; for which 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 commit upon taking counsel be- 
 forehand, to be better than such rash success 
 as is owing to fortune only ; because such a 
 fortuitous advantage tempts them to be in- 
 considerate, while consultation, though it may 
 sometimes fail of 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 happen 
 unexpectedl)', there is this comfort in them_| 
 that they had however taken the best consul- 
 tations they could to prevent them. 
 
 7. 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 moreover 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 towards those under condemnation, 
 by the great rewards they bestow on the va- 
 liant 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 sud- 
 den are their turnings about, so sharp their 
 hearing as to what orders are given them, so 
 quick their sight of the ensigns, and so nim- 
 ble 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 con- 
 quered in battle, when they came to a close 
 fight, either by the multitude of the enemies, 
 or by their stratagems, or by the difficulties 
 in the places they were in ; 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 active an 
 army, what wonder is it that Euphrates on 
 the east, the ocean on the west, the most fer- 
 tile 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 possessions are not inferior to 
 the Romans themselves. 
 
 8. This account I have given the reader, 
 not so much with the intention of commend- 
 ing the Romans, as of comforting those that 
 have been conquered by them, and for deter- 
 ring others from attempting innovations un- 
 der their government. This discourse of the 
 Roman military conduct 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. 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 655 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PLACIDUS ATTEMPTS TO TAKE JOTAPATA, AND 
 IS BEATEN' OFF. VESPASIAN MAHCHES INTO 
 GALILEE. 
 
 § 1, And now Vespasian, with his son Titus, 
 had tarried some time at Ptolemais, and had 
 put bis army in order. But when Placid us, 
 who had overrun Galilee, and had besides 
 slain a number of those whom he had caught 
 (which were only the weaker part of the Ga- 
 
 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. Next to tliese fol- 
 lowed that part of the Romans who were 
 most completely armed, both footmen and 
 horsemen. Next to these followed ten out 
 of every hundred, carrying along with them 
 their arms, and what was necessary to mea- 
 sure cut a camp withal ; and after thera, 
 such as were to make the road even and 
 straight, and if it were anywhere rough and 
 
 lileans, and such as were of timorous souls), ' hard to be passed over, to plane it, and to 
 saw that the warriors ran always to those ci- 
 ties whose walls had been built by Josephus, 
 he marclied 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 ho- 
 nour to himself among the commanders, and 
 bring a great advantage to them, in their fu- 
 ture campaign ; because, if this strongest 
 place of them all were once taken, the rest 
 would be so affrighted as to surrender them- 
 selves. 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 expected it, being both many in num- 
 ber, and prepared for fighting, and of great 
 alacrity, as esteeming their country, 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 armour 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 
 wore completely armed. However, three men 
 of the Jews' side were slain, and a few wound- 
 ed ; so Placidus, finding himself unable to as- 
 sault the city, ran away. 
 
 2. But as Vespasian had a great mind to 
 fall upon Galilee, he marched out from Ptole- 
 mais, having put his army into that order 
 wherein the Romans used to march. He 
 ordered those auxiliaries which were lightly 
 
 * I cannot but here observe an eastern way of speak- 
 ing, frequent among them, but not usual among us, where 
 the word " onlj-" or "alone" is not set down, but perhaps 
 some way supplied in the pronunciation. Thus Jose- 
 phus here says, that those of Jotapata slew seven of the 
 Romans as they were marching off, lx;cause the Romans' 
 retreat was regular, their bodies were co\ ered over with 
 their armour, and the Jews fought at some distance ; 
 his meaning is clear, that these were the reasons whv 
 they slew only, or no more than seven. I liave me't 
 with many the like examples in the Scriptures, in Jose- 
 phus, &e. ; but did not note down the particular places. 
 This observation ought to be borne ill miud upon many 
 oucasiong. .^^ 
 
 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 horsemen for 
 their security. Ai'ter these he marched him- 
 self, having with him a select body of foot- 
 men, and horsemen, and pikemen. After 
 these came the peculiar cavalry of his own 
 legion, for there were an hundred and twenty 
 horsepian tliat peculiarly belonged to every 
 legion. Next to these came the mules tiiat 
 carried the engines for sieges, and the other 
 warlike machines of that nature. After these 
 came the commanders of the cohorts, and tri- 
 bunes, having about them soldiers chosen out 
 of the rest. Then came the ensigns encompas- 
 sing the eagle, which is at the head of every 
 Roman legion, the king, and the strongest of all 
 birds, which seems to them a signal of domi- 
 nion, and an omen that they shall conquer all 
 against whom they march ; these sacred en- 
 signs 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 ser- 
 vants of every legion, they all followed the 
 footmen, and led the baggage of the soldiers 
 which was borne by the m-ules and other beasts 
 of burden. But behind all the legioiK 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. 
 
 3. 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 warj he also 
 shewed his army to the enemy, in order to 
 affright them, and to afford them a season for 
 repentance, to see whether they would cliange 
 their minds before it came to a battle, and at 
 the same time he got things ready for besieg- 
 ing their strong-holds. And indeed this sight 
 of the general brought many to repent of tlieir 
 revolt, and put them all into a consternation; 
 for those tJiat were in Josephus's camp, whiclj 
 
 J 
 
"\, 
 
 656 
 
 "WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK 111. 
 
 nas at the city called Garis, not far from 
 Scpplioris, when they heard that the war was 
 come near them, and that the Romans would 
 suddenly fight them hand to hand, dispersed 
 tnemselves 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 sufficient to engage the enemy, that 
 the spirits of the Jews were sunk, and that the 
 greater part would willingly come to terms, 
 if they might be credited, he already despair- 
 ed of the success of the whole war, and de- 
 termined to get as far as he possibly could, 
 out of danger; so he took those that staid 
 .along with him, and fled to Tiberias. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 VESPASIAN, WHEN HE HAD TAKEN THE CITY 
 GADARA, MARCHES TO JOTAPATA. AFTER 
 A LONG SIEGE, THE CITY IS BETRAYED BY A 
 DESERTER, AND TAKEN BY VESPASIAN. 
 
 § 1. So Vespasian marched to the city Cadara, 
 and took it upon the first onset, because he 
 found it destitute of any considerable number 
 of men grown up and fit for war. He came 
 then into it, and slew all the youth, the Ro- 
 mans having no mercy on any age whatso- 
 ever ; and this was done out of the hatred 
 they bore the nation, and because of the ini- 
 quity they had been guilty of in the affair of 
 Cestius. He 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. 
 
 2. 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 Ti- 
 berias 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 end at last, and was sensible 
 that they hai but one way of escaping, and 
 tliat was by repentance. However, although 
 he expected that the Romans would forgive 
 him, yet did he choose to die many times over 
 rather than to betray his country, and to dis- 
 honour tnat supreme command of the army 
 which had been entrusted with him, or to 
 live happily under those against wliom he was 
 sent to fight. He determined, therefore, to 
 give an exact account 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 timorous ; 
 nor, by relating that their power beneath the 
 truth, might enccurage thera to stand out 
 
 when they ^vere perhaps disposed to repent- 
 ance. He also sent them word, that if they 
 thought of coming to terms, they must sud- 
 denly write him an answer ; or if they re- 
 solve upon war, they must send him an army 
 sufficient to fight the Romans. Accordingly 
 he wrote these things, and sent messengers 
 immediately to carry his letter to Jerusalem. 
 
 3. Now Vespasian was very desirous of de- 
 molishing Jotapata, for he had gotten intelli- 
 gence that the greatest part of the enemy had 
 retired thither; and that it was, on other ac- 
 counts, a place of great security to them. Ac-- 
 cordingly 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 tiie fifth day, which was the twenty-first of 
 the month Artemisius (Jyar) Josephus pre- 
 vented him, and came from Tiberias, and 
 went into Jotapata, and raised the drooping 
 spirits of the Jews. And a certain deserter 
 told this good news to Vespasian, that Jose- 
 phus had removed himself thither, which 
 made him make haste to the city, as suppos- 
 ing, that with taking that he should take all 
 Judea, in case he could but withal get Jose- 
 phus under his power. So he took this news 
 to be of the vastest advantage to him, and be- 
 lieved it to be brought about by the provi- 
 dence 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 a thousand horsemen, and Ebutius a de- 
 curion, a person that was of eminency both in 
 council and in action, to encompass the city 
 round, that Josephus might not escape away 
 privately. 
 
 4. Vespasian also, the very next day, took 
 his whole army and followed them, and by 
 marching till late in the evening, arrived then 
 at Jotapata ; and bringing his army to the 
 northern side of the city, he pitched his camp 
 on a certain small hill which was seven fur- 
 longs from the city, and still greatly endea- 
 voured to be well seen by the enemy, to put 
 them into a consternation, which was indeed 
 so terrible to the Jews immediately, that no 
 one of them durst go out beyond the wall. 
 Yet did tlie Romans put off" the attack at that 
 time, because they had marched all the day, 
 although they placed a double row of batta- 
 lions round the city, with a third row beyond 
 them round the whole, which consisted of ca- 
 valry, in order to stop up every way for an 
 exit ; wliicli thing making the Jews de- 
 spair of escaping, excited them to act more 
 boldly ; for nothing makes men fight so de- 
 sperately in war as necessity. 
 
 5. Now when an assault was made tlie nex 
 day bv the Romans, the Jews at first staid 
 
CHAP, VII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 657 
 
 out of the walls, and opposed them ; and met 
 them, as having formed themselves a camp 
 before the city walls. But when Vespasian 
 had set against them the archers and slingers, 
 and the whole multitude that could throw to 
 a great distance, he permitted them to go to 
 
 with vigour. To that end he called the com- 
 manders that were under liim to a council of 
 war, and consulted with them which way the 
 assault might be managed to the best advan- 
 tage ; and when the resolution was there ta- 
 ken to raise a bank against that part of the 
 
 work, while he himself, with the footmen, | wall which was practicable, he sent his whole 
 
 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 
 
 army abroad to get the materials together. 
 So when they had cut down all the trees on 
 the mountains that adjoined to the city, and 
 had gotten together a vast heap of stones, be- 
 
 upon the Romans in great numbers, and drove j sides the wood they had cut down, some or 
 them away from the wall, and performed a them brought hurdles, in order to avoid the 
 
 great many glorious and bold actions. Yet 
 did they sufltr 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 courage, which armed them, and made 
 them fight furiously. And when the fight 
 had lasted all day, it was put an end to by the 
 coming on of the night. They had wounded 
 a great many of the Romans, and killed of 
 them thirteen men ; of the Jews' side seven- 
 teen were slain, and six hundred wounded. 
 
 6. On the next day the Jews made another 
 attack upon the Romans, and went out of 
 the walls, and fought a much more desperate 
 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 Romans also to fight more de- 
 sperately ; for a sense of shame inflamed these 
 into a passion, as esteeming their failure of a 
 sudden victory to be a kind of defeat. Thus 
 did the Romans try to make an impression 
 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 affrighted at the strength 
 of the enemy, nor were the Romans discou- 
 raged at the difficulties they met with in tak- 
 ing the city. 
 
 7. 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 encompassed 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 no way be seen till a man 
 comes just upon it. And this was the strong 
 situation of Jotapata, 
 
 8. Vespasian, therefore, in order to try how 
 
 effects of the darts that were shot from above 
 thein. These hurdles they spread over their 
 banks, under cover whereof they formed their 
 bank, and so were little or nothing hurt by 
 the darts that were thrown upon them from 
 the wall, while others pulled the neighbour- 
 ing 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 ter- 
 rible, that it was some impediment to the 
 workmen. 
 
 9, Vespasian then set the engines for throw- 
 ing stones and darts round about the city ; 
 tlie number of the engines was in all a hun- 
 dred and sixty; and bade them fall to work 
 and dislodge those that were upon the walL 
 At the same time such engines as were intend- 
 ed 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 to come upon it, but durst 
 not come to those parts within the walls which 
 were reached by the engines; for the multi- 
 tude 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 high- 
 er place ; for they then made sallies out of 
 the city like private robbers, by parties, and 
 pulled away the hurdles that covered the 
 workmen, 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 wooden parts of it, 
 together with the hurdles, till at length Ves- 
 pasian perceived that the intervals there were 
 between the werks 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. 
 
 he might overcome the natural strength of i which prevented the private excursions of the 
 
 tlie place, as well as the bold defence of the Jews. 
 
 Jews, made a resolution to prosecute tlSie siege [ 10. And when the bank was now raised. 
 
658 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 and brought nearer than ever to the battle- 
 ments that belonged to the walls, Josephus 
 thought it would be entirely wrong in him 
 if he could not make no contrivances in oppo- 
 sition to theirs, and that might be for the city's 
 preservation ; so he got together his work- 
 men, and ordered them to build the wall 
 higher ; and when they said that this was im- 
 possible 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 ex- 
 pand before them raw hides of oxen newly 
 killed, that these hides by yielding and hol- 
 lowing themselves when the stones were 
 thrown at them might receive them, for that 
 toe ot'ner 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 workmen ; 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 tv/enty 
 cubits high. He also built a good number 
 of towers upon the wall, and fitted it to strong 
 battlements. This greatly discouraged the 
 Romans, who in their own opinions were al- 
 ready gotten within the walls, while they were 
 now at once astonished at Josephus's contri- 
 vance, and at the fortitude of the citizens that 
 were in the city. 
 
 11. And now Vespasian was plainly irri- 
 tated at the great subtilty of this stratagem, 
 and at the boldness of the citizens of Jotapa- 
 ta ; for taking heart again upon the building 
 of this wall, they made fresh sallies upon the 
 Romans, and had every day conflicts with 
 them by parties, together with all such con- 
 trivances as robbers make use of, and with the 
 plundering of all that came to hand, as also 
 with the setting 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 surrender, 
 as supposing that either they would be forced 
 to petition him for mercy by want of provi- 
 sions, or if they should have the courage to 
 hold out till the last they should perish by fa- 
 mine : and he concluded he should conquer 
 them the more easily in fighting, if he gave 
 them an interval, 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. 
 
 12. Now the besieged had plenty of corn 
 within the city, and indeed of all other neces- 
 saries, but they wanted water, because 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 contri- 
 vance to satisfy their thirst ; and they were 
 very sad at this time particularly, as if they 
 were already in want of water entirely, for 
 Josephus seeing that the city abounded with 
 
 othei necessaries, and that the men were of 
 good courage, and being desirous to protect 
 the siege to the Romans longer than they ex- 
 pected, 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 hereby 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 running 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. 
 
 13. Hereupon Vespasian hoped that their 
 receptacles of water would in no long time be 
 emptied, and that they would be forced to de- 
 liver up the city to him ; but Josephus 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 battle- 
 ments, 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 a- 
 gain to arms, and to try to force them to sur- 
 render, which was what the Jews greatly de- 
 sired ; for as they despaired of either them- 
 selves or their city being able to escape, they 
 preferred a death in battle before one by 
 hunger and thirst. 
 
 14. However, Josephus contrived 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 account was not guard- 
 ed by the soldiers ; so Josephus sent out cer^ 
 tain 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 so- 
 ever 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 sheep-skins as 
 had their wool upon them, that if any one 
 should spy them in the night-time, they might 
 be believed to be dogs. This was done till 
 the watcli perceived their contrivance, and en- 
 compassed that rough place about themselves. 
 
 15. And now it was that Josephus perceiv- 
 ed that the city could not hold out long, and 
 that his own life would be in doubt if he con- 
 tinued in it ; so he consulted how he and the 
 most potent men of the city might fly out cj 
 
 "A. 
 
J~ 
 
 CHAP. VH. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 659 
 
 it. When tlie multitude understood this, they 
 came all round about him, and begged of him 
 not to overlook them while they entirely de- 
 pended 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 cheer- 
 fulness on his account, and in that case there 
 would be some comfort for them also, though 
 they should be taken : that it became him nei 
 ther 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 nobody would then 
 venture to oppose the enemy when he was 
 once gone, upon whom they wholly confided. 
 
 16. 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 staid with them, he should be 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 pur- 
 pose ; but that if he were once gotten free 
 from this siege, he should be able to bring 
 them very great relief; for that he would then 
 immediately get the Galileans together, out 
 of the country, in great multitudes, and draw 
 the Romans off tlieir city by another war. 
 Tliat he did not see what advantage he could 
 bring to them now, 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 inflamed them the more to hang about 
 him. Accordingly, both the children and the 
 old men, and the women with their infants, 
 came mourning to him, and fell down before 
 him, and all of them 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 tliis, 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 Jose- 
 phus would but stay with them. 
 
 17. 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 custody. His 
 commiseration also of the people under their 
 lamentations, had much broken that of his ea- 
 gerness to leave them ; so he resolved to stay, 
 and arming himself 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^ 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' out- 
 guards, and ran as far as the Roman camp it 
 self, and pulled the coverings of their tents 
 to pieces, that were upon their banks, and set 
 fire to their works. And this was the man- 
 ner in which he never left off fighting, nei- 
 ther the next day nor the day after it, but 
 went on with it for a considerable number of 
 both days and nights. 
 
 18. Upon this, Vespasian, when he saw 
 the Romans distressed by these sallies (al- 
 though 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 ac- 
 tion, and before 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 no- 
 thing is more courageous than despair; but 
 that their violence would be quenched when 
 they saw they failed of their purposes, as fire 
 is quenched when it wants fuel ; and that it 
 was most proper for the Romans to gain their 
 victories as cheap as they could, since they 
 are not forced to fight, but only to enlarge 
 their own dominions. So he repelled the 
 Jews in great measure by the Arabian arch- 
 ers, and the Syrian slingers, and by those that 
 threw stones at them, nor was there any in- 
 termission of the great number of their of- 
 fensive 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 fougiit desperate- 
 ly, without sparing either soul or body, one 
 part succouring another by turns, when it was 
 tired down. 
 
 1 9. When, therefore, Vespasian looked ujj- 
 on himself as in a manner besieged by these 
 sallies of the Jews, and when his banks were 
 now not far from the walls, he determined to 
 make use of his battering ram. This batter- 
 ing 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 strong, or walls so broad, 
 that can resist any more than its tirst battC' 
 
 ^V_ 
 
660 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 ries, but all are forced to yield to it at last. 
 Tliis was the experiment which the Roman 
 general betook himself to when he was eager- 
 ly 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 en- 
 gines 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 security of themselves and of the engine. 
 Now, at the very first stroke of this engine, 
 the wall was shaken, and a lerrible clamour 
 was raised by the people within the city, as if 
 they were already taken. 
 
 20. 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 chaif, and to hang them down 
 before that place where they saw the ram al- 
 ways battering, that the stroke might be turn- 
 ed aside, or that the place might feel less of 
 the strokes by the yielding nature of the 
 chaff. This contrivance very much delayed 
 the attempts of the Romans, because 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 no way 
 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, Jose- 
 phus and those about him, had afterward im- 
 mediate recourse 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 Ro- 
 mans themselves ; nor did the Romans well 
 know how to come to their assistance, being 
 at once under a consternation at the Jews' 
 boldness, and being prevented by the flames 
 from coming to their assistance ; for the ma- 
 terials being dry with the bitumen and pitch 
 lliat were among them, as was brimstone also, 
 the fire caught hold of every thing immediate- 
 ly ; and what cost the Romans a great deal 
 of pains, was in one hour consumed. 
 
 21. And here a certain Jew appeared wor- 
 thy of our relation and commendation ; he 
 nas the son of Sameas, and was called £lea' 
 
 zar, 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 dow-n 
 and took up the head of the ram from the 
 midst of them, and without any concern, car 
 ried 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 
 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 which he threw 
 himself on a heap with his wounds upon him, 
 and fell down, together with the head of the 
 ram. Next to him, two brothers showed their 
 courage ; their names were Netir and Philip, 
 both of them of the village Ruma, and both 
 of them Galileans also ; these men leaped up- 
 on the soldiers of the tenth legion, and fell 
 upon the Romans with such a noise and force 
 as to disorder their ranks, and put to flight 
 all upon whomsoever they made their as- 
 saults. 
 
 22. 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 fol- 
 lowed them immediately, and buried those in- 
 struments and all their materials under ground. 
 However, 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 dis- 
 tance beingso 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 dis- 
 turbed at it, and a report went abroad, througli 
 the whole array, thnt the general was wound- 
 ed, while the greatest part left the siege, and 
 came running together with surprise and fear 
 to the general ; and before them all came Ti- 
 tus, out of the concern 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 dis- 
 order 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 or- 
 der to avenge their general ; and then they 
 encouraged one another with loud voices, and 
 ran hastily to the walls. 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 661 
 
 23. But still Josephus and those with him, 
 although they fell down dead one upon anoth- 
 er 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 protection of the hurdles, 
 with fire, and iron weapons, and stones ; and 
 these could do little or nothing, but fell 
 themselves perpetually, 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 day-time, while 
 the engines could not be seen at a great dis- 
 tance, and so what was thrown at them was 
 hard to be avoided ; for the force with which 
 these engines threw stones and darts made 
 them hurt several at a time, and the violent 
 noise of the stones that were cast by the en- 
 gines was so great, that they carried away the 
 pinnacles of the wall, and broke off the cor- 
 ners of the towers ; for no body of men could 
 ^e 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 thi-s 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 day-time also, a 
 woman with child had her belly so violently 
 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 them- 
 selves 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 cla- 
 mour 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 ; 
 wiiile the whole space of ground whereon 
 they fought ran with blood, and the wall might 
 have been ascended over by the bodies of 
 the dead carcasses ; the mountains also con- 
 tributed to increase the noise by their echoes ; 
 nor was there on that night any thing of ter- 
 ror wanting that could either affect the Hear- 
 ing or the sight : yet did a great part of th.ose 
 that fought so hard for Jotapata fall manfully, 
 as were a great part of them wounded. How- 
 ever, the morning watch was come ere the 
 wall yielded to the machines employed against 
 it, though it had been battered without inter- 
 mission. However, those within covered their 
 bodies with their armour, and raised works 
 over-agamst that part which was thrown 
 down, before tliose machines were laid by 
 which the Romans were to ascend into the 
 city. 
 
 24. In the mornmg Vespasian got his army 
 together, in order to take the city [by storm I, 
 after a little recreation upon tiii.> liurd 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 ar- 
 mour on every side, and with 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, wpon the whole hilly coun- 
 try, in order to prevent any from escaping out 
 of the city when it should be taken ; and be- 
 hind 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 them to take up other lad- 
 ders and have them ready to lay upon those 
 parts of the wall which were yet untouched, 
 that the besieged migiit 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. 
 
 25. 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 enemies' 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 Roman? 
 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 defend his own 
 city, as if it were possible to be preserved, 
 but in order to revenge it, when it was alrea- 
 dy 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 
 immediately by the enemy ; and that they 
 would beforehand spend all their fury, on ac- 
 count of the calamities just coming upon them, 
 and pour it out on the aetois. 
 
 26. And thus did Josephus dispose of both 
 Ills bodies of men ; but then for the useless part 
 of the citizens, the women and children, when 
 thev saw their city encompassed by a three- 
 
s 
 
 662 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 fold 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 tlieni 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 not only threatened, but actual- 
 ly come upon them already. But Josephus 
 ordered the women to be shut up in their 
 houses, lost they should render the warlike 
 actions of the men too effeminate, by making 
 them commiserate tlieir condition, and com- 
 manded them to hold their peace, and threat- 
 ened them if they did not, while he came him- 
 self before the breach, where his allotment 
 was ; for all those who brought ladders to 
 the other places, lie took no notice of them, 
 but earnestly waited for the shower of arrows 
 that was coming. 
 
 27. And now the trumpeters of the several 
 Roman legions sounded together, and the ar- 
 my made a terrible shout; and the darts, as 
 by order, flew so fast that tl>ey intercepted the 
 light. However, Josephus's men remember- 
 ed the charges he had given them, they stop- 
 ped their ears at the sounds, and covered their 
 bodies against the darts ; and as to the en- 
 gines 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 now, on the ascending of the 
 soldiers, there was a great conflict, and many 
 actions of the hands and of the soul were ex- 
 liibited, while the Jews did earnestly endea- 
 vour, 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 another, 
 and joining side to side with their shields, 
 tvhich 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 al- 
 ready to get upon the wall. 
 
 28. Then did Josephus take necessity for 
 his counsellor in this utmost distress (which 
 necessity is very sagacious in invention, when 
 it is irritated by despair), and gave orders to 
 pour scalding oil upon those whose srhields 
 protected them. Wliereupon they soon got 
 it ready, being many that brought it, and 
 what they brought being a great quantity al- 
 to, and poured it on all sides upon the Ro- 
 
 mans, and threw down upon them their ves- 
 sels as they were still hissing from the heat 
 of the fire : this so burnt the Romans, that 
 it dispersed that united band, who now tum- 
 bled 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 it- 
 self, its fat and unctuous nature rendering it 
 soon heated and slowly cooled ; and as the 
 men were cooped up in their head-pieces and 
 breast-plates, they could no way get free 
 from this burning oil ; they 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. 
 
 29. 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 they saw their 
 own men thrown down, and in a miserable 
 condition, yet were they vehemently bent 
 against those that poured the oil upon them, 
 while every one reproached the man before 
 him as a coward, and one that hindered him 
 from exerting himself; and while the Jews 
 made use of anothei 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 upon the ma- 
 chines 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 slain by the Jews ; 
 for when the Romans could not keep their 
 feet, the Jews being freed from fighting hand 
 to hand, had leisure to throw their darts at 
 them. So the general called oft' those sol- 
 diers 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 three hundred were carried off 
 wounded. This fight happened on the twen- 
 tieth day of the month Desius [Sivan], 
 
 30. Hereupon Vespasian comforted his 
 army on occasion of what had happened, and as 
 he found them angry indeed, but rather want- 
 ing somewhat to do than any farther exhorta- 
 tions, 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, tliat they 
 might be both firm by their weiglit, and not 
 easily liable to be set on fire. These towers 
 he set upon the banks, and placed upon them 
 such as could shoot darts and arrows, with the 
 lighter engines for throwing stones and darta 
 
 _y 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 663 
 
 also ; and besides these, he set upon them the 
 stoutest men among the slingers, who not be- 
 ing to be seen by reason of the height they 
 stood upon, and the battlements that jirotect- 
 ed 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 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 resist the Romans, 
 while a great uumber of tliem 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. 
 
 31. About this time it was that Vespasian 
 sent out Trajan against a city called Japha, 
 that lay near to Jotapata, and that desired in- 
 novations, and was puffed up with the unex- 
 pected length of the opposition of Jotapata. 
 Tliis Trajan was tlie commander of the tenth 
 legion, and to him Vespasian committed one 
 thousand horsemen, and two thousand foot- 
 men. When Trajan came to the city, he 
 found it hard to be taken, for besides the na- 
 tural strength of its situation, it was also se- 
 cured 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 endea- 
 vouring to get again within their second wall, 
 their fellow-citizens shut them out, as being 
 afraid that the Romans would force them- 
 selves in with them. It was certainly God, 
 therefore, who brought the Romans to punish 
 the Galileans, and did then expose the people 
 of the city every one of them manifestly to be 
 destroyed by their blood}' 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 suppli- 
 cations ; for the enemy shut tiie gates of the 
 first wall, and their own citizens shut 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, besides an immense num- 
 ber tliat were slain by the Romans ; — nor had 
 they any courage to revenge themselves; for 
 there was added to the consternation they 
 were in from iha enemy, tlicir being betrayed 
 
 by their own friends, vchich quite broke their 
 spirits: and at last they died, cursing not the 
 Romans, but their own citizens, till they were 
 all destroyed, being in number twelve thou- 
 sand. 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 opposition ; so he reserv- 
 ed the taking of the city to the general. Ac- 
 cordingly he sent messengers to Vespasian, 
 and desired him to send his son Titus to fin- 
 ish the victory he had gained. Vespasian 
 hereupon imagining there might be some 
 pains still necessary, sent his son with an 
 army of five himdred horsemen, and one thou- 
 sand footmen. So he came quickly to the 
 city, and put his army in order, and set Tra- 
 jan over the left wing, while he had the right 
 himself, and led them to the siege : and when 
 the soldiers brought ladders to be laid against 
 the wall on every side, the Galileans opposed 
 them from above for a while ; but soon after- 
 ward they left the walls. Then did Titus's 
 men leap into the city, and seized upon it 
 presently ; but when those that were in it 
 were gotten together, there was a fierce bat- 
 tle 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 wo- 
 men, were carried as slaves into captivity ; so 
 that the number of the slain, both now in the 
 city and at the former fight, was fifteen thou- 
 sand, and the captives were two thousand 
 one hundred and thirty. This calamity be- 
 fel the Galileans on the twenty-fifth day of 
 the month Desius [Sivan]. 
 
 39, Nor did the Samaritans escape their 
 share of misfortunes at this time ; for they as- 
 sembled themselves together upon the moun- 
 tain called Gcrizzim, which is with them a 
 holy mountain, and there they remained ; 
 which collection of theirs, as well as the cour- 
 ageous minds they showed, could not but 
 threaten somewhat of war ; nor were they ren- 
 dered wiser by the miseries that had come up- 
 on their neighbouring cities. They also, not- 
 withstanding the great success the Romans 
 had, marched on in an unreasonable manner, 
 depending on their own weakness, and were 
 disposed for any tumult upon its first appear- 
 ance, Vespasian therefore thought it best to 
 prevent their motions, and to cut olfthe foun- 
 dation of their attempts ; for altliough all Sa- 
 maria had ever garrisons settled among them, 
 yet did the number of tliose that were come to 
 mount Gerizzim, and their conspiracy to- 
 I getlier, give ground to fear what they would 
 
J- 
 
 664 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 be at ; lie therefore sent thither Cerealis, the 
 commander of the fifth legion, with six hun- 
 dred horsemen and three thousand 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 happened 
 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) in- 
 somuch that some of them died that very day 
 with heat, while others of them preferred sla- 
 very 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. So he 
 went up to tlie mountain, and having placed 
 his forces round about the enemy, he, in the 
 first place, exhorted them to take the security 
 of his right hand, and come to terms with him, 
 and thereby save themselves; and assured 
 them, that 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 
 eleven thousand and six hundred. This was 
 done on the twenty-seventh day of the month 
 Desius [Sivan]. And these were the calami- 
 ties that befel the Samaritans at this time. 
 
 33. But 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, and told him, how few were left 
 in the city, 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 a- 
 gainst 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 hardships they were imder, and when a 
 morning 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 suspicion 
 about this deserter, as knowing how faithful 
 the Jews were to one another, and how much 
 they despised any punishments that could be 
 inflicted on them ; this last, because one of 
 tlie people of Jotapata had undergone all sorts 
 of torments, and though they made him pass 
 through a fiery trial of his enemies in his ex- 
 amination, yet would he inform them nothing 
 of the affairs within the city, and as he was 
 crucified, smiled at them ! However, the pro- 
 bability there was in the relation itself did 
 partly confirm tlie truth of what the deserter 
 
 told them, and they thought he might pro- 
 bably speak the truth. However, Vespasian 
 thought they should be no great sufl^erers if 
 the report was a sham ; so he commanded 
 them to keep the man in custody, and pre- 
 pared the army for taking the city. 
 
 34. 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 Sabinus, 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 cita- 
 del 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 tlie city, hindered 
 those that got up from distinctly seeing the 
 case tliey were in, till the whole Roman army 
 was gotten in, and they were raised up only 
 to find the miseries they were under; and as 
 tliey were slaying, they perceived the city was 
 taken. And for tlie Romans, they so well re- 
 membered what they had suffered during the 
 siege, that they spared none, nor pitied any, 
 but drove the people down the precijiice 
 from the citadel, and slew them as they drove 
 them down; at which time the difl^culties of 
 the place hindered those that were still able 
 to fight from defending themselves ; for as 
 they were distressed in the narrow streets, and 
 could not keep their feet sure along the pre- 
 cipice, they were overpowered with the crowd 
 of those that came fighting them down from 
 the citadel. This provoked a great many, 
 even of those chosen men that were about 
 Josephus, to kill themselves with their own 
 hands ; for when they saw that they could kill 
 none of the Romans, they resolved to prevent 
 being killed by the Romans, and got together 
 in great numbers, in the utmost parts of the 
 city, and killed themselves. 
 
 35. 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 cheer, 
 fully offered their necks to be cut off by those 
 that stood over them. And the Romans might 
 have boasted that the conclusion of that siegff 
 was without blood [on their side], if there had 
 not been a centurion, Antonius, who was slain 
 at the taking of the city. His death was oc- 
 casioned by the following treachery : for there 
 was one of those that were fled into the ca- 
 verns, which were a great number, who de- 
 sired that this Antonius would reach him his 
 
CHAP. viir. 
 
 ri'Tht hand for liis security, and would assure 
 liim that he would preserve him, and give him 
 his assistance in getting up out of the cavern ; 
 accordingly, he incautiously reached him his 
 rio^ht hand, when the other man prevented 
 him, and stabbed him under his loins with a 
 spear, and killed him immediately. 
 
 36. 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 infants and 
 the women, and of these there were gathered 
 together as captives twelve hundred ; and as 
 for those that were slain at the taking of the 
 city, and in the former fights, they were num- 
 bered to be forty thousand. So Vespasian 
 gave order that the city should be entirely de- 
 molished, and all the fortifications burnt down. 
 And thus was Jotapata taken, in the thir- 
 teenth year of the reign of Nero, on the first 
 day of the month Panemus [Tamuz]. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 660 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOW JOSEPHUS WAS DISCOVERED BY A WOMAxV, 
 4ND WAS WILLING TO DELIVER HIMSELF UP 
 TO THE ROMANS ; AND WHAT DISCOURSE HE 
 HAD WITH HIS OWN MEN, WHEN THEY EN- 
 DEAVOURED TO HINDER HIM ; AND WHAT 
 HE SAID TO VESPASIAN, WHEN HE WAS 
 BROUGHT TO HIM ; AND AFTER WHAT MAN- 
 NER VESPASIAN USED HIM AFTERWARDS. 
 
 § 1. And now the Romans searched for Jo- 
 sephus, 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. Tliey 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 superna- 
 tural providence ; for he withdrew himself 
 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 j and here he met 
 with forty persons of eminence that liad con- 
 cealed themselves, and with provisions enough 
 to satisfy them for not a few days. So in the 
 day-time 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 ex- 
 act notice of the watch : but as all places were 
 guarded everywhere on his account, that tliere 
 was no way of getting off unseen, he went 
 down again into the den. Thus he concealed 
 himself two days ; but on the third day, when 
 tliey Lad taken a woman who had been with 
 
 ^ 
 
 tliem, he was discovered. Whereupon Vespa- 
 sian sent immediately and zealously two tri- 
 bunes, Paulinus and Gallicanus, and ordered 
 them to give Josephus their right hands as a 
 security for his life, and to exhort him ta 
 come up. 
 
 2, So they came and invited the man to 
 come up, and gave him assurances that his life 
 should be preserved ; but tliey 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 suf- 
 fer 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 besides 
 these a third tribune, Nicanor, to him ; he 
 was one that was well known to Josephus, and 
 had been his familiar acquaintance in old 
 time. When he was come, he enlarged upon 
 the natural mildness of the Romans towards 
 those they have once conquered ; and told 
 him, that he had behaved himself so valiantly, 
 that the commanders rather admired than hat- 
 ed him ; that the general was very desirous to 
 have him brought to him, not in order to pu- 
 nish 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 perfi- 
 diousness ; nor would he have himself acqui- 
 esced, or come to him, had it been to deceive 
 him. 
 
 3. Now, as Josephus began to hesitate with 
 himself about Nicanor's proposal, the soldiery 
 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 ta take 
 the man alive. And now, as Nicanor lay hard 
 at Josephus to comply, and he understood 
 how the multitude 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 fu- 
 ture calamities of the Jews, and the events 
 that concerned the Roman emperors. 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 contained in the sacred books, as 
 being a priest himself, and of the posterity of 
 priests : and just then was he in an ecstacy ; 
 and setting before him the tremendous images 
 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 foretel what is to come to pas 
 3 K 
 
6f>6 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 hereafter, I willingly give them my hands, 
 and am content to live. And I protest open- 
 ly, that I do not go over to the Romans as a 
 deserter of the Jews, but as a minister from 
 thee." 
 
 4. When he had said this, he complied with 
 Nicaiior's invitation. But when those Jews 
 who had fled with him, understood that he 
 yielded to those that invited him to come up, 
 they came about him in a body, and cried out, 
 " Nay, indeed, now may the laws of our fore- 
 fathers, which God ordained himself, well 
 groan to purpose; that God we inean who 
 hath created the souls of the Jews of such a 
 temper, that they despise death. O Josephus ! 
 art thou still fond of life; and canst thou 
 bear to see the light in a state of slavery ? How 
 soon hast thou forgotten thyself ! How many 
 hast thou persuaded to lose their lives for 
 liberty ! Thoa hast therefore had a false re- 
 putation for manhood, and a like false repu- 
 tation for wisdom, if thou canst hope for pre- 
 servation from those against whom thou hast 
 fought so zealously, and art however willing 
 to be preserved by them, if they be in earnest. 
 But although the good fortune of the Ro- 
 mans hath made thee forget thyself, we ought 
 to take care that the glory of our forefathers 
 inay not be tarnished. We will lend thee 
 our right hand 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 them." 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. 
 
 5. 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 be- 
 gan to talk like a philosopher to them in the 
 distress he was then in, when he said thus to 
 them: — " O my friends, why are we so ear- 
 nest to kill ourselves? and why do we set our 
 soul and body, which are such dear compan- 
 ions, at sucli 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 thing to 
 die in war; but so that it be according to the 
 law of war, by tiie hand of conquerors. 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 much more ougiit we to have 
 mercy upon ourselves, and to spare ourselves ! 
 for it is certainly a foolish thing to do that to 
 ourselves which we quarrel with them for do- 
 ing 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 li- 
 berty from us ; but at present our enemies do 
 neither meet us in battle, nor do they kill us. 
 Now, he is equally a coward who will not die 
 
 when he is obliged to die, and he who will 
 die when he is not obliged so to do. What 
 are vve 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 our- 
 selves 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 him- 
 self. 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 com- 
 mon nature of all animals, and an instance 
 of impiety against God our Creator : nor in- 
 deed is there any animal that dies by its 
 own contrivance, or by its own means ; for 
 the desire of life is a law engiaven in them 
 all ; on which account we deem those that 
 openly take it away from us to be our ene- 
 mies, ind those that do it by treachery, are 
 punished for so doing. And do not you 
 think tiiat God is very angry when a man 
 does injury to what he hc>th bestowed on him? 
 for from him it is that we have received our 
 being; and we ought to leave it to his dis- 
 posal to take that being away from us. The 
 bodies of all men are indeed mortal, and are 
 created out of corruptible matter ; but the 
 soul is ever immortal, and is a portion of the 
 Divinty that inhabits our bodies. Besides, 
 if any one destroys or abuses a depoutum he 
 hath received from a mere man, he is esteem, 
 ed a wicked and perfidious person ; but then 
 if any one cast out of his body this divine 
 depoiiiusi, can we imagine that he who is 
 there affronted does not know of it. More- 
 over, our law justly ordains, that slaves who 
 run away from their master shall be punished, 
 though tRe masters they ran away from may 
 have been wicked masters to them. And 
 shall we endeavour to run away from God, 
 who is 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 received 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 ho- 
 ly place in heaven, from whence, in the re- 
 volution of ages, they are again sent into pure 
 bodies ; while the souls of those whose hands 
 have acted madly against themselves, are re- 
 ceived by the darkest place in Hades, and 
 while God, who is their father, punishes 
 those that oflfend 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 determine, that the bodies of such as 
 kill themselves should be exposed till th«i 
 
 ■^. 
 
k;HAP. VIIl. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 667 
 
 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 them- 
 selves 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 towards our Creator. If 
 we have a mind to preserve ourselves, let us 
 do it ; for to be preserved by those our ene- 
 mies, to whom we have given so many de- 
 monstrations of our courage, is no way in- 
 glorious ; 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 hearti- 
 ly 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, I 
 shall die cheerfully, and carry away with me 
 the sense of their perfidiousness, as a conso- 
 lation greater than victory itself." 
 
 6. Now these and many the like motives 
 did Josephus use to these men, to prevent 
 their murdering themselves ; but desperation 
 had shut their ears, as having long ago devot- 
 ed 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 calledhim acow- 
 ard, and every one of them appeared openly 
 as if he were ready to smite him ; but, he call- 
 ing to one of them by name, and looking 
 like a general to another, and 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 pas- 
 sions (as he well might in the great distress 
 he was then in), he kept off every one of their 
 swords from killing hira, and was forced to 
 do like such wild beasts as are encompassed 
 about on every side, who always turn them- 
 selves against those that last touched them. 
 Nay, some of their right hands were debili- 
 tated by the reverence they bare to their ge- 
 neral 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. 
 
 7. 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 fol- 
 lowing] : — " And now," said he, ^' since it 
 16 resolved among you that you will die. 
 
 come on, let us commit our mutual deaths to 
 determination by lot. He whom the lot falls 
 to first, let him be killed 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 
 unfair if, when the rest arc gone, somebody 
 should repent and save himself." This pro- 
 posal appeared to them to be very just ; and 
 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 general 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 hap- 
 pened so by chance, or whether by the provi- 
 dence 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 per- 
 suaded him to trust his fidelity to hira, and to 
 live as well as himself. 
 
 8. Thus Josephus escaped in the war with 
 the Romans, and in this his own war with 
 his friends, and v/as led by Nicanor to Vespa- 
 sian ; but now all the Romans ran together 
 to see him, and as the multitude pressed one 
 upon another about their general, there was 
 a tumult of a various kind ; while some re- 
 joiced that Josephus was taken, and some 
 threatened him, and some crowded to see him 
 very near ; but those that vrere more remote 
 cried out to have this their enemy put 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 command- 
 ers, how much soever they had been enrag- 
 ed at him before, but relented when they 
 came to the sight of him. Above all the rest, 
 Titus's own valour, 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 
 while ago he was fighting, but lay now in the 
 hands of his enemies, which made him con- 
 sider the power of fortune, and how quick is 
 the turn ©f affairs in war, and how no state 
 of men is sure; for which reason he then 
 made a great many more to be of tiie same 
 pitiful temper with himself, and induced tiiem 
 to commiserate Josephus. He was also of 
 great weight in persuading his father to pre- 
 serve him. However, Vespasian gave strict 
 orders that he should be kept with great cau- 
 tion, as though he would, in a very little time, 
 send him to Nero. 
 
 9. When Josephus heard him give those 
 orders, he said that he had somewhat in Iiis 
 mind that he would willingly say to himself 
 alone. When therefore they were all ordered 
 to withdraw, excepting Titus and two of their 
 
668 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 friends, be said, '* Tlioii, O Vespasian, think- 
 est no more than that thou hast taken Jose- 
 phus himself captive ; but I come to thee as 
 a messenger of greater tidings ; for had not 
 I been sent by God to tliee, 1 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, O 
 Vespasian, art Caesar and emperor, thou, and 
 this thy son. Bind me now still faster, and 
 keep me for thyself, for thou, O Ctesar, art 
 not only lord over me, but over the land and 
 the sea, and all mankind; and certainly I de- 
 serve to be kept in closer custody than I am 
 now in, in order to be punished, if I 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 cun- 
 ning trick, in order to his own preservation ; 
 but in a little time he was convinced, and be- 
 lieved what he said to be true, God himself 
 erecting his expectations, so as to think of 
 obtaining the empire, and by other signs fore- 
 showing his advancement. He .ilso found 
 Josephus to have spoken truth on other occa- 
 sions ; for one of those friends that were pre- 
 sent at that secret conference, said to Jose- 
 phus, " I cannot but wonder how thou could- 
 est not foretel to the people of Jotapata that 
 they should be taken, nor couldest foretel this 
 captivity which hath happened to thyself, un- 
 less 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 foretel to the people of Jotapata that they 
 would be taken on the forty-seventli day, and 
 that 1 should be caught alive by the Romans." 
 Now when Vespasian had inquired of the cap- 
 tives 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 so 
 to do, Titus still joining his interest in the 
 honours tliat were done him. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW JOPPA WAS TAKEN, 4ND TIBERIAS DELI- 
 VERED UP. 
 
 § ]. Now Vespasian returned to Ptolemais 
 on the fourth day of the month Panemus 
 [Tamuz], and from thence he came to Cesa- 
 
 * I do not know where to find the law of Moses liere 
 mentioned by Josephus, and afterwards by Eleazar, b. 
 vii, ch, vili, sect. 7, and almost implied in b. i, ch. xiii, 
 sect. 10, by Josephus's commendation of Phasaelus for 
 doing so ; I mean whereby Jewish generals and people 
 were obliged to kill themselves, rather than go into sla- 
 very under heathens. I doubt this woukl have been no 
 
 rea, which lay by the sea-side. This was a 
 very gi-eat city of Jiidca, and for the greatest 
 part inhabited by Greeks : the citizens here 
 received both the Roman army and its gene- 
 ral with all sorts of acclamations and rejoic- 
 ings, and this jiartly out of tlie good -will they 
 bore to the Romans, but principally out of the 
 hatred they bore to those that were conquered 
 by them ; on which account they came cla- 
 mouring against Josephus in crowds, and de- 
 sired 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 Cesarea, that they might there take 
 their winter-quarters, as perceiving the city 
 very fit for such a purpose ; but he placed the 
 tenth and the fifth at Scytbopolis, that he 
 might not distress Cesarea with the entire 
 army. This place was warm, even in winter, 
 as it was suffocating hot in the summer-time, 
 by reason of its situation in a plain, and near 
 to the sea [of Galileel. 
 
 2. 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 repair 
 ed 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 supporting t'hem, they determined 
 to go ofi' to sea. They ako built themselves 
 a great many piratical ships, and turned pi 
 rates upon tlie seas near to Syria, and Phoeni 
 cia, and Egypt, and made those seas unnavi- 
 gable to all men. Now as soon as Vespasian 
 knew of their conspiracy, he sent both foot- 
 men and horsemen to Joppa, which was un- 
 guarded in the night-time ; however, those 
 that were in it perceived tliat they should be 
 attacked, and were afraid of it ; yet did they 
 not endeavour to keep the Romans out, but 
 fled to tlieir ships, and lay at sea all night, 
 out of the reach of their darts. 
 
 3. 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 
 towards each other, where there are deep 
 precipices, and great stones that jet out into 
 the sea, and where the chains wherewith An- 
 dromeda was bound have left their footsteps, 
 which attest to the antiquity of that fable- 
 but the north wind opposes and beats upon 
 the shore, and dashes mighty waves against 
 the rocks whicli 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 tlie 
 morning there fell a violent wind upon them ; 
 
 better than " self-murder;" and I believe it was rather 
 some vain doctrine, or interpretation, of the rigid Pha- 
 risees, or Essenes, or Hcrodians, thana just consequence 
 from an;^ law of Goil delivered by Moses. 
 
J' 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 669 
 
 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 tlie rocks, and carried many of them 
 by force, while they strove against the oppo- 
 site 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 anyplace 
 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 staid 
 where they were, and out of the city by the vio- 
 lence of the Romans; and much lamentation 
 there was when the ships were dashed against 
 one another, and a terrible noise when they 
 were broken to pieces ; and some of the mul- 
 titude that were in them were covered with 
 the waves, and so perished, 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 thera-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 destroyed them ; 
 and the number of the bodies that were thus 
 thrown out of the sea was four thousand and 
 two hundred. The Romans also took the 
 city without opposition, and utterly destroyed 
 it. 
 
 4. 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 horsemen might spoil the country 
 that lay round it, and miglit destroy the neigh- 
 bouring villages and smaller cities. So these 
 troops overran the country, as they were or- 
 dered to do, and every day cut to pieces and 
 laid desolate the whole region. 
 
 5. But now, when the fate of Jofapata was 
 related at Jerusalem, a great many at the first 
 disbelieved it, on account of the vastness of 
 the calamity, and because they had no eye- 
 witness to attest the truth of 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 
 decrees, from the places near Jotapata, and 
 appeared to all to be too true. Yet were 
 there fictitious stories added to what was 
 leally done ; for it was reported that Josephus 
 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 la- 
 mentation for them ; but the mourning foi 
 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 before 
 the thirtieth day ; and a great many hired 
 mourners,* with their pipes, who should be- 
 gin the melancholy ditties for them. 
 
 6. But as the truth came out in time, it 
 appeared how the affairs of Jotapata really 
 stood ; yet it was found that the death of Jo- 
 seplius was a fiction ; and when tliey under- 
 stood that he was alive, and was among the 
 Romans, and that the commanders treated 
 him at another rate than tliey treated cap- 
 tives, they were as vehemently angry at him 
 now as they had shown their good-will be- 
 fore, 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 al- 
 so aggravated by their afflictions, and more 
 inflamed by their ill success ; and what usual- 
 ly becomes an occasion of caution to wise 
 men, I mean affliction, became a spur to tliem 
 to venture on farther calamities, and the end 
 of one misery became still the beginning of 
 another; they therefore resolved to fall on 
 the Romans the more vehemently, as resolv- 
 ing to be revenged on him in revenging them- 
 selves on the Romans. And this was the 
 state of Jerusalem as to the troubles which 
 now came upon it. 
 
 7. But Vespasian, in order to see the king, 
 dom of Agrippa, while the king persuaded 
 himself so to do (partly, in order to liis treat- 
 ing the general and his army in the best and 
 most splendid manner his private affairs would 
 enable him to do, and partly that he might, 
 by their means, correct such things as were 
 amiss in his govermnent), he removed from 
 tliat Cesarea which was by the sea-side, and 
 went to that which is called Cesarea Phi- 
 lippi ;j- and there he refreshed his army for 
 twenty days, and was himself feasted by king 
 Agrippa, where he also returned public thanka 
 to God for tlie good success he had had in his 
 undertakings. But as soon as he was in- 
 formed that Tiberias was fond of innovations, 
 and that Taricheas had revolted, both which 
 cities were parts of the kingdom of Agrippa, 
 and was satisfied within himself that the Jews 
 were everywhere perverted [from their obe- 
 
 * These public mourners, hired upon the supposed 
 deatli of Josephus, and the real death of many more, 
 •Jluslrate some passages in the Bible, which suppose 
 the same custom, as Mat. xii, 17 ; where the reader 
 may consult the notes of Grotius. 
 
 t Of this Cesarea Philippi, twice mentioned incur 
 New Testament (Mat. xvi, 15; Mark vin, t'7), there 
 are coins still extant, as Spanlieim here informs us. 
 
 ^ 
 
670 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK in 
 
 dience to their governors], he thought it sea- 
 sonable to make an expedition against those 
 cities, and that for the sake of Agrippa, and 
 in order to bring 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 Deca- 
 polis, and in the neighbourhood of Tiberias, 
 whither he came, and where he w aited for Iiis 
 son. He then came with three legions, and 
 pitched liis camp thirty furlongs oft" Tiberias, 
 at a certain station easily seen by the innova- 
 tors ; it is named Sennabris. He also sent 
 V'alerian, a decurion, witli fifty l)orsemen, 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 peo- 
 ple were desirous of peace, but were obliged 
 by some of the seditious part to join with 
 them, and 30 were forced to fight for them. 
 When Valerian had marched up to the place, 
 and was near the wall, he allighted 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 before 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 
 Sliaphat, the principal head of a band of rob- 
 bers. Now Valerian, neither thinking it safe 
 to fight contrary to the commands of the ge- 
 neral, though he were secure of a victory, and 
 knowing that it was a very hazardous under- 
 taking 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 onset 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. 
 
 8. Now the seniors of the people, and such 
 as were 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 fav- 
 our, and besought him not to overlook them, 
 nor to impute the madness of a few to the whole 
 city, to spare a people that had been ever civil 
 and obliging to the Romans ; but to bring the 
 authors of this 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 tlie same. With those suppli- 
 cations the general complied, although he 
 were very angry at the whole city about tl)e 
 carrying off liis 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 securi- 
 ty. Jesus and his party thought it not safe for 
 
 them to cotlnue at Tiberias, so they ran away 
 to Taricheae. The next day Vespasian sent 
 Trajan before, with some horsemen to the 
 citadel, to make trial of the multitude, whe 
 therthey were all disposed for peace; and as 
 soon as he knew that the people were of the 
 same mind with the petitioner, 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 
 tlieir saviour and benefactor. 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 gratify the 
 king ; and on his account spared the rest of 
 the wall, while the king undertook for them 
 that they should continue [faithful to the Ro- 
 mans] for the time to come. And thus did 
 he restore this city to a quiet state, after it 
 had been grievously aflBicted by the sedition. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW TARICHE^ WAS TAKEN. A DESCRIPTION 
 OF THE RIVER JORDAN, AND OF THE COUN 
 TRY OF GENNESARETH. 
 
 § 1. And now Vespasian pitched his camp 
 between this city and Taricheae, but fortified 
 his camp more strongly, as suspecting that hn 
 should be forced to stay there, and have a 
 long war; for all the innovators had gotten 
 together at Taricheae, 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 Gennesaretk. The 
 city itself is situated like Tiberias, at the bot- 
 tom of a mountain ; and on those sides which 
 are not washed by the sea, had been strongly 
 fortified by Josephus, though not so strongly 
 as Tiberias ; for the wall of Tiberias had been 
 built at the beginning of the Jews' revolt, 
 when he had great plenty of money, and great 
 power, but Tarichea? partook only the remains 
 of that liberality. Yet had they a great num- 
 ber 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 a- 
 bout their camp, Jesus and his party were 
 neither affrighted at their number 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 little 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, tliey retired to 
 their own men. But then the Romans pur» 
 
 A- 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 W'AKS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 671 
 
 sued them, and drove them into their ships, 
 where they launched out as far as might give 
 them an opportunity of reaching the Romans 
 with what they threw at them, and then cast 
 anclior, 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 groat multitude j 
 of them were gotten together in the plain that 
 was before the city, he thereupon sent his 
 son, with six hundred chosen horsemen to 
 disperse them. 
 
 2. But when Titus perceived that the ene- 
 my 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 multitude 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 tliey are against whom we are going 
 to fight. For as to us, Romans, no part of 
 the liabi table earth hath been able to escape 
 our Iiands hitherto ; but as for the Jews, that 
 I may 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 ; yet am I afraid lest the 
 multitude of the enemy should bring a con- 
 cealed fright upon some of you ; let such a 
 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 dis- 
 orderly 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 or- 
 der; 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 ad- 
 vantage 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 farther, that you are to have a con- 
 flict with men in effect unarmed, while you 
 are well armed ; with footmen, while you are 
 horsemen; with those that have no good gene- 
 ral, while you have one, and as these advan- 
 tages 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 manages 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-nu- 
 
 merous armies are more hurt by themselves 
 than by their enemies. It is boldness and 
 rashness, the effects of madness, 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 
 fortitude, which shows itself indeed in our 
 good fortune, but still does not for ever de- 
 sert 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 ha- 
 zard 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 af- 
 ter we have got dominion 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 victory our- 
 selves; and I think we ought to prevent the 
 coming of those my father is sending to us 
 for our assistance, that our success may be pe- 
 culiar to ourselves, and of greater reputation 
 to us ; and I cannot but think this an oppor- 
 tunity 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 shew equal courage with 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 upon tlie enemy. Do not you there- 
 fore desert me, but persuade yourselves that 
 God will be assisting to my onset. Know 
 this also before we begin, that we shall now 
 have better success than we should have, if 
 we were to fight at a distance." 
 
 3. As Titus was saying this, an extraordi- 
 nary fury fell upon the men : and as Trajan 
 was already come before the figlit began, vrith 
 four hundred 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 two thousand archers, and had given 
 it them in charge to seize upon the mountain 
 tliat was over-against 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 con- 
 fronted them ; by which means they appeared 
 jmuch more numerous than they really wers- 
 
 -\_ 
 
"«._ 
 
 672 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK iir. 
 
 Now the Jews, although they were surpris- 
 ed at their onset, and at their good order, 
 made resistance 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 tram- 
 pled under their feet ; many also of them 
 were slain on every side, which made tliem 
 disperse themselves and run to the city, as 
 fast as every one of them was able. So Titus 
 pre5sed upon the hindaiost, and slew them ; 
 and of tlie rest, some he fell upon as they 
 stood on heaps, and some he prevented, -and 
 met them in the mouth, and run them through ; 
 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 last 
 they forced a passage by their multitude, and 
 got away, and ran into the city. 
 
 4. But now there fell out a terrible sedi- 
 tion among them within the city ; for the in- 
 habitants themselves, who had possessions 
 there, and to whom the city belonged, were 
 not disposed to fight from the very beginning; 
 and now the less so, because they had been 
 beaten : but the foreigners, who were very 
 numerous, would force them to fight £0 much 
 the more, insomuch that there was a clamour 
 and a tumult among them, as all mutually 
 an" ry one at 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 you liear 
 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 no 
 great thing uses to be accomjjlished without 
 danger; accordingly we must not only pre- 
 vent their uniting again, which necessity 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 con- 
 quer so great a multitude, and may ourselves 
 alone take the city. 
 
 5. 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 durst 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 Ihey attempted to overtake those that were 
 already gone aboard. There was also a great 
 
 ■"\_ 
 
 slaughter made in the city, while those fo- 
 reigners that had not fled away already, made 
 opposition ; but the natural inhabitants were 
 killed without fighting : for in hopes of Ti- 
 tus's giving them his right hand for their se- 
 curity, and out of the consciousness that they 
 had not given any consent to the war, they 
 avoided fighting, till Titus had slain the au- 
 thors of this revolt, and then put a stop to 
 any further slaughters, out 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 pos- 
 sibly could from the enemy. 
 
 6. 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 glorious 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 at- 
 tempted so to do; and on the next day he 
 went down to the lake, and commanded that 
 vessels shoidd be fitted up, in order to 
 pursue those that had escaped in the ships. 
 These vessels were quickly gotten ready ac- 
 cordingly, because there was great plenty of 
 materials, and a great number of artificers 
 also. 
 
 7. Now this lake of Gennesareth is so call- 
 ed from the country adjoining to it. Its 
 breadth is forty furlongs, and its length one 
 hundred and forty ; 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 always cooler than one could 
 expect in so diffuse a place as this is. Now 
 when this water is kept in the open air, it is 
 as cold as that snow which the country peo- 
 ple are accustomed to make by night in sum- 
 mer. There are several kinds of fish in it, 
 different 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 thitlier after an occult manner from 
 the place called Phiala : this place lies as you 
 go up to Trachonitis, and is a hundred and 
 twenty furlongs from Cesarea, and is not far 
 out of the road on the riglit hand ; and indeed 
 it hath its name of Phiala [vial or bowl] very 
 justly, from the roundness of its circumfer- 
 ence, as being round like a wheel ; its water 
 continues always up to its edges, without ei- 
 ther sinking or running over; and as this ori- 
 gin of Jordan was formerly not known, it 
 was discovered so to be when Philip was te- 
 trarch of Trachonitis ; for he had chuff throwa 
 
CIlAl". X. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 673 
 
 into Phiala, and it was found at Painum, 
 uhyre the ancients thought the fountain-nead 
 of tlie river was, wliither it had been there- 
 fore carried by the waters'!. As for Paiiium 
 itself, its natural beauty had been improved 
 by the royal liberality of Agrippa, and adorn- 
 ed at his expenses^ Now Jordan's visible 
 stream arises from this cavern, and divides 
 the marshes and fens of the lake Semechoni- 
 tis : when it hath run another hundred and 
 twenty furlongs, it first passes by the city Ju- 
 lias, and then passes through tlie middle of 
 the lake Geniiesaretli ; after which it runs a 
 long way over a desert, and then makes its 
 exit into the lake Asphaltitis. 
 
 8, The country also that lies over-against 
 this lake hath the same name of Gennesareth ; 
 its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; 
 its soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can 
 grow upon it, and tlie 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, 
 whicli grow best in hot air ; fig-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 to agree together : it is a happy con- 
 tention of the seasons, as if every o:ie of them 
 laid claim to this country ; for it not only nou- 
 rishes different sorts of autumnal fruit beyond 
 men's expectation, but preserves them a great 
 while; it supplies men with the princip:ii fruits, 
 v^ith 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 fer- 
 tile fountain. The people of the country call 
 it Capharnaum. Some have thouglit it to be 
 a vein of the Nil?, because it produces the 
 Coracin fish as well as that lake does which 
 is near to Alexandria. The length of this 
 country extends itself along the banks of this 
 lake that bears the same name, for thirty fur- 
 longs, and is in breadth twenty; and this is 
 the nature of that place. 
 
 9. But now, when the vessels were gotten 
 ready, Vespasian put upon ship-board as 
 many of his forces as he thought sufficient to 
 be too hard for those that were upon the 
 
 * It may be worth our wliile to observe here, that 
 near this lake of Gemiesareth grapes and figs Iiaiig on 
 the trees ten months of the year. We may observe ai- j 
 so, th.it in Cyril of Jerusalem, Cateches. xviii, sect. 3, 
 wiik'h was delivered not long before Easter, there were 
 no frc-h leaves of fig-trees, nor bunches of fresh grapes ' 
 in .ludea; so that when St. Mark says, ch. xi, ver. 15, j 
 .nat our Saviour, soon after the same time of the year, I 
 carae and " foimd leaves" on a fig-tree near Jerusalem, 
 but " no figs, because the time of " new " figs" ripening 
 *' was not yet," he says very true; nor were they there- 
 fore othar than old leaves which our Saviour «9W, and 
 old figs which he expected, and which even with us I 
 commonly hang on the trees all winter long. 1 
 
 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 ene- 
 mies' hand, and in war against them, nor 
 cou.ld they fight tipon tiie level by sea, for 
 their ships were small and fitted only for pi- 
 racy ; they were too weak to fight with Ves- 
 pasian's vessels, and the mariners that were 
 in them were so few, that they were afraid to 
 come near the Romans, who attacked ther? in 
 great numbers. However, as tliey sailed 
 round about the vessels, and sometimes as 
 they caine near them, they threw stones at 
 the Romans when they were a good way off, 
 or came closer and fouglit them ; yet did 
 they receive the greatest harm themselves in 
 both cases. As for the stones they threw at 
 the Romans, tliey only made a sound one af. 
 ter 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 Ro- 
 mans, they became sufferers themselves be- 
 fore they could do any harm to the other, 
 and were drowned, they and their sliips toge- 
 ther. As for il'.ose that endeavoured to come 
 to an actual fight, the Ramans ran many of 
 them through with their long poles. Some- 
 times tlie 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 de- 
 stroyed at once tlieir ships and themselves 
 who were taken in them. And for such as 
 were drowning in the sea, if they lifted their 
 heads up above the wafer they were either 
 killed by darts, or caught by tlie vessels; 
 but if, in the desperate case tiiey wore 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, be- 
 ing put to flight, were forced to get upon the 
 land, while the vessels encompassed them 
 about [on the sea] : but as many of these 
 were repulsed when they wen; 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 sliores, they 
 were full of shipwrecks, and of dead bodies 
 all swelled ; and as the I'ead bodies were in- 
 flamed by the sun, and putrified, they cor- 
 rupted the air, insomuch that the misery was 
 not only the object of commiseration to tho 
 Jews, but to those that .';ateJ them, and had 
 been the authors of that misery. This was 
 the ups'iot of the sea-fight. Tlie number of 
 tile slain, including tho-.e that were killed in 
 the city before, was six thousand and five 
 hundred, 
 
 3 L 
 
674 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 10. After this figlit was over, Vespasian 
 sat upon his tribunal at Tarichcie, in order 
 to distinguish tlie foreigners from the old in- 
 habitants; for those foreigners appear to have 
 begun the war. So he deliberated with the 
 other commanders, wliether he ouglit to save 
 those old inhabitants or not, And when 
 those commanders alleged tiial the dismission 
 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 liabitations, 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 tliose that 
 gave them that leave. 13ut still he considered 
 with himself after what manner they sliould 
 be slain ;* for if lie had them slain tliere, 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 oH'er violence to them, after 
 he had given them assurances of their lives, 
 he could not himself bear to do it. How- 
 ever, his friends were too hard for him, and 
 pretended that nothing against Jews could be 
 any imi)iety, and that he ought to prefer w hat 
 was profitable before what was fit to be done, 
 where both could not be made consistent. 
 
 So he gave lliem an ambiguous liberty to do 
 as they advised, and permitted the prisoners 
 to go along no other road than that which 
 led to Tiberias only. So they readily be- 
 lieved what they desired to be true, and went 
 along securely, with their eflects, the way 
 which was allowed them, while the Romans 
 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 Ves- 
 pasian, 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 in number a thousand and 
 two hundred. Out of the young men he 
 chose six thousand of the strongest, and sent 
 them to Nero, to dig through the Isthmus, 
 and sold the remainder for slaves, being thirty 
 thousand and four hundred, besides such as 
 he made a present of to -Agrippa ; for as to 
 those that belonged to his kingdom, lie 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 
 Traclionites, and Gaulanites, and of Hippos, 
 and some of Gadara, the greatest part of 
 them were seditious persons and fugitives, 
 who wvTe of such shameful characters that 
 tliey preferred war before peace. These pri- 
 soners were taken on the eighth day of tlie 
 month Gorpiaeus ^ElulJ. 
 
 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 GAJIALA. 
 
 § I. Now all those Galileans who, after the tak- 
 ing of Jotapata, had revolted from the Ro- 
 mans, did, upon the conquest of Tariche*, 
 
 » This is the most cruel and barbarous action that 
 Vespasian ever did in t)Js whole war, as lie did it with 
 great reluctance also. It was done both after public 
 assurance given of sparing the piisoners' lives, and 
 when all knew and confessed that these prisoners were 
 no way guiltv of any sedition against the Romans. Nor 
 Indeed did Titus now give his consent, so lai as appears. 
 
 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, 
 
 nor ever act of himself so barbarously ; nay, soon after 
 this, Titus grew quite weary of shedciing blood and of 
 punishing the innocent with the guilty, and gave the 
 people of t.ischala leave to keep the Jewish Sabbath, 
 b. iv, ch. ii, sect. 3, 5, in the midst of their siege Nor 
 was \ espasiaii disposed to do what he did, lill his offi- 
 cers persuadMl him, and that from two principal topics, 
 viz. that nothing could be unjust that was done against 
 Jews ; and that w hen both cannot he consistent, advan- 
 tage must prevail over justice.— Admirable court doc- 
 trines these I 
 
CHAP. r. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 67j 
 
 which is a city over against Taricheae, but on 
 the other side of the hike, conspired with 
 them. This city lay upon the borders of A- 
 grippa's kingdom, as also did Sogana and Se- 
 leucia. And tiiese were both parts of Gau- 
 lanitis; for Sogana was a part of that called 
 the Upper Gaulanitis, as was Ganiala of the 
 Lower ; while Selcucia 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 oth- 
 er respects, is a delicious place, and hath such 
 fountains as supply water to what is called 
 Little Jordan, under the temple of the gold- 
 en calf,* where it is sent into Great Jordan. 
 Now Agrippa had united Sogana and Seleu- 
 cia by leagues to himself, at the very begin- 
 aing of the revolt from the Romans ; yet did 
 not Gamala accede to them, but relied 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 middle : where it begins 
 to ascend, it lengthens 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 country 
 do not pronounce it accurately. Both on the 
 side and the face there are abrupt parts di- 
 vided from the rest, and ending iu vast deep 
 valleys ; yet are the parts behind, where they 
 are joined to the mountain, somewhat easier 
 of ascent than the other ; but then the peo- 
 ple belonging to the place have cut an oblique 
 ditch there, and made that hard to be ascended 
 also. On its acclivity, which is straight, 
 bouses 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 soutliern 
 mount, which reaches to an immense height, 
 was in the nature of a citadel to the city ; 
 and above that was a precipice, 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. 
 
 2. 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 peo- 
 ple tliat were in it were made more bold by 
 the nature of the place than the people of Jo- 
 tapata had been, but it had much fewer fight- 
 ing men in it ; and they bad such a confidence 
 in the situation of the place, that they thought 
 the enemy could not be too many for them ; 
 for the city bad been filled with tliose that had 
 
 • Here we have the exact situation of one of Jerobo- 
 am's " golden calves," at the exit of Little Jordan, into 
 Great Jordan, near a place called Daphne, but of old 
 Dan. See the note on Antiq. b. viii, ch. viii, sect. 4. 
 But Keland suspec.s that even here weshoxijd read Dan 
 instead uf D;\phiie, there being nowliere else any men- 
 tion ot a place called Daphne hereaboucs. 
 
 fled to it for safety, or. account of its strength ; 
 on which account they had been able to resist 
 those whom Agrippa sent to besiege it foi 
 seven months together. 
 
 3. But Vespasian removed from Emmaus, 
 where he had last pitched his camp before the 
 city Tiberias (now Emmaus, if it be interpret- 
 ed, may be rendred "a warm bath," for there- 
 in is a spring of warm water, useful for heal- 
 ings and came to Gamala ; yet was its situa- 
 tion 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, according 
 to their usual custom, were fortifying theii 
 camp upon that inountain, he began to cast 
 up banks at the bottom, at the part towards 
 the east, where the higi est tower of the whole 
 city was, and where the fifteenth legion pitch- 
 ed their camp ; while the fifth legion did duty 
 over-against the midst of the city, and whilst 
 the tenth legion filled up the ditches aud 
 valleys. Now at this time it ivas that as king 
 Agrippa was come nigh the walls, and was en- 
 deavouring to speak to those that were on 
 tlie walls about a surrender, he was hit with 
 a stone on his right elbow by one of the sling- 
 ers ; he was then immediately surrounded 
 with his own men. But the Romans were 
 excited to set about the siege, by their indig- 
 nation on the king's account, and by their fear 
 on theirown account, as concluding that those 
 men would omit no kinds of barbarity against 
 foreigners and enemies, who were so enraged 
 against one of their own nation, and one that 
 advised them to nothing but what was for their 
 own advantage. 
 
 4. Now when the banks were finished, 
 which was done on the sudden, both by the 
 multitude of hands, and by their being ac- 
 customed to such work, they brought the 
 machines ; but Chares and Joseph, who were 
 the most potent men of the city, set their arm- 
 ed men in order, though already in a fright, 
 because they did not suppose that the ci:y 
 could hold oat long, since they had not a 
 sufficient quantity either of water, or of other 
 necessaries. However, these their leaders en- 
 couraged them, and brought them out upon 
 the wall, and for a while indeed they drove a- 
 way those that were bringing the machines ; 
 but when those machines threw darts and 
 stones at them, they retired into the city ; 
 then did the Romans bring battering rams to 
 three several places, and made 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 ar 
 raour, and 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 tlieir first entrance, and prevent- 
 ed their going any farther, and with great 
 courage beat them back ; and the Romans 
 
676 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 were so overpowered by the greater multi- 
 tude of tlie people, who beat them on every 
 side, that they were obliged to run into the 
 upper parts of the city. Whereupon the peo- 
 ple 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 difBculty of the place, 
 slew them; and as these Romans could neither 
 beat those back that were above them, nor es- 
 cape the force of their own men that were 
 forcing their way forward, they were compel- 
 led to fly into theirenemies' houses, which were 
 low ; but these houses being thus full of sol- 
 diers, whose weight they could not bear, fell 
 down suddenly ; and when one house fell, it 
 shook down a great many of those that were 
 
 from his youth, and recollecting his courage, 
 as if he had been excited by a divine fury, he 
 covca-ed himself and those that were witli him 
 with tlieir shields, and formed a testudo ovef 
 both their bodies and their armour, and bore 
 up against the enemy's attacks, who caine run- 
 ning 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 divme 
 courage that was within him, and remitted of 
 their attacks ; and when they pressed less 
 zealously upon him, he retired, thougli with- 
 out showing his back to them, till he was 
 gotten out of the walls of the city. Now a 
 great number of the Romans fell in this bat- 
 tle, among whom was Ebutius, the decurion, 
 
 under it, as did tiiose do to such as were un- a man who appeared not only in this engage- 
 
 der them. By this means a vast number of 
 the Romans perished ; for they were so ter- 
 ribly 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 sup- 
 posed this to be an assistance afforded them 
 by God, and without regarding what damage 
 they suffered themselves, they pressed forward, 
 and thrust the enemy upon the tops of their 
 houses ; and when they stumbled in the sharp 
 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 enow ; and for iron 
 weapons, the dead mea of the enemy's side 
 aflbrded them what they wanted ; for drawing 
 the swords of those that were dead, they made 
 use of them to dispatch such as were only half 
 dead ; nay, there were a great number who, 
 upon tlieir falling down from the tops 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 they 
 were so unacquainted with the ways, and the 
 dust was so thick, that they wandered about 
 without knowing one another, and fell dovvn 
 dead among the crowd. 
 
 5. Those therefore that were able to find 
 the ways out of the city retired. But now Ves- 
 pasian always staid among those that were 
 bard set ; for he was deeply affected with 
 seeing the ruins of the city falling upon his 
 army, and forgot to take care of his own pre- 
 servation. He went up gradually towards 
 the highest parts of the city before he was a- 
 ware, 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, for what had now happened, 
 having been then sent into Syria to Mucianus. 
 However, he thought it not safe to fly, nor 
 did he esteem it a fit thing for him to do ; 
 but calling to mind the actions he had done) of our disappointment. Upon reflectinjj 
 
 ment, wherein he fell, but everywhere, and 
 in former engagements, to be of the truest 
 courage, and one that had done very great 
 miscliief to the Jews. But there was a cen- 
 turion, whose name was Gall us, who, during 
 this disorder, being encompassed about, he 
 and ten other soldiers privately crept into the 
 house of a certain person, where he heard 
 them talking at supper what the people in- 
 tended 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. 
 
 6. 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 greatly asham- 
 ed that they had left their general alone ia 
 great dangers. As to what concerned him- 
 self, he avoided to say any thing, that he might 
 by no means seem to complain of it ; but he 
 said that " we ought to bear manfully what 
 usually falls out in war, and this, by consi- 
 dering what the nature of war is, and how it 
 can never be that we must conquer vvithout 
 bloodshed on our own side ; for there stands 
 about us that fortune which is of its own na- 
 ture mutable ; that while they had killed so 
 many ten thousands of the Jeus, 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 under misfortunes, that he may 
 continue in that temper, and cheerfully re- 
 cover what hath been lo-^t formerly ; and as 
 t was neither 
 owing to their own effeminacy nor to the va- 
 lour of the Jews, but the difficulty of the 
 place was the occasion of their advantage, and 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 677 
 
 which matter one might blame your zeal as 
 perfectly ungovernable ; for when the enemy 
 had retired to their highest fastnesses, you 
 ought to have restrained yourselves, and not, 
 by presenting yourselves at the top of the 
 city, to be exposed to dangers; but upon 
 your having obtained the lower parts of the 
 city, you ought to have provoked those that 
 had retired thither to a safe and settled bat- 
 tle ; whereas, in rushing so hastily upon vic- 
 tory, 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 cliiefly sup- 
 port themselves by. We ought therefore to 
 return to our own virtue, and to be rather 
 angry than any longer dejected at this unlucky 
 misfortune ; 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 a- 
 gainst your enemies in every engagement, 
 and to be the last that retires from it." 
 
 7. So Vespasian encouraged 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 unaccountable 
 success as they had had. But when they con- 
 sidered 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 preserva- 
 tion, 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 Romans raised their banks, and at- 
 tempted to get into the city a second time, a 
 great many of them fled out of the cit)' 
 through impracticable valleys, where no guards 
 were placed, as also through subterraneous 
 caverns ; while those that were afraid of being 
 caught, and for that reason staid in the city, 
 perished for want of food ; for what food they 
 had was brought together from all quarters, 
 and reserved for the fighting men. 
 
 8. And these were tlie hard circumstances 
 the people of Gaiaala 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 IMount Tabor, a 
 place that lies in the middle between the great 
 plain and Scythopolis, whose top is elevated 
 as high as thirty furlongs,* and is iiardly to 
 
 • These numbers in Josephus of thVtty furlongs' 
 ascent to the top of Mount Tal)or, whether we estimate 
 it bv wiuding and gradual, or by perpeudirular altitudcj 
 
 be ascended on its north side ; its top is a plain 
 of twenty-six furlongs, and all encompassed 
 with a wall. Now, Josephus erected tliis so 
 long a wall in forty days' time, and furnished 
 it with otlier materials, and with water from 
 below, for the inhabitants only made use of 
 rain water; as therefore there was a jrreat 
 multitude of people gotten together ujjon this 
 mountain, Vespasian sent Placidus, with sis 
 hundred 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 de- 
 sign, as well as he had the like treacherous 
 design upon them on the other side ; for Pla- 
 cidus spoke mildly to them, as aiming to take 
 them when he got them into the plain ; they 
 also came down, as complying with his pro- 
 posals, but it was in order to fall upon iiim 
 when he was not aware of it : however, Pla- 
 cidus's stratagem 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 Romans, he enticed them a great way 
 along the plain, and then made his iiorsemen 
 turn back ; whereupon he beat them, and slew 
 a great number of them, and cut off the re- 
 treat of the rest of the multitude, and hin- 
 dered 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 mountain and themselves to Placidus. 
 
 9. But of the people of Gamala, 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 daj of the 
 month Hyperberetaeus [Tisri], when three sol- 
 diers of the fifteenth legion, about the morn- 
 ing-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 un- 
 der it, did those that guarded it perceive them. 
 These soldiers then, upon their coming, avoid- 
 ed making a noise, and when they had rolled 
 away five of its strongest stones, they went 
 
 and of twenty-six furlongs' circumference upon the top, 
 as also fifteen furlongs for this ascent in Polybius, with 
 Gemmus's perpendicular altitude of almost fourtfcn 
 furlongs here noted by Dr. Hudson, do none of them 
 agree with the authentic testimony of Mr. Maundrel, 
 »n eye-witness ipage 112), who says he was not an hour 
 in getting up to the top of this Mount Tabor, and lliat 
 the area of the top is an oval of about two furlongs in 
 length, and one in breadth. So I rather suppose Jose- 
 phus wrote three furlongs for the ascent, or altitude, 
 instead of thirty ; and six furlongs for the circumfer- 
 ence at the top, instead of twenty-six, — since a moun- 
 tain of only three furlongs' perpendicular altitude may 
 easily require near an hour's ascent; and the circumfer- 
 ence of an oval of the foregoing quantity, is near six 
 furlongs. Nor certainly could such a vast circumfer- 
 ence as twenty-six furlongs, or tluee mile- and a quarter, 
 at that height be encompassed with a wall, including a 
 trench and other fortifications (perhaps those still re- 
 maining, ibui.) in the small interval of forty days, as 
 Josephus heie says they were by himself 
 
678 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 away hastily ; whereupon the tower fell down 
 on a sudden, with a great noiie, and its guard 
 fell headlong »itii it; so that those that kept 
 guard at other places, were under such dis- 
 turbance, that they ran away ; the Romans 
 also slew many of those that ventured to op- 
 pose 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 af- 
 frighted at the noise, they ran hitlierand thither, 
 and a great consternation fell upon them, as 
 though all the enemy had fallen in at once upon 
 them. Then it was that Chares, who was ill, and 
 under the physicians' hands, gave up the ghost, 
 the fear he was in greatly contributing to make 
 his distemper fatal to him. Bui the Romans 
 so well remembered their former ill success, 
 that they did i ot enter the city till the three- 
 and-tw-entieth day of the forementioned month. 
 10, At which time Titus, who was now re- 
 turned, out of the indignation he had at the 
 destruction t!ie Romans had undergone while 
 he was absent, took tw o hundred ciiosen horse- 
 men, and some footmen with hi;n, and enter- 
 ed without noise into the city. Now, as the 
 watch perceived tliat he was coming, they 
 made a noise, and betook themselves to their 
 arms ; and as this his entrance was presently 
 know n to those that were in the city, some of 
 them caught hold of their children and their 
 wives, and drew them after them, and fled a- 
 way to the citadel, w ith lameniaiions and cries, 
 wliile others of them went to meet Titus, and 
 were killed perpetuallj' ; but soir.any of them 
 as were hindered from running up to the cita- 
 del, not knowing what in the world to do, fell 
 among the Roman guards, while the groans 
 of those that were killed were prodigious- 
 ly great everj'where, and blood ran down 
 over all the lower parts of the city, from the 
 upper. But then Vespasian himself came to 
 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 ascent, and elevat- 
 ed to a vast altitude, and very full of people 
 on all sides, and encompassed with precipices, 
 whereby tlie 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 u|)on them, while they were them- 
 selves so high that the enemy's darts could 
 hardly reach thein. However, there arose 
 such a divine storm against them as was instru- 
 mental to their destruction ; this 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 [jrecipices, by 
 reason of the violence of the wind, having no- 
 thing that was stable to stand upon, nor coilid 
 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 as they were delivering 
 up themselves ; and the remembrance of those 
 that were slain at their former entrance into 
 thecity increased their rage against th.em now; 
 a great number also of those that were sur- 
 rounded on every side, and despaired of es- 
 caping, threw their children and their wives, 
 and themselves also, down the precipices, in- 
 to the valley beneath, which, near the citadel, 
 had been dug hollow to a vast depth ; but so it 
 happened, that the anger of the Romans ap- 
 peared not to be so extravagant as w.ns the 
 madness of those that were now taken, while 
 the Romans slew but four thousand, v\hereas 
 the number of those that had thrown them- 
 selves down was found to be five thousand : 
 nor did any one escape except two women, 
 who were the daughters of Philip, and Philip 
 himself was tiie son of a certain eminent man 
 called Jacinuis, v\ho h;id been general of king 
 Agiippa's army ; and these did therefore es- 
 cape, because they lay concealed from the right 
 of the Romans when the city was taken ; for 
 otherwise they spared not so much as the in- 
 fants, of whom many were flung down by 
 ihem from the citadel. And thus was Ga- 
 tnala taken on the tliree-and-twentieth day of 
 the month Hyperbereiaeus [Tisri , whereas the 
 city had first revolted on the four-and-twen- 
 tieth day of the month Gori;iaus [Elul], 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SURRENDEH OF THE SMALL CITY OF GIS- 
 CHALA ; JOHN" FLIES FROM IT TO JERUSA- 
 LEM. 
 
 § 1. 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 husbandmen, and always 
 applied themselves to cultivatv the fruits of 
 the earth. However, 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 distem- 
 per. Il was John, the son of a certain man 
 whose name was Levi, that drew them into 
 this rebellion, and encouraged them in it. 
 He was a cunning knave, and of a temper 
 that could put on various shapes ; very rash 
 m expecting great things, and very sagai;ious 
 in bringing about what he hoped for. It was 
 known to every body that he was fond of war, 
 in order to thrust himself into authority ; and 
 the seiiitious part of the people of Gischala 
 were under his management, by whose means 
 the populace, who seemed ready to send am- 
 bassadors in order to a surrender, waited for 
 the coming of the Romans in battle array. 
 Vespasian sent against them Titus, with a 
 thousand horsemen, but withdrew the tenth 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 679 
 
 tegion to Sc5'thopolis, while lie returned to 
 Cesarea, with the two other legions, that he 
 might allow them to refresh themselves after 
 their long anc! iiard campaign, thinking with- 
 al that the plenty which was in those cities 
 would improve their bodies and their spirits, 
 against the difficulties they were to go through 
 afterwards ; for he saw there would be occa- 
 sion for great pains about Jerusalem, wliich 
 was not yet taken, because it was the royal 
 city, and the principal city of the whole na- 
 tion ; and because those tliat had run away 
 from the war in otlier places got all together 
 thillier. 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. 
 
 2. 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 soldiers without 
 mercy. (Now he was already satiated with 
 the shedding of blood, and pitied the major 
 part, who would then perish, without distinc- 
 tion, 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 de- 
 pended on, when they alone staid 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 entrusted themselves to the se- 
 curity of the Romans' right hands, which he 
 now oH'ers to them, without regarding their 
 former insolence, do enjoy their own posses- 
 sions in safety ; for that while they had hopes 
 of recovering their liberty, tliey might be par- 
 doned ; but that their continuance still in 
 tlieir opposition, when they saw thai to be im- 
 possible, was inexcusable; for that, if they 
 will not comply with such humane offers, and 
 right hands for security, they should liave ex. 
 perience 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; iu depending on which, 
 they demonstrate themselves to be the only 
 Galileans that Mere no better than arrogant 
 slaves and captives. 
 
 3. Now none of the populace durst not 
 only make a reply, but durst not so much as 
 get upon the «all, for it was all taken up by 
 the robbers, who were also the gu^d at the 
 gates, in order to prevent any of the rest from | 
 
 going out, in order to propose terms of sub- 
 mission, and from receiving any of the liorsc- 
 men into the city. But John returned Titus 
 lliis answer, — That for himself he was content 
 to hearken to his projjosals, and that he would 
 either persuade or force those that refused 
 them. Yet he said, tliat Titus ought to have 
 such regard to the Jewish 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 
 Romans 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 law about that 
 day, would hi equally guilty with those that 
 were compelled to transgress it : and that 
 this delay could be of no advantage to him ; 
 for why should any body think of doing any 
 thing in the night, unless 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 inviol- 
 able. Thus did this man put a trick upon 
 Titus, not so much out of regard to the se- 
 venth 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 ihe work of God, who there- 
 fore preserved this John, that he might bring 
 on the destruction of Jerusalem ; as also it 
 was his work that Titus was prevailed with 
 by this pretence for a delay, and that he pitch- 
 ed 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 na- 
 tion. 
 
 4. 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 considerable 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 ot 
 being a captive, or of losing his life, yet did 
 he prevail 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 on his 
 journey, where those that were left behind 
 made sad lamentations ; for the farther every 
 one was come from his own people, the nearer 
 
G80 
 
 WARS OF THE JEAVS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 they thought theinsclves to be to their ene- 
 iriics. Ti:ey also afl'righted themselves with 
 this thought, lliat those vvli would carry them 
 into captivity were just at hand, and still turn- 
 ed 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 tliere 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 thtm to 
 save themselves, and fly away, prevailed. He 
 •jaid also, that if the Romans should seize 
 jpon those whom they left behind, they would 
 Be revenged en them for it. So this multi 
 tude that run thus away was dispersed abroad, 
 according as each of them was able to run, 
 one faster or slower than another. 
 
 5. ^iow 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 
 tliat had been their benefactor, and had deli, 
 vered the city out of custody ; they also in- 
 formed him of John's flight, and bebought 
 him to spare t!iem, and to come in and bring 
 the rest of those that were for innovations to 
 punishment ; but Titus, not so much regard- 
 ing the supplications of the people, sent part 
 of his horsemen to pursue after John, but 
 they could not overtake him, for he was got- 
 ten to Jerusalem before ; they also slew six 
 thousand of the women and children who 
 went otit with liim, but returned back and 
 brought with theni almost three thousand. 
 However, Titus was greatly displeased that 
 he had not been able to bring this John, who 
 had deluded him, to punishmeiit ; yet he had 
 captives enough, as well as the corrupted part 
 of the city, to satisfy his anger, when it miss- 
 ed of Jolm. So he entered the city in the 
 niidst of acclamations of joy ; and when he 
 liad given orde4-s to the soldiers to pull down 
 a small part of the wall, as of a city taken in 
 war, he repressed those that had disturbed the 
 city rather by threatenings than by executions; 
 for he thought that many would accuse inno- 
 cent persons, out of their own animosities and 
 quarrels, if he should attempt to distinguish 
 those that were worthy of punishment 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 a one might be taught pru- 
 dence, 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 tliat the punishment of such as have been 
 once put to death could never be retrieved. 
 
 However, he placed a garrison in the city for 
 its security, by w hich means lie should restrain 
 those that were for innovations, and should 
 leave those that were ptaceably (li>po>ed in 
 greater security. And thus « as all Galilee 
 taken ; but this not till after it had cost the 
 Romans much pains before it could be taken 
 by tliem. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONCERNING JOHN OF GISCHALA. CONCERN 
 ING THE ZEALOTS, AND THE HIGH PHI EST 
 ANANl'S ; AS ALSO HOW THE JEWS RAISED 
 SEDITIONS ONE AGAINST ANOTHER [iN JE- 
 RUSALEM]. 
 
 § 1. Now, upon John's entry into Jerusa- 
 lem, the whole body of the people were in an 
 uproar, and ten thousand of them crowded 
 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 big under their 
 misfortunes, and pretended to say that they 
 had not fled away from the Romans, but 
 came thither in order 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 j-e 
 serve it for their metropolis. But when thej 
 related to them the taking of Gischala, and 
 their decent departure, as they pretended, 
 from tliat place, many of the people under- 
 stood 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 indications that they should be taken 
 also ; but for John, he was very little concern- 
 ed for those «homhehad left behind him, 
 but went about among all the people, and 
 persuaded them to go to war, by the hopes 
 he gave them. He affirmed that the affairs 
 of the Romans were in a weak condition, and 
 extolled his own power. He also jested up- 
 on the ignorance of the unskilful, as if those 
 Romans, although they should take to them- 
 selves wings, could never fly over the wall of 
 Jerusalem, who found such great difficulties 
 in taking the villages of Galilee, and had 
 broken their engines of war against their 
 walls. 
 
 2. These harangues of John's corrui)ted 3 
 great part of the young men, and pufl'ed 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 tlw 
 
 , - r 
 
J' 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 city was already undone, and in this confu- 
 sion were the people; but then it must be 
 observed, that the multitude that came out of 
 the country were at discord before the Jeru- 
 salem sedition began ; for Titus went from 
 Gischala to Cesarea ; and Vespasian from 
 Cesarea to Jamniaand Azotus, and took them 
 both ; and when he had put garrisons into 
 them he came back with a great number of 
 the people, wlio were come over to dim, upon 
 his giving tliem his right hand for their pre- 
 servation. There were besides disorders 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 
 cauglithold of private families, who could not 
 agree among tiiemselves ; after which those 
 people 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 everywhere, while those that 
 were for innovations, and were desirous of 
 war, by their youth and boldness, were too 
 hard for the aged and the prudent men ; and, 
 in the first place, all the people of every 
 place betook themselves to rapine ; after 
 which tiiey got together in bodies, in order to 
 rob the peoi)le of the country, insomuch that 
 for barbarity and iniquity those of the same 
 natiiin did no way differ from the Romans ; 
 nay, it seemed to be a much lighter thing to 
 be ruined by the Romans than by themselves. 
 
 3. Now the Roman garrisons, which guard- 
 ed the cities, partly out of their uneasiness to 
 take such trouble upon them, and partly out 
 of the hatred lliey bare to tiie Jewish nation, 
 did little or nothing towards relieving t!ie 
 miserable, till the captains 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 toge- 
 ther crept into Jerusalem, which was now be- 
 come a city without a governor, and, as the 
 ancient custom was, received without distinc- 
 tion 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 as- 
 sistance, although these very men, besides the 
 leditions they raised, were otherwise the di 
 rect cause of the city's destruction also \ for 
 as they were an unprofitable and a useless 
 multitude, they spent those provisions be- 
 forehand, which might otherwise have been 
 sufficient for the fighting men. Mori.>over, 
 besiiies the bringing on of th.e war, they were 
 the occasion of sedition and famine therein. 
 
 4. There were, besides these, other robbers 
 that came out of the country, and came into 
 the city, and joining to them those that were 
 
 '"\__ . . 
 
 WARS OF TIIE JEWS. 
 
 6b 1 
 
 worse than themselves, omitted no kind of 
 barbarity ; for they did not measure their 
 courage by their rapines and plunderings on 
 ly, but proceeded as far as murdering men, 
 and this not in the niglit-time or privately, or 
 with regard to ordinary men, but did it open- 
 ly in the day-time, and began witli the most 
 eminent persons in the city ; for the first man 
 they meddled with was Aniipas, one of the 
 royal lineage, and the most potent man in the 
 whole city, insomuch that the public trea- 
 sures 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 Ilaguol ; both 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 consterna- 
 tion among the people ; and every one con- 
 tented himself with taking care of his own 
 safety, as they would do if the city had been 
 taken in war. 
 
 5. But these were not satisfied with the 
 bonds into which they had put the men fore- 
 mentioned ; nor did they think it safe for 
 them to keep them thus in custody long, since 
 they were men very powerful, and had nume- 
 rous families of their own that were able to 
 avenge them. Nay, they thought the very 
 people would perhaps be so moved at these 
 unjust proceedings, 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 tliem all, to 
 do that execution : this man was also called 
 " the son of Doroas,*" 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 lying 
 pretence these men made for so flagrant an 
 enormity was this, that these men liad liad 
 conferences 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 benefac- 
 tors and saviours of the city. 
 
 6. Now, the people were come to that degree 
 of meanness and fear, and tliese robbers to that 
 degree of madness, that these last took upon 
 them to appoint high priests. -j- So wlien they 
 
 » This name Dorcas in Greek, was Tabitha in He- 
 brew or Syriac, as Acts ix, .36. Accordingly, some of 
 the manuscripts set it down here Tabetha or Tabeta. 
 Nor can tlie context in Josepiius be made out but by 
 supposing the reading to have been this : *' i he son of 
 Tabitha ; which, in tlie language of our country, de- 
 notes Dorcas," [or a doe]. 
 
 \ Here we may discover the utter disgrace and rum 
 of the high-priesthood among the Jews, when unile- 
 serving, ignoble, and vile persons were advanced to that 
 office Tiy the seditious ; which sort of high-priests, as 
 Josephus well remarks here, were thereupon obliged to 
 comply with and assist those that advanced them in 
 their impious practices. The names of these high- 
 priests, or rather ridiculous and profane persons, wcra 
 Jesus the son ol Damneus, Jesus the son of Gtmailiol, 
 
 Y~ 
 
6b-2 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 had disannulled the succession, according to 
 those families out of whom the high-pr'Vsts 
 used to be made, they ordained certain un- 
 known and ignoble persons for that office, 
 that they might have tlieir assistance in their 
 wicked undertakings; for sucii as obtained this 
 highest of all honours, without any desert, 
 were forced to comply with those tJiat bestow- 
 ed 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 tliey pleased, 
 by the mutual quarrels of those who might 
 have obstructed their measures ; till at length, 
 when they were satiated with the unjust ac- 
 tions they had done towards men, they trans- 
 ferred their contumelious behaviour to God 
 himself, and came into the sanctuary with 
 polluted feet. 
 
 7. And now the multitude were going to 
 rise against them already; for Ananus, the 
 ancientcst of ttie high -priests, persuaded them 
 to it. He was a very prudent man, and had 
 perhaps saved the city if he could but have es- 
 caped the hands of those that plotted against 
 him. Those men made the temple of God 
 a strong hold for them, and a place whither 
 they might resort, in order to avoid the trou- 
 bles they feared from the people; the sanctu- 
 ary was now become a refuge, and a shop of 
 tyranny. Tliey also mixed jesting among the 
 miseries they introduced, which was more in- 
 tolerable than what they did; for, in order to 
 try what surjjrise the people would be under, 
 and iiow far their own power extended, they 
 undertook to dispose of the high priesthood 
 by casting lots for it, whereas, as we have said 
 already, it was to descend by succession in a 
 family. The pretence they made for this 
 strange attempt was an ancient practice, while 
 they said that of old it was determined by lot ; 
 but in truth, it was no better than a dissolu- 
 tion of an undeniable law, and a cunning con- 
 trivance to seize upon the government, derived 
 from tliose that presumed to appoint gover- 
 nors as they themselves pleased. 
 
 8. 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 maimer, for it 
 fell upon one whose name was Phannias, the 
 Bon of Samuel, of the village Aphtha. He 
 w as a man not only unworthy of the high- 
 priesthood, but that did not well know what 
 the high-priesthood was; such a mere rustic 
 
 Matthias the son of Theophilus, and that prodigious 
 ignoraimis Pliannias, tlie son of L-amuel ; all whoin we 
 slidll meet with in Josephus's future history of this war ; 
 nor do we meet with any other so much as pretended 
 high-priests after Phaimias, tUlJerusalem was taken and 
 destroyed. 
 
 * this tribe or course of the high-priests, or priests 
 here called Eniachim, seems to the learned Mr. Lowth, 
 one well versed in Josephus, to be that m 1 Chron. xxiv, 
 12, " the course of Jakim," where some copies have 
 " the course of Eliakim ;" and I think tlii; to be by no 
 means an improbable coniecttuc. 
 
 I 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 stige, and 
 adorned him witli a counterfeit face ; tliey al- 
 so put upon liim the sacred garments, and 
 upon every occasion instructed him what he 
 was to do. This horrid piece of wickedness 
 was sport and pastime with them, but occa- 
 sioned 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. 
 
 9. And now the people could no longer 
 bear the insolence of this procedure, but did 
 altogether run zealously, in order to over- 
 throw that tyranny ; and indeed they were 
 Gorian the son of Josephus, and Symcon the 
 son of Gamaliel,! who encouraged them, by 
 going up and down when they .vere assem- 
 bled together in crowds, and as they saw them 
 alone, to bear no longer, but to inflict punish- 
 ment upon these pests and plagues of their 
 fieedom, and to purge the temple of these 
 bloody polluters of it. The best esteemed 
 also of the high-priests, Jesus the son of Ga- 
 mala, and Ananus the son of Ananus, when 
 they were at their assemblies, bitterly reproach- 
 ed 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 them 
 beyond the example of others. 
 
 10. And now, when the multitude were 
 gotten together to an assembly, and every one 
 was in indignation at these men's seizing up- 
 on the sanctuary, at their rapine and murders, 
 but had not yet begun their attacks upon them 
 (the reason of which was this, that they ima- 
 gined 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, — " Cer- 
 tainly, it had been good for me to die before 
 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 blood-shedding 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 ain but too fond of living, and can- 
 not enduie 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 
 
 t This Symeon, the son of Gamaliel, is mentioned 
 as the president of the Jewish sanliedrim, and one that 
 perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, by the Jewish 
 rabbins, as Keland observes on this place. He also tells 
 us that those rabbins mention one Jesus the sou of tja- 
 mala, as once a high-priest, — but this long before the 
 destruction of Jerusalem ; so that if he were tlie same 
 person with this Jesus the son of Gamala, in Josephus, 
 he must have lived to l)e very old, or they have been 
 verv bad chronolo^ers. 
 
 "V 
 
 y 
 
J'^ 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEV/S. 
 
 683 
 
 for God's sake ; for to what purpose is it to 
 live among a people insensible of their cala- 
 mities, and where there is no notion remaining 
 of any remedy for the miseries that are upon 
 tbem ? 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 ! O bitter tyranny that we are under ! 
 But why do I complain of tlie tyrants ? Wus 
 it not you, an-d your sufferance of them, that 
 have nourished them ? Was it not you that 
 overlooked those tliat first of all got together, 
 for they were then but a few, and by your 
 silence made them grow to be n)any ; and by 
 conniving at them when they took arms, in 
 effect armed them against yourselves ? You 
 ought to have then prevented their first at- 
 tempts, when they fell a reproaching your re- 
 lations; but by neglecting that care in time, 
 you have encouraged these wretches to plun- 
 der 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 tlie city, nobody came to their assistance. 
 They then proceeded to put those whom you 
 bad 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 were such as were accused by 
 none, and condemned by none ; and since no- 
 bodj succoured them when they were in bonds, 
 tlie consequence was, that you saw the same 
 persons slain. We have seen this also j so 
 that still the best of the herd of brute ani- 
 mals, as it w^ere, have been still led to be sa- 
 crificed, when yet nobody said one word, or 
 moved his right hand for their preservation. 
 Will you bear, therefore, — will you bear to 
 see your sanctuary trampled on ? and will 
 vou lay steps for these profane wretciies, up- 
 on which 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, 
 thougli 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 ? 
 O 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 tht>se 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 honoura- 
 ble and most natural of our passions utterly 
 lost, I mean the desire of liberty ? 'J'ruly, 
 we are in love wiih slavery, and in love with 
 those that lord it over us, as if we had receiv- 
 ed that principle of subjection from our an- 
 cestors ! yet did they undergo many and 
 great wars for the sake of liberty, nor were 
 they so far overcome by the power of the 
 Egyptians, or the iMedes, but that they still did 
 what they thought fit, notwithstanding their 
 commands to the contrary. And what occa- 
 sion is there now for a war with the Romans? 
 (I meddle not with determining 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 sub- 
 mission to foreigners may be borne, because 
 fortune hath already doomed us to it, while 
 submission to wicked people of our own na- 
 tion 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 consider- 
 ably ; — it is this, that though we should be 
 taken by them (God forbid the event should 
 be so !) yet can we undergo nothing that will 
 be harder to be borne than what these 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 me- 
 tropolis, and slaughtering our men, from 
 which enormities those Romans themselves 
 would have abstained ? to see those Romans 
 never going beyond the bounds allotted to pro- 
 fane persons, nor venturing to break in upon 
 any of our sacred customs ; nay, having hor- 
 ror on their minds when they view at a dis- 
 tance 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 hands are still warm with 
 the slaughter of their own countrymen. Be- 
 sides, can any one be afraid of a war abroad, 
 and that with such as will have comparatively 
 much greater moderation 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 supporters 
 of our laws, and those within ourselves the 
 subverters of them. And now I am persuad- 
 ed that every one of you here comes satisfied 
 before I speak, that these overthrowers of oui 
 liberties deserve to be destroved' and that no 
 
 "V 
 
684, 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 body can so much as devise a punishment that 
 tliey have not deserved by what llity have 
 done, and that you are all provoked ajjainst 
 them by those tlieir v\icked actions, whence 
 you have suffered so greatly. But perhaps 
 many of you are afT'righted at the riiultiiude 
 of those zealots, and at their audaciousness, 
 as well as at the advantage they have over us 
 in their being higher in place than we are; 
 for these circumstances, as they have hern 
 occasioned by your negligence, so will they be- 
 come still greater by being still loner ne- 
 glected; for iheirniullitude is every day aug- 
 mented, by every ill man's running away to 
 those that are like to themselves, anl tiicir 
 audaciousness is therefore inHamed, 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 lieight 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 a rigiit thing, if there sh.ould he 
 any danger in the attempt, to die before 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 my body neither." 
 
 1!. By these motives Ananus encouraged 
 the multitude to go against the zealots, ak 
 though he knew how difficult it would be to 
 disperse them, because of their multitude, 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. How- 
 ever, Ananus resolved to undergo whatever 
 sufferings 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 dis- 
 posed to run any hazard whatsoever on that 
 account. 
 
 12. Now while Ananus was choosing out 
 his men, and putting those that were proper 
 for his purpose in array for fighting, the zea- 
 lots got information of his undertaking (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 v.-ere 
 more numerous indeed than the zealots, but 
 inferior to them in arms, because they had 
 not been regularly put into array for fighting : 
 but the alacrity that every body sho«ed, sup- 
 plied all their defects on both sides, the citi- 
 zens taking up so great a passion as was 
 stronger than arms, and deriving a degree of 
 courage from the temple, more forcible than 
 any n)ultitnde whatsoever; and indeed these 
 citizens thought it was not possible for them 
 to dwell in tl'.e city, unless they could cut off 
 the robbfrs that were in it. The zealots also 
 thought that unless they prevailed, 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 before the teinple, and threw their jave- 
 lins at a distance ; but when either of them 
 were too hard for the other, they made use of 
 their swords ; and great slaughter was made 
 on both sides, and a great number were 
 wounded. As for the dead bodies of the 
 people, their relations carried them out to 
 their own houses ; but when any of the zeal- 
 ots were wounded, he went up into the tem- 
 ple, and defiled that sacred floor with his 
 blood, insomuch that one may say it was their 
 blood alone that polluted our sanctuary. Now 
 in these conflicts the robbers always sallied 
 out of the temple, and were too hara for their 
 enemies; but the populace grew very angry, 
 and became more and more numerous, and 
 reproached those that gave back, and those 
 behind would not afford room to those that 
 were going olT', 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 af- 
 frighted the robbers, 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 tit to make any attack 
 against the holy gates, although the other 
 threw their stones and darts at them from 
 above. He also deemed it unlawful to intro- 
 duce the multitude into that court before they 
 were purified ; he therefore chose out of them 
 all by lot, six thousand armed men, and plac- 
 ed them as guards in the cloisters; so there 
 was a succession of such guards one after ano- 
 
 * It is wortfi noting here, that this Ananus, the best 
 of the Jews at tliis tnne, and the high-priest, who was 
 so very uneasy at the profanation of the Jewish courts 
 of the temple by the zealots, dkl not however scruple 
 the profanation of the •' court of the Centiles;" as in 
 our Saviour's days it was very muih profaned by the 
 Jews, and madea markel-place, jiay, a " den of thieves." 
 without scruple, Mat. xxi, 12, 1.) ; Mark xi, I."), 16, 1 / 
 Accoidingly Jiisephus himself, when he speaks of the 
 two inner courts, calls them both iiyix, or holy plaas i 
 but, so far as I remenil)er, never gives that character of 
 the court of the Gentiles. See b. v, ch. ix, icct. 2. 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 685 
 
 ther, and every one was forced to attend in 
 liis course; although many of the chief of the 
 city were dismissed by those that then took on 
 them the government, upon tht'ir hiring some 
 of the poorer sort, and sending them to keep 
 the guard in their stead. 
 
 13. Now it was John who, as we told you, 
 ran away from Gischaa, and was the occa- 
 sion of all these being destroyed. He was a 
 man of great craft, and bore about him in his 
 soul a strong passion after tyranny, 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 all about with 
 Ananus when he consulted the gieat men 
 every day, and in the night-time also when he 
 went round the watch ; but he divulged their 
 secrets to tlie zealots ; and every thing that the 
 people deliberated about was by his means 
 known to their enemies, even before it had been 
 well ngreed 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 people ; yet did this overdoing 
 of his turn against him, for he flattered 
 them so extravagantly, that he was but :fcc 
 more suspected ; and his constant attendance 
 everywhere, even when he was not invited to 
 oe present, made him strongly suspected of 
 betraying their secrets to the enemy ; for they 
 plainly perceived that they understood all the 
 resolutions taken against them at their con- 
 sultations. Nor was there any one whom 
 they had so much reason to suspect of that 
 discovery as this John ; yet was it not easy 
 .o get quit of him, so potent was he grown 
 by his wicked practices. He was also sup- 
 ported by many of those eminent men, who 
 were to be consulted upon all considerable 
 affairs; it w'as 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 not betray any of 
 their counsels or practices to their enemies, 
 and would assist them in overthrowing those 
 that attacked tliem, 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 farther suspicion ; 
 nay, so far did they believe him, that they 
 sent him as their ambassador into the temple 
 to the zealots, with proposals of accommoda- 
 tion ; for they v/ere very desirous to avoid the 
 pollution of the temple as much as they pos- 
 sibly could, and that no one of their nation 
 jhould be slain therein. 
 
 14. But now this John, as if his oath had 
 been made to the zealots, and for confirmation 
 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 tliat both he 
 and they siiould be cast into tlie most immi- 
 nent danger, unless some providential assist- 
 ance 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 ac- 
 count, 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 
 figlit against so many enemies. He added 
 farther, that it was by the providence of God 
 he was himself sent as an ambassador to them 
 for an accommodation ; for that Ananus did 
 therefore offer them such proposals, that 
 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 their lives, 
 or to provide some foreign assistance for them- 
 selves ; that if they fostered themselves with 
 the hopes of pardon, in case they were sub- 
 dued, 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 injuries, though 
 they pretend to repent of them, are frequent- 
 ly hated by the others for that sort of repent- 
 ance ; and that the sufferers, when tliey get 
 the power into their hands, are usually still 
 more severe u43on the actors ; that the friends 
 and kindred of those that had been destroyed 
 would ahvay be laying plots against them, and 
 that a large body of people were very angry 
 on account of their gross breaches of their 
 laws and [illegal] judicatures, insomuch that 
 although some part might commiserate tliem 
 those would be quite overborne by the ma- 
 jority. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE IDUJIEANS BEING SENT FOR BY THE ZEA- 
 LOTS, CAME IMJIEUIATELY TO JERUSALEM; 
 AND WHEN THEY WERE EXCLUDED OUT OF 
 THE CITY, THEY LAY ALL NIGHT THERE. JE- 
 SUS, ONE OF THE HIGH-PRIESTS, MAKES A 
 SPEECH TO THEM ; AND SIMON THE IDUMEAN 
 MAKES A REPLY TO IT. 
 
 § 1. Now, by this crafty speech, John made 
 the zealots afraid ; yet durst he not directly 
 name what foreign assistance he meant, but 
 in a covert way only intimated at the Tilu- 
 means ; but now that he might particular- 
 ly irritate the leaders of the zealots, he ca- 
 lumniated Ananus, that he was about a 
 
J' 
 
 686 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 piece of barbarity, and did in a special man- 
 ner tiireaten tliem. These leaders were Elea- 
 zar, the son of Simon, who seemed the most 
 plausible man of them all, both in consider- 
 ing what was fit to be done, and in the ex- 
 ecution of what he had determined upon, 
 and Zacharias, the son of Plialek ; both 
 of whom derived their families from the 
 priests. Now, when these two men had heard, 
 not only the common threatenings which be- 
 longed to them all, but those peculiarly le- 
 velled against themselves ; and besides, how 
 Ananus and his party, in order to secure their 
 own dominion, had invited the Romans to 
 come to them, for that also was part of Jolin's 
 lie, they hesitated a great while what tiiey 
 should do, considering the shortness of the 
 time by which tiiey were straitened ; because 
 the people were prepared to attack them very 
 soon, and because the suddenness of the plot 
 laid against tlieni had almost cut ott' their hopes 
 of gettingany foreign assistance; fortheymight 
 be under the height of their atHiclions be- 
 fore any of their confederates could be in- 
 formed of it. However, it was resolved to 
 call in the Idumeans ; so tliey wrote a short 
 letter to this effect : — That Ananus had im- 
 posed on the people, and was betraying their 
 metropolis to the Romans ; that they them- 
 selves had revolted from the rest, and were in 
 custody in the temple, on account of the pre- 
 servation of their liberty ; tiiat there was but 
 a sinall time left, wlierein they might hope 
 for their deliverance ; and tliat unless they 
 would come immediately to their assistance, 
 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 circum- 
 stances to the rulers of the Idumeans. Now, 
 there were two active men proposed for the 
 carrj ing of this message, and such as were well 
 able to speak, and to persuade them that 
 things were in this posture, and, what was a 
 qualilication still more necessary than the for- 
 mer, they were very swift of loot; for they 
 knew well enough that these would imme- 
 diately comply with their desires, as being 
 ever a tumultuous and disorderly nation, al- 
 ways on the watch upon every motion, de- 
 .ighting in mutations; and upon your flaiter- 
 in'f them ever so little, and petitioning them, 
 '.■hey soon take their arms, and put themselves 
 into motion, and make haste to a battle, as if 
 it were to a feast. Tliere was indeed occa- 
 sion for quick dispatch in the carrying of this 
 message; in whicii point the messengers were 
 no way defective. Both their names were 
 Ananias ; and they soon came to the rulers of 
 the Idumeans. 
 
 2. Now, these rulers were greatly surprised 
 at the contents of the letter, and at what those 
 that came with it further told them ; where- 
 upon they ran about the nation like madmen, 
 and made proclamation that the people should 
 
 coine to war; so a multitude was suddenly 
 got together, sooner indeed than the time 
 appointed in the proclamation, and every 
 body caught up their arms, in order to main- 
 tain the liberty of tlieir metropolis ; and twen- 
 ty thousand of them were put into battle- 
 array, and came to Jerusalein, under four 
 commanders, John, and Jacob the son ot 
 Sosas ; and besides these were Simon, the 
 son of Cathlas, and Phineas, the son of Clus- 
 othus. 
 
 3. 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 gales to be shut against 
 them, and that the walls should be guarded. 
 Yet did not he by any means think of fight- 
 ing 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 in none 
 of them have I so much wondered at her for- 
 tune 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 hard- 
 ly put on the like, in case our metropolis had 
 called you to her assistance against barbari- 
 ans ; and if I had perceived that your army 
 was cotnposed of men like unto those who 
 invited them, I had not deemed your attempt 
 so absurd ; for nothing does so much cement 
 the mine's of inen together as the alliance 
 there is between their manners ; but now for 
 ihese men who have invited you, if you were 
 to examine them one by one, every one ot 
 them would be found to have deserved ten 
 thousand deaths ; for the very rascality and 
 ofFscouring of the whole country, who have 
 spent in debauchery 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 arc robbers, who 
 by their prodigious wickedness have profaned 
 this most sacred floor, and who are to be now 
 seen drinking tiiemselves drunk in the sanctu. 
 ary, and expending the spoils of those whom 
 they have slaughtered upon their unsatiable 
 belh'es. As for the muliitude that is with 
 you, one may see thein so decently adorned 
 in their armour, as it would become them to 
 be, had their metropolis called them to her 
 assistance against foreigners. W'hat can a 
 man call this procedure of yours but the sport 
 of fortune, when he sees a whole nation com- 
 ing to protect a sink of wicked wretches? I 
 have for a good while been in doubt what it 
 could possibly be that should move you to do 
 this so suddenly ; because certaiidj' you would 
 
CHAP IV. 
 
 WAllS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 687 
 
 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 so do- 
 ing ; but we have an item 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 liber. 
 ty, and on that account the best disposed to 
 fight against foreign enemies, but by framing 
 a tale as if we were going to betray that most 
 desirable thing, liberty. But you ought to 
 consider what sort of people they are that 
 raise this calumny, and against what sort of 
 people that calumny 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 ourselves 
 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 Remans, if we were desir- 
 ous of it, now they have subdued Galilee, and 
 are thereby become proud and insolent ; and 
 to endeavour to please them at the time when 
 lliey are so near us, would bring such a reproach 
 upon us as were worse than 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 in captivity under them. But farther, 
 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 iriends 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 ? 
 Are they in possession of our letters ? How 
 
 must have dissented from the rest of the as 
 sembly : in which case the pubJic 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 am- 
 bassadors 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 sucli 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 betray- 
 ed into its enemies' hands, no other than these 
 men that accuse us falsely could have the im- 
 pudence 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 already 
 with your arms ; it is your duty, in the first 
 place, to be assisting to your metropolis, and 
 to join with us in cutting off those tyrants 
 that have infringed the rules of our regular 
 tribunals, that have trampled upon our laws, 
 and made their swords the arbitrators of 
 right and wrong ; for they have seized up- 
 on men of great eminence, 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 tlie 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 relations ; as also you may hear 
 their groans and lamentations all tlie city over ; 
 for there is nobody but liath tasted of the in- 
 cursions of these profane wretches, who have 
 proceeded to that degree of madness, as not 
 only to have tansferred their impudent rob- 
 beries out of the country, and the remote 
 cities, into this city, the very face and head ot 
 the whole nation, but out of the city into the 
 temple also ; for that is now made their re- 
 ceptacle and refuge, and the fountain-head 
 whence their preparations are made against 
 us. And this place, which is adored by the 
 
 could we be concealed from such a vast num- ! habitable world, and honoured by such as on- 
 ber of our fellow citizens, among whom we \ ly know it by report, as far as the ends of the 
 are conversant every hour, while what is done ! earth, is trampled upon by these vvild beast? 
 privately in the country is, it seems, known j born among ourselves. They now triumph 
 by the zealots, who are but few in number, and in the desjierate condition they are already in, 
 under confinement also, and are not able to when they hear that one people is going to 
 
 fight against another people, and one city 
 against another city, and that your nation 
 hath gotten an army togetiier against its own 
 bowels. Instead of which procedure, it were 
 highly fit and reasonable, as I said before, for 
 you to join with us in cutting off' these 
 traitors. But if they lay this charge against I wretches, and in particular to be revenged on 
 the people, this must have been dsne at a I them for putting this very cheat upon you; 
 public consultation, and not one of the people j I mean, for having the impudence to invite 
 
 come out of the temple into the city ! Is this 
 the first time that they are become sensible 
 how they ought to be punished for their in- 
 solent actions ! For while these men were 
 free from the fear they are now under, there 
 was no suspicion raised that any of us were 
 
()88 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 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 ene- 
 mies, and so become judges in this case. How- 
 ever, consider what these men will gain by 
 being called into judgment before you, for 
 such undeniable and such flagrant crimes, who 
 would not vouchsafe to hear such as had no 
 accusations laid against them to si)eak 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 
 vou let us both alone, and neither insult up- 
 on our calaiTiities, nor abide with these plot- 
 ters against their metropolis ; for though you 
 sliould have ever so great a suspicion that 
 some of us have discoursed with the Romans, 
 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, tlien to 
 come and defend your metropolis, and to in- 
 flict punishment on those that are found guil- 
 ty ; for the enemy cannot prevent you who 
 are so near to the city. But if, after all, none 
 of these proposals seem acceptable and mo- 
 derate, do not you wonder that the gates are 
 sluit against you, while you bear your arms 
 about you." 
 
 4. Thus spake Jesus ; yet did not the mul- 
 titude of the Idumeans give any attention to 
 what he said, but were in a rage, because they 
 did not meet with a ready entrance into the 
 city. The generals also had indignation at 
 tlie offer of laying down their arms, and look- 
 ed upon it as equal to a captivity to throw 
 tliem aw'ay at any man's injunction whomso- 
 ever. But Simon, the son of Cathlas, one of 
 tJieir commanders, with much ado quieted the 
 tumult of his own men, and stood so tliat the 
 high-priests might hear him, and said as fol- 
 lows : — '•' I can no longer wonder that the pa- 
 trons of liberty are under custody in the tem- 
 ple, since there are those that shut the gates 
 of our commo-n city * to their own nation, 
 and at the same time are prepared to admit 
 die Romans into it ; nay, ptrhnps, are dispos- 
 ed to crown the gates with garlands at their 
 coming, while they speak to tlie Iduineans 
 from their own towers, and enjoin them to 
 throw down their arms whicli they have taken 
 up for the preservation of its liberty ; and 
 while they v,'ill not intrust the guard of our 
 
 « This appellation of Jerusalem given it here by Si- 
 mon, the general of tht- Idumeans, " tlio common city" 
 of tlie Idumeans, who were proselytes of justice, a^ well 
 as of the original naive Jew=, gicatly co firms that 
 maxim of the rabbins, here set down by Iceland, that 
 " Jerusalem was not ass gned, or appropriated, to the 
 tribe of Benjamin or Jiidah, but every tribe had equal 
 right to it [at their coming to worship there at the se- 
 veral festivals]." bee a little before, cii. iii, sect ^ 
 
 metropolis to their kinJrecf, profess to make 
 them judges of the difierences that are among 
 them ; nay, while they accuse some men of 
 having slain others without a legal trial, they 
 do themselves condemn a wliole nation, after 
 an ignominious 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 be- 
 tray. You have probably been guilty of the 
 like crimes against those whom you keep in 
 custody, and have, I suppose, collected toge- 
 ther the like plausible pretences against them 
 also that you make use of against us ; after 
 which you have gotten the mastery of those 
 within the teinple, and keep theiu in custody, 
 while they are only taking care of the public 
 affairs. You have also shut tlie gates of the 
 city in general against nations that are the 
 most nearly related to you ; and while you 
 give such injurious commands to otliers, you 
 complain that you have been tyrannized over 
 by them, and fix the name of unjust gover- 
 nors 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 mean 
 this, that those Idumeans do now exclude you 
 out of our metropolis, whom you exclude 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 ac- 
 cusations, 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 merciful than 
 the public necessity required, we that are Idu- 
 means 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 theiu from 
 within. Here will we abide before the walls 
 in our armour, until either the Romans grow 
 weary in wailing for you, or you become 
 friends to liberty, and repent of what you 
 have done against it." 
 
 5. 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 tiieirs to sujjport them, they were 
 in doubt about the matter, and many of them 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 repented that tliey had come thither. But the 
 shame that would attend them in case tliey 
 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 pro- 
 digious storm in the night, with the utmost 
 violence, and very strong winds, with the 
 largest showers of rain, with continual light- 
 nings, terrible thunderings, and amazing con- 
 cussions and bellowings of the earth, that was 
 in an earthquake. These things were a ma- 
 nifest indication 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. 
 
 6. Now the opinion of the Idumeans and 
 of the citizens was one and the same. The 
 Idumeans thought that God was angry at their 
 taking arms, and that they would not escape 
 punishment for their making war upon their 
 metropolis. Ananus 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 unit- 
 ing their bodies into one band, and thereby 
 kept themselves warm, and connecting 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 as- 
 sisting them. The hotter sort of them thought 
 it best to force their guards with their arms, 
 and after that to fall into the midst of the ci- 
 ty^ 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, espe- 
 cially as the greater part of them were un- 
 armed 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 under- 
 taking, it became them to suffer any thing 
 whatsoever themselves, rather than to over- 
 look so great a multitude as were miserably 
 perishing on their account. But the more 
 prudent part of them disapproved of this for- 
 cible method, because they saw not only the 
 gijards about them very numerous, but the 
 vails of the city itself carefully watched, by 
 reason of the Idumeans. They also supposed 
 that Ananus would be everywhere, and visit 
 the guards every hour ; which indeed was 
 done upon other niglits, but was omitted that 
 night, not by reason of any slothfuhiess of j 
 Ananus, but by the overbearing appointment] 
 
 689 
 
 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 cloisters leave to go to 
 sleep ; while it came into the heads of the 
 zealots to make use of the saws belonging to 
 the temple, and to cut the bars of the gates 
 to pieces. The noise of the wind, and that 
 not inferior sound of the thunder, did here al- 
 so conspire with their designs, that the noise 
 of the saws was not heard by the others. 
 
 7. 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 A- 
 nanus 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 him- 
 self; but they soon came to know who they 
 were that came to them, and were entered the 
 city. And had the Idumeans then fallen up- 
 on 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 aealots 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 per- 
 ceive they were there, they would put them- 
 selves in order to fight them, and would hin- 
 der their coming into the temple. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CRUELTY OF THE IDUMEANS, WHEN THEY 
 WERE GOTTEN INTO THE TEMPLE, DURING 
 THE STORM ; AND Of THE ZEALOTS. CON- 
 CERNING THE SLAUGHTER OF ANANUS, AND 
 JESUS, AND ZACHARIAS ; AND HOW THE 
 IDUMEANS RETIRED HOME. 
 
 § 1. 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 al- 
 so came boldly out of the inner temple, and 
 mixing themselves 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 inuuediate* 
 3 M 
 
690 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 ly, and betook themselves to their own de- 
 fence ; and so loiig as they thought tliey were 
 only the zealots 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 greatest 
 part of them laid aside their arms, together 
 with their courage, and betook themselves to 
 lamentations. 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, indeed, 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 re- 
 turned the terrible echo of wailing, and la- 
 mented their misfortunes. A great howling 
 of the women was excited also, and every one 
 of the guards were in danger of being killed. 
 The zealots also joined in the shouts raised 
 by tlie Idumeans ; and the storm itself ren- 
 dered the cry more terrible; nor did the Idu- 
 means spare any body ; for as they are natu- 
 rally 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 tliat they ran through those with 
 their swords who desired them to remember 
 the relation there was between them, and beg- 
 ged of them to have regard to their common 
 temple. Now there was at present neither 
 any place for flight nor any hope for preser- 
 vation ; 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 retirement, and 
 the murderers were upon them ; and, having 
 no other way, threw themselves down head- 
 long into the city; whereby, in my opinion, 
 they underwent a more miserable destruction 
 than that which they avoided, because that 
 was a voluntary one. And now the outer 
 temple was all of it overflowed with blood ; 
 and that day, as it came on, saw eight thou- 
 sand five hundred dead bodies there. 
 
 2. 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 everyone they met; and 
 for the othei multitude, they esteemed 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 tliem from the wall. Nay, they pro- 
 ceeded to that degree of impiety, as to cast 
 
 away their dead bodies without burial, al- 
 though the Jews used to take so much care 
 of the burial of men, that they took down 
 those that w^ere 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 destruction 
 of the city, and that from this very day may 
 be dated the overthrow of her wall, and the 
 ruin of her affairs, wliereon 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 demo- 
 cracy in government ; and did ever prefer the 
 public welfare before his own advantage, and 
 preferred peace above all things ; for he was 
 thoroughly sensible that the Romans were 
 not to be conquered. He also foresaw that 
 of necessity a war would follow, and that un. 
 less the Jews made up matters with them very 
 dexterously, (hey would be destroyed : to say 
 all in a word, if ifVnanus had survived they 
 had certainly comjjounded matters; for he 
 was a shrewd man in speaking and persuad- 
 ing the people, and had already gotten the 
 mastery of those that opposed his designs, or 
 were 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 as 
 he was. Jesus was also joined with him ; 
 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 destruction, as a pol- 
 luted city, and w'as resolved to purge his 
 sanctuary by fire, that he cut off these their 
 great defenders and weilwishers, while those 
 that a little before had worn the sacred gar- 
 ments, and had presided over the public wor- 
 ship,* 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 imagine 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. 
 
 3. Now after these were slain, the zealots 
 and the multitude of the Idumeans fell upon 
 tlie 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 
 
 * Kciriuuzr, 9-(r,irxiia, or " v.-orldly worship," as the 
 author to tJie Hebrews calls the sanctuary ^yiov .^sr*"* 
 1 t, " B wordly sanctuary." 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 691 
 
 put off ilieir slaughter, in hopes that some of 
 them would turn over to their party ; but not 
 one of them would comply witli their desires, 
 but all of them preferred death before being 
 inrolled among such wicked wretches as acted 
 against their own country. But this refusal 
 of theirs brought upon them terrible tor- 
 ments ; for they were so scourged and tortur- 
 ed, that their bodies were not able to sustain 
 their torments, till at length, and with diffi- 
 culty, they had the favour to be slain. These 
 whom they caught in the day-time, were slain 
 in the night, and then their bodies were carri- 
 ed 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, oould only shed tears in secret, 
 and durst not even groan without great cau- 
 tion, lest any of their enemies should hear 
 them ; for if they did, tliose that mourn- 
 ed for others soon underwent the same death 
 rt'ith 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 them- 
 selves to danger, would do it in the day-time: 
 and there were twelve thousand of the better 
 sort who perished in this manner. 
 
 4. And now these zealots and Idumeans 
 were quite weary of barely killing men, so 
 they had the impudence of setting up ficti- 
 tious tribunals and judicatures for that pur- 
 pose ; 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 tak- 
 ing him oif, they did not only liope to seize 
 his effects, but also to get rid of a man that 
 had great power to destroy them. So they 
 
 * Some commentators are ready to suppose that this 
 " Zacharias, the son of Baruch," here most unjustly 
 sJain by the Jews in tlie temple, was the very same per- 
 son with " Zacharias, the son of Barachias," whom our 
 Saviour says the Jews " slew between the temjile aiid the 
 altar," Mat. xxiii, 35. This is a somewhat strange ex- 
 position ; since Zechariah the prophet was really " the 
 son of Barachiah," and " grandson of Iddo" (Zcch. i, 
 1 ) ; and how he died, we have no otlier account, than 
 that before us in St. Matthew : while this " Zacharias" 
 was " the son of Baru'h." Since the slaughter was jiast 
 wlien our Saviour spake those words, the Jews then had 
 already slain him, whereas this slaughter of " Zacharias, 
 the son of Baruch," in Josephus, was then about thirty- 
 four years future. And since th;it slaughter was " be- 
 tween the temple and the altar," in the court of the 
 priests, one of the most sacred and remote parts of tlie 
 whole temp'e-i while this was, in Joseplius's own words, 
 in the middle of the temple, and much the most prcv 
 bable in the court of Israel only (for we have no inti- 
 mation that the zealots had at this time profaned the 
 court of the priests. See b. v, ch. i, sect. 2). Nor do 
 I believe that our Josephus, wlio always insists on the 
 peculiar sacredness of the inmost court, and of the holy 
 house that was in it, wculd have omitted so material an 
 
 called together, by a public proclamation, se- 
 venty of the principal men of the populace, 
 for a show, as if they were real judges, wiiile 
 they had no proper authority. Before these 
 was Zacharias accused of a design to betray 
 their polity to the Romans, and having trai- 
 torously sent to Vespasian for that purpose. 
 Now there appeared no proof or sign of what 
 he was accused ; but they affirmed them- 
 selves 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 in- 
 tention 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 transgressions 
 of the law, and made heavy lamentations 
 upon the confusion they had brought publir 
 affairs to : in the mean time the zealots grev 
 tuTnultuous, and had much ado to abstain 
 from drawing their swords, although tlicy de 
 signed to preserve the appearance and show 
 of judicature to the end. They were also 
 desirous, on other accounts, to try the judges 
 whether they would be mindful of what 
 was just at their own peril. Now tlie seven- 
 ty judges brought in their verdict, that the 
 person accused was not guilty, — as choos'n"- 
 rather to die themselves with him, than to 
 have his death laid at their doors; hereupon 
 there arose a great clamour of the zealots 
 upon his acquittal, and they all had indigna- 
 tion at the judges, for not understanding that 
 the authority that was given them was but in 
 jest. So two of the boldest of thein fell upon 
 Zacharias in the middle of the temple, and 
 slew him ; and as he fell down dead they 
 bantered him, and said, " 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 immedi- 
 ately into the valley beneath it. Moreover, 
 they struck the judges with t-he backs of their 
 swords, by way of abuse, and thrust them 
 out of the court of the temple, and spared 
 tlieir 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 better 
 than slaves. 
 
 5. But by this time the Idumeans repent- 
 ed of their coming, and were displeased at 
 what had !)een done ; and when they were as- 
 sembled together by one of the zealots, who 
 had come privately to them, he declared to 
 
 aggravation of tl-.is barbarous murder, as perpetrated in I them what a number of wicked pranks tliev 
 ft place so verv holy, had that been the true place of it. 1 1.„ j .i i j • • • • i . 
 
 sJe Antiq. b.xi, eft. vii, iect. 1, and the n^ here on ^'^'^ themselves done in conjunction with those 
 *" " " that invit>>d them, and gave a particular ac- 
 
 k v, ch. I, sect. 2. 
 
t)92 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 count of wliat miscbiof's iiad been done against 
 their metropolis. — He said, that tliey liad ta- 
 ken arms, as tliough the liigh-piiests were be- 
 traying their metropolis to the Romans, but 
 had found no indication of any such trea- 
 chery ; 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 manner. It 
 had been indeed their business to have hin- 
 dered them from such their proceedings at 
 the first, but seeing they had once been part- 
 ners with them in sliedding the blood of their 
 own countrymen, it was high time to put a 
 stop to such crimes, and not continue to af- 
 ford any more assistance to such as are sub- 
 verting the laws of their forefptl.ers ; for that 
 if any had taken it ill that the gates had been 
 shut against "hem, and they had not been 
 permitted to come into the city, yet that those 
 who had excluded them have been punished, 
 and Ananus is dead, and that almost all those 
 people had been destroyed in one night's 
 time. That one may perceive many of them- 
 selves now repenting for what they had done, 
 and might see the horrid barbarity of those 
 that had invited them, and that they had no 
 regard to such as had saved them ; that they 
 were so impudent as to perpetrate the vilest 
 things, under the eyes of those who had sup- 
 ported them, and that their wicked actions 
 would be laid to tlie charge of the Idumeans, 
 and would be so laid to their charge, till 
 somebody obstructs their proceedings, or sepa- 
 rates himself from the same wicked action j 
 that they therefore ought to retire home, since 
 the imputation of treason appears to be a ca 
 lumny, and that there was no expectation 
 of the coming of the Romans at tliis time, 
 and tliat the governinent of the city was se- 
 cured by such walls as cannot easily be thrown 
 down ; and, by avoiding any farther fellow- 
 ship with these bad men, to make some ex- 
 cuse for themselves, as to what they had been 
 so far deluded, as to have been partners v,ith 
 them hitherto. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW THr. ZEALOTS, WHEN THEY WERE FREED 
 FROM THE IDUJIEANS, SLEW A GREAT MANY 
 MORE OF THE CITIZENS; AND HOW VESPA- 
 SIAN DISSUADED THE ROMANS, WHEN THEY 
 WERE VERY EARNEST TO MARtll AGAINST 
 THE JEWS, FROM PROCEEDING IN THE WAR 
 AT THAT TIME. 
 
 § 1. The Idumeans complied with these 
 persuasions ; and in the first place, they set 
 those that were in the prisons at libLrty, being 
 about two thousand of the populace, wlio 
 tliereupon fled away immediately to Simon, 
 wie vvliom we shall speak of presently. After 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 wliich these Idumeans retired from Jerusalem, 
 and went home; which departure of theirs was 
 a great surprise to both parties ; for the peo- 
 ple, not knowing of their repentance, pulled 
 up their courage for a while, as eased of so 
 many of their enemies, while the zealots grew 
 more insolent, not as deserted by tlieir confe- 
 derates, but as freed from such men as might 
 hinder their designs, and put some stop to 
 tlieir wickedness. Accordingly they made no 
 longer any delay, nor took any deliberation 
 in tlieir 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 of good fami- 
 lies; the one sort of whom they destroyed out 
 of envy, tlie other out of fear ; for they thought 
 their whole security lay in leaving no potent 
 men alive; on which account they slew Go- 
 rion, a person eminent in dignity, and on ac- 
 count of his family also ; he was also for de- 
 mocracy, and of as great boldness and free- 
 dom of spirit as were any of tlie Jews who- 
 soever ; the principal thing that 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 sliow 
 ed the scars of his wounds; and when he was 
 drawn out of the gates, and despaired of his 
 preservation, lie besought them to grant him 
 a burial ; but as they had threatened him be- 
 forehand 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 buried]. Now when they were slaying 
 him, he made this iitiprecation upon them, 
 that they might undergo both famine and 
 pestilence in this war, and besides all that, 
 they might come to the mutual slaughter of 
 one another ; all which imprecations God con- 
 firmed against these impious men, and was 
 what came most justly upon them, when not 
 long afterward they tasted of their own irad 
 ness in their mutual seditions one against ano- 
 ther. So when this Niger was killed, the^r 
 fears of being overturned were diminished, 
 and indeed there was no part of the people 
 but they found out some pretence to destiroy 
 them ; for some were therefore slain, because 
 they had had differences with some of them ; 
 and as to those that had not opposed them in 
 limes of peace, they watched seasonable op- 
 portunities to gain some accusation against 
 them; and if any one did not come near them 
 at all, he was under their suspicion as a proud 
 man ; if any one came with boldness, he was 
 esteemed a conteinner of them ; and if any 
 one came as aiming to oblige them, he was 
 supposed to have some treacherous plot a- 
 gainst them j while the only punishment ol 
 
 r 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 69S 
 
 crimes, whether they were of the greatest or 
 smallest sort was death. Nor could any one 
 escape, unless he were very inconsiderable, 
 either on account of the meanness of his 
 birth, or on account of his fortune. 
 
 'i. And now all the rest of the commanders 
 of the Romans deemed this sedition among 
 their enemies to be of great advagtage to them, 
 anr. were very earnest to march to the city ; 
 and they urged Vespasian as their lord and 
 gen ral in all cases, to make haste, and said 
 to him, That "the providence of God is on our 
 side, by setting our enemies at variance against 
 one another ; that still the change in such cases 
 may be sudden, and the Jews may quickly 
 be at one again, either because they may be 
 tired out with their civil miseries, or repent 
 them of such doings." But Vepasian 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 
 advantage, and for their security ; for that if 
 they now go and attack the city immediately, 
 they shall but occasion their enemies to unite 
 fogether, and shall convert their force, now it 
 is in its height, against themselves ; but if they 
 stay a while they shall have fewer enemies, 
 because they will be consumed in this sedi- 
 tion : that God acts as a general of the Ro- 
 mans better than he can do, and is giving the 
 Jews up to them without any pains of their 
 own, and granting their army a victory with- 
 out any danger; that therefore it is their best 
 way, while their enemies are destroying each 
 other with their own hands, and falling into 
 the greatest of misfortunes, which is that of 
 sedition, to sit still as spectators of the dangers 
 they run Wo, 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 suc- 
 cess, quietly obtained, is more profitable than 
 the dangers of a battle ; for we ought to es- 
 teem those that do what is agreeable to tem- 
 perance 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 ene- 
 mies are diminished, and his own arir.y refresh- 
 ed after the continual labours they had under- 
 gone. However, that this is not a proper 
 time to propose to ourselves the glory of vic- 
 tory ; for that the Jews are not now employ- 
 ed in making of armour or building of walls, 
 nor indeed in getting together auxiliaries, 
 while the advantage will be on their side who 
 give ihem such opportunity of delay ; but 
 that the Jews are vexed to pieces every day by 
 their civil wars and dissensions, and are under 
 greater misfortunes than, if they wer> once 
 taken, could be inflicted on them by us. 
 
 Whether, therefore, any one hath regard to 
 wiiat is for our safety, he ought to suffer these 
 Jews to destroy one another ; or whether he 
 hath regard to the greater 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." 
 
 3. And now the commanders joined in 
 their approbation of what Vespasian had said, 
 and it was soon discovered how wise an opi- 
 nion he had given ; and indeed many there 
 were of the Jews that deserted every day, and 
 fled avvay from the zealots, although their 
 flight was very difficult, since they had guard- 
 ed every passage out of the ciiy, 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 lie only that gave them 
 none was voted a traitor. So the upshot was 
 this, that the rich purchased their flight by 
 money, while none but the poor were slain. 
 Along all the roads 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 
 tliose slain in the city, or on those that lay 
 along the roads; but as if they had made an 
 agreement to cancel both the laws of their 
 country and the laws of nature, and, at the 
 same time that they defiled men with thei? 
 wicked actions, they would pollute the Divi- 
 nity itself also, they left the dead bodies to 
 putrify under the sun : and the same punish, 
 ment 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 transferred 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 sur- 
 vived called them that were first dead happy, 
 as being at rest already ; as did those that 
 were under torture in tlie prisons, declare, 
 that, upon this comparison, those that lay un- 
 buried were the happiest. These men, there- 
 fore, trampled upon all the laws of man, and 
 laughed at the laws of God ; and for the ora- 
 cles of the prophets, they ridiculed them as 
 the tricks of jugglers ; yet did these prophets 
 foretell many things concerning [the rewards 
 of] virtue, and [punishments of] vice, which 
 when these zealots violated, they occasioned 
 the fulfilling of those very prophecies belong 
 
J' 
 
 694 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV 
 
 ing 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 tlie 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 instru- 
 ments of their accomplishment. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW JOHN TYRANNIZED OVER THE REST ; AND 
 WHAT MISCHIEFS THE ZEALOTS DID AT MA- 
 SADA. HOW ALSO VESPASIAN TOOK GADARA; 
 AND WHAT ACTIONS WERE PERFORMED BY 
 PLACIDUS. 
 
 § 1. By this time John was beginning to 
 tyrannize, and thought it beneath him to ac- 
 cept of barely the same honours that others 
 liad ; and joining to himself by degrees a 
 party of the most wicked of them all, he 
 broke off from the rest of the faction. Tin's 
 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 monarchical power. Now some sub- 
 mitted 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. Loth 
 Dy deluding them and putting cheats upon 
 tl.em. 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, tiiat 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 sub- 
 jection to one that was formerly th.eir equal. 
 But 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 
 
 • This prediction, that the city (Jerusalem) should 
 then " bet.iken, 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, ch. 
 ii, sect. 1, " when any one should begin to slay his 
 countrymen in the city," is wanting in our present co- 
 pics of the Old Testament. See Essay on the Old Tes- 
 tament, p. 101 — \Vi. Hut this prediction, as Josephus 
 well remarks here, though, with other predictions of 
 the prophets, it was now laughed at by the seditious, 
 was by their very means soon exactly fulfilled. How- 
 ever. 1 cannot but here take notice oi Grotius's positive 
 assertion upon Mat. xxvi, 9, here quoted by Dr. Hud- 
 son, that " it ought to be taken for granted, as a certain 
 truth, that many predictions of the Jewish prophets 
 were preserved, not m writing, but by memory." Where- 
 as, it seems to me so far from certain, that I think it has 
 no evidence not probability at alL 
 
 "V 
 
 always against them, that they had opposed 
 liim when he was first advanced; while every 
 one chose rather to suffer any thing whatso- 
 ever in war, than that, wlien they had been 
 in a voluntary 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 lit- 
 tle, meddle with armsin theirquarrels; butthej ' 
 fougiit earnestly against the people, and con- 
 tended one with another which of them should 
 bring home the greatest prey. But because 
 the city had to struggle with three of the 
 greatest misfortunes, war, and tyrani y, 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. 
 
 2. 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 repository for 
 their effects in the hazards of war, and for the 
 preservation of their bodies at the same time. 
 It is called Masada. Those that were called 
 Sicarii had taken possession of it formerly ; 
 but at this time they over-ran the neighbour 
 ing 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, tliey boldly undertook 
 greater matters ; and at the feast of unleaven- 
 ed bread, which the Jews celebrate in memory 
 of their deliverance from the Egyptian bond- 
 age, when they were sent jjack into the coun- 
 try of their forefathers, they camo down by 
 night, without being discovered by those that 
 could have prevented them, and over-ran a 
 certain small city called Engaddi : — in which 
 expedition they prevented those citizens that 
 could have stopped them, before they could 
 arm themselves and fight them. They also 
 dispersed 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 
 seven hundred. 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 
 Masada. 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 motion, by means 
 of the robbers. Now as it is in a human body, 
 
 r 
 
J' 
 
 :hap. vn. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 695 
 
 if the principal part he inflamed, all the mem- 
 bers are sul)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 sometimes 
 very ill treated by those upon whom they fell 
 with such violence, and were taken by tliem 
 as men are taken in war : but still they pre- 
 vented any farther punishment as do robbers, 
 who as soon as their ravages [are discovered], 
 run tlieir way. Nor was there now any part 
 of Judea that was not in a miserable condi-. 
 tion, as well as its most eminent city also. 
 
 3. 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 tliitl)er, 
 yet were there some that had concealed them- 
 selves, and, when they had fled to the Romans, 
 persuaded iheir general to come to their city's 
 assistance, and save the remainder of the peo- 
 ple ; informing him withal, that it was upon 
 account of the people's good-will to the Ro- 
 mans that many of them were already slain, 
 and the survivors in danger of the same treat- 
 ment. Vespasian did indeed already pity the 
 calamities these men were in, and arose, in I 
 appearance, as though he was going to be- 
 siege Jerusalem, — but in realily 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 miglit interrupt him in that siege. Ac- 
 cordingly 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 seditious, to 
 treat about a surrender ; which they did out 
 of the desire they had of peace, and for saving ' 
 their efl'ects, because many of the citizens of 
 Gadara were rich men, Tiiis embassy the ■ 
 opposite party knew nothing of, but discover- 
 ed it as Vespasian was approaching near the 
 city. However, they despaired of keeping 
 possession of the city, as being inferior in ' 
 
 • By these Uik, or " hoty places," as distinct from 
 cities, must be meant '* proseuehrc," or " houses of 
 prayer" out of cities; of which we find mention made 
 in the New Testament and other authors. See Luke I 
 vi, Vi ; Acts xvi, 15, 16; Antiq b. xiv, eh. x, sect. 23 ; | 
 Josephus's l.ife, sect. 54. " In qua te quasro proseu- | 
 cha; Juvenal Sat. lil, ver. 29fi. They were situated 
 Boinctimes by the sides of rivers, Acts xvi, 13, or by j 
 the seii-side, Anriq. b. xiv, eh. x. sect. 25. So did the 
 seventy-two interpreters go to pray every mornnig by 
 the sea-side, before they went to tlieir work, B; xii, cli. i 
 U sect. 12. i 
 
 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 au- 
 thors of this surrender ; 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 Vespa- 
 sian with joyful acclamations, and received 
 from him the security of his riglit hand, as 
 also a garrison of horsemen and footmen, to 
 guard them against the excursions of the 
 runagates ; for as to their wall, they h£,d pull- 
 ed 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 now 
 make war against them. 
 
 4. And now Vespasian sent Placidus against 
 those that had fled from Gadara, with five 
 hundred horsemen, and three thousand foot- 
 men, 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 Bethenna- 
 bris, 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 theii 
 purpose, they made their horse encompass 
 them round, and threw tlieir darts at them. 
 So the horsemen cut ofl!" the fliglit of the fu- 
 gitives, 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 
 Romans when they were joined close together, 
 and, as it were, walled about with their en- 
 tire armour, they were not able to find any 
 place where the darts could enter, nor ivere 
 tliey any way able to break their ranks, while 
 they were themselves run through by the Ro- 
 man darts, and, like the wildest of wild beasts, 
 ru&hed upon the points of the others' swords ; 
 so some of them were destroyed, as cut with 
 their enemies' swords upon tlieir faces, and 
 others were dispersed by the horsemen. 
 
 5. Now Placidus's concern was to exclude 
 them in their flight from getting into the vil- 
 lage ; and causing his horse to march conti- 
 nually on that side of tliein, he then turned 
 short upon them, and at the same time his 
 men made use of their darts, and easily took 
 
696 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWJS. 
 
 plialtitis was also full of dead bodies, that were 
 carried down into it by the river. And now 
 Placidus, after this good success that 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 jnit such 
 of the deserters into each of them as he 
 he thought proper. He then put his soldiers 
 on board the ships, and slew such as had fled 
 to the lake, insomuch that all Perca had ei- 
 ther surrendered themselves, or were taken by 
 the Romans, as far as Macherus. 
 
 their aim at those that were the nearest to them, 
 
 as they made those that were farther off turn 
 
 back by the terror they were in, till at last 
 
 the most courageous of them brake through 
 
 those horsemen and fled to the wall of the 
 
 village. And now those that guarded the 
 
 vcall were in great doubt what to do ; for 
 
 they could not bear the thoughts of excluding 
 
 tlisse that came from Gadara, because of their 
 
 own people that were among them ; and yet, 
 
 if they should admit them, they expected to 
 
 perish with them, which came to pass accord- 
 ingly ; 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 
 
 Placidus made an assault upon them, and, 
 
 fighting courageously till it was dark, he 
 
 got possession of the wall, and of the peo- 
 ple that were in the city, when the useless 
 
 multitude were destroyed ; but those that 
 
 were more 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 Ro- 
 mans were upon them, they put them into 
 great fear on every side ; so they got in great 
 numbers together, 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 m.ultitude 
 of inhabitants. But Placidus, relying much 
 upon his horsemen and Lis former good suc- 
 cess, followed them, and slew all that he over- 
 took, as far as Jordan ; and when he had 
 driven the wliole multitude to the river-side, 
 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 in, provoked tliera to hazard a battle, 
 because there was no place whither tliey 
 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 horse- 
 men who beat many of them, and pushed 
 them into tlie current. At which fight, hand 
 to hand, fifteen thousand of them were slain, 
 while the number of those that were unwil- 
 lingly forced to leap into Jordan was prodi- 
 gious. There were besides, two thousand 
 and two hundred taken prisoners. A mighty 
 prey was taken also, consisting of asses, and 
 sheep, and camels, and oxen. 
 
 6. Now this destruction that fell upon the 
 Jews, as it was not inferior to any of the rest 
 
 in itself, so did it still appear greater than it I i^^ came to the toparchy of Bethletephon 
 really was; and this, because not only the jjg (hen destroyed that place, and the neigh, 
 whok of the country through which they fled | bouring places, by fire, and fortified, at proper 
 was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could j pi^cj^g^ ll,e strong holds all about Idumea; 
 not be passed over, by reason of the dead I 
 bodies that were in it, but because the lake As- 1 ♦ Gr. Galatia, aiid so everywhew 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOW VESPASIAN, UPON HEARING OF SOME COM- 
 SIOTIONS IN GALL,* MADE HASTE TO FINISH 
 THE JEWISH WAR. A DESCRIPTION OF JE- 
 RICHO, AND OF THE GREAT PLAIN ; WITH 
 AN ACCOUNT BESIDES OF THE LAKE ASHPHaL- 
 TITIS. 
 
 § 1. In the mean time, an account came that 
 there were commotions in Gall, and that Vin- 
 dcx, together with the men of power in that 
 country, had revolted from Nero; which affair 
 is more accurately described elsewhere. This 
 report thus related to Vespasian, excited him 
 logo on briskly with the war; for he foresaw 
 already the civil wars which were com-ng upon 
 them, nay, that the very government was in 
 danger; and he thought, if he could first re- 
 duce the eastern parts of the empire to peace, 
 he should make the fears for Italy the lighter; 
 while therefore the winter was his hindrance 
 [from going into the field], he put garrisons 
 into the villages and smaller cities for their 
 security; he put decurions also into the villa- 
 ges, and centurions into the cities; he I)esides 
 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 Antipatris, where he spent 
 two days in cettling the affairs of that city, 
 and then, on the third day, he marched on, 
 laying waste and burning all the neighbour- 
 ino- villages. And when he had laid waste 
 all the places about the toparchy of Thamnas. 
 he passed on to Lydda and Jarania ; and 
 when both tho-e cities had come over to him, 
 he placed a great many of those that had 
 come over to him [from other places] as in- 
 habitants therein, and then came to Emmaus, 
 where he seized upon the passages which 
 led thence to their metropolis, and fortified 
 his camp, and leaving the fifth legion therein, 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 697 
 
 and when he had seized upon two villages, 
 which were in the very midst of Idumea, Be- 
 taris, and Caphartobas, he slew above ten 
 tliousand of the people, and carried into cap- 
 tivity above a thousand, and drove away the 
 rest of the multitude, and placed no small 
 part of his own forces in them, who over-ran 
 and laid waste the whole mountainous coun- 
 try ; while he, with the rest of his forces, re- 
 turned to Emmaus, whence he came down 
 through the country of Samaria, and hard by 
 the city, by others called Neapolis (or Sichem) 
 but by tiie people of tliat 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 brouglit out of 
 Perea, all the places beyond Jordan being 
 subdued already. 
 
 2. 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 situ- 
 ated in a plain ; but a naked and barren 
 mountain, of a great length, hangs over it, 
 which extends itself to the land about Scytho- 
 polis northward, but as far as the country of 
 Sodom, and the utmost limits of the Like As. 
 phaltitis 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 
 sjde of Jordan ; this last begins at Julias and 
 the northern quarters, and extends itself 
 southward as far as Somorrhon,* which is the 
 bounds of Petra, in Arabia. In this ridge of 
 mountains there is one called the Iron Moun- 
 tain, 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 readies from the village Ginnabris, as far 
 as the lake Asphaltitis; its length is two hun- 
 dred and thirty furlongs, and its breadth a 
 hundred and twenty, and it is divided in the 
 midst by Jordan. It hath two lakes in it; 
 that of Asphaltitis, and ihat of Tiberias, whose 
 natures are opposite to each other ; for the 
 former is salt and unfruitful ; but that of Tibe- 
 as is sweet and fruitful. Tliis plain is much 
 burnt up in summer-time, and, by reason of 
 the extraordinary heat, contains a very un- 
 wholesome air ; it is all destitute of water ex 
 cepting the river Jordan, which water of 
 Jordan is the occasion wliy tiiose plantations 
 of palm-trees that are near its banks, are more 
 flourishing, and much more fruitful, as those 
 
 » Whether this Somorrhon, or Somorrha, ought not 
 to be here written Gomorrha, as some MsiS. in a man- 
 ner have it (for tlie place meant by Josephus seems to 
 Ik near Scgor, or Zoar, at the very south of tlie Dead 
 Sea, liaril by which stood Sodom and CiomonJial, can- 
 not now tK,' certainly determined ; but seems by no means 
 improbable. 
 
 that are remote from it not so flourishing, or 
 fruitful. 
 
 3. Notwithstanding which, there is a foun- 
 tain by Jericho, that runs plentifully, and is 
 very fit for watering tlie ground : it arises 
 near the old city, which Joshua, the son of 
 Nun, the general of the Hebrews, took the 
 first of all tlie 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 asd corruptive nature to 
 all things whatsoever, but that it was made 
 gentle, and very wholesome and fruitful, by 
 the prophet Elisha. This prophet was fami- 
 liar 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 sup- 
 plication, — That the current might be molli- 
 fied, and that the veins of fresh water might 
 be opened : that God also would bring into 
 the place a more temperate and fertile air for 
 the current, and would bestow upon the peo- 
 ple of that country plenty of the fruits of the 
 earth, and a succession of cliiidren ; aud that 
 this prolific water might never fail them, 
 while they continued to be righteous.* To 
 these prayers Elisha joined proper operations 
 of his hands, after a skilful manner, and 
 changed the fountain ; and that water, which 
 had been the occasion of barrenness and fa- 
 mine before, from that time did supply a nu- 
 merous posterity, and afforded great abun- 
 dance 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 af- 
 fords a sweeter nourishment than other waters 
 do, when tlrey 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. Accordingly it uatcrs 
 a larger space of ground than any other wa- 
 ters do, and passes along a plain of seventy 
 furlongs long, and twenty broad ; wherein it 
 affords nourishment to those most excellent 
 gardens that are thick set with trees. There 
 are in it many sorts of palm-trees that are 
 watered by it, different from each other in 
 taste and name ; the better sort of tlicm, when 
 they are pressed, yield an excellent kind of 
 honey, not much inferior in sweetness to other 
 
 » 1 his excellent prayer of Elisha is wanting in our 
 copies, 2 Kings ii. '.'I, i2, though it be referioil to also 
 in tlie Apostolical Constitutions, b. vii, ch. 57 ; and the 
 success of it is mentioned in them aU. o m 
 
698 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK r 
 
 honey This country withal produces 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 pro- 
 nounce this place to be divine would not be 
 mistaken, wherein is such plenty of trees pro- 
 duced as are very rare, and of the most excel- 
 lent sort. And 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 fer- 
 tility 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 supplying that virtue which it 
 stands in need of in summer-time. Now this 
 country is then so sadly burnt up, that no- 
 body cares to come at it; and if the water be 
 drawn up before sun-rising, and after that ex- 
 posed 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 
 one hundred and fifty furlongs fruai Jerusa- 
 lem, and sixty from Jordan. The country, 
 as far as Jerusalem, is desert and stony ; but 
 that as far as Jordan and the lake AsphaU 
 titis lies lower indeed, though it be equally 
 desert and barren. But so much shall suf- 
 fice to luive been said about Jericho, and of 
 the great happiness of its situation. 
 
 4. 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 things 
 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 so to do. Accordingly, 
 when Vespasian went to see it, he commanded 
 that some who could not swim, should have 
 their hands tied behind them, and be thrown 
 into the deep, when it so happened tliat they 
 all swam as if a wind had forced them up- 
 wards. 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 re- 
 semble 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 
 tlie ship hang upon its clods till they set it 
 loose with tlie menstrual blood of women, 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 : ac- 
 cordingly it is mixed in a great many medi- 
 cines. The length of this lake is five hun- 
 dred and eighty furlongs, where it is extend- 
 ed as far as Zoar, in Arabia ; and its breadth 
 is a hundred and fifty. The country of So- 
 dom 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 inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning ; 
 in consequence 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 growing 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 tliis land 
 of Sodom hath these marks of credibility 
 which our very sight affords us. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THAT VESPASIAN, AFTER HE HAD TAKEN GA- 
 DARA, MADE TREPARATION FOR THE SIEGE 
 OF JEBUSALEJI ; BUT THAT, UPON HIS HEAR- 
 ING OF THE DEATH OF NERO, HE CHANGED 
 HIS INTENTIONS : AS ALSO, CONCERNING 
 8IS10N OF GERASA. 
 
 § 1. And now Vespasian had fortified all the 
 places round about Jerusalem, and erected 
 citadels at Jericho and Adida, and placed gar- 
 risons in tliem 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 horse- 
 men, and a consiilerable number of footmen. 
 So when he had taken the city, which he did 
 at the first onset, he slew a thousand of those 
 young men who had not prevented him by 
 flying away; but he took their families cap- 
 tive, and permitted his soldiers to plunder 
 them of their effects ; after which he set fire 
 to their houses, and went away to the adjoin- 
 ing villages, while the men of power fled 
 away, and the weaker part were destroyed, 
 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 de- 
 sert, 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 encom- 
 passing the city round about on all sides. 
 2. Now as Vespasian was returned to Ce- 
 
 » See the note on b. v cli. xiii, scu* 
 
 ■\. 
 
CHAT. IX. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 699 
 
 sarea, and was getting ready with all liis army 
 to march directly to Jerusalem, he was in- 
 formed that Nero was dead, after he had reign- 
 ed thirteen years and eight days. But as to 
 any narration after what manner he abused 
 his power in the government, and commit- 
 ted the management of affairs to those vile 
 wretches, Nymphidius and Tigellinus, his 
 unworthy freed-men ; 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 freed men, and slew himself 
 in the suburbs of Rome ; and how those that 
 occasioned his death were, in no long time, 
 brought themselves to punishment : 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 sol- 
 diers as a pusillanimous person, and slain by 
 treacliery in the middle of the market-place 
 at Rome, and Otho was made emperor ; with 
 his expedition against the commanders of Vi- 
 tellius, and his destruction thereupon ; and 
 besides what troubles there were under Vi- 
 tellius, and the fight that was about the Ca- 
 pitol ; as also how Antonius Primus and Mu- 
 cianus slew Vitellius, and his German le- 
 gions, and thereby put an end to that civil 
 war,— I have omitted to give an exact ac- 
 count of them, because they are well known 
 by all, and they are described by a great num- 
 ber of Greek and Roman authors ; yet for 
 the sake of the connection of matters, and 
 that my history may not be incolierent, I have 
 just touched upon every thing briefly. Where- 
 fore Vespasian put oft' at first his expedition 
 against Jerusalem, and stood waiting whither 
 the empire 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 hiin some di- 
 rections about the war : however, he sent his 
 son Titus to him, to salute him, and to re- 
 ceive his commands about the Jews. Upon 
 the very same errand did king Agrippa sail 
 along with Titus to Galba ; but as they were 
 sailing in their long sliips 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 atTairs. 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 sus- 
 pense about the public ati'airs, the Roman 
 
 « Of these Roman affairs and tumults under Galba, 
 Otho, and Vitellius, here only touched upon by Jose- 
 
 flius, see Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dio, more largely, 
 lowever, we may observe with Ottius, that .losephus 
 writes the i.amc ol" the second oi them notjOtto, with 
 many others, but Otho, with the coins. See also the 
 note on ch . xi, sect. 4. 
 
 empire being then in a fluctuating condition, 
 and did not goon with tiieir expedition against 
 tiie Jews, but thought that to make any attack 
 upon foreigners was now unseasonal)le, on 
 account of the solicitude they were in for their 
 own country. 
 
 3. And now there arose another war at Je- 
 rusalem. There was a son of Giora, one Si- 
 mon, by birth of Gerasa, a young man, not 
 so cunning indeed as John [of G'ischala], who 
 had already seized upon the city, but superior 
 in strength of body and courage; on which 
 account, when he had been driven away from 
 that Acrahattene toparchy, which he once had, 
 by Ananus the higli-jjriest, he came to those 
 robbers who had seized upon Masada. At 
 first they suspected him, and only permitted 
 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 destroy- 
 ed the country with them about Masada ; yet 
 when he persuaded them to undertake greater 
 things, he could net prevail with theni 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 great- 
 ness, when he had heard of the death of An- 
 anus, left them, and went into the moun- 
 tainous pad of the country. So he proclaim- 
 ed liberty to those in slavery, and a reward to 
 those already free, and got together a set of 
 wicked men from all quarters. 
 
 4. And as he had now a strong body of 
 men about him, he over-ran the villages that 
 lay in the moimtainous 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 was 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 hebuilta wall at a certain village 
 called Nain, and made use of that as a fortress 
 for his own party':-, security ; and at the val- 
 ley called Paran, he enlarged many of the 
 coves, and many others he found reaily for his 
 purpose ; these he made use of as reposito- 
 ries for his treasures, and receptacles for bis 
 prey, and therein he laid up the fruits that he 
 had got by rapine ; and many of his partisans 
 had their dwelling in them; and he made no 
 secret of it that he was exercising his men be- 
 forehand, and making preparations for the 
 assault of Jerusalem. 
 
 5. Whereupon the zealots, out of the dread 
 they were in of his attacking them, and being 
 
 I willing to prevent one that was growing up to 
 
700 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 oppose them, went out against him with their 
 weapons. Simon met them, and joining bat- 
 tle with them, slew a considerable number of 
 tliem, 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 twenty thousand armed men, 
 he marched to the borders of their country. 
 Hereupon the rulers of the Idumeans got to- 
 gether on the sudden the most warlike part of 
 their people, about twenty-five thousand in 
 number, and permitted the rest to be a guard 
 to their own country, by reason of the in- 
 cursions that were made by the iS/cfirrjithat were 
 at Masada. Thus they received Simon at their 
 Dorders, where they fought him, and conti- 
 nued the battle 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 ere Simon came violently again upon their 
 country; when he pitched his camp at a cer- 
 tain village called Thecoe, and sent Eleazar, 
 one of his companions, to those that kept gar- 
 rison 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 lie 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 fligiit, wl)en 
 he threw himself down from the wall into the 
 valley beneath ; so he died immediately : but 
 the Idumeans, who were already mucii afraid 
 of Simon's power, thought fit to take a view 
 of the enemy's army before they hazarded a 
 battle with him. 
 
 6. Now, there was one of their comman- 
 ders, named Jacob, who offered to serve them 
 readily upon that occasion, hut had it in his 
 mind to betray them. He went therefore 
 from the village Alurus, wherein 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 assuran- 
 ces upon oath from him that he should al- 
 ways have him in esteem, and then promised 
 him that he would assist him in subduing all 
 Idumea under him ; upon which account lie 
 was feasted after an obh'ging manner by Si- 
 mon, and elevated by his mighty promises ; 
 and when he was 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 persuaded 
 the commanders, and by degrees the whole 
 multitude, to receive Simon, and to surrenuer 
 the whole government up to him without 
 fighting ; and as he was doing this, he invited 
 Simon by his messengers, 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 corrupted ; 
 
 hereupon a terror fell upon the whole multi- 
 tude ; and before it came to a close fight, 
 they broke their ranks, and every one retired 
 to liis own iiome. 
 
 7. Tlius 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 quan- 
 tity of fruit. Now, the people of the coun- 
 try say, that it is an ancienter city, not only 
 than any in that country, but than Mempliis 
 ill Egypt, and accordingly its age is reckoned 
 at two thousand and tliree hundred years. 
 They also relate that it had been the habita- 
 tion of Abram, the progenitor of the Jews, 
 after he had removed out of Mesopotamia ; 
 and they say that his posterity 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 
 excellent 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. Thence did Simon 
 make his progress over all Idumea, and did 
 not only ravage the cities and villages, but 
 laid waste tlie whole country ; for, besides 
 those that were completely armed, he had 
 forty thousand men that followed him, inso- 
 much 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 barbarous 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 have been 
 there, so was there nothing left behind Si- 
 mon'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, harder and more untractable than 
 that \^ hich was barren. In short, there was 
 no sign remaining of those places that had 
 been laid waste, that ever they had had a be- 
 ing- 
 
 8. This success of Simon excited the zea- 
 lots afresh ; and though they were afraid to 
 figiit him openly in a fair battle, yet did they 
 lay ambushes in tiie passes, and seized upon 
 his wife, with a considerable number of her 
 attendants ; whereupon they came back to 
 the city rejoicing, as if they had taken Simon 
 himself captive, and were in present expecta- 
 tion that he would lay down his arms, and 
 
 * Some of the ancients call this famous tree, or grove, 
 ail oak ; otliers, a turpentine tree, or grove. It has been 
 very famous in all the past ages, and is so, I sujipose, at 
 tins day, and that parucularly for an eminent mart, or 
 meeting of merchants there every year, as the traveller* 
 inform us. 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 make supplication to them for liis wife ; but 
 instead of indulging any merciful affection, 
 he grew very angry at them for seizing iiis 
 beloved wife ; so he came to the wall of Jeru- 
 salem, 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 all those that were come out of the 
 city-gates, either to gather herbs or sticks, 
 who were unarmed and in years; he then 
 tormented them and destroyed them, out of 
 the immense rage he was in, and was almost 
 ready to taste the very flesh of their dead bo- 
 dies. 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 aulliors of his wife's seizure. He 
 also enjoined them to tell the people that Si- 
 mon 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 with- 
 out making any distinction between the guilty 
 and the innocent. These threatenings so 
 greatly affrighted, not the people only, but 
 tlie zealots themselves also, that they sent his 
 wife back to him, — when he became a little 
 milder, and left off his perpetual blood-shed- 
 ding. 
 
 9. 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 
 Roman market-place ; then was Otlio made 
 emperor, and fought against Vitellius, who 
 set up for emperor also ; for the legions in 
 Germany had chosen him : but when he gave 
 battle to Valens and Cccinna, who were Vi- 
 tellius's generals, at Belriacum, in Gall, 
 Otho gamed the advantage on the first day ; 
 but oji the second day Vitellius's soldiers had 
 the victory; and after much slaughter, Otho 
 slew himself, when he had hoard of this 
 defeat at Brixia, and after he had managed 
 the public affairs three months and two 
 days. * Otho's army aKo came over to Vi- 
 tellius's generals, and he came liimself down 
 to Rome with his army ; but in the mean 
 time Vespasian removed from Cesarea, on 
 the fifth day of the month Dxsius [Sivan\ 
 and marched against those places of Judea 
 which were not yet overthrown. So he went 
 up to the mountainous country, and took 
 those two toparcliies that were called the 
 Gophnitick 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 Jerusalem, in which 
 march he took many prisoners, and many 
 captivesi But Cerealis, one of his comman- 
 
 * Suetonius differs hardly three days from Josephus, 
 and says Otho perished on the ninety-fifth day of his 
 rcigii. In O thou. See the iif^'e cli. xi. sect. 1. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 VOJ 
 
 ders, took a body of horsemen and footmen, 
 and laid waste that part of Idumea which 
 was called the Upper Idumea, 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 
 liim. 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 Jerusa- 
 lem ; 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, ex- 
 cepting Herodium, and Masada, and Mache- 
 rus, which were in the possession of the rob- 
 bers, so Jerusalem was what the Romans at 
 present aimed at. 
 
 10. 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 tlie nation all before 
 him from all quarters, he compelled a great 
 number of them to retire to Jerusalem; he 
 followed them himself also to the city, and 
 encompassed the wall all round again ; and 
 when he lighted upon any labourers that were 
 coming thither out of the country, he slew 
 thein. Now this Simon, who was without the 
 wall, was a greater terror to the people than 
 the Romans themselves, as were the zealots 
 who were within it more heavy upon them 
 than both of the other ; and during this time 
 did the mischievous contrivances and courage 
 [of .Tohn] corrupt the body of the Galileans ; 
 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 inclination 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 they h.;d taken, together with their 
 blood, and indulged themselves in feminine 
 wantonness, 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 imitated, not on- 
 ly the ornaments, but also the lusts of wo- 
 men, and were guilty of such intolerable un~ 
 cleanness, that they invented unlawful plea- 
 sures of that sort. And thus did they roll 
 themselves up and down the city, as in a bro- 
 thel-house, and defiled it entirely with their 
 impure actions : nay, while their faces looked 
 
702 
 
 WARS OF Till': JEWS. 
 
 like file faces of women, they killed with their 
 right hands ; and when their gait was effe- 
 minate, they presently attacked men, and he- 
 came warriors, and drew their swords from 
 
 his enemies than those against whom the invita- 
 tion was intended. 
 
 12. And thus did Simon get possession of 
 Jerusalem, in the third year of the war, in the 
 
 under their finely dyed cloaks, and ran every month Xanlhicus [Nisan] ; wliereupon John, 
 body through whom tliey alighted upon. I with his multitude of zealots, as bein^ both 
 However, Simon waited for such as ran | prohibited from coming out of the temple, 
 
 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 Hying and deserting to the Ro- 
 mans were cut off", if any bad a mind so _to 
 do. 
 
 11. Yet did the' army that was under 
 John raise a sedition against him ; and all the 
 Idumeans separated themselves from the ty- 
 rant, and attempted to destroy him, and this 
 out of their envy at his power and hatred of 
 his cruelty ; so they got together, 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 tem- 
 ple, and betook themselves to plunder John's 
 
 and having lost their power in the city (foi 
 Simon and his party had plundered them of 
 what they had) « ere 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 battle- 
 ments, 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 ad- 
 vantage of situation, and having withal erect- 
 ed four very large towers aforehand, 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 
 
 effects; for both he himself was in that pa- [ priests stood of course, and gave a signal be 
 
 lace, 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 unto 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 saliy out of the temple and get a- 
 mong them, and not only destroy them, but 
 set the city on fire also. So they assembled 
 themselves together, and the high-piiests with 
 them, and took counsel after what manner 
 they should avoid their assault. Now it was 
 God who turned their opinions to the worst 
 advice, and thence they devised such a reme- 
 dy to get themselves free, as was worse than 
 the disease 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 reso- 
 lution they brought to perfection, and sent 
 Matthias, tlie high-priest, to beseech this Si 
 mon to come in to them, of whom they hud 
 so often been afraid. Those also that had 
 fled from the zealots in Jerusalem joined in 
 this request to him, out of the desire they had 
 of preserving their houses and their effects. 
 Accordingly l-.e, in an arrogant manner, grant- 
 ed them ids lordly protection, and came into 
 the city, in order to deliver it from the zealots. 
 The people also made joyful acclamations to 
 him, as their saviour and their preserver; hut 
 wiien 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 aiug ami ending of every Jewish Sabbath. 
 
 forehand, with a trumpet,* at the beginning of 
 every seventh day, in the evening twilight, as 
 also at the evening when the day was finished, 
 as giving notice to the people when they 
 were to leave oflT work, and when they were 
 to go to work again. These men also set 
 their engines to cast darts and stones withal, 
 upon those towers, with their archers and 
 slingers. And now Simon made his assault 
 upon the temple more faintly, by reason that 
 the greatest part of his men grew weary of 
 that work ; yet did he not leave off his oppo- 
 sition, because his army was superior to the 
 others, although the darts which were thrown 
 by the engines were carried a great vvay, and 
 slew many of those that fought for him. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW THE SOLDIERS, EOTH IN JUDEA AND 
 EGYPT, PKOCLAIXIED VESPASIAN ElIPEROR ; 
 AND HOW VESPASIAN RELEASED JOSEPHLS 
 FROM HIS BONDS. 
 
 § 1. Now, about this very time it was that 
 heavy calamities came about Rome on all 
 sides ; for Vitellius was come from Germany 
 with his soldiery, and drew along with him a 
 
 » This beginning and ending the observation of the 
 Jewish Seventli Day, or Sabbath, with a priest's blowing 
 of a trumpet, is rcmarliable, and nowhere else men- 
 tioned, that I know of. Nor is Reland's conjecture here 
 improbable, that this was the very place that has puz- 
 zled our commentitors so long, called " Musach Sab- 
 bati," the " Covert of the Sabbath," if that be the true 
 reading, 2 Kings xvi, 18 ; because here the proper priest 
 stood dry, under a " covering" to proclaim the begin- 
 
CHAP. X. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 703 
 
 great multitude of otlier 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 before, and found themselves 
 shone round about on all sides with silver 
 and gold, they had much ado to contain their 
 covetous desires, and were ready to betake 
 themselves to plunder, and to the slaughter 
 of such as ^ould stand in their way. And 
 this was the state of affairs in Italy at that 
 time. 
 
 2. But when Vespasian had overthrown 
 all the places that were near to Jerusalem, he 
 returned to Cesarea, and hard of the troubles 
 that were at Rome, and that Vitellius was 
 emperor. This produced indignation in him, 
 although he well knew how to be governed, 
 as well as to govern, and could not with any 
 satisfaction own him for his lord who acted 
 so madly, and seized upon the government 
 as if it were absolutely destitute of a gover- 
 nor. And as this sorrow of his was violent, 
 he was not able to support the torments he 
 was under, nor to appi'y himself farther in o- 
 ther wars when his native country was laid 
 waste; but then, as much as his passion ex- 
 cited him to avenge his country, so much was 
 he restrained by the consideration of his dis- 
 tance therefrom ; because fortune might pre- 
 vent him, and do a world of mischief before 
 he could himself sail over the sea to Italy, 
 especially as it was still the winter season ; 
 so he restrained his anger, how vehement so- 
 ever it was, at this time. 
 
 3. But now his commanders and soldiers 
 met in several companies, and consulted o- 
 pcnly 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 emperors; 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 juster opportunity 
 shall they ever have of requiting their gene- 
 rals, if they do not make use of this that is 
 now before them ? while there is so much 
 juster reason for Vespasian's being emperor 
 than for Vitellius ; as they are themselves 
 more deserving than those that made the o- 
 tlier 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 la- 
 bours tlian tliey ; for that neither will the 
 Roman senate, nor people, bear siH^h a lasci- 
 
 vious emperor as Vitellius, if he be com- 
 pared 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, instead of 
 him that is a father; because the advance- 
 ment of men's own children to dignities is 
 certainly tlie greatest security kings can have 
 for themselves. Whether, therefore, we esti. 
 mate the capacity of governing from the skill 
 of a person in years, we ought to have Ves- 
 pasian, — 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 emperors, they 
 having already three legions, besides other 
 auxiliaries from the neighbouring kings, and 
 will have farther 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 bro- 
 ther,j- and his other son [Domitian] ; the one 
 of whom will bring in a great many of those 
 young men that are of dignity, while the o- 
 ther is intrusted with the government of the 
 city, which office of his will be no small 
 means of Vespasian's obtaining the govern- 
 ment. Upon the whole, the case may be 
 such, that if we ourselves make farther delays, 
 the senate may choose an emperor, whom the 
 soldiers, who are the saviours of the empire, 
 will have in contempt." 
 
 4. These were the discourses the soldiers 
 had in their several companies ; after which 
 they got together in a great body, and, en- 
 couraging one another, they declared Vespa- 
 sian emperor,^ and exhorted him to save the 
 government which was now in danger. Now 
 Vespasian's concern had been for a consider- 
 able time about the public, yet did not he in- 
 tend 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 dig- 
 nity; but when he refused the empire, the 
 
 * The Roman authors thai now remain, say Vi- 
 tellius had children ; whereas Josephus introdueesliere 
 the Homan soldiers in Judea saying he had none. 
 Which of these assertions was the truth I know not. 
 Spanheim thinks he has given a peculiar reason for cal 
 ling Vitellius " childless," though he really had child- 
 ren. Diss, de Num. p. 649, 650 ; to which it appears 
 very difficult to give our assent. 
 
 t This brother of Vespasian was Flavius Sabinus, as 
 Suetonius informs us, in Vitcll. sect. 15 ; and in Vespas. 
 sect. 2. He is also named by Josephus presently, ch 
 xi. sect. 4. 
 
 t It is plain by the nature of the thing, as well as by 
 Josephus and Eutropius, that Vespasian was first of al! 
 saluted emperor in Judea, and not till some time after- 
 ward in Egyj.-t. Whence Tacitus's and Suetonius's pre- 
 sent copies must be corrected, when they both say that 
 he was first proclaimed in Kgypt, and that on the kal- 
 ends of July, while they still say it was the fifth of tlie 
 Nones or Ides of the same July before he was proclaim- 
 ed in Juilea. 1 suppose the month they there intended 
 was June, and not July, as the copies now have it; nor 
 doe< 'I'acitus's coherence nnply les§. See Essay on tha 
 Revelation, page loti 
 
 V 
 
704. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 commnnders insisted the more earnestly upon ( island are built very great piers, the handy- 
 his acceptance ; and the soldiers came about 
 liim, 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 endeavoured to thrust away this do- 
 minion from him, he at length, being not 
 able to persuade them, yielded to their solici- 
 tations that would salute him emperor. 
 
 5. So upon the exhortations of Mucianus 
 and the other commanders, that he would ac- 
 cept of the empire, and upon that of tlie rjest 
 of the army, who cried out that they were 
 vi-illing to be led against all his opposers, he 
 was in the first place intent upon gaining the 
 dominion over Alexandria, as knowing that 
 Eo-ypt was of the greatest consequence, in or- 
 der to obtain the entire government, because 
 of its supplying corn [to Rome] ; which corn, 
 if he could be master of, he hoped to dethrone 
 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 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 
 himself, that he should then have that coun- 
 try for a defence to himself against the un- 
 certainty 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 di- 
 vides it from Ethiopia, as well as the cataracts 
 of the Nile, that cannot be sailed over; and 
 on the east the Red 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 ha- 
 vens in it for ships. And thus is Egypt wall- 
 ed about on every side. Its length between 
 Pelusium and Syene is two thousand furlongs, 
 and the passage by sea from Plinthine to Pe- 
 lusium, is three thousand six hundred fur- 
 longs. Its river Nile is navigable as far as 
 the city called Elephantine, the forenamed ca- 
 taracts hindering 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, and full of rocks, that He under the 
 water, which oblige the mariners to turn from 
 a straight cHrection : its left side is blocked up 
 by works made by men's hands on both sides ; 
 on its right side lies the island called Pharus, 
 which is situated just before the entrance, and 
 supports a very great tower, that afiordo the 
 si^ht of a fire to such as sail within three hun- 
 dred furlongs of it, that ships may cast anchor 
 a (Treat way off in the night-time, by reason 
 of the difficulty of sailing nearer. About this 
 
 • Here we have an authentic description of the 
 bounds and circuinstances of Egypt in the days of Ves- 
 pasian and Titus." 
 
 work of men, against which when the sea 
 dashes itself, and its waves are broken against 
 those boundaries, the navigation becomes very 
 troublesome, and the entrance through so nar- 
 row 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 large- 
 ness ; 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 distributed into all the 
 habitable earth. 
 
 6. Justly, therefore, did Vespasian desire 
 to obtain that government, in order to corro- 
 borate his attempts upon the whole of the 
 empire ; so he immediately sent to Tiberius 
 Alexander, who was then governor of Egypt 
 and of Alexandria, and informed him what 
 the army had put him upon, and how he, be- 
 ing forced to accept of the burden of tlie 
 government, was desirous to have him for his 
 confederate and supporter. Now as soon as 
 ever Alexander had read this letter, he readily 
 obliged the legions and the multitude to take 
 the oath of fidelity to Vespasian, both whom 
 willingly complied with him, as already ac- 
 quainted with the courage of the man, from 
 that his conduct in their neighbourhood. Ac- 
 cordingly Vespasian, looking upon Iiimself as 
 already intrusted with the government, got 
 all things ready for his journey [to Rome]. 
 Now fame carried this news abroad more sud- 
 denly than one could have thought, that he 
 was emperor over the east, upon which every 
 city kept festivals, and celebrated 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 ac- 
 count 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 
 Berytuf, where many embassages came to 
 him from Syria, and many from other pro- 
 vinces, bringing with them from every city 
 crowns, and the congratulations of the peo- 
 ple. IMucianus came also, who was the pre- 
 sident of the province, and told him with 
 what alacrity the people [received the news 
 of his advancement!, and how the people of 
 every city had taken the oath of fidelity to 
 him. 
 
 7. So Vespasian's good fortune succeeded 
 to his wishes everywhere, and the public af- 
 fairs were, for the greatest part, already in his 
 hands ; upon which he considered that he had 
 not arrived at the government without Divine 
 Providence, but that a righteous kind of fate 
 had brought the empire under his power; for 
 as he called to mind the other signals, which 
 had been a great many everywhere, that fore- 
 told he should obtain the government, so did 
 he remember what Josephus had said to him 
 1 when he ventured to foretel his commg to the 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 705 
 
 empire while Nero was alive ; so he was much 
 concerned that this man was still in bonds 
 with him. He then called for INIucianus, to- 
 gether 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 lie had made him undergo in 
 the siege of Jotapata. After that he related 
 those predictions of his • which he had tlien 
 suspected as fictions, suggested out of the 
 fear he was in, but which had by time been 
 demonstrated to be divine. " It is a shame- 
 ful 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 condition 
 of a captive or prisoner." So he called for 
 Josephus, and commanded that he should be 
 set at liberty ; whereupon the commanders 
 promised themselves glorious things, from this 
 requital Vespasian made to a stranger. Titus 
 was then present with his father, and said, 
 " O father, it is but just that the scandal [of 
 a prisoner] should be taken off Josephus, to- 
 gether witli 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 testimony 
 of his integrity for a reward, and was more- 
 over esteemed a person of credit as to futuri- 
 ties also. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THAT UPON THE CONQUEST AND SLAUGHTER 
 OF VITELLIUS, VESPASIAN HASTENED HIS 
 JOURNEY TO ROME ; BUT TITUS HIS SON 
 RETURNED TO JERUSALEM. 
 
 § 1. And now, when Vespasian had given 
 answers to the embassages, and had disposed 
 of the places of power justly,f and according 
 
 * As Daniel was preferred bv Darius and Cjtus, on 
 acfount of his having foretold the destruction of the Ba- 
 bylonian monarchy by their means, and the consequent 
 exaltation of the ^lerl'S aiid Persians, Dan. v, \'i ; or 
 rather, as Jeremiah, when he was a prisoner, was set at 
 liberty, and honourably treated by Nebuzaradan, at the 
 command of Nebuchachiezzar, on account of his having 
 foretold the destruction of Jerusalen\ by the Babyloni- 
 ans, Jer. xl, 1—7 ; so was our Josephus set at libettv and 
 honourably treated, on account of his having foretold 
 the advancement of Vespasian and Titus to the Roman 
 empire. All these are most eminent instances of the 
 interposition of Divine Providence, and of the certainty 
 of divine predictions in the great revolutions of the four 
 monarchies. Several such-lilie examples there are, both 
 in the sacred and other histories ; as in the case of Jo- 
 seph in Kgypt, and of Jaddua the high-priest, in the 
 days of Alexander the Great, Ac. 
 
 t This is well observed by Josephus, that Vespasian, 
 in ordei to secure his success, and establish his govern- 
 ment at first, distributed his otiices and places upon the 
 foot of justice, and bestowed them on such as best de- 
 served them, and were best fit for them. VWiich wise 
 
 to every one's deserts, he came to Antioch, 
 and consulting which way he had best take, 
 he preferred to go to Rome, rather than to 
 march to Alexandria, because he saw that 
 Alexandria was sure to him already, but that 
 the affairs at Rome were put into disorder by 
 Vitellius; so he sent Mucianus to Italy, and 
 committed a considerable army both of horse- 
 men and footmen to him ; yet was INIucianus 
 afraid of going by sea, because it was the 
 middle of winter; so he led his anny on foot 
 through Cappadocia and Phrygia. 
 
 2. In the mean time Antonius Primus took 
 the third of the legions that ^^ere in Mysia, 
 for he was president of that province, and 
 made haste, in order to fight Vitellius ; where- 
 upon Vitellius sent away Cecinna, with a great 
 anny, having a mighty confidence in him, be- 
 cause of his having beaten Otho. U'liis Ce- 
 cinna marched out of Rome in great haste, 
 and found Antonius about Cremona in Gall, 
 which city is in the borders of Italy ; but 
 when he saw there that the enemy were nu- 
 merous 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 to 
 Antonius. Accordingly, he assembled the 
 centurions and tribunes that were under his 
 command, and persuaded them to go over to 
 Antonius, and this by diininishing the repu- 
 tation of Vitellius, and by exaggerating the 
 power of Vespasian. He also told them, that 
 with the one there was no more than the bare 
 name of dominion ; 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 Vespasian 
 was able of himself to subdue what had not 
 yet submitted, without their assistance, while 
 Vitellius could not preserve what he had al- 
 ready with it. 
 
 3. Cecinna said this, and much more to the 
 same purpose, and persuaded them to com- 
 ply with him ; and both he and his army de- 
 serted ; but still the very same night the sol- 
 diers 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 or- 
 der 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 tlie soldiers did not kill him, but put him 
 in bonds, as a traitor, and were about to send 
 him to Vitellius. When [Antonius] Primus 
 heard of this, he raised up his men immedi- 
 ately, and made them put on their armour, 
 and led them against those that had revolted ; 
 hereupon they put themselves in order of bat- 
 conduct in a mere heathen, ought to put those rulers 
 and ministers of statt to shame, who. professing Chris- 
 tianity, act otherwise, and thereby expose tlien^elves 
 and their kingdoms to \ ice and destruction. 
 
^-v. 
 
 70G 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 tie, and made resistance for a while, but were 
 soon beaten, and fled to Cremona ; then did 
 Primus take bis horsemen, and cut ofT their 
 entrance into tlie city, and encompassed 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 merchants, as well as many of the peo- 
 ple of tdat country, perislied, and among them 
 Vitellius's whole army, being thirty thousand 
 and two hundred, while Antonius lost no more 
 of those that came with him from Mysia than 
 four thousand and five hundred ; he then 
 loosed Cecinna, and sent hira to Vespasian, 
 to tell him the good news. So he came, and 
 was received by him ; and covered the scan- 
 dal of his treachery by the unexpected ho- 
 nours he received from Vespasian. 
 
 4. And now, upon the news that Antoni- 
 us was approaching, Sabinus took courage at 
 Rome, and assembled those cohorts of soldiers 
 that kept watch by night, and in the night- 
 tixTie seized upon the capitol ; and, as the day 
 came on, many men of character came over 
 to him, with Domitian, his brother's son, 
 whose encouragement was of very great 
 weio-ht for the compassing the government. 
 Now, Vitellius was not much concerned at 
 this Primus, but was very angry with those 
 that had revolted with Sabinus j and thirsting, 
 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 Ger- 
 many, 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 Sa- 
 binus himself was brought to Vitellius 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 destroy- 
 ed. Then did Vitellius come out of the pa- 
 lace, in his cups, and satiated with an extra- 
 vagant and luxurious meal, as in the last ex- 
 vremity, and being drawn along through the 
 multitude, and abused with all sorts of tor- 
 ments, had his head cut oft' in the midst of 
 Rome, having retained the government eight 
 months and five days ;• and had he lived much 
 longer, I cannot but think the empire would 
 
 not have been suflficlent for his lust. Of the 
 others that were slain, were numbered above 
 fifty thousand. This battle was fought on the 
 tliird 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 oflT killing; for they were still 
 searching the houses, and killed many of Vi- 
 tellius's soldiers and many of the populace, as 
 supposing them to be of his party, preventing 
 by their rage any accurate distinction between 
 them and others. He then produced Domi- 
 tian, 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 Vi. 
 tellius. 
 
 5. And now, as Vespasian was come to 
 Alexandria, this good news came from Rome, 
 and at the same time came embassies from all 
 his own habitable earth, to congratulate him 
 upon his advancement ; and though this Alex- 
 andria was the greatest of all cities next to 
 Rome, it proved too narrow to contain the 
 multitude that then came to it. So upon this 
 confirmation of Vespasian's entire govern, 
 ment, which was now settled, and upon the 
 unexpected deliverance of the public affairs 
 of the Romans from ruin, Vespasian turned 
 his thoughts to wliat remained unsubdued in 
 Judea. However, he himself made haste to 
 go to Rome, as the winter was now almost 
 over, and soon set the affairs 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 distant twenty furlongs from Alex- 
 andria ; there he put his army on board some 
 long ships, and sailed upon the river along 
 the Mende.^ian 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 He- 
 racleopolis, and his 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 Pelusium ; he then proceeded one 
 station over the desert, and pitched his camp 
 at the temple of the Casian Jupiter,f and on 
 the next day at Ostracine. This station had 
 no water; but the people of the country 
 make use of water brought from other places. 
 After this he rested at Rhinocolura, and from 
 thence he went to Raphia, which was his 
 fourth station. This city is the beginning of 
 
 * The numbers in Josephus, ch. ix, sect. 2, 9, for 
 Galba 7 months 7 days, for Otho 3 months 2 days, and 
 here for Vitellius 8 months 5 days, do not agree with any 
 Roman historians; who also disagree am.ong thenjselves. 
 And, indeed, Sealiger justly complains, as Dr. lUidson 
 observes on chap, ix, sect i!, that this jieriod is very 
 confused and uncertiiin in the ancient authors. They 
 were probably some of them contemporary together for 
 
 some time ; one of the best evidences we have, I mean 
 Ptolemy's Cajion, omits them all, as if they did not all 
 together reign one whole year, nor had a smgle Thoth, 
 or New Year's Day (which then fell upon Aug. 6) in 
 their entire reigns. Dio, also, who says that Vrtelliiis 
 reigned a year within ten days, does yet estimate all their 
 reigns together at no more "than one year, one month, 
 and two days. 
 
 1 There are coins of this Casian Jupiter still extant, 
 as Spanheim here informs u& 
 
CHAP. I. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 707 
 
 Syria. For his fifth station lie pitched his 1 to Joppa, and from Joppa to Cesarea, having 
 camp at Gaza; after which he came to As- taken a resolution to gather all his other 
 calon, and thence to Jamnia, and after that j forces together at that place. 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF NEAR SIX MONTHS. 
 
 FROM THE COMING OF TITUS TO BESIEGE JERUSALEM, TO THE 
 GREAT EXTREMITY TO WHICH THE JEWS WERE REDUCED. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CONCERNIXG THE SEDITIONS AT JERUSALEM, 
 AND WHAT TERRIBLE MISERIES AFELICTED 
 THE CITY BY THEIR MEANS. 
 
 § 1. When therefore Titus had marchjed over 
 that desert which lies between Egypt and 
 Syria, in the manner forementioned, he came 
 to Cesarea, having resolved to set his forces 
 in order at that place, before he began the 
 war. Nay, indeed, while he was assisting his 
 father at Alexandria, in settling that govern- 
 inent 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 otlier : 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 of the city's 
 destruction, it hath been already explained 
 after an accurate manner; as also whence it 
 arose, and to how great a mischief it was in- 
 creased ; but for the present sedition, one 
 should not mistake if he called it a sedition 
 begotten by another sedition, and to be like a 
 wild beast grown mad, which, for want of food 
 from abroad, fell now upon eating its own flesh. 
 2. 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 inso- 
 lent attempts, which he made every day upon 
 the people; for this man never left off" mur- 
 dering: but tlie truth was, that he could not 
 bear to submit to a tyrant who set up after 
 him. So he being desirous of gaining the 
 entire power and dominion to himself, revolt- 
 ed from John, and took to his assistance Ju- 
 das the son of Chelcias, and Simon the-£on of 
 
 Ezron, wno were among the men of greatest 
 power. There was also with him Hezekiali 
 ti;e 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 up- 
 on 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 con- 
 secrated 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 
 Eleazar in the mtiltitude of his followers, the 
 like disadvantage he had in the situation he 
 was in, since he had bis enemies over bis 
 head; and as he could not make any assault 
 upon them without some terror, so was bis 
 anger too great to let them be at rest; nay, 
 although he suffered more mischief from Elea- 
 zar and his party than he could inflict upon 
 them, yet would he not leave off' assaulting 
 them, insomuch that there were continual sal- 
 Ues made one against another, as well as darts 
 thrown at one another, and the temple was de- 
 filed everywhere with murders. 
 
 3. But now the tyrant Simon, the son of 
 Gioras, whom the people had invited in, out of 
 the hopes they had of his assistance in tlie 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 
 
 » This appears to be the first time (hat the zealots 
 ventured to pollute this most sacred court of the temple, 
 which was the court oi" the prie^ti, wherein the temple 
 itself ani the altar stood. So that the conjecture of 
 those that would interpret that Zacharias, who was 
 slain " between the temple and the altar" several mouths 
 before, b. iv, ch. v. sect. 4. as if he were slain there by 
 these zealots, is groundless, as I have noted on that 
 place already. 
 
 jT 
 
708 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 and his party, because tliey were fouglit against 
 from above also ; yet was he beneath their 
 situation, when lie 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 advantage tiiat Eleazar and his 
 party had over him, since lie was beneath them, 
 the same 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 throvvn fronj their 
 hands only ; but was obliged to repel those 
 that threw darts from the temple above him, 
 by his engines of war ; for he had such en- 
 gines as threw darts, and javelins, and stones, 
 and that in no small number, by which he did 
 not only defend himself from such as fought 
 against him, but slew moreover many of the 
 priests, as they were about their sacred minis- 
 trations; for notwithstanding these men were 
 mad with all sorts of impiety, yet did they stiil 
 admit those that desired to offer their sacri- 
 fices, although they took care to search the 
 people of their own country beforehand, and 
 both suspected and 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 that 
 court, were yet often destroyed by this sedi- 
 tion : 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 * that were about the 
 sacred offices ; insomuch that many persons 
 who came thither with great zeal from the ends 
 of the earth, to offer sacrifices at this celebrat- 
 ed place, which was esteemed holy by all 
 mankind, felt down before their own sacrifices 
 themselves, and 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 to- 
 gether with those of their own country, and 
 those of profane persons with those of the 
 priests, and tlie blood of all sorts of dead car- 
 cases stood in lakes in the holy courts them- 
 selves. And now, " O most wretched city, 
 what misery so great as this didst thou suffer 
 from the Romans, when they came to purify 
 thee from thy intestine hatred ! For thou 
 couldst be no longer a place fit for God, 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-place in this civi'l war of thine ! 
 Yet mayst thou again grow better, if perchance 
 thou wilt hereafter appease the anger of that 
 God who is the author of thy destrrction.f " 
 
 * The Levites. 
 
 f This is an excellent reflection of Josephus, includ- 
 ing his hopes of llie restoration of the Jews upon their 
 repentance. See Antiq. b iv, ch. viii spct 46 whicl\ 
 
 But I must restrain myself from these pas- 
 sions 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. 
 
 4. 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. Tliis Simon had his supply of pro- 
 visions from the city, in opposition to the se- 
 ditious. When, therefore, John was assault- 
 ed 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 en- 
 gines of war ; and if at any time he was freed 
 from those that were above him, which hap- 
 pened frequently, from their being drunk 
 and tired, he sallied out with a great number 
 upon Simon and his party; and this he did 
 aljvays in such parts of the city as he could 
 come at, till he set on fire tliose houses that 
 were full of corn, and of all other provisions, t 
 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 pass, that ail the 
 places that were about the temple were burnt 
 down, and were become an intermediate de- 
 sert 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 pre- 
 pared the way for it by this procedure. 
 
 5. 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, be- 
 tween them, were like a great body torn in 
 pieces. The aged men and the women were 
 in sueh distress by their internal calamities, 
 that they wished for the Romans, and earnest- 
 ly hoped for an external war, in order to their 
 delivery from their domestic miseries. The 
 citizens themselves were under a terrible con- 
 sternation and fear ; nor had they any oppor- 
 
 is the grand " Hope of Israel," as Manasseh-benlsrael, 
 the famous Jewish rabbi, styles it, in his small but re- 
 markable treatise on that subject, of which the Jewish 
 prophets are everywhere full. See the principal of those 
 prophecies collected together at the end of the Essay on 
 the Revelation, page 5'-'-', &c. 
 
 ■^ This destruction of such a vast quantity of com 
 and other provisions, as was sufficient for many years, 
 was the direct occasion of that teiTible famine, which 
 eonsimie<l incredible numbers of Jews in Jerusalem dur- 
 ing its siege. Nor probably could the Romans have 
 taken this city, after all, had not these seditious Jews 
 been so infatuated as thus madlv to destroy, what Jo- 
 sephus here justly styles " The nerves of tHeir power ' 
 
 '^^ 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 709 
 
 tunity of taking counsel, and of changing their | ters, where alone he cocld erect them ;f where- 
 conduct ; nor were there any hopes of com- [ as, tlie other sides of that court had so many 
 ing to an agreement with their enemies ; nor j steps as would not let them come nigh enough 
 tould such as had a mind flee away ; for ' the cloisters. 
 
 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 Romans, or were suspected of an in- 
 clination to desert to them, as their common 
 enemies. They agreed in nothing but this, 
 to kill tliose that were innocent. The noise 
 also of those that were fighting was incessant, 
 both by day and by night ; but the lamenta- 
 tions 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 prevented 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 was any regard paid to those 
 that were still alive, by their relations ; nor 
 was there any care taken of burial for those 
 that were dead ; the occasion 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 expect- 
 ing for certain that they should very soon be 
 destroyed ; 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 fiercer 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, and omitted 
 no method of torment or of barbarity. Nay, 
 John abused the sacred materials,* and em- 
 ployed them in the construction of his en- 
 gines of war ; for the people and the priests 
 had formerly determined to support the tem- 
 ple, and raise the holy house twenty cubits 
 higher ; for king Agrippa had at a very great 
 expense, and with very great pains, brought 
 thither 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 tlie work, John had them cut, 
 and prepared for the building him towers, he 
 finding them long enough to oppose from 
 them tliose his adversaries that fought him from 
 the temple that was above him. He also had 
 them brought and erected behind the inner 
 court over-against the west end of the clois- 
 
 6. Thus did John hope to be too hard for 
 his enemies by these engines constructed by 
 his impiety; but God himself demonstrated 
 that his pains would prove of no use to him, 
 by bringing the Romans 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 Jerusalem, marched out of Cesarea. 
 He had with him those three legions that had 
 accompanied his fatlier when he laid Judea 
 waste, together witli that twelfth U^gion which 
 had been formerly beaten with Cestius ; 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 Emmaus, 
 and the tenth to go up by Jericho ; he also 
 moved himself, together with the rest ; besides 
 whom marched those auxiliaries that came from 
 the kings, being now more in number than be- 
 fore, together with a considerable number that 
 came to his assistance from Syria. Tliose al- 
 so 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 
 two thousand men, chosen out of the armies 
 at Alexandria, There followed him also three 
 thousand 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 go- 
 vernor of Alexandria, but was now thought 
 worthy to be general of the army [under Ti- 
 tus]. 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 followed Ti- 
 tus as a counsellor, very useful to liim in this 
 war, both by his age and skill in such ailairs. 
 
 * This timber, we see, was designed for the rebuild- 
 ing those twenty additional cubits of the holy house 
 aliove the hundred, which had fallen dowt\ soqje years 
 before. Sec the note un Antiti. b- xv ch. 1" sect. ~ 
 
 CHATTER II. 
 
 HOW TITUS MARCHED TO JERUSALEM, AND 
 HOW HE WAS IN DANGER AS HE WAS TAK- 
 ING A VIEW OF THE CITY. OF THE PLACE 
 .^LSO WHERE HE PITCHED HIS CAM?. 
 
 § I. Now, as Titus was upon his march in- 
 to the enemy's country, tlie auxiliaries that 
 
 t There being no gate on the west, and only on the 
 
 west siile of the court of the priests, and so no steps 
 
 there, this was the only side tliat the seditious, under 
 
 i tliis John of Gischala, could bring their engines clos* 
 
J' 
 
 710 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 were sent by the kings marclied first, having 
 all the other auxiliaries with tliem; after wliom 
 followed those that were to prepare the roads 
 and measure out the camp ; then came the 
 commander's baggage, and after that the other 
 soldiers, who were completely armed to sup- 
 port them ; then came Titus himself, having 
 with him another select body ; and then came 
 the pikemen ; after whom came the horse be- 
 longing 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 en- 
 signs came the trumpeters belonging to thein ; 
 next these came the main body of the anny in 
 their ranks, every rank being six deep ; the 
 servants belonging to every legion came after 
 these ; and before these last their baggage; the 
 mercenaries came last, and those that guarded 
 them brought up the rear. Now Titus, ac- 
 cording to the Roman usage, went in the front 
 of the army after a decent manner, and march- 
 ed through Samaria to Gophna, 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 march- 
 ed on in the morning ; and when he liad 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 Thorns," near a 
 certain village called Gabaothsaul, which sig- 
 nifies " the Hill of Saul," being distant from 
 Jerusaletn about thirty furlongs, Tliere it 
 was that he chose out six hundred 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 came to a di- 
 rect battle, they would be affrighted and sub- 
 mit ; for he had been informed, what was 
 really true, that the people who were fallen 
 under the power of the seditious and the rob- 
 bers, were greatly desirous of peace ; but be- 
 ing too weak ;o rise up against the rest, they 
 lay still. 
 
 2, Now, so long as he rode along the 
 straight road which led to the wall of the 
 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 
 nuinber 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 
 tl.em from joining those that had declined 
 out oil it. They intercepted Titus also, with 
 a few others. Now it was here impossible for 
 
 to the cloisters of that court end-ways, though upon the 
 tl<K)r of the court of Israel, bee the scheme of that 
 temple, hi the description of the temples hereto belong- 
 
 hiiTi to go forward, because all the places had 
 trenches dug in them from the wall, to pre- 
 serve the gardens round about, and were full 
 of gardens obliquely situated, and of many 
 hedges ; and to return back to his own men, 
 he sa-w it was also impossible, by reason of 
 the multitude of the enemies that lay between 
 them ; many of whom did not so much a'j 
 know that the king * was in any danger, but 
 supposed him still among them. So he per- 
 ceived, that his preservation 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 or- 
 der to force his way through them to his own 
 men. And hence wc may principally learn, 
 that both the success of wars, and the dangers 
 that kings f are in, are under the providence 
 of God ; for while such a number of darts 
 were thrown at Titus, wlien he had neither 
 his head-piece on, noi his breast-plate (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 his 
 horse ride over those that were overthrown. 
 The enemy indeed made a great shout at the 
 boldness of Csesar, f and exhorted one ano- 
 ther to rush upon him. Yet did ih.ese against 
 whom he marched fly away, and go off 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 escajiing, if they 
 could assist Titus in opening himself a way, 
 that he might not be encompassed round by 
 his enemies before he got away from them. 
 Now, there were two of those that \\f:XQ with 
 him, but at some distance ; the one of whom 
 the enemy encompassed round, and slen- him 
 with their darts, and his horse also ; but the 
 other they slew as he leaped down from his 
 horse, and carried off his horse with them. 
 But Titus escaped with the rest, and came 
 
 » We may here note, that Titus is here called " a 
 king," and " Cassar," by Josephus, even while he was 
 no more than the emperor's son, and general of the 
 Roman army, and his father Vespasian was still alive; 
 just as the New Testament says " Archelaus reigned," 
 or " was king," (Mat. ii, 1i) though he was properly no 
 more than ethnaich, as Josephus assures us, Antiq. b. 
 xviii, eh. xi, sect. 4. Of the War, b. ii, ch. vi, sect. .'5. 
 Thus also the Jews called the Roman emperors " Kin:.'S," 
 though they never took that title to themselves : " We 
 have no king but Ca;sar," John xix, 15. " Subir.it to 
 the king as supreme," I Pet. ii, 15. 17 ; which is also the 
 language of the Apostohcal Constitutions, ii, 11,54; 
 iv, 15; V. 19; vi, i.', 25; vii, 16; viii, 2, 15; and else- 
 where in the New Testament, Mat x, 13; xvii, 25; 1 
 Tim. ii, 2 ; and in Josephus also ; though I suspect 
 Josephus particularly esteemed Titus as joint-king with 
 his father ever since his divine dreams that declared 
 them both such, b. iii. ch. viii, sect. 9. 
 
 f See the above nota. 
 
 ■^^ 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 711 
 
 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 in- 
 clination of fortune, on tlieir side, made them 
 very courageous for the future. 
 
 3. But now, as soon as that legion that had 
 been at Emmaus was joined to Cassar at night, 
 he removed thence, when it was day, and came 
 to a place called Scopus ; from wlience the 
 city began already to be seen, and a plain 
 view might he 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 furlongs 
 distant from it. And here it was that Titus 
 ordered a camp to be fortified for two legions 
 that were to be 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. 
 
 4. Now, when hitherto the several parties 
 in the city had been dashing one against an- 
 other perpetually, this foreign war, now sud- 
 denly come upon them after a violent man- 
 ner, put the first stop to their contentions one 
 against another; and, as the seditious now 
 saw with astonishment the Romans pitching 
 three several camps, they began to think of 
 an awkward sort of concord, 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 us in, that we shall not be 
 able to breatiie 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 become spectators only of what 
 they are doing, with our hands idle, and our 
 armour laid by, as if they were about some- 
 what that was for our good and advantage. 
 W^e arc, it seems," sodidthey cry out, "only 
 courageous against ourselves, while the Ro- 
 mans are likely to gain the city without blood- 
 shed by our sedition." Thus did tliey en- 
 courage one another when they were gotten 
 together, and took their armour Immediately, 
 
 * This situation of tlie Mount of Oiives, on the east 
 of Jerusalem, at about tlie distance of five or six fur- 
 longs, with the valley of Cedron interposed between 
 that mountain and the city, are things well known both 
 in the Old and \ew Testament, in Josephus «lsewhere, 
 aod in all the descriptions of Palestine. 
 
 and ran out upon the tenth legion, and fell 
 upon the Romans with great eagerness, and 
 with a prodigious shout, as they were fortify- 
 ing their camp. These Romans were caught 
 in different parties, and this in order to per- 
 form their several works, and on that account 
 had in great measure laid aside their arms ; 
 for they thought the Jews would not have ven- 
 tured 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 be- 
 fore they could turn back upon the enemy. 
 The Jews became still more and :nore in num- 
 ber, as encouraged by the good success ot 
 those that first made the attack ; and, while 
 they had such good fortune, they seemed, 
 both to themselves and to fhe enemy, to be 
 many more than they really were. Tlie dis 
 orderly way of their fighting 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 obeying 
 the orders that were given them ; for which 
 reason the Romans were caught unexpected- 
 ly, and were obliged to give way to the as- 
 saults 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 a- 
 way 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 
 immediately. 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 num. 
 ber, 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 turn- 
 ed about, and stood over-against the Romans, 
 having the valley between them, and there 
 fought with them. Thus did they continue 
 the fight till noon ; but, when it was alrea- 
 dy 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 
 the Jews to be a flight; and as the watch- 
 
J~ 
 
 712 
 
 WARS OP THE JEWS. 
 
 man, who was placed upon the wall, gave a 
 signal by shaking his garment, there came 
 out a fresii multitude of Jews, and that witli 
 such mighty violence, that one might compare 
 it to the running of the most terrible wild 
 beasts. To say the truth, none of those that 
 opposed them could sustain the fury with 
 which they made their attacks; but, as if 
 they had been C£.st out of an engine, they 
 brake 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 nccli- 
 vitv. Now these others, who were his friends, 
 despised the danger they were in, and were 
 ashamed to leave their general, earnestly ex- 
 horting him to give way to these Jews tiiat 
 are fond of dying, and not to run into such 
 dangers before those that ought to stay before 
 him J to consider what his fortune was, and 
 not, by supplying the place of a common 
 soldier, to venture to turn back upon the ene- 
 my so suddenly ; and this because he was 
 general in the war, and lord of the habitable 
 parth, on whose preservation the 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 lie had forced them to 
 go back, he slew them : he also fell upon 
 great numbers as they marched down the 
 liill, and thrust them forward ; while those 
 men were so amazed at his courage and his 
 strength, tliat they could not fly directly to 
 tlie city, but declined from him on both sides, 
 and pressed after those that fled up the hill ; 
 yet did he still fall upon their flank, and put 
 a stop to their fury. In the mean time, a 
 disorder and a terror fell again upon those 
 tliat were fortifying their camp at the top of 
 tlie hill, upon their seeing those beneath them 
 running away, insomuch that the vvhole legion 
 was dispersed, while they thought that the 
 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 staid, the rest would never 
 have fled for it. Thus were they encompass- 
 ed on every side by a kind of panic fear, and 
 some dispersed theinselves one way, and some 
 another, till certain of them saw their general 
 in the very midst of an action, and, being un- 
 der great concern for him, they loudly pro- 
 claimed 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 
 Cajsar. So they used their utmost force a- 
 gainst the Jews, and declining from the 
 straight declivity, tliey 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. Titus also pressed upon 
 those that were near liim, and sent the legion 
 again to fortify their camp ; while he, and 
 those that were with him before, ojjposed the 
 enemy, and kept them from doing fartlier 
 mischief; insomuch that, if I may be allow- 
 ed neither to add any thing out of flattery, 
 nor to diminish any thing out of envy, but 
 to speak the plain truth, Caesar did twice de- 
 liver that entire legion when it was in jeopar- 
 dy, and gave them a quiet opportunity of for- 
 tifying their camp. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW THE SEllITION WAS AGAIN REVIVED 
 WITHIN JERUSALEM, AND YET THE JEWS 
 CONTRIVED SNARES FOR THE ROMANS. HOW 
 TITL'S ALSO THREATENED HIS SOLDIERS FOR 
 THEIR UNGOVERNABLE 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 believ- 
 ed the Jews were tirst freed from the Egyp- 
 tians, Eleazar and his party opened the gates 
 of this [inmost court of the] temple, and ad- 
 mitted such of the people as were desirous to 
 worship God into it.* liut 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 sent them with 
 great zeal into the temple, in order to seize 
 ujion it; which armed men, when they were 
 gotten in, threw their garments away, and 
 presently 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 sedition, 
 supposed that this assault was made against 
 all without distinction, as the zealots thought 
 
 • Here we see the true occasion of those vast num- 
 bers of Jews that were in Jerusalem during this siege 
 by Titus, and perished tlierein ; that the siege began at 
 W\c feast of the passover, when such prodigious multi- 
 tudes of Jews and jiroselytes of the gale were come 
 from all parts of Juilca, and from other countries, in 
 order to celebrate that great festival. See the note, b. 
 vi, eh. ix, sect. 3. Tacitus himself informs us, that the 
 number of men, women, and children, in Jerusalem, 
 when it was besieged by the Romans, as he liad been 
 informed, was 611(1,0(10. Tliis information must have 
 been laken from the Romans ; for Josephus never men- 
 tions the numbers of those that were besieged, only he 
 lets us know, that of the vulgar, carried dead out ot the 
 gates, and buried at the public charges, was the like 
 number of 600,00(i, eh. viii, sect. 7- However, when 
 Cestius Gallus came first to the siege, that sum in Ta- 
 citus is no way disagreeable to Josephus's history , though 
 they were become much more numerous when Titus 
 encompassed the city at the passover. As to the num- 
 ber that perished during the siege, Josephus assures us, 
 as we shall see hereafter, they were 1,100,000, besides 
 97,000 captives. But Tacitus's history of the last part 
 of this siege is not now extant; so we cannot compare 
 his parallel nui bers with those of Josephus. 
 
CUAP. III. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 713 
 
 it was made against themselves only. So 
 these left off guarding tlie gates any longer, 
 and leaped down from their battlements be- 
 fore they came to an engagement, and fled 
 away into the subterranean caverns of the 
 temple ; while the people that stood trem- 
 bling at the altar, and about the holy house, 
 were rolled on heaps together, and trampled 
 upon, and were beaten both with wooden and 
 with iron weapons without mercj-. 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 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 war- 
 like engines therein, and then ventured to op- 
 pose Simon. And thus that sedition, which 
 had been divided into three factions, was 
 now reduced to two, 
 
 2. 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 
 £;ave orders for the whole 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 liollow 
 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 adjoined to 
 tlie pool called the Serpent's Pool. 
 
 3. Now at this very time, the Jews contriv- 
 ed the following stratagem against the Ro- 
 mans. 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 per- 
 petually, with violence, they then came back, 
 and seemed to be in great disord^. 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 surprising 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 or- 
 dered the soldiers to stay where they were. 
 However, some of them that were set in the 
 front of the works prevented him, and catch- 
 ing up their arms ran to the gates ; whereup 
 on those that seemed to have been ejected at 
 the first retired ; but as soon as the soldiers 
 were gotten between the towers on each side 
 of the gate, the Jews ran out and encompass- 
 ed 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 con- 
 siderable number, and wounded many more ; 
 for it was rot easy for the Romans to escape, 
 by reason those behind them pressed them 
 forward ; besides which, the shame they were 
 under for being mistaken, a«d the fear they 
 were in of their commanders, engaged them 
 to persevere in their mistake ; wherefore they 
 fought with their spears a great while, and re- 
 ceived many blows from the Jews, though in- 
 deed they gave them as many blows again, 
 and at last repelled those that had encompass- 
 ed them ;ibout, while the Jews pursued them 
 as they retired, and followed them, and threw 
 darts at them as far as the monuments of 
 queen Helena. 
 
 4. After this these Jews, without keeping 
 any decorum, grew insolent upon tlieir good 
 fortune, and jested upon the Remans, for be- 
 ing deluded by the trick they had put upon 
 them, and making a noise with beating their 
 shields, leaped for gladness, and made joyful 
 exclamations ; while these soldiers were re- 
 ceived with threatenings by their officers, 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 
 stratagems, 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 Romans, to 
 whom fortune uses to be ever subservient, by 
 reason of their good order, and ready sub- 
 mission to their commanders, have now had 
 ill' success by their contrary behaviour, and 
 by not being able to restrain 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 pre- 
 sence of Casar, " Truly," says Titus, " the 
 laws of war cannot but groan iieavilv, as will 
 3 O 
 
 ■\. 
 
■V 
 
 714. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 my father also himself, when he shall be in- 
 formed of this wound that hatli 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 
 tliose 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 immedi- 
 ately sensible, that even they who conquer 
 among the Romans without orders for fight- 
 ing, are to be under disgrace." When Titus 
 had enlarged upon this matter before the 
 commanders, it appeared evident that he 
 would execute the law against all tliose that 
 were concerned ; so these soldiers' minds sunk 
 down in despair, 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 tlieir 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 
 move virtuous behaviour for the time to come. 
 5. So C»sar complied with their desires, 
 and with what prudence dictated to him also ; 
 for he esteemed it fit to punish single persons 
 by real executions, but that the punishment 
 of great multitudes should proceed no farther 
 than reproofs ; so he was reconciled to the 
 soldiers, but gave them a special charge to 
 act more wisely for the future ; and he con- 
 sidered with himself how he might be even 
 with the Jews for their stratagein. 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 liis army 
 over-against that wall wliich lay on the north 
 quarter of the city, and over-against the wes- 
 tern part of it, and made his army seven deep, 
 with the footmen placed before them, and the 
 horsemen behind them, each of the last in 
 three ranks, whilst 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 bare the burdens, and belong- 
 ed 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 corner,* 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 fortified themselves at the tower called 
 
 * Perhajis, says Dr. Hudson, here was that gate, call- 
 oil the " Gate of the Corner," ia 2 Chr. xxvi, 9. See 
 irh, iv. sect. ". 
 
 Hippicus, and was distant, in like manner, 
 but two furlongs from the city. However, 
 the tentli legion continued in its own place, 
 upon the Mount of Olives. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 § 1. The city of Jerusalem was fortified with 
 three walls, on such parts as were not encom- 
 passed with unpassable valleys ; for in such 
 places it had but one wall. The city was 
 built upon two hills which are opposite to one 
 anotlier, and have a valley to divide them 
 assunder: at which valley the corresponding 
 rows of houses on both hills end. Of these 
 hills, that which contains the upper city is 
 much higher, and in length more direct. Ac- 
 cordingly, it was called the " Citadel," by 
 king David ; he was the father of that Solo- 
 mon who built this temple at the first ; but it 
 is by us called the " 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 naturally lower than 
 Acra, and parted formerly from the other by 
 a broad valley. However in those times when 
 tlio Asamoneans 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 before, that the tem- 
 ple might be superior to it. Now tiie Valley 
 of the Cheese-mongers, as it was called, and 
 was that which we told you before distinguish- 
 ed the hill of the upper city from that of the 
 lov\ er, 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 surround- 
 ed by deep valleys, and by reason of the pre- 
 cipices to them belonging on both sides, they 
 are everywhere unpassable. 
 
 2. 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 follow- 
 ing kings, were very zealous about this work. 
 Now that wall began on the north, at the 
 tower called " Hippicus," and extended as 
 far 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 througli a place 
 called " Bethso," to the gate of the Ebsens ; 
 and after that it went southward, having its 
 bending above the fountain Siloam, where it 
 
CHAP. IV 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 715 
 
 also bends again towards 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 cloister of the temple. 
 Tlie second wall took its beginning from that 
 gate which they called " Gennath," which be- 
 longed to the first wall ; it only encompassed 
 the northern quarter of the city, and reached as 
 far as the tower Antonia. The beginning of 
 the third wall was at tlie tower Hippicus, 
 whence it reached as far as the north quar- 
 ter of the city, and the tower Psephinus, 
 and then was so far extended till it came 
 over-against the monuments 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 " Val- 
 ley of Cedron." It was Agrippa who en- 
 compassed the parts added to the old city with 
 tliis wall, which had been all naked before ; 
 for as the city grew more populous, it gradu- 
 ally crept beyond its old limits, and those 
 parts of it that stood northward of the temple, 
 and joined that hill to the city, made it con- 
 siderably larger, and occasioned that hill, 
 which is in number the fourth, and is called 
 " Bezetha," to be inhabited also. It lies over- 
 against the tower Antonia, but is divided from 
 it by a deep valley, which was dug on pur- 
 pose, and that in order to hinder the founda- 
 tions of the tower of Antonia from joining to 
 this hill, and thereby affording an opportuni- 
 ty for getting to it with ease, and hindering 
 the security that arose from its superior eleva- 
 tion ; 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 interpreted in the Grecian language, may 
 be called " the New City." Since, therefore, 
 its inhabitants stood in need of a covering, the 
 father of the present king, and 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 Ctesai', lest he should 
 suspect that so strong a wall was built, in or- 
 der to make some innovation in public affairs ; 
 for the city could no way have been taken if 
 that wall had been finished in the manner it was 
 begun ; as its parts were connected together 
 by stones twenty cubits long, and ten cubits 
 broad, which could never have either been easi- 
 ly undermined by any iron tools, or shaken by 
 any engines. 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 culjits, above 
 which it had battlements of two cubits, and 
 
 turrets of three cubits altitude, insomuch that 
 the entire altitude extended as far as twenty- 
 five cubits. 
 
 3. Now the towers that were upon it were 
 twenty cubits in breadth and twenty cubits 
 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 
 no way inferior to those of the holy house it- 
 self. 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 two himdred 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 tower Psephinus elevated above 
 it at the north-west corner, and there Titus 
 pitched his own tent ; for being seventy cu- 
 bits high, it both afforded a prospect of Ara- 
 bia at sun-rising, as well as it did of the ut- 
 most limits of the Hebrew 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, beyond all 
 that were in the habitable eaith; for besides 
 the magnanimity of his nature, and his mag- 
 nificence towards the city on other occasions, 
 he built these after such an extraordinary 
 manner, to gratify his own private affections, 
 and dedicated these towers to the memory of 
 those three persons who had been the deares' 
 to him, and from whom he named them. 
 They were his brother, his friend, and his 
 wife. This wife he liad slain, out of his 
 love [and jealousy], as we have already relat- 
 ed ; 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 together, 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 
 cubits, and turrets all round of three cubits 
 high, insomuch that the entire height added 
 together amounted to fourscore cubits. The 
 second tower, which he named from his bro- 
 ther Phasaelus, had its breadth and its height 
 equal, each of them forty cubits ; over which 
 was its solid height of forty cubits ; over 
 which a cloister went round about, whose 
 lieight was ten cubits, and it was covered 
 from enemies by breast-works and bulwarks. 
 
 -\_ 
 
716 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 There was also built over tliat cloister another 
 tower, parted into magnificent rooms and a 
 place for bathing; so that this tower wanted 
 nothing that niiglit make it appear to be a 
 royal palace. It was also adorned with bat- 
 tlements and turrets, more than was the fore- 
 going, and the entire altitude was about nine- 
 ty cubits; the appearance of it resembled the 
 tower of Pharus, which exhibited a fire to 
 sucli as sailed to Alexandria, but was much 
 larger than it in compass. This was now 
 converted to a house,, wherein Simon exercis- 
 ed 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, 
 and were equal to each other ; its upper 
 buildings were more magnificent, and had 
 greater varie'y than the other towers had ; 
 for the king thought it most proper for him 
 to adorn that which was denominated from liLs 
 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. 
 
 4. Now as these towers were so very tall, 
 they appeared much taller by the place on 
 which they stood; for tliat very o7d wall 
 wherein they were, was built on a high hill, 
 5ind was itself a kind of elevation that was still 
 thirty cubits taller ; over which were the towers 
 situated, and thereby were made mucli higher 
 to appearance. The largeness also of the 
 stones was v.onJerful, 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 ex- 
 actly united to one another, that each tower 
 looked like one entire rock of stone, so grow- 
 ing naturally, and afterwards cut by the hands 
 of the artificers into their present shape and 
 corners ; so little or not at all, did their 
 joints or connection appear. Now as these 
 towers were themselves on the north side of 
 the wall, the king had a palace inwardly there- 
 to 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 distances, and with large bed-chambers, 
 that would contain beds for a hundred guests 
 a-piece, in which the variety of the stones is 
 not to be expressed ; for a large quantity of 
 tho-e tiiat were rare of that kir d was collected 
 together. Their roofs were also wonderful, 
 both for the length of the beams and the splen- 
 dour of their ornaments. The number of the 
 rooms was also very great, and 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 siber and gold. There were 
 
 besides many porticoes, one beyond another, 
 round about, and in each of those porticoes 
 curious pillars ; yet were all the courts that 
 were exposed to the air everywhere green. 
 There were moreover several groves of trees, 
 and long walks through them, with deep 
 canals, and cisterns, that in several parts were 
 filled with brazen statues, through which the 
 water ran out. There were withal many 
 dove-courts * of tame pigeons about the ca- 
 nals ; but, indeed, it is not possible to give a 
 complete description of these palaces j and the 
 very remembrance of them is a torment to one, 
 as putting one in mind what vastly rich build- 
 ings that fire which was kindled by the rob- 
 bers hath consumed ; for these were not burnt 
 by the Romans, but by these internal plotters, 
 as we have already related, 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 themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE. 
 
 § 1. 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 side, 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,f 
 and the hill became a larger ))lain. They 
 then broke down the wall on the north side, 
 and took in as much as sufficed afterward for 
 the compass of the entire temple ; and when 
 they had built walls on three sides of the tem- 
 ple round about, from the bottom of the hill, 
 and had performed a work that was greater 
 than could be hoped for (in which work long 
 
 * These dove-cou-ts in Josephus, built by Herod the 
 Great, are, in the opinion cif Reland, the very same tliat 
 are mer;tioned by the Talmudists, and named by thera 
 " Herod's dove-courts." Nor is there any reason to 
 suppose otherwise, since in both accounts tliey were ex- 
 pressly tame pigeons which were kept in them. 
 
 t See tlie description of the temjilcs hereto belong- 
 ing, ch. XV. But note, that what Josephus here says 
 of the original scantiness of this Mount Moriah, that it 
 was quite too little for the temple, and tliat at first it 
 held only one cloister, or court of Solomon's building, 
 and that the foundations were forced to be added long 
 afterwards by degrees, to render it capable of the clois- 
 ters for the other courts, &c. is without all foundation in 
 the Scriptures, and not at all confirmed by his exactei 
 account in the Antiquities. All that is, or can be true 
 is this: — That when the court of the Gentiles was long 
 afterward to be encompassed with cloisters, the south 
 eni foundation for these cloisters was found not to be 
 lar(;e or firm enough, and was raised, and that addition- 
 al foundation sujiiuirted by great pillars and arches un- 
 der ground, which Josephus speaks of elsewheie, .An- 
 tiq. b. XV ch. xi, sect. 3, and which Mr. Maundrel saw, 
 UJOj as extant under ground at this day. 
 
*\- 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 717 
 
 ages were spent by them, as well as all their 
 sacred treasures were exhausted, which were 
 still replenished by those tributes which were 
 sent to God from the whole habitable 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 three 
 hundred cubits, and in some places more ; yet 
 did not the entire depth of the foundations 
 appear, for they brouglit earth, and filled up 
 the valleys, as being desirous to make them 
 on a level with the narrow streets of the city ; 
 wherein they made use of stones of forty cu- 
 bits 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, by perseverance and 
 length of time, brought to perfection. 
 
 2. 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 belonging were 
 twenty-five cubits in height, and supported 
 the cloisters. These pillars were of one en- 
 tire stoue 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 
 liarm.ony of the joints in these cloisters, af- 
 forded a prospect that was very remarkable ; 
 nor was it on the outside adorned with any 
 work of the painter or engraver. The clois- 
 ters [of the outmost court] were in breadth 
 thirty cubits, while the entire compass of it 
 was, by measure, six furlongs, including the 
 tower of Anlonia ; 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 purity, some in Greek, 
 and some in Roman letters, that " no fo- 
 reigner should go within that sanctuary;" 
 for that second [court of the] temple was 
 called " the Sanctuary," and 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, • 
 
 • What Josephus seems here to mean is this : — That 
 these pillars, supporting the cloisters in the second court, 
 had their foundations or lowest parts as deep as the floor 
 of the first or lowest court ; but that so far of those low- 
 est parts as were equal to the elevation of the upper 
 floor above the lowest, were, and must be, hidilen on 
 the inside by the ground or rock itself, on which that 
 upper court v/as built: so that forty cubits visible below, 
 were reduced to twenty-five visible above, and imjilies 
 the difll'rence of their heiehts to be fifteen cubits. I'he 
 main difhculty lies here, now fourteen or fifteeH. steps 
 should give an asifnt of fifteen cubits, half a cubit 
 seeming sufficient for a single step. Possiblj there were 
 
 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 farther to be entire- 
 ly discerned within, being covered by the hill 
 itself. Beyond these fourteen steps there was 
 the distance of ten cubits: this was all plain, 
 whence there were other steps, each of five 
 cubits a-piece, that led to the gates, which 
 gates on the north and south sides were eight, 
 on each of those sides four, and of necessity 
 two on the east ; for since there was a parti- 
 tion 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 o^ 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 beyond their own wall. 
 This place was allotted to the women of our 
 own country, and of other countries, provid- 
 ed 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 betwixt the gates, extended from the 
 wall inward, before the chambers ; for they 
 were supported by very fine and large pillars. 
 These cloisters were single, and, excepting 
 their magnitude, were no way inferior to those 
 of the lower court. 
 
 3. Now nine of these gates were on every 
 side covered over with gold and silver, as were 
 the jambs of their doors and 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 covered over with silver and 
 gold. Each gate had tv/o doors, whose height 
 was severally thirty cubits, and their breadth 
 fifteen. However, they had large spaces with- 
 in 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 sup- 
 port these rooms, and were in circumference 
 twelve cubits. Now the magnitudes 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 cu- 
 bits ; and it was adorned after a most costly 
 miinner, 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 
 
 fourteen or fifteen steps at the partition-wall, and four- 
 teen or fifteen more thence into the court itself, which 
 would bring the wholc'near to the just proportion. See 
 spct 3, infra. But 1 determine nothiiifr 
 
718 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 father of Tiberius, 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. 
 
 4. As to the holy house itself, which was 
 placed in the midst [of tlie inmost court], 
 that most sacred part of the temple, it was 
 ascended to by twelve steps; and in front its 
 height and its breadth were equal, and each a 
 hundred cubits, though it was behind forty 
 cubits narrower ; for on its front it had wliat 
 may be styled shoulders on eacli side, that 
 passed twenty cubits farther. Its first gate 
 was seventy cubits high, and twenty-five cu- 
 bits broad ; but this gate had no doors ; for it 
 represented the universal visibility of heaven, 
 and that it cannot be excluded from any place. 
 Its front vas covered with gold all over, and 
 through it the first part of the house, that was 
 more inward did all 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 ihen, 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, and had golden 
 doors of fifty-five cubits altitude, and sixteen 
 in breadth ; but before these doors there was 
 a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It 
 was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with 
 blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, 
 and of a contexture that was truly wonderful. 
 Nor was this mixture of colours without its 
 inystical interpretation, but was a kind of 
 i[nage of the universe; for by the scarlet there 
 seemed to be enigmatically signified fire, by the 
 fine flax the earth, by the blue the air, and by 
 the purple the sea ; two of them having their 
 colours the foundation of this resemblance ; 
 but the fine flax and the purple have their own 
 origin for that foundation, the earth producing 
 the one, and the sea the other. This cur- 
 tain had also embroidered upon it all that was 
 mystical in the heavens, excepting that of the 
 [twelve] signs, representing living creatures. 
 
 5. 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 divided 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 candle- 
 
 stick, the table [of shew-bread,] and the altar 
 of incense. Now, the seven lamps signified 
 the seven planets ; for so inany there were 
 springing out of the candlestick. Now, the 
 twelve loaves that were upon the table signi. 
 fied the circle of the zodiac and the year ; but 
 the altar of incense, by its thirteen kinds of 
 sweet-smelling spices with which tlie sea re- 
 plenished 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 frotn the 
 outer part by a veil. In this there was no- 
 thing at all. It was inaccessible and invio- 
 lable, and not to be seen by any ; 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 supe- 
 rior part of the temple had no such littlt 
 houses any farther, because the temple was 
 there narrower, and forty cubits higher, and oi 
 a smaller body than the lower parts of it. 
 Thus we collect that the whole height, in- 
 cluding the sixty cubits from the floor, 
 amounted to a Iiundred cubits. 
 
 6. 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 vveight, and, at the first rising of the sun, 
 reflected back a very fiery splendour, 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, to pre- 
 vent any pollution of it by birds sitting 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 ac- 
 clivity. 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 encompassed 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 leprosy 
 were excluded out of the city entirely ; wo- 
 men also, when their courses were upon them. 
 
 •^ 
 
'■V- 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 719 
 
 were shut out of the temple : nor when they 
 were free from that impurity, were they al- 
 lowed to go beyond the limit before-mention- 
 ed ; 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. 
 
 7, Now all those of the stock of the priests 
 that could not minister by reason of some de- 
 fect in their bodies, came within the partition 
 together with those that had no such imperfec- 
 tion, and had their share with them by reason 
 of their stock, but still made use of none ex- 
 cept their own private garments; for nobody 
 but lie that officii'ted had on his sacred gar- 
 ments; but then these priests that were with- 
 out any blemish upon them, went up to the 
 altar clothed in fine linen. They abstained 
 chiefly from wine, out of this fear, lest other- 
 wise they should transgress some rules of their 
 ministration. The high-priest did also go 
 up \7i1h them ; not always indeed, but on 
 the seventh days and new moons, and if 
 any festivals belonging to our nation, which 
 we celebrate every year, happened. When 
 ne officiated, he had on a pair of breeches that 
 reached beneath his privy parts to his thighs, 
 and had on an inner garment of linen, togeth- 
 er with a blue garment, round, without seam, 
 with fringe-work, and reaching to tiie feet. 
 There were also golden bells that hung upon 
 the fringes, and pomegranates intermixed a- 
 mong them. The bells signified thunder, 
 and the pomegranates lightning. But that 
 girdle that tied the garment to the breast, 
 was embroidered with five rows of various co- 
 lours of gold, and purple, and scarlet, as also 
 of fine linen and blue ; with which colours, 
 we told you before, the veils of the temple were 
 embroidered also. The like embroidery was 
 upon the ephod ; but the quantity 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, whicl 
 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 
 .hem : 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 ligure ; 
 an onyx, a beryl, and a chrysolite ; upon 
 every one of which was again engraved one 
 of the forementioned names of the tribes. A 
 mitre also of fine linen encompassed his 
 head, which was tied by a blue riband, about 
 which tljere was another golden crown, in 
 which was engraven the sacred name [of God]: 
 it consists of four vowels. However, the 
 high- priest did not wear tiiese garments at 
 other times, but a more plain habit ; li^ only 
 did it when he went into the most sacred part 
 
 of the temple, which he did but once a-year, 
 on tiiat day when our custom is for all of us 
 to keep a fast to God. And thus much con- 
 cerning 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 re- 
 lating, which have not been here touched up- 
 on. 
 
 8. 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 magna- 
 nimity. In the first place, the rock itself was 
 covered over with smooth pieces of stone, from 
 its foundation, botii for ornament, and that 
 any one vrho would either try to get up or to 
 go down it, might not be able to iiold his feet 
 upon it. Next to this, and before you come 
 to the edifice of the tower itself, there was a 
 wall three cubits high ; but within that wall 
 all the space of tlie 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 having all conve- 
 niences that cities wanted, it might seem to 
 be composed of several cities, but by its mag- 
 nificence, it seemed a palace ; and as the en- 
 tire structure resembled that of a tower, it 
 contained also four other distinct towers at its 
 four corners; whereof the others were but 
 fii'ty cubits high ; wliereas that which lay upon 
 tha 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 temple, it had passages 
 down to them both, through which the guard 
 (for there always 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 innovations ; 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 belonging to the upper city, which was 
 Herod's palace; but for the hill Bezetha, 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 adjoin to the 
 new city, and was the only place that hinder- 
 ed the sight of the temple on the north. And 
 this shall suffice at present to have spoken 
 about the city and the walls about it, because 
 
 * Tliese tliree guards that lay in the tower of Anto- 
 nia must bo thobe that guarded the city, tlie temple, 
 and the tower of Antoiiia. 
 
 "X_ 
 
7kO 
 
 WARS OF thp: jews. 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 I have proposed to myself to make a more 
 accurate description of it elsewhere. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 nOKCERNING THE TYRANTS SIMON AND JOHN. 
 HOW ALSO, AS TITUS WAS GOING ROUND THE 
 WALL OF THE CITY, NICANOR WAS WOUNDED 
 BY A DART ; WHICH ACCIDENT PROVOKED 
 TITUS TO PRESS ON THE SIEGE. 
 
 § 1. Now the warlike men that were in the 
 city, and the multitude of the seditious that 
 were with Simon, were ten thousand, besides 
 the Idumeans. Those ten thousand had tifiy 
 commanders, over whom this Simon was su-- 
 preme. Tne Idumeans that paid him homage 
 were five thousand, and had eight command- 
 ers, among whom those of greatest fame were 
 Jacob, the son of Sosas, and Simon, the son 
 of Cathlas. John, who had seized upon the 
 temple, had six thousand armed men, under 
 twenty commanders ; the zealots also that had 
 come over to him, and left off their opposition, 
 were two tliousand four hundred, and had the 
 same commander that they had formerly, 
 Eleazar, together with Simon, the son of Ari- 
 nus. 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 plunder- 
 ed by both factions. Simon held the upper 
 city, and the great wall as far as Cedron, and 
 as much of tiie old wall as bent from Siloam 
 to the east, and which went down to the pa- 
 lace of Monobazus, who was king of tl)e 
 Adiabeni, 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 call- 
 ed " the Valley of Cedron ;" 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 sedition did not cease even when 
 the Romans were encamped near their very 
 walls. But although they had grown wiser 
 at the first onset the Romans made upon 
 them, this lasted but a while ; for they return- 
 ed 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 tiling 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 kind- 
 
 ness; for I venture to affirm, that the sedition 
 destroyed tlie city, and tlie Romans destroyed 
 the sedition, which it was a much harder thing 
 to do tlian to destroy the walls ; so that we 
 may justly ascribe our misfortunes to our own 
 people, and the just vengeance taken on them 
 to the Romans : as to which matter let every 
 one determine by the actions on both sides. 
 
 2. Now, when affairs within the city were 
 in this posture, Titus went round the city on 
 the outside witli 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 pos- 
 sibly make an attack on any side (for the 
 place was no way accessible where the valleys 
 were, and on the other side the first w-all ap- 
 peared too strong to be shaken by the engines^, 
 he thereu))on thought it best to make his as- 
 sault upon the monument of John the high- 
 priest ; for there it was that the first fortifi- 
 cation 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 pas- 
 sage 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 lie was going round about the 
 city, one of his friends, whose name was Ni- 
 canor, was wounded with a dart on his left 
 slioulder, as he approached, together with Jo- 
 seplius, 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 Ca;sar, as soon as lie knew their vehe« 
 mence, that they would not bear even such 
 as approached them to persuade them to what 
 tended to their own preservation, was provok- 
 ed to press on the siege. He also at the 
 same lime gave his soldiers leave to set the 
 suburbs on fire, and ordered that they should 
 bring timber together, and raise banks a- 
 gainst 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 plac- 
 ed tliose 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 murdered, were now of good courage, 
 and supposed they should have a breathing- 
 time, while the others were very busy in op- 
 posing their enemies without the city, and 
 
CHAP VI 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 721 
 
 that they should now be avenged on those 
 that had been the authors of tlieir miseries, 
 in case the Romans did but get the victory. 
 
 3. However, John staid behind, out of his 
 fear oi" Simon, even while his own men were 
 earnest in making a sally upon their enemies 
 without. 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 Cestius formerly, and 
 those which they got when they seized the gar- 
 rison that lay in the tower of Antonia. But 
 though tliey had these engines in their pos- 
 session, they had so little skill in using them, 
 that they were in a great measure useless to 
 them ; but a few tliere were who had been 
 taught by deserters how to use them, whicli 
 they did iise, though after an awkward man- 
 ner. So they cast stones and arrows at those 
 that were making tl/o ba'iks; 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 banks, and their engines were opposed to 
 them when they made their excursions. The 
 engines, that all the legions had ready pre- 
 pared for them, were admirably contrived ; 
 but still more extraordinary ones belonged to 
 the tenth legion : those that threw darts and 
 tliose that threw stones, were more forcible and 
 larger than the rest, by wiiich they not only 
 repelled the excursions of the Jews, but drove 
 those away that were upon the walls also. 
 Now, the stjnes that were cast were of the 
 weight of a talent, and were carried two fur- 
 longs and farther. The blow 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 coming of the 
 stone, for it was of a white colour, and could 
 therefore not only be perceived by the great 
 noise it made, but could be seen also before 
 it came by its brighuiess ; accordingly the 
 watchmen that sat upon the towers gave them 
 notice when the engine was let go, and the 
 stone came fiom it, and cried out aloud, in 
 their own country language, '' THE SON 
 COMETH ;"• so those that were in its way 
 stood off, and threw themselves down Upon 
 
 « What slioukl be the meaning of this signal or watch- 
 wofil, when the watchmen saw a stone coming from the 
 enyiue, " the son < omi;th," or wliat mistake there is 
 in tlie reading, I cannot tell. The MSS. botli Greek 
 and Latin, all agree in this reading : and 1 cannot ap- 
 prove of any groundless conjectural alt ration of the 
 text from vioi to loi, that not the sou or a .itane. but 
 that the artow or aart cometli ; as hath been made by 
 Dr. Hudson, and not corrected by Havercamp. Had 
 Josephus written even his first edition of ;hesc Ixioks of 
 the war in pure Hebrew, or had the Jews then used the 
 pure Hebrew at Jerusalem, the Hebrew wor<t for a son 
 Is so like that for a stone, Lcn and then, that such a cor. 
 reetion might have been more easily admitted. But 
 Josephus wrote his former edition for the use of the Jews 
 beyond Euphrates, and so in the Chaldeo language, as 
 he did this second edition in the Greek languafje; and 
 bar was the Chaldee word for son, instead of the He- 
 brew ben, and was used, not only in C'haldea, &c. but in 
 Judea also, as the New Testament informs lu. Dio al- 
 
 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 suc- 
 cess, when the stone was not discerned before- 
 hand, as it had been till then ; and so they 
 destroyed many of them at one blow. Yet 
 did not the Jews, under all tin's distress, per- 
 mit the Romans to raise their banks in quiet; 
 but they shrewdly tind boldly exerted them- 
 selves, and repelled them both by night and 
 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 
 a 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 set his engines at proper dis- 
 tances, 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 tliere 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 v.ere 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. Accordingly, Simon gave those 
 that came from the temple leave, by procla- 
 mation, to go upon the wall ; John also him- 
 self, though he could not believe S.'mon was 
 in earnest, gave them the same leave. So on 
 both sides they laid aside their hatred and 
 tlieir peculiar quarrels, and formed them- 
 selves into one body ; they then ran round 
 the walls, and having a vast number of torches 
 with them, they threw them at the machines, 
 
 so lets us know, that the very Romans at Rome pro- 
 nouncc-d the name of Simon the son of Gioras, Bar Po- 
 ras lor Bur Oioras, as we learn from Xipbilme, page 
 217. Roland takes notice, " that many will here look 
 for a mystery, as though the meaning were, that the 
 Son of Go.l came now to take vengeance on the sins of 
 the Jewish nation;" whicli is indeed the truth of the 
 fact, but hardly what the Jews could now mean : un- 
 less possibly by way of derision of Christ's threaten, 
 ing so often that he would come at the head of the Ro- 
 man army for their destruction. But even this inter, 
 pretation'has but a very small degree of probability. If 
 1 were to make an emendation by mere conjecture, I 
 would read t.=t{o; instead of uU;, though ihe likeness 
 be not so great as in ,'jf ; because that is the word usc<i 
 by Josephus just before, as has been already noted o:i 
 this very occasion, while lot, an arrow or dart, is only a 
 poetical word, and never used by Josephus elsewhere, 
 and is indeed no way fuitable to the occasion, this en- 
 gine not ttirowing arrows or darts, but great stones, at 
 this tune. 3 p 
 
722 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 and shot darts perpetually upon those that 
 impelled those engines which battered the 
 wall ; nay, tlie 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 principally by 
 the boldness of their attacks. However, Ti- 
 tus 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 engines to work in good earnest ; yet did 
 not the wall yield to these blows, excepting 
 where the battering-ram of the fifteenth le- 
 gion moved the corner of a tower, while the 
 wall itself continued unliurt ; 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 toge- 
 ther 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 
 Hippicus, 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 fortifications 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 press- 
 ed upon those that were now gotten together. 
 So this fight about the machines was very hot, 
 while 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 fore-front of the battle were 
 slain. However, the Jews were now too hard 
 foi 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 greater reputation than themselves before. 
 This was the state of things till Cassar took 
 the stoutest of his horsemen and attacked the 
 enemy, while he himself slew twelve of those 
 that were in the fore-front of the Jews; wliich 
 death o( these men, when the rest of the mul- 
 titude saw, they gave way, and he pursued 
 tii^m, and drove them all into the city, and 
 
 saved the works from the fire. Now it hap- 
 pened at this fight, that a certain Jew was 
 taken alive, who, by Titus's orders, was cru- 
 cified before the wall, to see whether the rest 
 of them would be affrighted, and abate of 
 their obstinacy. But after the Jews were re- 
 tired, John, who was commander of the Idu- 
 means, and was talking to a certain soldier of 
 his acquaintance before the wall, was wound- 
 ed by a dart shot at him by an Arabian, and 
 died immediately, leaving the greatest lamen- 
 tation to the Jews, and sorrow to the sedi- 
 tious ; for he was a man of great eminence, 
 both for his actions and his conduct also. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW ONE OF THE TOWERS ERECTED BY THE 
 ROMANS FELL DOWN OF ITS OWN ACCORD ; 
 AND HOW THE ROMANS, AFTER GREAT 
 SLAUGHTER HAD BEEN MADE, GOT POSSES- 
 SION OF THE FIRST WALL. HOW ALSO TITUS 
 MADE HIS ASSAULTS UPON THE SECOND 
 WALL; AS ALSO, CONCERNING LONGINUS 
 THE ROMAN, AND CASTOR THE JEW. 
 
 § 1. Now, on the next night, a most sur- 
 prising disturbance fell upon tiie Romans; 
 foi 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 migl'.t from thence drive those away who 
 were upon the wail, it so happened tliat 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 as 
 nobody could tell what had happened, they 
 went on after a disconsolate manner; and see- 
 ing no enemy appear, they were afraid one 
 of another, and every one demanded of his 
 neighbour the watch-word with great earnest- 
 ness, 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 acquainted with it ; and then, though with 
 «ome difficulty, they got clear of the disturb- 
 ance they had been under. 
 
 2. Now, tliese towers were very trouble- 
 soine 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 tiiose 
 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 covered 
 with plates of iron. So they retired out of 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 723 
 
 the reach of the darts, and did no longer en- 
 deavour to hinder the impression of their rams, 
 which, by continually beating 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 great- 
 est of their engines, because it conquered all 
 things. And now, they were for a long while 
 grown weary of fighting, and of keeping 
 guards, 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 re- 
 maining, and they being slothful, and their 
 counsels having been ill-concerted on all oc- 
 casions ; so a great many grew lazy and re- 
 tired. Then the Romans mounted the breach, 
 where Nico had made one, and all the Jews 
 left the guarding that wall, and retreated 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 fif- 
 teenth 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 Ccstius 
 formerly. 
 
 2. And now Titus pitched his camp within 
 the city, at that place which was called " the 
 Camp of the Assyrians," having seized upon 
 all that lay as far as Ccdron, but took care 
 to be out of the reach of the Jews' darts. 
 He tlien presently began his attacks, upon 
 which the Jews divided themselves into seve- 
 ral bodies, and courageously defended that 
 wall ; w hile John and his faction did it from 
 the tower of Antonia, and from the northern 
 cloister of the temple, and fought the Romans 
 before the monutnent of king Alexander; and 
 Simon's army also took for their share the 
 spot of ground that was near Jolm's monu- 
 ment, 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 bo- 
 dies together out of the gates, and there 
 fought the Romans; and when they were 
 pursued altogether to the wall, they were 
 beaten in tho^e fights, as wanting the skill of 
 t-he Romans. But when they fought them 
 from the walls, they were too hard for them, 
 the Romans being encouraged by their power, I 
 joined to their skill, as were tho Jews by their 
 boldness, which was nourished by the fear i 
 they were in, and that hartliness which is na- ■ 
 tural 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 j 
 either side grow weary ; but attacks and ] 
 fightings upon the wall, and perpetTlal sallies 
 out in bodies were practised all the day long;' 
 
 nor were there any sort of warlike engage- 
 ments 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 uudergo 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 them- 
 selves with their own hands. What made the 
 Romans so courageous, was their usual cus- 
 tom of conquering and disuse of being de- 
 feated, their constant wars, and perpetual 
 warlike exercises, and the grandeur of their 
 doininion ; and what was now their chief en- 
 couragement, — Titus, who was present eveiy- 
 where wit!) them all ; for it appeared a terri- 
 ble thing to grow weary while Caesar was 
 there, and fought bravely as well as they did, 
 and was himself at once an eye-witness of 
 such as behaved themselves valiantly, and he 
 who was to reward them also. It was, be- 
 sides, esteemed an advantage at present to 
 have any one's valour known by Cwsar ; 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 rnen of the greatest cou- 
 rage ; 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 run- 
 ning 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 signa- 
 lized himself for his valour, and many there 
 were who were ambitious of gaining the like 
 reputation. And now the Jews were uncon- 
 cerned at what they sufl^ered themselves 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 auy one 
 of their enemies. But Titus took care to se- 
 cure his own soldiers from harm, as well as 
 to Iiave them overcome their enemies. He 
 also said that inconsiderate violence was 
 
724 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 madness ; and that this alone was the true 
 courage that was joined witli good conduct. 
 He therefore commanded his men to take 
 rare, when they fouglit their enemies, that 
 they received no harm from them at tlie same 
 time ; and thereby show themselves to be 
 truly valiant men. 
 
 4. 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 a while, as in great fear, under 
 their breast-plates ; but when tlie tower was 
 shaken, they arose ; and Castor did then stretch 
 out his hand, as a petitioner, and called for 
 Ca?sar, and by his voice moved his compas- 
 sion, and begged of him to have mercy' upon 
 them ; and Titus, in tlie innocency of his 
 heart, believing him to be in earnest, and hop- 
 ing that the Jews did now repent, stopped 
 the working of the battering-ram, and for- 
 bade 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 securi- 
 ty. To which Titus replied, that he was 
 well pleased witli such his agreeable conduct, 
 and would be well 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 pre- 
 tended 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 
 while these men were quarrelling for a long 
 while, the attack was delayed ; Castor also 
 «ent to Simon, 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 
 tlie breast-works, and struck themselves upon 
 their breast, and fell down as if they had 
 been slain. Hereupon Titus, and those with 
 him, were amazed a-t 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. During this inter- 
 val, a certain person shot a dart at Castor, and 
 wounded him in his nose; whereupon he pre- 
 sently pulled out the dart, and shewed it to Ti- 
 tus, and complained that this was unfair treat- 
 ment : so Caesar reproved him that shot the dart, 
 and sent Josephus, who then stood by him, to 
 give his right hand to Castor, Uut Josephus 
 said that he would not go to him, because 
 tliese pretended petitioners meant nothing 
 tliat was good ; he also restrained those friends 
 
 of his who were zealous to go to him. But 
 still there was one ^neas, a deserter, who 
 said he would go to him. Castor also called 
 to them, that somebody should come and re- 
 ceive the money which he had with him; this 
 made iEneas the more earnestly to run to him 
 with his bosom open. Then did Castor take 
 up a great stone, and threw it at him, which 
 missed him, because he guarded himself a- 
 gainst it ; but still it wounded another soldier 
 that was coming to him. When Ceesar un- 
 derstood tliat this was a delusion, he perceiv- 
 ed that mercy in war is a pernicious thing, 
 because such cunning tricks have less place 
 under the exercise of greater severity. So 
 he caused the engine to work more strongly 
 than before, on account of his anger at the de- 
 ceit put upon him. But Castor and his com- 
 panions set tiie 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 farther suppose that they were 
 men of great courage, as having cast them- 
 selves into the fire. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOW THE ROMANS TOOK THE SECOND WALL 
 TWICE, AND GOT ALL READY FOP. TAKING 
 THE THIRD WALL. 
 
 § 1. 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 entered 
 into it with a thousand 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 immediately, or had come in, and ac- 
 cording 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 obstinacy, by 
 not being willing, when he was able to aftlict 
 them more than he needed to do, he did not 
 widen the bread) 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 tire to 
 their houses neither; nay, he gave leave co 
 the seditious, if they had a mind, to fight 
 without any harm to tlie people, and promised 
 to restore the peojile's efl'ects to them ; for he 
 was very desirous to preserve the city for his 
 own sake, and the temple for the sake of the 
 city. As to the people, he had them of a 
 long time ready to comply with his proposals ; 
 but as to the fighting men, this humanity of 
 bis seemed a mark of his weakness ; and they 
 
 "X 
 
J' 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 72: 
 
 imagined that he made these proposals because I 
 he was not able to take the rest of the city. 
 They also threatened death to tiie people, if j 
 they should any one of them say a word about 
 a surrender. They moreovt-r cut the throats 
 of such as talked of a peace, and then attack- 
 ed those Itouians tliat were come within the 
 wall. Some of them tliey met in the nar- 
 row 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 afTriglited, that 
 they leaped down from their towers, and re- 
 tired to their several camps : upon which a 
 great noise was made by the Romans that 
 were within, because they were encompassed 
 round on every side by their enemies ; as also 
 by them that were without, because they 
 were in fear for those that were left in the city. 
 Thus did the Jews grow more numerous per- 
 petually, 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 resis- 
 tance 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 mul- 
 titude of his enemies, and with his darts he 
 put a stop to them ; as with him did Dorai- 
 tius Sabinus also, a valiant man, and one 
 that in this battle appeared so to be. Thus 
 did CiEsar continue to shoot darts at the Jews 
 continually, and to hinder them from coming 
 upon his men, and this untill all his soldiers 
 had retreated out of the city. 
 
 2. 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 into the city any 
 more ; and that, if they kept within it them- 
 selves, they should not be any more conquer- 
 ed ; for God had blinded their minds for 
 the transgressions they had been guilty of, 
 nor cpuld 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 miseries, and drank 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 necessaries; al- 
 though the seditious indeed supposed the de- 
 ^^ruption of the people to be an easemont to 
 
 themselves ; for they desired that none others 
 might be preserved but such as were against 
 a peace with the Romans, and were resolved 
 to live in opposition to them, and they were 
 pleased when the multitude of those of a con- 
 trary opinion were consumed, as being then 
 freed fi;om a heavy burden : and this was their 
 disposition of mind with regard to those that 
 were within the city, while they covered them- 
 selves with their armour, and prevented the 
 Romans, when they were trying to get into 
 the city again, and made a wall of their own 
 bodies over-against that part of the wall that 
 was cast down. Thus did they valiantly de- 
 fend themselves for three days ; but on the 
 fourth day they could not support themselves 
 against the vehement assaults of Titus, but 
 were compelled by force to fly whither they 
 had fled before ; so he quietly possessed him- 
 self again of that wall, and demolished it en- 
 tirely ; 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. 
 
 TITtJS, WHEN THE JEWS WERE NOT A7 ALL 
 MOLLIFIED BY HIS LEAVING OFF THE SIEGE 
 FOR A WHILE, SET HIMSELF AGAIN TO PRO- 
 SECUTE THE SAME ; BUT SOON SENT JOSE- 
 PHUS TO DISCOURSE WITH HIS OWN COUN- 
 TRYMEN ABOUT PEACE. 
 
 § 1. A RESOEUTION was now taken by Titus 
 to relax the siege for a little while, and to af- 
 ford the seditious an interval for considera- 
 tion, and to see whether the demolishing of 
 their second wall would not make them a lit- 
 tle more compliant, or whether they were not 
 somewhat afraid of a famine, because the 
 spoils they had gotten by rapine would not be 
 suflicient for them long ; so he made use of 
 this relaxation, in order to compass his own 
 designs. Accordingly, as the usual appointed 
 time when he must distribute subsistence-mo- 
 n(!y to the soldiers was now come, he gave 
 orders that the commanders should put the 
 army into battle array, in the face of the ene- 
 my, and then give every one of the soldiers 
 their pay. So the soldiers, according to cus- 
 tom, opened the cases wherein their arms be- 
 fore lay covered, and marched with their 
 breast-plates 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 terrible to the enemy as that sight ; for the 
 whole old wall and the north side of the tem- 
 ple were full of spectators, and one might see 
 the houses full of such as looked at them ; nor 
 was thero Rny part of the city which was not 
 
}2Q 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 covered over with their multitudes; nay, a i pie, and not to be more obdurate in these cases 
 
 very great consternation seized upon the har 
 diest of the Jews themselves, when they saw 
 all the army in the same place, together witii 
 the fineness of their arms, and the good or- 
 der 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 forgiveness 
 from the Romans ; but as they believed death 
 with torments must be their punishment,_if 
 they did not go on in the defence of the city, 
 thev 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. 
 
 2. 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 Antonia 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 dan- 
 gerous 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 monument, the Idumeans, 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 zealots with 
 them did the like to those that were before 
 the tower of Antonia. These Jews were now 
 too hard for the Romans, 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 degrees 
 improve their skill about them; for of one 
 sort of engines for darts they had three hun- 
 dred, and forty for stones; by the means of 
 which they made it more tedious for the Ro- 
 mans to raise their banks ; but then Titus, 
 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 repentance; so he mixed 
 good counsel with his works for the siege ; 
 and being sensible that exhortations are fre- 
 quently more effectual than arms, he persuad- 
 ed them to surrender the city, now in a man- 
 ner already 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. 
 
 ;5. So Josephus went round about the wall, 
 and tried to find a place that was out of the 
 reach of their darts, and yet within their hear- 
 ing, and besought them, in many words, to spare 
 themselves, to spare their country and tlieir tem- 
 
 than foreigners themselves ; for that the Ro- 
 mans, who had no relation to (hose things, had 
 a reverence for their sacred rites and places, 
 although they belonged to their enemies, and 
 had till now kept tlieir hands off from meddl- 
 ing with them; while such as were brought 
 up under them, and, if they be preserved, 
 will be the only people that will reap the bene 
 fit of them, hurry on to have them destroyed. 
 That certainly they have seen their strongest 
 walls demolished, and that the wall still re- 
 maining was weaker than those that were al- 
 ready taken. That they must know the Ro- 
 man 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 ; 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 miserably, not of such as were 
 lovers of liberty. Besides, men tnay well 
 enough grudge at the dishonour of owning ig- 
 noble masters over them, but ought not to do 
 so to those who have all things under their com- 
 mand : for what part of the world is there that 
 hath escaped the Romans, unless it be such as 
 are of no use, for violent heat or violent cold ? 
 And evident it is, that fortune is on all hands 
 gene over to them ; and that God, when he 
 had gone roimd the nations with this domin- 
 I ion, 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 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 suffered, 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 t and when those 
 that are within it are under greater miseries 
 than if they were taken, although their walls 
 be still 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 augmented 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 farther. How right a thing it was to 
 change their conduct before their calamities 
 were become incurable, and to have recourse 
 to such advice as might preserve themi viKile 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 727 
 
 opportunity was offered tlieni for so doing ; 
 for that the Ronoans would not be mindful of 
 their past actions to their disadvantage, unless 
 they persevered in their insolent behaviour to 
 the end ; because they were naturally mild in 
 their conquests, and preferred what was pro- 
 fitable, before what their passions dictated to 
 them ; which profit of theirs lay not in leaving 
 the city empty of inhabitants, nor the coun- 
 try a desert ; on which account Caesar did now 
 ofler 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 es- 
 pecially, 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 wall would quickly be taken 
 also ; and though their fortifications should 
 prove too strong for the Romans to break 
 through them, yet would the famine fight for 
 the Romans against them. 
 
 4. While Josephus was making this ex- 
 hortation to the Jews, many of them jested 
 upon him from the wall, and many reproach- 
 ed him ; nay, some threw their darts at him ; 
 but when he could not himself persuade them 
 by such open good advice, he betook himself 
 to the histories belonging to their own nation; 
 and cried out aloud, " O miserable creatures! 
 Are you so unmindful of those that used to 
 assist you, that you will fight by your wea- 
 pons and by your hands against the Romans ? 
 When did we ever conquer any other nation 
 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 
 violence, and how great a Supporter you have 
 profanely abused ? Will not you recall to 
 mind the prodigious things done for your 
 forefathers and this holy place, and how great 
 enemies of yours were by him subdued un- 
 der you ? I even tremble myself in declaring 
 the works of God before your ears, that are 
 imworthy to hear them : however, hearken 
 to me, that you may be informed how you 
 fight, not only against the Romans but a- 
 gainst God himself. In old times there was 
 one Necao, king of Egypt, who was also call- 
 ed l*l)araoh : he came with a prodigious army 
 of soldiers, and seized queen Sarah, the mo- 
 ther of our nation. What did Abraham our 
 progenitor then do ? Did he defend himself 
 from this injurious person by war, althoug!) 
 he had three hundred and eighteen captains 
 under him, and an immense 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 towards this holy 
 place,* which you have now polluted, and 
 
 • Josephus supposes, in this his admirable speech to 
 the Jews, that not Abraham only, but I'haraoh king of 
 Eg^pt, prayed towards a temple at Jerusaltm>^r towards 
 JeruaaJem itselt", iu '^hich were Mouut Siun ard Mount 
 
 reckoned upon tiim as upon his invincible sup- 
 porter, instead of his own army. Was not 
 our queen ser.-t back, without any defilement, 
 to her husband, the very next evening? — 
 while the king of Egypt fled away, adoring 
 this place whicli 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 peo 
 pie beloved of God. Shall I say nothing, oi 
 shall I mention the removal of our fathers 
 into Egypt, who, when they were used tyran- 
 nically, and were fallen under the po«er of 
 foreign kings for four hundred years toge- 
 ther, and might have defended themselves by 
 war and by fighting, did yet do nothing but 
 commit themselves to God ? Who is there 
 that does not know that Egypt was over-run 
 with all sorts of wild beasts, and consumed 
 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 E- 
 gypt followed one upon another ? and how, 
 by those means, our fathers were sent away, 
 under a guard, without any bloodshed, and 
 without running any dangers, because God 
 conducted them as his peculiar servants ? 
 Moreover, did not Palestine groan under the 
 ravage the Assyrians^ made, when they car- 
 ried 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 se- 
 cret parts of their bodies, when their very 
 bowels came doven 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 committed it to 
 him to judge about their affairs. Wlien Sen- 
 nacherib, king of Assyria, brought along with 
 him all Asia, and encompassed this city 
 roimd with his army, did he fall by the hands 
 of men ? were not those hands lifted up 
 to God in prayers, without meddling with 
 
 Moriah, on which the tabernacle and temple did after- 
 wards stand ; and this long before either the Jewish t;i- 
 bernacle or temple were built ; nor is the famous com- 
 mand given by God to Abraham, to go two or tluee 
 days' journey, on purpose to ofier up his son Isaac there, 
 unfavourable to such a notion. 
 
 t Note here, that Josephus, in this his same admira- 
 ble speech, calls the Syrians, nay, even the Philistines, 
 on the most south part of Syria, Assyrians ; which Re- 
 land observes as what was common among the ancient 
 writers. Note also, that Josephus might we:l put the 
 Jews in mind, as he does here more than once, of their 
 wonderful and truly miraculous deliverance from Sen- 
 nacherib, king of Assyria, while the Roman army, and 
 himself with them, were now encamped upon and be- 
 yond that very spot of ground w^hcre the Assyrian army 
 lay 78u years btore, and which retained the very name 
 of' the Camp of the Assyrians to that very day. S«ss 
 chap, vii, sect. 5 ; and chap, xii, sect. 2. 
 
728 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 their arms, when an angel of God destroy- ] selves, although they had been guilty of such 
 ed that prodigious army in one night ? j ofl'ences with regard to our sanctuary and 
 when the Assyrian king, as he rose next day, | our laws, as you have ; and this while they 
 found a hundred fourscore and five thousand i liad much greater advantages to go to war 
 dead bodies, and when he, with the remain- [than you have. Do not we know wliat 
 der of his army, fled away from the Hebrews, | end Antigonus, the son of A ristobulus, came 
 
 though they were unarmed, and did not pur- 
 sue them ! You are also acquainted with the 
 slavery we were under at Babylon, where the 
 people u ere captives for seventy years ; yet 
 were they not delivered into freedom again 
 before God made Cyrus his gracious instru- 
 ment 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 staid at home they conquered, as pleased 
 their Judge ; but when they went out to fight 
 they were always dissappointed : for example, 
 when the king of Babylon beseiged this very 
 city, and 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 governors, and that of the 
 people then under him, than is that of you 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 caimot bear 
 the very mention of tkose crimes which you 
 every day perpetrate. For another example, 
 when Antioclius, wlio was called Epiphanes, 
 lay before this city, and had been guilty of 
 many indignities against God, and our fore- 
 fathers met him in arms, they then were slain 
 in the battle, this city was plundered by our 
 enemies, and our sanctuary made desolate for 
 three years and six months. And what need 
 1 bring any more examples ! Indeed, what 
 can it be that hath stirred up an army of the 
 Romans against our nation ? Is it not the 
 impiety of the inhabitants? Whence did our 
 servitude commence ? Was it not derived 
 from the seditions that were among our fore- 
 fathers, when the madness of Aristobulus and 
 Ilyrcanus, and our mutual quarrels, brought 
 Pompey upon this city, and when God re- 
 duced those under subjection to the Romans, 
 who were unworthy of the liberty they had 
 enjoyed? After a siege, therefore, of three 
 jaontlis, they were forced to surrender them- 
 
 to, under whose reign God provided that 
 this city should be taken again upon account 
 of the people's ofl'ences ? When Herod, the 
 son of Antipater, brought upon us Sosius, and 
 Sosius brouyht 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 in- 
 habit 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 tliat are recommended by our le- 
 gislator ! and what have you not done of 
 those things that he hath condemned f 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 mean thefts, and treacherous plots 
 against men, and adulteries. You are quar- 
 relling about rapines and mnjrders, and invent 
 strange ways of iv.ickedness. Nay, the tem- 
 ple itself is become the receptacle of all, and 
 this divine place is polluted by the hands of 
 those of our own coimtry ; which place hatb 
 yet been reverenced by the Romans when it was 
 at a distance from them, when they have suf- 
 fered 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 h« destroyed that 
 great army in one night ? And do the Ro- 
 mans commit such wickedness as did the king 
 of Assyria, that you may hare reason to hope 
 for the like vengeance upon them ? Did not 
 that king accept of money from our king up- 
 on this condition, that he should not destroy 
 the city, and yet, contrary to the oath he had 
 taken, 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 destroy 
 this city, nor to touch this sanctuary ; nay, 
 they will grant you besides, that your poste- 
 rity shall be free, and your possessions secured 
 to you, and will preserve your holy laws in- 
 violate to you. And it is plain madness to 
 expect that God should appear as woU dis- 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 729 
 
 posed towards the wicked as towards the 
 righteous, since he knows when it is proper 
 to punish men for their sins immediately , 
 accordingly he brake the power of the Assy- 
 rians the very first night that they pitched 
 their camp. Wiierefore, had he judged that 
 our nation was worthy of freedom, or the 
 Romans of punishment, he had immediately 
 inflicted puiiisliment upon those Romans, as 
 le did upon the Assyrians, when Pompey be- 
 gan to meddle with our nation, or when after 
 him Sosius came up against us, or when Ves- 
 pasian laid waste Galilee, or, lastly, when 
 Titus came first of all near to this city; al- 
 though Magnus and Sosius did not only suf- 
 fer nothing, but took the city by force; as 
 did Vespasian go from the war he made a- 
 gainst you to receive tlie empire ; and as for 
 Titus, those springs that were formerly al- 
 most dried up when they were under your 
 power,* since he is come, run more plentiful- 
 ly 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- 
 periw nee of formerly, when the fore-mention- 
 ed 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. Where- 
 fore 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 iiate those that are 
 in it ; and do you persuade yourselves tiiat 
 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 ! 
 nay, what is there that is not open to your 
 very enemies ! for you show your transgres- 
 sions after a pompous manner, and contend 
 one with another which of you shall be more 
 wicked than another ; and you make a pu- 
 blic demonstration of your injustice, as if it 
 were virtue i 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 
 Uiem. O hard-hearted wretches as you are ! 
 
 * This drying up of the .Terusalem fountain of Silo- 
 am, when the Jews wanted it, and its (lowing abundant- 
 ly when the enemies of the Jews wanted it, and these 
 l)oth in the days of Zedekiah and of Titus (and this 
 last as a certaui'event weil known by the Jews at that 
 time, as Josephus here tells them openly to their faces) 
 are very remarkable instances of a Divine Providence 
 for the punishment of the Jewish nation, wlien they 
 were grown very wicked, at both those timei oi the de- 
 struction uf Jerusalem 
 
 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 tliat excellent temple 
 with the donations of so many countries in 
 it. Who could bear to be the first to set that 
 temple on fire! who could be willing that 
 these tilings should be no inore ! and what is 
 there that can better deserve to be preserved ! 
 
 insensible 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 ex- 
 tend to my mother, and wife, and to that fa- 
 mily of mine who have been by no means ig- 
 noble, and indeed to one that hath been very 
 eminent in old time ; and perhaps you may 
 imagine that it is on their account only that 
 
 1 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 return 
 to a sound mind after my death," 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW A GREAT MANY OF THE PEOPLE EAR- 
 NESTLY ENDEAVOURED TO DESERT TO THE 
 ROMANS; AS ALSO WHAT INTOLERABLE 
 THINGS THOSE THAT STAID BliHIND SUF- 
 FERED BY FAMINE, AND THE SAD CONSE- 
 QUENCES THEREOF. 
 
 § 1. 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; accordingly, some of them 
 sold what they had, and even the most pre- 
 cious things that had been laid up as treasures 
 by them, for a very small matter, and swal- 
 lowed down pieces of gold, that they might 
 not be found out by the robbers ; and when 
 they had escaped to the Romans, went to stool, 
 and had wherewithal to provide plentifully 
 for themselves ; for Titus let a great number 
 of them go away into the country, whither 
 they pleased ; and the main reasons why they 
 were so ready to 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, John and Simon, with their factions, 
 did more carefully watch these men's going 
 out than they did the coming in of the Ro- 
 mans ; and, if any one did but afi'ord the least 
 
J' 
 
 730 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 shadow of suspicion of such an intention, his 
 throat was cut immediately. 
 
 2. But as for the richer sort, it proved all 
 one to them whether they staid 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 pre- 
 tence, that they were going to desert, — but in 
 reality that the robbers might get what they 
 had. The madness of the seditious did also 
 increase together with their famine, and both 
 those miseries were every day inflamed inore 
 and more ; for there was no corn which -any- 
 whea-e appeared publicly, but the robbers came 
 running into, and searched men's private 
 houses ; and then, if they found any, they 
 tormented them, because they had denied they 
 had any ; and if they found none, they tor- 
 mented them worse, because they supposed 
 they had more carefully concealed it. The 
 indication they made use of whetiur they had 
 any or not, was taken from the bodies of these 
 miserable 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 far- 
 ther : 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 indeed who sold what they 
 had for one measure ; it was of wheat, if they 
 were of the richer sort; but of 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, by reason of 
 the extremity of the want they were in, and 
 others baked bread of it, according as neces- 
 sity and fear dictated to them ; a table was 
 nowhere laid for a distinct meal, but they 
 siiatched the bread out of the fire, half-baked, 
 and ate it very hastily. 
 
 3. 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 destructive to nothing so 
 much as to modesty ; for what was otherwise 
 worthy of reverence was in this case despised; 
 insomuch 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 in- 
 fants ; 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 
 wliile they ate after this manner, yet were they 
 not concealed in so doing ; but the seditious 
 every wheie came upon them immediateliy. and 
 snatched away from them what they had got- 
 ten from others ; for when they saw any liouse 
 '.hut up, this was to them a signal that the 
 
 people within had gotten some food ; where- 
 upon they broke open the doors, and ran in, 
 and took pieces of what tliey 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 v/ithin their hands, their 
 hair was torn for so doing ; nor was there 
 any commiseration shown either to the aged 
 or to infants, but they lifted up children from 
 the ground as they hung upon the morsels 
 they had gotten, and shook them down upon 
 the floor ; but still were they more barbarous- 
 ly cruel to those that had prevented their 
 coming in, and had actually swallowed down 
 what they were going to seize upon, as if they 
 had been unjustly defrauded of their right. 
 They also invented terrible methods of tor- 
 ment 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 up their fundaments ! 
 and a man was forced to bear what it is terri- 
 ble 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 ne- 
 cessity forced them to it ; but this was done 
 to keep their madness in exercise, and as mak- 
 ing 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 ga- 
 ther 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 entreated them, and that 
 by calling upon the tremendous 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. 
 
 4. These were the afflictions which the 
 lower sort of people suffered from these ty- 
 rants' guards ; but for the men that were in 
 dignity, and withal were rich, they were car- 
 ried before the tyrants themselves ; some of 
 whom were falsely accused of laying treacbe- 
 rous plots, and so were destroyed ; 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 ene- 
 my ; 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 remain- 
 ed ; insomuch that they drank the blood of 
 the populace to one another, and divided the 
 dead bodies of the poor creatures between 
 them ; so that although, on account of theii 
 
 -/• 
 
CHAP. XI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 731 
 
 ambition aftpr dominion, they contended with 
 each other, yet did they very well agree in 
 their wicked practices ; for he that did not 
 communicate what he had got by the miseries 
 of others to the other tyrant, seemed to be too 
 little guilty, and in one respect only ; and he 
 that did not partake of wliat was so communi- 
 cated to him, grieved at this, as at the loss of 
 what was a valuable thing, that he had no 
 sliare in such barbarity. 
 
 5. It is therefore impossible to go distinct- 
 ly over every instance of these men's iniquity. 
 I shall therefore speak my mind here at once 
 brielly : — That neither did any other city ever 
 suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever 
 breed a generation more fruitful in wicked- 
 ness than this was, from the beginning of the 
 world. Finally, they brought the Hebrew 
 nation into contempt, that they miglit them- 
 selves appear comparatively less impious with 
 regard to strangers. They confessed what 
 was true, that they were the slaves, the scum, 
 and the spurious and abortive offspring of our 
 nation, while they overthrew the city them- 
 selves, and forced the Romans, whether they 
 would or no, to gain a melancholy reputation, 
 by acting gloriously against them, and did 
 almost draw that fire upon the temple, which 
 they seemed to think came too slowly ; and, 
 indeed, whtn they saw that temple burning 
 from the upper city, they were neither trou- 
 bled at it, nor did they shed any tears on 
 that account, while yet these passions were 
 discovered among the Romans themselves : 
 which ciicumstances we shall speak of here- 
 after in their proper place, when we come to 
 treat of such matters. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW THE JEWS WERE CRLtcUIED BEFORE THE 
 WALLS OF THE CITY. CONCERNING ANTI- 
 OCHUS EPIFHANES ; AND HOW THE JEWS 
 OVERTHREW THE BANKS THAT HAD BEEN 
 RAISED BY THE ROMANS. 
 
 § 1. 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 horsemen, and ordered 
 they should lay ambushes 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 con- 
 cern they were under for their own relations : 
 for they could not hope to escape away, to- 
 gether 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 accounl-j nay, 
 tlie severity of the famine made them bold in 
 
 thus going out : so nothing remained but 
 that, when they were concealed from the rob- 
 bers, 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 be- 
 fore they died, and were then crucified be- 
 fore the wall of the city. Tiiis miserable 
 procedure made Titus greatly to pity them, 
 while they caught every day five hundred 
 Jews ; nay, some days they 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, tl)at he lioped the Jews 
 might perhaps yield at that sight, out of fear' 
 lest they might themselves afterwards be liable 
 to the same cruel treatment. So the soldiers 
 out of the wrath and hatred they bore t!ie 
 Jews, nailed those they cauglit, one after one 
 way, and another after anotiier, to the crosses, 
 by way of jest ; when their multitude was so 
 great, that room was wanting for the crosses, 
 and crosses wanting for the bodies,* 
 
 2. But so far were the seditious from re- 
 penting at this sad sight, that, on the contrary 
 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 were very eager to 
 go over upon the security 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 ttiecity 
 who were so eager to desert, till the truth was 
 known ; yet did some of them run away im- 
 mediately as unto certain punishment, esteem- 
 ing death from their enemies to be a quiet de- 
 parture, if compared with that by famine. So 
 Titus commai^ded that tlic 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 in to John 
 and Siinon, with this exhortation, that they 
 would now at length leave off [their madness"], 
 and not force him to destroy the city, wiiere- 
 by they would have those advantages of re- 
 pentance, 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 a- 
 bout the banks that were cast up, and hasten- 
 
 • Rcland very properly takes notice here, how justly 
 this jurtgment came upon the Jews, when tlicy were 
 crucified in such multitudes together, that the Romans 
 wanted room for the crosses, and crosses for the bodies 
 of these Jews, since they had brought this judgmejit 
 on themselves bv the crucifixion of their Messiah. 
 
-^ 
 
 732 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK V 
 
 ed tlicm, in order to show that his words 
 should in no long tinne be followed by his deeds. 
 In answer to wiiich, the seditous cast re- 
 proaches upon Caesar himself, and upon his 
 father also, and cried out with a loud voice, 
 that tlipy contemned death, and did well in 
 preferring it before slavery ; that they would 
 do all the mischief to the Romans they could 
 wliile 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 threat- 
 enings, which would come to nothing; because 
 the conclusion of the whole depended upon 
 God only. These words were mixed with 
 reproaches, and with them they made a mighty 
 
 lamour. 
 
 . 3. In the mean time Antiochus Epiphanes 
 came to the city, having with him a conside- 
 rable number of other armed men, and a band 
 called the Macedonian Band about him, all 
 of the same age, tall, and just past their child- 
 hood, armed, and instructed after the Mace- 
 donian manner, whence it was that they took 
 that name. Yet were many of them unwor- 
 thy of so famous a nation ; for it had so hap- 
 pened, that the king of Commagene had flou- 
 riblied more than other kings that were un- 
 der 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 net to call any man happy before 
 he is dead. But this son of his, who was 
 then come thither before his father was de- 
 caying, 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, »nd naturally bold in exposing 
 himself to dangers ; he was also so strong a 
 man, that his boldness seldom failed of hav- 
 ing success. 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 bis Macedonians made a 
 sudden assault upon the wall ; and, indeed, 
 for his own part, his strength and skill were 
 so great, tlfat he guarded himself from the 
 Jewish darts, and yet shot his darts at them, 
 while yet the young men with him were al- 
 most all sorely galled ; for they had so great 
 a regard to the promises that had been made 
 of their courage, that they would needs per- 
 severe in their fighting, and at length many 
 of them retired, but not till they were wound- 
 ed ; and then they perceived that true Mace- 
 donians, if they were to be conquerors, must 
 have Alexander's good fortune also. 
 
 4. Now, as the Romans began to raise their 
 banks on the twelfth day of the month Arte- 
 misius [Jyar], so had they mich ado totinish 
 them by the twenty-ninth day of the same 
 
 tnoiifh, after they had laboured hard for se- 
 venteen days continually; for there were now 
 four great banks raised, one of which was at 
 the tower of Antonia ; this was raised by the 
 fifth legion, over-against the middle of that 
 pool which was called Struthius. Another 
 was cast up by the twelfth legion, at the dis- 
 tance 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 quar- 
 ter, and at the pool called Amygdalon ; as 
 was that of the fifteenth legion about thirty 
 cubits from if, and at the high priest's monu- 
 ment. And now, when the engines were 
 brought, John had from within undermined 
 the space that was over-against the tower of 
 Antonia, as far as the banks themselves, and 
 had supported the ground over the mine with 
 beams laid across one another, whereby the 
 Roman works stood upon an uncertain foun- 
 dation. Then did he order such materials to 
 be brought in as were daubed over with pitch 
 and bitumen, and set them on fire ; and as 
 the cross beams that sui)ported the banks were 
 burning, the ditch yielded on the sudden, 
 and the banks were shaken down, and fell in- 
 to the ditch with a prodigious noise. Now 
 at the first there arose a very thick smoke and 
 dust, as the fire was choked with the fall of 
 tiie bank ; but as the suffocated materials were 
 now gradually consumed, a plain flame brake 
 out ; on which sudden appearance of the 
 flame a consternation ftll upon the Romans, 
 and the shrewdness of the contrivance dis- 
 couraged them ; and indeed, this accident com- 
 ing upon them at a time when they thought 
 they had already gained their point, cool- 
 ed their hopes for the time to come. Thejr 
 also thought it would be to no purpose to 
 take the pains to extinguish the fire, since, 
 if it were extinguished, the banks were swal- 
 lowed up already [and become useless] to 
 them. 
 
 5. 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 already to make the 
 wall shake. And here one Tephtheus, of 
 Garsis, a city of Galilee, and Megassarus, 
 one who was derived from some of queen Ma- 
 riamne'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 sudden- 
 ly upon the engines. Nor were there, dur- 
 ing this war, any men that ever sallied out of 
 the city who were their superiors, either in 
 their own boldness, or in the terror tliey struck 
 into their enemies; for they ran out upon the 
 Romans, not as if they were enemies, but 
 friends, without fear or delay ; nor did they 
 leave their enemies till they had rushed vio- 
 lently through the midst of them, and set their 
 machines on fire ; and though they had darts 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. xn. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 733 
 
 L 
 
 thrown at them on every side, and were on 
 every side assaulted with their enemies' 
 rwords, yet did they not withdraw them- 
 selves out of the dangers they were in, till the 
 fire iiad caught iiold of the instruments ; but 
 when the flame went up, the Romans came 
 running from their camp to save their en- 
 gines. Then did the Jews hinder their suc- 
 cours from the wall, and fought with those 
 that endeavoured to quench tlie fire, with- 
 out 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 battering-rams through the flame it- 
 self, 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 de- 
 fend them ; and all this while the Romans 
 were encompassed round about with the 
 flame ; 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 assistance ; and as they 
 were very bold upon the good success they 
 had had, their violent assaults were almost ir- 
 resistible ; nay, they proceeded as far as the 
 fortifications of the enemy's camp, and fought 
 •vith their guards. Now there stood a body 
 of soldiers in array before that camp, which 
 succeeded one another by turns in their ar- 
 mour ; and as to those, the law of the Ro- 
 mans 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 courage- 
 ously, than as a punishment for their cowar- 
 dice, stood firm j 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 engines against the wail, they kept the 
 multitude 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 tliis 
 time ; for the Jews fought now hand to hand 
 with all that came in their way, and, without 
 any caution, fell against the points of their 
 enemy's spears, and attacked 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 as- 
 saults they made upon them ; and the Ro- 
 mans gave way more to their boldness than 
 they did to the sense of the harm they had re- 
 ceived from them. 
 
 6. And now Titus was come from the 
 tower of Antonia, wh ther he was gone to 
 look out for a place for raising other banks, 
 and reproached the soldiers greatly for per- 
 mitting 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 ene- 
 my with some chosen troops, and fell upon 
 their flank liimself; so the Jews, wlio 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. How- 
 ever, the Jews did not flinch, thaugh 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 to their reputation in war, 
 and because Ctesar himself went into the dan- 
 ger before them ; insomuch that I cannot but 
 think the Romans 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. However, 
 seeing the banks of the Romans were de- 
 molished, these Romans were very much cast 
 down upon the loss of what had cost them so 
 long pains, and this in one hour's time ; and 
 many in.leed despaired of taking the city 
 with their usual engines of war only. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TITUS THOUGHT FIT TO ENCOMPASS THE CITY 
 ROUND WITH A WALL ; AFTER WHICH THE 
 FAMINE CONSUMED THE PEOPLE BY WHOLE 
 HOUSES AND FAMILIES TOGETHER. 
 
 § 1. And now did Titus consult with his 
 commanders what was to be done. Those 
 that were of the warmest tempers, thought 
 he should bring ti.e whole army against the 
 city and storm the wall ; for 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 others 
 advised 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 pro- 
 visions into the city, and so to leave the enemy 
 to the famine, and this without direct fight- 
 ing with them ; for that despair was not to be 
 conquered, especially as to those who are de- 
 sirous to die by the sword, while a more ter- 
 rible misery than that is reserved for them. 
 However, Titus did not think it fit for ua 
 
J' 
 
 "V 
 
 734 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 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 
 impracticable ; as also, that to encompass the 
 whole city round with his army, was not very 
 easy, by reason of its magnitude and tlie dif- 
 ficulty of the situation; and on other accounts 
 dangerous, upon the sallies the Jews might 
 make out of the city ; for although they, might 
 guard the known passages out of the place, 
 yet would they, wlien 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 suc- 
 cess ; for tliough it be true, that length of 
 time will perfect every tiling, 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, tlie only way to prevent the Jews 
 from coming out any way, and that then they 
 would either entirely despair of saving the 
 city, and so would surrender it up to him, or 
 De still the more easily conquered when the 
 famine had farther weakened them ; for that 
 besides this wall, he would not lie entirely at 
 rest afterward, but would take 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 but God himself could 
 tvith ease accomplish any great thing whatso- 
 ever. 
 
 2. 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 ainong them, nor did on- 
 ly one legion strive with another, but the les- 
 ser divisiorK of the army did the same ; inso- 
 much that each soldier was ambitious to please 
 his decurion, 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 in those 
 commanders; for he went round about the 
 works many times every d.ay, and took a view 
 of what was done. Titus began the wall from 
 tlie Camp of the Assyrians, where his own 
 camp was pitched, and drew it «'"wn to the 
 
 ^_ 
 
 lower parts of Cenopolis ; thence it went a- 
 long the valley of Cedron to the Mount of 
 Olives ; it then bent towards the south, and 
 encompassed the mountain as far as the rock 
 called Peristereon, and that other hill which 
 lies next 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 monu- 
 ment of Ananus the high-priest, and encom- 
 passing that mountain where Pompey had for- 
 merly pitched his camp, it returned back to 
 the north side of the city, and was carried on 
 as far as a certain village called " The House 
 of the Erebinthi ;" after which it eix;ompass- 
 ed Herod's monurnent, and there, on the east, 
 was joined to Titus's own camp, where it be- 
 gan. Now the length of this wall was forty 
 furlongs, one only abated. Now at this wall 
 without were erected thirteen places to keep 
 garrisons in, the circumference of which, put 
 together, amounted to teo furlongs ; the whole 
 was completed in three days : so tliat what would 
 naturally have required some months, was 
 done in so short an interval as is incredible. 
 When Titus had therefore encompassed the 
 city with this wall, and put garrisons into pro- 
 per places, he went round the wall, at the tirst 
 watch of the night, and observed how the guard 
 was kept ; the second watch he allotted to 
 Alexander ; the commanders of legions took 
 the third watch. They also cast lots among 
 themselves who should be upon the watch in 
 the night-time, and who should go all night 
 long round the spaces that were interposed 
 between the garrisons. 
 
 4. 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 devoured 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 wander- 
 ed about the market-places like shadows, all 
 swelled with the famine, and fell down dead 
 wheresoever their misery seized tliem. As 
 for burying them, those that were sick them- 
 selves were not able to do it ; and those that 
 were hearty and well, were deterred from do- 
 ing it by the great multitude of those dead 
 bodies, and by the uncertainty there was how 
 soon they should die themselves ; for many 
 died as they were burying others, and many 
 went to 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 before them with 
 dry eyes and open mouths. A deep silence 
 also, and a kind of deadly night, had seized 
 upon tlie city ; w bile yet the robbers were 
 
 r 
 
CUAP XIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 735 
 
 still more terrible than these miseries were 
 themselves ; for they brake open those houses 
 which were no other than graves of dead bo- 
 dies, and plundered them of what they had ; 
 and carrying off the coverings of their bodies, 
 went out laugliing, and tried the points of 
 their swords on their dead bodies; and, in 
 order to prove what mettle they were made 
 of, they thrust some of those through that 
 still lay alive upon the ground ; but for those 
 tliat entreated them to lend them their right 
 hand, and tlieir sword to dispatch them, they 
 were too proud to grant their requests, and 
 left them to be consumed by the famine. 
 Now every one of these died with their eyes 
 fixed upon the temple, and left the seditious 
 alive behind them. Now the seditious at 
 first gave orders that the dead should be buri- 
 ed out of the public treasury, as not enduring 
 the stench of their dead bodies. But after- 
 wards, when they could not do thai, they had 
 them cast down from the walls into the valleys 
 beneath. 
 
 4. 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 tlie 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 dis- 
 consolate ; 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. However, when the sedi- 
 tious still showed no inclination of yielding, 
 Titus, out of his commiseration of tlie people 
 that remained, and out of his earnest desire 
 of rescuing what was still left out of these 
 miseries, began to raise his banks again, al- 
 though 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 mak- 
 ing of the former banks. Yet did the soldiers 
 bring with the-m other materials from the dis- 
 tance of ninety furlongs, and thereby raised 
 banks in four parts, much greater than the 
 former, thougli 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 men, and 
 these only, were incapable of repenting 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, noi 
 could any pain alFect 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 
 
 THE GREAT SLAUGIITEUS AND SACRILEGE 
 THAT V,'£RE IN JERUSALEM. 
 
 § 1. Accordingly Simon would not suffer 
 Matthias, by whose means he got possession 
 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 es- 
 teem with them : he, when the multitude 
 were distressed by the zealots among whom 
 John was numbered, persuaded 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 got- 
 ten tiie 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 defence. 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 Ro- 
 mans ; for such a charge had Simon given to 
 Ananus, 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 
 Masambulus, a person of eminency, 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 him- 
 self, or go into his company among others, 
 for fear he should betray them. Tiicy also 
 slew such as joined in lamenting these men, 
 without any farther examinatioa. 
 
736 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 2. Now when Judas, the son of Judas, who 
 was one of Siir.on's under officers, and a per- 
 son intrusted t>y hiin to keep one of tlie towers, 
 saw this procedure of Simon, he called to- 
 gether 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 delivtr- 
 «nc« by thus continuing faithful to -such 
 wicked w/etches ? Is not the famine already 
 come against us ? Are not the Romans in a 
 manner gotten within the city ? Is not Simon 
 become unfaitiiful 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 deliver- 
 aTice, he be brought to justice a little sooner 
 than he thinks on." Now these ten were 
 prevailed upon by those arguments j so he 
 sent the rest of those that were under him, 
 some one way and some another, that no dis- 
 covery might be made of what they had re- 
 solved upon. Accordingly lie callfd to the 
 Romans from the tower, about the third hour ; 
 but they, some of them out of pride, despised 
 what he said, and others of them did not be- 
 lieve him to be in earnest, though the greatest 
 nuiTiber delayed the matter, as believing they 
 sliould get possession of the city in a little 
 time, without any hazard : 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 suirenderd, and 
 seized upon these men, and put them to 
 death in the sight of the Romans them- 
 selves ; and when he had mangled their dead 
 bodies, he threw them down before the wall 
 of the city. 
 
 3. 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. Upon which 
 fall of his the Jews made a sally, and he had 
 been hurried away into the city, if Cajsar 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 rejoicing. 'I'liis ac- 
 cident was told in the city ; and the multi- 
 tude 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 
 Josephus's mother heard in prison that her 
 son was dead, she said to those that watclied 
 
 about her, That she had always been of opin 
 ion, since the siege of Jotapata, [that he would 
 be slain], and she should never enjoy him 
 alive any more. She also made great lamen- 
 tation privately to the maid-servants that were 
 about her, and said, That this was all the ad- 
 vantage she had of bringing so extraordinary 
 a person as this son 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 bis mother to pain, nor afford merri- 
 ment 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 Le punished for this wound they 
 had given him. He also made a fresh exhor- 
 tation to the people to come out, upon the 
 security that would be given them. This 
 sight of Josephus encouraged the people great- 
 ly, and brought a great consternation upon 
 the seditious. 
 
 4. Hereupon some of the deserters, having 
 no other way, leaped down from the wall im- 
 mediately, while others of them went out of 
 the city with stones, as if V-:y would fight 
 them ; but thereupon, they fled away to the 
 Romans : — but here a worse fate accompanied 
 these than what they liad found within the 
 city ; and they met with a quicker dispatch 
 from the too great abundance they had among 
 the Romans, than they could have done from 
 the famine among the Jews; for when thej 
 came first to the Romans, they were puffed up 
 by the famine, and swelled like men in a 
 dropsy ; after which they all on the sudden 
 over-filled 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 was caught gathering 
 pieces of gold out of the excrements of the 
 Jews' bellies ; for the deserters used to swal- 
 low such pieces of gold, as vi e told you before, 
 when they came out; and for these did the 
 seditious search them all; for there was a 
 great quantity of gold in the city, insomuch 
 that as tnuch was now sold [in the Roman 
 camp] for twelve Attic [drams^, as was sold 
 before for twenty-five ; but when this con- 
 trivance 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 llie Syrians, 
 cut up those that came as supplicants, and 
 searched their bellies. Nor does it seem to 
 me that any misery befel the Jews that was 
 more terrible than this, since in one night's 
 time about two thousand of these deserters 
 were thus dissected. 
 
 5. When Titus came to the knowledge of 
 this wicked practice, he had like to have sur 
 
 ■V 
 
 ./" 
 
CHAP. xrii. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 737 
 
 rounded those that had been guilty of it with 
 his horse, and have shot them dead ; and he 
 had done it, had not their number been so 
 very great, and those that were liable to this 
 punishment vpould have been manifold, more 
 than tiiose whom they had slain. Hov^ ever, 
 he called together the commanders of tlie auxi- 
 liary troops he had with him, as well as the 
 commanders of the Roman legions (for some 
 of his own soldiers had been also guilty here- 
 in, as he had been informed) and had great 
 indignation against 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, with- 
 out regarding their own weapons, which are 
 made of silver and gold ? Moreover, do the 
 Arabians and Syrians now first of all begin to 
 govern themselves as they please, and to in- 
 dulge their appetites in a foreign war, and 
 then, out of their barbarity in murdering men, 
 and out of their hatred to the Jews, get it 
 ascribed to the Romans?" — for this infamous 
 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 
 of them were discovered to be so insolent as 
 to do so again : moreover, he gave it in charge 
 to the legions, that they sliould make a search 
 after such as were suspected, and should bring 
 them to him ; but it appeared that the love of 
 money was too hard for all their dread of 
 punishment, and a vehement desire of gain is 
 natural to men, and no passion is so venture- 
 some as covetousness , otherwise such pas- 
 sions have certain bounds, and are subordi- 
 nate to fear ; but in reality it was God who 
 condemned the whole nation, and turned 
 every course tliat was taken for their preser- 
 vation to their destruction. This, therefore, 
 which was forbidden by Cwsai- under such a 
 threatening, was ventured upon privately a- 
 gainst the deserters, and these barbarians would 
 go out still, and meet those that ran away be- 
 fore any saw them, and looking about them to 
 see that no Romans spied them, they dissected 
 them, and pulled this polluted 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. 
 
 6. But as for Joim, when he could no 
 longer plunder the people, he betook himself 
 to sacrilege, and melted down many of the 
 eacred utensils, which had been given to tlie 
 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 Au- 
 gustus and his wife ; for tlie Roman^emper- 
 ors did ever both honour and adorn this tem- 
 ple : whereas this man, who was a Jew, 
 
 ■\. 
 
 seized upon what were Jie donations of fo- 
 reigners ; and said to those that were witli 
 him, that it was proper for them to use divine 
 things while they were fighting for the Divi- 
 nity, without fear, and that such whose war- 
 fare is for the temple, should live of the temple ; 
 on which account he emptied the vessels of that 
 sacred wine and oil, which the priests kept to 
 be poured on the burnt-offerings, and which 
 lay in the inner court of the temple, and dis- 
 tributed it among the multitude, who, in their 
 anointing themselves and drinking, used [each 
 of them] above an hin of them : and here I 
 cannot but speak my mind, and what the con- 
 cern I am under dictates to me, and it is this : 
 I suppose, that had the Romans made any 
 longer delay in coming against these villains, 
 the city would either have been swallowed up 
 by the ground opening upon them, or been 
 overflowed by water, or else been destroyed 
 by such thunder as the country of Sodom • 
 perished by, for it had brought forth a gene- 
 ration of men much more atheistical than 
 were those that suffered such punishments ; 
 for by their madness it was that all the people 
 came to be destroyed. 
 
 7. And indeed, why do I relate these par- 
 ticular calamities ? — while Manneus, the son 
 of I^azarus, came running to Titus at this 
 very time, and told him that there had beeii 
 carried out through that one gate, which was 
 entrusted to his care, no fewer than a hun . 
 dred and fifteen thousand eight hundred and 
 eighty dead bodies, in the interval between 
 the fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus 
 [Nisan], when the Romans pitched their camp 
 by the city, and the first day of the month 
 Panemus [Tamuz]. This was itself a pro- 
 digious multitude; and though this man was 
 not himself set as a governor at that gate, vet 
 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 relations, though 
 all their burial was but this, to brino- 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 num. 
 ber of the poor that were dead ; and that no 
 fewer than six hundred thousand were thrown 
 out at the gates, though still the number of 
 the rest could not be discovered ; and they 
 told him farther, that when they v.ere no 
 longer able to carry out the dead bodies of 
 the poor, they laid their corpses on heaps in 
 very lari;e houses, and shut them up therein; 
 as also that a medimnus of wheat was sold 
 for a talent ; and that when, a while after- 
 
 * Josephus, both here and before (b. iv, ch. viii, sect. 
 i) esteems Ihu land of iSodum, not as part of the lake 
 Aspbaltitis, or under its waters; but near it only, as 
 Tacitus also took the same notion from him (Hist, v, 6, 
 7)i which the great Relaiid takes to be the verj- tru'thl 
 both in his note on this place and in his Talestina (torn*, 
 i. p. e.rl— 258) ; though I rather suppose part of that re- 
 gion of Pentapolisto L>e now under the waters of thesoutb 
 part of that soa ; but perhaps not the whole country. 
 3 Q 
 
A, 
 
 738 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 ward, it was not possil)le to gather herbs, by I food. When the Romans barely heard all 
 
 reason the city was all walled about, some 
 persons were driven to that terrible distress as 
 to search the common sewers and old dung, 
 hills of cattle, and to eat the dung which they 
 got there ; and what they of old could not 
 endure so much a.i to see, they now used for 
 
 this, they commiserated their case ; while the 
 seditious, who saw it also, did not repent, but 
 suffered the same distress to come upon thenw 
 selves ; for they were blinded by that fate 
 which was alreaiiy 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. 
 
 THAT THK MISERIES OF THE JEWS STIl.L GREW 
 WORSE; AND HOW THE ROMANS MADE AN 
 ASSAULT UPON THE TOWER OF ANTONIA. 
 
 <; 1. Thus did the miseries of Jerusalem 
 grow worse and worse every day, and the se-- 
 tiitious were still more irritated by the cala- 
 mities they were under, even while the famine 
 ])reyed upon themselves, after it had preyed 
 upon the people. And indeed the multitude 
 of carcases that lay in heaps one upon ano- 
 ther, was a horrible sight, and produced a 
 pestilential stench, which was a hindcrance to 
 those that would make sallies out of the city 
 and fight the enemy : but as tliose wore to go 
 in battle-array, who had been already used to 
 ten thousand 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 liands already polluted with 
 the murders of their own countrymen, and in 
 that condition ran out to fight with foreign- 
 eis, they seem to me to have cast a reproach 
 upon God himself, as if he were too slow in 
 punishing them ; for the war was not now 
 gone on with as if they had any hoi)e of vic- 
 tory ; for they gloried after a brutish manner 
 in tliat despair of deliverance they were al- 
 ready in. And now the Iiomans,although they 
 wure greatly distressed in getting togetlier thtir 
 miiterials, raised tlieir banks in one-and-twen- 
 ty days, after they had cut down all the trees 
 liiat were in the country that adjoined to the 
 
 city, and that for ninety furlongs round about, 
 as 1 have already related. And truly, the very 
 view itself of the country was a melancholy 
 tiling; for those places which were before 
 adorned vvitli trees and pleasant gardens, 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 csadly 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 hav 
 inquired for it notwithstanding. 
 
 2. And now the banks were finished, they 
 afforded a foundation for fear both to the 
 Romans and to the Jews ; for the Jews ex- 
 pected that the city would be taken, unless 
 tliey could burn those banks, as did the Ro- 
 mans 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 perpetu- 
 ally less and less hopes of success, and their 
 banks were forced to yield to the stratagems 
 of the enemy, their engines to the firmness ot 
 their wall, and their closest fights to the bold- 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 739 
 
 ness of their attack ; and, what was theJr 
 greatest discouragement of all, they found 
 the Jews' courageous souls to be superior to 
 the multitude of the miseries they were un- 
 der 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 alacrity they shewed 
 would not be discouraged by their calamities ; 
 for what would not those be able to bear if 
 they should be fortunate, who turned their 
 very misfortunes to the improvement of their 
 valour ! These considerations made the Ro- 
 mans keep a stronger guard about their banks 
 than they formerly had done. 
 
 3. 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 endeavoured to do, 
 but as they were gone out with their torches, 
 they came back under 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 intervals, and after a slow manner, 
 and timorously, and, to say all in a word, 
 without a Jewish courage ; for they were now 
 defective in what is peculiar to our nation, 
 that is, in boldness, in violence of assault, and 
 in running upon the enemy all together, and 
 in persevering in what they go about, though 
 they do not at first succeed in it ; but they 
 now went out in a more languid manner than 
 usual, and at the same time found the Ro- 
 mans 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, that 
 they left no room for the fire to get among 
 them, and that every one of their souls was 
 in such good courage, that they would soon- 
 er die than desert tneir ranks ; for besides 
 their notion that all their hopes were cut off, 
 in case their works wJVe once burnt, the sol- 
 diers were greatly ashamed that subtilty should 
 be quite too hard for courage, madness for 
 armour, multitude for skill, and Jews for Ro- 
 mans. The Romans had now also another 
 advantage, in that their engines for sieges co- 
 operated 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 zealous in their at- 
 tempts ; and for those that had run under the 
 darts, some of them were terrified by the good 
 order and closeness of the enemies' ranks be- 
 fore they came to a close fight, and others 
 were pricked with tlieir spears, and, turned 
 back again ; at length they reproached one 
 another for their cowardice, and retired with- 
 
 out doing any thing. This attack was made 
 upon the first day of the month Panemus 
 [Tamuz]. So, when the Jews were retreated, 
 the Romans brought their engines, although 
 they had a41 the while stones thrown at them 
 from the tower of Antonia, and were assault- 
 ed by fire and sword, and by all sorts of darts, 
 which necessity afforded the Jews to make 
 use of; for although these had great depend- 
 ence 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 struggled hard, on the contra- 
 ry, to bring them, as deeming that this zeal of 
 the Jews was in order to avoid any impres- 
 sion to be made on the tower of Antonia, be- 
 cause its wall was but weak, and its founda- 
 tions rotten. However, that tewer 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 perpetual, 
 ly 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 by 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 foun- 
 dations, and with great pains they removed 
 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 be- 
 fore, and had undermined their banks^ that 
 the ground then gave way, and the wall fell 
 down suddenly, 
 
 4. When this accident had unexpectedly 
 happened, the minds of both parties were va- 
 riously affected : for though one would ex- 
 pect that the Jews would be discouraged, be- 
 cause this fall of their wall was unexpected 
 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 sight they had of another wall, which 
 John and his party liad built within it. How- 
 ever, the attack of this second wall appeared 
 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 ap- 
 peared also to be much weaker than the tower 
 of Antonia, and accordingly the Romans 
 imagined that it had been erected so much 
 on the sudden, that they should soon over- 
 throw it : yet did not any body venture now 
 to go up to this wall : for that such as first 
 ventured so to do must certainly be killed. 
 
 5. And now Titus, upon consideration that 
 the alacrity of soldiers iu war is chiefly ex 
 
 ^_ 
 
740 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Vi. 
 
 cited 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 : — " O 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 exhorta- 
 tion, an argument 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 
 this wall ; but that it is proper for those that 
 desire reputation for their valour to struggle 
 with difficulties in such cases, will then ap- 
 pear, when I have particularly shown that it 
 is a brave thing to die with glory, and that 
 the courage here necessary shall not go un- 
 rewarded in those that first begin the attempt; 
 and let my first argument to move you to it 
 be taken from what probably some would 
 think reasonable to dissuade you, I mean the 
 constancy and patience of these Jews, even 
 under their ill successes ; for it is unbecom- 
 ing 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 as- 
 sisted by God himself J for as to our misfor- 
 tunes, they have been owing to the madness 
 of the Jewsj while their suti'erings have been 
 owing to your valour, and to the assistance 
 God hath afforded you ; for as to the sedi- 
 tions 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 they all be but demonstraticHis of 
 God's anger against them, and of liis assis- 
 tance afforded us ? It will not therefore be 
 proper for you, either to show yourselves in- 
 ferior to those to whom you are really superi- 
 or, or to betray that divine assistance which 
 is afforded you ; and indeed, how can it be 
 esteemed otherwise than a base and unworthy 
 thing, that while the Jews, wlio need not 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 do make sallies into the 
 very midst of us frequently, not in hopes of 
 conquering us, but merely for a demonstra- 
 . tion 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 hazard, 
 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 of the hill,* and be up- 
 on our enemies before they can have taken 
 breath, these advantages promise us no less 
 than a certain and sudden victory. As for 
 myself, 1 shall at present ware any commen- 
 dations of those who die in war,-j- and omit to 
 speak of the immortality of those men who 
 are slain in the midst of their martial bra- 
 very ; yet cannot I forbear to imprecate up- 
 on those who are of Zi contrary disposition, 
 that they may die in time of peace, by some 
 distemper or other, since their souls are al- 
 ready 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 from their fleshly bodies in battles by 
 the sword, are received by the ether, that 
 purest of elements, and joined to that com- 
 pany which are placed among the stars ; that 
 they become good demons, and propitious 
 heroes, and show themselves as such to their 
 posterity afterwards ? while upon those souls 
 that wear away in and with their distempered 
 bodies, comes 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 the same time comes to the 
 utmost bounds of its life, and of its body, and 
 of its memorial also; but since fate hath de- 
 termined 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 benefit, 
 whicli we must yield up to fate? And this 
 discourse have 1 made, upon the supposition 
 that those who at first attempt to go upon 
 this wall must needs be killed in the attempt, 
 though still men of true courage have a 
 chance to escape even in the most hazardous 
 undertakings ; for, in the first place, that part 
 
 » Rcland note? here, very pertinently, that the towet 
 of Antonia stood higher than the floor of ihe temjile or 
 court adjoining to it; and that accordingly they le- 
 scended thence into the temple, as Joscphus elsewhere 
 speaks also. See b. vi, ch. ii, sect. 5. 
 
 t In this speech of Titus we may clearly see the no- 
 tions which the Romans then Iiad of death, and of Ihe 
 happy state of those who died bravely in war, and the 
 contrary estate of those who died ignobly in their beds 
 by sickness. Reland here also produces two parallel 
 passages, the one out of Ammianus Marcellinus, con- 
 cerning the Alani, lib. .31, that " they judged that man 
 happy who laid down his life in battle ;" the other ol 
 Valerius Maximus, lib. xi, c. 6, who says, "that the 
 Cimbri and Ctltibcri exulted for joy in the array, as be- 
 ing to go out of the world gloriously and happilv." 
 
J~ 
 
 "V_ 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 741 
 
 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, there- 
 fore, many of you, pull up your courage, and 
 set about this work, and do you mutually en- 
 courage and assist one another; and this your 
 bravery will soon break the liearts of your e- 
 nemies ; and perhaps such a glorious under- 
 taking as yours is may be accomplished with- 
 out bloodshed j for although 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 bestov,- upon him. If such a one 
 escape with his life, he shall have the com- 
 mand of others that are now but his equals ; 
 although it be true also, that the greatest re- 
 wards will accrue to such as die in the at- 
 tempt."* 
 
 6. Upon this speech of Titus, the rest of 
 the multitude were affrighted at so great a 
 danger. But there was one whose name was 
 Sabinus, a soldier that served among the co-- 
 borts, ai>d a Syrian by birth, who appeared to 
 be of very great fortitude, both in the actions 
 he had done and the courage of his soul he 
 had shown ; although any body 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 colour 
 was black, his flesh was lean and thin, and lay 
 close together ; but there was a certain heroic 
 Boul that dwelt in this small 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, 
 O 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 under- 
 taking, 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 his right 
 hand, drawn hi« sword, he marched up to the 
 wall just about the sixth hour of the day. 
 There followed him eleven others, and no 
 more, that resolved to imitate his bravery ; 
 but still this was the principal person of them 
 all, and went first as excited 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 stones upon them, which overthrew some 
 
 » See the note f on page 740- 
 
 of those eleven that were with him. But as 
 for Sabinus himself he met the darts that were 
 cast at him, and though he was overwhelmed 
 with them, yet did he not leave o3' the vio- 
 lence 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 fortune, as still envious 
 of virtue, and always hindering the perform- 
 ance 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 de- 
 fended himself against tFiem, and wounded 
 many o^ those that came near him ; but he 
 %vas 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 witli darts before he gave up the ghost. 
 He was one who deserved a better fate, by 
 reason of his bravery ; but, as might be ex- 
 pected, 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 daj 
 of the month Panemus [Tamuz]. 
 
 7. Now two days afterward, twelve of these 
 men that were on the fore-front, and kept 
 watch upon the banks, got together, and call- 
 ed to them the standard-bearer of the fifth le- 
 gion, and two others of a troop of iiorsemen, 
 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 any body could see how many they were 
 that were gotten up ; for partly from the fear 
 they were in, and partly from the sound of 
 the trumpet which they heard, they imagined 
 a great number of the enemy were gotten up. 
 But as soon as Cssar heard the signal, he 
 ordered the army to put o\\ their armour im- 
 mediately, and came thither with his com- 
 manders, and first of all ascended, as did the 
 chosen men that were with him. And as the 
 Jews were flying away to the temple, they fell 
 into that mine which John had dug under Uie 
 Roman banks. Then did the seditious of 
 
 "^ 
 
T!2 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 both tlie bodies of the Jewish army, as well 
 tliat belonging to John, as that belonging to 
 Simon, drive them away; and indeed were no 
 way wanting as to the liighest degree of force 
 and alacrity ; for they esteemed themselves 
 entirely ruined if once the Romans got into 
 the temple, as did the Romans look 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 pos- 
 session of that temple, and the Jews were 
 driving them back to the tower of Aritonia; 
 in which battle the darts were on both sides 
 useless, as well as the spears, and both sides 
 drew their swords, and fought it out hand to 
 band. Now during this struggle, the posi- 
 tions of the men were undistinguished on both 
 sides, and they fought at random, the men 
 being intermixed one with another, and con- 
 founded, 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 
 wepe dead, and dashed them to pieces. Ac- 
 cordingly, to which side soever the battle in- 
 clined, those that had the advantage exhorted 
 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 necessity of killing or being killed, 
 without any way for escaping; for those on 
 both sides that came behind, forced those be- 
 fore them to go on, without leaving any space 
 between the armies. At length the Jews" 
 violent zeal was too hard for the Romans' 
 skill, and the battle already inclined entirely 
 that way ; for the fight had lasted from the 
 nintli 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 legions, 
 on which the soldiers on that side depended, 
 were not come up to them. So it was at pre- 
 sent Uiought sufficient by the Romans to take 
 possession of the tower of Antonia. 
 
 8. 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, see- 
 ing the Romans giving ground, and in a sad 
 condition (for he stood by Titus at the tower' 
 of Antonia), leaped out, and of himself alone 
 put the Jews to flight when they were already \ 
 conquerors, and made th«ii retire as far as j 
 the corner of the inner court of the temple : | 
 from him the multitude fled away in crowds.) 
 
 as supposing 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 dispersed all abroad, 
 and killed those that he caught. Nor, in 
 deed, was there any sight that appeared more 
 wonderful in the eyes of Caesar, or more ter- 
 rible 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 be had shoes all full ot 
 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 feai for the man. But the Jews 
 got about him in crowds, and struck at him 
 with their spear?, and with their swords on 
 all sides. Now he received a great many ot 
 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 ho, as he lay along, stab many 
 of them with his sword. Nor was he soon 
 killed, as being covered with his helmet 
 and his breast-plate 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 shattered, and nobody 
 durst come to defend him, and then he yield- 
 ed to his fate. Now Caesar %vas deeply af- 
 fected on account of this man of so great 
 fortitude, and especially as he was killed in 
 the sight of so many people ; he was desir- 
 ous 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 liad strug- 
 gled with death a great while, and had let 
 but few of those that had given him his mor- 
 tal wound go oflf unhurt, he had at last his 
 throat cut, though not without some difficul- 
 ty ; and left behind him a very great fame, 
 not only among the Romans and with Caesar 
 himself, but among his enemies also ; then 
 did the Jews catch up his dead body, and put 
 the Romans to flight again, and shut them 
 up in the tower of Antonia. Now those that 
 most signalized themselves, and fought most 
 zealously in this battle of the Jewish side, 
 were one Alexas and Gyphtheus, of John's 
 party; and of Simon's party were Malachias, 
 and Judas the son of Merto, and James the 
 son of Sosas, the commander of the Idume- 
 ans ; and of the zealots, two brethren, Simon 
 and Judas, the sons of Jairus. 
 
 » No wonder that this Julian, who had so many 
 nails in his shoes, slipped upon the pavement of th« 
 temple, whieh was smooth, and Laid with maibie oi 
 diSirent colours. 
 
 ■\. 
 
"V. 
 
 CH\P. II. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 743 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 HOW TITUS GAVE ORDERS TO DEMOLISH THE 
 TOWER OF ANTONIA, AND THEN PERSUADED 
 JOSEPHUS TO EXHORT THE JEWS AGAIN [TO 
 A surrender]. 
 
 § 1. And now Titus gave orders to his sol- 
 diers that were with him to dig up the foun- 
 dations of the tower of Antonia, and make 
 liim 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 Pane- 
 mus [Tamuz], the sacrifice called " the Daily 
 Sacrifice" had failed, and had not been of- 
 fered 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 Jolin that he had s.ud 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 fight, without the 
 danger of destroying either his city or temple ; 
 but that he desired he would not defile the 
 temple, nor thereby offend against God. That 
 lie might, if he pleased, offer the sacrifices 
 which were now discontinued, by any of the 
 Jews whom he should pilch 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 
 Cffisar had given him in charge, and this in the 
 Hebrew language.f So he earnestly prayed 
 them to spare their own city, and to prevent that 
 fire which was just ready to seize upon the tem- 
 ple, 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 j 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 a loud voice : — " To be sure, 
 thou hast kept this city wonderfully pure for 
 God's sake! the temple also continues entire- 
 ly unpolluted ! Nor hast thou been guilty of 
 any impiety against him, for whose assistance 
 thou hopest ! He still receives his accustom- 
 ed sacrifices! Vile wretch that thou art! 
 if any one should deprive thee of thy daily 
 food, thou wouldst esteem him to be an ene- 
 
 * This was a very remarkable day indeed, the seven- 
 teenth of Panemus [Tamuz], A. D. 10, when, according to 
 Daniel's prediction, 6' 6 years before, the Romans " in 
 half a week caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease," 
 Dan. ix. 27; for from the month of February, a. d. 
 66, about which time Vespasian entered on this war, to 
 this very time, was just three years and a lialf. ^ee 
 Bishop Lloyd's Tables of Chronology, published by Mr. 
 Marshall, on this year. Nor is it to be omittetl, what 
 very nearly confirms this duration of the war, that four 
 years before the war began, was somewhat above seven 
 years five months before the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 chap. V, sect, S. 
 
 i t he same that in the New Testament is ^Iways so 
 called, and was then the common language of the Jews 
 in Judea, which was the Syriac dialect. 
 
 my to thee; but thou hopest to have that 
 God for thy supporter in this war whom thou 
 hast deprived of his everlasting worship ! and 
 thou imputcst those sins to the Romans, who 
 to this very time take care to have our laws 
 observed, and alinost compel these sacrifices to 
 be still offered to God, which have by thy 
 means been intermitted ! Who is there that 
 can avoid groans and lamentations at the a- 
 mazing change that is made in this city ! since 
 very foreigners and enemies do now correct 
 that impiety which thou hast occasioiied : 
 while thou, who art a Jew, and wast educat- 
 ed in our laws, art become a greater enemy 
 to them than the others ! But still, John, it 
 is never dishonourable to repent, and amend 
 what hath been done amiss, even at the last 
 extremity. 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 i» 
 was taken, and did undergo a voluntary cap. 
 tivity with his family, that the sanctuary 
 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 memori- 
 als, and his memory is become immortal, and 
 will be conveyed fresh down to our posterity 
 through all ages. This, John, is an excellent 
 example in such a time of danger ; and I 
 dare venture to promise that the Romans 
 shall still forgive thee. And take notice, that 
 I, who make this exhortation to thee, am one 
 of thine own nation ; I, who am a Jew, do 
 make this promise to thee. And it will be- 
 come thee to consider who I am that give thee 
 this counsel, and whence I am derived ; for 
 while I am alive I shall never be in such sla- 
 very as to forego my own kindred, or forget 
 the laws of our forefathers. Thou hast in- 
 dignation at me again, and makest a clamour 
 at me, and reproachest me ; indeed, I cannot 
 deny but I am worthy of worse treatment 
 than all this amounts to, because, in opposi- 
 tion to fate, I make this kind invitation to 
 thee, and endeavour to force deliverance upon 
 those whom God hath condemned. And who 
 is there that does not know what the writings 
 of the ancient prophets contain in them, — and 
 particularly 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 own countrymen ! and are 
 not ioth the city and the entire temple now 
 full of the dead bodies of your countrymen ? 
 It is God therefore, it is God himself who is 
 bringing on this fire, to purge that city and 
 
 t Our present copies of the Old Testament want this 
 encomium upon king Jechoniah or Jehoiachim, which 
 it «eems was in Josephus's copy. 
 
 § Of this oracle, see the note on book iv, chap, vi 
 sect. 3. 
 
744 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 tciTiple by means of the Romans,* and is go- 
 ing to pluck up tliis city, which is full of your 
 pollutions." 
 
 2. As Joseplius 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 Jose- 
 plius also into their power : yet did that dis- 
 course influence a great many of the better 
 sort; and truly some of them were so afraid 
 of the guards set by the seditious, that they 
 tarried 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 opportunity when they 
 might quietly get away, fled to the Romans, 
 of whom were the high-priests Joseph and 
 Jesus, and of the sons of high-priests three, 
 whose father was Ishmael, who was beheaded 
 in Cyrene, and four sons of Matthias, as also 
 one son of the other Matthias, wlio ran away 
 after his father's death,f and whose father was 
 slain by Simon, the son of Gioras, with three 
 of his sons, as I have already related : many 
 also of the other nobility went over to the 
 Romans, together with the high-priests. Now 
 Cassar not only received these men very kind- 
 ly in other respects, but, knowing tliey would 
 not willingly live after the customs of other 
 nations, he sent them to Gophna, and desired 
 tliem 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 
 lliese deserters were slain by the Romans, — 
 which was done, in order to deter the rest 
 from running away by fear of the like treat- 
 ment. This trick of theirs succeeded now for 
 a while, as did the like trick before ; for the 
 rest were hereby deterred from deserting, by 
 fear of the like treatment. 
 
 3. However, when Titus had recalled those 
 men from Gophna, he gave orders that they 
 should go round the wall, together with Jo- 
 sephus, and show themselves to the people ; 
 
 * Josephus, both here and in many places elsewhere, 
 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 that wicked nation of 
 the Jews, which was for certain the true state of this 
 matter, as the prophet Daniel first, and our Saviour 
 himself afterwards, had clearly foretold. See Lit. Ac- 
 compl. of Proph. p. 61, &e. 
 
 f Josephus had before told us, book v, ch. xiii, sect. 
 ], that this fourth son of Matthias ran away to the Ro- 
 mans " before" his father's and brethren's slaughter, 
 and not " after" it, as here. The former account is, in 
 all probability, the truest; for had not that fourth son 
 escaped before the otliers were cauglit and put to death, 
 he had been caught and put to death with them. This 
 last account, therefore, looks like an instance of a small 
 Hisdvertence of Josephus in the place before us. 
 
 upon which a great many fled to the Romans. 
 Tliese 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 tlie Romans 
 entirely 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 temple, and 
 save the holy house for their own use; for 
 that the Romans would not venture to set the 
 sanctuary on fire, but under the most pressing 
 necessity. Yet did the seditious still more 
 and more contradict them ; and while they 
 cast loud and bitter reproaches upon these 
 deserters, they also set their engines for 
 throwing of daris, and javelins, and stones, 
 upon the sacred gates of the temple, at due 
 distances from one anot;.s/, insomuch that all 
 the space round about within the temple 
 might be compared to .i burying-ground, so 
 great was the number of the dead bodies 
 therein ; as might the holy house itself be 
 compared to a citadel. Accordingly, these 
 men rushed upon these holy places in their 
 armour, that were otherwise unapproachable, 
 and that vhile their hands were yet warm 
 with the blood of their own people which 
 they had shed ; nay, they proceeded to such 
 great transgressions, that the very same indig- 
 nation which Jews would naturally have a- 
 gainst 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, indeed, 
 there were none of the Roman soldiers who 
 did not look with a sacred horror upon the 
 holy house, and adored it, and wished that 
 the robbers would repent before their miseries 
 became incurable. 
 
 4. Now Titus was deeply afiected with this 
 state of things, and reproached John and liis 
 party, and said to them, " Plave not you, vile 
 wretches that you are, by our permission, put 
 up this partition-wall \ before your sanctuary? 
 Have not you been allowed to put up the 
 pillars thereto belonging, at due distances, 
 and on it to engrave in Greek, and in your 
 own letters, 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? And 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 them- 
 selves ? I appeal to the gods of my own coun- 
 try, and to every god that ever had any re- 
 gard to this place (for I do not suppose it to 
 be now regarded by any of them) ; I also ap- 
 peal to my own army, and to those Jews that 
 are now with me, and even to you yourselves, 
 
 t Of this partition-wall separating Jews and Gentiles, 
 with its pillars and insciiption, see the description of tlie 
 temples, chap. xv. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 745 
 
 t!;at I do not force you to defile this your 1 set of those that came first upon thorn; but 
 sanctuary; and if you will but change the those that followed them fell upon Iheii own 
 place whereon you will fight, no Roman shall troops, and many of them treated their own 
 eitlier come near your sanctuary, or offer any soldiers as if they had been enemies ; for the 
 affront to it; nay, I will endeavour to pre- 1 great confused noise that was made on both 
 
 serve you your holy house, whether you will 
 or not." * 
 
 5. As Josephus explained these things 
 from the mouth of Caesar, both the robbers 
 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 th;it these men were nei- 
 ther to be moved by commiseration towards 
 themselves, iK)r had any concern upon them 
 to have the holy house spared, he proceeded, 
 unwillingly, to go on again with the war a- 
 gainst them. He could not indeed bring all 
 iiis army against tl>em, the place was so nar- 
 row ; but choosing thirty soldiers of the most 
 valiant out of every hundred, and committing 
 a thousand to each tribune, and making Ce- 
 realis their commander-in-chief, he gave or- 
 ders that they should attack the guards of the 
 temple about the ninth hour of that night ; 
 but as he was now in his armour, and pre- 
 paring to go down with them, his friends 
 would not let him go, by reason of the great- 
 ness of the danger, and what the command- 
 «,'rs suggested to them ; for they said, that he 
 would do more by sitting above in the tower 
 of AiUonia, as a dispenser of rewards to those 
 soldiers that signalized themselves in the fight, 
 than by coming down and hazarding his own 
 person in the fore-front of them ; for that 
 they would all fight stoutly while Cassar 
 looked upon them. With this advice Caesar 
 complied, and said, that the only reason he 
 had for such compliance with the soldiers was 
 
 sides, hindered them from distinguishing one 
 another's voices, as did the darkness of the 
 night hinder them from the like distinction 
 by the sight, besides that blindness which arose 
 otherwise also from the passion and the fear 
 they were in at the same time ; for which rea- 
 son, 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 regularly 
 than the others did, and each of them remem- 
 bered their watch-word ; while the Jews were 
 perpetually dispersed abroad, and made their 
 attacks and retreats at random, and so did fre- 
 quently 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 th.e coming on of the day, 
 the nature 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, botii single men 
 and entire regiments, as being under tiie eye 
 of Titus; and every one concluded that tiiis 
 day would begin his promotion if he fought 
 bravely. The great encouragements vvhici. 
 tile Jews had in view to act vigourously were 
 their fear for themselves and for the temple, 
 
 this, that he might be able to judge of their j and the presence of their tyrant, who exhorted 
 courageous actions, and tliat no valiant soldier I some, and beat and threatened others to act 
 
 might lie concealed, and miss of lu's reward ; 
 and no cowardly soldier might go unpunished; 
 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 tlie soldiers 
 about their work at the hour foremontioned, 
 while he went out himself to a higher place 
 
 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 of 
 their flights or pursuits , but still there was a 
 tumultuous noise among the Romans from 
 the tower of Antonia, who loudly cried out 
 
 n the tower of Antonia, wlience he might seel upon all occasions for their own men to press 
 
 what was done, and there waited with impa- 
 tience to see the event, 
 
 6. Ho%vever, the soldiers 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 immediately hand to hand, as they 
 rushed witli violence upon them with a great 
 shout. Now, as soon as the rest within the 
 temple heard that shout of those that were 
 upon the vvatcli, they ran out in troops upon 
 them. Then did the Romans receive the on- 
 
 ' That these seditious Jews were the direct occasions 
 of their own ilestruclioii, and of the conlla^ation of 
 their city and tcmjile ; and that Titus eariieStiy and 
 coniiaiitly laboured to save botli, is here and every- 
 where miist evident in Josephus. 
 
 on courageously, when they were too hard for 
 the Jews, and to stay when they were retire- 
 ing backward ; so that here was a kind of 
 theatre of war ; for what was done in this 
 fight could not be concealed cither from Ti- 
 tus or from those that were about him. At 
 length, it appeared that this fight, which be- 
 gan at the ninth hour of the night, was not 
 over till past the fifth hour of the day; and 
 that, in the same place wl-.ere the battle be- 
 gan, neither party could say they had made 
 the other to retire; but both the armies left 
 the victory almost in uncertainty between 
 them ; wlicrein those that signalized them- 
 selves on the Roman side were a great many 
 3 R 
 
746 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 but on the Jewish side, and of tliose that 
 were with Simon, Judas tlie son of Merto, 
 and Simon the son of Josias; of the Idume- 
 ans, James and Simon^ the latter of whom 
 was the son of Catlilas, and James was the 
 son of Sosas ; of those that were with John, 
 Gyphtheus and Alexas ; and, of the zealots, 
 Simon, the son of Jairus. 
 
 7. In the mean time, the rest of the Ro- 
 man army had, in 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 ;f 
 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 difliculty, and particularly 
 by being obliged to bring tiieir materials from 
 the distance of a hundred furlongs. They 
 had farther difficulties also upon them : some- 
 times, by the over-great security they were in 
 that they should overcome the Jewish snares 
 laid for tliem, and by that boldness of the Jews 
 j which their despair of escaping had inspired 
 them withal ; for some of their horsemen, 
 when tliey went out to gather wood or hay, 
 let their horses feed, without having their bri- 
 dles on during the time of foraging; upon 
 which horses the Jews sallied out in whole 
 bodies, and seized them ; and when this was 
 continualJy done, and Cassar believed, what 
 the truth was, that tlie 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 commanded 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 a- 
 gainst the temple, and to raise their banks a- 
 gainst it. 
 
 8. Now, after one day had been interpos- 
 ed since the Romans ascended the breach, 
 many of the seditious were so pressed by the 
 famine, upon the present failure of tiieir rav- 
 ages, that they got together, and made an at- 
 tack on those Roman guards that were upon 
 the Mount of Olives, and this about the ele- 
 venth hour of the day, as supposing first, that 
 they would not expect such an onset, and, in 
 the next place, that they were then taking 
 
 The Court of the Gentiles. + Tlie Court of Israel. 
 
 care of iheir bodies, and that therefore they 
 should very easily beat them ; — but the Ro- 
 mans were apprised of their coming to attack 
 them beforehand, and running together from 
 the neighbouring camps on the sudden, pre- 
 vented them from getting over their fortifica- 
 tion, or forcing the wall that was built about 
 them. Upon this came on a sharp fight, 
 and here many great actions were performed 
 on both sides ; while the Romans showed 
 both their courage and their skill in war, as 
 did the Jews come on them with immoderate 
 violence and intolerable passion. The on? par- 
 ty were urged on by shame, and the other by 
 necessity ; 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 saving themselves, 
 and that was, in case they could by violence 
 break through the Roman wall : — and one, 
 whose name was Pedanius, belonging to a 
 party of horsemen, when ihe Jews were al- 
 ready beaten and forcetl down into the valley 
 together, spurred his horse on their flank 
 with great vehemence, and caught up a cer- 
 tain young man belonging to the enemy by 
 his ancle, as he was running away. The 
 man was, however, of a robust body, and in 
 his armour; so low did Pedanius bend him- 
 self downward from his horse, even as he was 
 galloping away, and so great was the strength 
 of his right hand, 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 
 his captive to Casar : whereupon Titus ad- 
 mired 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 himself to the siege of the tem- 
 ple, and to pressing on the raising of the 
 banks. 
 
 9. 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 creep- 
 ing up to the holy house itself, that they, as 
 it were, cut off those limbs of their body 
 which were infected, in order to prevent the 
 distemper's spreading farther; for they set 
 the north-west cloister, which was joined to 
 the tower of Antonia, on fire, and after that 
 brake off about twenty cubits of that cloister, 
 and thereby made a beginning in burning the 
 sanctuary : two days after which, or on the 
 twenty-fourth day of the forenamed month 
 [Panemus or Tamuz], the Romans set fire to 
 the cloister 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 Antonia 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 
 
 ^ 
 
CHAP III. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWSv 
 
 74-7 
 
 deemed tliis spraading of the fire to be for 
 their own advantage. However, the armies 
 were still fighting one against another about 
 the temple ; and the war was managed by 
 continual sallies of particular parties against 
 one another. 
 
 10. 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 respects: 
 his name was Jonathan. He went out at the 
 high-priest John's monument, and uttered 
 many other insolent things to the Romans, 
 and challenged the best of them all to a sin- 
 gle combat ; but many of those that stood 
 there in the army liufiFed 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 fight 
 with a man that desired to die, because those 
 that utterly despaired of deliverance had, be- 
 sides 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 over- 
 come, you do no great matter, and by whom 
 it is hazardous that you may be taken pri- 
 soner, would be an instance, not of manly 
 courage, but of unmanly rashness. So there 
 being nobody that came out to accept the 
 man's challenge, and the Jew cutting them 
 nith a great number of reproaches, as cow- 
 ards (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 horse- 
 men, out of his abomination of the other's 
 words, and of his impudence withal, and per- 
 haps out of an inconsiderate 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, Jona- 
 tlian came running to him, and cut his tiiroat, 
 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 Roman army, and 
 exulted over the dead man, and jested upon 
 the Romans ; till at length one Priscus, a cen- 
 turion, shot a dart at him as he was leaping 
 and playing the fool with himself, and there- 
 by pierced liim 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 vipon 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. 
 
 CONCERNING A STRATAGEM THAT WAS DEVISED 
 BY THE JEWS, BY WHICH THEY BURNT MANY 
 OF THE ROMANS; WITH ANOTHER DESCRIP- 
 TION OF THE TERRIBLE FAMINE THAT WAS 
 IN THE CITY. 
 
 § 1. But now the seditious tliat were in the 
 temple did every day openly endeavour tc 
 beat off the soldiers that were upon the banks, 
 and on the twenty-seventli day of the fore- 
 named month [Panemus, or Tamuz], contriv- 
 ed sucli a stratagem as this : — They filled that 
 part of the western cloister * which was be- 
 tween the beams, and the roof under them, 
 with dry materials, as also with bitumen and 
 pitch, and then retired 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 passions, 
 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 understood this unaccounta- 
 ble 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 sud- 
 den, the Romans that were out of the danger 
 were seized with a very great consternation, 
 as were those that were in the midst of the 
 danger in the utmost distress. So when they 
 perceived themselves surrounded with the 
 flames, some of them threw themselves down 
 backwards 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 methods, 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 Ctesar himself, he could 
 not, however, but commiserate those that thus 
 perished, although they got up thither with- 
 out any order for so doing, since there was no 
 way of giving them any relief. Yet was this 
 some comfort to those that were destroyed, 
 that every body 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 sepulcliral monument. Some 
 there were, indeed, who retired into the wall 
 
 * Of the Court of the Gentiks. 
 
./- 
 
 r48 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 of the cloister, wliich was broad, and were 
 preserved out of the fire, but were then sur- 
 rounded 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. 
 
 2. At the last, a young man among them, 
 whose name was Longus, became a decora- 
 tion to this sad affair, and while every one of 
 them that perished were wor'.Iiy of a memorial, 
 this man appeared to deserve it beyond all the 
 rest. Now the Jews admired this man for his 
 courage, and were farther desirous c.!' having 
 him slain ; so they persuaded him to come 
 down to them, upon security given him for 
 his life. But Cornelius, iiis brother, persuad- 
 ed him, on the contrary, not to tarnish his 
 own glory nor that of the Roman 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 sur- 
 
 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 intolerable, 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 belonged to their shields 
 they pulled off and gnawed : the very wisps of 
 old hay became food to some; and some 
 gathered up fibres, and sold a very small 
 weight of them for 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 
 
 rounded with the fire, ^^ho escaped by his history relates, * either among the Greeks or 
 
 subtilty ; for when he had with a loud voice 
 called to him Lucius, one of his fellow sol- 
 diers that lay with him in the same tent, and 
 said to him, " I do leave thee lieir of all I have, 
 if thou wilt come and receive me." Upon this 
 he came running to receive him readily ; Ar- 
 torius 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. Tliis melancholy accident made 
 the Romans sad for a while, but still it made 
 them more upon their guard for the future, 
 and was of advantage to them against the de- 
 lusions of the Jews, by which they were great- 
 ly damaged through their unacquaintedness 
 with the places, and with the nature of the in- 
 habitants. Now this cloister was burnt down 
 as far as John's tower, which he built in the 
 war he made against Simon over the gates that 
 led to the Xystus. 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, wliosc common angle joined to the 
 valley that was called Cedron, and was built 
 over it; on which account the depth was fright- 
 ful. And this was the state of the temple at 
 that time. 
 
 3. Now of those that perished by famine 
 in the city, the number was prodigious, and 
 the miseries they imderwent were unspeak- 
 able ; 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. Nor would men believe that 
 those who were dying had no food ; but the 
 robbers would search them when they were 
 expiring, lest any one should have concealed 
 food in their bosoms, and counterfeited dying : 
 
 Barbarians ! It is horrible to speak of it, and 
 incredible when heard. I had indeed willing- 
 ly omitted this calamity of ours, that I might 
 not seem to deliver what is so portentous to 
 posterity, but that I have innumerable wit- 
 nesses to it in my own age ; and besides, my 
 country would have had little reason to thank 
 me for suppressing the miseries that she under- 
 went at this time. 
 
 4. There was a certain woman that dwelt 
 beyond Jordan, her name was Mary ; her 
 father was Eieazar, of the village Bethezub, 
 which signifies tlie House of Hyssojy. She 
 was eminent for her family and lier wealth, 
 and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest 
 of the multitude, and was with them besieg- 
 ed 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 ^he 
 had treasured up besides, as also what food 
 she had contrived to save, had been also carri- 
 ed off by the rapacious guards, who came every 
 day running into her house for that purpose. 
 1 his put the poor woman into a very great 
 passion, and by the frequent reproaches and 
 
 • What Josephus observes here, that no parallel ex- 
 amples had been recorded before his time of such sieges, 
 wherein mothers were forced by extremity of famine to 
 cat their own children, as had been threatened to the 
 Jews in the law of Moses, upon obstinate disobedience, 
 and more than once fulfilled (see niv Boyle's Lectures, 
 p. 210— 211), is bv Dr. Hudson supposed to have had 
 two or three parallel examples in later ages. He might 
 have had more examples, I suppose, of persons on .ship- 
 board, or in a desert island, easting lots for each other's 
 bodies ; but all this was only in cases where they knew 
 of no possible way to a\ old death themseh es, but by 
 killing and eating others. Whetlier such examples come 
 up to me present ca-e, may be doubted. The Romans 
 were not only willing, but'vcrv desirous, to grant those 
 Jews in Jerusalem both Iheir lives and their liberties, 
 and to save both their city and their temple. But the 
 realots, the robbers, ajid the seditious, would hearken 
 to no terms o£ submission. They voluntarily chose to 
 reduce the eaizcns to that extremity, as to force mo 
 thers to this unnatural barbarity, which, in all its cir- 
 cumstances, has not, 1 still suppose, been lutherto pa- 
 ■ ralleled ainong the rest of mankind. 
 
 "X 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 749 
 
 imprecations she cast at these rapacious vil- 
 lains, she had provoked them to anger against 
 her ; but none of them, either out of the in- 
 dignation she had raised against lierself, or out 
 of the commiseration of her case, would take a- 
 way lier life ; and if she found any food, she per- 
 ceived 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 con- 
 sult 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, " O thou miserable infant ! for whom 
 shall I preserve 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 otlier. Come on ; be thou my food, 
 and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets 
 and a by-word to tlie world, which is all that 
 is now wanting to complete the calamities of 
 us Jews." As soon as she had said this she 
 slew her son ; and then roasted him, and ate 
 tlie one half of him, and kept the other half 
 by her concealed. Upon this the seditious 
 came in presently, and smelling 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 un- 
 covered what was left of her son. Hereupon 
 they were seized with a horror and amaze- 
 ment of mind, and stood astonished 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 eaten 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 also." After which, 
 those men went out trembling, being never so 
 much affrighted at any thing as they were at 
 tins, and with some difficulty they left the rest 
 of that meat to the mother. Upon which the 
 whole city was fuH of this horrid action im- 
 mediately ; and while every body 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 de- 
 sirous to die ; and those already dead were 
 esteemed happy, because they had not lived 
 long enough either to hear or to see such mi- 
 series. ^ 
 
 5. 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 -w ere under ; but there were many 
 of them w ho were hereby induced to a more 
 bitter hatred than ordinary against our na- 
 tion ; — but for CsEsar, 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 in- 
 solent practices; but that they, instead of con. 
 cord, had chosen sedition ; instead of peace, 
 war ; and before satiety and abundance, a fa- 
 mine. 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 tlie 
 habitable earth to be seen by the sun, wherein 
 mothers are thus fed, although such food be 
 fitter 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 un^ 
 dergone such miseries as these. And at the 
 same time that he said this, he reflected on tlie 
 desperate condition these men must be in ; 
 nor could he expect that such men could be 
 recovered to sobriety of mind, after they iiad 
 endured those very suflTerings, for the avoid- 
 ing whereof it only was probable they might 
 have repented. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WHEN THE BANKS WERE COMPLETED, AND THE 
 BATTERING-RAMS BROUGHT, AND COULD DO 
 NOTHING, TITUS GAVE ORDERS TO SET FIRE 
 TO THE GATES OF THE TEMPLE ; IN NO LONG 
 TIME AFTER WHICH, THE HOLY HOUSE ITSELF 
 WAS BURNT DOWN, EVEN AGAINST lUS CON- 
 SENT. 
 
 § 1. And now two of the legions had com- 
 pleted their banks on the eighth day of the 
 month Lous [ Ab]. Whereupon Titus gave or- 
 ders that the battering-rams should be brought 
 and set over-against the western edifice of the 
 inner temple ; for before these were brought, 
 the firmest of all the other engines had bat- 
 tered the wall for six days together without 
 ceasing, without making any impression up- 
 on it ; but the vast largeness and strong con- 
 nexion of the stones were superior to that en- 
 gine, and to the other battering-rams also. 
 Other Romans did indeed undermine the 
 foundations of the nortliern gate, and, after a 
 world of pains, removed the outermost stones, 
 yet was the gate still upheld by the inner 
 stones, and stood still unhurt; till the work- 
 men, despairing of all such attempts by en- 
 gines and crows, brought their ladders to the 
 cloisters. Now the Jews did not interrupt 
 
750 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 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 backwards 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 sliields 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 bare the ensigns 
 fought hard for them, as deeming it a terrible 
 thing, and what would tend to their great 
 shame, if they permitted them, to be stolen 
 away. Yet did the Jews at length get pos- 
 session of these engines, and destroyed those 
 tliat had gone up the ladders, while the rest 
 were so intin.iUatcd by what those suffered 
 who were slain, that they retired; although 
 rone of the Romans died without having done 
 good service before his death. Of the sedi- 
 tious, 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 Titus perceived that 
 his endeavours to spare a foreign temple turn- 
 ed to the damage of his soldiers and made 
 them be killed, he gave order to set the gates 
 on fire. 
 
 2. In the mean time there deserted to him 
 Ananus, viho came from Emmaus, the most 
 Dloody 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 the conquerors. Titus ob- 
 jected this to these men, as a cunning trick 
 of theirs ; and as he had been informed of 
 their other barbarities 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 
 distress 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 de- 
 serters overcame his resentments, and he dis- 
 missed them accordingly, though he did not 
 give them the same privileges that he had af- 
 forded to others; and now the soldiers had 
 already 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 sunk, 
 together with their bodies, and they were un- 
 der 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 l)een on fire already, they whetted their 
 passions against the Romans. This fire pre- 
 vailed 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. 
 
 S. 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 easy march- 
 ing up of the legions, while he himself ga- 
 thered the commanders together. Of those 
 there were assembled the six principal per- 
 sons : Tiberius Alexander, the commander 
 [under the general] of the whole army; with 
 Sextus Cerealis, the commander of the fifth 
 legion; and Larcius Lepidus, the command- 
 er of the tenth legion ; and Titus Frigius, 
 the commander of the fifteenth legion : there 
 was also with them Eternius, the leader of 
 the two legions that came from Alexandria • 
 and Marcus Antonius Julianus, procuratoi 
 ofjudea; after these came together all the 
 rest of the procurators and tribunes. I'itus 
 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 
 that house was standing ; at whicli house it 
 was that they used to get all together. Others 
 of them were of opinion, that in case tha 
 Jews would leave it, and none of them would 
 lay their arms up in it, he 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 revenge ourselves on 
 things that are inanimate, instead of the men 
 themselves ;" and that he was not in any case 
 for burning down so vast a work as that was, 
 because this would be a mischief to the Ro- 
 mans themselves, as it would be an ornament 
 to their government while it continued. So 
 Fronto, and Alexander, and Cerealis, grew 
 bold upon that declaration, 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 shotild 
 make their way through the ruins, and quench 
 the fire. 
 
 4. Now it is true, that on this day the 
 Jews were so weary, and under such conster- 
 nation, that they refrained from any attacks ; 
 but on the next day they gathered their whole 
 
CHAP. IV 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 751 
 
 force together, and ran upon those that 
 guarded the outward court of the temple, 
 verj' boldly, through the east gate, and this 
 about the second hour of the day. These 
 guards received that their attack with great 
 bravery, and by covering themselves with 
 their shields before, as if it were with a wall, 
 they drew their squadrons close together ; yet 
 was it evident that they could not abide there 
 very long, but would be overborne by the 
 multitude of those that sallied out upon them, 
 and by the heat of their passion. However, 
 Caesar seeing, from the tower of Antonia, 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 fore -front, many of 
 the rest were put to flight ; but as the Ro- 
 mans were going off, the Jews turned upon 
 them and fought them ; and as those Romans 
 came back upon them, they retreated again, un- 
 til about the fifth hour of the day they were 
 overborne, and shut themselves up in the 
 inner [court of the] temple. 
 
 5. So Titus retired into the tower of 
 Antonia, and resolved to storm the temple 
 the next day, early in the morning, witli 
 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 oc- 
 casioned by them ; for upon Titus's retiring, 
 the seditious lay still for a little while, and 
 then attacked the Romans 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 Ro- 
 mans 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 without any concern or dread up- 
 on him at so great an undertaking, and being 
 hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatch- 
 ed somewhat out of the materials that were 
 on fire, 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 upward the Jews 
 made a great clamour, such as so mighty an 
 affliction required, and ran together to pre- 
 vent it; and now they spared not their lives 
 any longer, nor suffered any thing to restrain 
 their force, since that holy house was perisii- 
 ing, for whose sake it was that they kept such 
 a guard about it. 
 
 6. And now a certain person came running 
 to Titus, and told him of this tire, as he was 
 resting himself in his tent after the last bat- 
 
 tie ; whereupon he rose up in great haste, 
 and, as he was, ran to the holy house^ in or- 
 der to have a stop put to the fire ; after him 
 followed all his commanders, and after them 
 followed the several legions, in great astonish- 
 ment ; so there was a great clamour and tu- 
 mult raised, as was natural upon the disor- 
 derly motion of so great an army. Then did 
 Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that 
 were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giv- 
 ing a signal to them with his right hand, or- 
 der them to quench the 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 re- 
 strain their violence, but each one's own pas- 
 sion was his commander at this time ; and as 
 they were crowding into the temple together, 
 many of them were trampled on by one ano- 
 ther, while a great number fell among the 
 ruins of the cloisters, which were still hot and 
 smoking, and were destroyed in the same mi- 
 serable way with those whom they had con- 
 quered : and when they were come near the 
 holy house, they made as if they did not so 
 much as hear Ctesar's orders to the contrary; 
 but they encouraged those that were before 
 them to set it on fire. As for the seditious, 
 they were in too great distress already to af- 
 ford their assistance [towards quenching the 
 fire] ; they were everywhere slain, and every- 
 where beaten ; and jis 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. 
 
 7. And now, since Ctesar was no way 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 endeavoured to persuade 
 
 * These steps to the alt.ir of burnt-offbring seem here 
 eitlier an improper and inat-cuiate expression of Jose- 
 phus, since it was unlawful to make ladder-steps (see 
 Description of the Temples, chap, xiii, and note on An- 
 tiq. b. iv, chap, viii, sect. H); or else those steps or stairs 
 we now use were invente<l before the days of Herod the 
 Great, and had been here built by him ; though the la- 
 ter Jews always deny it, and say that even Herod's altar 
 was ascended to by an acclivity only. 
 
752 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 the soldiers toquencli the tire, an-cl gave order 
 to Lil)eralius the centurion, and one of those 
 spearmen that were about him, to beat tiie , 
 soldiers that were refractory with their slaves, - 
 and to restrain them ; yet were their passions 
 too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, 
 and the dread they liad of him who forbade 
 them, as was their liatred of the Jews, and a 
 certain vehement inclination to fight them, 
 too liard for them also. Moreover, the hope 
 of plunder induced many to go on, as having 
 this opinion, that all the places wilhin were 
 full of inoney, and as seeing that all round 
 about it was made of gold j and besides, one 
 of those that went into the place prevented 
 Caesar, when he ran so hastily out to restrain 
 the soldiers, and threw the fire upon the hinges 
 of the gate, in the dark ; whereby the flame 
 burst out from within the holy house itself 
 immediately, when the commanders retired, 
 and Ca;sar with them, and when nobody any 
 longer forbade those that were without to set 
 fire to it ; and thus was the holy house burnt 
 down, v/ithout Caesar's apj'robation, 
 
 8. 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 
 hiinself with this thought, that it was fate that 
 decreed it so to be, which is inevitable, both 
 as to living creatures and as to works and 
 places also. However, one cannot but wonder 
 at the accuracy of this period thereto relating ; 
 for the same month and day were now observ- 
 ed, as I said before, wherein the holy house 
 was burnt formerly by the Babylonians. Now 
 the number.of years tliat passed from its first 
 foundation, which was laid by king Solomon, 
 till this its destruction, which happened in the 
 second year of the reign of Vespasian, are col- 
 lected to be one thousand one hundred and 
 thirty, 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 under Vespasian, 
 there were six hundred and thirty-nine years 
 and forty-five days. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 I THE GREAT DISTRESS THE JEWS WERE IN UPON 
 
 I THE CONFLAGRATION OF THE HOLY HOUSE. 
 
 I CONCERNING A FALSE PROPHET, AND THE 
 
 1 6IGNS THAT PRECEDED THIS DESTRUCTION. 
 
 § 1. While the holy house was on fire, every 
 thing was plundered that came to hand, and 
 ten thousand of those that were caught were 
 alain; nor was there a commiseration of any 
 
 age, or any reverence of gravity ; but children, 
 and old men, 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 along 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 j 
 for there was at once a shout of the Roman 
 legions, who were marching all together, and 
 a sad clamour of the seditious, who were now 
 surrounded with fire and sword. The people 
 also tlwt were left above were beaten back upon 
 the enemy, and under a great consternation, 
 and made sad moans at the calamity they wxre 
 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 moutlis 
 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 
 augiTiented the force of the entire 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 fire, 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 tiie 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 info 
 the cloister of that outer court. As for the 
 priests, some of them plucked up from the 
 holy house the spikes f 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 nothing by so doing, 
 
 * Tliis I'erea, if the word be not mistaken in the 
 copies, cannot well be that Pcrea which was beyond Jor- 
 daii, tlie mountains of which were at a considerable 
 distance from Jordan, and much too remote from Jeru- 
 salem to join in this echo at the conflagration of the 
 temple; but Perea must be rather some mountains be- 
 yond the lirook Cedron, as was the Mount of Olives, 
 'or some others about such a distance fiom Jerusalem ; 
 which observation is so obvious, that it is a wonder our 
 commentators here take no notice of it. 
 
 t Kcland, 1 think, here judges well, when he inter 
 prets these spikes (of those that stood on the top ot the 
 holy house) with sharp points: they were fixed into 
 lead, to prevent the birds from sitting there, and defil- 
 ing the holy house ; for su( h spikes there were now up- 
 on it, as Josephus himself Uath already assured us, o. 
 V, ch. V, sect. 6. 
 
 —.(' 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 and as tlie fire burst out upon them, tliey re- 
 tired 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 themselves by going over to the Romans, 
 or have borne up with courage, and taken their 
 fortune with the others, throw themselves into 
 the fire, and were burnt together with the holy 
 house ; their names were Meirus the son of 
 Belgas, and Joseph the son of Da)eus. 
 
 2. 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 ex- 
 cepted ; the one on the east side, and the other 
 on the south ; both which, however, they burnt 
 afterward. They also burnt down the treasury- 
 chambers, in which was an imm.ense quantity 
 of money, and an immense nunaber of gar- 
 ments, and other precious goods, there repo- 
 sited ; 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 themselves chambers [to contain 
 such furniture]. The soldiers also came to 
 the rest of the cloisters that were in the outer 
 [court of the] temple, vvhither the women and 
 children, and a great mixed multitude of the 
 people fled, in number about six thousand. 
 But before Ca?sar 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 temple, 
 and that there they should receive miracu- 
 lous signs of their deliverance. Now, there 
 was then a great number of false 4)rophets sub- 
 orned by the tyrants to impose upon the peo- 
 ple, who denounced this to them, that they 
 should wait for deliverance from God ; and this 
 was in order 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 pro- 
 mises ; for when such a seducer makes him 
 believe that he shall be delivered from those 
 miseries which oppress him, then it is that the 
 patient is full of hopes of such deliverance. 
 
 3. Thus were the miserable people persuaded 
 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 infatuated, without either eyes 
 
 • Reland here justly takes notice that these Jews 
 who had despised the true Prophet, were deservedly a- 
 bused and deluded by these false ones. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 753 
 
 to see, or minds to consider, did not regard 
 the denunciations that God made to them. 
 Thus there was a star resembling a sword, 
 which stood over the city, and a comet, tiiat 
 continued a whole year.f Thus also, before 
 the Jews' rebellion, and before those commo- 
 tions which preceded the war, when the peo- 
 ple 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 siione round 
 the altar and the holy house, that it appeared 
 to be bright day-time ; which light lasted for 
 half an hour. Tliis light seemed to be a good 
 sign to the unskilful, but was so interpreted 
 by the sacred scribes, as to portend those 
 events that followed immediately 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 vast- 
 ly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut 
 by twenty men, and rested upon a basis ann- 
 ed 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, and told him of it ; who then came 
 up thither, and not without great difficulty, 
 was able to shut the gate again. Tliis also 
 appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy 
 prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the 
 gate of happiness. But the ujen 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-twenti- 
 etli day of the month Artemisius [Jyar], a 
 certain prodigious and incredible phenome- 
 non appeared j I suppose the account of it 
 would seem to be a fable, were it not related 
 by those that saw it, and were not the events 
 that followed it of so considerable a nature as 
 to deserve such signals ; for, before sun-set 
 ting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their 
 armour were seen running about among the 
 clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, 
 at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the 
 
 t Whether Josephus means that this star was differ- 
 ent from the comet which lasted a whole year, 1 caunot 
 certainly determine. His words most favour their be- 
 ing difierent one from another. 
 
 t Since Josephus still uses the Syro-Maecdonian 
 month Xanthicus for the Jewish month Nisan, this 
 eighth, or, as Nicephorus reads it, this ninth of Xanthi- 
 cus, or Nisan, was almost a week before the Passover, 
 on the fourteenth : about which time we kani from SU 
 John that many used to go " out of the country to Je- 
 rusalem, to purify themselves," John xi, 55, with xii, 
 I ; in agreement with Josephus also, book v, ch. iii, sect. 
 1. And it might well be, iliat in the sight of these this 
 extraordinary light might appear. 
 
 -T 
 
754. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK vr. 
 
 priests wt-re going by niglit into the inner • 
 [court of 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 after that they 
 heard a sound as of a great multitude, say- 
 ing, " 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 before the war began, and at 
 a time when the city was in very great peace 
 and prosperity, came to that feast whereon 
 it is our custom for every one to make taber- 
 nacles to God in the temple, f began on a 
 sudden to cry aloud, " A voice from tlie 
 east, a voice from tlse 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 tlie 
 lanes of the city. However, certain of tlie 
 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 se- 
 vere 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 lie cried before. 
 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 pro- 
 curator ; where he was whipped till his bones 
 were laid bare; yet did he not make any sup- 
 plication for himself, nor shed any tears, but 
 turning his voice to the most lamentable tone 
 possible, at every stroke of the whip his an- 
 swer was, " Wo, wo to Jerusalem !" And 
 rt'hen Albinus (for he was then our procura- 
 tor) asked him, Who he was ? and whence he 
 came ? and wh}' he uttered such words ? he 
 made no manner of reply to wliat he said, but 
 still did not leave off his melancholy ditty, till 
 Ali)inus took him to be a madman, and dis- 
 missed him. Now, during all the time that 
 passed before the war begatfi, this man did 
 not go near any of the citizens, nor was seen 
 by them while he said so j but he every day 
 uttered these lamentable words, as if it were 
 his premeditated vow, " Wo, wo to Jeru- 
 salem!" 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 tliis 
 was his reply to all men, and indeed no other 
 than a melancholy presage of what was to 
 
 » This here seems to be the court of the priests. 
 
 f Both Iteland and Haveicamp in this place alter the 
 natural punctuation and sense of Josepnus, and this 
 eontrnry to the opinion of Valesius and Dr. Hudson, lest 
 Josephus should say that ilie Jews built booths or tents 
 within the temple at the feast of tabernacles: which the 
 later rabbins will not allow to have been the ancient 
 practice: but then, since it is expressly told us in Nehe- 
 miah, ch. viii, IC, that in still elder times " the Jews 
 made booths in the courts of the house of God" at that 
 festival, Josephus may well be permitted to say the 
 same. And indeed, the modern rabbins are of very 
 small authority in all such matters of remote antiquity 
 
 come. This cry of his was the loudest at the 
 festivals ; and he continued this ditty foi se- 
 ven 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, — 
 " Wo, wo to myself also !" there came a stone 
 out of one of the engines, and smote him, 
 and killed him immediately ; and as he was 
 uttering the very same presages, he gave up 
 the ghost. 
 
 4. Now, if any one consider these things, 
 he will find that God takes care of mankind, 
 and by all ways possible foreshows to our 
 race what is for their preservation ; but tljat 
 men perish by those miseries which they mad- 
 ly and voluntarily bring upon themselves ; 
 for the Jews, by demolishing the tower of 
 Antonia, had made their temple four, square, 
 while at the same time they had it written in 
 their sacred oracles, — " That then should 
 their city be taken, as well as their holy house, 
 when once their temple should become four 
 square." But now, what did most elevate 
 them in undertaking this war, was an ambi- 
 guous oracle that was also found in their sa- 
 cred writings, how, "about that time, one from 
 their country should become governor of the 
 habitable earth." The Jews took this pre- 
 diction to belong to themselves in particular; 
 and many of the wise men were thereby de- 
 ceived in their determination. Now, this 
 oracle certainly denoted the government of 
 Vespasian, 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 sig- 
 nals according to their own pleasure : and 
 some of them they utterly despised, until their 
 madness was demonstrated, both by the tak- 
 ing of their city and their own destruction. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW THE ROJIANS CARRIED THEIR ENSIGNS TO 
 THE TEMPLE, AND MADE JOYFUL ACCLAMA- 
 TIONS TO TITUS. THE SPEECH THAT TITUS 
 MADE TO THE JEWS WHEN THEY MADE 
 SUPPLICATION FOR MERCY. V/HAT REPLY 
 THEY MADE THERETO; AND HOW THAT RE- 
 PLY MOVED TlTUs's INDIGNATION AGAINST 
 THEM. 
 
 § 1. And now the Roinans, upon the flight of 
 the seditious into the city, and upon the burn- 
 ing of the holy house itself, and of all the 
 buildings round about it, brought their en- 
 signs to the temple,* and set them over-against 
 
 • Take Havercamp's note here. " This (says he) is a 
 remarkable Place ; and TertuIIian truly says in ids Ape- 
 
 "V 
 
CHAP. vr. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 755 
 
 its eastern gate ; and there did they offer sa- 
 crifices to thsm, and tliere did they make Ti- 
 tus imperator,* A'ith the greatest acclamations 
 Df 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 
 themselves still upon the wall of the holy 
 liouse,f there was a boy that, out of the thirst 
 he was in, desired some of the Roman guards 
 to give him their right hands as a security for 
 his life, and confessed he was very thirsty. 
 These guards commiserated his age, and the 
 distress he was in, and gave him their right 
 hands accordingly. So he came down him. 
 self, and drank some water, and filled the ves- 
 sel he had with him when he came to them 
 with water, afld then went off, and fled away 
 to his own friends ; nor could any of those 
 guards overtake him; but still they reproach, 
 ed 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 performed, and thereupon think myself 
 to have been faithful to my engagement." 
 Hereupon those whom the child had imposed 
 upon admired at his cunning, and that on ac- 
 count of his age. On the fifth day after- 
 ward, the priests that were pined with the fa- 
 mine 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 hope to be preserved, was destroyed ; 
 and that it was agreeable to their office that 
 priests should perish with the house itself to 
 which they belonged. So he ordered them to 
 be put to death. 
 
 2. 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 desired 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, join- 
 ed to the advice of his friends, who now 
 thought the robbers were come to a temper, 
 tliat he placed himself on the western side of 
 
 logetic, ch. XVI, p. 162, that the entire religion of the 
 Roman cam)i almost consisted in worshippini; the en- 
 signs, in swearing by the ensigns, and in preferring the 
 ensigns before all the [otherT gods." See what llaver- 
 camp says upon that place of* TertuUian. 
 
 * This declaring Titus imperator by the soldiers, up- 
 on such signal success, and the slaughter of such a vast 
 number ot enemies, was according to tlie usual practice 
 of the Romans in like cases, as Ilcland assures us on 
 this place. 
 
 t The Jews of later times agree with Josephus, that 
 there were hiding-places or secret chambers about the 
 holy house, as Rdand here informs us, where he thinks 
 he has foimd these 'cry walls (jpscribed by them. 
 
 "\ 
 
 tlie 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. Tliis bridge it was that lay between 
 the tyrants and Csesar, and i)arted 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 Titus 
 charged his soldiers to restrain their rage, 
 and to let their darts alone, and appointed an 
 interpreter between them, which was a sign 
 that he was tiie conqueror, 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, af- 
 ter a violent and inconsiderate manner, made 
 such attempts, as have brought your people, 
 your city, and your holy house, to destruc- 
 tion. You have been the men that have 
 never left off rebelling since i'omuey 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 soldiery have 
 been strong enough for you ? Have you re- 
 lied on the fidelity of your confederates ? 
 and what nations are there, out of tiie limits 
 of our dominion, that would choose to assist 
 the Jews before the Romans? Arc your bo- 
 dies stronger than ours ? nay, you know that 
 the [strong] Gertnans 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 
 Britons are encompassed, and yet do adore 
 the arms of the Romans ? Do you exceed 
 us in courage of soul, and in the sagacity of 
 your commanders ? Nay, indeed, you can- 
 not but know that the very Carthaginians 
 have been conquered by us. It can therefore 
 be nothing certainly but the kindness of us 
 Romans which hath excited you against us ; 
 wlio, 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 per- 
 mitted you to live, either by yourselves or a- 
 mong others, as it should please you ? and> 
 what is our chief favour of all, we have given 
 you leave to gather up that tribute which is 
 paid to God, \ with such other gifts that are 
 dedicated to him; nor ha -e we called those 
 that carried these donations to account, nor 
 prohibited them ; till at length you became 
 richer than we ourselves, even when you were 
 our enemies ; and you made preparations for 
 
 * Spanhcim notes here, that the Romans used to 
 permit the Jews to collect their s.icred tribute, and 
 send it to Jerusalem ; of which we have had abundant 
 evidence in Josephus already on other occasioiLS. 
 
75G 
 
 WARS OF niE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 war against us with our own money : nay, | my soldiers, when they were set upon your 
 after all, when you were in the enjoyment of i slaughter, from their severity against you. 
 all these advantages, you turned your too | After every victory I persuaded you to peace, 
 great plenty against those that gave it you, and I as though 1 had been myself conquered, 
 like merciless serpents, have thrown out your [ When I came near your temple I again de- 
 poison against those that treated you kindly, i parted from the laws of war, and exhorted you 
 I suppose, therefore, that you might despise | to spare your own sanctuary, and to preserve 
 the slothfulness of Ntro, and. like limbs of : your holy house to yourselves. I allowed you 
 Ihe body that are broken or dislocated, you j a quiet exit out of it, and security for your 
 did then lie quiet, waiting .for some other preservation : nay, if you had a mind, I gave 
 time, though still with a malicious intention, j you leave to fight in another place. Yet have 
 and have now shown your distemper to be you still dpspised every one of my proposals, 
 greater than ever, and have extended your and have set fire to your holy house with youi 
 desires as far as your impudent and immense j own hands. And now, vile wretches, do you 
 hopes would enable you to do it. At tliis I desire to treat with me by w'ord of mouth ? To 
 
 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 na- 
 tion, he had run direjtly to your fountain- 
 head, and had itriraediately laid this city 
 waste ; whereas he went and burnt Galilee 
 and the neighbouring parts, and thereby gave 
 
 what purpose is it that you would save such 
 a holy house as tliis was, which is now destroy- 
 ed ? 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 pretend to be supplicants even in 
 this your utmost extremity ! O miserable crea- 
 
 you time for repentance; which instance of 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 mad- 
 ness. If you throw down your arms, and de- 
 liver 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 be pun- 
 ished, and the rest I will preserve for my own 
 use." 
 
 3. To the offer of Titus they made this 
 reply : — Thut they could not accept of it, be- 
 cause 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 indig- 
 nation ; that, when they were in the case of 
 men already taken captives, they should pre- 
 tend to make their own terms with him as if 
 they had been conquerors ! So he ordered this 
 proclamation to be made to them. That they 
 should no more come out to lu'm as deserters, 
 nor hope for any farther security ; for that he 
 would henceforth spare nobody, but fight them 
 sent by my father, and received melancholy { with his whole army ; and that they must save 
 
 themselves as well as they could ; for that he 
 would from henceforth treat them according 
 to the laws of w.ir. 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 
 archives, to Acra, to the council-house, and to 
 
 humanity you took for an argument df his 
 weakness, and nourished up your impudence 
 by our mildness. When Nero was gone out 
 of the world, you did as the wickedest 
 wretches would have done, and encouraged 
 yourselves to act against us by our civil dis- 
 sensions, I J abused that time, wlien both I 
 and my father were gone away to Egypt, 
 to make preparations for this war. Nor 
 were you ashamed to raise disturbances a- 
 gainst us when we were made emperors, and 
 this while you had experienced how mild we 
 had been, when w e wer* no more than gene- 
 rals of the army ; but when the governmen 
 was devolved upon us, and all otiier people 
 did thereupon lie quiet, and even foreign na- 
 tions sent embassies, and congratulated our 
 access to the government, 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 rais- 
 ing disturbance new walls were built by 
 j'ou round you. city, seditions arose, and one 
 tyrant contended against another, 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 
 
 injunctions from him. When I heard that 
 the people were disposed to peace, I rejoiced 
 at it : I exhorted you to leave off these pro- 
 ceedings 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 deserters; I observed what I had pro- 
 mised faithfully. Wlien they fled to me, I i the place called Ophlas ; at which time the 
 had compassion of many of those that I had fire proceeded as far as the palace of queen 
 taken captive; I tortured those that were [Helena, which was in the middle of Acra: 
 eager for war, in order to restrain them. It | the lanes also were burnt down, as were also 
 was unwillingly that I brought my engines of • those houses that were full of the dead bodies 
 war against your walls ; X always prohibited , of such as were destroyed by famine 
 
 ~V 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 757 
 
 4. On the same day it was that the sons 
 and brethren of Izates the king, togetlier with 
 many others of the eminent men of the popu- 
 lace, got together there, and besought Caesar 
 to give them his right hand for their security. 
 Upon wliich, though he was very angry at all 
 that wore 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 
 kinsman, and led them witii him to Rome, in 
 order to make them hostages for their coun- 
 try's fidelity '.o the Romans. 
 
 CHAPTER VIT. 
 
 WHAT AFTERWARDS BEFEL THE SEDITIOUS, 
 WHEN THEY HAD DONE A GREAT DEAL OF 
 JIISCHIEF, AND SUFFERED MANY MISFOR- 
 TUNES : AS ALSO HOW CliSAR BECAME MAS- 
 TER OF THE UPPER CITY. 
 
 § I. And now the seditious rushed into the 
 royal palace, into which many had put their 
 effects, because it was so strong, and drove 
 »he Romans away from it. Tliey also slew 
 all the people tb.at had crowded into it, who 
 were in number al)out eight thousand four 
 hundred, 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 revenging them- 
 selves upon the whole body of the Romans 
 by this one instance. But the horseman said 
 he had somewhat to suggest to them, in or- 
 der to their preservation ; 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 pun- 
 ished, who bound his hands behind him, and 
 put a riband over his eyes, and then brought 
 him out over-against the Romans, as intend- 
 ing to cut off" his head. But the man pre- 
 vented 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 enemy, he took 
 away his arms, and ejected him out of the 
 legion whereto he had belonged; which, to one 
 that had a sense of shame, was a penalty se- 
 verer than death itself. 
 
 2. 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 destroyed. But 
 they missed the plunder, because the seditious 
 bad carried oH' all their effects, and were re- 
 
 tired into the upper 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. Accordingly, as ttie people were 
 now slain, the holy house was burnt down, 
 and the city was on fire, tliere was nothing 
 farther left for the enemy to do. Yet did not 
 Josephus grow weary, even in this utmost ex- 
 tremity, 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 his 
 advice, in order to their escape, though he 
 gained nothing thereby more than to be laugh- 
 ed at by them ; and as they could not think 
 of surrendering themselves up, because of the 
 oath they had taken, nor were strong enougl 
 to fight with the Romans any longer upon the 
 square, as being surrounded on all sides, and 
 a kind of prisoners already, yet were they so 
 accustomed to kill people, that they could not 
 restrain their right hands from acting accord- 
 ingly. So they dispersed themselves before 
 the city, and laid themselves in ambush a- 
 mong its ruins, to catch those that at:empted 
 to desert to the Romans ; accordingly manj 
 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 tliought more to- 
 lerable 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 mur- 
 derous 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. 
 
 3. 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 endea- 
 voured, that after the whole city should be 
 destroyed, and the Romans gone away, they 
 might come out again, and escape from them. 
 This was no better than a dream of theirs; for 
 they were not able to lie liid either from God 
 or from the Romans. However, they depend- 
 ed on these under-ground subterfuges, 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, and pillaged them also; 
 and if they discovered food belonging to any 
 one, they seized upon it and swallowed it 
 down, together with their blood also ; nay, 
 they were now come to fight one with another 
 I about their plunder ; and I cannot but think 
 
J' 
 
 758 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 ^ 
 
 that, had not their destruction prevented it, 
 their barbarity would have made them taste 
 of even the dead bodies themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOW C.T.SAR RAISED KANKS ROUND ABOUT THE 
 UlTER CITY,* AND WHEN THEY WERE COM- 
 PLETED, GAVE ORDERS FOR THE MACHINES 
 TO BE BROUGHT. HE THEN POSSESSED HIM- 
 SELF OF THE WHOLE CITY. 
 
 § 1. Now, when Cresar perceived that t'le 
 upper city was so steep, that it could not pos- 
 sibly 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 car- 
 riage of the materials was a difficult task, 
 since ail the trees, as I have already told you, 
 that were about the city, within the distance 
 of a hundred furlongs, had their branches cut 
 off already, in order to make the former banks. 
 The works that belonged to the four legions 
 were erected on the west side of the city, 
 over-arjainst 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 reach- 
 ed 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. 
 
 2. It was at this time that the commanders 
 of the Idumeans got together privately, and 
 took counsel about surrendering up them- 
 selves to the Romans, Accordingly, 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 depended, were once with- 
 drawn from them, after some reluctance and 
 delav, complied with them, and gave them se- 
 curity for their lives, and sent the five men 
 back ; but as these Idumeans were preparing 
 to inarch out, Simon perceived it, and imme- 
 diately slew the five men that had gone to 
 Titus, and took their commanders, and put 
 them iti prison, of whom tlie most eminent 
 was Jacob, the son of Sosas ; but as for the 
 multitude of the Idumeans, who did not at all 
 know what to do, now their commanders 
 were taken from them, lie 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 
 number 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 
 
 • That IS, Mount Sion. 
 
 for killing them, and because the very soldiers 
 grew weary of killing them, and because they 
 hoped to get some money by sparing them ; 
 for tliey left only the populace, and sold the rest 
 of the muhitude,f with their wives and chil- 
 dren, and every one of ihem 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 proclamation beforehand, 
 that no deserter should come alone by him- 
 self, that so they might bring out their fami- 
 lies with them, yet did he receive such as these 
 also. However, he set over them such as 
 were to distinguish some from others, in or- 
 der to see if any of them deserved to be pun- 
 ished ; and indeed the number of those that 
 were sold was immense ; but of the populace 
 above forty thousand were saved, whom C«- 
 sar let go whither every one of them pleased. 
 3. But now at this time it was that one of 
 the priests, the son of Thebuthus, whose name 
 was Jesus, upon his having security given 
 him, by the oath of Cffisar, that he should be 
 preserved, upon condition that he should de- 
 liver to him certain of the precious things that 
 had been reposited 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 cis- 
 terns, and vials, all made of solid gold, and 
 very heavy. He also delivered to him the 
 veils 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 Ti- 
 tus the coats and girdles of the priests, with a 
 great quantity of purple and scarlet, which 
 were there reposited for the uses of the veil, 
 as also a great deal of cinnamon and cassia, 
 with a large quantify of other sweet sp;ces,§ 
 which used to be mixed together, and offered as 
 incense to God every day. A great many other 
 treasures were also delivered to him, with sa- 
 cred ornaments of the temple not a i&w ; 
 which things thus delivered to Titus, obtain- 
 ed of him for this man the same pardon that 
 
 f Tliis innumerable multitude of Jews that were 
 " sold" by the Romans, were an eminent completion ot 
 God's ancient threatening by Moses, that if they aposta- 
 tized from the obedience to his laws, they should be 
 " sold unto their enemies for bondmen and bondwo- 
 men," Deut. xxviii, 68. See more especially the note 
 on ch. ix, sect. t. But one thing here is peculiarly re- 
 markable, that Moses adds,— Though they should bo 
 " sold" for slaves, yet " no man should buy them ;" »• '• 
 either they should have none to redeem them from this 
 sale into slavery ; or rather that the slaves to be soiu 
 should be more than were the purchasers for them, and 
 so they should be sold for little or nothing ; which is 
 what Josephus here aiErras to have been the case at this 
 time. 
 
 X What became of these spoils of the temple that es- 
 caped the fire, see Josephus himself hereafter, b. vij, ch. 
 V, sect. 3, and Rcland de Spoliis Templi, p. 11'9— 1.38. 
 
 ^ These various sorts of spicus, even more than those 
 four which Moses prescribed (Exod. xxxi, 54), we see 
 were used in their public worship under Herod's tem- 
 ple, particularly cinnamon and cassia; which Reland 
 takes particular notice of, as agreeing with the latter 
 testimony of the Talmudists. 
 
CflAP. VIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 759 
 
 he had allowed to such as deserted of their 
 own accord. 
 
 4. And now were the banks finished on the 
 seventh 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 tnem, as despairing of sav- 
 ing the city, retired from the wall to the cita- 
 del ; others of them went down into the sub- 
 tcTranean vaults, though still a great many 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 and become weak. Now, as soon as 
 a part of the wall was battered down, and cer- 
 tain of the towers yielded to the impression 
 of the battering-rams, those that opposed 
 tliemselves fled away, and such a terror fell 
 upon the tyrants, as was much greater than 
 the occasion required ; for before the en- 
 emy got over the breach they were quite 
 stunned, and were immediately for flying 
 away ; and now one might see these men, 
 who had hitherto been so insolent and arro- 
 gant in their wicked practices, to be cast 
 down and to tremble, insomuch that it would 
 pity one's heart to observe the change that 
 was made in those vile persons. Accordingly 
 they ran with great violence upon the Ro- 
 man wall that encompassed 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 
 tliat 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 only the dictates of 
 their fear which imposed upon their sight, 
 they fell upon their faces, and greatly lament- 
 ed their own mad conduct ; and their nerve? 
 were 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 Ro- 
 mans ; for these tyrants did now wholly de- 
 prive 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 in- 
 deed by any other way than by famine. And 
 tlius did the Romans, when they had taken 
 such great pains about weaker walls, get by 
 good fortune what they could never have got- 
 ten by their engines ; for three of these tow- 
 ers were too strong for all mechanical engines 
 whatsoever ; concerning which we have treat- 
 ed of before. ^ 
 6. So they now left these towers of them- 
 
 selves, or rather they were ejected out of 
 them by God himself, and fled immediately 
 to that valley which was under Siloam, where 
 they again recovered themselves out of the 
 dread they were in for a while, and ran vio- 
 lently against that part of the Roman wall 
 which lay on that side ; but as thefr courage 
 was too much depressed to make their attacks 
 with sufficient force, and their power was now 
 broken with fear and affliction, they were re- 
 pulsed by the guards, and dispersing them- 
 selves at distances from each other, went down 
 into the subterranean caverns. So the Ro- 
 mans being now become masters of the walls, 
 they both placed their ensigns upon the tow- 
 ers, and made joyful acclamations for the vic- 
 tory they had gained, 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 be- 
 lieve 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 lanes 
 of the city, with their swords drawn, they slew 
 those whom they overtook, without mercy, 
 and set fire to the houses whither the Jewf 
 were fled, and burnt every soul in them, anr 
 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 the upper rooms full of dead 
 corpses, that is of such as died by the famine ; 
 they then stood in a horror at this sight, and 
 went out without touching any lli-ing. But 
 although they had this commiseration for 
 such as were destroyed in that manner, yet 
 had they not the same for those that were still 
 alive, but they ran every one through wiiona 
 they met with, and obstructed the very 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 men's blood. And truly 
 so it happened, 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 Gorpieus 
 [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 account so much deserve these 
 sore misfortunes, as by producing such a 
 generation of men as were the occasions of 
 this its overthrow. 
 
1G0 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 500K VI 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHAT INJUNCTIONS CAESAR GAVE WHEN HE 
 WAS COME WITHIN THE CITY. THE NUM- 
 BER OF THE CAPTIVES, AND OF THOSE THAT 
 PERISHED IN THE SIEGE; AS ALSO CONCERN- 
 ING THOSE THAT ESCAPED INTO THE SUB- 
 TERRANEAN CAVERNS, AMONG WHOM WERE 
 THE TYRANTS SIMON AND JOHN THEMSELVES. 
 
 § 1. Now, when Titus was come into this 
 [upper] city, he admired not only some other 
 places of strength in it, but particularly'tliose 
 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 manner following : — " We have cer- 
 tainly had God for our assistant in this war, 
 and it was no other than God who ejected the 
 Jews out of these fortifications ; for what 
 could the hands of men, or any machines, do 
 towards overthrowing these towers !" At which 
 tinae he had many such discourses to his 
 friends ; he also let such go free as had been 
 bound by tlie tyrants, and were left in the 
 prisons. To conclude, vvhen he entirely demo- 
 lished the rest of the city, and overthrew its 
 walls, he left these towers as a monument of 
 nis good fortune, whicli had proved his auxi- 
 liaries, and enabled him to take what could 
 not otherwise have been taken by him. 
 
 2. And now, since his soldiers were already 
 quite tired with killing men, and yet there 
 appeared to be a vast multitude still remain- 
 ing alive, CiEsar gave orders that they should 
 kill none but those that were in arms, and 
 opposed them, but sliould take the rest alive. 
 But, together with those whom they had 
 orders to slay, they slew the aged and the in- 
 firm ; but for those that were in their flourish- 
 ing 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 his 
 freed men, 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 sedi- 
 tious and robbers, who were impeached on 
 by another ; but of the young men he chose 
 out the tallest and most beautiful, and re- 
 served them for the triumph ; and as for the 
 rest of the murltitude that were above seven- 
 teen years old, he put them into bonds, and 
 sent them to the Egyptian mines.* Titus also 
 sent a great number into the provinces, as a 
 present to them, that they might be destro_yed 
 
 • Pee the several predictions that the Jews, if they 
 became ob«tinate in their idolatry and wickedness, shoulii 
 be sent again, or sold into Egypt, for their punishment, 
 Deut. xxviii, 68 ; Jer. xliv, 7 : Hos. viii, 13 ; ix, 3 ; xi, 
 5i; 2 E^A. XV, iO— 1 1, with Authentic Records, part i, 
 >. 19, 121, and Reland Pala^tina, torn. n,i>. 715 
 
 ^ — 
 
 upon their theatres, by the sword and by the 
 wild beasts; but those that were under seven- 
 teen years of age were sold for slaves. Now 
 during the days wherein Fronto was distin- 
 guishing these men, there perished, for want 
 of food, eleven thousand ; some of whom did 
 not taste any food, tlirough the hatred their 
 guards bore to them ; and others would not 
 take in any vvhen it was given them. Tiie 
 multitude also was so very great, that they 
 were in want even of corn for their sustenance. 
 S. Now the number f of those that were 
 carried captive during this whole war was 
 collected to be ninety -seven thousand ; as was 
 the number of those that perished during t*he 
 whole siege eleven hundred thousand, the great- 
 er part of whom were indeed of the same na- 
 tion [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 sudden shut 
 up by an army, which, at the very first, occa- 
 sioned 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 contain so many people in it, 
 is manifest by that number of them which was 
 taken under Cestius, who being desirous of 
 informing Nero of the power of the city, who 
 otherwise was disposed to contemn that na- 
 tion, entreated the high-priests, if the thing 
 were possible, to take the number of their 
 whole multitude. So these high-priests, u])on 
 the coming of their feast which ir> called the 
 Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from 
 the nintli 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 number of 
 
 t The whole multitude of the Jews that were de- 
 stroyed during the entire seven years before this time, 
 in all the countries of and borderinL; on Judea, is sum- 
 med up by ArehbishopUsher, from Lipsius, outof Jose- 
 plius, at the year of Christ 70, and amounts to l,337,t90. 
 NorcovUd there have been that number of Jews in Je- 
 rusalem to be destroyed in this siege, as will be present- 
 ly set down by Josephus, but that both Jews and prose- 
 lytes of justice were just then come up out of the other 
 countries of Galilee, Samaria, Judea, and Perea, and 
 other remoter regions, to the Passover, in vast uuiW\;rs, 
 and therein cooped up, as in a prison, by the Roman 
 army, as Josephus himself well observes, in this and the 
 next section, and as is exactly related elsewhere, b. v, 
 
 . iii, sect. I ; and eh. xiii, sect. 7- 
 
 t This number of a coispany for one paschal lamb, 
 between ten and twenty, agrees exactly with the number 
 thirteen, at our Saviour's last passover. As to the whole 
 number of the .lews that used to come up to the Pass- 
 over, and cat of it at Jerusalem, see the note on b. ii, 
 ch. xiv, sect. 3. This number ought to be here indeed 
 just ten times the number of the lambs, or just 2,565,0(10, 
 by Josephus's own reasoning ; whereas it is, in his pre- 
 sent copies, no less than 2,7uO,(Hll), which last number 
 is, however, nearest the other number in the place now 
 cited, which is 3,ii(l0,0()0. Uut what is here chiefly re- 
 markable is this, that no foreign nation ever came thuj 
 to destroy the Jews at anv of their solemn festivals, from 
 the days of Moses till this lime, but came now upon 
 their apostacy from God, and from obedience to him. 
 Nor is it possible, in the nature of things, that in any 
 other nation such vast numbers should be gotten toge- 
 ther, and perish in the siege of any one city whatsoever 
 as now happened in Jerusalem. 
 
WARS OF THE JEVVS. 
 
 7G1 
 
 sacrifices was two hundred and fifty-six thou- 
 sand five hundred ; which, upon the allow- 
 ance of no more than ten that feast together, 
 amounts to two millions seven hundred thou-- 
 sand and two hundred persons that were pure 
 and holy ; for as to those that have the lepro- 
 sy, or the gonorrhoea, or women that have their 
 monthly courses, or such as are otherwise pol- 
 luted, it is not lawful for them to be partakers 
 of this sacrifice; nor indeed for any foreign- 
 ers neither, who come hither to worship. 
 
 4. Now this vast multitude is indeed col- 
 lected out of remote places, but the entire na- 
 tion vi-as now shut up by fate as in a prison, and 
 the Roman army encompassed the city when 
 it -was crowded with inhabitants. According- 
 ly the multitude of those that therein perish- 
 ed, exceeded all the destructions that either 
 men or God ever brought upon the world ; 
 for, to speak only of what was publicly known, 
 the Romans slew some of them, some they 
 carried 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 nere also 
 found slain there above two thousand persons, 
 partly by their own hands, and partly by one 
 another, but chiefly destroyed by the famine ; 
 but then, the ill savour of the dead bodies 
 was most offensive to those that lighted upon 
 them, insomuch that some were obliged to 
 get away immediately, 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 tlie tyrants were now 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 agree- 
 able to justice. As for John, he wanted 
 food, together with his brethren, in these ca- 
 verns, and begged that the Romans would 
 now give him their right hand for his securi- 
 ty, which he had often proudly rejected be- 
 fore ; but for Simon, he struggled liard with 
 the distress he was in, till he was forced to 
 surrender himself, as we shall relate hereaf- 
 ter; so he was reserved for the triumph, and 
 to be then slain : as was John condemned to 
 perpetual imprisonment : and now the Ro- 
 mans set fire to the extreme parts of the city, 
 and burnt them down, and entirely demolish- 
 ed its walls. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THAT WHEREAS THE CITY OF JERUSALEM HAD 
 BEEN FIVE TIMES TAKEN FORMERLY, THIS 
 WAS THE SECOND TIME OF ITS DESOLATION. 
 A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF ITS HISTORY. 
 
 < 1. 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 before, though 
 this was the second time of its desolation ; for 
 Shishak, the king of Egypt, and after him 
 Antiochus, and after him Pompey, and af- 
 ter them Sosius and Herod took the city, but 
 still preserved it ; but before all these, the 
 king of Babylon conquered it, and made it 
 desolate, one thousand four hundred and sixty- 
 eight years and six months after it was built. 
 But he who first built it f was a potent 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. However, 
 David, the king of the Jews, ejected the Ca- 
 naanites, and settled his own people therein. 
 It was demolished entirely by the Babyloni- 
 ans, four hundred and seventy-seven years 
 and six months after him. And from king 
 David, who was the firstof the Jews who reign- 
 ed therein, to this destruction under Titus, 
 were one thousand one hundred and seventy- 
 nine years ; but from its first building, till this 
 last destruction, were two thousand one hun- 
 dred and seventy-seven years ; yet hath not its 
 great antiquity, nor its vast riches, nor the dif- 
 fusion of its nation over all the habitable earth, 
 nor the greatness of the veneration paid to it on 
 a religious account, been sufficient to preserve 
 it from being destroyed. And thus ended the 
 siege of Jerusalem. 
 
 • Besides these five here enumerated, who had taken 
 Jerusalem of old, Josephus, upon farther recollection, 
 reckons a sixtli, Antiq. b. xii, ch. i, sect 1, who should 
 have been here inserted in the second place ; I mean 
 Ptolemy, the son of Lagus. 
 
 t Why the great Bocliart should say (De Plioenic. 
 Colon, b. ii, ch, iv,), that " Theie are in this clause of 
 Josephus as many mistakes as words," I do by no means 
 understand. Josephus thought Melchisedek first built, 
 or rather rebuilt and adorned this city, and that it was 
 then called Salem, as Psal. Ixxvi, 2 ; that it afterwards 
 came to be called Jerusalem ; and that Melchisedek, be- 
 ing a priest as well as a king, built to the true God 
 tlieiein a temjile, or place for public divine worshij) and 
 sacrifice ; all which things may be very true for aught 
 we know to the contrary : and for the word /ejov, or 
 Temple, as if it must needs belong to the great tcmpia 
 built by Solomon long afterward, Josephus himself uses 
 vaos, for the small tabernacle of Moses, Antiq. b. iii, eh. 
 vi, sect. 4. See also Antiq. b. iii, ch. vi, sect 1, as he 
 here presently uses U^ov for a large and splendid syna- 
 gogue of the Jews at Antioch only, b. vii, ch. iii, sect. J. 
 
 »*» This is the proper place for such as have closely 
 attended to these latter books of the War, to peruse, and 
 that with equal attention, those distinct and plain pre- 
 dictions of Jesus of Nazareth, in the Gospels thereto 
 relating, as compared with their exact completions in 
 Josephus's history; upon which completions, as Dr. 
 Whitby well observes, Aunot. on Matt, xxiv, 2, no smnll 
 part of the evidence for the truth of the Christian reli- 
 gion does depend ; and as I have, step by step, compar- 
 ed them together in my Literal Accomplishment oj 
 Scripture Prophecies. The reader is to observe farther, 
 that the true reason why I have so seldom taken notice 
 of those completions in the course of these notes, not- 
 withstanding their being so vory remarkable, and fre- 
 quently so very obvious, is this, that I had entirely 
 prevented myself in that treatise beforehand; to which, 
 therefore, I must here, once for all, seriously refer every 
 inquisitive reader". 
 
 3 S 
 
76:^ 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 CONTAINING THE INTERVAL Of ABOUT THREE YEARS. 
 
 FROM THE TAKING OF JERUSALEM BY TITUS, TO THE SEDITION 
 OF THE JEWS AT CYRENE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW THE ENTIRE CITY OF JERUSALEM WAS 
 DEMOLISHED, EXCEPTING THREE TOWERS ; 
 AND HOW TITUS COMMENDED HIS SOLDIERS, 
 IN A SPEECH MADE TO THEJI, AND DISTRI- 
 BUTED REWARDS TO THEM, AND THEN DIS- 
 MISSED MANY OF THEM. 
 
 § 1. Now, as soon as the army had no more 
 people to slay or to plunder, because there re- 
 mained 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) Cjc- 
 sar 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 eminency ; that is, Pliasaelus, and 
 Hippicus, and JIariamne, 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 de- 
 monstrate 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 thoroughly laid even with 
 the ground by those that dug it up to the foun- 
 dation, that there was left nothing to make 
 those that came thither believe it had ever 
 been inhabited. This was the end whicii Je- 
 rusalem came to by the madness of those that 
 were for innovations ; a city otherwise of great 
 magnificence, and of mighty fame among all 
 mankind. 
 
 2. 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 commend his whole army, on ac- 
 count of the great exploits they had perform, 
 ed, and to bestow proper rewards on such as 
 had signalized themselves therein. He had 
 therefore a groat tribunal made for him in the 
 midst of tlie place where he had formerly en- 
 
 j camped, and stood upon it with his principa. 
 commanders about him, and spake so as to be 
 heard by the v.'hole army in the manner fol- 
 lowing : — 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 coura- 
 geously undergone ; as also, for that courage 
 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 enemies, nor the strength of 
 their places, nor the largeness of their cities, 
 nor the rash boldness and brutish rage of their 
 antagonists, were sufficient at any time to get 
 clear of the Roman valour, although some of 
 them may have fortune in many respects on 
 their side. He said farther, that it was but 
 reasonable for them to put an end to this 
 war, nov/ it had lasted so lor;g, for they had 
 nothing better to wish for when they en- 
 tered into it; and that tliis 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 dominions, whom they had chosen for 
 them, and had sent in'o their own country 
 for that purpose, which still continued under 
 the management of those whom they had 
 pitched on, and were thankful to them for 
 pitcliing upon them. That according!)', al- 
 though he did both admire and tenderly re- 
 gard them all, because he knew that every 
 one of them had gone as cheerfully about 
 their work as their abilities and opportunities 
 would give tliem leave, yet, he said, that he 
 would immediately bestow rewards and dig- 
 nities on those that had fought tlie most brave- 
 ly, and with greater force, and had signalized 
 their conduct in the most glorious manner, 
 and had made his army more famous by their 
 noble exploits : and thai no one who had been 
 willing to take more pains than another 
 
 r 
 
CHAP. 11. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 763 
 
 should miss of a just retribution for tlie same ; 
 for tliat he had been exceedingly careful about 
 this matter, and that the more, because he 
 had much rather reward the virtues of his fel- 
 low-soldiers than punish such as had oflended. 
 S. 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 com- 
 mended them before the company, and re- 
 joiced in Ihem in the same manner as a man 
 would have rejoiced in his own exploits. He 
 also put on their heads crowns 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 garments. So wlien 
 they had all these honours bestowed on them, 
 according to his own appointment made to 
 every one, and he had wished all sorts of hap- 
 piness to the whole army, he came down, 
 among the great acclamations which were 
 made to iiim, and then betook himself to of- 
 fer thank-offerings [to the gods], and at once 
 sacrificed a vast number of oxen, that stood 
 readyat the altars, and distributed them among 
 the army to feast on ; and wlien he had staid 
 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 ; but 
 permitted the tenth legion to stay, as a guard 
 at Jerusalem, and did not send them away 
 beyond Euphrates, where they had been be- 
 fore ; and as he remembered tiiat the twelfth 
 legiou had given way to the Jews, under Ces- 
 tius their general, he expelled them out of all 
 Syria, for they had lain formerly at Raphanea, 
 and sent them away to a place called Mele- 
 tine, near Euphrates, wliich 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 witii his army to tliat Cesarea 
 which lay by the sea-side, and there laid up 
 the rest of liis spoils in great quantities, and 
 gave order that the captives should be kept 
 there ; for the winter-season hindered him then 
 from sailing into Italy, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW TITUS EXHIBITED ALL SORTS OF SHOWS AT 
 CESAREA PHILIPPI. CONCERNING SIJION THE 
 TYRANT, HOW HE WAS TAKEN, AND RESERV- 
 ED FOR TUE TRIUMPH. 
 
 § 1. Now, at the same time that Titus Caesar 
 lay at the siege of Jerusalem, did Vespasian 
 go on board a merchant-ship, and sailed from 
 Alexandria to Rhodes; whence he sailed away 
 
 in ships with three rows of oars; and as he 
 touched at several cities that lay in his road, 
 he was joyfully received by them all, and so 
 passed over from Ionia into Greece ; whence 
 he set sail from Corcyra to the promontory of 
 lapyx, whence he took his journey by land. 
 But as for Titus, he marched from that Cesa- 
 rea which lay by the sea-side, and came to that 
 which is named Cesarea Philippi. and staid 
 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 multitudes 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 Jerusalem, was 
 in the upper city ; but when the Roman army 
 were gotten within the walls, and were laying 
 the city waste, he then took the m.ost faithful 
 of his friends with him, ajid among them soine 
 that were stone-cutters, with those iron tools 
 which belonged to their occupation, and as 
 great a quantity of provisions as would suf- 
 fice them for a long time, and let liimself 
 and them all down into a certain subterrane- 
 ous 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, and 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 disappointed 
 of their hope ; for the miners could make but 
 small progress, and that witli 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 liim 
 a purple cloke, and appeared out of the ground 
 in the place where the temple had i'ormer- 
 ly been. At the first, indeed, those that 
 saw him were greatly astonished, and stood 
 still where they were ; but afterward they 
 came nearer to him, and asked him who he 
 was. Now Simon would not tell them, but 
 bade them call for tiieir captain ; and when 
 they ran to call him, Tsrentius Rufus,* who 
 was left to command 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 sa- 
 vage tyranny he had exercised against his 
 
 • This Terentius Rufus, as Rclsnd in part observes 
 here, is the same person wiiom the Talmudists call Tur- 
 nus Rufus; of whom they relate, that " he plouyhtd 
 up Sioh as a field, and made Jerusalem beeoinc as 
 heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places 
 of a forest;" which was long before foretold oy the i)ro- 
 phet Micah (iii, 12), and quoted from him iii the jiro- 
 phecits of Jeicmiah (sxvi, 18,'. 
 
764) 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 countrymen, by those who were his worst ene- 
 mies ; and this while he was not subdued by 
 violence, but voluntarily delivered himself tip 
 to them to be punished, and that on the very 
 same account that he had laid false accusa- 
 tions against many Jews, as if they were fall- 
 inT away to the Romans, and had barbarous- 
 ly slain them ; for wicked actions do not 
 escape the divine anger, nor is justice too weak 
 to punish offenders, but 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 im- 
 mediately. * Simon was made sensible of 
 this, by falling under the indignation of the 
 Rom.ans. This rise of his out of the ground 
 did also occasion the discovery of a great 
 number of others of the seditious at that time, 
 v^ho had hidden themselves under ground; 
 but for Simon, he was brought to Cassar in 
 bonds, when he was come back to that Cesa- 
 rea which was on the sea-side ; who gave or- 
 ders that he should be kept against that tri- 
 umph which he was to celebrate at Rome up- 
 on this occasion. 
 
 CHAPTER in, 
 
 HOW TITUS, I'FON THE CELEBRATION OF HIS 
 brother's and father's BIRTH-DAYS, HAD 
 MANY OF THE JEWS SLAIN. CONCERNING 
 THE DANGER THE JEWS WERE IN AT ANTI- 
 OCH, BY MEANS OF THE TRANSGRESSION AND 
 IMFIETY OF ONE ANTIOCHUS, A JEW. 
 
 § 1. While Titus was at Cesarea, he so- 
 lemiiized the birth-day of his brother [Domi- 
 tian] after a splendid manner, and inflicted a 
 great deal of the punishment intended for the 
 Jews in honour of him: for tlie nutnber of 
 those that were now slain in fighting with the 
 beasts, and were burnt, and fought with one 
 another, exceeded two thousand five hundred. 
 Yet did all this seem to the Romans, when 
 they were thus destroying ten thousand seve- 
 ral ways, to be a punishment beneath their 
 deserts. After this, Cajsar came to Berytus,f 
 which is a city of Phoenicia, and a Roman co- 
 lony, and staid there a longer time, and exhibit- 
 ed a still more pompous solemnity about his fa- 
 ther's birth-day, both in the magnificence of 
 tlie shows, and in the other vast expenses he 
 was at in his devices thereto belonging; so 
 that a great multitude of tlie captives were 
 here destroyed after the same manner as be- 
 fore. 
 
 2. It happened also about this time, that 
 
 * See Ecflcti. viii, 11. 
 
 t This Lierytus was certainly a Roman colony, and 
 has coins extan' that witness the same, as Hudson and 
 Sjxinheim infoim us. See the note, Antiq. b. xvi, ch 
 m, 5fl<!t. 1. 
 
 the Jews who remained at Antioch were un- 
 der accusations, and in danj^r of perishing, 
 from the disturbances that were raised against 
 thcni by the Antiochians, and this both on ac- 
 count of the slanders spread abroad at this 
 time against them, and on account of what 
 pranks they had played not long before; which 
 I atu obliged to describe without fail, though 
 briefly, that I may the better connect my nar- 
 ration of future actions with those that went 
 before. 
 
 3. For as the Jewish nation is widely dis- 
 persed 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 multitudes in Antioch 
 by reason of the largeness of the city, where- 
 in the kings, after Antiochus, had afforded 
 them a habitation with the most undisturbed 
 tranquillity; for though Antiochus, who was 
 called Epiphanes, laid Jerusalem waste, and 
 sjjoiltd the temple, yet did those that succeed 
 ed him in the kingdom restore all the dona- 
 tions 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 succeeding kings 
 treated them after the same manner, they both 
 multiplied to a great number, and adorned 
 their temple^ gloriously by fine ornaments, 
 and with great magnificence, in the use ot 
 what had been given thein. They also made 
 proselytes of a great many of the Greeks per. 
 petually, and thereby, after a sort, brought 
 them to be a portion of their own body. But 
 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 Antiochus, being one of the 
 Jev\isli nation, and greatly respected on ac- 
 count of his father, who was governor of the 
 Jews at Antioch, § came upon the theatre at 
 a time when the people of Antioch vvere as- 
 sembled together, and became an informer 
 against his father; and accused both him and 
 others, thnt they had resolved to burn the 
 whole city in one night; he also delivered 
 up to them some Jews that were foreigners, 
 as partners in their resolutions. When the 
 people heard this, they could not refrain their 
 passion, but commanded that tiiose who were 
 delivered up to them should have fire brought 
 to burn them ; who were accordingly all 
 
 t i. e. Their synagogue. See tlie note on b. vi, ch. 
 
 ' ^ The Jews at Antioch and Alexandria, the two prin- 
 cipal cities in all the east, had allowed them, both by 
 the Macedonians, and afterwards by the Romans, a go- 
 vernor of their own, who was exempt from the jurisdic- 
 tion of the otlier civil governors. He was called some- 
 times barely •' governor," sometimes " ethnarcli," and 
 fat Alexandria] •' alabarch,"as Dr. Hudson takes notice 
 on this place, out of Fuller's Miscellanies. 'J'hey had 
 the like governor or governors allowed them at Babylon 
 under their captivity there as the Histoiv of Susaniw 
 implies. 
 
■V. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 765 
 
 burnt upon the theatre immediately. They 
 did also fall violently upon the multitude of 
 the Jews, as supposing, that by punishing 
 them suddenly they sliould save their own 
 city. As for Antioclius, 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 sacri- 
 ficing after the manner of the Greeks : he 
 persuaded the rest also to compel them to do 
 the same, because they would by that means 
 discover who they were that had plotted a- 
 gainst them, since they would not do so ; 
 and when the people of Antioch tried the ex- 
 periment, some few complied ; but those that 
 would not do so were slain. As for Antio- 
 clius Inmself, he obtained soldiers from the 
 Roman commander, and became a severe 
 master over his own citizens, not permitting 
 them to rest on the seventh day, but forcing 
 them to do all that they usually did on other 
 days ; and to that degree of distress did he 
 reduce them in this matter, that the rest of 
 the seventh day was dissolved not only at 
 Antiocii, but the same thing which took 
 thence its rise, was done in other cities also, 
 in like manner, for some small time. 
 
 4. Now, after these misfortunes had hap- 
 pened to the Jews at Antioch, a second cala- 
 mity befel them, the description of which 
 when we were going about, we premised the 
 account foregoing : for upon this accident, 
 whereby the four-square market-place was 
 burnt down, as well as the archives, and the 
 place where the public records were preserv- 
 ed, 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 where- 
 with it was carried along, to have gone over 
 the whole city), Antiochus accused the Jews 
 as the occasion of all the mischiff that was 
 done. Now this induced the people of An- 
 tioch, who were now under the immediate 
 persuasion, by reason of the disorder 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 accu- 
 sation, especially when they considered what 
 had been done before ; and this to such a de- 
 gree, 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 witliout 
 difficulty that one Cneius Collegas, the le- 
 gate, could prevail with them to permit the 
 affairs to be laid before Caesar ; for as to Ce- 
 senniusPetus, the president of Syria, Vespasian 
 had already sent him away ; and so it hap- 
 pened, that he was not yet come back thither. 
 But when Collegas had made a careful in- 
 quiry into the matter, he found out tflie truth, 
 and that not one of those Jews that \T«re ac- 
 cused 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 accusations against them. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW VESPASIAN WAS RECEIVED AT ROME ; AS 
 ALSO HOW THE GERMANS REVOLTED FROM 
 THE ROMANS, BUT WERE SUBDUED. THAT 
 THE SARMATIANS OVER-RAN MYSIA, BUT 
 WERE COMPELLED TO RETURN TO THEIR 
 OWN COUNTRY AGAIN. 
 
 § 1. And now Titus Ca?sar, upon the news 
 that was brought him concerning his father, 
 that his coming was much desired by all tlie 
 Italian cities, and that Rome especially re- 
 ceived him with great alacrity and splendor, 
 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 show- 
 ed their respects to him in their minds, be- 
 fore he came 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 bore him was en- 
 tirely free and unconstrained ; for it was a 
 desirable thing to the senate, who well re- 
 membered the calamities they had undergone 
 in the late changes of their governors, to re- 
 ceive a governor who was adorned with the 
 gravity of old age, and with the highest skill 
 in the actions of war, whose advancement 
 would be, as they knew, for nothing else bu» 
 for the preservation of those that were to be 
 governed. Moreover, the people had beer 
 so harrassed by their civil miseries, that 
 they were still more earnest for his coming 
 immediately, as su])posing they should then 
 be firmly delivered from their calamities, 
 and believed they should then recover their 
 secure tranquillity and prosperity : and for 
 the soldiery, they had the principal regard 
 to him, for they were chiefly apprised 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 liaste to meet hiui 
 
7G6 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII 
 
 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 
 6uch crowds, and were so universally possess- 
 ed 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 staid 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, tiien it was that the whole multitude 
 that had remained in the city, with their wives 
 and children, came into the road, and waited for 
 liim there; and for those whom he passed by, 
 they made all sorts of acclamations on account 
 of tlie joy they had to see him, and the plea- 
 santness of his countenance, and styled him 
 their Benefactor and Saviour, and the only 
 person who was worthy to be ruler of the city 
 of Rome ; and now the city was like a temple, 
 full of garlands and sweet odours ; nor 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 household gods, for 
 his safe return to the city. The multitude 
 did also betake themselves to feasting ; which 
 feasts and drink-offerings they celebrated by 
 their tribes, and their families, and their neigh- 
 bourhoods, and still prayed God to grant tliat 
 Vespasian, his sons, and all their posterity, 
 might continue in the Roman government for 
 a very long time, and that his dominion might 
 be preserved from all opposition. And this 
 was the manner in which Rome so joyfully 
 received Vespasian, and thence grew im- 
 mediately into a stale of great prosperity. 
 
 2, But before this time, and while Vespa- 
 sian was about Alexandria, and Titus was 
 lying at the siege of Jerusalem, a great multi- 
 tude of the Germans were in commotion, and 
 tended to rebellion ; and as the Gauls in their 
 neighbourhood joined with them, they con- 
 spired togetlier, and had thereby great hopes 
 of success, and that they should free them- 
 selves 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, tlie nature 
 [of the people], which was destitute of just 
 reasonings, and ready to tlirow themselves 
 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 conscious of subjection to any but 
 to the Romans, and that by compulsion only. 
 Besides these motives, it was the opportunity 
 that now oITered itself, wliich above all the 
 rest prevailed with them so to do ; for when 
 they saw the Roman government in a great 
 internal disorder, by the continual changes of 
 its rulers, and understood that every part of 
 
 the habitable earth under them was in an un- 
 settled and tottering condition, they tliougbt 
 this was the best opportunity that could afford 
 itself for themselves to make a sedition, when 
 the state of the Romans was so ill. Classicus * 
 also, and Vitellius,f two of their commanders, 
 puffed them up with such hopes. These had 
 for a long time been openly desirous of such 
 an innovation, and were induced by the pre- 
 sent opportunity to venture upon the declara- 
 tion of their sentiments ; the multitude was 
 also ready ; and when these men told them of 
 what they intended to attempt, that news was 
 gladly received by tliem. So when a great 
 part of the Germans had agreed to rebel, and 
 the rest were no better disposed, Vespasian, 
 as guided by divine Providence, sent letters 
 to Petilius Cerealis, who had formerly had 
 the command of Germany, whereby he de- 
 clared him to have tlie dignity of consul, and 
 commanded him to take upon liim the govern- 
 ment of Britain ; so he went whither he was 
 ordered to go, and wlien he was informed of 
 the revolt of the Germans, he fell upon them 
 as soon as they were gotten together, and put 
 his army in battle-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 Rome, and Ca;sar 
 Domitian was made acquainted witli 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 father, and had made greater improve- 
 ments than belonged to such an age : accord- 
 ingly he marched against the barbarians im- 
 mediately ; whereupon their hearts failed 
 them at the rumour of his approach, and they 
 submitted themselves to him with fear, and 
 thought it a fiappy thing that they were brought 
 under their old yoke again witliout sufTcring 
 any farther mischiefs. When therefore Do- 
 mitian had settled all the afl^airs of Gaul in 
 such good order, that it would not bo easily 
 put into disorder any more, he returned to 
 Rome with honour and glory, as having per- 
 
 * This Classieus, and Civilis, and Cerealis, are names 
 well known in Tacitus: the two former as moving sedi- 
 tion against the Romans, and the last as sent to repress 
 them by Vespasian, just as they are here described by 
 Josephus; which is the case also of Fonteius Agnppa 
 and Rubrius Gallus, in sect. 3 ; but as to the very fa- 
 vourable account presently given of Domitian, parti- 
 cularly as to his designs in this his (iallic and Germanic 
 expedition, it is nota little contrary to that in Suetonius, 
 Vesp. sect. 7. Nor are the reasons unobvious that might 
 occasion this great diversity : Domitian was one of Jo- 
 sephuss patrons, and when he published these books of 
 the Jewish war, was very young, and had hardly begun 
 those wicked practices which rendered him so infamous 
 afterward; while Suetonius seems to have been too 
 vouug and too low in life to receive any remarkable 
 favours from liim ; as Domitian was certainly very lewd 
 and cruel, and generally hated, when Suetonius wrote 
 alMut him. 
 
 t Civilis.— racy. 
 
 A. 
 
'V_ 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 767 
 
 formed such exploits as were above his own 
 age, and worthy of such a father. 
 
 3. At the verj' same time with the fore- 
 mentioned re^'olt 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 per- 
 ceived ; after which, by their violence, and 
 entirely unexpected assault, they slew a great 
 many of the Romans that guarded the fron- 
 tiers ; and as the consular legate Fonteius 
 Agrippa came to meet them, and fought cou- 
 rageously against them, he was slaiu by them. 
 They then over-ran all the region that had 
 been subject to him, tearing and rending 
 every thing that fell in their way ; but when 
 Vespasian was informed of what had happen- 
 ed, and how Mysia was laid waste, he sent 
 away Rubrius Gallus to punish these Sarma- 
 tians ; by whose means many of them perish- 
 ed 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 barbarians to pass over the river any 
 more ; and thus had this war in Mysia a sud- 
 den conclusion. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 concerning the sabbatic river which ti- 
 tus saw as he was journeying through 
 syria ; and how the people of anti- 
 och came with a petition to titus 
 against the jews, but were rejected 
 by him; as also concerning titus's and 
 Vespasian's triumph. 
 
 § 1. Now Titus Csesar tarried some time at 
 Berytus, as we told you before. He thence 
 removed, and exhibited magnificent shows in 
 ail those cities of SyrJa through which he 
 went, and made use of the captive Jews as 
 public instances of the destruction of that na- 
 tion. He then saw a river as he went along, 
 of such a nature as deserves to be recorded in 
 liistory ; it runs in the middle between Ar- 
 cea, belonging to Agrippa's kingdom, and 
 Raphanea. It hath somewhat vei'y 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 channel dry, as any one may see ; after 
 which days it runs on the seventh day as it 
 did before, and as though it had undergone 
 no change at all : it hath also been observed 
 to keep this order perpetually and exactly; 
 whence it is that thev call it the Sabbatic 
 
 River,* — that name being taken from the sa- 
 cred seventh day among the Jews. 
 
 2. 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 hasted away to give 
 him the meeting ; nay, they proceeded as far 
 as thirty furlongs, and more, with that inten- 
 tion. These were not tlie men only, but a 
 multitude of women also witli their children 
 did the same ; and when they saw him com- 
 ing up to them, they stood on both sides of 
 the way, and stretched out their right hands, 
 saluting him, and making all sorts of accla- 
 mations to him, and turned back together 
 with him. They also, among all the accla- 
 mations 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 Ti- 
 tus did not stay at Antioch, but continued his 
 progress immediately to Zeugma, whicli 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 of, and feasted the king's messen- 
 gers, and then came back to Antioch. And 
 when the senate and people of Antioch ear- 
 nestly entreated him to come upon their tlie- 
 atre, where their whole multitude was assem- 
 bled, and expected him, he complied with 
 great humanity ; but when they pressed him 
 with much earnestness, and continually beg- 
 ged of him, that he would eject the Jews out 
 of their city, he gave them this very pertinent 
 answer : — " How can this be done, bince that 
 country of theirs, whither the Jews must be 
 ol)liged then to retire, is destroyed, and no 
 place will receive them besides ?" Wlicre- 
 upon the people of Antioch, 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 re- 
 moved, on which the Jews' privileges were 
 engraven. However, Titus would not grant 
 that neither, but permitted the Jews of Vn- 
 tioch to continue to enjoy the very same pri- 
 vileges in that city which they had before, 
 and then departed i'or Egypt; and as became 
 to Jerusalem in his progress, and compared 
 the melancholy condition he saw it then in, 
 
 * Since in these later ages this Sabbatic River, once 
 so famous, which, by Josephus's account here, ran every 
 seventh clay, and rested on six, but according to Plinv, 
 Nat. Hist, xxxi, 11, ran perpetually on six days, and 
 rested on the seventh (though it no way appears bv ei- 
 ther of tlieir accounts thai the sevf nth day of this rivet 
 was the Jewish seventh day or Sabbath), is quite v.inish- 
 ed, I shall add no more about it: onlvsee Dr. Hudson's 
 note. In Varenius's Geography, i, 17, the reader will 
 find several instances of such periodical fountains and 
 rivers, though none of their periods were that of ajuat 
 vfeek, as of old this appears to have been. 
 
768 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 with the ancient glory of the city, and called 
 to mind the greatness of its present ruins, as 
 well as its ancient splendor, he could not but 
 pity the destruction of the city, — so far was 
 lie from boasting 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 tlie authors of their revolt, and had 
 brought such a punishment upon the city; in- 
 somuch that it only appeared that he did not 
 desire that such a calamity as this punishment 
 of theirs amounted to, should be a demonstra- 
 tion 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 cap- 
 tives, and so they carried it away, I mean the 
 gold and the 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 fortunes of war. 
 3. 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 l)y two legions, he 
 sent each of them again to the places whence 
 they had befo'° come; tlie lifth he sent to 
 Mysia ; and the fifteenth to Pannonia ; as 
 for the leaders of the captives, Simon and 
 John, with the other seven hundred men, 
 w hom he had selected out of the rest as be- 
 ing eminently tall and handsome of body, he 
 gave order that they should be soon carried 
 to Italy, as resolving to produce them in his 
 triumph. So when he had had a prosperous 
 voyage to his mind, the city of Rome behav- 
 ed itself in his reception, and their meeting 
 him at a distance, as it did in the case of his 
 father. But what made the most splendid 
 appearance in Titus's opinion was, when his 
 father met him, and received him; but still 
 the multitude of the citizens conceived the 
 greatest joy when they saw them all three to- 
 gether, * as tliey did at this time : nor were 
 many days overpast when they determined to 
 have but one triumph, that should be common 
 to both of tiiem, on account of the glorious 
 exploits they had performed, although the se- 
 nate had decreed each of them a separate tri- 
 umph by himself. So when notice had been 
 given beforehand of the day appointed for 
 this pompous solemnity to be made, on ac- 
 count of their victories, not one of the im- 
 mense multitude was left in the city, but eve- 
 ry body went out so far as to gain only a 
 station where they might stand, and left only 
 
 night-time, and were about the gates, not of 
 the upper palaces, but those near the temple 
 of Isis; for tliere it was that the emperors 
 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 which were proper to 
 their family, and then went as far as Octa- 
 vian's Walks ; for there it was that the se- 
 nate, and the principal rulers, and those that 
 had been recorded as of the equestrian order, 
 waited for them. Now a tribunal had been 
 erected before the cloisters, and ivory chairs 
 had been set upon it, when they came and 
 sat down upon them. Whereupon the sol- 
 diery made an acclanwtion of joy to them im- 
 mediately, and all gave them attestations of 
 their valour; while they were themselves 
 without their arms, and only in their silken 
 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 si- 
 lence. And wlien every body entirely held theii 
 peace, he stood up, and covering the greatest 
 part of his head with his cloak, lie put up the 
 accustomed solemn prayers ; the like prayers 
 did Titus put up also; after which pravers 
 Vespasian made a short speech to all the peo- 
 ple, and then sent away the soldiers to a din- 
 ner prepared for them by the emperors. 
 Then did he retire to that gate which was 
 called the Gate of the Pomp, because pom- 
 pous shows do always go tlirough that gate, 
 there it was that they tasted some food, and 
 when they had put on their triumphal gar 
 ments, 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 be the more easily 
 seen by the multitude. 
 
 5. Now it is impossible to describe the 
 multitude of the shows as tliey deserve, and 
 the magnificence of them all ; such indeed as 
 a man could not easily tliiiik of as performed 
 either by the labour of workmen, or the va- 
 riety of riches, or the rarities of nature ; for 
 almost all such curiosities as the most happy 
 men ever get by piece-meal were here heaped 
 one upon another, and those both admirable 
 and costly in their nature ; and all brouglit 
 together on thatday, demonstrated the vastness 
 of the dominions of the Romans; for there was 
 here to be seen a mighty quantity of silver, 
 and gold and ivory, contrived into all sorts of 
 things, and did not appear as carried along 
 in pompous show only, but, as a man may say, 
 running along like a river. Sonie parts were 
 
 such a passage as was necessary for those that , composed of the rarest purple hangings, and 
 were to be seen to go along it. so carried along; and others accurately re 
 
 4. Now all the soldiery marched out be- j presented to the life what was embroidered by 
 forehand by companies, and in their several j *''^ ^■"'^ "^ ''^^ Babylonians. Tiiere were also 
 ranks, under their several com.manders, in the Precious stones that were transparent, some 
 
 j set in crowns of gold, and some in other ouches, 
 Vesiiasian and his two sons, Titus aiid Domitian. 1 as the workmen pleased ; and of tliese such 
 
 ~V 
 
 _r 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 7G9 
 
 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, being as well 
 wonderful for their largeness, as made very 
 artificially, and with great skill of the work- 
 men ; nor were any of these images of any 
 other than very costly materials j and many 
 species of animals were brought, everyone 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 magnifi- 
 cent orsiameiits as were both extraordinary 
 and surprising. Besides these, one might see 
 that even the great number of the captives was 
 not unadorned, while the variety that was in 
 their garments, and their fine texture, con- 
 cealed from the sight the deformity of their 
 bodies. But what afforded the greatest sur- 
 prise of all, was the structure of the pageants 
 that were borne along ; for indeed he that 
 met them could not but be afraid that the bear- 
 ers would not be able firmly enough to support 
 them, such was their magnitude ; (or many of 
 them were so made, that they were on three 
 or even four stories, one above another. 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 tliose in several v/ays, and variety of con- 
 trivances, aflbrding a most lively portraiture 
 of itself ; for there 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 over- 
 thrown, 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 pouring itself within 
 the walls ; as also every place full of slaughter, 
 and supplications of the enemies, when they 
 were no longer able to lift up their hands in 
 nay of opposition. Fire also sent upon temples 
 das here represented, and houses overthrown 
 and falling upon their owners : rivers also, 
 after they came out of a large and melancholy 
 desert, ran down, not into a land cultivat- 
 ed, 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 
 magnificent and lively in the construction of 
 tiie things, that it exhibited what had been 
 done 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 tlie city that was tajjen, and 
 tlie manner wherein he «as taken More- 
 
 over, there followed those pageants a great 
 number of ships ; and for the other spoils, 
 they were carried in great plenty. But for 
 those that were taken in the temple of Jeru- 
 salem,* they made the greatest figure of them 
 all; that is tlie golden talile, of the weight of 
 many talents ; 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 ba- 
 sis, and the small branches were produced out 
 of it to a great length, having the likeness 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 se- 
 ven among the Jews ; and the last of all the 
 spoils, was carried the Law of the Jews. After 
 these spoils passed by a great many men, car- 
 rying the images of Victory, whose structure 
 was entirely either of ivory, or of gold. Af- 
 ter which Vespasian marcf-ied in the first place, 
 and Titus followed him ; Domitian also rode 
 along with them, and made a glorious appear- 
 ance, and rode on a horse that was worthy of 
 admiration. 
 
 6. 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 custom 
 to stay till somebody brought the news that 
 the general of the enemy was slain. Tliis 
 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 pro- 
 per place in the forum, and had withal been 
 tormented by those that drew him along ; and 
 the law of the Romans required, that male- 
 factors condemned to die should be slain there. 
 Accordingly, when it was related that there 
 was an end of him, and all the people 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 specta- 
 tors, the emperors entertained them at their 
 own feast ; and for all the rest there were no- 
 ble preparations made for their feasting at 
 home ; for this was a festival-day to the 
 city of Rome, as celebrated for the victory 
 obtained by their army over their enemies, 
 
 * See the representations of these Jewish vessels as 
 thev still stand on Titus's triumpnal arch at Rome, in 
 Ruland's very curious book de SpoHis TemjJi, through- 
 out. But what things are chiefly to be noted a. c these : 
 (I.) That Josephus says, the candlc>tick here earned m 
 this triumph was not thoroughly like tliat which w^ 
 used in the temple, which appears in the number of the 
 little knobs and flowers in that on the triumphal areh, 
 not well agreeinr; with Moses's description, Exod. xxv 
 
 51 36. ("J.) The smallness of the branches in Jos& 
 
 phus, compared with the thickness of those on that 
 arch. (5.) That the Law or Pentateuch does not a[i- 
 pear on that arch at all, though Josephus, an eye-wit- 
 ness, assuies us that it was carried in this procession 
 All whith things deserve Iheeonsider.ition of the inqui 
 sitive reader 
 
 ~v 
 
770 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII 
 
 for the end that was now put to their civil 
 miseries, and for the commencement of 
 their hopes of future prosperity and happiness. 
 7. After these triumphs were over, and 
 after the affairs of the Romans were settled 
 on the surest foundations, Vespasian resolved 
 to build a temple to Peace, which he finished 
 in so short a time, and in so glorious a man- 
 ner, as was beyond all liuman expectation and 
 opinion : for he having 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 and statijes; 
 for in this temple were collected and deposit- 
 ed all such rarities as men aforetime used to 
 wander all over the habitable world to see, 
 when they had a desire to see them one after 
 another : he also laid up therein, as ensigns 
 of his glory, those golden vessels and instru- 
 ments that were taken out of the Jewish tem- 
 ple. But still he gave order that they should 
 lay up their law, and the purple veils of the 
 holy place, in the royal palace itself, and keep 
 them there. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONCERNING THE CITY CALLED MACHERU8 ; 
 AND HOW LUCILIUS BASSUS TOOK THE CITA- 
 DEL, AND OTHER PLACES. 
 
 § 1. Now Lucilius Bassus was sent as legate 
 into Judea, and there he received the army 
 from Cerealis Vitellius, and took that cita- 
 del 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 Macherns ; for it was high- 
 ly necessary that this citadel should be demo- 
 lished, 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 attack it ; for what 
 was walled in was itself a very rocky hill, 
 elevated to a very great height ; which cir- 
 cumstance alone made it very hard to be sub- 
 dued. 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 Macherus had the tallest 
 top of its hill elevated above the rest. But 
 then for the valleys that lay ou the north and 
 «outh sides, although they are not so large as 
 
 that already described, yet is it in like man. 
 ner 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 
 a hundred cubits. It extends as far as a moun- 
 tain that lies over-against Macherus, with 
 which it is bounded. 
 
 2. 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 afterwards was demolished by 
 Gabinius, when he made war against Aristo- 
 bulus ; but when Herod came 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 conve- 
 nient place on that account, and hath a pro- 
 spect 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 itbclf 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 a hundred and sixty cubits high ; 
 in the middle of which place he built a pa- 
 lace, after a magnificent manner, wherein 
 were large and beautiful edifices. He 
 also made a great many reservoirs for the 
 reception of water, that there might be plenty 
 of it ready for all uses, and those in the pro- 
 perest places that were afforded him there. 
 Thus did he, as it were, contend with the na- 
 ture of the place, that he might exceed its na- 
 tural strength and security (which yet itself 
 rendered it hard to be taken) by those forti- 
 fications which were made by the hands of 
 men. Moreover, he put a large quantity 
 of darts and other machines of war into it, 
 and contrived to get every thing thither that 
 might any way contribute to its inhabi- 
 tants' security, under the longest siege pos- 
 sible. 
 
 3. Now within this place there grew a sort 
 of rue,* that deserves our wonder on account 
 of its largeness, for it was no way inferior to 
 any fig-tree whatsoever, either in height or 
 in thickness ; and the report is, that it had 
 lasted ever since the times of Herod, and 
 would probably have lasted 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 ;f its colour is like to that 
 
 • Spanheim observes here, that in GrsKiia Major and 
 Sicily they had rue prodigiously great and durable, like 
 this rue at Macherus. 
 
 f This strange account of the place and root Baaras, 
 seems to have l)een taken from the magicians, and the 
 root to have been made use of in the days of Josephus, 
 in that superstitious way of casting out demons, sup- 
 posed by him to have been derived from king Solo- 
 mon ; of which we have already seen he had a great 
 opinion, Antiq. b. vUi, ch. ii, sect. 5. We also ma* 
 
 "V 
 
"V 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 771 
 
 of flame, and towards the evening it sends 
 out a certain ray like lightning : it is not easi- 
 ly taken by such as would do it, but recedes 
 from their hands, nor will yield itself to be 
 taken quietly, until either the urine of a wo- 
 man, or her menstrual blood, l)e 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 quite round about it, till the hidden 
 part of the root be very small, they then tie a 
 dog to it, and when the dog tries hard to fol- 
 low him that tied him, this root is easily 
 plucked up, but the dog dies immediately, 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 o-nly brought to sick persons, it 
 quickly drives away those called Demons, 
 which are no other than the spirits of the 
 wicked, that enter into men that are alive and 
 kill them, unless they can obfciin some help 
 against them. Here are also fountains of 
 hot water, that flow out of this place, which 
 have a very diil'erent 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 foun- 
 tains 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 prominent : a- 
 bove 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 together, compose a most 
 pleasant batli ; they are medicinal indeed for 
 otlier maladies, but especially good for 
 strengthening the nerves. Tliis place has in 
 it also mines of sulphur and alum. 
 
 4. Now when Bassus had taken a full view 
 of this place, he resolved to besiege it by fill- 
 ing up the valley that lay on the east side; so 
 he fell hard to work, and took great pains to 
 raise his banks as soon as possible, and by that 
 means to render the siege easy. As for the 
 Jews that were caught in this place, they 
 separated themselves from the strangers that 
 were with them, and they forced those stran- 
 gers, as an otherwise useless multitude, to 
 stay in the lower part of the city, and undergo 
 the principal dangers, while they themselves 
 seized on the upper citadel, and held it, and 
 
 learn the true notion Joseph iis hart ot demons and 
 demoniaes, exactly hkc tliat <it' tlieJews and Oiristi- 
 ans in the New Tcsiaiuent, and the lirst four centuries. 
 See Antiq. b. vi, ch. viii, sect. 2; b. xi,>h. ij, scet. 
 
 this both on account of its strength, and to 
 provide for their own safety. They also sup- 
 posed 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 Ro- 
 mans ; but still it was the opportunities that 
 presented themselves which chiefly gained both 
 sides their victories ; these were gained by the 
 Jews, when they fell upon the Romans as they 
 were oflT 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 de- 
 pend upon these bickerings, but a cert.'.in sur- 
 prising 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 boldnes.-s, and 
 very active of his hand, his name was Eleazar ; 
 he greatly signalized himself in those sallies, 
 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 mis- 
 chief when they came to fighting : he so man- 
 aged matters, that those who sallied out, made 
 their attacks easily, and returned back without 
 danger, and this by still bringing up the rear 
 himself. Now it happened, that on a cer- 
 tain time when the fight was over, and both 
 sides were parted, and retired home, he, in 
 way of contempt of the enemy, and tliinking 
 that none of them would begin the fight again 
 at that time, staid without 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 no- 
 body expected such a thing, and carried him 
 off, with his armour itself; while, in the 
 mean time, those that saw it froin the wail 
 were under such an amazement, that Rufus 
 prevented their assistance, 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 sore- 
 ly whij)ped before their eyes. Upon this sad 
 accident that befel the young man, the Jews 
 were terribly confounded, and the city, with 
 one voice, sorely lamented him, and the 
 mourning proved greater than could well be 
 supposed upon the calamity of a single person. 
 When Bassus perceived that, he began to 
 think of using a stratagem against the enemy, 
 and was desirous 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 
 
772 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 them to set up a cross, as if he were just go- 
 ing to hang Eleazar upon it immediately : 
 the sight of tliis occasioned a sore grief among 
 those that were in the citadel, and they groan- 
 ed vehement!)', and cried out that thay could 
 not bear to see liim thus destroyed. Where- 
 upon Eleazar besought them not to disregard 
 him, now he was going to suffer a most miser- 
 able 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 
 passion of commiseration, contrary to their 
 usual custom. Accordingly they sent out 
 immediately certain messengers, and treated 
 with the Romans, in order to a surrender of 
 the citadel to them, and desired that they 
 might be permitted to go away, and take 
 Eleazar along with them. Then did the Ro- 
 mans and their general accept of these terms ; 
 while the multitude of strangers that were in 
 the lower part of the city, hearing of the a- 
 greement that was made by the Jews for them- 
 selves alone, were resolved to fly away pri- 
 vately, 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 taken against them upon 
 their escape, is uncertain. The most cour- 
 ageous, therefore, of those men that went out 
 prevented the enemy, and got away, and fled 
 for it ; but for those men that were caught 
 within, they were slain, to the number of one 
 thousand seven hundred, as were the woincn 
 and the children made slaves ; but as Bassus 
 thought he must perform the covenant he had 
 made with those that had surrendered the cita- 
 del, he let them go, and restored Eleazar to 
 them. 
 
 5. When Bassus had settled these aflPairs, 
 he marched hastily to the forest of Jarden, as 
 it is called ; for he had heard that a great 
 many of those that had fled from Jerusalem 
 and Macherui formerly, were there gotten 
 together. When he was therefore come to 
 the place, and understood that the former 
 news was no mistake, he, in the first place, 
 surrounded the whole place with his horse- 
 men, that such of the Jews as had boldness 
 enough to try to break through, might have 
 no way possible for escaping, by reason of 
 the situation of these horsemen j and for the 
 footmen, 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 exploit, and of 
 greatly exposing themselves in a battle, since 
 they might perhaps lliereby escape. So they 
 nude 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 
 tile battle did not answer the expectation of 
 the assailants ; for so it happened, that no 
 more than twelve fell on the Roman side, 
 with a few that were wounded ; but not one 
 of the Jews escaped out of this battle, for 
 they were all killed, being in the whole not 
 fewer in number than three thousand, toge- 
 ther with Judas, the son of Jairus, their gene- 
 ral ; concerning whom we have before spoken, 
 that he had been captain of a certain band at 
 the siege of Jerusalem, and by going down 
 into a certain vault under ground, had pri» 
 vately made his escape. 
 
 6. About the same time it was that Caesar 
 sent a letter to Bassus, and to Liberius Max- 
 imus, who was the procurator [of Judea], 
 and gave order that all Judea should be ex 
 posed to sale ; * for he did not found any 
 city there, but reserved the country for him- 
 self. However, he assigned a place for eight 
 hundred men only, whom he had dismissed 
 from his army, which he gave them for their 
 habitation ; it is called Emmaus, -f and is dis 
 tant from Jerusalem threescore furlongs. He 
 also laid a tribute upon the Jews wheresoever 
 they were, and enjoined ever^ one of them to 
 bring two drachmae every year into the Capi-. 
 to!, as they used to pay the same to the tem- 
 ple at Jerusalem. And this was the state of 
 the Jewish afl'airs at this time. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CONCERNING THE CALAMITY THAT BEFEL AN- 
 TIOCHUS, KING OF COMWAGENE. AS ALSO 
 CONCERNING THE ALANS, AND WHAT GREAT 
 MISCHIEFS THEY DID TO THE MEDES AND 
 ARMENIANS. 
 
 § 1. And now, in the fourth year of the 
 reign of Vespasian, it came to pass that An- 
 tiochus, the king of Commagene, vrith all his 
 
 • It 19 very remarkable that Titus did not people this 
 now desolate country of Judea, but ordered it to be all 
 sold ; nor indeed is it properly peopled at this day, but 
 lies ready for its old inhabitants the Jews, at their future 
 restoration. See Literal Accomplishment of Prophe- 
 cies, page 77- 
 
 1 That the city Emmaus, or Ammaus, in Josephus 
 and others, which was the place of tlie government ot 
 Julius Afrieanus, in the beginning of the third century, 
 and which he then procured to be rebuilt, and after which 
 rebuilding it was called Nicopolis, is entirely different 
 from that Emmaus which is mentioned by St. Luke 
 (xxiv, 17) see Ueland's Pala?stina, lib. ii, page 429, and 
 under the name Ammaus also. But he justly thinks 
 that that in St. Luke may well be the same with this 
 Ammaus before us, especially since the Greek copies 
 here usually make it sixty furlongs distant from Jerusa- 
 lem, as does St. Luke, though the Latin copies say only 
 thirty. Tlic place also allotted for these SOO soldiers, 
 as for a Roman garrison, in this place, woi\.d most na 
 turally not be so remote from Jerusalem as was the 
 other Emmaus, or Nicopolis. 
 
 'V 
 
""V. 
 
 HAP. VII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 773 
 
 family, fell into very great calamities. The 
 occasion was this : — Cesennius Fetus, who 
 was president of Syria at this time, whether 
 it were done out of regard to truth, or whe- 
 ther out of hatred to Antiochus (for which 
 was the real motive was never thoroughly 
 discovered), sent an epistle to Ccesar, and 
 therein told him that Antiochus, with his son 
 Kpiphanes, had resolved to rebel against the 
 Romans, and had made a league with the king 
 of Parthia to that purpose : that it was there- 
 fore fit to prevent them, lest they prevent us, 
 and begin such a war as may cause a general 
 disturbance in the Roman empire. Now 
 Casar 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 Sa- 
 mosata, the capital of Commagene, lies up-- 
 on Euphrates, and, upon any such design, 
 could afford an easy passage over it to the 
 Parthians, and could also afford them a se- 
 cure reception. Petus was accordingly be 
 lieved, and had authority given him of doing 
 what he should think proper in tiie case; so 
 he set about it without delay, and fell upon 
 Commagene before Antiochus and his people 
 had the least expectatioii of his coming : he 
 had with him the tenth legion, as also some 
 cohorts a!id troops of horsemen. These kings 
 also came to his assistance : — Aristobulus, 
 king of the country called Chalcidene, and 
 Soliemus, who was called king of Emesa : nor 
 was there any opposition made to his forces 
 when they entered the kingdom ; for no one 
 of that country would so much as lift up his 
 liand against them. Wiien Antiochus heard 
 tnis unexpected news, he could not think in 
 tlie least of making war with the Romans, 
 but determined to leave his whole kingdom 
 in the state wherein it now was, and to retire 
 privately, with his wife and children, as think- 
 ing thereby to demonstrate himself to ihe 
 Romans to be innocent as to the accusation 
 laid against him. So he went away from that 
 city as far as a hundred and twenty furlongs, 
 mto a plain, and there pitched his tents. 
 
 2. Petus then sent some of his men to 
 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 prevei:t. But his 
 sons, who were young and unexperienced in 
 war, but of strong bodies, were not easily in- 
 duced to bear this calamity without fighting. 
 Epiphancs, therefore, and Callinicus betook 
 themselves to military force ; and as the bat- 
 tle was a sore one, and lasted all the day long, 
 tliey showed their own valour in a remarkable 
 manner; and nothing but the apijj;oacn of 
 nisjht put a period thereto, and that without 
 
 any diminution 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 Cilicia ; and, by so doing, quite dis- 
 couraged the minds of his own soldiers. Ac~ 
 cordingly, they revolted, and went over to the 
 Romans, out of the despair they were in of 
 his keeping the kingdom ; and his case was 
 looked upon by all as quit« desperate. It was 
 tlierefore necessary that Epiphanes and his 
 soldiers should get clear of their enemies be- 
 fore they became entirely destitute of any con- 
 federates; 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 disregarded as fugitives ; but had 
 the same respect paid them as if they had re- 
 tained their ancient prosperity. 
 
 3. Now when Antiochus was come to Tar- 
 sus in Cilicia, 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 preserve 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 not come to Rome, but should now go 
 and live at Lacedemon ; he also gave him 
 large revenues, that he might not only live in 
 plenty, but like a king also. When Epiphanes, 
 who before was in great fear for his father, 
 was informed of this, their minds were freed 
 from that great and almost incurable concern 
 they had been under. He also hoped that 
 Caesar would be reconciled to them, upon the 
 intercession of Vologeses ; for although he 
 lived in plenty, he knew not how to bear liv- 
 ing out of the Roman empire. So Csesar 
 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. 
 
 4. Now there was a nation of the Alans, 
 which we have formerly mentioned somewhere 
 as being Scythians,* and inhabiting 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 ; 
 witli which intention they treated with the 
 king of Hyrcania; for he was master of that 
 passage whicti king Alexander [the Great] 
 shut up with iron gates. Tliis king gave 
 them leave to come tlirough them ; so they 
 came in great multitudes, and fell upon the 
 Medes unexpectedly, ami plundered their 
 country, whicli they found full of people, and 
 replenished with abundance of cattle, while no- 
 
 • '. his is now waiuinn. 
 
774 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 body durst make any resistance against them ; 
 for Pacorus, the king of the country, had flud 
 away for fear, into places where they could 
 not easily come at him, and had yielded up 
 every thing he had to tiiem, and had only 
 saved his wife and his concubines from them, 
 and that with difficulty also, after tliey had 
 been made captives, by giving them a hun- 
 dred talents for their ransom. Tliese Alans 
 therefore plundered the country without op- 
 position, and with great ease, and then pro- 
 ceeded as far as Armenia, laying all waste be- 
 fore them. Now Tiridates was king of that 
 country, who met tiiem, and fought them, but 
 had like to have been tak,.'n 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 lie had immediately cut 
 tlie cord with his sword, and ran away, and 
 prevented it. So the Alans, being still more 
 provoked by this sight, laid waste the coun- 
 try, and drove a great multitude of the men, 
 and a great quantity of the other prey they had 
 gotten out of both kingdoms, along witli ihein, 
 and then retreated back to their own country. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCERNING MASADA AND THOSE SICABII W'UO 
 KEPT IT ; AND HOW SI LVA BETOOK HiilSEI.t' 
 TO FORM THE SIEGE OF THAT ClTAOtf.. 
 ELEAZiVR's SPEECHES TO THE BESIEGED. 
 
 § 1. When Bassus was dead iu Judea, Fla- 
 vius Silva succeeded him as procurator there ; 
 who, when he saw that all the rest of the 
 country was subdued in this war, and that 
 there was but one only strong hold that was 
 still in rebellion, he got all his army together 
 that lay in difierent places, and made an ex- 
 pedition against it. This fortress was called 
 Masada. It was one Eieazar, a potent man, 
 and the commander 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 sub- 
 mit to the taxation when Cyrenius was sent in- 
 to 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 respects as if tlay had been their 
 enemies, both by plundering them of what 
 they had, by driving away their cattle, and by 
 setting fire to their houses : for they said that 
 they differed not at all from foreigners, by 
 betraying, in so cowardly a manner, that 
 freedom which Jews thouglit 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 pretence, and 
 a cloak for the barbarity whi:h was made use 
 
 avarice, which they afterwards 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 Ro- 
 mans, and went farther lengths with them in 
 their impudent undertakings against them ; 
 and when they were again convicted of dis- 
 seml)ling 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, insomuch 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 infected, and strove 
 with one another in their single capacitj, and 
 in their communities, who should run the 
 greatest lengths in impiety towards God, and 
 in unjust actions towards their neighbours; 
 the men of power oppressing the multitude, 
 and the multitude earnestly labouring to de- 
 stroy the men of power. The one part were 
 desirous of tyrannizing over others ; and the 
 rest of offering violence to others, and of plun- 
 dering such as were richer than themselves. 
 They were the Sicarii who first began these 
 transgressions, and first became barbarous to- 
 wards those allied to them, and left no words 
 of reproach unsaid, and no works of perdition 
 untried, in order to destroy those whom their 
 contrivances 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 bitter enemies that he had 
 among all the citizens ; nay, he filled his en- 
 tire country with ten thousand instances of 
 wickedness, such as a man who was already 
 hardened sufficiently in his impiety towards 
 God, would naturally do; for the food was 
 unlawful that was set upon his table, and he 
 rejected those purifications that the law of his 
 country had ordained ; so that it was no lon- 
 ger a wonder if he, who was so mad in his 
 impiety towards God, did not observe any 
 rules of gentleness and common affection to- 
 wards men. Again, therefore, what mischiet 
 was there whicii Simon the son of Gioras did 
 not do ? or what kind of abuses did he ab- 
 stain 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 ? for they 
 looked upon the doing of mischief to stran- 
 gers only, as a work beneath their courage, 
 but thought their barbarity towards their near- 
 est relations would be a glorious demonstra- 
 tion thereof. The Idumeans also strove with 
 these men who should be guilty of the great- 
 est madness! for they [allj, vile wretches as 
 they were, cut the throats of the high-priests, 
 that so no part of a religious regard to God 
 might be preserved ; they thence proceeded to 
 
 of by ihem, and to colour over their own I destroy utterly the least remains of a political 
 
 ^ 
 
-^ 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 775 
 
 government, and introduced the most com- 
 plete scene of iniquity in all instances that 
 were practicable ; under which scene, that 
 sort of people that were called Zealots grew 
 up, and who indeed corresponded to the name ; 
 for they imitated every wicked work ; nor, if 
 their memory suggested any evil thing that 
 nad formerly been done, did they avoid zea- 
 lously to pursue the same ; and although they 
 gave themselves that name from their zeal for 
 what was good, yet did it agree to them only 
 by way of irony, on account of those they had 
 unjustly treatt'd by their wild and brutish dis- 
 position, 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 undergo- 
 ing, 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 accord- 
 ing to their deserving : but to make a lamen- 
 tation 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 nar- 
 ration. 
 
 2. For now it was that (he Roman gene- 
 ral came, and led his army against Eleazar 
 and those Sicarii who held the fortress Masa- 
 da 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 easi- 
 ly 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 be- 
 longing to the fortress did make the nearest 
 approach to the neighbouring mountain, 
 which yet was a place of difficulty for getting 
 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 tliose Jews who were appointed for 
 that purpose, but water was also to be brought 
 to the camp, because 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 de- 
 scribe. 
 
 3, There was a rock not small in circum- 
 ference, and very high. It was encompassed 
 with valleys of such vast depth downward, 
 that the eye could not reach their bottoms ; 
 fliey were abrupt, and such as no animal 
 could walk upon, excepting at two tjlaces of 
 the rock, where it subsides, in order to afford 
 
 a passage for ascent, though not without dif- 
 ficulty. Now, of the ways that lead to it, 
 one is that from the lake Asphaltitis, towards 
 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 prominent precipices 
 of the rock, and returns frequently into it- 
 self, 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 no- 
 thing 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 every body 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 Masada ; 
 after which the rebuilding of this place em- 
 ployed the care of king Herod to a great de- 
 gree ; he also built a wall round about the 
 entire top of the hill, seven furlongs long; 
 it was composed of white stone ; its heiglit 
 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 edi- 
 fices, 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 ^se they 
 should ever be in want of it from abroad. 
 Moreover, he built a palace therein at the 
 western ascent: it was witJiin 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 cor- 
 ners 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 buildings were supported 
 by pillars of single stones on every side : the 
 walls also and the floors of tlie edifices were 
 paved with stones of several colours. He also 
 had cut many and great pits, as reservoirs for 
 water, out of the rocks, at every one of the 
 places that were inhabited, both above and 
 round about the palace, and before the wall ; 
 and by this contrivance he endeavoured to 
 have water for several uses, as if there had 
 been fountains there. Here was also a road 
 digged from the palace, and leading to the very 
 top of the mountain, which yet could not be 
 seen by such as were without [the walls] ; nor 
 indeed could enemies easily make use of the 
 plain roads ; for the road on the east side, as 
 
776 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII, 
 
 we have already taken notice, could not be 
 walked upon, by reason of its nature ; and for 
 tlie western road, he built a large tower at its 
 narrowest place, at no less a distance from the 
 top of the hill than a thou«;and 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 its contrivance) easily get to the 
 end of it; and after such a manner was this 
 citadel fortified, both by nature and by the 
 hands of men, in order to frustrate the attacks 
 of enemies. 
 
 4. As for the furniture that was within this 
 fortress, it was still more wonderful on account 
 of its splendor and long continuance ; 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 to- 
 gether ; all which Eleazar found there, when 
 be and his Sicarii got possession of the fortress 
 by treachery. These fruits were also fresh 
 and full ripe, and no way inferior to such 
 fruits newly laid in, although they were little 
 short of a hundred 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 trea- 
 sured up by that king, and were sufficient for 
 ten thousand 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 mul- 
 titude of the Jews, lest they should ilL';Ai:.e 
 him and restore their former kings to tin. go- 
 vernment ; the other danger was greater and 
 more terrible, which arose from Cleopatra, 
 queen of Egypt, who did not conceal her in- 
 tentions, but spoke often to Antony, and de- 
 sired him to cut off Herod, and entreated 
 him to bestow tlie kingdom of Judea upos 
 her. And certainly it is a great wonder 
 that Antony did never comply with her com- 
 mands in tins point, as he was so miserably 
 ensla.'ed to his passion for her; nor should 
 any one liave been surprised if she had been 
 gratified in such her request. So the fear of 
 these dangers made Herod rebuild Masada, 
 and thereby leave it for the finishing-stroke 
 of the Romans in this Jewish war. 
 
 * Pliny and others confirm this strange paradox, that 
 provisions laid up against sieges will continue good for 
 > hundred years as Spanhcini notes upon this place. 
 
 5. 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 accu- 
 rate provision to prevent any one of the be- 
 sieged 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 emin- 
 ency of the rock, very broad and very pro- 
 minent, but three hundred cubits beneath the 
 Iiighest part of Masada ; it was called the 
 White Promontory. Accordingly he got up- 
 on that part of the rock, and ordered the army 
 to bring earth ; and when they fell to that 
 «ork with alacrity, and abundance of them 
 together, the bank was raised, and became 
 solid for two hundred 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 cubits, both in 
 breadth and height. The other machines 
 that were now got ready were like to those 
 that had been first devised by Vespasian, and 
 afterwards by Titus, for sieges. There was 
 also a tower made of the height of sixty 
 cubits, and all over plated with iron, out 
 of whicli the Romans threw darts and stones 
 from the engines, and soon 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 tliat 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 diffi- 
 culty, broke down a part of the wall, and 
 quite overthrew it. However the Sicarie 
 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 following 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 farther 
 laid other beams over across them, atid 
 thereby bound those beams together that 
 lay lengthways. This work of theirs was like 
 a real edifice; and when the machines were 
 applied, tlie blows were weakened by its yield 
 ing ; and as the materials by such concussion 
 were shaken closer together, the pile by that 
 
V 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 771 
 
 means became firmer than before. When 
 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 great 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 hollowiiess made that fire spread 
 to a mighty flame. Now, at the very begin- 
 ning of this fire, a north wind that then blew 
 proved terrible to the Romans ; for by bring- 
 ing the flame downward,^ it drove it upon 
 them, and they were almost in despair of suc- 
 cess, as fearing thi'ir machines would be 
 ournt : 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 Ro- 
 mans, having now assistance from God re- 
 turned to their camp with joy, and resolved 
 to attack their enemies the very next day ; on 
 which occasion they set their watch more care- 
 fully that night, lest any of the Jews should 
 run away from them without being disco- 
 vered. 
 
 6. However, neither did Eleazar once think 
 of flying away, nor would he permit any one 
 else to do so; but when he saw their wall 
 burnt down by the fire, and could devise no 
 otlier way of escaping, or room for their far- 
 ther courage, and setting before tlieir 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 
 circumstances, he gathered the most courage- 
 ous of his companions together, and encou- 
 raged them to take that course by a speech* 
 which he made to them in the manner fol- 
 lowing : — " Since we, long ago, my generous 
 friends, resolved never to be servants to tlie 
 Romans, nor to any other than to God him- 
 self, 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, wliile we 
 formerly would not undergo slavery, though 
 it were then without danger, but must now, 
 together with slavery, clioose such punish- 
 ments also as are intolerable; I mean this, 
 upon the supposition that the Romans once 
 
 The speeches in th's and the next section, as iiitrotluc- 
 
 f 
 
 ed under ihe i)ersQn of tlii^ Eleazar, are exceeding re 
 marl^able, and on the noblest subjects, tlie contempt 
 
 death, and the dignity and immortality of the soul ; 
 and that not only among the Jews, hut among the In- 
 dians themselves also ; and are highly worthy ihejXTU- 
 sal of all the curious. It seems as if that philosophic 
 Uidy who survived, ch. ix, sect, 1, 'J, remembered the 
 substance' of these discourses, as sjioken by Eleazar, and 
 so Joseiihus clothed lliem in his own words : at the low- 
 est they contain the Jewish notions on these htj^s, as 
 understood then by our Jossphus, and cannot but de- 
 sbvve a suitable regard froui us. 
 
 reduce us under their power while we are 
 alive. W'e 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 eligible thing to 
 die after a glorious manner, together with our 
 dearest friends. This is what our cneriit» 
 themselves cannot by any means hinder, al- 
 though they be very desirous to take us alive. 
 Nor can we propose to ourselves any more to 
 fight ihcm and beat them. It had been pro- 
 per indeed for us to have conjectured at the 
 purpose of God much sooner, and at the very 
 first, when we were so desirous of defending 
 our liberty, and when we received such sore 
 treatment from one another, and worse treat- 
 ment from our enemies, and to have been sen- 
 sible that the same God, who liad of old taken 
 the Jewish nation into his favour, had now con- 
 demned them to destruction ; forbad he either 
 continued favourable, or been but in a lesser 
 degree displeased with us, he had not overlook- 
 ed the destruction of so many men, or delivered 
 his most holy city to be burnt and demolished 
 by our enemies. 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 li-berty. 
 Wherefore, consider how God hath convinced 
 us that our hopes were in vain, by bringing 
 such distress upon us in the desperate state 
 we are now in, and which is beyond all our 
 expectations ; for the nature of this fortress, 
 which was in itself unconquerable, hath not 
 proved a means of our deliverance ; and even 
 while we have still great abundance of food, 
 and a great quantity of arms, aiid other ne- 
 cessaries more than we want, we are openly- 
 deprived by God himself of all hope of deli- 
 verance ; for that fire which was driven uporj 
 our enemies did not, of its own accord, tuiT> 
 back upon the wall which we had built : this 
 was the eftt'ct of God's anger against us for 
 our manifold sins, which we have been guilty 
 of in a most insolent and extravagant manner 
 with regard to our own countrymen ; the pu- 
 nishments of which let us not receive from 
 tlie Romans, but from God himself, as exe- 
 cuted 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 dain them, let us bestow that glori- 
 ous benefit upon one another mutually, and 
 preserve ouiselves in freedom, as an excellent 
 funeral monument for us. But first let us de- 
 stroy our money and the fortress by fire ; for 
 1 I am well assured that this will be a great grief 
 
 \- 
 
J- 
 
 778 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VII 
 
 to llie Romans, that they shall not be able to freed from that weight which draws it down to 
 seize upon our bodies, and shall fail of our j the earth and is connected with it, it obtains 
 wealth also : and let us spare nothing but our its own proper place, and does then become a 
 provisions ; for they will be a testimonial partaker of that blessed power, and those a- 
 
 when we are dead that we were not subdued 
 for want of necessaries; but that, according 
 to our original resolution, we have preferred 
 death before slavery." 
 
 7. This was Eleazar's speech to them. Yet 
 did not the opinions of all the a^uditors acqui- 
 esce 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 efleminate a commisera- 
 tion for their wives and families ; and when 
 these men were especially moved by the pros- 
 pect of their own certain death, they looked 
 wistfully at one another, and by the tears that 
 were in their eyes, declared their dissent from 
 his opinion. When Eleazar saw these peo- 
 ple in such fear, and that their souls were de- 
 jected at so prodigious a proposal, he was afraid 
 lest perhaps these efleminate persons should, 
 by their lamentations and tears, enfeeble lliose 
 that heard what he had said courageously ; 
 so he did not leave off exhorting them, but 
 stirred up himself, and recollecting proper 
 arguments for raising their courage, he un- 
 dertook 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 intently on those that wept, 
 he spake thus : — " Truly, I was greatly mis- 
 taken when I thought to be assisting to brave 
 men v\ho 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 delivered 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 liimself, 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 cala- 
 mity to men, and not death ; for this last af- 
 fords our souls their liberty, and sends them 
 by a removal into their own place of purity, 
 where tiiey are to be insensible of all sorts 
 of misery ; for while souls are tied down to a 
 mortal body, they are partakers of its mise- 
 ries ; and really, to speak the truth, they are 
 themselves dead ; for the union of wiiat is di- 
 vine to what is mortal, is disagreeable. It is 
 true, the power of the soul is great, even wlien 
 it is imprisoned in a mortal body ; for by 
 moving it after a way that is invisible, it makes 
 the l)ody a sensible instrument, and causes it 
 to aiivance farther in its actions than mortal na- 
 ture could otherwise do. However, when it is 
 
 bilities, which are then every way incapable 
 of being hindered in their operations. It con- 
 tinues invisible, indeed, to the eyes of men, as 
 does God himself; for certainly it is not it- 
 self 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 nature, and that an in- 
 corruptible 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 removed, that withers away and dies : such 
 a degree is there in it of immortality. Let 
 me produce the state of sleep as a most evi- 
 dent demonstration of the truth of what I say ; 
 wherein souls, when the body does not dis- 
 tract them, have the sweetest rest depending 
 on themselves, and conversing with God, by 
 their alliance to him ; they then go every- 
 where, and foretell many futurities before- 
 hand ; 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 pur- 
 sue after liberty while we are alive, and yet 
 to envy it to ourselves where it will be eter- 
 nal ! 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 support us in this matter, let us regard 
 those Indians who profess the exercise of phi- 
 losophy ; for these good men do but unwilling- 
 ly undergo the time of life, and look upcm 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 beforehand that they are about to de- 
 part; and nobody hinders them, but every 
 one tliinks them l)appy men, and gives them 
 letters to be carried to their familiar friends 
 [th.t are dead] ; so firmly and certainly do 
 they believe that souls converse with one a- 
 nother [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 great- 
 est 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 man- 
 kind conduct their fellow-citizens when they 
 are going a very long journey, who, at the 
 same tune, 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, a- 
 shamed to have lower notions than the Indi- 
 
CHAP. VIII. 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 r79 I 
 
 ans ? 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 persuasion, and 
 taught that life is the greatest good which 
 men are capable of, and that death is a calami, 
 ty ; however, the circumstances we are now 
 in ought to be an inducement 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 na- 
 tion, 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 
 aflbrd them an occasion of their appearing to 
 be conquerors over us. What Roman wea- 
 pons, I pray you, were those, by which the 
 Jews of Cesarea were slain ? On the contra- 
 y, when they were no way disposed to re- 
 bel, 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 Ce- 
 sarea, yet did those citizens run upon them in 
 great crowds, and cut their throats, and the 
 tiiroats of their wives and children, and this 
 without any regard to the Romans themselves, 
 wlio never took us for their enemies till we re- 
 volted 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 opportunity offered itself, 
 they only satisfied the old rancour they had 
 against them. What then shall we say to those 
 of Scythopolis, who ventured to wage war with 
 us on account of the Greeks? Nor did they 
 •io it by way of revenge upon the Romans, 
 when they acted in concert with our country- 
 men. 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 that was made 
 them for the assistance they had afforded the 
 others ; for that very same destruction which 
 they had prevented from falling upon the o- 
 tliers, did they suffer themselves from them, 
 as if they had been ready to be the actors a- 
 gainst 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 inhabitants, and 
 were not more bitter enemies to us than were 
 the Romans themselves: nay, even those of 
 Damascus,* when they were able to allege 
 
 • See b. ii, eh. xx, sect. ?, where the number of the 
 %l4iii is but 10,000. 
 
 no tolerable pretence against lis, filled their 
 city with the most barbarous slaughter of our 
 people, and cut the throats of eighteen thou- 
 sand Jews, with their wives and children. 
 And as to the multitude of those that were 
 slain in Ei^ypt, and that with torments also, 
 we have been informed they were more than 
 sixty thousand ; those indeed being in a fo- 
 reign country, and so naturally meeting with 
 nothing to oppose against their enemies, were 
 killed in the manner forementioned. 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 cause of liberty, which encouraged us all 
 to revolt from the Romans. But then, these 
 advantages 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 taken from us, and 
 all hath fallen under 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 preparations were made. And 
 as for those that are already dead in the war, 
 it is reasonable 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 Ro- 
 mans, who would not pity their condition ? 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 tiine, in or- 
 der to affc)rd laughter and sport to our ene- 
 mies ; and such of those as are alive still, are 
 to be looked on as the most miserable, who 
 being 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 large towers to 
 defend it, which could hardly contain the in- 
 struments prepared for the war, and wliich 
 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 demolisiied to the very foiuulations ; 
 and hath nothing but that monument of it pre- 
 served, I mean the camp of those that have de- 
 stro)^d it, which still dwells upon its ruins; 
 some unfortunate old men also lie upon t!»e 
 ashes of the temple, and a few women are 
 there preserved alive by the enemy, for our 
 bitter shame and reprojuh. Now, who is 
 there that revolves these things in his mind, 
 and yet is able to bear the sight of the sun, 
 though he might live out of danger ? WIm: 
 
J- 
 
 rso 
 
 WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK VIL. 
 
 is there so much his country's enemy, or so 
 unmanly, and so desirous of living, as not to 
 repent that he is still alive ? And I cannot 
 but wisli that we had all died before we had 
 seen that holy city demolished by the hands 
 of our enemies, or the foundations of our 
 holy temple dug up after so profane a man- 
 ner. But since we liad 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 tliem ; 
 for we are born to die,* as well as those were 
 whom we have begotten ; 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 ignomi- 
 nious manner, with their children, these are 
 not such evils as are natural and necessary a- 
 mong men ; although such as do not pre- 
 fer death before those tniseries, when it is in 
 their power so to do, must undergo even them, 
 on account of their own cowardice. \W' re- 
 volted from the Romans with great preten- 
 sions to courage ; and when, at tlie very last, 
 they invited us to preserve ourselves, we 
 would not comply with them. Wlio will 
 not, tlierefore, believe that they will certain- 
 ly 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 bo- 
 dies to sustain many torments ! miserable 
 also w-ill be those of elder years, who will not 
 be able to bear those calamities which young 
 men might sustain ! One man will be oblig- 
 ed to hear the voice of liis son imploring help 
 of his father, when his hands are bound ! 
 But certainly our hands 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 e- 
 nemies, and let us go out of the world, toge- 
 ther with our children and our wives, in a 
 state of freedom. 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 tlie 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 getting us under their 
 power, let us leave them an example which 
 shiU at once cause their astonishment at our 
 deatli, and their admiration of our hardiness 
 tiierein." 
 
 * Rclaiid here sets Aavm a parallel aphorism of one 
 of th.c Jeuisli rabbins. " We aie bom tJiat we may die, 
 uiJ (lie that we may live." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW THE PEOPLE THAT M'ERE IN THE FORTRESS 
 WERE PREVAILED ON BY THE WORDS OF ELE- 
 AZAR, TWO WOMEN AND FIVE CHILDREN ON- 
 LY EXCEPTED, AND ALL SUBMITTED TO BE 
 KILLED BY ONE ANOTHER. 
 
 § 1 . Now as Eleazar was proceeding on in 
 this exhortation, they all cut him off short, and 
 made haste to do tiie work, as full of an un- 
 conquerable 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 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 tlicir wives and children, and them- 
 selves also ! Nor indeed, vvhen they came to 
 the work itself, did their courage fail tliem, 
 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, be- 
 cause the reasoning they vvent upon appeared 
 to them to be very just, even with regard to 
 those that were dearest to them ; for the hus- 
 bands tenderly embraced their wives, and 
 took their children into their arms, and gave 
 the longest parting kisses to them, with tears 
 in tlieir 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 miseries 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 dispatched his dearest relations. IMiser- 
 able men indeed were they! whose distress 
 forced them to slay their own wives and chil- 
 dren with their own hands, as the lightest of 
 those evils that were before them. So tliey 
 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 j)resently 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 himself down by iiis 
 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 exe- 
 cuted that melancholy office: and when these 
 ten liad, without fear, slain them all, they 
 made the same rule for casting lots for them- 
 selves, that he whose lot it was should first 
 
 •^ 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 781 
 
 kill the other nine, and after all, should kill 
 himself. Accordingly, all these had courage 
 sufficient to be no way behind one another in 
 doing or suffering ; so, for a conclusion, the 
 nine offered their necks to the executioner, 
 and he who was tlie last of all took a view of all 
 the other bodies, lest perchance some or other 
 among so many that were slain should wan: 
 his assistance to be quite dispatched ; 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 sword entirely through 
 himself, and fell down dead near to his own 
 relations. So these people died with this in- 
 tention, that they would leave not so much 
 as one soul among them all alive to be sub- 
 ject to the Romans. Yet was there an an- 
 cient woman, and another who was of kin to 
 Eleazar, and superior to most women in pru- 
 dence and learning, with five ciiildren, who 
 had concealed themselves in caverns under 
 ground, and had carried water thither for 
 their drink, and were hidden there when the 
 rest were intent upon the slaughter of one 
 another. Those others were nine hundred 
 and sixty in number, the women and children 
 being withal included in that computation. 
 This calamitous slaughter was made on the 
 fifteenth day of the month Xanthicus [Nisan]. 
 2. Now for the Romans, they expected 
 that they should be fought in the morning, 
 when accordingly they put on their armour, 
 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 terrible 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; 
 tlie 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 undertak- 
 ing, and did not believe it could be as they 
 said ; they also attempted to put the fire 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 could tliey do 
 other than wonder at the courage of their re- 
 solution, and the immovable contempt of 
 death which so great a number of them had 
 shown, when they went through with such an 
 action as that was. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THAT MANY OF THE SICARII FLED TO ALEX- 
 ANDRIA ALSO, AND WHAT DANGERS THEY 
 WERE IN THERE ; ON WHICH ACCOUNT THAT 
 TEMPLE WHICH HAD FORMERLY BEEN BUILT 
 BY ONIAS, THE HIGH-PRIEST, WAS DESTROY- 
 ED. 
 
 § 1. When Masada was thus taken, the ge- 
 neral 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 danger- 
 ous disorders even in places very far remote 
 from Judea ; for still it came to pass that 
 many Jevvs 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 opposed them, they 
 slew some of them, and with the others they 
 were very pressing in their exhortations ta 
 revolt from the Romans ; but when the prin- 
 cipal 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 de- 
 monstrated 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, having 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 exhorted 
 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 vvhat 
 had been done, by delivering these men up to 
 them ; who being thus apprized of the great- 
 ness of the danger they were in, complied with 
 what was projioscd, and ran with great vio- 
 lence upon the Sica7-ii, and seized upon them; 
 and, indeed, six hundred of them were cauglit 
 immediately : but as to all tJiose that fled in- 
 to Egypt,* and to the Egyptian Thebes, it 
 
 * Since Josephus here informs us that some of these 
 Sicarii, or ruffians, went from Alexandria (whicli was 
 itstlf in Egypt, in a large sense) into K'gypt, and TlielKS 
 there situated, Rcland well <)lj-cr\es, fiom Vossius, that 
 Egypt somt times denotes Proper or Upper Egypt, as 
 distiuet from the Uelta, and the lower parts near Pa- 
 lestine. Aceordiugly, as he adds, those that say it never 
 
 V 
 
 -T 
 
-/" 
 
 782 
 
 WAliS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 BOOK Vll 
 
 was not long ere they were caught also, and 
 brought back, — whose courage, or whether 
 we ought to call it madness, or hardiness in 
 tlieir opinions, everj' body was amazed at ; for 
 wlien all sorts of torments and vexations ot 
 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 confers, or 
 seem to confess, that Cssar was their lord ; 
 but they preserved their own opinion, in spite 
 of all the distress they were brougiit to, as if 
 they received these torments and tliefire itself 
 with bodies insensible of pain, and with a 
 soul that in a matmer rejoiced under them. 
 But what was most of all astonishing to the 
 beholders, was the courage of the children ; 
 for not one of these children was so far over- 
 come by these torments, as to name Cse^ar for 
 their lord. So far does the strength of the 
 courage [of the soul] prevail over the weak- 
 ness of the body. 
 
 2. Now Lupus did then govern Alexan- 
 dria, who presently sent Caesar word of this 
 commotion ; who having in suspicion the rest- 
 less temper of the Jews for innovation, and 
 being afraid lest they should get together again 
 and persuade some others to join with tliem, 
 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 denomination from the occasion follow- 
 in<T: — Onias, the son of Simon, one of the 
 Jewish high-priests, fled from Antiochus the 
 king of Syria, when lie made war with the 
 Jews, and came to Alexandria ; and as Pto- 
 lemy received him very kindly on account of 
 his hatred to Antiochus, he assured 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 God according to the customs of 
 bis own country ; for that the Jews would 
 then be so much readier to fight against An- 
 tiochus, who had laid waste the temple at Je- 
 rusalem, 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. 
 
 3. So Ptolemy complied with his proposals, 
 and gave him a place one hundred and eighty 
 furlongs distant from Memphis.f That No- 
 
 mos was called 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 
 candlestick, for he did not make a candle- 
 stick, 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 encom- 
 passed 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 migiit have a plentiful pro- 
 vision made for them, and that God might 
 have great abundance of what things were ne- 
 I cessary for his worship. Yet 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 him- 
 self. There had been also a certain ancient 
 prediction made by a [prophet] whose name 
 was Isaiah, about six hundred years before, 
 that this temple should be built by a man that 
 was a Jew in Egypt.| And this is the liistory 
 of the building of that temple. 
 
 4. And now Lupus, the governor of Alex- 
 andria, upon the receipt of Csesar'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 God 
 there, so much as to come near the whole 
 sacred place ; but when he had shut up the 
 gates, he made it entirely inaccessible, inso- 
 much 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 three hundred and forty- 
 three years. 
 
 rains in Eg>pt, must mean the Proper or Upper Egypt, 
 because it does soiuetimes rain in tlie other parts, bee 
 the note on Anliq. b. ii, ch. vii, sect. 7 ; and b. iii, ch. 
 i, sect. 6. 
 
 • Of this temple of Onias"s building in Egypt, see 
 the notes on Anii(i. b. xiii, ch. iii, sect. 1 ; but whereas 
 it lb elsewhere, both of the War, b. i, ch. i, sect. I, and 
 in the Auti(i. as now quoted, said that this temple was 
 like to that at Jerusalem, and here that it was not like 
 it, but like a tower, sect 5, there is some reason to sus- 
 pect the reading here, and that either the negative par- 
 ticle is here to be blotted out, or the word entirely ad- 
 
 i We must obsen-e, that Josci)hus here speaks of 
 Antiochus, who profaned the ti-mple, as now alive, 
 when Onias had leave given him by Philometor to build 
 
 his temnle ; whereas it seems not to have been actually 
 built till about fifteen years afterwards. Vet, because 
 it is said in the Anti^. that Onias went to Philometor, 
 b. xii, ch. ix, sect. 7, during the life-time of that .Anti- 
 ochus, it is probable he petitioued, and perhaps obtain- 
 ed his leave then, though it were not actually built oi 
 finished till fifteen years afterward. 
 X Isa. xix, 18—23. 
 
WARS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 7S3 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CONCERNING JONATHAN, ONE OF THE SICARII, 
 THAT STIRRED UP A SEDITION IN CYRENE, 
 AND WAS A FALSE ACCUSER [OF THE INNO- 
 CENT]. 
 
 § 1. And now did the madness of the Sicarii, 
 like a disease, reacli as far as the cities of Gy- 
 rene ; 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 apparitions ; 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 
 informed 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 foot- 
 men, and easily overcame 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 devised a way where- 
 by he both escaped punishment himself, and 
 afforded an occasion to Catulius of doing 
 much mischief; for he falsely accused the 
 richest men among the Jews, and said that 
 tliey had put him upon what he did. 
 
 2. Now Catullus easily admitted of these 
 his calumnies, and aggravated matters greatly, 
 and made tragical exclamations that he might 
 also be supposed to have had a hand in tiie 
 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 Jo- 
 nathan, therefore, name one Alexander, a 
 Jew (with whom he had formerly had a quar- 
 rel, 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 'n the first place ; nay, 
 after them he caused all the rich and wealthy 
 Jews to be sladn, being no fewer in all than 
 three thousand. This, he thought, he might 
 do safely, because he confiscated their effects, 
 and added them to Cassar's revenues. 
 
 3. Nay, indeed, lest any Jews that lived 
 
 elsewhere should convict him of his villany, 
 he extended his false accusations farther, and 
 persuaded Jonathan, and certain otliers that 
 were caught with him, to bring an accusation 
 of attempts for innovation against the Jews 
 that were of the best character both at Alex- 
 andria and at Rome. One of these, ajrainst 
 whom this treacherous accusation was laid, 
 was Josephiis, the writer of these books. 
 However, this plot, thus contrived by Catul- 
 lus, 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 farther inquisition made as to 
 those lies that were forged under his govern- 
 ment, or by his means, yet did Vespasian sus- 
 pect the matter, and make 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 concern about the matter, and brought 
 a deserved punishment upon Jonathan ; for 
 he was first tormented, and then burnt alive. 
 4. 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 complicated and al 
 most 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 dis- 
 turbed, and continually cried out, that he saw 
 the ghosts of those whom he had slain stand- 
 ing before him. Whereupon he was notable 
 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 and worse continually, and his 
 very entrails were so corroded, that they fell 
 out of his body, and in that condition he 
 died. Thus he became as great an instance 
 of divine providence as ever was, and demon- 
 strated that God punishes wicked men. 
 
 5. And here we shall put an end to this 
 our history ; wherein we formerly promised 
 to deliver the same with all accuracy, to such 
 as should be desirous of understanding 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 de- 
 termination of the readers ; but for the agree- 
 ment with the facts, I shall not scruple to 
 say, and that boldly, that truth hath been 
 what 1 have alone aimed at through its entire 
 composition. 
 
 -T 
 
-/" 
 
 ANTIQUITY OF THE JEWS. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS 
 
 APION.* 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 §1.1 SUPPOSE that, by my books of the An- 
 tiquities of the Jews, most escoellent Epaphro- 
 ditus, f I have made it evident to tliose who 
 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 
 
 * This first book has a wrong title. It is not written 
 against Apion, as is the first part of the second book, 
 but against those Greeks in general who would not be- 
 lieve Josephus's former accounts of the very ancient 
 state of the Jewish nation, in his xx books of Antiqui- 
 ties ; and parlieularly against Agatharchides, Manetlio, 
 Clieremon, and Lysimachus. It is one of the most 
 learned, exoelient, and useful books of all antiquity; 
 and upon Jerome's perusal of ihis, and the following 
 books, he declares, that it seems to him a mu-aeulous 
 thin:; " 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 
 profane authors, as if lie had read over all the Grecian 
 libraries." Epist. 84. ad Magnum ; and the learned Jew, 
 Mauasseh-Ben-Israel, esteemed these Iwo books so ex- 
 cellent, as to translate them into the Hebrew; this we 
 leam from his own catalogue of his woiks, whii'h 1 have 
 seen. As to the time and place, when and where these 
 two books were written, the learned have not hitherto 
 been able to determine them any farther than that they 
 were written some time afler his Antiquities, or some 
 timeafter a. d. 93 ; which indeed is too obvious at tlicir 
 entrance to be overlooked by e\'en a careless peruser, 
 they being directly intended against those that would 
 not believe what he had advanced in those books con- 
 cerning the great anliquity of the .Jewish nation. As 
 to the place, tliey all im;igini.' that these two books were 
 written where the former were, 1 mean at Home; and 
 I confess, that 1 myself believed both those determina- 
 tions, till 1 came to tinish my notes upon these books, 
 when 1 met with plain indicitions that they v.ere writ- 
 ten not at Rome, but in Judea, and this alter the third 
 year of Trajan, or A. n. 1 00. 
 
 t Take iJr. Hudson's note here, which, as it justly 
 contradicts the common opinions that Joscphus either 
 died under Doniilian, or at least wrote nothing later 
 than his days, so does it perfectly agree to my own de- 
 termination, from Justus of Tibt'rii, that he wrote or 
 finished his own Life after the third of Trajan, or a. d. 
 100. To which Noldius also agrees, de Herod. No. 3'65. 
 
 declared how we came to inhabit this co'.intry 
 wherein we now five. Tliose Antiquities 
 contain the history of five thousand years, 
 and are taken out of our sacred books ; but 
 are translated by me into the Greek tongue. 
 However, since I observe a considerable num- 
 ber of people giving ear to the reproaches that 
 are laid against us by those v^'ho bear ill-will 
 to us, and will not believe what I have written 
 concerning the antiquity 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 fa- 
 mous historiographers among the Grecians, I 
 therefore have thought myself under an obliga- 
 tion to write somewhat briefly about these sub- 
 jects in order to convict those that reproach us 
 of spite and voluntary falsehood, and to correct 
 the ignorance 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 v^itnesses 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 trutii, and the most skilfid in the know. 
 ledge of all antiquity, by the Greeks them- 
 
 [Epaphroditus.'] " .Sines Flavius Joscphus {says Dr 
 Hudson) wrote [or finished] his books of .Antiquities 
 on the thirteenth of Domitian [a. d. 93], and after that 
 wrote the Memoirs of his own Life, as an appendix to 
 the books of Antiquities, and at last his two books 
 against Apion, and yet dedicated all those writings to 
 Lpaphrodilus, he can liardly be that Epaphroditus who 
 was formerly 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 Epaphro- 
 ditus, a freed-man, and procurator of Trajan, as say* 
 Groiius on Luke i, 3." 
 
■\- 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 7«0 
 
 selves. I will also show, that those who 
 linvc written so reproacli fully ami falsely about 
 us, are to be convicted by what they have 
 written themselves to the contrary. I shall also 
 endeavour to give an account of the reasons 
 •.vhy it hath so happened, that there hath not 
 been a great number of Greeks wlio have made 
 mention of our nation in their histories. I will 
 liowever, bring those Grecians to light who 
 have not omitted such our history, for the sake 
 of those that either do not kn.ow them, or pre- 
 tend not to know them already. 
 
 2. And now, in the first place, I cannot 
 but greatly wonder at those men, who sup- 
 pose that we must attend to none but Gre- 
 cians, when we are inquiring about the most 
 ancient facts, and must inform ourselves 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 in- 
 quiry after truth from facts themselves; for 
 they will find, that almost all which concerns 
 the Greeks happened not long ago ; nay, one 
 may say, is of yesterday only. I speak of 
 the building of their cities, the invention 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 acknowledge 
 themselves so far, that they were the Egyp- 
 tians, the Chaldeans, and the Phoenicians (for 
 I will not now reckon ourselves among them) 
 that have preserved the memorials of the most 
 ancient and most lasting traditions of man- 
 kind ; for almost all these nations inhabit 
 such countries as are least subject to destruc- 
 tion from the world about them ; and these 
 also have taken especial care to have nothing 
 omitted of what %vas [remarkably] done a- 
 mong them ; but their history wa^ esteemed 
 sacred, and put into public tables, as written 
 by men of the greatest wisdom they had a- 
 mong them ; but as for the place where the 
 Grecians inhabit, ten thousand destructions 
 have overtaken it, and blotted out the memo- 
 ry 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 diffi- 
 culty, that they came to know the letters 
 they now use ; for those who would advance 
 their use of these letters to tire greatest anti- 
 quity, pretend that they learned them from 
 the Phoenicians and i'rom Cadmus ; yet is 
 nobody able to demonstrate that they have 
 any writing preserved from tliat time, neither 
 in their temples, nor in any other public mo- 
 numents. 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 their 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 ancienter than Ho- 
 mer's Poems, who must plainly be confessed 
 later than the Siege of Troy • nay, the report 
 goes, that even he did not leave his poems in 
 writing, but that their memory was preserved 
 in songs, and they were put together after- 
 ward ; and this is the reason of such a num- 
 ber of variations as are found in them.* As for 
 those who set themselves about writing their 
 histories, I mean such as Cadmus of Miletus, 
 a:id Acusilaus of Argos, and any others that 
 may be mentioned as succeeding Acusilaus, 
 they lived but a little while before the Per- 
 sian expedition into Greece. But then for 
 those thatfiist introduced philosophy, and the 
 consideration of things celestial and divine 
 among them, such as Pherecydes the Syrian, 
 and Pythagoras, and Tliales, all with one con- 
 sent agree, that they learned what they knew 
 of the Egyptians and Chaldeans, and wrote 
 but little. And these are the things which are 
 supposed to be the oldest of all among the 
 Greeks; and they have much ado to believe 
 that the writings ascribed to those men are 
 genuine. 
 
 3. How can it then be other tlian an ab- 
 surd thing for the Greeks to be so proud, ana 
 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 manner . Nay, who 
 is there that cannot easily gather from the 
 Greek writers themselves, that they knew bat 
 little on any good foundation when tliey set 
 to write, but rather wrote their histories from 
 their own conjectures . Accordingly, they 
 confute one another in their own books to 
 purpose, and are not ashamed to give us the 
 most contradictory accounts of the same 
 things: and I siiould spend my time to little 
 purpose, if I should j)retend to teach the 
 Greeks that which they know bettur than I 
 already, what a great disagreement tlvere is 
 between Hellanicus and Acusilaus about their 
 genealogies ; in how many cases Acusilaus 
 corrects Hesiod : or after what manner Epho- 
 rus 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 later writers do to Herodotus ; f nor could 
 
 • This preservation of Homer's Poems by memory, 
 anil iiot by his own writing them clown, and that thcnee 
 they were styled Rhapsodies, as sung by him, like bal- 
 lads, by parts, and not composed and connected together 
 in oonipiete works-, are ojunions well known from the 
 ancient commentators ; tliough such s'lpposal seems to 
 myself, as well as to Fabricius, Biblioth. Groec. i, p. SJfiS, 
 and to others, highly improbable. Nor does Josephus 
 say there were no ancienter writings anio'.ig the Greeks 
 than Homer's Poems, but that they did not fully own 
 any anciencer writings pretending to such antiquity, 
 wiiich is true. 
 
 -(■ 1 1 well deserves to be considered, that Joscphns here 
 says, how all the following Greek historians looked ou 
 Herodotus as a faljulous author, and fre-scntly, sect. H, 
 
 ;j u 
 
786 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 k 
 
 Timeus agree with Antiochus and Philisiius, 
 or with Callias, about the Sicilian History, no 
 more than do the several writers of the Atthi- 
 da; follow one another about the Athenian 
 afl'airs ; nor do the historians the like, that 
 wrote the Argolics, about the afl'airs of the 
 Argivus. And now what need I say any more 
 about particular cities and smaller places, 
 'vhile in tlie most approved writers of the ex- 
 pedition 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 lalse, 
 altiiough he seems to have given us the ex- 
 actest history of the affairs of his own time. 
 
 4. As for the occasions of this so great dis- 
 agreement of theirs, there may be assigned 
 many tliat are very probable, if any have a 
 mind to mako an inquiry about them ; but f 
 ascribe these contradictions chiefly to two 
 causes, which I will no%v mention, and still 
 think what I shall mention in the first place, 
 to be the principal of all ; for if %ve remem- 
 ber, that in the beginning the Greeks had 
 taken no care to have public records of their 
 several transactions preserved, this must for 
 certain have afforded tliose that would after- 
 ward write about those ancient transactions, 
 the opportunity of making mistakes, and the 
 power of making lies also ; for this original 
 recording of such ancient tranfactions hath 
 not only been neglected by the other states of 
 Greece, but even among the Athenians them- 
 selves also, who pretend to be Aborigines, 
 and to have applied themselves to learning, 
 there are no such records extant; nay, they 
 say themselves, that the laws of Draco con- 
 cerning murders, which are now extant in 
 writing, are tlie most ancient of their public 
 records ; wliicii Draco yet lived but a little 
 time before the tyrant Pisistratus.* For as 
 to the Arcadians, who make such boasts of 
 llieir antiquity, what need I speak of them in 
 particular, since it was still later before they 
 got their letters, and learned them, and that 
 with difficulty also, 
 
 5. Tlicre must therefore naturally arise 
 great dillerences among writers, wlien they 
 
 how Manetho, the most authentic writer of the Egyyi- 
 tiau History, greatly complains of his mistaki-s in tht 
 Egyptian affairs ; as also that btrabo, b. xi, p. 5ii7, t!ie 
 most accurate geographer and historian, esteemed liim 
 such; that Xcnoplioii, the much more accurate histo- 
 rian in the afl'iirs of Cvrus, implies, that Herodotus's 
 account of Uiat great riian is almost entirely romantic. 
 See the notes on Antiq. b. xi, eh. ii, sect. 1, and Hutch- 
 inson's Prolegomena to his edition of Xcnophon's Kve" 
 Ilcuinct, that we have already seen in the note on An- 
 tiq. b. viii, ch. x, sect. 3, how very little Herodotus knew 
 about the Jewish aftairs and country, and th.it he greatly 
 aU'ected wh.it we call the Marvellirus, as Monsieur Uol- 
 lin h,!S lately and justly determined ; whence we are not 
 always to depend on the authority of Herodotus, where 
 it is unsupported by other evidence, but ovight to com- 
 pare the other evidence with his, and, if it prejionder- 
 ate, to prefer it iK-fore his. I do not me.-m by tWs, that 
 Herodotus wilfully related what he believed to be false 
 (as CtLsias seems to have done), but that he often want- 
 ed evidence, and sometimes preferred what was marvel- 
 lous to what was best attested as really true. 
 About tlie days of Cyrus and Daniel. 
 
 had no original records to lay for their foun. 
 dation, which might at once inform those who 
 had an inclination to learn, and contradict 
 those that would tell lies. However, we are 
 to suppose a second occasion besides the for- 
 mer of these contradictions; it is this : That 
 those who were the most zealous to write his- 
 tory, were not solicitous for the discovery cf 
 truth,f although it was very easy for them al- 
 ways to make such a profession ; but their 
 business was to demonstrate that they could 
 write well, and make an impression upon 
 mankind thereby ; 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 writ- 
 ing of fabulous narrations ; some of tliem en- 
 deavoured to please the cities or the kings, by 
 writing in their commendation ; others of 
 them fell to finding faults with traiisactions, 
 or with the writers of such transactions, and 
 thought to make a great figure 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 con- 
 cerned therein both speak and write the same 
 things ; while these men, by writing dilferent- 
 ly about the saine things, think they shall be 
 believed to write with the greatest regard to 
 truth. Vv'e therefore [who are Je"-s] must 
 yield to the Grecian writers as to language 
 and eloquence of composition ; but then we 
 shall give them no such preference as to the 
 verity of ancient history ; and least of all as 
 to that part which concerns the affairs of our 
 own several countries. 
 
 6. As to the care of writing down the re- 
 cords from the earliest antiquity among the 
 E""yptians and Babylonians; that the priests 
 were intrusted therewith, and employed a phi- 
 losophical 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 espe- 
 cially make use of their letters, both for the 
 common affairs of life, and for the delivering 
 down the history of common transactions, I 
 think I may omit any proof, because all men 
 
 f It is liorewell worth our observation, what the rea- 
 sons are that such ancient authors as Herodotus, Jo- 
 icphus, and others, ha\e been reail to so little pur- 
 pose by manv leanied critics; viz. That their main aim 
 has not been' chronology or history, but philology, to 
 know words, and not inings, they not much entering 
 oftentimes into the real contents of their authors, and 
 judging which were the most accurate discoverers of 
 truth, and most to be depended on in the several histo- 
 ries, but rather inquiring who wrote the finest styje, and 
 had the greatest elegance in their expressions ;*which 
 are things of small consequence im comparison with the 
 other. Thus you will sometimes find great debates 
 among the Icariied, whether Herodotus or Thucydides 
 «ere the finest historian in the Ionic and Attic ways ot 
 writing; which signify little as to the real value of each 
 of their histories ; while it would be of much more mo- 
 ment to let the reader know, that as the consequence ot 
 Herodotus's history, which begins so much earlier, and 
 reaches so much wider than that of Thucydides, is 
 therefore vastly greater: so is the most part of Thucy- 
 dides, which belongs to his own times, and fel. under 
 'his own ob.ervatioa, much the most ceitaiii. 
 
 I 
 
V- 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APIONT. 
 
 787 
 
 allow it so lo be ; but now as to our fore- 
 fathers, 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 ac- 
 curacy ; 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. 
 
 7. For our forefathers did not only appoint 
 the best of these priests, and those that attend- 
 ed upon the divine worsliip, for that design 
 from the beginning, but made provision that 
 the stock of the piiests should continue un- 
 mixed and pure ; for ho 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 genea- 
 logy from the ancient tal)Ies, and procure 
 many witnesses to it;* and this is our prac- 
 tice not only in Judea, but wheresoever any 
 body of men of our nation do live ; and even 
 there, an exact catalogue of our priests' mar- 
 riages is kept ; I mean at Egypt and at Ba- 
 bylon, or in any other place of the rest of the 
 habitable earth, whithersoever our priests are 
 scattered ; for they send to Jerusalem the an- 
 cient 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, agre.it many 
 of them already, when Antiochus Ejiiphanes 
 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 ge- 
 lealogy out of the old records, and examine 
 the circumstances of the women that remain ; 
 for still they do not admit of those that have 
 been captives, as suspecting that they had con- 
 versation with some foreigners.; but what is 
 the strongest argument of our exact manage- 
 ment in this nxatter is what I am now goino- 
 to say, that we have the names of our high- 
 priests, from father to son, set down in our 
 records, for the interval of two thousand 
 years ; and if any one of these have been 
 transgressors of these rules, they are prohibit- 
 ed to present themselves at the altar, or to be 
 partakers of any otiier 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 disagree- 
 ment in what is written ; they being only pro- 
 phets that have written the original and ear- 
 liest accounts of things as they learned them 
 
 » Of this accuracy of the Jews, before and in our 
 Saviour's time, in carefullv preserving their genealogies 
 all along, particularly those of the priests, see Josejiluis's 
 Life, sect. I. This aecuiacy seems to have emled at 
 the destruction of Jeriisalwii by Titus, or, howe\ i' at 
 that by Adrian. 
 
 of God himself by inspiration ; and others 
 have written what hath happened in their own 
 times, and that in a very distinct manner also. 
 8. For we have not an innumerable mul- 
 titude of books among us, disagreeing from 
 and contradicting one another [as the Greeks 
 have], but only twenty-two books,-f- which 
 contain the records of all the past times ; 
 which are jjstly believed to be divine ; and of 
 them, five belong to IMoses, which contain his 
 laws and the traditions of the origin of man- 
 kind till his death. This interval of time 
 was little short of three thousand years; but 
 as to the time from the death of Moses till the 
 reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, who reign- 
 ed 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 ex- 
 act succession of prophets since that time; and 
 how firmly we have given credit to tliose 
 books of our own nation, is evident by what 
 we do ; for during so many ages as have al- 
 ready passed, no one has been so bold as 
 either to add any thing to them, to take any 
 thing from tliem, or lo make any change in 
 them ; but it becomes natural to all Jews, im- 
 mediately 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 a- 
 gainst our laws and tiie records that contafi; 
 them ; whereas there are none at all amon"' 
 the Greeks who would undergo the least harm 
 on that account, no, nor in case all the writ- 
 ings that are among them were to be destroy, 
 ed ; for they take them to be such discourses 
 as are framed agreeably 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 enougli 
 to inform themselves about them from those 
 that knew them ; examples of which may oe 
 had in this late war of ours, where some per- 
 sons have written histories, and published 
 theiTi, without having been in the places con- 
 cerned, or having been near them when the 
 
 f Whieli were these twenty-two sacred books of tlie 
 Old Testament, see the .Supplement to the Essav on t!>e 
 Old Testament, p. '25—29, vh. those uc call canonical, 
 all excepting the C.-uiticles ; but .■-till with this farther 
 exception, that the first b.xil; of apocrypluil Esdras be 
 tTken into the number, instead of our canonical Eira, 
 which seems to be no more than a later epitome of the 
 other ; which two books of Canticles ai.d lizra, it uo way 
 appears that our Joseiihus ever saw 
 
 ~>_ 
 
J- 
 
 788 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPH US AGAINST APION. 
 
 actions were done; but these men put a few 
 things together by hearsay, and insolently 
 abuse the woiU), and call these writings by 
 the name of Histories. 
 
 9. As for myself, I have composed a true 
 history of tiiat whole war, and all the parti- 
 culars that occurred therein, as having been 
 concerned in all its transactions ; for I acted 
 as general of those among us that are named 
 Galileans, as long as it was possible for us to 
 make any opposition. 1 was then seized on 
 by the Romans, and became a captive. Ves- 
 pasian also and Titus had me kept under" a 
 guard, and forced me to attend them con- 
 tinually. At the first I was put into bonds; 
 but was set at liberty afterward, and sent to 
 accompany Titus when he came from Alex- 
 andria to the siege of Jerusalem ; during 
 which time there was nothing done which e- 
 scaped my knowledge; for what happened in 
 the Roman camp I saw, and wrote down 
 carefully; and what informations the deser- 
 ters brought [out of the city], I was the only 
 man that understood them. Afterward I got 
 leisure at Home; 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 compos- 
 ed tlie history of those transactions ; and 1 
 was so well assured of the truth of what I re- 
 lated, that I first of all appealed to those that 
 had the supreme command in that war, Ves- 
 pasian and Titus, as witnesses for me, for to 
 them I presented those hooks first of all, and 
 after them to many of the Romans who had 
 been in the war. I also sold them to many 
 of our own men who understood the Greek 
 pliilosophy ; among whom were Julius Ar- 
 clielaus, Herod [king of Chalcisi, a person of 
 great gravity, and king Agrippa himself, a 
 l*erson that deserved the greatest admiration. 
 Now all these men bore their testimony to 
 lue, 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. 
 
 10. 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 accusation and calumny 
 tl is ! since every one that undertakes to de- 
 liver the history of actions truly, ought to 
 know them accurately himself in the first 
 place, as either having been concerned in them 
 himself, or been informed of them by such 
 as knew them. Now, bath these methods of 
 knowledge I may very properly pretend to 
 in tiie composition of both my works ; for, 
 as I said, I have translated the Antiquities 
 out of our sacred books ; which I easily could 
 do, since 1 was a priest by my birtli, and 
 have studied that philosophy whicli is contain- 
 
 ed in those writings : and as for tlie History 
 of the War, I wrote it as having been an ac- 
 tor myself in many of its transac'.ions, an eye- 
 witness in the greatest part of the rest, and 
 was not unacquainted with any thing whatso- 
 ever that was either said or done in it. How 
 impudent then must those deserve to be es- 
 teemed, who undertake to contradii t me a- 
 bout the true state of those affairs ! who, al- 
 though they pretend to have made use of 
 both the emperors' ow# memoirs, yet they 
 could not be acquainted with our afJaii-s who 
 fought against them. 
 
 11. 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 suffi- 
 ciently declared that this custom of transmiv 
 ting down the histories of ancient times liatli 
 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 endea- 
 vour to prove that our constitution is but of 
 late time, for this reason, as they pretend 
 that the Greek writers have said nothing a- 
 bout us ; after w hich I shall produce testi- 
 monies 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. 
 
 12. As for ourselves, therefore, we neither 
 inhabit a maritime country, nor do we delight 
 in merchandise, nor in such a mixture with 
 other men as arises from it; but the cities 
 we dwell in are remote from the sea, and hav 
 ing a fruitful country for our habitatior, 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 ob- 
 serve the laws that have been given us, and 
 to keep those rules of piety that have been 
 defivered down to us. Since, therefore, be- 
 sides what we have already taken notice of, 
 we have had a peculiar way of living of our 
 own, there was no occasion offered us in an- 
 cient ages for intermixing among the Greeks, 
 as they had for mixing among the Egyptians, 
 by their intercouse of exporting and import- 
 ing their several goods; as they also nn'xed 
 with the Phoenicians, who lived by the sea- 
 side, by means of their love of lucre in trade 
 and merchandise. Nor did our forefathers 
 betake themselves, as did some others, to rob- 
 bery ; nor did thej', in order f) gain more 
 wealth, fall into foreign wars, altliough our 
 country contained many ten thousands of 
 iTicn of courage suflicient for that purpose ; 
 for this reason it was that the Phoenicians 
 themselves came soon by trading and naviga- 
 tion to l)e known to the Grecians, and by 
 their means the Egyptians became known to 
 the Grec'ans also, as did all those people 
 whence the Phoenicians in long voyages ovei 
 
ROOK I. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 789 
 
 the seas carried wares to the Grecians. The 
 Medes also and the Persians, wlien tliey 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 con- 
 tinent, [Europe]. The Thracians were also 
 known to them by the nearness of their coun- 
 tries, and Scythians by the means of those 
 that sailed to Pontus ; for it was so in gene- 
 ral that all maritime nations, and those that 
 inhabited near the eastern or western seas, be- 
 came most known to those that were desirous 
 to be writers ; but such as had their habita- 
 tions farther from the sea were for ihe most 
 part unknown to them : which things appear 
 to have happened as to Europe also, where 
 the city of Rome, that liath 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 Thucy- 
 dides, 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 ex- 
 act historians (and Ephorus for one) were 
 so very ignorant of the Gauls and the Spani- 
 ards, that he supposed the Spaniards, who in- 
 habit so great a part of the western regions 
 of tiie earth, to be no more than one city. 
 Those historians also have ventured to de- 
 scribe such customs as were made use of by 
 tliem, 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 na- 
 tion 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 ? 
 
 13. Let us now put the case, therefore, 
 that we made use of this argument concerning 
 the Grecians, in order to prove that their na- 
 tion 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 Plioenicians 
 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 towards us ; I mean this 
 as to the Egyptians, in general all of them, 
 while of the Phoenicians, it is known the Ty- 
 rians have been most of all in the same ill dis- 
 positioti towards 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 
 ■Tews in their records, on account of the kin- 
 dred there is between us. Now, when I sliall 
 have made my assertions good, so far as con- 
 cerns 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 ^iretence for contradicting what 
 I have said about our nation. 
 
 14. I shall begin with the writings of the 
 Egyptians ; not indeed of those that have 
 written in the Egyptian language, wliich it 
 is impossible for me to do. Rut Manetho 
 was a man who was by birth an Egyptian, 
 yet had he made himself master of the Greek 
 learning, as is very evident; for he wrote the 
 history of his own country in the Greek 
 tongue, by translating it, as he saith himself, 
 out of their sacred records: be also finds 
 great fault with Herodotus for liis ignorance 
 and false relations of Egyptian affairs. Now, 
 this Manetho, in the second book of his 
 Egyptian History, writes concerning us in 
 the following manner. 1 will set down his 
 very words, as if I were to bring the very 
 man himself into a court for a witness :— 
 " There was a king of ours, whose name was 
 Timaus. Under him it came to pass, I know 
 not how, that God was averse to us, and there 
 came, after a surprising manner, men of ig. 
 noble birth out of the eastern parts, and had 
 boldness enough to make an expedition into 
 our country, and with ease subdued it by 
 force, yet without our hazarding a battle with 
 them. So when they had gotten those that 
 governed us under their power, they after- 
 wards burnt down our cities, and demolished 
 the temples of the gods, and used all the in- 
 habitants after a most barbarous manner : nay, 
 some they slew, and led their children &nd 
 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 garrisons 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-ro- 
 ite], a city very proper for his purpose, and 
 wliich lay upon the Bubastic channel, but 
 with regard to a certain theologic notion was 
 called Avaris, tliis he rebuilt, and made very 
 strong by the walls he built about it, and by 
 a most numerous garrison of two hundred 
 and forty thousand armed men ivhom he put 
 into it to keep it. Tnither Salatis came in 
 summer-time, partly to gather his corn, and 
 pay his soldiers their wages, and partly to 
 exercise his armed men, and tiiereby to terrify 
 foreigners. When tliis man had reigned 
 thirteen years, after him reigned another, 
 whose name was Beon, for forty-four years ; 
 after him reigned another, railed Apac'inas, 
 
FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APJON. 
 
 790 
 
 thirty-six years and seven months ; after him 
 Apophis reigned sixty-one years, and then 
 Jonias fifty years and one month ; 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 
 
 BOOK 1. 
 
 thus called Shepherds, were also called Cap- 
 tives, in their sacred books." And this ac- 
 count of his is the truth ; for feeding of sheep 
 was the employment of our forefathers in the 
 mosc ancient ages ; f and as they led such a 
 wandering life in feeding sheep, they were 
 
 with the Egyptians, and were very desirous gra- called Shepherds. Nor was it without reason 
 dually to destroy them to the v$ry roots. This that they were called Captives by the Egyp- 
 whole nation was styled Hycscs, that is. Shop- tians, since one of our ancestors, Joseph, told 
 
 Iv'.rd-kings ; for the first syllable Hyc,accordin 
 to the sacred dialect denotes a king, as is Sos 
 a shepherd — but this according to the ordina- 
 ry dialect; and of these is compounded KycsOS: 
 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, de- 
 notes Captive Shepherds, and this on account of 
 the particle Hyc ; for that Hyc, with the aspi- 
 ration, 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 Ma- 
 netho goes on] : — " These people, whom we 
 have before named kings, and called shepherds 
 also, and their descendants," as he says, " kept 
 possession of Egypt five hundred and eleven 
 years." After these, he says, •' That the kings 
 of Thebais and of the other parts of Egypt 
 made an insurrection against the shepherds, 
 and that there a terrible and long war was 
 made between them." He says farther, " That 
 under a king, whose name was Alispliragmu- 
 thosis, the shepherds were subdued by liim, 
 and were indeed driven out of other parts of 
 Egypt, but were shut up in a place that con- 
 tained ten thousand acres : this place was 
 named Avaris." Manetho says," That the shep- 
 herds built a wall round all this place, whicli 
 was a large and strong wall, and this in order to 
 
 the king of Egypt that lie was a captive, J 
 and afterward sent for his brethren into E- 
 gypt by the king's permission ; but as for these 
 matters, I shall make a more exact inquiry 
 about them elsewhere. § 
 
 15. But now I shall produce the Egyptians 
 as witnesses to the antiquity of our nation. I 
 shall therefore here bring in Manetho again, 
 and what he write* 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 Jerusalem, Tethmosis the king of 
 Egypt, who drove them out, reigned after- 
 ward 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 Tethmosis, for nine years and eight 
 months ; after him came Amenophis, for 
 thirty years and ten mouths ; after him came 
 Orus, for thiriy-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 Acen- 
 cheres, for twelve years and five months; 
 
 keep all their possessions and their prey with- then came another Acencheres, for twelve 
 in a place of strength, but that Thummosis years and tliree months; after him Armais, 
 the son of Alisphragmuthosis made an at- ' for four years and one month ; after him was 
 tempt to take them by force and by siege, ! Harnesses, for one year and four months; af- 
 with fourliundred and eighty thousand men ter him came Armesses Miammoun, forsixty- 
 to lie round about them ; but that, upon his | six years and two months; after him Ame- 
 despair of taking the plac-e by that siege, they j nophis, for nineteen years and six months; 
 came to a composition with them, that they j after him came Sethosis, and Ramesses, who 
 should leave Egypt, and go without any harm had an army of horse, and a naval force. This 
 to be done them, withersoever they would ; king appointed his brother Armais, to be his 
 and that, after this composition was made, ' deputy over Egypt." [In another copy it 
 they went away with their whole families and i stood thus : — After him came Sethosis, and 
 effects, not fewer in number than two hundred Ramesses, two brethren, the former of whom 
 and forty thousand, and took their journey had a naval force, and in a hostile manner 
 from Egypt, through the wilderness, for Sy- | destroyed those that met him upon the sea ; 
 ria : but that, as they were in fear of the but as he slew Ramesses in no long time after- 
 Assyrians, who had then the dominion ' ward, so he appointed another of his brethren 
 over Asia, they built a city in tliat country to be his deputy over Egypt."] He also gave 
 which is now called Judea, and that large him all the other authority of a king, but with 
 enough to contain this great number of men, these only injunctions, that he should not 
 and called it Jerusalem."* Now Manetho, in I ^ q^,, ^ivi, 32, 34; xhii, 3, 4. 
 another book of his, says, " That this nation, ' t 1" our copies of the book of Genesis and of Jose- 
 
 phus, this Joseph never calls himself " a captive," when 
 
 he was wilh the king of Kgjpt, though he dots caH 
 
 • Here wo have an account of the first buikling of himself " a servant," " a sla\e," or " captive," many 
 
 the city of Jerusalem, according to Manetho, when the times in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, unda 
 
 Pliocnilian shtplierils were expelled out of Kgypt, about Josejih, sect. 1, II, 15, 1 1, 15, 16. 
 
 Uiirty-aevea j-cars before Abraham came out of Haran. { j 1 his is now wanting. 
 
BOOK I. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPIIUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 791 
 
 wear the diadem, nor be injurious to the queen, 
 the mother of his children, and that he should 
 not meddle with the other concubines of the 
 king; while he made an expedition against 
 Cyprus, and Phcenicia. and besides against the 
 Assyrians and the Medes. He then subdued 
 them all, some by his arms, some without 
 fiffhting, and some by the terror of Iiis great 
 army ; and being pufi'ed 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 
 alter some considerable time, Armais, who 
 was left in Egypt, did all those very things, 
 br way of opposition, which his brother liad 
 forbidden him to do, without fear ; for he 
 used violence to the queen, and continued to 
 make use of the rest of the concubines, with- 
 out sparing any of them ; nay, at the persua- 
 sion of his friends he put on the diadem, and 
 set up to oppose his brother; but then, lie 
 who was set over the priests of Egypt, wrote 
 letters to Sethosis, and informed him of all that 
 had happened, and how iiis brother had set up 
 to oppose him : he therefore returned back 
 to Pelusiuni immediately, and recovered his 
 kingdom again. The country also was call- 
 ed from his name Ejn/gt ; for Manetho says 
 that Sethosis himself was called Egyptus, as 
 was his brother Armais called Danaus." * 
 
 16. This is Manetho's account; and evi- 
 dent it is from the number of years by him set 
 down belonging to this interval, if they be sum- 
 med 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 three 
 liundrcd and ninety-three years before Danaus 
 came to Argos ; although the Ari^ives look 
 upon him f as their most ancient king. Ma- 
 netho, therefore, bears this testimony to two 
 points of the greatest consequence to our pur- 
 pose, and those from the Egyptian records 
 themselves. In the first place, that we came 
 out of another country into Egypt ; and that 
 withal our deliverance out of it was so an- 
 cient in time, as to have preceded the siege of 
 Troy almost a thousand years ; but then, as 
 to those things which Manetko adds, not from 
 the Egyptian records, but, as he confesses 
 
 » Of this Egyptian chronology of Manetho, as mis- 
 taken by Josevilius, and of these Plioenician sheyiherds, 
 as falsely supposed by him, and oihevs after him, to 
 have b en the Israelites in Egypt, see Essay on tlie Old 
 Testament, Appendix, p. ISi.'— 188. And note here, that 
 when Jcsephus tells us that the Greeks or Argives look- 
 ed on this Danaus as <>:»j;*ioTaT(!j, " a most ancient," 
 or " the most ancient" king of Argos, he need not be 
 supposed to mean, in the strictest sense, that they had 
 no one king so ancient as he; for it is certain that they 
 owned nine kings before him, and Inachns at the head 
 of them. See Authentic Records, part ii, page 985, 
 as Josephus could not but know very well ; but that he 
 was esteemed as very ancient by them, and that they 
 knew they had been first of all denominated " Danai" 
 from this very ancient king Danaus. Nor does this su- 
 perlative degree always nnply the " most ancient" of all 
 without exception, but is sometimes to te rendered 
 " very ancient" only, as is the ease in tlie lik&^uperla- 
 tive degrees of other words also. 
 
 ■f Hlb the preceding note. 
 
 himself, from sotne stories of ai\ uncertain ori- 
 ginal, I will disprove them hereafter particu- 
 larly, and shall demonstrate that they are no 
 better than incredible fables. 
 
 17. I will now, therefore, pass from these 
 records, and come to those that belong to the 
 Phoenicians, and concern our nation, and shall 
 produce attestations to wiiat I have said out of 
 them. There are then records among the Ty. 
 riaiis that take in the history of many years, 
 and these are public writings, and are kept 
 with great exactness, and include accounts ol 
 the facts done among them, and such as con- 
 cern their transactions with otlier nations also, 
 those I mean which were worthy of remem- 
 bering. Therein it was recorded that th« 
 temple was built by king Solomon at Jerusa- 
 lem, one hundred forty three-years and eiglit 
 months before the Tyrians built Carthage ; 
 and in their annals the building of our teropJe 
 is related : for Hirom, the king of Tyre, v/as 
 the friend of Solomon our king, and had such 
 friendship transmitted down to him from his 
 forefathers. He thereupon was ambitious to 
 contribute to the splendor of this edifice of 
 Solomon, and made him a present of one hun- 
 dred and twenty talents of gold. He also 
 cut down the most excellent timber out of that 
 mountain which is so called Libanus, and 
 sent it to him for adorning its roof. Solomon 
 also not only made him many other pre-ents, 
 by way of requital, but gave him a country 
 in Galilee also, that was called Chabulon j 
 but there was another passion, a philosopiiic 
 inclination of theirs, which cemented the 
 friendship that was betwixt them ; for they 
 sent mutual problems to one another, with a 
 desire to have them unriddled by each other ; 
 wherein Solomon was superior to Hirom, as 
 he was wiser than he in other respects ; and 
 many of the epistles that passed between tiiein 
 are still preserved among the Tyrians. Now, 
 that this may not depeiid on my bare word, 
 I will produce for a witness, Dius, one that 
 is believed to have written the Phoenician His- 
 tory after an accurate manner. This Dius, 
 therefore, writes, thus, in his Histories of tlie 
 Phoenicians : — " Upon the death of Abibalus, 
 iiis son Hirom took the kiiigdom. This king 
 raised banks at the eastern parts of the city, 
 and enlarged it ; he .tiso joined the temple of 
 Jupiter Olymjjius, ^shich stood before in an 
 island by itself, to the city, by raising a causey 
 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 farther, that 
 Solomon, when he was king of Jerusalem, 
 sent pr(jblerns to Hirom to be solved, and de- 
 sired he would send others back for him to 
 solve, and that he who could not solve tlw 
 problems proposed to him, should pay money 
 to him tliat solved them ; and when Hirom 
 
 I 1 Kings IX, 13 
 
 ^ 
 
792 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK 1. 
 
 had agreed to the proposals, but was not able 
 to solve the problems, he was obliged to pay 
 a great deal of money, as a penalty for the 
 same. As also they relate, that one Abde- 
 mon, a man of Tyre, did solve tlie problems, 
 and proposed others which Solomon could not 
 solve, upon which he was obliged to repay a 
 great deal of money to Hirom." These things 
 are attested to by Dius, and confirm what we 
 have said upon the same subjects before. 
 
 18. And now I shall add Menander the 
 Ephcsian, as an additional witness. This 
 Menander wrote the Acts that were done both 
 by the Greeks and Barbarians, under every 
 one of the Tyrian kings ; and had taken much 
 pains to learn their history out of their ovvn 
 records. Now, when he v/as writing about 
 those kings that had reigned at Tyre, he came 
 to Hirom, and says thus : — " Upon the death 
 of Abibalus, his son Hirom took the king- 
 dom ; 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 
 vfent and cut down timber from the moun- 
 tain 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 consecrated the temples of Her- 
 cules and Astarte. He first built Hercules's 
 temple, in the month Peritus, and that of As- 
 tarte when he made his expedition against the 
 Tityans, 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 Abderaon, who master- 
 ed the problems which Solomon, king of Je- 
 rusalem, had recommended to be solved." 
 Now the time from this king to the building 
 of Carthage, is thus calculated : — " Upon the 
 death of Hirom, Baleazarus 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 eldest of whom reigned twelve years : 
 after them came Astartus the son of Deleas- 
 tartus: he lived fifty-four years, and reigned 
 twelve years ; after him came his brotlier 
 Aserymus ; he lived fifty-four years, and 
 reigned nine years: he was slain by his bro- 
 ther Pheles, who took the kingdom and 
 reigned but eight months, though he lived 
 fitly years : he was slain by Ithobalus, the 
 priest, of Astarte, who reigned thirty-two 
 years, and lived sixty-eight years: he was 
 succeeded by his son Badezoius, who lived 
 f irty-five years, and reigned six years ; he was 
 succeeded by INIatgenus 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, 
 it) the seventh year of his reign, his sister tied 
 away from hiin, and built the city of Carthage 
 
 in Libya." So the whole tiine from the 
 reign of Hirom till the building of Carthage, 
 amounts to the sum of one hundred and fifty- 
 five years and eight months. Since then the 
 temple was built at Jerusalem in the twelfth 
 year of the reign of Hirom, there were from the 
 building of the temple until the building of 
 Carthage, one hundred forty-three years and 
 eight months. Wherefore, what occasion is 
 there for alleging any more testimonies out of 
 the Phcenician histories [on the behalf of our 
 nation], since what 1 have said is so thor- 
 oughly confirmed already ? and to be sure 
 our ancestors came into this country long be- 
 fore 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 Antiquities. 
 
 19. I will now relate what hath been v,-rit- 
 teii concerning us in the Chaldean histories ; 
 which records have a great agreement with 
 our books in other things also. Berosus 
 shall be witness to what [ say : he was by 
 birth a Chaldean, well known by the learned, 
 on account of his publication of the Chaldean 
 books of astronomy and philosophy among 
 tlie Greeks. This Berosus, therefore, follow- 
 ing the most ancient records of that nation, 
 gives us a history of the deluge of waters 
 that then happened, and of the destruction of 
 mankind thereby, and agrees with Moses's 
 narration thereof. He also gives us an ac- 
 count 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 cata- 
 logue of the posterity of Noah, and adds the 
 years of their chronology, and at length comes 
 down to Nabolassar, who was king of Baby- 
 lon, and of the Chaldeans. And when he 
 was relating the acts of this king, he describes 
 to us how lie sent his son Nabuchodonosor 
 against Egypt, and against our land, witli a 
 great army, upon his being informed that 
 they had revolted from him ; and how, by 
 that means, he subdued tliein all, and set our 
 tem])le that was at Jerusalem on fire; nay 
 and removed our people entirely out of their 
 own country, and transferred them to Baby- ' 
 Ion ; when it so happened 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 ex])loits all that 
 had reigned before him in Babylon and Ciial- 
 dea." A little after wliich, Berosus subjoins 
 what follows in liis History of Ancient 
 Times. 1 will set down Berosus's own ac- 
 counts, which are these: — " Wlien Nabo. 
 lassar, father of Nabuchodonosor, 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 
 
BOOK I. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 79S 
 
 bear it any longer; but committing certain 
 parts of liis army to his son Nahuchodonosor, 
 who was then but young, lie 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 Nabolassar 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 his father Nabolassar was dead, he 
 set the affairs of Egypt and the other coun- 
 tries in order, and committed the captives he 
 had taken from the Jews, and Pha-m'cians, 
 and Syrians, and of the nations belonging to 
 E;iypt, 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 Baby- 
 lon ; whither when he was come, he found 
 the public affairs had been managed by the 
 Chaldeans, and that tlie principal persons a- 
 mong them had preserved the kingdom for 
 him. Accordingly he now entirely obtained 
 all his father's dominions. He then came, 
 and ordered the captives to be jilaced as colo- 
 nies in the most proper jjlaces of Babylonia : 
 but for 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 old city, and added 
 another to it on the outside, and so far restor- 
 ed Babylon, that none who should besiege it 
 afterwards might have it in their power to di- 
 vert the river, so 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 add- 
 ed 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 require too long 
 a narration, if any one weie to describe it. 
 However, as prodigiously large and magnifi- 
 cent as it was, it was finished in fifteen days. 
 Now in this palace he erected very high 
 walks, supported by stone pillars, and by 
 planting what was called a pensile paradise, 
 and rejjlenishing it with all sorts of trees, he 
 rendered the prospect of an exact resemblance 
 of a mountainous country. This he did to 
 please his queen, because she had been brought 
 up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous 
 situation." 
 
 20. This is what Berosus relates concern- 
 ing the forementioned king, as he relates j 
 many otiier things about him also in the third 
 book of his Chaldean History ; wherein he I 
 complains of the Grecian writers for swppos- 1 
 ing, without any foundation, that Babylon I 
 
 was built by Semiramis,* queen of Assyria, 
 and for her false pretence to those wonderful 
 edifices thereto relating, as if they were her 
 own workmanship ; as indeed in these afiTairs 
 the Chaldean History cannot but be the most 
 credible. Moreover, we meet with a confir- 
 mation of what Berosus says, in the archives 
 of the Phoenicians, concerning this king Na- 
 buchodonosor, that he conquered all Syria and 
 Phoenicia ; in which case Philostratus agrees 
 with the others in that history which he com- 
 posed, 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 forementioned king of the Ba- 
 bylonians was superior to Hercules in strength 
 and the greatness of his exploits ; 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 Jerusa- 
 lem, that it was fought against by the Baby- 
 lonians, and burnt by them, but was opened 
 again when Cyrus had taken the kingdom of 
 Asia, shall now be demonstrated from what 
 Berosus adds farther upon that head ; for thus 
 he says in his third book :— " Nabuchodono- 
 sor, after he had begun to build the fore- 
 mentioned wall, fell sick, and departed this 
 life, when he had reigned forty-three years; 
 whereupon his son Evilmerodach obtained 
 the kingdom. He governed public aH'airs 
 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, Neriglissoor, 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 months ; 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 Na- 
 bonnedus, a man of Babylon, and one who 
 belonged to that insurrection. In his rei^n 
 it was that the walls of the city of Babylon 
 were curiously built with burnt brick and bi- 
 tumen ; but when he was come to the seven- 
 teenth year of his reign, Cyrus came out of 
 Persia with a great army ; and having already 
 conquered all the rest of Asia, became hasti- 
 ly to Babylonia. When Nabonnedus perceiv- 
 ed 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 Borsippu';. Hereupon Cyrus toot Ba- 
 bylon, and gave order that the outer walls of 
 
 • The great improvements that Nebuchadnezzar 
 made in the buildings at Babjlon, do no way contradict 
 those ancient and authentic testimonies which ascribe 
 its first building to Nimrod, and its first rebuilding te 
 Semiraiuis, as Berosus seems here to supixisek 
 3 X 
 
J^ 
 
 794 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK 1 
 
 the city should be demolished, because the 
 city had proved very troublesoine to him, and 
 cost him a great deal of pains to take it. He 
 then marched away to Borsippus, to besiege 
 Nab( nnedus ; but as Nabonnedus did i;ot 
 sustain the siege, but delivered liimself into 
 his hands, he was at first kindly used by Cy- 
 rus, who gave him Carmania, as a place for 
 him to inhabit in, but sent him out of Baby- 
 lonia. Accordingly Nabonnedus spent the 
 rest of his time in that country, and there 
 died." 
 
 21. These accounts agree with the true 
 history 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 year of the 
 reign of Cyrus, its foundations were laid, 
 and it was finished again in the second f 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 enumeration of the times of their 
 several kings: — " Nabuchodonosor besieged 
 Tyre for thirteen years in the days of Ithobal, 
 their king; after him reigned Baal, ten years; 
 after him were judges appointed, who jtidged 
 the people : Ecnibalus, the son of Balsacus, 
 two months ; Chelbes, 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 Balatorus reigned one year ; after his 
 death they sent and fetched Merbalus from 
 Babylon, who reigned four years ; after his 
 death they sent for his brother Hirom, who 
 reigned tv/enty years. Under his reign Cyrus 
 became king of Persia." So that the whole in- 
 terval is fifty-four years besides three months; 
 for in the seventh year of the reign of Ne- 
 buchadnezzar he began to besiege Tyre ; and 
 Cyrus the Persian took the kingdom in the 
 fourteenth year of Hirom. So that the re- 
 cords 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 v/hat I have 
 already said may be sufficient to such as are 
 not very contentious. 
 
 22. But now it is proper to satisfy the in- 
 quiry of those that dis>believe the records of 
 
 • This number in Jose])hus, that Nebuchadnezzar de- 
 stroyed the temple in the eighteenth year of his reign, 
 is a mistake in the nicety of chronology ; for it was in 
 the nineteenth. 
 
 \ The true numl>er here for the year of Darius, in 
 which the second temple was finished, whether ihe se- 
 cond with our present copies, or the sixth with that of 
 Svncellus, or the tenth with thatof Eusebius, is very un- 
 cc'itain; £0 we had best follow Josephus's own ai'count 
 elsewhere, .^ntiq b. xi, ch. iii, sect. 4, which shows us, 
 that according to his copy of the Old Testrnient, after 
 the second of Cyrus, that work was interrupted till the 
 lecond of Darius, when in seven years it was finished in 
 the ninth 01 Darius. 
 
 barbarians, and think none but Greeks to be 
 worthy of credit, and to produce many' of 
 these very Greeks who were acquainted with 
 our nation, and to set before 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 
 csteeined ji person superior to all philosophers, 
 in wisdom and piety towards God. Now it 
 is plain that he did not only know our doc- 
 trines, but was in very great measure a fol- 
 lower and admirer of them. There is not 
 indeed extant any writing that is owned for 
 his;:f but many there are who have written 
 his history, of whom Hermippus is the most 
 celebrated, who was a person very inquisitive 
 in all sorts of history. Now this Hermippus, 
 in his first book concerning Pythagoras, speaks 
 tints : — " That Pythagoras, upon the death of 
 one of his associates, whose name was Cal 
 liphon, 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 ; atid to abstain from all sorts of re- 
 proaches," 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 he 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 Gre- 
 cian 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 Ty- 
 rians 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 de- 
 voted 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 ron- 
 ccrning the Colchians. His words are these : 
 — " The only people who were circumcised in 
 their privy members originally, were the Col- 
 chians, the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians ; 
 but the Phoenicians and those Syrians that are 
 in Palestine, confess that they learned it from 
 tiie Egyptians ; and as for those Syrians who 
 live about the rivers Thermodon and Parthe- 
 nius, and their neighbours the Macrones, they 
 say they have lately learned it from the Col- 
 chians ; for these are tne only people that are 
 circumcised among mankind, and appear to 
 have done the very same thing with the Egyp- 
 
 X This is a thing well known by the leameil, that we 
 are not secure that we have any genuine writings of 
 1 ythagoras; those Golden Verses, which are his best 
 remains, being generally supposed to have been written 
 not by himsc'lf, but by some of his scholars only, iD 
 agreement with what Joscphus here atfirms of bia>> 
 
FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 793 
 
 tians ; but as for the Egyptians and Ethiopi- 
 ans themselves, I am not able to say which of 
 them received it from the other." This there- 
 fore is what Herodotus says, that " the Syri- 
 ans that are in Palestine are circumcised." 
 But there are no inhabitants of Palestine that 
 are circumcised excepting the Jews; and 
 therefore it must be his^ knowledge of them 
 that enabled hiin to speak so much concern- 
 ing them. Cherilus * also, a still ancienter 
 writer, and a poet, makes mention of our na- 
 tion, and informs us that it came to the as- 
 sistance of king Xerxes, in his expedition 
 against Greece; for in his enumeration of all 
 those nations, he last of all inserts ours amoivg 
 the rest, when he says:—" At the last there 
 passed over a people, wonderful to be beheld ; 
 for they spake the Phoenician 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 i'.ardened in the smoke." 1 
 think, therefore, that it is evident to every body 
 that Cherilus means us, lx;cause the Soly- 
 mean mountains are in our country, wherein 
 we inhabit, as is also the lake called Asphalti- 
 tis ; for this is a broader and larger lake than 
 any other that is in Syria : and thus does 
 Cherilus make mention 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 admired them 
 also, it is ea^jy for any one to know ; for Clear- 
 chus, who was the scholar of Aristotle, and 
 
 • Whether these verses of Cherilus, the heathen 
 poet, in the days of Xerxes, belong to the Solyini in 
 Pisidia, tliat were near a small lake, or to the Jews that 
 dwelt on the Solymean or Jerusalem moiintains, n^ar 
 the great and broad lake Asphaltitis, that were a strange 
 people, and spake the Phoenician tongue, is not aureed 
 on by the learned. It is yet certain that Josephus here, 
 and Eusebius (Prasp. ix, 9, p. 412) took tliem to be 
 Jews; and I confess I cannot but very much incline to 
 the same opinion. The other Solymi were not a strange 
 people, but heathen idolaters, like the other parts of 
 Xerxes's army; and that these spake the Phoenician 
 tongue, is next to impossible, as the Je*s certainly did ; 
 nor is there the least evidetice for it elsewhere. Nor 
 was the lake adjoining to the mountains of the Solymi 
 at all large or broad, in comparison of the Jewish lake 
 Asphaltitis ; nor indeed were these so considerable a 
 people as the Jews, nor so likely to be desired by Xerxes 
 fir his army as the Jews, lo whom he was always ve.y 
 favourable. As for the rest of Cherilus's description, 
 that " their heads were sooty; that they had round ra- 
 sures on their heads; that tneir heads and faces were 
 like nasty horse-heads, which had Ixca hardened in the 
 smoke ;' these awkward characters probably fitted the 
 Solymi of Pisidia no better than they did the Jews in 
 Judea ; and indeed this reproachful language, here given 
 these people, is to mea strong mdication that they were 
 the poor despicable Jews, aid not the Pisidian Solymi 
 eelebrated in Homer, whom Cherilus here describes ; 
 nor are we to expect that either Cherilus or Hecateus, 
 or any other Pagan writers cited by Josephus and Euse- 
 bius, made no mistakes in the Jewish history-. If by 
 comparing their testimonies with the morcauthentic re- 
 cords of that nation, we find them for the main to con- 
 firm the same, as we almost always do, we ought to be 
 satisfied, and not to expect that they ever had an exact 
 knowleilge of all the circumstances of the Jewish af- 
 f.iirs, whieii indeed it was almost always impossible for 
 them to have. — See sect. 23 
 
 inferior to no one of the Peripatetics whom- 
 soever, in his first book concerning sleep, says 
 that " Aristotle, his master, related what fol- 
 lows of a Jew," and sets down Aristotle's own 
 discourse with him. The account is this, 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 philosojijiy, it may not 
 be amiss to discourse of. Now, that I may 
 be plain with thee, Ilyperochides, 1 ahall 
 herein seem to thee to relate wonders, and 
 what will resemble dreams themselves. Here- 
 uuon Hyperocliides answered modestly, and 
 said, For that very reason it is that all of us 
 are very desirous of hearing 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 an account of the man, and of 
 what nation he was, that so we may not con- 
 tradict our master's directions. Then said 
 Hyperochides, Go on, if it so pleases thee. 
 This man then [answered Aristotle], was by 
 birth a Jew, and came from Celesyria ; these 
 Jews are derived from the Indian philoso- 
 phers ; they are named by the Indians Calami, 
 and by the Syrians Judcei, 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 c^ill it Jerusalem. 
 Now this man, when he was hospitably treat- 
 ed by a great many, came down from the up- 
 per country to the places near the sea, and be- 
 came a Grecian, not only in his language, bu: 
 in his soul also; insomuch that when we our- 
 selves 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 
 iiad lived with many learned men, lie com. 
 municated to us more information tliaii he re- 
 ceived 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 vv.iy of living, 
 as those that please may learn more about him 
 from Clearclius's book itself; for I avoid set- 
 ting down any more than is sufficient for my 
 purpose. Now Clearchus said this by way of 
 digression, for his main design was of another 
 nature; but for Hecateus of Abdcra, who was 
 both a philosopher, ana one very useful in an 
 active life, he was contemporary with king 
 Alexander in his youth, and afterward was 
 with Ptolemy, the son of Lagus ; he did not 
 "rite about the Jewish atVairs by the bye 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 Hecateus lived ; for he mentions th« 
 fi>iht that was between Ptolemy and Demelri 
 
J- 
 
 796 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 us about Gaza, which was fought in the e- 
 leventh year after the death of Alexander, 
 and in tlie hundred and seventeenth olym- 
 piad, as Castor says in his history. For 
 when he had set down this olympiad, he 
 says farther, tliat " on this olympiad Ptole- 
 my, the son of I>agus, beat in battle Deme- 
 trius, the son of Antigonus, who was named 
 Polioi'^etes, at Gaza. ' Now, it is agreed by- 
 all, that Alexander died in the hundred and 
 fourteenth olympiad ; it is therefore evident, 
 that our nation flourished in his time, and in 
 the time of Alexander. Again, Hecateus says 
 Xo the same purpose, as follows: — " Pto- 
 lemy got possession of the places in Syria after 
 the battle at Gaza ; and many, when they 
 fieard of Ptolemy's moderation and humanity, 
 went along with him to Egypt, and were wil- 
 ling to assist 1-im in his affairs ; one of whom 
 (Hecateus says) was Hezekiah,* the high- 
 priest of the Jews ; a man of aoout sixty-six 
 years of age, and in great dignity among his 
 own people. He was a very sensible man, 
 and could speak 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 af- 
 fairs, and were in number not above fifteen 
 hundred at the most." Hecateus mentions this 
 llezekiah 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 ail the circumstances of their people ; 
 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 tiling ra- 
 ther than transgress thein, because we think 
 it right for us to do so." Whereupon he 
 adds, that •' although they are in a bad repu- 
 tation among their neighbours, and among all 
 those that come to them, and have been often 
 treated injuriously by the kings and gover- 
 nors 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 thein, and they 
 are brought to the most terrible kinds of 
 death, they meet them after a most extraor- 
 dinary manner, beyond all other people, and 
 will not renounce the religion of tlieir fore 
 fathers." Hecateus also jiroducts doinonstra 
 lions not a few of this their resolute tena- 
 ciousness of their law s, 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 soldier, in general to 
 
 • 'Diis Hezekiah, who is here calkcl a high-priest, is 
 not named in Joscphus's catalogue; the real high-priest 
 at that lime being rather Onias, as Archbiahop U»her 
 supposes. However, Josephus often uses the word 
 high- 1)1 ititi in the plural number, as living many at 
 the same time, bee the note on Antic), b. xx, ch. viii, 
 tceC & 
 
 bring earth thither. But the Jews, and they 
 only, would not comply with that command ; 
 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 farther, tliat " when the 
 Macedonians came to them into that country, 
 and demolished the [old] temples and tlie al- 
 tars, they assisted them in demolishing them 
 all ; f but [for not assisting them in rebuild- 
 ing them] they either underwent losses, oi 
 sometimes obtained forgiveness." He adds 
 farther, that " these men deserve to be admir- 
 ed on that account." He also speaks of the 
 mighty populousness of our nation, and says, 
 that " the Persians formerly carried away 
 many ten thousands of our people to Baby- 
 lon, as also that not a few ten thousands were 
 removed after Alexander's death into Egypt 
 and Phoenicia, by reason of the sedition that 
 was arisen in Syria." The same person takes 
 notice in his history, how large the country is 
 which we inhabit, as well as of its excellent 
 character, and says, that " the land in which 
 the Je"s inhabit contains three millions of 
 arourae, I 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 excel- 
 lent structure, and very large, and inhabited 
 from the most ancient times. He also dis- 
 courses of the multitude of men in it, and of 
 the construction of our temple, after the fol- 
 lowing manner : — " Tiiere are many strong 
 places and villages (says he) in the country of 
 Judea ; but one strong city there is, about 
 fifty furlongs in circumference, which is in- 
 liabited by a hundred and twenty thousand 
 men, or thereabouts : § they call it Jerusalem. 
 
 t So I read the text with Havercamp, though the 
 pla'ju be difiieult. 
 
 ; This number of arourse or Egyptian acres, 5,000,000, 
 each aroura containing a square of one hundied Egy{>- 
 tiau cubits (being about three quarters of an English 
 acre, and just twice the aren of the court of the Jewish 
 tabernacle), as contained in the country of Judea, will 
 be about one-third of the entire nun ber of arourte m 
 the whole land of Judea; supposing it one hundred and 
 sixty measured miles long, and seventy sudi miles 
 broad; which tstunation, lor the fruitful parts of it, as 
 perhaps here in Hecateus, is not therefore very wide 
 from the truth. 1 he fifty furlongs in compass for the 
 city .lerusalein presently are not very wide from the 
 truth al;>o, as Josephus himself describes it, who, of the 
 War, b. V, eh. iv, sect, .i, makes its wall thirty-three 
 fui longs, btoides the suburbs and gardens ; nay, he says, 
 b. \ , ch xii, sci-t. -, Jill Titua's wall about it at some 
 Miiall distance, after the gardens and suburbs weie ae- 
 s royed, was not Itss tlsan thirty-nine furlongs. Nor 
 perhaps were ita ccusuu.t iuhab.tants, in the days of 
 Hecateus, manv more than these l'-'0,000, because room 
 wa.; always to lie left for vastly greater numbers w ieh 
 cuiiie uii at the three great festivals ; tu say nothing of ihe 
 probable increase in their number between the days of 
 Hecateus and Josephus, which was at least three bun- 
 dled years; but see a more auihentic account of some 
 of these measures in mv Descrijition of the Jewish 
 Temples. However, we' are not to expect that such 
 heathens as Cherilus or hecateus, or the rest that are 
 cited by Josephus and Eusebius, could avoid making 
 many mistakes in the Jewish history, while yet they 
 strongly conarm tlie same history iu the general, and 
 , arc most valuable atteslafions to those more authentic 
 accounts we have in the Scriptures and Josephus eou- 
 ocrning them. 
 
 5 bee the .ibo\e note. 
 
"V. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 797 
 
 There is about the middle of the city, a wall 
 of stone, the length of which is five hundred 
 feet, and the breadth a hundred cubits, with 
 double cloisters ; wherein there is a square 
 altar, not made of hewn stone, but coniposed 
 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, botli of 
 gold, and in weight two talents; upon these 
 there is a light that is never extinguisiied, nei- 
 ther by night nor by day. There is no image, 
 nor anything, nor any donations therein ; no- 
 thing at all is there planted, neitlier grove, 
 nor any thing of that sort. The priests abide 
 therein both nights and days, performing cer- 
 tain 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 far- 
 ther what he says he learned when he was him- 
 self with the same army, concerning the ac 
 tions 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, wliose 
 name was Mosollam ; he was one of the Jew- 
 ish horsemen who conducted us; he 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 observing an augury by a 
 bird, and requiring them all to stand still, in. 
 quired what they staid for. Hereupon the 
 augur showed him the bird from whence he 
 took his augury, and told him that if the bird 
 staid where he was, they ouglit all to stand 
 still ; but that if he got up, and flew onw^ird, 
 they niu5t go forward; bat that if he flew 
 backward, they must retire again. Mosollam 
 made no rejiiy, hut 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 them 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 himself? for 
 had he been able to foreknow what was fu- 
 ture, he would not have come to this place, 
 bv.it would have been afraid lest Mosollam the 
 
 husband Demetrius, while yet Seleucus would 
 not marry her as she expected, but during the 
 time of his raising an army at Babylon, stir- 
 red up a sedition about Antioch ; 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 comply with a dream which for- 
 bade her so to do, and so was caught and put 
 to death." When Agatha: ehides had pre- 
 mised this story, and had jested ujx)n Stra- 
 tonice for her superstition, he gives a like ex- 
 ample of what was reported concerning us, 
 and writes thus; — " There are a people call- 
 ed Jews, who dwell in a city the strongest of 
 all other cities, which the inhabitants call Je- 
 rusalem, and are accustomed to rest on every 
 seventh day;* on which times they make no 
 use of their arms, nor meddle with husban- 
 dry, nor take care of any affairs of life, but 
 spread out their hands in their holy places, 
 and pray till the evening. Now it came tn 
 pass, that when Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, 
 came into this city with his army, these men, 
 in observing this mad custom of theirs, in- 
 stead of guarding the city, suffered their 
 country to submit itself to a bitter lord ; and 
 tlieir law was openly proved to have com- 
 manded a foolish practice.-f This accident 
 taught all otlier men but the Jews to disre- 
 gard such dreams as these were, and not to 
 follow the like idle suggestions delivered as a 
 law, when, in sucli uncertainty of human 
 reasonings, thej are at a loss what they should 
 do." Now this our procedure seems a ridi- 
 culous thing to Agatharchides, but will ap- 
 pear 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 towards God, before 
 the preservation of themselves and their coun- 
 try. 
 
 23. Now, that some writers have omitted 
 to mention our nation, not because they knew 
 nothing of us, but because they envied us, or 
 for some other unjustifiable reasons, I think 
 I can demonstrate by particular instances ; 
 foi Hieronymus, who wrote the History of 
 [ Alexandti's] Successors, lived at the same 
 time with Hecateus, and was a friend of 
 king Antigonus, and president of Syria. 
 Now, it is plain that Hecateus wrote an en- 
 tire book concerning us, while Hieronymus 
 
 Jew would shoot at him, and kill him." But never mentions us in his history, although he 
 
 of Hecateus's testimonies we have said 
 nougli ; 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 aH'airs of Stratonice, " how she came i 
 
 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 remem- 
 
 • A glorious testimony this of the observation of the 
 Sabbath by the Jews. See Antiq. b. xvi, ch. ii, se*.^. 
 4 ; and ch. vi, sect. 2 ; the Life, sect 5i ; and War, b. 
 iv, ch. ix, sect. 12. 
 
 t Not their law, but the superstitious interpretatioE 
 »-, ,.. „. ,,,., of their leaders, which neither the Maccal)ees uor oui 
 
 ©ut 01 Macedonia into Syria, and left her blessed Saviour did ever approve of. 
 
 ■\— 
 
798 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEl'HUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 bered, as some ill-disposed passion blinded 
 tlie other's mind so entirely, that he could 
 not diseern the truth. And now certainly 
 the foregoing records of the Egyptians, and 
 Chaldeans, and Phoenicians, together with so 
 many of the Greek writers, will be sufficient 
 for the demonstration of our antiquity. More, 
 over, besides those forementioned, Thcophi-- 
 Ills, and Tiieodotus, and Mnaseas, and Aris- 
 topiianes, and Hermogenes, Euhemerus also, 
 and Conon, and Zopyrion, and perhaps many 
 others (for I have not lighted u[X)n all the 
 Gieek books) have madedistinct mention of us. 
 It is true, many of the men befcrementioneil 
 have made great mistakes about the true ac- 
 counts of our nation in the earliest times, be- 
 cause they had not perused our sacred books ; 
 yet have they all of them afforded their testi- 
 mony to our antiquity, concerning wliich I 
 am now treating. However, Demetrius 
 Plia'ereus, and the elder Pliilo, with Eupo- 
 lemus, have not greatly missed the truth a- 
 bout our afi'airs; whose lesser mistakes ought 
 therefore to be forgiven them; for it was not 
 in their power to understand our writings 
 with the utmost accuracy. 
 
 S4. One particular there is still remaining 
 behind of what I at first proposed to speak 
 to, and that is to demonstrate that those ca- 
 lumnies and reproaches, which some have 
 throw^n upon our nation, are lies, and to make 
 use of those writers' own testimonies against 
 themselves : and that in general this self-con- 
 tradiction hath happened to many other 
 iuthors by reason of their ill-will to some 
 people, I conclude, is not unknown to such 
 as have read histories with sufficient care ; 
 for some of them have endeavoured to dis- 
 grai<e the nobility of certain nations, and 
 of some of the most glorious cities, and have 
 cast reproaches upon certain forms of govern- 
 ment. Thus hath Theopompus abused the 
 city of Athens, Polycrates that of Lacede- 
 nion, as hath he that wrote the Tripoliticus 
 (for he is not Theopompus, as is supjxised by 
 some) done by the city of Thebes. Timeus 
 also 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 greatest 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 remember- 
 ed 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 ma- 
 lignity. 
 
 25. Now the Egyptians were the first that 
 cast reproaches upon us; in order to please 
 wnich nation, some others undertook to per- 
 vert 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 departure thence ; and in- 
 
 "V 
 
 deed the Egyptians took many occasions to 
 hate us and envy us : in the first place, be- 
 cause our ancestors had had the dominion 
 over their country,* and when they were de- 
 livered from them, and gone to their own 
 country again, they lived there in prosperity. 
 In the next place, the difference of our reli- 
 gion from theirs hath occasioned great enmi- 
 ty between us, while our way of divine wor- 
 ship did as much exceed that which their 
 laws appointed, as does the nature of God 
 exceed that of brute beasts; for so far they all 
 agree through the whole country, to esteem 
 such animals as gods, although they difl'er 
 from one another in the peculiar worship they 
 sevendly pay to them ; and certainly men they 
 are entirely of vain and foolish minds, who have 
 thus accustomed themselves from the begin- 
 ning to have such bad notions concerning 
 their gods, and could not think of imitatincr 
 that decent form of divine worship which we 
 made use of, though, when they saw our in 
 stitutions approved of by many others, they 
 could not but envy us on that account ; for 
 some of tliem have proceeded to that degree 
 of folly and n^eanness in their conduct, as not 
 to scruple to contradict their own ancient re- 
 cords, nay, to contradict themselves also in 
 their writings, and yet were so blinded by 
 their passions as not to discern it. 
 
 26. 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.f He promised 
 to interpret the Egyptian history out of their 
 sacred writings, and premised this : that " Our 
 people had come into Egypt, many ten thou- 
 sands in number, and subdued its inhabi- 
 tants ;" and when he had farther confessed, 
 that " We went out of that country afterward, 
 and settled in that country which is now called 
 Judea, and there built Jerusalem and its tem- 
 ple." Now thus far he followed his ancient 
 records ; but after this he permits himself, in 
 order to appear to have written what rumours 
 and reports passed abroad about the Jews, 
 and introduces iiicredible narrations, as if he 
 would have the Egyptian 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 
 
 • The I'hwnician shepherds, whom Josejihus mis- 
 took fur the Israelites, h-ee tlio note on sett. 16. 
 
 t In reading this and the remaining sections of this 
 book, and some parts of the iitxt, one may easily per- 
 ceive that our usually cool and candid author, Josephuf , 
 was too highly otleiu'.ed with the iminident c;tlunuiics of 
 Manetho, and the other bitter 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 con- 
 sequence he does not hear reason with liis usual fairness 
 and impartiality ; he seems to depart sometimes from he 
 brevity and sincerity of a faithful historian, which is his 
 grand character, and indulges the prolixity and colours 
 of a pleader and a disputant : accordingly, 1 confess, I 
 always read these sections with less pleasure, than I do 
 Ihe rest of his writings, though I fully believe the re- 
 proaches cast on the Jews, which he here endeavours 
 to confute and expose, were wholly groundless and ud- 
 reasonable. 
 
 r 
 
f' 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 799 
 
 together; for he mentions AmenophJs, a fic- 
 titious 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 tlien 
 ascribes certain fabulous stories to this kvng, 
 as having in a manner forgotten how he had 
 already related that the departure of the shep- 
 herds for Jerusalem had been five hundred 
 and eighteen years before ; for Tethmosis 
 was king when tiiey went away. Now, from 
 his days, the reigns of the intermediate kings, 
 according to Manetho, amounted to three hun- 
 dred and ninety-tiiree years, as he says him- 
 self, till the two brothers Sethos and Herme- 
 us ; the one of whom, Sethos, was called by 
 tliat other name of Egyptus ; and the other, 
 Hermeus, by that of Danaus. He also says 
 tJiat 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 Manetho therefore had acknowledged 
 that our forefathers were gone out of Egypt so 
 many years ago lie 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 desire to his name- 
 s.ke Amenophis, who was the son of Papis, 
 and one that seemed to partake of a divine 
 nature, both as to wisdom and the knowlcilge 
 Q^ futurities." Manetho adds, "How this | 
 namesake of his told him that he might see 
 the gods, if he would clear the whole country 
 o( the lepers and of the other impure people ; 
 that the king was pleased with this injunction, 
 and got together all that had any defects in 
 their bodies out of* Egypt, And that their 
 number was eighty thousand ; whom he sent 
 to those quarries which are on the east side 
 of tlie Nile, that they might work in them, 
 and might be separated from the rest of the 
 Egyptians." He says farther, 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 
 liim and at the king, if there should appear 
 to have been violence offered them ; who also 
 added this farther [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 pos- 
 session thirteen years : that, however, he durst 
 not tell the king of these things, but that he 
 left a writing behind him about all those mat- 
 ters, 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 setapart the city Avaris, 
 
 sire he granted them. Now this cily, accord- 
 ing 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 ap- 
 pointed themselves a ruler out of the priests 
 of Heliopolis, whose name was Osarsiph, and 
 they took their oaths that they would be obe- 
 dient 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 sliould abstain from any one of those sa- 
 cred 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 cus- 
 toms 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 am- 
 bassadors to those shepherds who had been 
 driven out of the land by Tethmosis to the city 
 called Jerusalem ; whereby he informed them 
 of his own affairs, and of tlie state of those 
 others that had been treated after such an ig- 
 nominious manner, and desired that they 
 would come with one consent to his assistance 
 in this war against Egypt. He also promised 
 that he would, in the first place, bring them 
 back to their ancient city and country Avaris, 
 and provide a plentiful maintenance for their 
 multitude; that he would protect them and 
 fight for them as occasion should require, and 
 would easily reduce the country under their 
 dominion. These shepherds were all very 
 glad of tliis message, and came away with 
 alacrity all together, being in number two 
 hundred thousand men ; and in a little time 
 they came to Avaris. And now Amenophis 
 the king 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 Egyp- 
 tians, and took counsel with their leaders, and 
 sent for their sacred animals to him, especially 
 the priests distinctly, that they should hide 
 for those that were principally worshipped in 
 the temples, and gave a particular charge to 
 the images of their gods with the utmost 
 care. He also sent his son Sethos, who was 
 also named Kamesses from his father Rham- 
 pses, being but five years old, to a friend of 
 his. He then passed on with the rest of the 
 Egyptians, being three hundred thousand of 
 the most warlike of them, against the ene- 
 my, who met them. Yet did he not join 
 
 • This is a very valuable testimony of Manetho, 
 that the laws of Osarsiph, or Moses, were not made in 
 
 which was then left desolate of the she-uherds, compliance with, but in opposition to, the customs or 
 for their habitation and protection ; wmch de- J '^ur^"' "^ '^' "°'^ °" ''°"''- ^- '"' '^ '^ 
 
800 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 battle \vith tliem ; but thinking that would 
 be to fiyht against the gods, lie returned back 
 and came to Memphis, where he look Ajiis 
 and the other sacred animals which he had 
 sent for to him, and presently marclied into 
 Ethiopia, together with his whole army and 
 multitude of Egyptians ; for the king of E- 
 thiopia was under an obligation to him, on 
 which account lie received him, 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 beginning 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 state of things in Ethiopia. But 
 
 28. Now, for the first occasion of this fic- 
 tion, -Alanctho supposes what is no better 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 af- 
 ter what manner they had been seen, inso- 
 much that he did not stand in need of any 
 new artifice for obtaining this sight. How- 
 ever, the prophet by whose means the king 
 thought to compass his design was a w ise man. 
 
 for the people of Jerusalem, when they came If so, how came he not to know that such liis 
 down together with the polluted Egyptians, desire was impossible to be accomplished ? 
 they treated the nie'n in such a barbarous for the event did not succeed. And what 
 manner, that those who saw how they sub- pretence could there be to suppose that the 
 dued the forementioned country, and the hor- I gods would not be seen by reason of the peo- 
 
 rid 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 
 oriests and prophets to be the executioners and 
 murderers of those animals, and then eject- 
 ed them naked out of the country. It was also 
 reported that the priest, who ordained their 
 polity and their laws, was by birth of He- 
 liopolis ; 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." 
 
 27. This is what the Egyptians relate a- 
 boui the Jews, with much more, m hich I omit 
 for the sake of brevity. But still Manetho 
 goes on, that " After this, Amenophis re- 
 turned from Ethiopia with a great army, as 
 did his son Rhampses with another army al- 
 so, and that both of them joined battle with 
 
 pie'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 eighty 
 thousand lepers and those in an ill state also, 
 how is it possible to have them gathered to- 
 gether in one day ? nay, how caine the king 
 not to comply with the prophet ? for his in- 
 junction 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 far- 
 ther, that " This prophet slew himself, as 
 foreseeing the anger of the gods, and those 
 events which were to come upon Egypt af- 
 terward ; and that he left this prediction for 
 the king in writing. ' Besides, how came it 
 to pass that this prophet did not foreknow 
 iiis 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 judgments 
 that were not to happen in his life-time ; or 
 
 the shepherds and the polluted people, and ; wiiat uorse thing could he suffer, out of the 
 beat them and slew a great many of them, I fear of which lie made haste to kill himself? 
 and pursued them to the bounds of Syria."! But now let us see the silliest thing of all: 
 These and the like accounts are written by — the king, although he had been informed 
 Manetho. But I will demonstrate that he of these things, and terrified with the fear of 
 trifles, and tells arrant lies, after 1 have made j what was to come, yet did not he even then 
 a distinction which will relate to vvhat I am I eject these maimed people out ol" his country, 
 going to say about him ; for this Manetho liad j when it had been foretold him that he was to 
 granted and confessed that this nation was clear Egypt of them ; but, as Manetho says, 
 not originally Egyptian, but that they had " He then, upon their request, gave them 
 
 " " that city to inhabit, which had formerly be- 
 longed to the siiepherds, and was called A- 
 
 come from anotl;er country, and subdued E 
 gypt, and then went away again out of it. But 
 
 that those Egyptians who were thus diseased 
 in their bodies were not minjjied with us af- 
 
 varis ; whither when they were gone 
 crowds (he says) they chose one that had 
 
 terward, and that Moses w ho brought the ; formerly been priest of Heliopolis ; and tliat 
 people out was not one of tijal companj", hut this priest first ordained that they should neJ- 
 lived many generations eailier, I sliall eiidea- tlier worship the gods, nor abstain from those 
 vour to demonstrate from JNIaneUio's own 
 acccunis themselves. 1 • ^;r By Jujiiter. 
 
 J- 
 
J ~ 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 SOI 
 
 animals that were worshipped by the Egyp- 
 tians, but should kill and eat them all, and 
 should associate with nobody but those that 
 had conspired with tj^em ; and that he bound 
 the multitude 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 promised to give them A- 
 varis; for that it had belonged to the fore- 
 fatliers of those that were coming from Jeru- 
 salem, and 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 two hundred thousand men, and that Ame- 
 nophis, the king of Egypt, not thinking that 
 he ought to fight against the gods, ran away 
 presently into Ethiopia, and committed Apis 
 and certain other of their sacred animals to 
 the priests, and commanded them to take 
 care of preserving them." He says further, 
 that " the people of Jerusalem came accord- 
 ingly upon the Egyptians, and overthrew 
 their cities, and burnt their temples, and 
 slew their horsemen, 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 fa- 
 tal 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 pursued them as far as the bounds of 
 Syria." 
 
 29. Now Manetho does not reflect upon 
 the improbability of his lie; for the leprous 
 people, and the multitude that was with them, 
 although they might formerly have been an- 
 gry at the king, and at those that had treated 
 them so coarsely, and this according to the 
 prediction of the prophet ; yet certainly, 
 when lliey were come out of the mines, and 
 had received of the king a city, and a coun- 
 try, they would have grown milder towards 
 him. However, had they ever so much hat- 
 ed hiiii in particular, they might have laid a 
 private plot against himself, but would hardly 
 h;ive made war against all the Egyptians ; 1 
 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 have 
 had 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 Mane- 
 
 tho, that he does not lay the principal charge 
 of this horrid transgression upon those that 
 came from Jerusalem, but says that the E- 
 gyptians 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 friend- 
 ship, I pray, or what relation was there for- 
 merly between them that required tliis assist- 
 ance ? On the contrary, these jjcople were 
 enemies, and greatly difiered from them in 
 their customs. He says, indeed, thiit they 
 complied immediately, upon their promising 
 them that they should conquer Egypt; as if 
 they did not themselves very well know that 
 country out of whicli 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 tlian 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 en- 
 dure, they should run such hazards in assist- 
 ing them ? For they could not foresee that 
 the king would run away from them ; on the 
 contrary, he saith hinriself, that " Ameno- 
 phis's son had three hundred thousand men 
 with him, and met them at Pelusium." Now, 
 to be sure, those that came could not be ig- 
 norant of this; but for tiie king's repentance 
 and flight, how could they possibly guess at 
 it ? He then says, that " those who came from 
 Jerusalem, and made this invasion, got the 
 granaries of Egypt into their possession, and 
 perpetrated many of the most horrid actions 
 there." And thence he reproaches them, as 
 though he had not himself introduced tliem 
 as enemies, or as though he might accuse 
 such as were invited from another place for 
 so doing, when the natural Egyptian-, them- 
 selves had done the same things before their 
 coming, and had taken oaths so to do. How. 
 ever, " Amenophis, some time afterward, 
 came upon them, and conquered them in a 
 battle, and slew his enemies, and diove ihera 
 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, wlien 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 did get their other forces 
 ready for their defence ! but that he followed 
 them over the sandy desert, and slew them as 
 far as Syria ; while yet it is not an easy tiling 
 
802 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPIIUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 HOOK I. 
 
 for an army to pass over tliat country, even 
 without fighting. 
 
 30. Our nation, therefore, according to Ma- 
 netho, was not derived from Egypt, nor were 
 any of the Egyptians mingled with us ; for it 
 is to be supposed, that many of tlie 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 after- 
 ward, and more still in the last battle and 
 flight after it. 
 
 31. It now lemains that I debate with Ma- 
 netho about Moses. Now the Egyptians ac- 
 knowledge him to have been a wonderful, 
 and a divine person ; nay, they wouM wil- 
 lingly lay claim to him themselves, though 
 after a most abusive and incredible manner; 
 and pretend that he was of Hcliopolis, and 
 one of tht priests of that place, and was eject- 
 ed out of it among the rest, on account of his 
 leprosy ; although it had l)een demonstrated 
 out of their records, that he lived five hundred 
 and eighteen 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 diseases be healed, and he recover his 
 natural constitution again, he appointed them 
 certain purifications, and washings with 
 spring-water, and the shaving ott' all their hair, 
 and enjoins that they shall offer many sacri- 
 fices, and those of several kinds, and then at 
 length, to be admitted into the holy city; al- 
 though it were to be expected that, on the 
 contrary, if he had been under the same cala- 
 mity, he should have taken care of such per- 
 soub beforeiiand, and have had them treated 
 aftei- a kinder manner, as affected with a con- 
 cern for those tliat were to be under the like 
 misfortunes 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 ofliciate as 
 priests; nay, although any priest, already initi- 
 ated, 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 reproach and 
 damage who so ordained ihcm ? Nor indeed 
 is that oilier notion of Manetho at all pro- 
 bable, wherein he relates the change of his 
 name, and says, that "he was formerly called 
 Osars'ph ;" and this a name no way agree- 
 able to the other, while his true name was 
 
 Moiises, and signifies a person who is pre. 
 served out of the water, for the Egyptians 
 call water INIoii. I think, therefore, I have 
 made it sufficiently evident that Manetho, 
 while he followed his ancient records, did not 
 much 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 elsB 
 gave credit to some men who spake so, out o« 
 their ill-will to us. 
 
 32. And now I have done with Manetho, 
 I will inquire into what Cheremon says; foi 
 he also, when he pretended to write the Egyp 
 tian history, sets down the same name foi 
 this king that Manetho did, Amenophis, as 
 also of his son Ramesses, and then goes on 
 thus : — " The goddess Isis appeared to Ame- 
 nophis in his sleep, and blamed him that her 
 temple had been demolished in the war : but 
 that Phritiphantes, the sacred scribe, said to 
 him, that in case he w-ould purge Egypt of 
 the men that had pollutions ii|)on them, he 
 should be no longer troubled with such fright- 
 ful apparitions. That Amenophis according, 
 ly chose out two hundred and fifty thousand 
 of tliose that were thus diseased, and cast 
 them out of the country : that Moses and Jo- 
 seph were scribes, and Joseph was a sacred 
 scribe; that their names were Egyptian ori- 
 ginally ; that of Moses had been Tisithen, 
 and that of Joseph, Peteseph : that these two 
 came to Pelusium, and lighted upon three 
 hundred and eiglity thousand that had beea 
 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 at- 
 tacks, 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 Mcsse- 
 ne, and who, when he was grown up to man's 
 estate, pursued the Jews into Syiia, being 
 about two hundred thousand mtn, and then 
 received his father Amenophis out cf Etliio- 
 pia." 
 
 33. This is the account Cheremon gives 
 us. Now, I take it for granted, that wliat 1 
 have said alieady hath plainly pioved tlie fal- 
 sity of both these narrations ; for had there 
 been any real truth at the bottom, it was im- 
 possible that they should so greatl.y disagree 
 about the particulars ; but for those that in- 
 vent lies, what they write will easily give us 
 very different accounts, while they forge what 
 they please, out of their own heads. Now, 
 Manetho sajs that the king's desire of seeing 
 tlie gods was the origin of the ejection of the 
 polluted people; but Clierenion feigns that it 
 was a dream of his own, sent upon him by 
 Isis, that was the occasion of it. Manetho 
 says that the person who foreshowed this pur- 
 gation of Egypt to the king, was Amcuojpbis; 
 
 s 
 
■^ 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEl'HUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 803 
 
 but this mail says it was Phritiphantes. As 
 to tlie numbers of the multitude that were ex- 
 pelled, lliey agree exceedingly well,* the for- 
 mer reckoning them eighty thousand, and the 
 latter about two hundred and fifty thousand ! 
 Now, for Manetbo, he describes 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 light- 
 ed upon three hundred and eighty thousand 
 men about Pelusium, who had been left there 
 by Amenophis, and so they invaded Egypt 
 with them again ; that thereupon Amenophis 
 fled into Ethiopia ; but then, this Cheremon 
 commits a most ridiculous blunder in not in- 
 forming us who this army of so many ten 
 thousands were, or whence they came ; whe- 
 ther they were native Egyptians, or whether 
 they came from a foreign country. Nor in- 
 deed has this man, who forged a dream from 
 Isis about the leprous people, assigned tlie 
 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 four generations f before 
 Moses ; which four generations make almost 
 one hundred and seventy years. Besides all 
 this, Raraesses, the son of Amenophis, by 
 Manetho'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 Ijorn in a certain cave, after his fa- 
 ther was dead, and that he then overcame the 
 Jews in battle, and drove them into Syria, 
 being in number about two hundred thousand. 
 O the levity of the man ! for he neither told 
 us who these three hundred and eighty thou- 
 sand vere, nor how the four hundred and 
 thirty tliousand perished ; whether they fell in 
 war, or went over to Ramesses; 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 ap- 
 plies that denomination, whether to the two 
 hundred and fifty thousand leprous people, or 
 to the three hundred and eighty thousand that 
 were about Pelusium. But perhaps it will 
 be looked upon as a silly thing in me to make 
 any larger confutation of such writers as suf- 
 ficiently confute themselves ; for had they 
 been only confuted by other men, it had been 
 more tolerable. 
 
 34. I shall now add to these accounts 
 about Manetho and Cheremon, somewhat 
 
 * By way of irony. I suppose. 
 
 t Here we see that Josephus esteemed a generation 
 between Joseph and Moses to be about 42 or 43 years ; 
 which, if taHen between the earlier children, woU^grees 
 with the duration of human life in those ages. See 
 Authent. Rcc. part ii, pages 966, 1019, 102a 
 
 about Lysimachus, who hath taken the same 
 topic of falsehood with those foreinentioned 
 but hath gone far beyond them in the incre- 
 dible nature of his forgeries ; which plainly 
 demonstrates that he contrived them out of 
 his virulent hatred of our nation. His words 
 are these : — " The people of the Jews being 
 leprous and scabby, and subject to certain 
 other kinds of distempers, in the days of Boc- 
 choris, king of Egypt, they fled to the tem- 
 ples, and got their food ti)ere by begging ; 
 and as the numbers were very great that were 
 fallen under these diseases, there arose a scar- 
 city in Egypt. Hereupon Bocchoris, the king 
 of Egypt, sent some to consult the oracle of 
 [Jupiter] Hammon about this scarcity. Tiie 
 god's answer was this, that he [nust purge his 
 temples of impure and impious men, by ex- 
 pelling them out of those temples into desert 
 places ; but as to the scabby and leprous peo- 
 ple, he must drown them, and purge his tem- 
 ples, tlie 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 attendants 
 upon their altars, and ordered them to make 
 a collection of the impure people, and to de- 
 liver them to the soldiers, to carry them away 
 into the desert; but to take the leprous peo- 
 ple, and wrap them in sheets of lead, and let 
 thein down into the sea. Hereupon the scab- 
 by and leprous people were drowned, and 
 the rest were gotten together, anfd sent into 
 desert places, in order to be exposed to de- 
 struction. 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 advised them that they should venture 
 upon a journey, and go along one road till 
 they s-hould come to places tit for habitation : 
 tliat he charged them to have no kind regards 
 for any 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 con- 
 sent, and did what they had resolved on, and 
 so travelled over the desert. But that the 
 difficulties of the journey being over, they 
 caine to a country inhabited, and that there 
 they abused the men, and plundered and burnt 
 their temples, and then came into that land 
 which is called Judea, and there they built a 
 city, and dwelt therein, and that their city 
 was named Hicrosyla, from this their robbing 
 of the temples; but that still, upon the suc- 
 cess they had afterwards, they through course 
 of time changed its denomination, that it 
 miyht not be a reproach to thera, and called 
 
 -^-^ 
 
804 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK IL 
 
 tlie city Hieroaolt/ma, and themselves Hieroso- 
 Ij/mites." 
 
 35. Now this man did not discover and 
 mention t!ie same king with the others, but 
 feigned a newer name, and passing by the 
 dream and the Egyptian prophet, he brings 
 him to [Jupiter] Hammon, in order to gain 
 oracles about the scabby and leprous people ; 
 for he says that the multitude of Jews were 
 gathered togetlier at the temples. Now, it is 
 uncertain whether he ascribes this name to 
 these lepers, or to those that were subject to 
 such diseases among the Jews only ; for lie 
 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, whj- 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 stil! so great a multi- 
 tude 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 temple which hath been so famous 
 among all mankind ? And besides, he ought 
 to have spoken more about our legislator tiian 
 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 as- 
 signed the reasons why lie undertook to make 
 such laws concerning the gods, and concern- 
 ing matters of injustice 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 with 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 impla- 
 cable war against all men, in case they had 
 acted as wickedly as he relates of them, and 
 tJiis while they wanted the assistance of all 
 men, this demonstrates a kind of mad con- 
 duct indeed ; but not of the men themselves, 
 but very greatly so of him that tells such lies 
 about them. He hath also impudence enough 
 to say that a name, implying " Robbers of the 
 temples," • was given to their city, and that 
 this name was afterward changed. The rea- 
 son of which is plain, that the former name 
 brought reproach and hatred upon them in the 
 times of their j)osterity, while, it seems, thu:>e 
 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 un- 
 derstand that robbery of temples is not ex- 
 pressed 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 arisen to a competent length, I 
 will make another beginning, and endeavour 
 to add what still remains to perfect my de.iign 
 in the following book. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 § 1. In the former book, most honoured Epa- 
 phroditus, I have demonstrated our antiquity, 
 and confirmed the truth of what I have said, 
 from the writings of the Phoenicians, and 
 Clialdeans, and Egyptians. I have, more- 
 over, produced many of the Grecian writers, 
 as witnesses thereto. I have also made a re- 
 futation of Manetho and Cheremon, and of 
 certain others of our enemies. I shall now-f- 
 therefore begin a confu:ation of the remaining 
 authors who have written any thing against 
 
 • That is the meaning oi Hiercsyla in Greek, not in 
 Hebrew. 
 
 t The former part of this second book is written 
 against the calumnies of Apion, anil then more briefly 
 against the like calumnies of Apollonius Molo. But 
 after that, Josephus leaves off any more particular re- 
 ply to those adversaries of the Jews, and gives us a large 
 and excellent description and vindication of that theo- 
 cracy which was settled for the Jewish nation by Moses, 
 Uieir great legislator. 
 
 us ; although I confess I have had a doubt 
 upon me about Apion \ the grammarian, 
 whether I ought to take the trouble of confut- 
 ing him or not ; for some of his writings con- 
 tain much the same accusations which the 
 others have laid against us, some things that 
 he hath added are very frigid and contemp- 
 tible, and for the greatest part of what lie 
 says, it is very scurrilous, and, to speak no 
 more than the plain truth, it shews him to 
 be a very unlearned person, and what he lays 
 together, looks like the work of a man of very 
 bad m.orals, 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 orations than 
 by what is written with care, and take plea- 
 
 X Called by Tiberius Cymbalmn Mumi, The drnm 
 of the world. 
 
 U- 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 V 
 
 805 
 
 sure in reproaching other men, and cannot I sure that was, because being a younger man 
 abiilc to hear tliem commen-ded, I thought it himself, he believed those that by their elder 
 
 to be necessary not to Jet this man go off 
 without examination, who had written such 
 an accusation 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 deliglited when they see a man who 
 lirst began to reproach another, to be himself 
 exposed to contempt on account 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, amidst a great confusion 
 and disorder in his falsehoods, to produce, in 
 the first place, such things as resemble wiiat 
 we have examined already, and relate to the 
 departure of our forefathers out of Egypt ; 
 and, in the second place, he accuses those 
 Jews that are inhabitants of Alexandria ; as, in 
 tlie third place, he mixes with tliese things 
 such accusations as concern the sacred puri- 
 fications, with the other legal rites used in the 
 temple. 
 
 2. Now, although I cannot but think that 
 I have already demonstrated, and that abun- 
 dantly, more than was necessary, that our 
 fathers were not originally Egyptians, nor 
 were thence expelled, either on account of 
 bodily diseases, or any other calamities of 
 that sort, yet will I briefly fake 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 Helio- 
 poli;, and that he thought himself obliged to 
 follow the customs of his forefathers, and 
 offered his prayers in the open air, towards 
 the city walls ; but that he reduced them all 
 to be directed towards the sun-rising, 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 fill 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 we have given us by 
 this great 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 who came 
 after him should make such a one. Moreover, 
 when in a future age Solomon built his tem- 
 ple in Jerusalem, he avoided all such needless 
 decorations as Apion liath here devised. He 
 
 age were acquainted and conversed witli him. 
 Now, this [manl, grammarian as he was, could 
 not certainly tell which was the poet Plomer's 
 country, no more than he could which was the 
 country of Pythagoras, who lived comparative- 
 ly but a little while ago ; yet does he tlius easily 
 determine the age of Moses, who preceded them 
 such a vast number of years, as depending on 
 his ancient men s relation, which shows how 
 notorious a liar he was. But then as to this 
 chronological determination of the time when 
 he says he brought the leprous people, the 
 blind, and the lame, out of Egypt, see how 
 well this tT!Ost accurate grammarian of ours 
 agrees with those that have written before him! 
 Manetho says that the Jews departed out oi 
 Egypt, in the reign of Tethmosis, three hun- 
 dred and ninety-three years before Uanaiis fled 
 to Ariios ; Lysimachus says it was under king 
 Bocchoris, that is, one thousand seven hun- 
 dred years ago ; Molo and some others deter- 
 mined 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 Piioeni- 
 cians. The reason why he added this build- 
 ing of Carthage was, to be sure, in order, as 
 he thouglit, to strengthen his assertion by so 
 evident a character of chronology. But he 
 was not aware that this character confutes his 
 assertion ; for if we tnay give credit to the 
 Phoenician records as to the time of flie first 
 coming of their colony to Carthage, they re- 
 late that Hirom their king was above one 
 hundred and fifty years earlier than the build- 
 ing of Carthage ; concerning whom I liave 
 formerly produced testimonials out of those 
 Phoenician records, as also that this Hirom 
 was a friend of Solomon when he was build- 
 ing the temple of Jerusalem, and gave him 
 great assistance in his building that temple ; 
 while still Solomon himself built that temple 
 six hundred and twelve years after the Jewg 
 came out of Egypt. As for the number of 
 those that were expelled out of Egypt, lie hath 
 contrived to have the very same number with 
 Lysimachus, and says they were a hundred and 
 ten thousand. He then assigns a certain 
 wonderful and plausible occasion for the 
 name of Sabbath ; for he says, that " wlien the 
 Jews had travelled a six days' journey, they 
 had buboes in their groins : and that on this 
 account it was that they rested on the seveath 
 day, as having got safely to that country which 
 is now called Judea ; that then they preserved 
 
 says farther, "How he had heard of the ancient Uhe language of the Egyptians, and called 
 men, that Moses was of Heliopolis." To be that day the Sabbath, for that malady of bu- 
 
 * Thic o„„.... ^ u v u £ . J- , .> . u , boes in their groin was named Sabbatosis by 
 » This seems to have been the first dial that had i • ., « j u 
 
 been made in Kijvpt, and was a httle before the time ;tho Egyptians. And would not a man now 
 
 that A.haz made his [first] dial in Judea, and about^inno Jaurrh at this fellow's trifling, or rather hate 
 /A5, lu thefarstyearof iheseventholympiad.asweshall ,. ° , . .. , i 1.7 
 
 ?ee presently. See 2 Kings xx, 11 ; Isa. xxxvi" s. .his iminidence in wntnig thus .' We must, it 
 
 V_ ^ , ._ 
 
806 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 seems, take it for granted, that all these hun- 
 dred and fen thousand men must have these 
 buboes ! But, for certain, if those men iiad 
 been blind and lame, and had all sorts of dis- 
 tempers upon them, as Apion says they had, 
 tliey 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 conquer those that opposed them, 
 they had not all of them had buboes in their 
 groins after the sixth day was over; for no 
 such distemper comes naturally and of neces- 
 sity upon those that travel ; but still, when 
 there are many ten thousands in a camp to- 
 gether, they constantly march a settled space 
 [in a day]. Nor is it at all probable that 
 such a thing should happen by chance; this 
 would be prodigiously absurd to be supposed. 
 However, our admirable author Apion hath 
 before told us, that " they came to Judea 
 in six days' time;" and again, that "Moses 
 went up to a mountain that lay between E- 
 gypt and Arabia, which was called Sinai, and 
 was concealed there forty days, and that when 
 he came down from thence he gave 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 
 lime to pass all over the country between 
 tliat and Judea in the six days? And as for 
 this grammatical translation of the word Sab- 
 bath, it either contains an instance of his great 
 impudence or gross ignorance ; for the words 
 Sci'/bo and Sabbath are widely different from 
 one another; for the word Sabbath in the 
 Jewish language denotes rest from all sorts of 
 work ; but the word Sabbo, as he affirms, de- 
 notes among the Egyptians the malady of a 
 bubo in the groin. 
 
 3. 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 us about our fore- 
 fathers, when he affirms them to be of Egyp- 
 tian original, when he lies also about himself ? 
 for altliough 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 for- 
 swear his real country and progenitors, and 
 by falsely pretending to be born at Alexan- 
 dria, cannot deny tiie pravity of his family ; 
 for you see bow justly he calls those Egyp- 
 tians whom he hates, and ejideavours to re- 
 proach ; for had he not deemed Egyptians 
 to be a name of great reproach, he would not 
 have avoided the name of an Egyptian liim- 
 self; as we know that those who brag of their 
 own countries, value themselves upon the de- 
 nomination liiey acquire thereby, and reprove 
 such as unjustly lay claim thereto. As for 
 the Egyptians' cluini 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 ap- 
 pellation against us [that we were originally 
 Egyptians], in order to bestow it on the Alex- 
 andrians as a reward for the privilege they had 
 given him of being a fellow. citizen with 
 them ; he also is apprised of the ill-will the 
 Alexandrians bear to those Jews who are 
 their fellow-citizens, and so proposes to him- 
 self *J reproach them, although he must there- 
 l)y i.iclude all the other Egyptians also ; while 
 in both cases he is no better then an imjui- 
 dent liar. 
 
 4. 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 neighboi"-- 
 hood 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 country [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 impeachment, this is a mark 
 of their valour • but in reality it was Alexan- 
 der himself that gave them that place for their 
 habitation, when they obtained equal privi- 
 leges there with the Macedonians. Nor can 
 I devise what Ajiion 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 denomination ol 
 Macedonians given them till this very day [as 
 they have]. Had this man now read the epis- 
 tles of king Alexander, 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 pri- 
 vileges which the great [Julius] Caesar be- 
 stowed upon the Jews ; had this man, I say, 
 known these records, and yet hath the impu- 
 dence to write in contradiction to them, he 
 hath shown himself to be a wicked man ; but 
 if he knew nothing of these records, he hath 
 shewn liimself 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 ail sucii 
 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 tliem to their new habitations, 
 And what occasion is tliere to speak of others, 
 when those of us Jews that dwell at Antioch 
 are named Antiochians, because Seleucus the 
 founder of that city gave them the privileges 
 belonging thereto? After the like manner do 
 those Jews that inhabit Ephesus and the othel 
 
 » The burial-place for dead bodies, as I «uj)pos& 
 
 I 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 807 
 
 cities of Ionia enjoy the same name with those | ed person of his age, and the others, such as 
 that were originally born there, by the grant of I were entrusted with the guard of his body, 
 the succeeding princes ; nay, the kindness and i should take the care of this matter : nor would 
 humanity of the Romans hath been so great, , he certainly have been so desirous of learning 
 that it hath granted leave to almost all others ; our law and the philosophy of our nation, 
 to take the same name of Romans upon them ; had he despised the men that made use of it, 
 1 mean not particular men only, but entire or had he not indeed had them in great ad- 
 and large nations themselves also; for those miration. 
 
 anciently named Iberi, and Tyrrheni, and Sa- 5. Now this Apion was unacquainted with 
 bini, are now called Romani : and if Apion almost all the kings of those Macedonians 
 reject this way of obtaining the privilege of a whom he pretends to have been his progeni- 
 citizen of Alexandria, let him abstain from tors, — who were yet very well affected to >■• a rds 
 calling himself an Alexandrian hereafter ; for us; for the third of those Ptolemies, wJio 
 otherwise, how can he who was born in the was called Euergetes, when he had gotten 
 very heart of Egypt be an Alexandrian, if possession of all Syria by force, did not off-r 
 thisway of accepting such a privilege, of which his thank-offerings to the Egyptian gods for 
 he would have us deprived, be once abrogat- his victory, but came to Jerusalem, and, ac- 
 ed ? Although indeed these Romans, who are cording to our own laws, offered many sacri- 
 now the lords of the habitable earth, have for- fices to God, and dedicated to him such gifts 
 bidden the Egyptians to have the privileges as were suitable to such a victory : and as for 
 of any city whatsoever, while this fine fellow, Ptolemy Philometor and his wife Cleopatra, 
 who is willing to partake of such a privilege, they committed their xvhole kingdom to Jews, 
 himself as he is forbidden to make use of, en-; when Onias and Dosithcus, both Jews, wliose 
 deavours by calumnies to deprive those of it: names are laughed at by Apion, were the ge- 
 that have justly received it; for Alexander nerals of their v/hole army; but certaii;ly 
 did not therefore get some of our nation to instead of reproaching them, he ought to ad- 
 Alexandria, because he wanted inhabitants mire their actions, and return them thanks 
 for tliis his city, on whose building he had for saving Alexandria, whose citizen he pre- 
 bestowed so much pains ; hut this was given tends to be; for when these Alexandrians 
 to our people as a reward ; because he had, ' were making war with Cleopatra the queen, 
 upon a careful trial, found them all to have ' and were in danger of being utterly ruined, 
 been men of virtue and fidelity to him; for, these Jews brought them to terms of agree- 
 as Hecateus says concerning us, " Alexander \ ment, and freed them from the miseries of a 
 honoured our nation to such a degree, that, ' civil war. " But then (says Apion) Onias 
 for the equity and the fidelity which the Jews brought a small army afterward upon the city 
 had exhibited to him, he permitted tliem to at the time when Tliermus the Roman am- 
 hold the country of Samaria free from tribute. ! bassador was there present." Yes, do I ven- 
 Of the same mind also was Ptolemy the son : ture to say, and that he did rightly and vtry 
 of Lagus, as to those Jews who dwelt at justly in so doing; for that Ptolemy wl;o was 
 Alexandria." For he intrusted the fortresses called Physco, upon the death of lus brother 
 of Egypt into their hands, as believing they | Philometor, came from Cyrene, and would 
 would keep them faithfully and valiantly for ! have ejected Cleopatra as well as her sons out 
 him ; and when he was desirous to secure the of their kingdom, that he might obtain it for 
 
 government of Cyrene, and the other cities of 
 LJbya to himself, he sent a party of Jews to 
 inhabit them. And for his successor Ptolemy, 
 who was called Philadelphus, he did not only 
 set all those of our nation free, who were 
 captives under him, but did frequently * give 
 money [for their ransomj ; and, what was liis 
 greatest work of all, he had a great desire of 
 knowing our laws, and of obtaining the books 
 of our sacred scriptures: accordingly he de- 
 sired that such men might be sent him as 
 
 himself unjustly. I For this cause then it was 
 that Onias undertook a war against him ou 
 Cleopatra's account; nor would he desert 
 that trust the royal family had reposed in him 
 in their distress. Accordingly, God gave a 
 remarkable attestation to his righteous proce- 
 dure ; for when Ptolemy Piiysco^ had the 
 presumption to fight against Onias's army, 
 and had caught a!i the Jews that were in the 
 city [Alexandria], with their children and 
 wives, and exposed them naked and in bonds 
 
 might interpret our law to him ; and in order | to his elephants, that they might be trodden 
 
 to have them well compiled, he committed 
 that care to no ordinary persons, but ordained 
 that Demetrius Phalereus, and Andreas, and 
 Aristeas; the first, Demetrius, the most learn- 
 
 * For ToWeLxi;, or frequently, I would here read 
 v«XX.a, a great deal of money ; for we indeed read, both 
 ill Aristeas and Josephus, that this Ptolemy Hhiladel- 
 Ph"s once gave a very great sura of money to re<leei 
 
 upon and destroyed, and when he had made 
 
 t Here begins a great defect in the Greek copy; 
 but the old Latin version fully supplies that defect. 
 
 } What error is here generally believed to have been 
 committed by our Josephus in ascribing a deliverance 
 of the Jews to the reign of Ptolemy Physco, the seventh 
 of those Ptolemies, which lia- becn'universally sup- 
 posed to have hapi>ened under Ptolemy Philopator, the 
 fourth of them, is no better than a gross error of tht 
 
 above 100,000 Jewish captives; but not of any^ums | modems, and not of Josephus, as I liave fullv proved 
 or money which he disbursed on their account at other in the Authent. Rec. parti, p. 200— 5;t)4, w'luther I 
 tHnes, that I know of. I refer the inquisitive reader. 
 
 \. 
 
608 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 those elephants drunk for that purpose, the I 
 event proved contrary to his preparations ; for 
 these elephants left the Jews who v\ere expos- 
 ed to tliem, and full violently upon Physco's 
 friends, and slew a great number of them ; 
 nay, after this, Ptolemy saw a terrible ghost, 
 which prohibited Ihs 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 per- 
 petrate so great a wickedness. So he com- 
 plied with her retiuest, and repented of what 
 he either had already done, or was about to 
 do; whence it is well known that the Alexan- 
 drian 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 tlie presumption to 
 accuse the Jews for making this war against 
 Physco, when he ought to have commended 
 them for the same. This man also makes 
 mention of Cleopatra, the last queen of Alex- 
 andiia, and abuses us, because she was un- 
 grateful to us ; whereas he ought to have re- 
 proved her, who indulged herself in all kinds 
 of injustice and wicked practices, both with 
 regard to her nearest relations, and husbands 
 wlio had loved her, and indeed in general 
 with regard to all the Romans, and those 
 emperors that were her benefactors ; 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, slie cor- 
 rupted Antony with her love-tricks, and ren- 
 dered him an enemy to his country, and made 
 him treacherous to his friends, and [by his 
 means] despoiled some of their royal authori- 
 ty, and forced others in her madness to act 
 wickedly ; but what need I enlarge upon this 
 head any fartlier, when she left Antony in 
 his figlit at sea, though he were her husband, 
 and the father of their common children, and 
 compelled liim to resign up his government, 
 with the army, and to follow her [into E- 
 g}I)t] ; nay, when last of all Ca?sar had taken 
 Alexandria, she came to that pitch of cruelty, 
 that she declared she had some hope of pre- 
 serving her affairs still, in case she could kill 
 the Jews, though it were with her own hand; 
 to such a degree of barbarity and perfidious- 
 ness had she arrived ; and doth any one think 
 that we cannot boast ourselves of any thing, 
 if, as Apion says, this queen did not at a time 
 of famine distribute wheat among us ? How- 
 ever, she at length met with the punishment 
 she deserved. As for us Jews, we appeal to 
 the great Caesar what assistance we brought 
 
 • Sisters son, and adopted son. 
 
 him, and what fidelity we shji/td to him a- 
 gainst the Egyptians ; as also to the senate 
 and its decrees, and the epistles of Augustus 
 Ca'sar, whereby our merits [to the Romnns] 
 are justified. Apion ought to have looked 
 u|)on those epistles, and in particular 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 emperors; and if Germanicus wa» 
 not able to make a distribution of corn to all 
 the inhabitants of Alexandria, that only shows 
 what a barren time it was, and how great a 
 want there was then of corn, but tends no- 1 
 thing to the accusation of the Jews ; for what | 
 all the emperors have thought of the Alex- ' 
 andrian Jews is well known, for this distribu 
 tion of wheat was no otherwise omitted with 
 regard to the Jews, than it was with regard 
 to the other inhabitants 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 having 
 the entire custody thereof upon all occasions. 
 6. But besides this, Apion objects to ns 
 thus : — " If the Jews (says he) be citizens of 
 Alexandri'a, why do they not worship the same 
 gods with the Alexandrians ?" To which I 
 give this answer: Since you are yourselves 
 Egyptians, why do you fight out one against 
 another, and have implacable wars about your 
 religion ? At this rate we must not call you 
 all Egyptians, nor indeed in general men, be- 
 cause you breed up with great care beasts of 
 a nature quite contrary to that of men, althou^;;h 
 the nature of all men keems 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 another country, and bad original laws 
 of their own before, should persevere in the 
 observance of those laws ? But still he charges 
 us with being the authors of sedition : 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 matters will soon discover that thf, 
 authors of sedition have been such ciizens of 
 Alexandria as Apion is ; for while they were 
 the Grecians and Macedonians who were 'P. 
 possession of this city, there was no sedition 
 j raised against us, and we were permitted tc 
 observe our ancient solemnities ; but when the 
 number of the Egyptians therein came to be 
 ! considerable, the times grew confused, and 
 I then these seditions brake out still more and 
 I more, while our people continued uncorrupt- 
 ed. These Egyptians therefore were the au 
 I thors of these troubles, who not having the j 
 constancy of Macedonians, nor the prudence 
 of Grecians, indulged all of them the evil I 
 manners of the Egyptians, and continued ' 
 their ancient hatred against us; for what is 
 I here so presumptuously charged upon us, is 
 
BOOK ir. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 809 
 
 owing to the difTurences that are amongst 
 themselves ; while many of them have not ob- 
 tained the privileges of citizens in propertimes, 
 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 tlie kings have ever formerly bestowed those 
 privileges of citizens upon Egyptians, no more 
 than have the emperors done it more late- 
 ly ; 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 em- 
 perors, as if those emperors did not know 
 this before, or stood in need of Apion as their 
 defender ; wlureas he ought rather to have 
 admired tlie magnanimity and modesty of the 
 Romans, whereby they do not compel those 
 tliat are subject to them to transgress the laws 
 of their countries, but are willing to receive 
 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 vio- 
 lence so to do. Accordingly, since the Gre- 
 cians and some other nations think it a right 
 thing to make rmages, nay, when they have 
 painted the pictures of their parents, and 
 wives, and children, they exult for joy ; and 
 some tliere are '^ho take pictures for them- 
 selves of such persons as were no way related 
 to them ; nay, some take the pictures of such 
 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 be- 
 forehand, that the Roman authority was not to 
 be honoured, but as despising a thing that was 
 neither necessary nor useful for eiti-.er 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 crea- 
 tion. Yet hath our legislator nowhere for- 
 bidden us to pay honours to worthy men, pro- 
 vided they be of another kind, and inferior to 
 those we pay to God ; with which honours we 
 willingly testify our respect to our emperors, 
 and to the people of Rome ; we also offer 
 p^etual sacrifices for tliem ; uor do we only 
 ofler 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 children, yet do we this as a 
 peculiar honour to the emperors, and to them 
 alone, while we do the same to no other per- 
 son whomsoever. And let this suffice for an 
 answer in general to Apion as to what he says 
 with relation to the Alexandrian Jews. 
 
 7. However, I cannot but admire those 
 oUier authors who furnished this man witb 
 
 such his materials ; I mean Posidonius and 
 Apollonius [the son of] Molo,* who while 
 they accuse us for not worshipping the same 
 gods whom others w orship, they think them- * 
 selves 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 so 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, 
 that " the Jews placed an ass's head in their 
 holy place 5" and he affirms that this was dis- 
 covered when Antioehus Epiphanes spoiled 
 our temple, and found that ass's head there 
 made of gold, and worth a great deal of mo- 
 ney. 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 contemptible animal than * * *, f and 
 goats, and other such creatures, which among 
 them are gods. But besides this answer, I 
 say farther, how comes it about that Apion 
 does not understand this to be no other than 
 a palpable lie, and to be confuted by the thing 
 itself as utterly incredible ? For we Jews 
 are always governed by the same laws, in 
 which we constantly persevere ; and although 
 many misfortunes 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 gotten 
 possession of our temple, yet has none of 
 them found any sucli thing there, nor indeed 
 any thing but what was agreeable to the strict- 
 est piety ; although what they found we are 
 not at liberty to reveal to other nations. But 
 for Antioehus [Epiphanes], 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 
 rhany worthy writers ; Polybius of Megalo- 
 polis, Strabo of Cappadocia, Nicolaus of Da- 
 mascus, Timagenes, Castor the chronologer, 
 and ApollodoruS; | who all say that it was out 
 of Autiochus'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 tliese 
 facts, unless he had himself had either an 
 ass's heart or a dog's impudence ; of such a 
 
 * Called more properly Molo, or Apollonius Moio, 
 as hereafter; for Apollonius, the son of Mulo, was ano- 
 ther person, as Strabo informs us, lib. xiv. 
 
 f t'uronei in the Latin, which, what aiiiraal it de- 
 notes, does not now appear. 
 
 t It is great pity that tiiese six Pagan autl ors, here 
 mentioned to have described the famous profanatiim of 
 the Jewish temple by Antioehus Epipham s, shmiM be 
 all lost ; I mean so far of their writings ascuutamtd that 
 description ; though it is plain Josephus perustd Uiem 
 all, as extant in his time. 
 
 3 Y 
 
810 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 dog I mean as they worship ; for he had no 
 other external reason for the lies lie tells of 
 us. As for us Jews, we ascribe no honour 
 or power to asses, as do the Egyptians to cro- 
 codiles and asps, when they 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. crea- 
 tures that bear the burdens tiiat we lay upon 
 them ; but if they come to our thresliing- 
 floors and eat our corn, or 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 husbandry 
 afl'uirs. But this Apion of ours was either 
 perfectly unskilful in the com|) osition of sucli 
 fallacious discourses, or however, when he 
 began [sonewhat better], he was not able to 
 persevere in wliat he had undertaken, since 
 he hath no manner of success in tliose re- 
 proaches he casts upon us. 
 
 8. 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 tle- 
 greeof less impurity to pass through temples, 
 than to forge wicked calumnies of its priests. 
 Now, such men as he are more zealous to jus- 
 tify 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 grati- 
 fying Antiochus, and of conctaling that per- 
 fidiousness 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 occa- 
 sion, 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 [fisfees of the] sea, and the fowls of the 
 dry land ; that this man was amazed at these 
 dainties thus set before him ; that he imme- 
 diately adored the king, upon his coming in, 
 as hoping that he would afford him all possi- 
 ble assistance ; that he fell down upon his 
 knees, and stretched out to him liis riglit hand, 
 and begged to be released : 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 complaint, and with sighs, and tears 
 in his eyes, gave him this account of the dis- 
 tress he was in ; and said that he was a Greek, 
 and that as he went over this province, in or- 
 der to get liis living, he was seized upon by 
 foreigners, on a sudden, 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 seem- 
 ed to him matter of great joy ; that, after a 
 
 while tliey brought a suspicion upon him, and 
 at length astonishment, what their meaning 
 should be ; that at last lie inquired of the ser- 
 vants that came to liim, and was by tl)em in- 
 formed that it was in order 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 liim, and sacrifice with 
 their accustomed solenmities, and taste of his 
 entrails, and take an oath upon this sacrific- 
 ing a Greek, tliat they would ever be at en- 
 mity with the Gneeks; and that then they 
 threw the remaining parts of the, miserable 
 wretch into a certain pit." Apion adds far- 
 ther, that " the man said there were but a few 
 days to come ere he was to be slain, and im- 
 plored Antiochus that, out of the reverence 
 he 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 impudence; yet does it not 
 excuse Antiochus of his sacrilegious attempts, 
 as those who wrote it in liis vindication are 
 willing to suppose; for he could not presume 
 beforehand 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 un- 
 lawful 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 dis- 
 cover by a consideration of his writings; for 
 the difference of our laws is known not to 
 regard the Grecians only, but they are prin- 
 cipally 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 comes it about that 
 we take an oatli, 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 suffi- 
 cient for so many thousands to taste of them, 
 as Apion pretends ? Or why did not the king 
 carry this man, whosoever he was, and what- 
 soever 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 there- 
 by liave procured himself great assistance from 
 all men against that hatred the Jews bore to 
 him. But I leave this matter; for the proper 
 way of confuting 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 construction of our temple, of what na- 
 ture it was, know well enough how the purity 
 
BOOK It. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 sn 
 
 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 separation from the 
 rest. Into the first court every body was al- 
 lowed to go, even foreigners ; 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 wi^es, when they 
 were free from all uncleanness; into the tliird 
 went the Jewisli men when they were clean 
 and purified ; into the fourth went tlie priests, 
 having on their sacerdotal garments; but for 
 the most sacred place, none went in but the 
 high-priests, clothed in their peculiar gar- 
 ments. Now there is so great caution used 
 ibout these offices of religion, that the priests 
 are appointed to go into the temple but at 
 certaiu 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 vessel in- 
 to the holy house ; nor is there any thing 
 therein, but the altar [of incense], the table 
 [of show-bread], the censer, and the candle- 
 stick, which are all written in the law ; for 
 theie is nothing farther 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 pu- 
 blicly known, and supported by the testimo- 
 ny of the whole people, and their operations 
 are very manifest ; for although there be four 
 courses of the priests, and every one of them 
 have above five thousand 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 sacrifices, and assem- 
 ble together at mid-day, and receive the keys 
 of the temple, and the vessels by tale, without 
 any thing relating to food or drink being 
 carried into the temple; nay, we are not al- 
 lowed to offer such things at the altar, except- 
 ing what is prepared for the sacrifices. 
 
 9. What then can we say of Apion, but 
 that he examined njthing that concerned 
 these things, while still he uttered incredible 
 words about them ! But it is a great shame 
 for a grammarian not to be able to write 
 taie 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 inefflible food, 
 and the most delicious preparation of dainties ; 
 and pretends that strangers could go into a 
 place whcreinto the noblest men among the 
 Jews are not allowed to enter, unless they be 
 
 * It is remarkable that .losephus here, and I think, 
 nowhere else, reckons up four distinct courts of the tem- 
 ple: that of the Uentiles, thatof the women of Israel, 
 that of the men of Israel, and that of the priests ; as 
 also that tlie court of the women admitted of the men 
 (I suppose only of the husbands of those wi\ es tbat were 
 therein), while the court of tlie men did not admit any 
 women into it at all. 
 
 priests. This, therefore, is the utmost de- 
 gree of impiety, and a voluntary 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. 
 
 10. Nay, this miracle of piety derides ua 
 farther, and adds the following pretended 
 facts to his former fable ; for he says that this 
 man related how, " while the Jews were ouce 
 in a long war with the Idumeans, there came 
 a man out of one of the cities of the Idume- 
 ans, who there had worshipped Apollo. This 
 man, whose name is said to have been Zabi- 
 dus, came to the Jews, and promised 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 surpris- 
 ing 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 re- 
 ply ; 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 ; and not knowing the cities he speaks 
 of, he changes tlieir situation ; for Idumea 
 borders upon our country, and is near to Ga 
 za, 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. f Now, 
 then, why does this man accuse us, because 
 we have not gods in common with other na- 
 tions ? If our forefathers were so easily pre- 
 vailed upon to have Apollo come to thetn, 
 and thought they saw him walking upon the 
 earth, and the stars with him ; for certainly 
 those who have so many festivals, whereii 
 they light lamps, must yet, at this rate, have 
 never seen a candlestick ! But still it seems 
 that while Zabidus took his journey 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 al- 
 
 I Judea, in the Greek, by a gross mistake of the 
 transcribers. 
 
 t Seven in the Greek, by a like gross mistake of tJj« 
 transcribers. See of the War, b. v cli J sect < 
 
812 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK ir. 
 
 most 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- 
 Dearer of ours opened them easily, or thought 
 he opened them, as he thought he had the 
 ass's head in his hand. Whetiier, 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 uncer- 
 tain. 
 
 11. Apion also tells a false story, when he 
 mentions an oath of ours, as if we " swore by 
 God, the maker of the heaven, and earth, and 
 sea, to bear no good-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 foreign- 
 er, and particularly to none of the Egypti- 
 ans." For then his story about the oath 
 would have squared with the rest of his ori- 
 ginal forgeries, in case our forefathers had 
 ueen driven away by their kinsmen the Egyp- 
 tians, not on account of any wickedness they 
 had been guilty of, but on account of the ca- 
 lamities they were under ; for as to the Gre- 
 cians, we are rather remote from them in 
 place than different from them in our institu- 
 tions, insomuch that we have no enmity with 
 them, nor any jealousy of them. On the con- 
 trary, it hath so happened, that many of them 
 have come over to our laws, and some of 
 them have continued in their observation, 
 although others of them had not courage 
 enough to persevere, and so departed from 
 them again ; nor did any body 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. 
 
 12. However, Apion deserves to be admir- 
 ed 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 ra- 
 ther in subjection to Gentiles, sometimes to 
 one nation, and sometimes to another ; and 
 that our city hath been liable to several cala- 
 mities, 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 brag- 
 ging ; for every body but himself would think 
 that Apion said what he hath said against him- 
 self ; for there are very few nations that have 
 had the good fortune to continue many genera- 
 tions in the principality, but still the muta- 
 tions in human affairs have put them into sub- 
 jection under others ; and most nations have 
 been often subdued, and brought into sub- 
 jection by others. Now for the Egyptians, 
 perhaps they are the only nation that have had 
 
 * Two hundred in the Greek, contrary to the twenty 
 in the War. b. vii, ch. 5. sect. 3. 
 
 this extraordinary privilege, to have never 
 served any of those monarchs who subdued 
 Asia and Europe, and this on account, 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 f 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 reproadi them 
 with relating the manner how the Persians 
 used them, and this not once only, but many 
 times, when they laid their cities waste, de- 
 molished their temples, and cut the throats of 
 those animals whom they esteemed to be gods ; 
 for it is not reasonable to imitate the clownish 
 ignorance of Apion, who hath no regard to 
 the misfortunes of the Athenians, or of the 
 Lacedemonians, the latter of whom were styl- 
 ed by all men the most courageous, and the 
 former the most religious, of the Grecians. I 
 say nothing of such kings as have been fa- 
 mous for piety, particularly of one of tliem 
 whose name was Cresus, nor what 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 suffer 
 ers, but on those that were the actors therein. 
 But now we have met with Apion, an accu- 
 ser of our nation, though one that still forgets 
 the miseries of his own people, the Egyptians ; 
 but it is that Sesostris, who was once so cele- 
 brated 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. 
 However, Apion is ignorant of what every 
 body knows, that the Egyptians were servants 
 to the Persians, and afterwards to tlie Mace- 
 donians, when they were lords of Asia, and 
 were no better than slaves, while we have en- 
 joyed liberty formerly ; nay, more than that, 
 liave had the dominion of the cities tliat lie 
 round about us, and this nearly for a hundred 
 and twenty years together, until Pompeius 
 Magnus. And when all the kings everywhere 
 were conquered by the Romans, our ancestors 
 were tlie only people who continued to be es- 
 teen"ied their confederates and friends, on ac- 
 count of their fidelity to them, 
 
 t This notorious disgrace belonging peculiarly to 
 the people of Egy^it, ever since the times of the old 
 prophets of Uie Jews, noted both sect. 4, already and 
 here, may be confirmed by the testiraoiiy of Ismorus, 
 an Egyptian of Pelusium, Epist. lib. i, Ep. 189. And 
 this is a remarkable comi)letion of the ancient predic- 
 tion of God, by Ezekiel (x.xix, 14, 15), that the Egyptians 
 should " be a base kingdom, the basest of the king- 
 doms," and that " it should not exalt itself any more 
 above the nations." The truth of which still farther 
 appears by the present observation of Josephus, thai 
 I these Egyptians liad never, in all the past ages since 
 Sesostris, had one day of liberty, no not so much as 
 to have been free from despotic power under any 
 of the monarchs to that day. And all this has been 
 found equally true in the latter ages, under the Romans, 
 Saracens, Mamelukes, and Turks, from the days of Jo* 
 liej'hus till tlic present age aUok 
 
1^ 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 813 
 
 IS. " But, says Apion, " we Jews have 
 not liad any wonderful men amongst us, not 
 any inventors of arts, nor any eminent for 
 wisdom." He then enumerates Socrates, 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, because it hath 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 appeared 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 commendation as any 
 other whosoever ; and such as have perused our 
 Antiquities cannot be ignorant of them. 
 
 14. As to the other things which he sets 
 down as blame-worthy, 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, lie accuses us for sacrificing animals, 
 and for abstaining from swine's flesh, and 
 laughs at us for the circumcision of our privy 
 members. 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 him- 
 self to be an Egyptian ; for had he bccu either 
 a Grecian or a Macedonian [as he prctwuls 
 to be], he had not shown an Uneasiness at it ; 
 for those people glory in sacrificing whole he- 
 catombs to the gods, and make use of those 
 sacrifices for feasting ; 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 Egyp- 
 tians, the world had certainly been made de- 
 solate as to mankind, but had been filled full 
 of the wildest sort of brute beasts, which, be- 
 cause they suppose them to be gods, they 
 carefully nourish. However, 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 certainly 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 philoso- 
 phy. Accordingly, these priests are all cir- 
 cumcised, and abstain from swine's flesh ; nor 
 does any one of the other Egyptians assist 
 them ia slaying those sacrifices they offer to 
 the gods. Apion was therefore quite blinded 
 in his mind when, for the sake of the Egyp- 
 tians, he contrived to reproach us, and to ac- 
 cuse such others as not only make use of that 
 conduct of life which he so much abuses, but 
 have also taught other men to be circumcised, 
 as says Herodotus ; wliich makes rae-ahink 
 tliat Apion is hereby justly punished for his 
 
 casting such reproaches on the laws of his own 
 country; for he was circumcised himself of 
 necessity, on account of an ulcer in his privy 
 member; and when he received no benefit 
 by such circumcision, but his member became 
 putrid, he died in great torment. Now, men 
 of good tempers ought to observe their own 
 laws concerning religion accurately, and to 
 persevere therein, but not presently to abuse 
 the laws of other nations, while this Apion 
 deserted his own laws, and told lies about 
 ours; and tliis was the end of Apion's life, 
 and this shall be tlie conclusion of our dis- 
 course about him. 
 
 1 5. But now, since Apollonius Molo, and 
 Lysimachus, and some others, write treatises 
 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 calumniate Moses as an im- 
 postor and deceiver, and pretend that our 
 laws teach us wickedness, but nothing that 
 is virtuous, I have a mind to discourse 
 briefly, accordingly to my ability, about our 
 whole constitution of government, and about 
 the particular branches of it ; for I suppose 
 it will thence become evident that tlw laws 
 we nave 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 L<»bours with fortitude, and 
 for a contempt of death ; and I beg of those 
 that shall peruse this writing of mine, to read 
 it without partiality ; for it is not my purpose 
 to write an encomium upon ourselves, but I 
 shall esteem 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 a- 
 gainst 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 bold- 
 ness, and madness in our conduct; nay, he says 
 that we are the weakest of all the barbarians, 
 and that this is the reason 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 ourselves ; 
 and if I be compelled to make mention of the 
 laws of other nations, that are contrary to 
 ours, those ought deservedly to thank them- 
 selves for it, who have pretended to depreciate 
 our laws in comparison 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 1 will present 
 
 ^ 
 
.^' 
 
 814 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 to the reader, or that we do not, above all 
 men, continue in the observation of them. 
 
 ] 6. To begin then a good way backward, 
 I would advance this, in the first 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 tliis 
 testimony that they are better than other men, 
 both for moderation, and such virtue as is 
 agreeable to nature. Indeed, their endeavour 
 was to have every thing they ordained believ- 
 ed to be very ancient, that they n ight 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 legislator is seen in pro- 
 viding for the people's living after the best 
 manner, and in prevailing with those that are 
 to use the laws he ordains for them, to have 
 a good opinion of them, and in obliging the 
 multitude to persevere in thenis 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 legis- 
 lators whom we have anywhere heard of ; for 
 as for tlie Lycurguses, and Solons, and Za- 
 leucus Lociensis, and all those legislators who 
 are so admired by the Greeks, they seem to 
 be of yesterday, if compared with our legis- 
 lator, insoiiiuch as the very name of a law 
 was not so mucli as known in old times a- 
 mong the Grecians. Homer is a witness to 
 tlie truth of this observation, who never uses 
 that terra in all his poems ; for indeed there 
 was then no such thing among them, but the 
 multitude 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 tliose 
 that speak against us upon all occasions do 
 always confess), he exhibited himself to tlie 
 people as their best governor and counsellor, 
 and included in his legislation the entire con- 
 duct 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. 
 
 17. But let us consider his first and great- 
 est work; for when it was resolved on by our 
 forefathers to leave Egypt and return to their 
 own country, this Moaes took the many ten 
 thousands that were of the people, and saved 
 them out of many desperate distresses, and 
 brought them home in safety. And certainly 
 it was here necessary to travel over a country 
 without water, and full of sand, to overcome 
 their enemies, and, during these battles, to 
 preserve their children and their wives, and 
 their prey ; on all which occasions he became 
 
 • Viz. After the greatest part of the world liad left 
 oif their obedience to God, their original legislator. 
 See Scripture Politics, pages 6, 7- 
 
 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 multitude depended up- 
 on him ; and while he had them always obe- 
 dient to what he enjoined, he made no man- 
 ner of use of his authority for his own pri- 
 vate 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 autho- 
 rity, he, on the contrary, thought he ought to 
 have regard to piety, and to show his great 
 good-will to the people ; and by this means 
 he thought he might show the great degree of 
 virtue that was in him, and might procure the 
 most lasting security to those who had made 
 him their governor. 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 having hiin 
 for a divine governor and counsellor; and 
 when he had first persuaded himself -f- that 
 his actions and designs were agreeable to 
 God's will, he thought it his duty to impress, 
 above all things, that notion upon the multi- 
 tude ; for those who have once believed that 
 God is the inspector of their lives, will not 
 permit themselves in any sin ; and this is the 
 character of our legislator ; he was no impos- 
 tor, no deceiver, as his revilers say, though 
 unjustly, but such a one as they brag Minos :f 
 to have been among the Greeks, and other 
 legislators after him ; for some of them sup- 
 pose 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 whicti of these it was who 
 made the best laws, and which had the great- 
 est reason to believe that God was their au- 
 thor, it will be easy, upon comparing those 
 laws themselves together, to determine; ior 
 
 t This language, that Moses jrs/c-a; ioanoy, " persuad 
 ed himself " that what he did was according to God's 
 will, can mean no more, by Jo>ephus's own constant no- 
 tions elsewhere, than tliat he was " firmly persuaded," 
 that he had " fully satisfied himself," that soil was, viz. 
 by the many revelations he had received from God, and 
 the numerous miracles God had enabled him to work, 
 as he both in these very two books .igainst Apion, and 
 in his Antiquities, most clearly and frequently assures 
 us. This is farther evident from several passiiges lower, 
 where he affirms that Moses was no impostor nor de 
 ceiver, and where he assures us that Moses's constitution 
 of government was no other than a theocracy ; and 
 where he says they are to hope for deliverance out of 
 their distresses by prayer to God, and that withal it was 
 owing in part to this prophetic spirit of Moses that the 
 Jews expected a resurrection from the dead. See almost 
 as strange a use of the like words, trtitiin ret (iicv, " to 
 persuade God," Antiq. b. vi, eh. v, sect. 6. 
 
 t That is, Moses really was, what the heathen legis- 
 lators pretended to be, under a divine direction; nor 
 does it yet appear that these pretensions to a supernatu- 
 ral conduct, either in these legislators or oracles, werp 
 mere delusions of men without any demoniacal im 
 pre>sioiis, nor that Joseph us took them so to be; as tho 
 an untest and couterr.porai-y authors did still beUevf 
 them to be supernatural. 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 816 
 
 it is time that we come to that point. Now • 
 there are innumerable differences in the par- 
 ticular cu^toms and laws that are among all 
 mankind, which a man may briefly reduce 
 under the following heads : — Some legislators 
 have permitted their governments to ]>e under 
 monarchies, others put them under oligar- 
 chies, and others under a republican form; 
 but our legislator had no regard to any of 
 these fonn>, but he ordained our government 
 to he what, by a strained expression, may be 
 termed a Theocracy,-}- by ascribing the autho- 
 rity and the power to God, and by persuading 
 all the people to have a regard 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 
 difficulties. He informed them that it was 
 impossible to escape God's observation, either 
 in any of our outward actions, or in any of 
 our inward thoughts. Moreover, he repre- 
 sented God as unbegotten, f and immutable, 
 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 
 
 * This whole very large passage is corrected by Dr. 
 Hudson, from Euscbius's citation of it, Prsp. Evangel, 
 viii, 8, which is here not a little ditfereut from the pre- 
 sent MSS. of Josephus. 
 
 f This expression itself, &iax^xTiav airiiii^i to troXi- 
 rtv.uac, that " Moses ordained the Jewish government 
 to be a Theocracy," may be illustrated by that parallel 
 expression in the Antiq. b. iii, ch. viii, sect. 9, that 
 " Moses left itto God to be present at his sacrifices when 
 ne pleased ; and when he pleased, to be absent." Both 
 ways of spcaknig sound harsh in the ears of Jews and 
 Christians, as do several others which Josephus uses to 
 the Heathens; but still they were not very improper in 
 him, when he all along thought fit to accommodate him- 
 self, both in his Antiijuities, and in these his books a- 
 gainst Apion, all written for the use of the Greeks and 
 Romans, to their notions and language, and this as far 
 as ever truth would give him leave ; though it is very 
 observable witlial, that he never uses such expressions 
 in his books of tho War, written originally for the Jews 
 Deyond Euphrates, and in their language, in all these 
 cases. However, Josephus directly supposes the Jewish 
 settlement, under Moses, to be a divine settlement, and 
 indeed no other than a real Theocracy. 
 
 X These excellent accounts of the divine attributes, 
 and that God is not to be at all known in his essence, as 
 also some other clear expressions about the resurrection 
 of the dead, and the state of departed souls, d:c. in this 
 late work of Josephus, look more like the exalted no- 
 tions of the Esscnes, or rather Ebionite Christians, than 
 those of a mere Jew or Pharisee. The following large ac- 
 counts also of the laws of Moses, seem to me to show 
 a regard to the higher interpretations and improvements 
 of Rloses's laws, derived from Jesus Christ, than to the 
 bare letter of them in the Old Testament, whence alone 
 Josephus took them when he wrote his Antiquities ; 
 nor, as 1 think, can some of these laws, though gene- 
 rally excellent in their kind, be properly now found 
 either in the copies of the Jewish Pentateuch, or in 
 Philo, or in Josephus himself, before he became a Na- 
 zarene or Ebionite Christian ; nor even all of them 
 among the laws of Catholic Christianity themselves. I 
 desire, therefore, the learned reader to consider, whe- 
 ther some of these improvements or interpretations 
 might not be ijeculiartotne Essenes among the Jews, or 
 rather to the Nazarenes or Ebionites among the Chris- 
 tians, though we have indeed but imperfect acci4^ints of 
 those Na-iareiies or Ebionite Christians transmitted 
 down to us at this dav 
 
 ■"^ 
 
 that he afforded them. However, they testi- 
 fy, with great assurance, that these notions 
 are just, and agreeable to the nature of God, 
 ai\d to his majesty ; for Pythagoras, and An- 
 axagoras, and Plalo, and the Stoic philoso- 
 phers that succeeded them, and almost all the 
 rest, are of the same sentiments, 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 peo- 
 ple were prejudiced with other opinions be- 
 forehand. But our legislator, who made his 
 actions agree to his laws, did not only prevail 
 with those that were his contemporaries 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 constitution of tiiis legis- 
 lation was ever better directed to the utility 
 of all than other legislations were, is this, 
 that Moses did not make religion a part of 
 virtue, but he saw and he ordained other vir- 
 tues to be parts of religion ; I mean justice, 
 and fortitude, and temperance, and a univer- 
 sal agreement of the members of the commu- 
 nity with one another ; for all our actions and 
 studies, and all our words [in Moses's settle- 
 ment] have a reference to piety towards God; 
 for he hath left none of these in suspense, or 
 undetermined ; for there are two ways of com- 
 ing at any sort oi learning and a moral con- 
 duct of life ; the one is by instruction in 
 words, the other by practical exercises. Now, 
 other lawgivers have separated these two ways 
 in their opinions, and choosing one of those 
 ways of instruction, or that which best pleas- 
 ed every one of them, neglected the other. 
 Tims did the Lacedemonians and the Cre- 
 tans teach by practical exercises, 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 exercising them thereto in prac- 
 tice. 
 
 18. But for our legislator, he very pare- 
 fully joined these two methods of instruction 
 together ; for he neither left these practical 
 exercises to go on without verbal instruction, 
 nor did he permit the hearing of the law to 
 proceed without the exercises for practice ; 
 but beginning immediately from the earliest 
 infar.cy, and the appointment of every one's 
 diet, he left nothing of the very smallest con- 
 sequence to be done at the pleasure and dis- 
 posal of the person himself. Accordingly, he 
 made a fi xed rule of law what sorts of food they 
 should abstain from, and what sorts they should 
 use; as also, what communion 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 mas- 
 ter, we might be guilty of no sin, neither 
 voluntary nor out of ignorance ; for he did 
 not suii'er the guilt of ignorance to go oa 
 
J-^ 
 
 81G 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 without punishment, but demonstrated the 
 law to be the best and the most necessary in- 
 struction of all others, permitting the people to 
 leave off their other employments, and to as- 
 semble together for the hearing of the law, 
 and learning it exactly, and this not once or 
 twice, or oftener, but every week ; which thing 
 all the other legislators seem to have neglected. 
 
 19. And indeed, the greatest part of mankind 
 are so far from living according to their own 
 laws, that they hardly know them ; but when 
 .hey have sinned they learn from otiiers that they 
 have transgressed the law. Those also'who are 
 in the highest and principal posts of the govern- 
 ment, confess theyarenot acquainted with those 
 laws, and are obliged to take such persons for 
 their assessors in public administrations as 
 profess to have skill in those laws ; but for our 
 people, if any body do but ask any one of them 
 about our laws, he will more readily tell them all 
 than he will tell his own name, and this in 
 conse-quence of our having learned them im- 
 mediately as soon as ever we became sensible 
 of any thing, and of our having them, as it 
 were engraven on our souls. Our trans- 
 gressors of them are but few ; and it is im- 
 possible, when any do offend, to escape pu- 
 nishment. 
 
 20. And this very thing it is that principally 
 creates such a wonderful agreement of minds 
 aiiiongst us all ; for this entire agreement of 
 ours in all our notions concerning God, and 
 our having no difference in our course of life 
 and manners, procures among us the most 
 excellent concord of these our manners that 
 is anywhere among mankind ; for no other 
 people but we Jews have avoided all dis- 
 courses about God that any way contradict 
 one another, which yet are frequent among 
 other nations; and this is true not only a- 
 mong ordinary persons, according as every 
 one is affected, but some of the philosoi)hers 
 have been insolent enough to indulge such 
 contradictions, while some of them have un- 
 dertaken 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 amongst 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 
 lie 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 any body may 
 hear from our women, and servants themselves. 
 
 21. 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 think it a fine thing to 
 persevere in nothing that has been delivered 
 down from their forefatliers, and these testify 
 it to be an instance of the sliarpest wisdom 
 
 when these men venture to transgress those 
 traditions ; whereas we, on the contrary, suj)- 
 pose it to be our only wisdom and virtue to 
 admit no actions nor su])posaIs that are con- 
 trary to our original laws ; which procedure 
 of ours is a just and sure sign that our law is 
 admirably constituted ; for such laws as are 
 not thus well made, are convicted upon trial 
 to want amendment. 
 
 22. 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 
 any body would ciiange ! and w hat can be 
 invented better! or what can we take out of 
 other people's laws that will exceed it ! Perhaps 
 some would have the entire settlement of out 
 government altered. And where shall we find a 
 better or more righteous constitution than ours, 
 while this makes us esteem God to be the gover- 
 nor of the universe, and permits the priests in ge- 
 neral to be tlie administrators of the principal af. 
 fairs, and withal intrusts the government over 
 the other priests to the chief high -priest him- 
 self! which priests our legislator, at tlieir first 
 appointment, did not advance to that dignity 
 for their riches, or any abundance of other pos- 
 sessions, or any plenty they had as the gifts of 
 fortune; but he intrusted the principal man- 
 agement of divine worship to those that exceed 
 ed others in an ability to persuade men, and ih 
 prudence of conduct. These men had the 
 main care of the law and of the otiier parts 
 of the people's conduct committed to them ; 
 for they were the priests who were ordained to 
 be the inspectors of all, and the judges in 
 doubtful cases, and tlie punishers of those 
 that were condemned to suffer punishment. 
 
 23. What form of government then can he 
 more.lioly than this ! what more worthy kind 
 of worship can be paid to God than we pay, 
 where the entire body of the peojjle are pre- 
 pared 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 religious solemnity ! For what 
 things foreigners, when they solemnize such 
 festivals, are not able to observe for a few 
 days' time, and call them Mysteries and Sa- 
 cred Ceremonies, we observe with great plea- 
 sure and an unshaken resolution during out 
 whole lives. What are the things then that 
 we are commanded or forbidden ? They are 
 simply and easily known. The first com- 
 mand is concerning God, and affirms that 
 God contains all 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 
 conspicuous than any other being whatso- 
 ever ; 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 unartfu! 
 
PLAVIUS JOSEPIIUS AGAINST APION". 
 
 sn 
 
 to express the notion we ought to have of 
 him. We can neither see nor tliink of any 
 thing like him, nor is it agreeable to piety to 
 form a resemblance of him. We see his 
 vvorks, 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 labour, nor as wanting the assistance of 
 any to co-operate with him ; but as his will 
 resolved they should be made and be good al- 
 so, they were made, and became good imme- 
 diately. All men ought to follow this Be- 
 ing, and to worship him in the exercise of vir- 
 tue; for this way of worship of God is the 
 most holy of all others. 
 
 24. Tliere 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 
 ofier sacrifices to God, together with those 
 priests that are joined with him, to see that 
 the laws be observed, to determine controver- 
 sies, and to punish those that are convicted of 
 injuslice; while he that does not submit to 
 him shall be subject to the same punishment, 
 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 oc- 
 casion of injuries and of luxury ; but by keep- 
 ing ourselves sober, orderly, and ready for our 
 otlier occupations, and being more temperate 
 than others. And for our duty at the sa- 
 crifices themselves, we ought in the first place 
 to pray * for the common welfare of all, 
 and after that our own ; for we are made for 
 fellowship one with another ; and he who pre- 
 fers the common good before what is peculiar 
 to himself, is above all acceptable to God. 
 And let our prayers and supplications be 
 made humbly to God, not [so mucli] that he 
 would give us what is good (for lie hath al- 
 ready 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 re- 
 ceived it, may preserve it. Now the law has 
 appointed several purifications at our sacri- 
 
 • We may here oteerve, how known a thing it was 
 among the Jews and hcatliens in this ana many otiier 
 instances, tliat sacrifices were still accompanied with 
 prayers ; whence most probably came those phrases of 
 " the sacrifice of prayer, the sacrifice of praise, the sa- 
 crifice of thanksgiving." However, those ancient forms 
 used at sacrifices are now generally lost, to tlie no small 
 damage of true religion. It is here also ex(eciliiig re- 
 markable, that although the temple at Jeiiialem was 
 built as the only place where the whole nation of the 
 Jews were to oftlr their sacrifices, yet is there no men- 
 tion of the "sacrifices" themselves, but of " prayers" 
 only, in Solomon's long and famous form of devotion 
 at its dedication, 1 Kings viii, 2 Chron. vi. ^ee also 
 many passages cited in the Apostolical Constitutions, 
 vii, 57, and of the War above, b. vii, chap, v, sect. 6, 
 
 flees, whereby we are cleansed after a funeral, 
 after what sometimes 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. 
 
 25. But then, what are our laws about 
 marriage ? That law owns no other mixture 
 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 punish- 
 ment. It commands us also, when we marry, 
 not to have regard to portion, nor to take a 
 woman by violence, nor to persuade her de- 
 ceitfully 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 Scrip- 
 ture, " 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 
 husband ; for God bath given the authority 
 to the huhband. A husband, therefore, is to 
 lie only with his wife whom he hath married ; 
 but to liave 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 vir- 
 gin betrothed to another man, or entices an 
 other man's wife. The law, moreover en- 
 joins us to bring up all our offspring, and 
 forbids women to cause abortion of what is 
 begotten, or to destroy it afterward ; and if 
 any woman appears to have so done, she will 
 be a murderer of her child, by destroying a 
 living creature, and diminishing human kind ; 
 if any one, therefore, proceeds to such forni- 
 cation or murder, he cannot be clean. jMore- 
 over, the law enjoins, that after the man and 
 wife have lain together in a regular way, they 
 shall bathe themselves ; for there is a defile- 
 ment contracted thereby, both in soul and 
 body, as if they had gone into another coun- 
 try ; 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. 
 
 26. Nay, indeed, the law does not permit 
 us to make festivals at the births of our child- 
 ren, and tliereby afford occasion of drinking 
 to excess ; but it ordains that the very begin- 
 ning of our education should be immediately 
 directed to sobriety. It also commands us to 
 bring those children up in learning and to ex- 
 ercise them in the laws, and make them ac- 
 quainted 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 in- 
 
 t This text is nowhere in our present copies of the 
 Old Testament. 
 
 3 Z 
 
818 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APIOK. 
 
 fancy, and might neither transgress them, nor 
 yet have any pretence for their ignorance of 
 them. 
 
 27. Our law hath also taken care of the 
 decent burial of the dead, but without any ex- 
 travagant expenses for their funerals, and with- 
 out the erection of any illustrious monuments 
 for them ; but hath ordered that their nearest 
 relations should perform tiieir obsequies ; and 
 hath shown it to be regular, that all who pass 
 by when any one is buried, should accompany 
 tlie funeral, and join in the lamentation. It 
 also ordains, that the house and itsinhabifants 
 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. 
 
 28. 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 oc- 
 casion, to be stoned. It also says, that the 
 young men should pay due respect to every 
 elder, since God is t!ie 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 tliough an enmity arise between 
 them. If any judge takes bribes, his punish- 
 ment is death : he that overlooks one 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 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. 
 
 29. It will be also worth our while to see 
 what equity our legislator would have us ex- 
 ercise in our intercourse with strangers; for it 
 will thence appear that he made the best pro- 
 vision he possibly could, both that we should 
 not dissolve our own constitution, nor show 
 any envious mind towards 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 extend-; 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 communion with us. 
 
 30. 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 unburietl. 
 He also would have us treat those that are es- 
 teemed our enemies with moderation ; for he 
 
 doth not allow us to set their country on fire, 
 nor permit us to cut down those trees that bear 
 fruit : nay, farther, 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 especially tliat the 
 women may not be abused. Indeed he hath 
 taught us gentleness and humanity so efTectu- 
 aily, 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 contrived to teach us 
 an equitable conduct every way, by using us 
 to such laws as instruct us therein ; wliile at 
 the same time tie hath ordained, that such as 
 break these laws should be punished, without 
 the allowance of any excuse whatsoever. 
 
 31. Now the greatest part of ofl'ences with 
 us are capital ; as if any one be guilty of a- 
 dultery ; if any one force a virgin ; if any 
 one be so impudent as to attempt sodomy 
 with a male ; 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 na- 
 ture, that can never be avoided. Moreover, 
 if any one cheats another in measures 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 de- 
 posited ; all these have punishments allotted 
 them, not such as are met with among other na- 
 tions, but more severe ones. And as for at- 
 tempts of unjust behaviour towards parents, or 
 impiety against God, though they be not ac- 
 tually accomplished, the offenders are destroy- 
 ed immediately. However, the reward for such 
 as live exactly according to the laws, is not sil- 
 ver or gold ; it is not a garland of olive-bran- 
 ches or ol'smallage, nor any such piililic sign of 
 commendation ; but every good man hath his 
 own conscience bearing wiinessto himself, and 
 by virtueof our legislator's prophetic spirit,and 
 of the firm security God himself aH'ords such 
 a one, he believes that God hath made this 
 grant to those that observe these laws, even 
 though they he obliged readily to die for them, 
 that they sl-.all come into being again, and at 
 a certain rtvi liition of things receive a bettci 
 life than tliL-y had enjoyed before. Nor would 
 1 venture to A'rite thus at this time, were it 
 not well known to all by our actions lliat 
 many of our people have many a time brave- 
 ly resohcd to endure any sufferings, rather 
 than speak one word against our law. 
 
 32. Nay, indeed, in case it had so fallen 
 out, that our nation had not been so thor- 
 oughly 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 
 
 '^_ 
 
1500K 11. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPIIUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 819 
 
 that somebody had pretended to Iiave written 
 these laws himself, and had read tlu'm to the 
 Greeks, vr had pretended that he had met with 
 men out of the limits of the known world, 
 that had such reverend notions 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 adniite 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 tor |K)!itic government, 
 and for laws, are accused as composing mon- 
 strous things, and are said to have undertaken 
 an impossible task upon them. And here I 
 will say notliing of those other philosophers 
 who have undertaken any thing of this nature 
 in their writings. But even Plato liimself, 
 who is so admired by the Greeks on account 
 of that gravity in Iiis manner and force in his 
 words, and that ability he had to persuade 
 men beyond all other philosophers, is little 
 better than laughed at and exposed to ridicule 
 on that account, by those that pretend to sa- 
 gacity in political affairs; although he that 
 shall diligently peruse his writings, will find 
 his precepts to be somewhat gentle, and pretty 
 near to the customs of the generality of man- 
 kind. Nay, Plato himself confesseth that it 
 is not safe to publibh tlie true notion concern- 
 ing God among tha 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 Lycur- 
 gus as the principal lawgiver; and all men 
 celebrate Sparta for having cont nued 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 Lacedemonians compare that duration of 
 theirs with more than two thousand years 
 which our political government hatii conti- 
 nued ; and let them farther consider, that 
 tliough the Lacedemonians did seem to ob- 
 serve their laws exactly while they enjoyed 
 their liberty, yet that when they underwent a 
 change in their fortune, they forgot almost all 
 those laws; while we, having been under ten 
 thousand changes in our fortune by thechanges 
 that happened among the kings of Asia, have 
 never betrayed our laws under the most pres- 
 sing distresses we have been in; nor have we 
 neglected them either out of sloth or for a 
 livelihood.! Nay, if any one will consider 
 if, the difficulties and labours laid upon us 
 have been greater than what appears to have 
 
 • It may not be amiss to set dovn\ here a very re- 
 markable testimony of the great philosopher Cicero, as 
 to the preference of " laws to philosophy:" " 1 will 
 (says he) boUlly declare my opinion, Uioug!; the whole 
 world lie oftended at it. I prefer this little book of the 
 Twelve Tables alnneto all the volumes of the philoso- 
 phers. 1 find it to lie not only of more weight, but also 
 much more useful." — De Oratore. 
 
 + Or, We have observed our times of rest, and sorts 
 oT food alloweil us [iluriug our djstrcises]. 
 
 been borne by the Lacedemonian fortitude, 
 while they neitiier ploughed their land nor ex- 
 ercised any trades, but lived in their own city, 
 free from all such pains-taking, in the enjoy- 
 ment of plenty, and using such exercises as 
 might improve their bodies, while they made 
 use of other men as their servants for all the 
 necessaries of life, and had their food prepar- 
 ed 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 sutl'er- 
 inu3 they may be able to conquer all those 
 against whom they make war. I need not 
 add this, that tiiey have not been fully able to 
 observe their laws ; for not only a few single 
 persons, but multitudes of them, have in 
 heaps neglected those laws, and have deliver- 
 ed themselves, together with their arms, into 
 the hands of their enemies. 
 
 33. 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 betrayed 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, whe- 
 ther there be such men in the world who be- 
 live that no evil is to them so great as to be 
 compelled to do or to speak any tiling con- 
 trary to their own laws. Nor ought men to won. 
 der 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 instituted ; I mean working 
 with our hands, and eating but little, and be- 
 ing contented to eat and drink, not at ran- 
 dom, or at every one's pleasure, or being un- 
 der inviolable rules in lying with our wives, 
 in magnificent furniture, and again in the 
 oliservation of our times of rest; while those 
 that can use their swords in war, and can put 
 their enetnies to flight w hen 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, 
 renders us fit to show our fortitude upon other 
 occasions also. 
 
 34. Yet do the Lysimachi and the Molones, 
 and soine other writers (unskilful sophists as 
 they are, and the deceivers of young men) re- 
 proach us as the vilest of all mankind. 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 others. And indeed, our legislator hath 
 expressly forbidden us to laugh at and revile 
 those that are esteemed gods by other people, | 
 on account of the very name of God ascribed 
 
 t .See Antiq, b. iv, eh. viii, sect. 10, and its note. 
 
820 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 to them. But since our antagonists think to 
 run us down upon the comparison of their 
 religion and ours, it is not possible to keep 
 silence here, especially 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 
 atnong 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 pcyople 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 dis- 
 tinguish several sorts of animals : as some to 
 be under the earth ; some to be in the sea ; and 
 the ancientest 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 ti- 
 tle is their father, but in his actions a tyrant and 
 a lord ; whence it came to pass that 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. 
 
 35. 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 accordingly ; that some are set to 
 trades ; that one god is a smith, and another 
 goddess is a weaver ; that one god is a war- 
 rior, and fights with men ; that some of them 
 are harpers, or delight in archery ; and be- 
 sides, 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 take on for such their afflictions ; 
 but what is the grossest of all in point of lasci- 
 viousness, 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 ? More- 
 over, the chief of all their gods, and their 
 first fatlier himself, overlooks those goddesses 
 whom he hath deluded and begotten witli 
 child, and suffers them to be kept in prison, 
 or drowned in tiie sea. He is also so bound 
 up by fate, that he cannot save liis own off- 
 springs nor can he bear their deaths without 
 shedding of tears. — These are fine things in- 
 deed ! as are the rest tiiat follow. Adulteries 
 truly are so impudently looked on in heaven 
 by thfi gods, that some of them have confess- 
 ed 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 liis lust, from lying with his 
 wife, so long as they might get into their 
 bed-chamber? Now, some of the gods are 
 servants to men, and will sometimes be build- 
 ers for a reward, and sometimes will be 
 shepherds; while others of them, like male- 
 factors, 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, o- 
 thers there are that have advanced a certain ti- 
 morousness and fear, as also madness and fraud, 
 and any other of the vilest passions, into the na- 
 ture and form of gods, and have persuaded 
 whole cities to offer sacrifices to the better sort 
 of them ; on which account they have been ab- 
 solutely forced to esteem some gods as the 
 givers of good things, and to call others of 
 them averters of evil. Tliey also endeavour 
 to move them, as they would the vilest of 
 men, by gifts and presents, as looking for no- 
 thing else than to receive some great mischief 
 from them, unless they pay them such wages, 
 S6. Wherefore it deserves our inquiry what 
 should be the occasion of this unjust man- 
 agement, and of these scandles about the 
 Deity. And truly I suppose it to be derived 
 from the imperfect knowledge the heathen le- 
 gislators had at first of the true nature of God ; 
 nor did they explain to the people even so 
 far as they did comprehend of it : nor did 
 they compose the other parts of their political 
 settlements according to it, but omitted it as 
 a thing of very little consequence, and gave 
 leave both to the poets to introduce what gods 
 they pleased, and those subject to all sorts of 
 passions, and to the orators to procure poli- 
 tical 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 
 making a bare picture of such a one ; but 
 those workmen that were principally admired, 
 had th? use of ivory and of gold as the con- 
 stant materials for their new statues ; [where- 
 by it comes to pass that some temples are 
 quite deserted, while others are in great es- 
 teem, and adorned with all the rites of all 
 kinds of purification!. Besides this, the first 
 g.ods, who have long flourished in the honours 
 done them, are now grown old, [while those 
 that flourished after them are come in theii 
 room as a second rank, that I may speak the 
 mosthonourably of themthati can]: nay,cer- 
 tain other gods there are who are newly intro- 
 duced, 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 lef^ 
 desolate, and others are built anew, accord- 
 
 "V 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 821 
 
 ing to die pleasure of men ; whereas they 
 ought to have preserved their opinion about 
 God, and that worship which is due to him, 
 always and immutably the same. 
 
 37. But now, this Apollonius Molo was 
 one of these foolish and proud men. How- 
 ever, notliing that I have said was unknown 
 to those that were real philosophers among 
 the Greeks, nor were they unacquainted with 
 those frigid pretenses of allegories [which 
 had been alleged for such things] : on which 
 account they justly despised tliem, but have 
 still agreed with us as to the true and be- 
 coming notions 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 garland on his head, and with ointment 
 poured upon him, and this because he should 
 not destroy the right notions of God with 
 nis fables. Nay, Plato principally 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 accurately." He also or- 
 dained, that they should not admit of foreign- 
 ers intermixing with their own people at ran- 
 dom ; and provided that the commonwealth 
 should keep itself pure, and consist of such 
 only as persevered in their own laws. Apol- 
 lonius Molo did no way consider this, when 
 he made it one branch of his accusation a- 
 gainst us, that we do not admit of such as 
 have different notions about God, nor will we 
 have fellowship with those that choose to ob- 
 serve a way of living different from ourselves ; 
 yet is not this method peculiar to us, but 
 common to all oiher men ; not among the or- 
 dinary Grecians only, but among such of 
 those Grecians as are of the greatest reputa- 
 tion among them. Moreover, the Lacede- 
 monians continued in their way of expelling 
 foreigners, and would not, indeed, give leave 
 to their own people to travel abroad, as sus- 
 pecting 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 be- 
 Uowed the privilege of their city on no fo- 
 reigners, nor would give leave to them to slay 
 among them : whereas we, though we do not 
 think fit to imitate other institutions, yet do 
 we willingly admit of those that desire to par- 
 take of ours, which I think I may reckon to 
 be a plain indication of our humanity, and at 
 the same time of our magnanimity also. 
 
 38. But I shall say no more of file Lace- 
 demonians. 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 Socrates was put to death liy them ? 
 Certainly, 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 earnest, or, as some 
 say, only in jest, that a certain demon used 
 to make signs to him [what he should not 
 do]. For these reasons he was condemn- 
 ed to drink poison, and kill himself. His 
 accuser also complained that he corrupt- 
 ed the young men, by inducing them to des- 
 pise the political settlement and laws of their 
 city : and thus was Socrates, the citizen of 
 Athens, punished. There was also Anaxa- 
 goras, who although he was of Clazomenae, 
 was within a few suffrages of being condemn- 
 ed 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 Diagoras of Melos," because 
 it was reported that he laughed at their mys- 
 teries : Portagoras also, wlio was thought to 
 have written somewhat that was not ovvned 
 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, be- 
 cause 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 believe 
 those of other nations to be really gods, other- 
 wise they had not envied themselves the ad- 
 vantage of more gods than they already had ; 
 and this was the happy administration of the 
 affairs of the Athenians ! Now, as to the Scy- 
 thians, they take a pleasure in killing men, 
 and differ little from brute beasts ; yet do 
 they think it reasonable to have tJ}eir institu- 
 tions observed. They also slew Anacharsis, 
 a person greatly admired for his wisdom a- 
 mong 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 in the temples they burnt, and 
 their courage in coming, and almost entirely 
 enslaving the Grecians. However, Apollo- 
 nius has imitated all the Persian institutions, 
 and that by his offering violence to other men's 
 wives, and castrating his own sons. Now, with 
 
 * See what those novel oaths were in Dr. Hudson's 
 note, viz. to swear by an oak, by a goat, and by a dog, aj 
 also by a gander, as say Fhilostratus and others. Thii 
 swearing strange oaths was also forbidden by the Ty- 
 rians, b. i, secL 22. as Spanheim here notes. 
 
822 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUSAGAINST APION. 
 
 BOOK II 
 
 us, it is a capital crime, if any one does tluis 
 afxuse even a biute beast ; and as for us, nei- 
 ther hath the fear of our governors, nor a de- 
 sire of following what other nations 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 wealtli, but 
 only for the observation of our laws; and 
 when we with patience bear other losses, yet 
 when any persons would compel us to break 
 our laws, then it is that we choose to go to war, 
 though it be beyond our al)ility to pursue it, 
 and bear the greatest calamities to the last with 
 much fortitude ; and indeed, what reason can 
 there be why we should desire to imitate the 
 laws of other nations, while we see tiiey are not 
 observed 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 shew 
 a sufficient sign of their repentance of what 
 they of old thouglit 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 sodomitical practices to the gods them- 
 selves, as part of their good character ; and 
 indeed it was according to the same manner 
 that the gods inarried their own sisters. This 
 the Greeks contrived as an apology for their 
 own absurd and unnatural pleasures, 
 
 39. I omit to speak concerning punish- 
 ments, and how many ways of escaping them 
 the greatest part of legislators have afforded 
 malefactors, by ordaining that, for adulter- 
 ies, fines in money should be allowed, and for 
 corrupting • [virgins] they need only marry 
 them ;-(■ asalso what excuses they may have in 
 denying the facts, if any one should attempt 
 to inquire into thein ; for amongst most otlier 
 nations it is a studied art how men may trans- 
 gress their laws ; but no such thing is per- 
 mitted amongst us ; for though we be de- 
 prived of our wealth, of our cities, or of oth- 
 er advantages we have, our law continues im- 
 mortal ; nor can any Jew go so far from his 
 own country,nor be so affrighted at the severest 
 Jord, as not to be more afl'rightcd at the law 
 than at him. If, therefore, this be the dispo- 
 
 • Why Joseplius here should blame some heathen 
 legislators, when tliey allowal so easy a composition for 
 simple fornication, as an obligation to marry the virgin 
 that was corrupteii, is hard to say, seeing he had hnn- 
 sclf truly informed us, that it was a law of tlie Jews, 
 Antiq. b. i», chap, viii, sect. 25, as it is the law of Chris- 
 tianity also; see Horeb Covenant, p. 61. I am almost 
 ready to suspect, that for yccMUi, we should here read 
 y«,u.4)» ; and that e<iiruptmg wedlock, or other men" 
 
 sition we are under, with regard to the excef- 
 lency of our laws, let our enemies make us 
 this concession, that our laws are most excel- 
 lent ; 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 observe 
 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 testimonial of the excel- 
 lency of our laws, and of that belief thereby 
 delivered to us concerning God; for as there 
 hath been a very long time for this compari- 
 son, if any one will but con>p3re its duration 
 with the duration of the laws made by other 
 legislators, he will find our legislator to have 
 been the most ancient of them all. 
 
 40. We have already demonstrated that our 
 laws have Iwen such as have always inspired 
 admiration and imitation into all other men; 
 nay, the earliest Grecian philosophers, though 
 in appearance they observed the laws of their 
 own countries, yet did they, in their actions 
 and their philosophic doctrines, follow our le- 
 gislator, and instructed men to live sparingly, 
 and to hpve friendly communication one with 
 another. Nay, farther, the multitude of man- 
 kind itself have had a great inclination of a 
 long time to follow our religious observances ; 
 for there is not any city of the Grecians, nor 
 any of the barbarians, nor any nation whatso- 
 ever, whither our custom of resting on the se- 
 venth 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 one another, and the charitable dis- 
 tribution of our goods, and our diligence in our 
 trades, and our fortitude in undergoing the dis- 
 tresses we are in, on account of our laws ; and, 
 what is here matter of the greatest admiration, 
 our law hath no bait of pleasure to allure men 
 to it, but it prevails by its own force ; and as 
 God himself j>ervades 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 rea- 
 son to give credit to what I say. It is there- 
 fore 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, 
 rather tlian following laws of their own that 
 are of a better character, or else our accusers 
 must leave off their spite against us ; nor are 
 we guilty of any envious behaviour towards 
 them, when we honour our own legislator, 
 and believe what he, by his prophetic autho- 
 rity, hath taught us concerning God ; for 
 though we should not be able ourselves to 
 understand the excellency of our own laws, 
 Tves' is tiie crime for wldcli these heatiicns wickedly I yet would tlie great multitude of tiiose that 
 
 allowed this composition in money. 
 
 t Or " for corrupting other men's wives, the same I 
 aJlowaJic<.\'' I 
 
 desire to imitate them, justify us, 
 valuing ourselves upon them. 
 
 really 
 
BOOK It. 
 
 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION. 
 
 823 
 
 41. But as for tlie fdistinci] political laws I struct men to be content with what thej- have 
 by wliich we are governed, I have delivered and to be laborious in their callings; they 
 them accurately in my books of Antiquities; forbid men to make war from a desire of get- 
 and have only mentioned them now, so far as ■ ting more, but make men courageous in de- 
 fending the laws : they are inexorable in pu- 
 nishing malefactors : they admit no sophistry 
 of words, but are always established by ac- 
 tions themselves, which actions we ever pro- 
 pose as surer demonstrations 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 ex- 
 cellent nature only; for what is more excel- 
 lent than inviolable piety ? what is more just 
 tlian submission to laws ? and what is more 
 advantageous than mutual love and concord ? 
 and this so far that we are to be neither divid- 
 ed by calamities, nor to become injurious and 
 seditious in prosjierity ; but to contemn death 
 when we are in war, and 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 God is 
 the inspector and governor of our actions. 
 If these precepts had either been written at 
 first, or more exactjy kept by any others be- 
 fore us, we should have owed them thanks as 
 disciples owe to their masters ; but if it be vi- 
 sible that we have made use of them more 
 than any other men, and if we have demon- 
 strated 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 foregoing book be dedicated to thee, 
 Epaphroditus, 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. 
 
 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 aflectation of disguising the 
 trutli : — and now I think I have sufficiently 
 ;ompIeted what I proposed in writing these 
 books ; for whereas our accusers liave pre- 
 tended that our nation are a people of very 
 late original, I have demonsi rated that they 
 are exceeding ancient ; 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 account of 
 diseases on our bodies, it has appeared on the 
 contrary, that we returned to our country by 
 our own choice, and with sound and strong 
 bodies. Those accusers reproached our legis- 
 lator 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 dis- 
 covered to have borne witness to the same thing. 
 42. 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 encou- 
 rage people to communicate what they have 
 to one another freely ; they are enemies to 
 injustice, they take care of righteousness, they 
 banish idleness and expensive living, and in- 
 
 V. 
 
"~v.; 
 
 EXTRACT 
 
 JOSEPHUS'S DISCOURSE TO THE GREEKS 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 HADES. 
 
 § 1. Now as to Hades, wherein the souls of 
 the righteous and unrighteous are detained, 
 it is necessary to speak of it. Hades is a place 
 in the world not regularly finished ; a subter- 
 raneous region wherein the light of this world 
 does not shine ; from which circumstance, that 
 in this region the light aoes not shine, it can- 
 not be but there must be in it perpetual dark- 
 ness. This region is allotted as a place of 
 custody for souls, in which angels are appoint- 
 ed as guardians to them, who distribute to 
 them temporary punishments, agreeable to 
 every one's behaviour and manners. 
 
 2. In this region there is a certain place 
 set apart, as a lake of unquenchable jire, 
 whereinto we suppose no one hath hitherto 
 been cast ; but it is prepared for a day afore- 
 determined 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 ho- 
 nour to such idols as have been the vain oper- 
 ations of tlie hands of men, as to God him- 
 self, shall be adjudged to this everlasting pun- 
 ishment, as having been the causes of deiile- 
 ment; while the just shall obtain an incorrup- 
 tible and never-fading kingdom. These are 
 now indeed confined in Hades, but not in the 
 same place wherein the unjust are confined. 
 
 3. For there is one descent into this re- 
 gion, at whose gale we believe there stands an 
 archangel with an 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 enjoying 
 the prospect of the good things they see, and 
 rejoice in the expectation of those new enjoy- 
 ments which will be peculiar to every one of 
 them, and esteeming those things beyond 
 what we have here ; with whom there is no 
 place of toil, no burning heat, no piercing 
 cold, nor are any briers there ; but the coun- 
 tenance of \.\\e fathers and of the just, which 
 they see always smiles upon them, while thev 
 wait for that rest and eternal new life in hea- 
 ven, which is to succeed this region. This 
 place we call The Bosom of Abraham, 
 
 4. But as to the unjust, they are dragged 
 by force to the left hand by the angels allottee' 
 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 tiu-eaten them 
 with their terrible looks, and to thrust them 
 still downwards. 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 it- 
 self; but when they have a nearer view of this 
 spectacle, as of a terrible and exceeding great 
 prospect of fire, they are struck with a fear- 
 ful expectation of a future judgment, and in 
 effect punished thereby ; and not only so, but 
 where tliey see the place [or choir] of theya- 
 thers and of the just, even hereby are they 
 jjunishcd ; for a chaos deep and large is fixed 
 between them ; insomuch that a just man that 
 hath compassion upon them cannot be admit- 
 ted, 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 an 
 
JOSEPIIUS S DISCOURSE CONCERNING HADES. 
 
 82:j 
 
 til a proper season, which God hath deter- 
 mined, when he will make a resurrection of 
 all men from the dead, not procuring a trans- 
 migration of souls 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 disbe- 
 lieve it ; for while you believe that the soul is 
 created, and yet is made immortal by God, 
 according to the doctrine of Plato, and this 
 in time, be not incredulous ; but believe that 
 God is al)le, when he hath raised to life that 
 body which was made as a compound of the 
 same elements, 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. Wc 
 have therefore believed that the body will be 
 raised again ; for although it be dissolved, it 
 is not perished ; for the earth receives its re • 
 mains, and preserves them ; and while they 
 are like seed, and are mixed among the more 
 fruitful soil, they flourish, and what is soum 
 is indeed sown bare grain ; but at the mighty 
 sound of God the Creator, it vvill sprout up, 
 and be raised in a clothed and glorious condi- 
 tion, though not before it has been dissolved, 
 and mixed [with the earth]. So that -we have 
 not rashly believed the resurrection of tl'.e 
 body ; for altiiough 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 be- 
 fore, 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 re- 
 joice with it, with which it having walked 
 righteously now in this world, and never hav- 
 ing had it as a snare, it vvill 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 
 tliey died ; and such as they were in their un- 
 belief, the same shall they be when they shall 
 be faithfully judged. 
 
 6. For all men, the just as well as the un- 
 just, shall be brought before God the word ; 
 for to him hath the Father committed all 
 Judgment ; and he, in order to fuljil the icill 
 of his Father, shall come as judge, whom we 
 call Christ. For Minos and Rhadamanthus 
 are not the judges, as you Greeks do suppose, 
 but he wliom God even the Father hath glo- 
 
 'ijied ; CONCERNING WHOM WE HAVE ELSE- 
 WHERE GIVEN A MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT, 
 FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE WHO SEEK AFTER 
 
 TRUTH. This person, exercising the right- 
 eous judgment of the Father towards all men, 
 hath prepared a just sentence for every one, 
 according to his works ; at whose judgment- 
 scat when all men, and angels, and demons 
 
 A_ 
 
 shall stand, they will send forth one voice, 
 and say, just is thy judgment ; the rejoin- 
 der to which will bring a just sentence upon 
 boUi parties, by giving justly to those that 
 have done well an everlasting fruition ; but 
 allotting to the lovers of wicked works eternal 
 jrunishment. To these belong the unquench- 
 able fire-, and that without end, and a certain 
 fiery worm never dying, and not destroying 
 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 tliem comfort ; death will not 
 ^T^Q them from their punishment, nor will 
 the interceding prayers of their kindred pro ' 
 fit them ; for the just are no longer seen by i 
 them, nor are they thought worthy of remem- 
 berance; but the just shall remember only i 
 their righteous actions, whereby they have at- I 
 tained the heavenly kingdom, in which there I 
 is no sleep, no sorrow, no corruption, no 
 care, no night, no day measured by time, no ■ 
 sun driven in his course along the circle of i 
 heaven by necessity, and measuring out the 
 bounds and conversions of the seasons, for i 
 the better illumination of the life of men j no 
 moon decreasing and i-;icreasing, or introduc- 
 ing a variety of seasons, nor will she then i 
 moisten the earth ; no burning sun, no Bear 
 turning round [the pole], no Orion to rise, 
 no wandering of innumerable stars. The i 
 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 fear- 
 ful 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 uninhabitable by men : and it will not be 
 impossible to discover the way of ascending 
 thither. The earth will not be unculti- 
 vated, nor require too much labour of men, 
 but will bring forth its fruits of its own ac- 
 cord, and will be well adorned with them. 
 There will be no 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 right- 
 eous 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 grow old, and 
 continue in an incorruptible state, singing 
 hymns to God, who hath advanced them to 
 that happiness, by the means of a regular in- 
 stitution of life ; with whom the whole crea- 
 tion also will lift up a perpetual hvmn from 
 corruption to incorrupthn, as glorified by a 
 splendid and pure spirit. It vvill not then be 
 restrained by a bond of necessity, but with a I 
 lively freedom shall offer up a voluntary i 
 hymn, and shall praise him that made them, 
 together with the angels, and spirits, and i 
 men now freed from all bondage. \ 
 
 7. And now, if you Gentiles vvill be per 
 
 r 
 
626 
 
 JOSEPHUS S DISCOURSii CONCERNING HADES. 
 
 Buaded by tliese motives, and leave your vain 
 imaginations about your pedigrees, and gain- 
 ing of riches and philosophy, and will not 
 spend your time about sublilties 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 into the 
 immense heaven plainly, and that kingdom 
 which is there; for what God hath now con- 
 cealed in silence [will be then made mani- 
 fest], what iielther ei/e hath seen, 7ior cirr hath 
 heard, nor hath it entered into the Iteurt of 
 man, the things that God hath prepared fur 
 them that love him. 
 
 8. In whatsoever ways I shall fnd you, in 
 them shall I judge you entirely ; so cries the 
 END of all things. And he who hatli at 
 first lived a virtuous life, but towards tlie lat- 
 ter end falls into vice, these labours by liim 
 
 before endured, shall be altogether vain and 
 unprofitable, even as in a play, brought to an 
 ill catastrophe. Whosoever shall have lived 
 wickedly and luxuriously may repent ; how- 
 ever, there will be need of much time to con- 
 quer 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 distemper, requires a stricter diet and 
 method of living ; for though it may be pes- • 
 sible, perhaps, to break oflT 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 oJ 
 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 dis- 
 temper. To God be glory and dominion fo. 
 ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 "Y. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 DISSERTATION I. 
 
 THE TESriMONIES OF JOSEPHUS CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST, JOHN 
 THE BAPTIST, AND JAMES THE JUST, VINDICATED. 
 
 Since we meet with several important testimo- 
 nies in Josephus, the Jewish liistorian, con- 
 cerning John the Baptist, the forerunner of 
 Jesus of Nazareth, concerning Jesus of Nazar- 
 eth himself, and concerning James the Just the 
 brother of Jesus of Nazareth ; and since the 
 principal testimony, which is tliat concerning 
 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 be- 
 lief that these testimonies were genuine, to 
 set down fairly some of the orii^inal evidence 
 and (Stations I have met with in the first fif- 
 teen centuries concerning them ; and then to 
 make proper obscrvalions 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 pre- 
 pare the leader'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 Scaligcr, in the Prolegomena 
 to his book De Emendatione Temporum, p. 17. 
 " Josephus is the most diligent and the great- 
 est lover of truth of all writers ; nor are we a- 
 fraid to affirm of him, that it is more safe to 
 believe him, not only as to t!»e 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 everywhere conspicuous." 
 
 THE ANCIENT CITATIONS OF THE TESTIMONIES 
 OF JOSEPHUS, FROM HIS OWN TIJIE TILL THE 
 END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 About J. B. 110. Tacit. Annal. lib. xv. cap. 
 44. — Nero, in order to stifle the rumour, [as 
 
 if he himself had set Rome on fire], ascribed 
 it to those people who were hated for theii 
 wicked practices, and called by the vulgar 
 Christians : tiiese he punished exquisitely. 
 The author of this name was Christ, wh o, in llie 
 reign of Tiberius, irus brought to irunishment by 
 Fontius Pilate the procurator. 
 
 About A. I). 147. Just. Mart. Dialog, cum 
 Tryph. p. 230. — You [Jews] knew that Je- 
 sus was risen i'rom the dead, and ascended in- 
 to heaven, as the prophecies did foretell was to 
 happen. 
 
 About A. D. SfiO. Origen. Comment, iti 
 Matth. p. 234. — This James was of so shin, 
 ing a character among the people, on account 
 of his righteousness, that Flavins Josephus, 
 when, in his twentieth book of the Jewish 
 Antiquities, he had a mind to set down what 
 was the cause why the people sull'ered such 
 miseries, till the very holy house was demo- 
 lished, he said, that these things befel them 
 by the anger of God, on account of what they 
 had dared to do to James, the brother of Je- 
 sus, 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. He says 
 farther, that the people thought they had suf- 
 fered these things for the sake of James. 
 
 About A.I). 250. Id. Contr. Cels. lib. i. p. 
 35, 36. — I would say to Celsus, who perso. 
 nates a Jew, that admitted of John the Bap- 
 tist, and how he baptized Jesus, that one who 
 lived but a little while after John and Jesus, 
 wrote, how that John was a baptizer unto the 
 remission of sins; for Josephus testifies, in 
 the eighteenth book of his Jewish Antiquities, 
 that .John was the Baptist ; and that he pro- 
 mised purification to those that were baptized. 
 The same Josephus also, although he did not 
 believe in Jesus as Christ, when he was in- 
 
 -T 
 
J' 
 
 828 
 
 DISSERTATION" I. 
 
 quiring after the cause of the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, and of the demolition of the tem- 
 ple, and ought to have said that their machi- 
 uations against Jesus were the cause of those 
 miseries coming on the people, because they 
 had slain that Clirist who was foretold by the 
 prophets, he, though as it were unwillingly, 
 and yet as one not remote from the truth, 
 says, " these miseries befel the Jews by way 
 of revenge for James the Just, who was the 
 brother of Jesus that was called Christ; be- 
 cause 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. 
 19T J which relation implies not so much near- 
 ness of blood, or the sameness of education, 
 as it does the agreement of manners and 
 preaching. If therefore he says the desola- 
 tion of Jerusalem befel 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 attestation 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 farther 
 witness ; who, in the eighteenth book of his 
 Antiquities, when he was writing the history 
 of what happened under Pilate, makes men- 
 tion 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 do- 
 er 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 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 unto them alive again 
 the third day, as the divine prophets had 
 spoken of these, and ten thousand other won- 
 derful things concerning him : whence the 
 tribe of Christians, so named from him, are 
 not extinct at this day." If therefore we 
 have this historian's testimony, that he not 
 only brought over to himself the twelve apos- 
 tles, with the seventy disciples, but many of 
 the Jews and many of the Gentiles also, he 
 must manifestly liave 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 "dsed a method of teaching that was not 
 coiamon ? Moreover, tlie scripture of the 
 Acts of the Apostles (xxi, 20.) bears witness, 
 that there were many ten thousands of Jen s, 
 who were persuaded that he was the CJirist of 
 God, who was foretold by the prophets. 
 
 Atout A. D. 330. Id. Hist. Ecdes. lib. i. 
 cap, 11. Now the divine scripture of the 
 
 Gospels makes mention of John the Baptis 
 as having his head cut off' by the younger 
 Herod. Josephus also concurs in this history, 
 and makes mention of Herodias by name, as the 
 wife of his brother, whom Herod had married, 
 upon divorcing his former lawful wife. She 
 was the daughter of Aretas, king of the Pe- 
 trcan Arabians; and whicli Herodias he had 
 parted from her liusband wliile 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 destroyed ; and that he suffered 
 this because of his wicked contrivance against 
 John. Moreover, the same Josephus, by ac- 
 knowledging 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 Herodias, together 
 with whom he was himself 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 this of John 
 verbatitn : — " Some of the Jews thought that 
 the destruction 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 J for Herod slew him, who was a 
 good man, and one that commanded the 
 Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteous- 
 ness towards one another, and piety towards i 
 God, and so to come to baptism, for that by 
 this means tlie washing [with water] woul'' 
 appear acceptable to him, when they made I 
 use of it, not in order to the putting away i 
 [or the remission] of some sins [only], — but i 
 for the purification of the body, supposing; 
 still that the soul was thoroughly purified be , 
 foreliand 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 i 
 or other, for they seemed to be disposed to do 
 every thing lie should advise them to, so he ■ 
 supposed it better to prevent 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 suspi- 
 cious temper, to Macherus, the castle I be- 
 fore mentioned, and was there put to death." 
 — When Josephus 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 teaclier of such men as 
 receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over 
 10 him both many of the Jews and many of 
 the Gentiles also : — he was the Christ. And 
 
DISSERTATION I. 
 
 82U 
 
 wlien Pilate, at the suggestion of the princi- 
 pal men among us, had condemned l;im to 
 the cross, those that loved him at the first did 
 not forsake him; for he appeared to them 
 alive again the tliird day, as the divine pro- 
 phets Iiad foretold these, and ten thousand 
 other wonderful things concerning liim : and 
 still the trihe of Christians, so named from 
 him, are not extinct at this day." And since 
 this writer, sprung from the Hebrews them- 
 selves, hath delivered these things above in 
 his own work, concerning John the Baptist 
 and our Saviour, what room is there for any 
 farther evasion ? &c. 
 
 Now James was so vi'onderful a person, 
 and was so celebrated by all others for riglit- 
 eousness, that the judicious Jews thought this 
 to have been the occasion of that siege of Je- 
 rusalerp, wliich came on presently after his 
 martyrdom ; and that it befel 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 be- 
 fel the Jews by way of revenge for James the 
 Just, who was tiie brother of Jesus that was 
 called Christ, on account that they had slain 
 nim who was a most righteous person." 
 
 The same Josephus declares the manner of 
 his death in the twentieth book of the Anti- 
 quities, in these words . — " Ca;sar sent Al- 
 binus into Judea to be procurator, when he 
 had heard that Festus was dead. Now An- 
 aniis, junior, who, as we said, had been admit- 
 ted to the high-priesthood, was in his temper 
 bold and daring in an extraordinary 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 therefore this was the character of An- 
 anus, he thought he had now a proper oppor- 
 tunity [to exercise his authority], because Fes- 
 tus was dead, and Albinus was but upon the 
 road ; so he assembles the sanhedrim of 
 judges, and brings before them James, tlie 
 brother of Jesus who was called Clirist, and 
 some others [of his companions] ; and when 
 he had formed an accusation against them, as 
 breakers of the lavv, he delivered them to be 
 stoned ; but as for those who seemed the most 
 equitable 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 Ananus 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 Hegesippus 
 de Exci'.l. Urb. Hkrosoli/m. lib. ii. cap. 12. — 
 We liave discovered tl)at it was the opinion 
 and belief of the Jews, as Josephus affirms 
 (who is an author not to be rejected, when he 
 writes against himself), that Herod lost his 
 army, not by the deceit of men but by the 
 anger of God, and that justly, as an effect of j 
 
 I revenge for what he did to John the Baptist, 
 a just man, who had said to him, /; is not laiv- 
 ^fulfor thee to have thy brother s wife. 
 I 'Hie Jews tliemselves 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 disci- 
 ples after the tliird day from his death alive 
 again, according to the writings of the pro- 
 phets, who foretold these and innumerable 
 other miraculous events concerning him; 
 from whom began the congregation of Chris- 
 tians, and hath penetrated among all sorts of 
 men : nor does there 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 own writers. 
 Josephus, vchom they 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 believer as to what he him- 
 self said ; but thus he spake, in order to de- 
 liver historical truth, because he thought it 
 not lawful for him to deceive while yet he 
 was no believer, because of the hardness of iiis 
 heart and his perfidious intention. However, 
 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. Illustr. 
 in Josepho. — Josephus in the eighteenth book 
 of Antiquities, most expressly acknowledges 
 tliat Christ was slain by the Pharisees, on ac- 
 count of the greatness of his miracles; and 
 that John the Baptist was truly a prophet ; 
 and tliat Jerusalem was demolished on ac- 
 count 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 crdl 
 him a man ; for he was a doer of wonderful 
 works, a teacher of those who willingly re- 
 ceive the truth. He had many followers, 
 both of the Jews and of the Gentiles : — he was 
 believed to be Ciirist. And when by the 
 envy of our principal men, Pilate iiad con- 
 demned him to the cross, yet notwithstanding, 
 those who had loved him at first persevered, 
 for he appeared to them alive on the third 
 day as the oracles of the prophets liad fore- 
 told many of these and other wonderful things 
 coHcerning him : and tfie sect of Christians, 
 so named from him, are not extinct at this 
 day." 
 
 About A. D, 410. Isidoras Felusiotn, tlie 
 Scholar of Chrysostom, lib. iv. epist. 225. — 
 There was one Josephus, a Jew of the great- 
 est reputation, and one that was zealous of 
 tlie law ; one also that paraphrased the Old 
 Testament with truth, and acted valiantly for 
 
J" 
 
 830 
 
 DISSERTATION I. 
 
 the Jews, and had showed tliat their settle- 
 ment was nobler than can be described by 
 words. Now since he made tl)eir interest 
 give place to truth, for he would not support 
 the opinion of impious men, I think it ne- 
 cessary 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 Gen- 
 tiles : — 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 for!.ake 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 
 concerning him : and the tribe of Christians, 
 so named from him, are not extinct at this 
 day." Now I cannot but wonder greatly at 
 this great man's love of truth in many respects, 
 but chiefly vi here he says, "Jesus was a tea- 
 cher of men who received the truth with plea- 
 sure." 
 
 About A. D. 440. Sosonien. 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 
 hiin a man as being a doer of wonderful 
 works, and a teacher of the words of truth. 
 He names him Clirist openly; and is not ig- 
 norant that he was condemned to the cross, 
 and appeared on the third day alive, and 
 that ten thousand other wonderful things 
 were foretold of him Dy tne divine prophets. 
 He testifies also, that those whom he drew 
 over to him, being many of the Gentiles, as 
 well ns of the Jews, continued to love him ; 
 and that the tribe named from hitri was not 
 then extinct. Now he seems to me by tliis 
 his relation, almost to proclaim that Christ is 
 God. Howtvtr, he appears to have been so 
 afi'ected witli the strangeness of the thing, as 
 to run, as it were, in a sort of middle way, 
 so as not to jjut any indignity upon believers 
 in him, but rather to afford his sufi'rage to 
 them. 
 
 About A. D. 510. Cassiodorus Hkt. Tri 
 partit. e Sozonieno. — Now Josephus, the son 
 of IMatthias, and a priest, a man of great 
 nobility among the Jews, and of great dignity 
 among the Romans, shall be a triilli of 
 Christ's history : for he dares not call him a 
 man, as a doer of famous works, and a teach- 
 er of true doctrines : he names him Clirist 
 openly ; and is not ignorant that he was con- 
 demned to the cross, and appeared on the 
 third diy alive, and that sin infinite number 
 of other wonderful things were foretold of 
 hiin by the holy prophets. Mfreover, he 
 testifies also, that there were then alive 
 
 many whom he had cliosen, botJi Greeks 
 and Jews, and that they continued to lovB 
 him ; and that the sect which was najned 
 from him was by no means extinct at tliat 
 time. 
 
 About A. D. 640. Chran. Alex. p. 514.— 
 Now Josephus also relates in his eighteenth 
 j book of Antiquities, how John the Baptist, that 
 j holy man, was beheaded, on account of He- 
 I rodias, the v\ife of Philip, the brother of He- 
 j rod himself; for Herod had divorced his for- 
 I mer wife, who was still alive, and had been 
 his lawful wife ; she was the daughter of 
 Aretas, king oi the Petreans, When there- 
 fore Herod had taken ilerodias away from 
 her husband, while he was yet alive (on whose 
 account he slew John also), Aretas made war 
 against Herod, because his daugliter had 
 been dishonourably treated. In which war, 
 he says, that all Herod's army was destro3'ed, 
 and that he suffered that calamity because 
 of the wickedness he had been guilty of a- 
 gainst 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. S9.(\y 527.] Now that our Saviour 
 taught his preaching three years, is demon- 
 strated both by other necessary reasonings, as 
 also out of the holy Gospels, and out of Jose- 
 plius's writings, who was a wise man among 
 the Hebrews, &c. 
 
 P. 584, 5SG.] Josephus relates, in the 
 fifth bock of the [Jewish] war, that Jerusa- 
 lem wns t.iken in the third [sicond] year of 
 Vespasian, as after forty years since thiy had 
 d.ired to put Jesus to diath : in which time 
 he says, that Jami s, the brother of our I>oid, 
 and bishop of Jerusalem. w:is thrown down 
 [from the temple] and slain of them, by ston- 
 ing. 
 
 About A. D. 740. Anadasius Abbas contr. 
 Jud. — Now Josephus, ati author and writer 
 of your own, says of Christ, that he was a 
 just and good man, shewed and declared so 
 to be by divine grace, who gave aid to many 
 by signs and miracles. 
 
 About A. D. 790. Geori^dus Syncellus 
 Chron. p. 339. — These miseries befel the 
 Jews by way of revenge for James the Just, 
 who was the brother of Jesus that was called 
 Christ, on the account that they had slain 
 him who was a most righteous person. Now 
 as Ananus, a person of tliat 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 brother of 
 Jesus, wlio was called Clirist, and some of 
 his companions; and wlien he had formed 
 an accusation against them, as breakers of 
 i the law, 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 dislik 
 
 
DISSERTATION I. 
 
 831 
 
 ed what was done. They also sent to the 
 kin" [ Agrippa] desiring him to send to Ana- 
 nus that he should act so no mote, for that 
 what he had already done could not be justi- 
 fied, &c. 
 
 About A. D. 850. Jjlmn. Malela Cliron. 
 lib. X. — From that lime began the destruction 
 of the Jews, as Josephus, the philosopher of 
 the Jews, hath written ; 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 ht to call such a one a man, and 
 not God), the land of Judea was never free 
 from trouble. These things the same Jose- 
 phus the Jew has related in his writings. 
 
 About A. D. 860. Photius Cud. lib. xlviii. 
 — I have read the treatise of Josopbus About 
 the Universe, whose title I have elsewhere read 
 to be, Of the Substance of Ike Universe. It is 
 contained in two very small treatises. He 
 treats of the origin of the world in a brief 
 manner. Howerer, 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, whe- 
 ther Josephui was the author of the work, 
 though the phraseology does not at all differ 
 from this man's other works. Hovvever, I 
 have found in some papers, that this discourse 
 was not written by Josephus, but by one Caius, 
 9 presbyter. 
 
 Cod. ccxxxviii.] Herod, the tetrarch of 
 Galilee and of Perea, t!ie son of Herod the 
 Great, fell in love, as Josephus says, with the 
 wife of his brotlier Philip, whose name was 
 Herodias, who was the grand-daugluer of He- 
 rod the Great, by his son Aristobulus, whom 
 he had slain. Agrippa was also her brotlier. 
 Now Herod took her 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 Jose|)hus says) 
 lest he should raise a sedition among his peo- 
 ple; for they all followed the directions of 
 John, on account of the excellency of his vir- 
 tue. In his time was the pas'sion of our Sa- 
 viour. 
 
 Cod. xxxiii.] 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. Macnrius in Actis Sanc- 
 torum, torn. V. p. 149. aj>. Fabric. Josqili. p. 
 61. — Josephus, a priest of Jerusalem, and one 
 tliat 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 again ; whose writings are repoSited 
 ill 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 receive 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 on 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 Ilebrevks has en- 
 graven this testimony concerning our Lord 
 and Saviour in his own books, what defence 
 can tiiere remain for the unbelievers? 
 
 About A. D. 980. Suidas in voce 'luffouf.^ 
 We have found Josephus, who hath written 
 about the taking of Jerusalem (of whom Eu- 
 Sfbius Pamphilii makes frequent mention in 
 his Ecclesiastical History), saying openly in 
 his Memoirs of the Captivity, that Jesus offi- 
 ciated in the temple with the priests. Thus 
 have we found Josephus saying, a man of an- 
 cient times, and not very long after the apos. 
 ties, SiC. 
 
 About A. D. 1060. Cedrcnus Compend. 
 Ilistor. p. 196. — Josephus does indeed write 
 concerning John the Baptist as follows: — 
 Some of the Jews thought that tiie dc-struc- 
 tion of Herod's army came from God, and that 
 he was punished very justly for what punish- 
 ment he had inflicted on John, that was called 
 the Baptist ; for Herod slew him, who was a 
 g.ood man, and commanded the Jews to ex- 
 ercise virtue, both by rigliteousness towards 
 one another and piety towards God, and so 
 to come to baptism. But as concerning Christ, 
 the same Josephus says, that about that time 
 there was Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful 
 to call him a man ; for he was a doer of won- 
 derful 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 spoke these and 
 other wonderful things concerning him. 
 
 About A. D. 1080. Tlieophi/lact. 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 
 Jesiis. 
 
 About A. D. 1 120. Zonaras Annal. tom. i, 
 p. 267. — Josephus, in the eigliteenth 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 won- 
 
J' 
 
 \9:-/ 
 
 DISSERTATION 1. 
 
 derful works, a teacher of such men as re- 
 ceive llic truth witli pleasure. He drew over 
 to him many of the Jews, and many of the 
 Gentiles : — he was the Christ. And when Pi- 
 late, at the suggestion of the principal men 
 among us, had condemned him to the cross, 
 tliose 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 ten thousand other wonderful things 
 concerning him: and the tribe of Christians, so 
 named from him, are not extinct at this day. 
 
 About A. D. 1120. Glycus Annal. p. 234. 
 — Then did Philo, that wise man, and Jose- 
 phus, flourish. Tiiis last was styled The Lo- 
 ver of Truth, because he commended John, 
 wlio baptized our Lord ; and because lie bore 
 witness that Christ, in 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. 11 70. Gotfi-idus Viterbiensis 
 Ckro7i. p. 366. e Vers. RuJinL — Josephus re- 
 lates that a very great war arose between 
 Aretas, king of the Arabians, and Herod, on 
 account of the sin which Herod had committed 
 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 wonderful works, a teacher of such 
 men as willingly hear truth. He also drew 
 over to him many of the Jews and many of 
 the Gentiles: — he was Christ. And vvhen 
 Pilate, at the accusation of the principal men 
 of our nation, had decreed that he should be 
 crucified, those that had loved him from the 
 beginning did not forsake him ; for he ap- 
 peared to them the third day alive again, ac- 
 cording to what the divinely inspired prophets 
 had foretold, that these and innumerable o- 
 ther miracles should come to pass about him. 
 Moreover, both the name and sect of Chris- 
 tians, who were named from him, continue in 
 being unto this day. 
 
 About A. D. 1360. Nkephonis Callislus 
 Hist. Eccles. lib, i. p. 90, 91. — Now this 
 [concerning Herod the tetrarch] is attested 
 to, not only l)y the book of the holy Gospels, 
 but by Joseplius, that lover of truth ; wlio 
 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 
 daugliter of Aretas, 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 dis- 
 honourably 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. More- 
 over, he makes mention of his baptism, a- 
 
 greeing in all points thereto relating with tha 
 Gospel. He also informs us, that Herod lost 
 his kingdom on account of Herodias, with 
 whom also he was condemned to be banished 
 to Vienna, which was tlieir place of exile, and 
 a city bordering upon Gaul, and lying neai 
 the utmost bounds of the \\ est. 
 
 About A. D. 1450. Hardmannus Schede- 
 lius Chron. p. 110. — Joseplius the Jew, who 
 was called Flavins, a priest, and the son of 
 Matthias, a priest of that nation, a most ce- 
 lebrated historian, and very skilful in many 
 things : he was certainly a good man, and o/ 
 an excellent character, who had the highesv. 
 opinion of Christ. 
 
 About A. D. 1480. Platina de Vitis Ponti- 
 Jicum, 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. 
 Flavins Josephus himself, who wrote twenty 
 books of Jewish Antiquities in the Greek 
 tongue, when he had proceeded as far as the 
 government of the emperor Tiberius, says 
 Tliere 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 wonderful works, and a 
 teacher of men, of such especially as willing- 
 ly hear the truth. On this account he drew 
 over to him many, both of the Jews and 
 Gentiles r — 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 had loved him from the 
 beginning forsake him; and besides, he ap- 
 peared to them the third day after his death 
 alive, as the divinely inspired prophets had 
 foretold, that these and innumerable other 
 miracles should come to pass about him: 
 and the famous name of Christians, taken 
 from him, as well as their sect, do still con- 
 tinue in being. 
 
 The same Josephus also affirms, That John 
 the Baptist, a true prophet, and on that ac- 
 count 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 of iVIacherus, — not because he was 
 afraid for himself and his kingdom, as the 
 same author says, — but because he had inces- 
 tuously married Herodias, the sister of A- 
 grippa, and the w'li'e of that excellent person 
 his brother Philip. 
 
 About A. D. 1480. Trilhemius Abbas de 
 Scriptor. Eccles. — Josephus the Jew, although 
 he continued to be a Jew, did frequently 
 commend tiie Christians ; and in the eigh- 
 teenth book of his Antiquities, wrote down an 
 eminent testimony concerning our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ. 
 
 A. 
 
DISSERTATION I. 
 
 833 
 
 OUSERVATIONS FROM THE FOREGOING EVI- 
 DENCE AND CITATIONS. 
 
 I. The style of all these original testi- 
 monies belonging to Josephus is exactly the 
 style of the same Josephus, and especially the 
 style about those parts of his Antiquities 
 wherein we find these testimonies. 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 
 "oncerning Christ. 
 
 II. These testimonies therefore being con- 
 fessedly and undeniably written by Josephus 
 himself, it is next to impossible that he should 
 wholly omit some testimony concerning Jesus 
 Christ ; nay, while his testimonies of John the 
 Baptist and of James the Just are so honour- 
 able, and gave them so great characters, it is 
 also impossible that this testimony concerning 
 Ciirist should be other than very honourable, 
 or such as afforded him a still greater char- 
 acter also. Could the very same author, who 
 gave such a full and advantageous 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 
 INIessias, and all whose disciples became after- 
 wards the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, say 
 nothing honourable 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 sam.s country in which he was born, 
 and lived, and died. This is almost incredi- 
 ble. And further, could the very same au- 
 thor, who gave such an advantageous char- 
 acter of James the Just, and this under the 
 very appellation of James (he brother of Jesus, 
 who ivas called Christ, which James was one of 
 the principal disciples or apostles of this Jesus 
 Christ, and had been many years the only 
 Christian bishop of the believing Jews of Ju- 
 dea and Jerusalem, in the very days and in 
 the very country of this writer; — could he, I 
 say, wholly omit any, nay, a very honourable 
 account of Jesus Christ iiimself, 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 occa- 
 sion : — " If any one object to me, that Jose- 
 phus 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 entirely silent concerning Christ, I 
 shall freely grant that Josephus was not en- 
 tirely silent concerning Christ ; nav, J! shall 
 further grant, that when Josephus was speak- 
 ing of Christ, he did not abstain from his com- 
 
 mendation ; for we are not to determine from 
 that inveterate hatred which the modern Jews 
 bear to Christ, what was the behaviour of tliose 
 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 testimony 
 of Josephus concerning Christ, This was Christ, 
 or the Clirist, does not mean that this Jesus was 
 the Christ of God, or the trtie Messiah of the 
 Jews; but that this Jesus was distinguish- 
 ed from all others of that name, of which there 
 were not a few, as mentioned by Josephus 
 l)imself, 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 tiie arguments following : — 
 
 (1.) The Greeks and Romans, for whose 
 use Josephus wrote his Antiquities, could no 
 otherwise understand these words. The Jews 
 indeed, and afterwards the Christians, who 
 knew that a great Messias, a person that was 
 to be Christ, the anointed of God, and 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, liviug in Judea, whose 
 name was Jesus direst, or Jesus Christ, had 
 founded a new and numerous sect, which 
 took the latter of those names, and were every- 
 where, from him, called Chrestians, or Chris- 
 tians ; in which sense alone they cjuld under- 
 stand these words of Josephus, and in which 
 sense I believe he desired they should under, 
 stand them ; nor does Josephus ever use the 
 Hebrew term Afessiah in any of his writings, 
 nor the Greek term Christ in any such accep- 
 tation elsewhere. 
 
 (2.) Josephus himself as good as explains 
 his own meaning, and that by the last clause 
 of this very passage, where he says the Chris- 
 tians were named from this Christ, without a 
 syllable as though he really meant he was 
 the true Messiah, or Christ of God. He far- 
 ther seems to me to explain this his meanJng 
 in that other place, where alone he elsewhere 
 mentions this name of Christ; that is, when 
 upon occasion of the mention of James, when 
 he was condemned by Ananus, he calls him 
 the Profiler of Jesus, not that was the true Mes- 
 siah, or the true Christ, but only thai was callea 
 Christ. 
 
 (3.) It was quite beside the purpose of 
 Josephus to declare himself here to be a Chris- 
 tian, or a believer in Jesus as the true Mes- 
 siah. 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 
 4 A 
 
834 
 
 DISSERTATION I. 
 
 the Christian religion ; nor would such a de- 
 claration 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 writing of these Antiquities, very great- 
 ly 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 di- 
 rectly informs us of his own opinion, unless 
 we prudently gather it from what he say-s his- 
 torically, or as the opinions of others. This 
 is very observable in the writings of Josephus, 
 and in particular as to what he says of John 
 the Baptist and of James the Just ; so that 
 this interpretation is most probable, as most 
 agreeable to Josephus's way of writing in pa- 
 rallel cases. 
 
 (5.) Tills seems to be the universal sense 
 of all the ancients, withotrt exception, who 
 cite this testimony from him ; and though they 
 almost everywhere own this to be the true 
 reading, yet do they everywhere suppose Jo' 
 sephus to be still an unbelieving Jew, and not 
 a believing Christian ; nay, Jerome appears 
 so well assured of this interpretation, and that 
 Josephus 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 Christus, 
 i. e. He was believed to be Christ. Nor is the 
 parallel expression of Pilate to be otherwise 
 understood, when he made that inscription up- 
 on the cross. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews 
 (Matt, xxvii, 31); which is well explained 
 by himself elsewhere, and corresponds to the 
 import of the present clause. What shall J do 
 uith Jems, who is called Christ (Matt, xxvii, 
 17, 22) ? And we may full as well prove 
 from Pilate's inscription upon the cross, that 
 he hereby declared himself a believer in Christ, 
 for the 1-eal king of the Je^vs, as we can from 
 these words of Josephus, that he thereby de- 
 clared himself to be a real believer in him, as 
 the true Messiah. 
 
 IV. Though Josephus did not design here 
 to declare himself openly to be a Christian, 
 \et could he not possibly believe all that he 
 here asserts concerning Jesus Christ, unless 
 he were so far a Christian as tl-.e Jewish Na- 
 zarenes or Ebionites 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 IMoses in or- 
 der to salvation for all mankind, wliich were 
 tlie two main articles of those Jewish Chris- 
 tians' faith, though in opposition to all the 
 thirteen apostles of Jesus Christ in the first 
 century, and in opposition to the whole Ca- 
 tholic Church of Christ in the following cen- 
 
 turies also. Accordingly, I have elsewhere 
 proved, that Josephus was no other in his 
 own mind and conscience than a Nazarene or 
 Ebionite Jewish Christian ; and have observ- 
 ed, that this entire testimonj', and all that Jo- 
 sephus says of John the Baptist and of James, 
 as well as his absolute silence about all the 
 rest of the apostles and their companions, ex- 
 actly agree to him under that character and 
 no other ; and indeed to me it is most aston- 
 ishing, 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 
 (Acts xxi, 20), that so many ten thousands of 
 Jews as believed in Christ, in the first century, 
 u'ere all zealous of the ceremonial law, or were no 
 other than 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 tes- 
 timonies there were very great ones, all Uiosc, 
 and many other reasons, could not but con- 
 spire to assure us, he was no other than a Na- 
 zarene or Ebionite Christian ; and this I take 
 to be the plain and evident key of this whole 
 matter. 
 
 v. Since therefore Josephus appears to 
 iiave been, in his own heart and conscience, 
 no other than a Nazarene or Ebionite Chris- 
 tian, and, by consequence, with them reject- 
 ed all our Greek Gospels and Greek books of 
 the New Testament, and received only the 
 Hebrew Gospels of the Nazarenes or Ebio- 
 nites, styled by them, the Gospel according to 
 the Hebrews, or according to the Twelve Apos- 
 tles, or even according to Matlhe^v, we ought 
 always to have that Nazarene or Ebionite 
 Gospel, with the other Nazarene or Ebionite 
 fragments, in view, when we consider any 
 passages of Josephus relating to Christ or to 
 Cliristianity. Thus, since that Gospel o- 
 ir.itted all that is in the beginning of our St. 
 ]\]atthe\v's and St. Luke's Gospels, and be- 
 gan with the ministry of John the Baptist j 
 in which first parts of the Gospel History are 
 the accounts of the slaughter of the infants, 
 and of the enrolment or taxation under Au- 
 gustus Caesar and Herod, it is no great won- 
 der that Josephus has not taken care particu- 
 larly and clearly to preserve those histories 
 to us. Thus when we find that Josephus 
 calls James tiie brother of Christ, by the name 
 of James the Just, and describes him as a 
 most just or righteous man, in an especial man- 
 ner, we are to remember that such is his name 
 and character in the Gospel according to the 
 Hebrews, and the other Ebionite remains of 
 Hegesippus, but nowhere else, that I remem- 
 ber, in the earliest antiquity j nor are we to 
 suppose they herein referred to any other 
 than that 7-ighteousness which uas by the .Jewish 
 law, wherein St. Paul (Philip, iii. 4, 5, 6.), 
 before he embraced Christianity, professed 
 
DISSERTATION I. 
 
 835 
 
 himself i«j have been blameless. Thus when 
 Josephus, with other Jews, ascribed the mise- 
 ries of that nation under Vespasian and Titus, 
 with the destruction of Jerusalem, to the bar- 
 barous murder of James the Just, we must 
 remember what we learn from the Ebionite 
 fragments of Hegesippus, that these Ebio- 
 nites interpreted a prophecy of Isaiah as fore- 
 telling this very murder, and those consequent 
 miseries: — I^et its take away the jvst one, for 
 he is unprojitable to i(S : therefore shall they eat 
 the fruit of their vwn xvays (Isaiah iii. 10). 
 'I'hus when Josephus says, as we have seen, 
 that the most equitable citizens of Jerusalem, 
 and those that were most zealous of the law, 
 were very uneasy at the condemnation of this I 
 James, and some of his friends and fellow-' 
 Christians, by the high-priest and sanhedrim, j 
 about A. D. 62, and declares that he himself 
 was one of those Jews who thought the ter- 
 rible miseries of that nation effects of the ven- 
 geance of God for their murder of this James, 
 about A. D. 68, we may easily see those o- 
 pinions could only be the opinions of convert- 
 ed Jews or Ebionites. The high-priest and 
 sanhedrim, who always persecuted the Chris- 
 tians, and now condemned these Christians, 
 and the body of these unbelieving Jews, who 
 are supposed to suffer for murdering this 
 James, the head of the Nazarene or Ebionite 
 Clwistians 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 strongest inclinations to the 
 Christian religion, or without being secretly 
 a Christian Jew, i. e. a Nazarene or Ebionite; 
 whicl) thing is, by tlie vvay, a very great ad- 
 ditional 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 account 
 is by no means disagreeable to the pretensions 
 of tlie Ebionites. Hegesippus affirms the 
 very same of James the Just also. 
 
 VI. In the first citation of the famous testi- 
 mony concerning our Saviour from Tacitus, al- 
 most all that was true of the Jews is directly 
 taken by himoutof Josephus, as will be demon- 
 strated under the Third Dissertation hereafter. 
 
 VII. The second author I have alleged 
 for it is Justin Martyr, one so nearly coeval 
 with Josephus, that he might be born about 
 the time wlien he wrote his Antiquities : he 
 appeals to tlie same Antiquities 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, when he alfinns, in this place, 
 to Trypho the Jew, that his nation originally 
 knew that Jesus teas risen from the dead, and 
 ascended into heaven, as the prophecies did fore- 
 tell was to happen. Since tliere neither now 
 is, nor probably in the days of Justin was, 
 any other Jewish testimony extant which is 
 so agreeable to what Justin here affirms of 
 
 those Jews, as is this of Josephus the Jew be- 
 fore us ; nor indeed does he seem to me to 
 have had any thing else particularly in his 
 view here, but this very testimony, where Jo- 
 sephus says, " That Jesus appeared to his 
 followers alive the third day after his cruci- 
 fixion, as the divine prophets had foretold 
 tliese 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 Jaines the Just, 
 is Origen, who is indeeed allowed on all hands 
 to have quoted him for the excellent character 
 of John the Baptist, and of James the Just ; 
 but whose supposed entire silence about this 
 testimony concerning Christ is usually alleged 
 as the principal argument against its being 
 genuine, and particularly as to the clause, 
 2'his ivas the Christ : and that, as we have 
 seen, because he twice assures us that, in his 
 opinion, Josephus himself did not acknoidedge 
 Jesus for Ckrist. Now, as to this latter 
 clause, I have already shown that Josephus 
 did not here, in writing to Greeks and Ro- 
 mans, mean any such thing by those words as 
 Jews and Christians naturally imderstand by 
 them : I have also observed, that all the an- 
 cients allow still, with Origen, that Josepiuis 
 did not, in the Jewish and Christian sense, 
 acknowledge Jesus for the true Messiah, or 
 tUe 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 con- 
 clude from this assertion of Origen, 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 
 tills 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 making 
 any such supposal at all. However, it seems 
 to me that Origen affords us four several in- 
 dications that the main parts at least of this 
 testimony itself were in his copy : — 
 
 (1.) When Origen introduces Josephus's 
 testimony concerning James the Just, that he 
 thouglit the miseries of the Jews were an in- 
 stance of the divine vengeance on that nation 
 for putting James to death instead of Jesus, 
 he uses an expression no way necessary to his 
 purpose, nor occasioned by any words of Jo- 
 sephus there, 'I'liat they had slain that Chrii' 
 which was foretold in the prophecies. Whence 
 could this expression come here into Origcn's 
 mind, when he was quoting a testimony of 
 Josephus concerning the brother of Christ, 
 but from his remembrance of a clause in the 
 testimony of the same Josephus concerning 
 Christ himself, that the pj-ophets had foretold his 
 death and resurrection, and ten thousand ulher 
 wonderful things concerning him <' 
 
835 
 
 DISSERTATION I. 
 
 (2.) Hew came Origen to be so surprised 
 at Josephus's ascribing tlie destruction of Je- 
 rusalem to the Jews' murdering of James the 
 Just, and not to their murdering of Jesus, as 
 we have seen he was, if he liad not known 
 tliat Joscphus had sjioken of Jesus and his 
 death before, and that l)e had a very good 
 opinion of Jesus, which j'et he could learn no 
 way so authentically as from this testimony ? 
 Nor do the words he here uses, that Joseplius 
 ■was not remote frovi the truth, perhaps allude 
 to any thing else but to tliis very testimony 
 before us. 
 
 (3.) How can the same Origen, upon an- 
 other slight occasion, when he had just set 
 down that testimony of Joseplius concerning 
 James tiie Just, the brother of Jesus, who was 
 called Christ, say that "it may be questioned 
 whether the Jews thought Jesus to be a man, 
 or whether the)' did not suppose him to be a 
 being of a diviner kind ?" This looks so very 
 like the fifth and sixth clauses of this testi- 
 mony in Joseplius, that Jesus n*ix a ivise man, 
 if it be lawful to call him a man, that it is high- 
 ly probable Origen thereby alluded to tliein ; 
 and this is the more to be depended on, be- 
 cause all the unbelieving Jews, and all the 
 -est of the Nazarene Jews, esteemed Jesus 
 %vith one consent, as a viere 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 Catholic Christians, who thought him 
 a God, would say any thing like his being a 
 God. 
 
 \^4.) How came Origen to affirm twice, so 
 expressly, that Josephus did not Idmself own, in 
 the Jewish and Christian sense, that Jesui-ivas 
 Christ, notwithstanding his quotations of such 
 eminent testimonies 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 Origen of this as is the famous 
 testimony before us, wherein, as he and 
 all the ancients understood it, he was gener- 
 ally called Christ indeed, but not any other- 
 wise than as the common name whence the 
 sect of Christians was derived, and where lie 
 all along speaks of those Christians as a sect 
 then in being, wliose 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 paral- 
 lel language of Josephus elsewhere, when he 
 speaks of James as the brother, not of Jesus 
 who was Cluist, but of Jesus who was called 
 Christ, that could so naturally induce Origen 
 and others to be of that opinion. 
 
 IX. Tliero are two remarkable passages in 
 Suidas and Theophylact, already set down, as 
 citing Josephus; the former, that Jesus o^ici' 
 
 ated with the priests in the temple ; and the lat- 
 ter, 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 consistent with the other most au- 
 thentic testimonies. However, since Suidaa 
 cites his passage from a treatise of Josephus 
 called Memoirs of the Jeu's^ Captivity, a book ne- 
 ver heard of elsewhere, and since both citations 
 are not at all disagreeable to Josephus's cha- 
 racter as a Nazarene or Ebionite, I dare not 
 positively conclude they are suurious, but 
 must leave them in suspense, for the farther 
 consideration of the learned. 
 
 X. As to that great critic Photius, in the 
 ninth century, who is sujjposed not to have 
 had this testimony in his copy of Josephus, or 
 else to have esteeincd it spurious ; because, in 
 ins extracts out of Joseplius's Antiquities, it 
 is not expressly mentioned, — this is a strange 
 thing indeed ! — that a section, which had been 
 cited out of Josephus s copies all along before 
 the days of Photius, as a'ell 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, no way particularly re- 
 lating to such matters. 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 ex- 
 ploits, till the days of Agrippa jimior, and 
 Cumanus, the governor of Judea, fifteen years 
 after the deatli of our Saviour, without one 
 word of Pilate, or what happened under his 
 government, which yet was the only proper 
 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 Jus- 
 tus 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 miracles 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, those acts, or miracles 
 which yet he has done everywhere else, in the 
 books seen by Pliotius, as well as Justus of 
 Tiberias, but in this famous testimony be- 
 fore us, so tiiat it is most probable, Photius 
 
"V- 
 
 DISSERTATION I. 
 
 837 
 
 not only had this testimony in his copy, but 
 believed it to be genuine also. 
 
 XI. As to the silence of Clement of Alex- 
 andria, who cites the Antiquities of Josephus, 
 but never cites any of the testimonies now be- 
 fore us, it is no strange thing at all, since he 
 never cites Josephus 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 a- 
 gainst a hundred other remarkable passages 
 in Josephiis's works as against these bet'ore 
 us. 
 
 XII. Nor does the like silence of Tertul- 
 lian imply that these testimonies, or any of 
 them, were not in the copies of his age. Ter- 
 tullian never once hints at any treatises of 
 Josephus but those against Apion, and that 
 in general only, for a point of chronology ; 
 nor does it any 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 dis- 
 pute against the Jews to quote Josephus, a- 
 bove any other writer, to prove the completion 
 of the prophecies of the Old Testament in th" 
 destruction of Jerusalem and miseries of the 
 Jews at that time, of which he there discours- 
 es, yet docs 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 ii 
 Africa, by none of which African writers is 
 there any one clause, that I know of, cited 
 out of any of Josephus's writings; nor is it 
 wortli my while in such numbers of positive 
 citations of these clauses, to mention the 
 silence of other later writers as being here of 
 very small consequence. 
 
 DISSERTATION II. 
 
 CONCERNING GOD'S COMMAND TO ABRAHAM TO OFFEU UP ISAAC, 
 HIS SON, FOR A SACRIFICE. 
 
 Since this command of God to Abraham 1 
 (Gen. xxii) has of late been greatly mistaken 
 by some, who venture to reason about very 
 ancient facts from very modern notions, and 
 this without a due regard to either the cus- 
 toms, or opinions, or circumstances of the 
 times whereto those facts belong, or indeed 
 to the true reasons of the facts themselves ; 
 since the mistakes about those customs, opi- 
 nions, circumstances and reasons, have of late 
 so far prevailed, that the very same action of 
 Abraham, which was so celebrated by St. 
 Paul (Rom. iv. 16 — 25), St. James (chap. ii. 
 21, 22), the auihor to the Hebrews (chap, 
 xi. 17 — 19), Pliilo,* and Josephus,f in the 
 first century, and by innumerable others 
 since, as an uncommon instance of signal vir- 
 tue, of heroic faith in God, and piety towards 
 him; nay, is in the sacred history (Gen. xxii. 
 15 — 18) highly commended by the divine 
 4ngel of the Covenant, in the name of God 
 himselC, and promised to be plentifully re- 
 warded ; since this command, I say, is now 
 at last, in the eighteenth century, become a 
 *tone (if stumbling and a rock of offence ainong 
 us, and that sometimes to persons of otherwise 
 good sense, and of a religious disposition of 
 mind also, I shall endeavour to set this mat- 
 ter in its true, i. e. in its ancient and original 
 • PhiU de Gigaiit. p. 291. + Antiq. b. i. ch. xiii 
 
 light, for the satisfaction of the inquisitive. 
 In order wiiereto we are to consider, 
 
 1. Tliat till this very profane age, it has 
 been, I think, universally allowed by all so- 
 ber persons, who owned themselves the crea- 
 tures of God, that the Creator has a just 
 right over all his rational creatures, to pro- 
 tract their lives to what length he pleases,— 
 to cut them off when and by what instru- 
 ments he pleases, — to afflict them with what 
 sicknesses he pleases, — and to remove them 
 from one state or place in this his great pa- 
 lace of the universe 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 towards them. I do not 
 mean to intimate, that God may, or ever 
 does, act in these cases after a mere arbitr:iry 
 manner, or without sufficient reason, believ- 
 ing, according to the whole tenor of natural 
 and revealed religion, that he hatcth nothing 
 that he hath viade (Wisdom, xi. H) ; that 
 whatsoever he does, how melancholy soever 
 it may appear at first sight to us, is really in- 
 tended for the good of 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 
 
838 
 
 DISSERTATION II. 
 
 the particular reasons of such his dispensations 
 towards them immediately, but usually tries 
 and L'xercises their faith and patience, their 
 resignation and obedience, in their present 
 state, of probation, and reserves those reasons 
 to the last day, the clay of the revelation of the 
 righteous judgment of God. (Rom. ii. 5.) 
 
 2. That the entire histories of the past 
 ages, from the days of Adam till now, show 
 that Almiglity God has ever exercised his 
 power over mankind, and that without giving 
 them an immediate account of the re_asons of 
 such his conduct ; and that withal, the best 
 and wisest men of all ages, Heatheans as well 
 as Jews and Christians, — Marcus Antoninus, 
 as well as the patriarch Abraham and St. 
 Paul, have ever humbly submitted themselves 
 to tliis conduct of the Divine Providence, 
 and alwr.ys 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 pleas- 
 ed 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 iniqvi- 
 ties were fiiU (Gen. xv. 16), and in these in- 
 stances included the young innocent infants, 
 together with the old hardened sinners; 
 when God was pleased to send an angel, and 
 by him to destroy 185,0CXD Assyrians (the 
 number attested to by Berosus the Chaldean, 
 as well as by our own Bibles) in the days of 
 Hezekiah, most of whom seem to have had 
 no other peculiar guilt upon them than that 
 common to soldiers in war, of obeying with- 
 out reserve their king Sennacherib, his ge- 
 nerals and captains; and when, at the plague 
 of Athens, London, Marseilles, &c. so many 
 thousand righteous men and women, with 
 innocent babes, were swept away on a sud- 
 den, by a fatal contagion, — I do not remem- 
 ber 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 
 sometimes be the greatest blessing to them, 
 and prevent or ])ut a stop to those courses of 
 gross wickedness which might bring them to 
 a greater misery in the world to come ; nor 
 is it fit for sucli poor, weak, and ignorant 
 creatures as we are, in the present state, to 
 call our almighty, and all-wise, and all-good 
 Creator and Benefactor to an account upon 
 any such occasions, — since we cannot but ac- 
 
 "^ 
 
 knowledge that it is He that hath made us, 
 and not we ourselves (Psalm c. 3), that we 
 are nothing, and have nothing of ourselves ; 
 independent of 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 j 
 all wise and good men still saying in such 
 cases with the pious Psalmist (Ps, xxxix, 9), / 
 was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou 
 didst it ; and with patient Job (ch. i. 21 ; ii. 
 10), Shall ive receive good at the hand of God, 
 and shall 7iot we receive evil ? The Lord gave, 
 and the Lord hath taken aimy, blessed be the name 
 of the Lord, If therefore this shortening or 
 taking away the lives of men be an objection 
 against any divine command for tliat purpose, 
 it is full as strong against the present system 
 of tiie world, against the conduct of Divine 
 Providence in general, and against natural 
 religion, which is founded on the justice of 
 that Providence, and is no way peculiar 
 to revealed religion, or to the fact of Abra- 
 ham now before us ; nor in this case much 
 different from what was soon after the days 
 of Abraham thoroughly settled, after Job's 
 and his friends' debates, by the inspiration of 
 Elihu, and the determination of God himself, 
 where the Divine Providence 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 I 
 think, been universally allowed by all sober i 
 men, that a command of God, when suf- 
 ficiently 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 sceptical of the moderns care to deny 
 this authority directly ; they rather take a 
 method of objecting somewhat more plausible, 
 though it amounts to much the same : they 
 say that the apparent disagreement 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 thai 
 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 now so long ceased, that we 
 are not well acquainted with the manner of 
 conveying such revelations with certainty to 
 men, and by consequence the apparent disa- 
 greement of a command witli the moral attri- 
 butes of God, ought at present, generally, if 
 not constantly, to deter men from acting upon 
 such a pretended revelation, yet was there no 
 such uncertainty in the days of the old pro- 
 phets of God, or of Abraham, the friend of 
 
DISSERTATION II. 
 
 839 
 
 God (Isa. xli. 8), who are ever found to 
 have had an entire certainty of those their re- 
 velations ; and what evidently shows they 
 were not deceived, is this, that the events and 
 consequences of tilings afterwards always cor- 
 responded, and secured them of the truth of 
 such divine revelations. Thus the first mira- 
 culous voice from heaven (Gen. xxii. 11, 
 12), calling to Abraham not to execute this 
 command, and the performance of those emi- 
 nent promises made by the second voice 
 (Gen. xxii. 17, i8), on account of his obe- 
 dience to that command, are demonstrations 
 that Abraham's commission for what he did 
 was truly divine, and are an entire justifica- 
 tion 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, must here be 
 produced from rerse 15 — IS. "And the 
 angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out 
 of heaven the second time, and said. By my- 
 self have I sworn, saith the Lord ; for because 
 thou 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 sea-shore ; 
 and thy seed shall possess the gate of his ene- 
 mies ; and in thy seed sliall all the nations of 
 the eartli 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 principal of them, 
 that in Abrahani s SEED all the nations of the 
 sarth should he blessed, was never promised till 
 this time. It had been twice promised him 
 (chap. xli. 3; and xviii. IS), that in himself 
 thovid all thefamilies of the earth be blessed ; but \ 
 that this blessing was to belong 1o future times, I 
 and to be bestowed by the means of one of his 
 late posterity, the Messias, that great son and 
 teed of Abraliam only, was never revealed be- 
 fore, but on such an amazing instance of his 
 faith and obedience as was this his readi- 
 ness to offer up his only begotten son Isaac, 
 was now first promised, and has been long 
 ago performed in the birth of Jesus of Nazar- 
 eth, the son of David, the son uf Abraham 
 (Matt. i. 1), which highly deserves our obser- 
 vation 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 and so tender a father as Abra- 
 ham was, to sacrifice his own beloved son, and 
 to lose thereby all the comfort he received 
 from him at present, and all tiie expectation 
 he had of a numerous and happy posterity 
 from him hereafter. 
 
 4. That long before the days of Abraham, 
 thexlemons or heathen gods had required and 
 received human sacrifices, and particiilarly 
 that of the offerer's own children, and tliis 
 both before and after the Deluge. This prac- 
 
 tice had been indeed so long left off in Egypt, 
 and the custom of sacrificing animals there was 
 confined to so few kinds in tlie days of Hero- 
 dotus, that he would not believe they had ever 
 offered human sacrifices at all ; for he says,* 
 that "the fr.ble, as if Hercules was sacrificed to 
 Jupiter in Egypt, was feigned by the Greeks, 
 who were entirely unacquainted with the na- 
 ture of the Egyptians and their laws ; for how 
 should they sacrifice men, witii whom it is 
 unlawful to 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, Plutarch, and Porphyry, that 
 such sacrifices were frequent both in Phce- 
 nicia 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 Abra- 
 ham, 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 Mar- 
 sham's Chronicon, p. 76 — 78, 300 — 304. 
 
 " Chronus offered up his only begotten 
 son as a burnt-offering, to his father Uranus, 
 when there was a famine and a pestilence.' f 
 
 " Chronus, whom the Phcenicians name 
 Israel [it should be //], and who was, aftcl 
 his death, consecrated info the star Saturn, 
 when he was king of the country, and had, 
 by a nymph of that country, named Ano- 
 bret, an only begotten son, whom, on thai 
 account, they called Jeud (the Phcenicians to 
 this day calling an only begotten son by that 
 name), he in his dread 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."! 
 
 " 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; and Sanchoniatbo'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. "j| 
 
 "They relate, that of old the [Egyptian! 
 kings sacrificed such men as were of the same 
 colour with Typho, at the sepulchre of Obi- 
 ris."^ 
 
 " Slanetho relates, that they burnt Ty- 
 phonean men alive in the city Idithyia [or 
 Ilithyia], and scattered their ashes like chaff 
 that is winnowed ; and this was done pub- 
 
 * Apud Marsh. Chron. p. 3'''3. 
 t Phi). Bib. ex Sanchon. p. 76. 
 % Phil Bib. ex ^anchon. p. 77. 
 8 Porphyry, p. 77, 
 11 Porphyrv, p. 77- 
 U Uiod. Sii;. p. 7S. 
 
840 
 
 DISSERTATION II. 
 
 Kcly, and at an appointed season in the 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, botii private persons, and 
 kings, and entire nations, practise at proper 
 seasons, "f 
 
 " The human sacrifices that were enjoined 
 by the Dodonean oracle, mentioned in Pau- 
 sanias's Achaics, in the tragical story of 
 Coresus and Callirrhoe, sufficiently intimate 
 tiiat the Phoenician and Egyptian priests had 
 set up this Dodonean oracle before the time 
 of Amosis, who destroyed that barbarous 
 practice in Egypt. "| 
 
 Ifqve adytis htrc fristm dicta reporiat : 
 Sungviue piiicastis ventns, et virgine cusa, 
 Cum pi allium I/inctis Dtinai vctiisiis ad oras ; 
 Siinginne qiiurendi reditus, aniniaqiie litamium 
 
 Argulica 
 
 ViBG. iEn. ii. 115. 
 
 He from the gods this dreadful answer brought : 
 O Grecians, when tlic Trojan slioies you sought. 
 Your passage with a virgin's l)lood was bought ! 
 So must your sale return Ix; bought again, 
 And Grecian blood once more atone the main. 
 
 DKYOEN. 
 
 These bloody sacrifices were, for certain, 
 instances of the greatest degree of impiety, 
 tyranny, and cruelty in the world : that either 
 wicked demons or wicked men, who neither 
 made nor preserved mankind, who had there- 
 fore 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 tlie 
 taking away the lives of men, and particular- 
 ly of the offerer's own children, without the 
 commission of any crime ; this was, I think, 
 an aboiTiination derived from him who was a 
 murderer Jroni the beginyiing (John viii. 44) ; 
 a crime truly and properly diabolical. 
 
 5. That accordingly Almighty God him- 
 self, under the Jewish dispensation, vehe- 
 mently condemned the Pagans, and sometimes 
 the Jews themselves, for this crime ; and for 
 this, among other heinous sins, cast the idola- 
 trous nations (nay, sometimcsthe Jews too) out 
 of Palestine. Take the principal texts hereto 
 relating, as they lie in order in the Old Tes. 
 lament : — 
 
 " Thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass 
 through the fire to Molcch. Defile not your- 
 selves in any of these things, for in all these 
 the nations are defiled, which I cast out be- 
 fore you," &c. (Lev. xviii. 21.) 
 
 " Whosoever he be of the ciiildren of Is- 
 rael, 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." (Lev. 
 XX. 2.) 
 
 " Take heed to thyself, that thou be not 
 
 Plutarch, p. 7S. t NonnuUi apud Phil. p. 76- 
 t Cuml)erl. Sanchon. p. 31b. 
 
 snared by following the nations, after that 
 they be destroyed from before thee ; and that 
 thou in(jtiire not after their gods, saying. 
 How did these nations serve their gods, even 
 so v/ill I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so 
 unto the Lord thy God ; for every abomina- 
 tion of the Lord, which he hateth, have thej 
 done unto their gods ; for even tlieir sons 
 and their daughters have they burnt in the 
 fire to their gods." (Deut. xii. 30, 31. See 
 chap, xviii. 10, and 2 Kings xvii. 17.) 
 
 " And Ahaz made his son to pass through 
 the fire, according to the abominations of the 
 heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the 
 children of Israel." (2 Kings xvi. 3.) 
 
 " Moreover, Ahaz burnt incense in tlve 
 valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his 
 children (his son, in Josephus) in tlie fire, af- 
 ter the abominations of the heathen, whom 
 the Lord had cast out before the children of 
 Israel." (2 Chron. xxviii. 3.) 
 
 " And the Sepharvites burnt their children 
 in tlie fire to Adrammelech and Anamelech, 
 the gods of Sepharvaim," &c. (2 Kings xvii. 
 31.) 
 
 " And Josiah defiled Tophet, wliich is in 
 the valley of the children of Hinnom, that 
 no man might make his son or his daughter 
 to pass througli the fire unto Molech." (2 
 Kings xxiii. 10.) 
 
 " Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their 
 daughters unto demons; and shed innocent 
 blood, the blood of their sons and of their 
 daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the 
 idols of Canaan ; and the land was polluted 
 with blood." (Psal. cvi. 37, 38. See Isa. 
 Ivii, 5.) 
 
 " The children of Judah have done evil in 
 my sight, saith the Lord ; they have set 
 
 their abominations in the house which is call, 
 ed by my name to pollute it; and they liave 
 built the high places of Tophet, which is m 
 the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn 
 their sons and their daughters in the fire, 
 which I commanded them not, nor camo 
 it into my heart." (Jer. vii. 30 — 32.) 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God 
 of Israel, Behold I will bring evil upon lliis 
 place, the whicli whosoever heareth, liis ears 
 shall tingle, because they have forsaken me, 
 and have estranged this place, and have burnt 
 incense unto other gods, whom neither 
 they nor their fathers have known, nor the 
 kings of Judah, aiid have filled this place 
 with the blood of innocents. They have 
 built also the high places of Baal, to burn 
 their sons with fire for burnt-oft'erings unto 
 Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, 
 neither came it into my mind," &c. (Jer. xix. 
 3—5.) 
 
 "They built the high places of Baal, which 
 are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to 
 cause their sons and their daughters to paso 
 through the fire unto Molech, which I com- 
 manded them not, neither came it into u.y 
 
DISSERTATION II 
 
 841 
 
 iHiiHl that they should do this abomination, 
 to cause Judah to sin." (Jer. xxxii. 55., 
 
 " Moreover, thou hast taken thy sons and 
 thy daughters, whom thou hast born unto 
 me, and tliese hast thou sacrificed unto them 
 to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms 
 a small matter, that thou hast slain my child- 
 ren, and delivered them to cause them to 
 pass through the fire for them ?" (Ezek. xvi. 
 20, 21. See chap, xx. 26; 1 Cor. x. 20.) 
 
 *' Thou hatest the old inhabitants of thy 
 holy land, for doing most odious works of 
 witchcraft and wicked sacrifices ; and also 
 those merciless murderers of children, and 
 devourers of man's flesh, and feasts of blood, 
 with their priests, out of the midst of their 
 idolatrous crew, and the parents that killed 
 with their own hands souls destitute of help." 
 (Wisd. xii. 4—6.) 
 
 6. That Almighty God never permitted, in 
 any one instance, that such a human sacrifice 
 should actually be offered to himself (though 
 he had a right to have required it, if he had 
 so pleased) under the whole Jewish dispensa^ 
 tion, which yet was full of many other kinds 
 of sacrifices, and this at a time when mankind 
 generally thought such sacrifices of the great- 
 est virtue for the procuring pardon of sin and 
 the divine favour. This the ancient records of 
 the heathen world attest. Take their notion 
 in the words of Philo Biblius," the translator 
 of Sanchoniatho : — " It was the custom of the 
 ancients, in the greatest calamities and dan- 
 gers, for the governors of the city or nation, 
 in order to advert the destruction of all to de- 
 vote 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 history of the 
 king of Moab ('i Kings iii. 27), 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 
 stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering 
 upon the city-wall." This also the Jewish 
 propliot Micah ;chap. vi. 6 — 8) implies, wlien 
 he inquires, *' Wherewith shall I come be- 
 fore the Lord, and bow myself before the 
 High God ? Shall I come before him with 
 burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old ? 
 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of 
 rams, and ten thousands of fat kids of the 
 goats ? Shall 1 give my first born for my trans- 
 gression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my 
 soul ?" No, certainly ; " For he hath shewed 
 thee, O 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, whedier 
 they were as strong as the Pagans exhibited 
 to their demons or idols, yet did he withal 
 
 • Apud Maish. js 76 
 
 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 imme- 
 diately : — " And the angel of the LorJ called 
 unto Abraham, and said, Abraham, Abra- 
 ham ! — 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." (Gen. xxii. 11 — 13.) 
 Thus though .Tephlha (Judg. xi. 36 — 391 
 has, by many, been thought to have vowed to 
 offer up his daughter and only child for a sa- 
 crifice, and that as bound on him, upon sup- 
 position of his vow, by a divine law (Levit. 
 xxvii. 28, 29), of which opinion I was once 
 myself; yet upon more mature consideration, 
 I have, for some time, thought this to be a 
 mistake, and that his vow extended only to 
 her being devoted to serve God at the ta- 
 bernacle, or elsewhere, in a state of perpetual 
 virginity ; and that neither that law did en- 
 join any human sacrifices, nor do we meet 
 with any example of its execution in this 
 sense afterwards. Philo never mentions any 
 such law, no more than Josephus ; and when 
 Josephus thought that Jephtha had made such 
 a vow, and executed it, he is so far from hint- 
 ing at its being done in compliance with anv 
 law of God, that he expressly condemns him 
 for it, as having acted contrary thereto ; or, in 
 his own words,-)- " as having offered an obla- 
 tion neither conformable to the law, nor ac- 
 ceptable to God, nor weighing with himself 
 what opinion the hearers would have of sucl- 
 a practice." 
 
 7. That Isaac being at this time, according 
 to Josephus,:^ who is herein justly followed by 
 Archbishop Usher,§ no less than twenty-five 
 years of age, and Abraham being, by con- 
 sequence, one hundred and twenty-five, it is 
 not to be supposed that 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 
 necessary in all such cases ; and which free 
 consent St. Clement, as well as Josephus, dis- 
 tinctly takes notice of on this occasion. St. 
 Clement y describes it thus: — "Isaac being 
 fully persuaded of what he knew was to come, 
 cheerfully yielded himself up for a sacrilic.." 
 And for Josephus, after introducing Abraham 
 in a pathetic speech, laying before Isaac tlie 
 divine command, and exhorting him patiently 
 and joyfully to submit to it, he tells Ua \ thai 
 
 t Antiq b. v. ch. vii. sect. 10. 
 
 i Antiq. b. i. ch. ii. 
 
 \ Ush. Aiinal. ad A. M. t'lo). 
 
 I S. Clem. sect. 51. 
 
 1 Antiq. b. i, ch. xiii, sect. 3. 
 
 4 h 
 
J' 
 
 842 
 
 DISSERTATION 11. 
 
 " Isaac very cheerfully consented ;" and then 
 introduces him in a short, but very pious an- 
 swer, acquiescing in the proposal ; and adds, 
 that " he then immediately, and readily, went 
 to the altar to be sacrificed." Nor did Jeph- 
 tha (Judges xi. 36, 37) 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 Pro- 
 vidence for the preservation of Isaac, al- 
 though in obedience to the command he pre- 
 pared to sacrifice him to God, This seems 
 to me intimated in Abraham's words to his 
 servants, on the third day, when he was in 
 sight of the mountain on wlu'cli he was to 
 offer his son Isaac : " AVe 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 
 !s the lamb for a burnt-offering ? — and Abra- 
 ham said. My son, God will provide himself 
 a lamb for a burnt-offering." (Gen. xxii, 5 
 —7.) Both these passages look to me some- 
 what like such an expectation. However, 
 
 9. 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 al- 
 ready quoted, that both " he and his son 
 would go and worship, and come again to 
 the servants ;" and is clearly and justly col- 
 lected from this history by the author to the 
 Hebrews (chap. xi. 17, 18, 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, 
 accounting [or reasoning] that God was able 
 to raise him from the dead." And this rea- 
 soning was at once very obvious and wholly 
 undeniable, that since God was truth itself, 
 and had over and over promised that he 
 would " multiply Abraham exceedingly ; 
 that he should be a father of many nations ; 
 that his name should be no longer Abram 
 but Abraham, because a father of many na- 
 tions 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. (Gen. xvii. 
 2, 4, 5, 6, 16); and that " in Isaac should his 
 seed be called" (Gen, xxi. 12): — and since 
 withal it is here supposed that Isaac was to 
 be slain as a sacrifice before he was married, 
 or had any seed, God was, for certain, oblig- 
 ed by his promises, in these circumstances, 
 to raise Isaac again from the dead ; and this 
 was an eminent instance of that_/ai/A whereby 
 " Abraham believed God, and it was imput- 
 ed to him for righteousness" (Gen. xv. 6)> 
 
 viz. that if God should permit Isaac to be sa- 
 crificed, he would certainly and quickly raise 
 him up again from the dead, " from %\ hence 
 also he received him in a figure," as the au- 
 thor to the Hebrews (chap. xi. 19) here just- 
 ly observes. 
 
 10. That the firm and just foundation of 
 Abraham's faith and assurance in God for 
 such a resurrection was this, besides the gene- 
 ral consideration of the divine veracity, that 
 during the whole time of his sojourning in 
 strange countries, in Canaan and Egypt, ever 
 since he had been called out of Chaldea or 
 Mesopotamia at seventy -five years of age 
 (Gen. xii 4), he had had constant experience 
 of a special, of an over-ruling, of a kind and 
 gracious Providence over l.im, till his 
 125th year, which, against all human views, 
 had continually blessed him and enriched 
 him, and, in his elder age, had given him 
 first Ishmaelby Hagar, and afterward promis- 
 ed him Isaac to " spring from his own body 
 now dead, and from the deadncss of Sarah's 
 womb (Rom. iv. 19), when she was past age 
 (Ileb. xi. 11), and when it ceased to be 
 with Sarah after the manner of women (Gen. 
 xviii, 11), and had actually j)erformed that 
 and every other promise, how improbable so- 
 ever that performance had appeared, he had 
 ever made to him, and this during fifty en- 
 tire years together ; so tliat although, at his 
 first exit out of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, l;e 
 might have been tempted to stagger at 
 such a jircniise of God, through unbelief, 
 yet might he now, after fifty years' constant 
 experience, be justly strong in faith, giving 
 glory to God, as being fully persuaded, that 
 what God had promised (the resurrection of 
 Isaac) he vas both able and willing to perform, 
 (Rom. iv. 20, 21.) 
 
 11. That this assurance therefore, that 
 God, if he permitted Isaac to be slain, would 
 infallibly raise him again from the dead, en- 
 tirely alters the state of the case of Abraham's 
 sacrificing Isaac to the true God, from that 
 of all other liuman sacrifices whatsoever of- 
 fered to false ones, all those others being 
 done without the least promise or prospect 
 of such a resurrection ; and this indeed takes 
 away all pretence of injustice in the divine 
 command, as well as of all inhumanity or 
 cruelty in Abraham's obedience to it. 
 
 12. That upon the whole, this coniniand 
 to Abraham, and what followed upon it, 
 looks so very like an intention of God to 
 typify or represent beforehand, in Isaac, 
 a beloved or only begotten son, what was 
 to happen long afterwards to the great Son 
 and seed of Abraham, the Messiah, the be- 
 loved and the cnly begotten of the Father, 
 whose day Abraham saw by faith beforehand, 
 arid rejoiced to see it" (John viii. 56), viz. 
 that he, by the determinate counsel and 
 foreknowledge of God, should b€ a-ucified and 
 slain, as a sacrifice, and should be raised 
 
UlbSEKlATiON II. 
 
 843 
 
 again the third (Lit/ (Acts ii. 22 — 32), and 
 tliis at Jcrw^alem ahn ; and that in the mean 
 lime, God would accept of the sacrifices of 
 rams and the like animals, at the same city 
 Jerusalem, that one cannot easily avoid the 
 application. This seems the reason why A - 
 braliam was obliged to go to the land of 
 IVIoriah, or Jerusalem, and why it is noted 
 that it was t/ie third day (i'-'en. xxii. 2, 4) 
 that he came to the place, which implies tliat 
 the return b:ick, after the slaying of the sa- 
 crifice, wouid naturally be the third day 
 also; and why tliis sacrifice was not Ishmael 
 the S3n after the fiesh only, but Isaac the 
 son by pramise, the beloved sun of Abraham ; 
 and wliy Isaac was styled tlie only stj?i, or unly 
 6<?,i,'(i/tert io« of Abraham (Ileb. xi. 17), though 
 he had Ishmael besides; and why I^aac 
 himself was to bear the wood on which he was 
 to be sacrificed (Gen. xxii. C; Jolm xix. 
 17) ; and why the place was no other than 
 the land of Afjriah, or vision, i. e. most probab- 
 ly a place where the Shechinah or Messiah had 
 been seen, and God by him worship])ed, even 
 before the days of Abraham, and where late- 
 ly lived, and perhaps now lived, Melchise- 
 deck, the grand type of the Messiah (who 
 might then possibly be present at the sacri- 
 fice) ; and why this sacrifice was to be offered 
 either on the mountain called afterwards dis- 
 tinctly yfjriah, where the temple stood, and 
 ■where all the Mosaic sacrifices were afterwards 
 to be offered, as Joseph us* and the generality 
 suppose, or perhaps, as others suppose, that 
 where the Jlessiah himself was to be offered, — 
 its neighbour mount Calvary. This seems also 
 the reason why the ram was substituted as a 
 vicarious sacrifice instead of Isaac. These 
 circumstances seem to me very peculiar and 
 extraordinary, and to render the present hy- 
 pothesis extremely probable. Nor perhaps 
 did St. Clement mean any thing else, when, 
 in liis fore-cited passage, he says, that " Isaac 
 was fully persuaded of what he knew was to 
 come," and therefore " cheerfully yielded 
 himself up for a sacrifice." Nor indeed does 
 that name of this place, Jehovah-Jireh, which 
 continued till the days of Moses, and signifi- 
 ed God will see, or rather, God luill provide, 
 seem to be given it by Abraham, on any other 
 account, than that God would there, in the 
 fulness of time, provide himself a Inmb (that 
 Lamb of God (John i. 29), which was to take 
 atvfiy the sin of the tuorld)for a burnt-offering. 
 But now, if after all it be objected, that 
 how peculiar and how typical soever the cir- 
 cumstances of Abraham and Isaac might be 
 in themselves, of which the heathens about 
 them could have little notion, yet such a di- 
 vine command to Abraham for slaying his 
 beloved son Isaac, must however be of very 
 ill example to the Gentile world, and that 
 It probably did either first occasion, or at 
 least greatly encourage, their wicked prac- 
 • Antiq. b. i, ch. xiii, sect. 2. 
 
 h 
 
 tices, in offering their children for sacrifice* 
 t-) their idols, I answer by the next consider- 
 ation : — 
 
 13. That tliis objection is so far from truth, 
 that God's public and miraculous prohibition 
 of the execution of this command to Abra- 
 ham (which command itself the Gentiies 
 would not then at all be surprised at, because 
 it was so like to their own usual practices), as 
 well as God's substitution of a vicarious ob- 
 lation, seems to have been the very occasion 
 of the immediate abolition of those impious 
 sacrifices by Tethmosis or Amosis, among 
 the neighbouring Egyptians, and of the sub- 
 stitution of more inoffensive ones there instead 
 of them. Take the account of this abolition, 
 which we shall presently prove was about the 
 tiine of Abraham's offering up his son Isaac, 
 as it is preserved by Porphyry, from Mane- 
 tho, the famous Egyptian historian and chro- 
 nologer," which is also cited from Porphy- 
 ry by Eusebius and Tlieodoret : — " Amosis," 
 says Porphyry, f " abolished the law for slay- 
 ing of men at Heliopolis in Egypt, as Mane- 
 tho 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 Egyp- 
 tians had Abraham in great veneration, and 
 that all the iiisduni if those Egyptians, in which 
 Moses was aftenuards learned, was derived 
 from no other than from Abraham. Now it 
 appears evidently by the fore-cited passage, 
 that the first abolition of these human sacri- 
 fices, and the substitution of waxen images in 
 their stead, and particularly at Heliopolis, in 
 the north-east part of Egypt, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Beersheba, in the south of Pales- 
 tine, where Abraham now lived, at tlie dis- 
 tance of about a 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 compare his time with the time of 
 the sacrifice of Isaac. Now, if we look into 
 my Chronological Table, published a. d. 
 1721, we shall find that the hundred and 
 twenty-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 Teth- 
 mosis or Amosis, which is the very middle of 
 his twenty-five years' reign ; so that this aboli- 
 tion of human sacrifices in Egypt, and sub- 
 stitution of others in their -oom, seems to have 
 been occasioned by the solemn prohibition 
 of such a sacrifice in the case of Abraham, 
 and by the following substitution of a ram 
 in its stead : which account of this matter not 
 t Apud Marsh, p. 301. 
 
jr 
 
 844 
 
 DISSERTATION II, 
 
 only takes away the groundless suspicions of 
 the moderns, but shows the great seasonable- 
 ness of the divine proliibition of the execution 
 of this command to Abraham, as probably the 
 
 direct occasion of putting a stop to the bar- 
 barity of the Egyptians in offering liuman 
 sacrifices, and that for many, if not for all, 
 generations afterwards. 
 
 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 FHOM JOSEPHUS S HISTORY OF 1 HE JEW- 
 ISH WAR. 
 
 Since Tacitus, the famous Roman historian, 
 who has written more largely and professedly 
 about the origin of the Jewish nation, abou' 
 the chorograpliy of Judea, and the last Jewish 
 war under Cestius, Vespasian, a".d Titus, than 
 any other old Roman historian ; and since 
 Both Josephus 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 
 Rome during the time, or not long after, our 
 Josephus had been there studying the Greek 
 language, reading the Greek books, and writ- 
 ing his own works in the same Greek lan- 
 guage, which language was almost univer- 
 sally 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 been 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 correspondence 
 of tl»e authors as to time and place, but the 
 likeness of the subject matter and circum- 
 stances, is so often so very remarkable : nay, 
 indeed, since many of the particular facts be- 
 longed 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 inex- 
 cusable. The two only other writers whom we 
 know of, when such Jewish affairs might be 
 supposed to be taken by Tacitus, who never 
 appears to have been in Judea himself, are Jus- 
 tus of Tiberias, a Jewish historian, contempor- 
 
 ary with Josephus, and one Antonius Juli- 
 anus, once mentioned by Minutius Felix, in his 
 Octavius (sect. S3), as having written on the 
 same subject with Josephus, and both already 
 mentioned by me on another occasion (Dis- 
 sert. 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 Pho- 
 tius (Cod. xxx) ; — and as to Antonius Juli- 
 anus, his very name shows him to have been 
 not a Jew, but a Roman. He is never men- 
 tioned by Josephus ; and so probably knew 
 no more of the country or affairs of Jude? 
 than Tacitus 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 pool 
 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 Vespasian 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 in the public 
 library at Rome, as we know from Josephus 
 himself, from Eusebius, and Jerome, 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 Jose- 
 phus himself, in his own Life (sect. 65)» 
 
DISSERTATION III, 
 
 8+5 
 
 and some others from the relations of Roman 
 people, where the affairs of Rome were con- 
 cerned : as also other affairs might be remem- 
 bered by old officers and soldiers that had been 
 in the Jewish war. Accordingly 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 farther than 
 three or four years during this war, so will it 
 bv no means account for that abridgment of 
 the geography of the country, and entire 
 series of the principal facts of history thereto 
 relating, which are in Tacitus, from the days 
 of Antiochus Epiphanes, two hundred and 
 forty years before that war, with which An- 
 tiochus both Josephus 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 per- 
 vert and shamefully falsify ; and this is so 
 true as to Tacitus's own accounts of the ori- 
 gin of the Jewish nation, that the reader may 
 almost take it for a constant rule, that when 
 Tacitus contradicts Josef)hus's Jewish An- 
 tiquities, he either tells direct falsehoods, or 
 truths so miserably disguised, 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 this day :— -of which mat- 
 ters more will be said in tiie 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 [Jerusalem], it 
 «eems proper to give an account of its origi- 
 nal. ° — 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 Saturn was driven out of his 
 kingdom by the power of Jupiter : an argu- 
 ment for it is fetched from their name. The 
 mountain Ida is famous in Crete ; and the 
 neighbouring inhabitants are named Idcri, 
 which, with a barbarous augment, becomes 
 the name of Judiei [Jews]. Some say they 
 were a people that were very numerous in 
 Egypt, under the reign of Isis ; and that the 
 Egyptians got free from that burden, by 
 
 • Most of Ihtse stories are so entirely groundless, and 
 io contradictory to one another, that' they d«, not lie- 
 ierve a serious confutation. It is strange Tacitus 
 could persuade hiniself thus crudely to set them down. 
 
 ~\.> , 
 
 sending them into the adjacent countries, un- 
 der their captains Hierosolymus and Judas. 
 The greatest part say they were those Ethio- 
 pians whom fear and hatred obliged to change 
 their habitations, in the reign of king Ce- 
 pheus.b There are those who report that 
 they were Assyrians, who, wanting lands, got 
 together, and obtained part of Egypt, and 
 soon afterward settled themselves in cities of 
 their own, in the land of the Hebrews, and 
 the parts of Syria that lay nearest to tliem.*^ 
 Others pretend their origin to be more emi- 
 nent, and that the Solymi, a people celebrat- 
 ed in Homer's poems, were the founders of 
 this nation, and gave this their own name Hie- 
 rosolyma to the city which tliey built there. ' 
 Chap. III.] Many authors agree, that 
 when once an infectious distemper was arisen 
 in Egypt, and made men's bodies impure, 
 Bt'cchoris, their king, went to the oracle ot 
 [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 o- 
 ther 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 
 hereupon the rest devoted 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 made them believe in him, as in a 
 celestial leader,f by whose help they had al 
 ready gotten clear of their present miseries, 
 Tiiey agreed to it; and though they were un- 
 acquamted with every thing, they began their 
 journey at random ; but nothing tired them 
 so much as the want of water; and now they 
 laid theinselves down on the ground to a great 
 extent, as just ready to perisli, when a herd 
 of wild asses, came from feeding, and went 
 to a rock overshadowed by a grove of trees. 
 Moses followed thein, as conjecturing that 
 there was [thereabouts] some grassy soil, 
 and so he opened large sources of water 
 for them.S That was an ease to them; and 
 when they had journeyed continually siiih en- 
 
 t One would wonder how Tacitus, or any heathen, 
 could sup; ose the African Kthiopians under Cepheus, 
 who are known to be blacks, could be the parents of 
 the Jews, who are known to be whites. 
 
 « This accouut comes nearest the truth, and this 
 Tacitus might have from Josephus, only disguised by 
 himself. 
 
 4 This Tacitu* might have out of Josephus, Antiq. 
 b. vii, ch. iii, sect. 2. 
 
 • Strange doctrine to Josephus ! who truly observes 
 on this occasion, that the gods are angry, not at bodily 
 imperfections, but at wicked practices. Apion, b. i, 
 sect. 28. 
 
 f This believing in Moses as in a celestial Uader, 
 seems a blind confession ori'acitus that Moses profcsjcj 
 to have his laws from Cod. 
 
 g This looks also like a plain confession of Tacitus, 
 that Moses brought the Jews water out of a rock in' 
 great plenty, which he might have from Josephus, 
 Antiq. b. iii, ch. i, sect. 7. 
 
 ■> Strange iudccd ! that 6()t',0illl men should travel a- 
 bove 21)0 miles, over the deserts of Arabia, in six days, 
 and conyuer Judea on the seventh 
 
8 IG 
 
 DISSERTATON III. 
 
 tire days, on the seventh day they drove out 
 the inhabitants, and obtained those land 
 wherein their city and temple •were dedicat- 
 ed. 
 
 Chap. IV.] As for Moses, in order to se- 
 cure the nation firmly to himself, he ordained 
 new rites, and such as were contrary to those 
 of other men. All things are with them pro- 
 fane which with us are sacred : and again, 
 those practices are allowed among them which 
 are by us esteemed most abominable.' 
 
 They place the image of that animal in 
 their most holy place, by whose indication it 
 was that they had escaped their wandering 
 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 Ajris.^ 
 
 They abstain from swine's flesh, as a me- 
 morial of that miserable destruction which the 
 mange, to which that creature is liabie, 
 brought on them, and with which they had 
 been defiled.™ 
 
 That they had endured a long fsniine 
 they attest still by their frequent fastings:" 
 and that they stole the fruits of the earth, v\ e 
 have an argument from the bread of the 
 Jews, which is unleavened. " 
 
 It is generally supposed that they res-t on 
 the seventh day ;'' because that day gave them 
 [the first] rest from their labours. Besides 
 which, they are idle on every seventh year,*^' 
 as being pleased with a lazy life. Others say 
 that they do honour thereby to Saturn ;■" or 
 perhaps the Idaei gave them this part of their 
 religion, who [as we said above] were expell- 
 ed, together 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 highest orb, and of the seven 
 planets exerts the principal part of that energy 
 
 • 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 idolatrous nations 
 about them. 
 
 k This strange story contradicts what the same Taci- 
 tus will tell us presently, that when Pompey went into 
 the holy of IioUl's he found no image there. 
 
 I These are only guesses of Tacitus, or of his hea- 
 then authors, but no more. 
 
 "■ Such memorials of what must have been very re- 
 proachful, are strangers to the rest of niaukiud, and 
 wthout any probability. 
 
 = The Jews had but one solemn fast of old in the 
 whole year, — the great day of expiation. 
 
 "> Unleavened bread was only used at the Passover. 
 
 p It is very strange that Tacitus should not know or 
 confess that the Jews' seveni/i clay 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. 
 
 q A strange hypothesis of the origin of the Sabbatic 
 year, and without all good foundation. Tacitus pro- 
 bably had never heard of the Jews year of Jubilee ; so 
 he says nothing of it. 
 
 ' As if the Jews in the days of Moses, or long before. 
 Knew that the Greeks and Romans would long after- 
 ward call the seventh day of the week Saturn's day ; 
 which Dio observes was not so calletl in old time; and 
 it is a question. Whether before the Jews fell into ido- 
 latry, they ever heard of such a star or god as Saturn. 
 Amos v. 2S ; Acts vii. 45. 
 
 whereby mankind are governed ; and indccil 
 the most of the heavenly bodies exert tlieir 
 power and perform their courses according 
 to the number Seven. ^ 
 
 Chap V.] Tliese rites, by what manner 
 soever they were first bt^g'jn, are supported 
 by their antiquity.' The rest of their institu- 
 tions are awkward," impure, and got ground 
 by their pravity ; foi- every vile fellow, des- 
 pising the rites of his forefathers, brought 
 thither their tribute and contributions, by 
 which means the Jewish commonwealth was 
 augmented ; and because among themselves 
 there is an unalterable fidelity and kindness 
 always ready at hand, but bitter enmity to- 
 wards all others ;" they are a people separated 
 from all others in their food and in their 
 beds ; though they be the lewdest nation 
 upon earth, yet will they not corrupt foreign 
 women, y though nothing be esteemed unlaw 
 ful among themselves. '' 
 
 They have ordained circumcision of the 
 part used in generation, that they may there- 
 by be distinguished from other people. Tiie 
 proselytes to their religion have the same 
 usage.* 
 
 They are taught nothing sooner than to 
 despise the gods, to renounce their country, 
 and to have their parents, children, and bre-. 
 thren in the utmost contempt ;*' but still they 
 take care to increase and multiply, for it is 
 esteemed utterly unlawful to kill any of thu'ir 
 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 contempt of death. 
 
 They derive their custom of burying,'^ 
 instead of burning their dead from the Egyp- 
 tians ; they have also the same care of the 
 dead with them, and the same persuasion a- 
 bout the invisible world below ; but of the 
 gods above their opinion is contrary to theirs. 
 The Egyptians worship abundance of animals, 
 and images of various sorts. 
 
 ' 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 permitted to d ai in 
 astrology, though Tac'tus seems to have been deep in it. 
 
 ' This acknowledgmerit of the antiquity of Moses, 
 and of his Jewish settlement, was what t!:e heathen 
 cared not always to own. 
 
 » What these pretended awkward and impure institu 
 tions were, Tacitus does not inform us. 
 
 » Josephus shows the contrary, as to the laws of 
 Moses, Anion, b. ii. sect. 22. 
 
 y A high, and, 1 doubt, a false commendation cf the 
 Jews. 
 
 ' An entirely false character, and contrary to their 
 many laws aganist uncleanness. See Joscphus, Antiq. 
 b. ii), ch. xi, sect. 12. 
 
 » The proselytes of justice only, not the proselytes 
 of the gate. 
 
 i> How does this agree with that unalterable fidelity 
 and kindness which Tacitus told us 1 he Jews had to- 
 wards one another ?— unless he only means that they 
 iiret'erred the divine commands before their nearest re- 
 lations, which is the highest digree of Jewish and Chris- 
 tian piety. 
 
 ' This custom is at least as old amoi'g the Hebrews 
 as the tlays of Abraham and tliC cave of Macl.plula. long 
 before tiie Israelites went into Egypt, fien. xxiii. 1— 
 lO- and XXV. 8—10. 
 
 J^ 
 
'V^ 
 
 DISSERTATION III. 
 
 847 
 
 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 unperishabie, is their doctrine. Accord- 
 ingly, they have no images in their cities, 
 much less in their temples : they never grant 
 tl)is piece of flattery to kings, or this kind of 
 honour to emperors.' But because their 
 priests, when they play on the pipe and the 
 timbrels, wear ivy round their head, and a 
 golden vine has been found in their temple, f 
 some have thought that they worsliipped our 
 father Bacchus, the conqueror of the East ; 
 whereas the ceremonies of the Jews do not at 
 all agree with ihose of Bacchus, for he ap- 
 pointed rites that were of a jovial nature, and 
 fit for festivals, while the practices of the 
 Jews are absurd and sordid. 
 
 Chap. VI.] Tlie limits of Judea easterly 
 are bounded by Arabia; Egypt lies on the 
 aouih ; on the west are Phoenicia and the 
 [Greit] Sea. They have a prospect of Syria 
 on their north quarter, as at some distance 
 from them.o 
 
 The bodies of the men are healthyj 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 pe 
 culiar 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 veins quake as for fear, if you bring an 
 iron knife to cut them. They are to be o- 
 pened 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 moun- 
 tain supplies the river Jordan with water, 
 and affords it its fountains also. Nor is this 
 
 4 These are very valuable concessions which Tacitus 
 here makes as to the unspotted pietj' of (lie Jewish nation, 
 in the worship of one iiifinite invisible God, and abso- 
 lute rejection of all idolatry, and of all worship of im- 
 ages ; nay, of the image of the emperor Caius himself, 
 or of affording it a place in their temple. 
 
 • All these concessions were to be learned from Josc- 
 phus, and almost only from him ; out of whom, Uiere- 
 fore, I conclude Tacitus took the finest part of his cha- 
 ricter of the Jews. 
 
 ' This particular fact, that there was a golden vine 
 in the front of the Jewish temple, was, in all probabili- 
 ty, taken by Tacitus out of Josephus ; bu* as the Jew- 
 ish priests were never adorned with ivy, the signal of 
 Bacchus, — how Tacitus came to imagme this I cannot 
 tell. 
 
 e Sec the chorography of Judea in Josephus, Of the 
 War, b. iii, eh. iii, whence most probably Tacitus 
 framed this short abridsimant ot it. It comes in 
 both authors naturally before Vespasian's first cam- 
 paign. 
 
 ^ The latter branch of this.Tacitus might-4)ave from 
 Josephus (Of the War, b. iii, ch. iii, sect. -1, 3, \) ; 
 tH<» ntlier is not in the present coni« 
 
 Jordan carried into the sea ; it passes througl) 
 one and a second lake undiminished ; but it 
 is stopped by the third, i 
 
 This third lake is vastly great in circum- 
 ference, as if it were a sea.'' It is of an ill 
 taste ; and is pernicious to the adjoining in- 
 habitants by its strong smell. The wind 
 raises no waves there, nor will it maintain 
 either fishes or such birds as use the water. 
 The reason is uncertain, but the fact is thus, 
 that bodies cast into it are borne up as by 
 somewhat solid. Those wiio can, and those 
 who cannot swim, are equally borne up by 
 it.' At a certain time of the year"" it casts 
 out bitumen ; the manner of gathering \t, 
 like other arts, has been taught by experience. 
 The liquor is of its own nature, of a black 
 colour; and, if you pour vinegar upon it, it 
 clings together, and swims on the top. Those 
 whose business it is, take it in their hands, 
 and pull it into the upper parts of the ship, 
 after which it follows, without farther attrac- 
 tion, and fills the ship full, till you cut it off, nor 
 can you cut it off either with a brass or an iroa 
 instrument; but it cannot bear the touch of 
 blood, or of a cloth wet with the menstrual pur- 
 gations of women, as the ancient authors say ; 
 but those that are acquainted with the place 
 assure us, that these waves of bitumen are dri- 
 ven along, and 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 are 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 cities" 
 full of people, 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 as burnt earth, 
 and has lost its natural fertility ; and that as 
 an argument thereof, all the plants that grow 
 of their own accord, or are planted by the 
 hand, whether they arrive at the degree of an 
 herb, or of a flower, or at complete maturity, 
 become black and empty, and, as it were, 
 vanish into ashes. As for myself, as I 
 am willing to allow that these once famous 
 
 I These accounts of Jordan, of the fountains derived 
 from mount I.ibanus, and of the two lakes it runs 
 through, and its stoppage by the third, are exactly a- 
 greeable to Josephus, Of the War, b iii, ch. x, sect. 
 7, S. 
 
 k No less than five hundred md eighty furlongs long, 
 and one hundred and fifty broad, in Josephus, of Lie 
 War, b. V, ch. viii, sect. 4. 
 
 ' Strabo savs, that a man could not sink into the 
 water of this lake so deep as the navel. 
 
 ■■ Josephus never says that this bitumen was cast up 
 at a certain time of the year only; and Strabo says tlie 
 direct contrary ; but Pliny agrees wiUi Tacitus. 
 
 o This is exactly according to Josephus, and must 
 have been taken from hiin in the place fore-cited ; anvi 
 that, particularly, because it is peculiar to him, so far 
 as I know, in all antiquity. The test thought the cities 
 were in the very same place where now the lake is ; but 
 Josephus and Tacitus say they were in its neighlx)ur 
 h'loa odIv ; which is Mr. Reland's ooinion also 
 
84S 
 
 DISSERTATION. IIF. 
 
 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 ail] 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 unwhole- 
 some. 
 
 The river Belus does also run into the sea 
 of Judea; and the sands that are collected a- 
 bout its mouth, when you mix nitre 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 inexhaustible. 
 
 Chap. VIII.] A great part of Judea is 
 composed of scattered villages; it also has 
 largw 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 itself; next it the 
 royal palace. The temple is enclosed in its 
 n.ost inward recesses. A Jew can come no 
 farther than the gates ; all 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." 
 
 After the dominion' of the Macedonians 
 prevailed, king Antiochus tried to conquer 
 their superstition, and to introduce the cus- 
 toms 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 Arsaces had fallen off [from the 
 Macedonians]. 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, attempt- 
 ed the same things that kings used to do, I 
 mean they introduced the destruction of ci- 
 ties, the slaughter of brethren, of wives, and 
 parents, but still went on in their supersti- 
 tion : for they took upon them witlial the 
 honourable dignity of the high-priesthood, as 
 a firm security to their power and authority. 
 
 Chap. IX.] The first of the Romans that 
 conquered the Jews was Cneius Pompeius, 
 who entered the temple by right of viciory. 
 Thence the report was everywhere divulged, 
 that therein wa« no image of a god, but an 
 empty place, and mysteries, most secret 
 places that have nothing in tljem. The 
 wallsof Jerusalem were then destroyed, but the 
 temple continued still. Soon afterward arose 
 a civil war among us; and when therein 
 lliese provinces were reduced under Marcus 
 
 o A great slanfler against the Jews, without any just 
 foundation. Jcsephus would have informed him bet- 
 ter. 
 
 p Here hcgin Josephus's and Tacitus's true accounts 
 of the Jews preliminary to the last war. See of the 
 War, Prooem. sect. 7. 
 
 Antonius, Pacorus, king of the Parthians, 
 got possession of Judea, but was himself slain 
 by Paul us Ventidius, and the Parthians were 
 driven beyond Euphrates ; and for the Jews, 
 Caius Sosius subdued them. Antonius 
 gave the kingdom to Herod ; and when Au- 
 gustus conquered Antonius he still augment- 
 ed it. 
 
 Aftier Herod's death, one Simon, without 
 waiting for the disposition of Csesar, took 
 upon hiiri the title of King, w ho was brought 
 to punishment by [or under] Quinctilius Va- 
 rus, when he was president of Syria. After- 
 ward the nation was reduced, and the child- 
 ren of Herod governed it in three partitions. 
 
 Under Tiberius the Jews had rest. After 
 some time, they were enjoined to place Caius 
 Csesar'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 ta 
 freed-men, 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 dis- 
 position of a slave. He had married Dru- 
 silla, the grand-daughter of Antonius: so 
 that Felix was the grand-daughter's husband, 
 and Claudius the grand-son of the same An- 
 tonius. 
 
 ANNALS, BOOK xii. 
 
 But he that was the brother of Pallas, whose 
 surname was Felix, did not act with the same 
 moderation [as did Pallas himself. He had 
 been a good while ago set 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 [fot the setting up the prince's 
 statue in their temple] ; 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, and 
 the Samaritans under Felix ; which twro na- 
 tions were of old at variance, but now, out ol 
 
 q They came to Petronius, the president of .Syria, in 
 vast numbers; but without arms, and as humble sup- 
 plicants only, bee Tacitus presently, where he after- 
 wards sets this matter almost tight, according to Josfr. 
 phus, and by way of correction ; for that account is in 
 Ills .'\nnals, which were written after this which is ia 
 tus Histories. 
 
DISSERTATION III. 
 
 84» 
 
 contempt of their governors, did less restrain 
 their h^itred ; they then began to plunder one 
 another, to send in parties of robbers to lie in 
 wait, and sometimes to fight battles, and with- 
 al to bring spoils and prey to the procurators 
 [Cumanus and Felix]. Whereupon these 
 procurators began to rejoice ; yet when the 
 mischief grew considerable, soldiers were sent 
 to quiet them, but the soldiers were killed ; 
 and the province had been in a flame of war, 
 had not Quadratus, the president of Syria, 
 
 and difficult ; but rather from the nature of 
 the mountain and the obstinacy of the Jewislj- 
 superstition, tlian because the besieged had 
 strength enough to undergo the distresses [of 
 a siege]. We have already informed [the read, 
 er] that Vespasian had with him three legions, 
 well exercised in war. Histor. b. ii. ch. v.] 
 
 When Vespasian was a very young man, 
 it was promised him that he sliould arrive at 
 the very highest pitch of fame : but what did 
 first of all seem to confirm the onien, was his 
 
 flfbrded his assistance. Nor was it long in i triumphs, and consulship, and the glory of 
 
 dispute whether the Jews, who had killed the 
 soldiers in the mutiny, should be put to death : 
 it was agreed they should die, — only Cu- 
 manus and Felix occasioned a delay ; for 
 
 his victories over the Jews. When he had 
 once obtained these, he believed it was por- 
 tended that he should come to the empire.^ 
 There is between Judea and Syria a moun- 
 
 Claudius, upon hearing the causes as to this i tain and a god, both called by the same name 
 rebellion, had given [Quadratus] authority to ^ of Carmel, though our predecessors have in- 
 determine the case, even as to the procurators | formed us that this god had no image, and no 
 themselve". ; but Quadratus showed Felix [ temple, and indeed no more tlian an altar and 
 among the judges, and took him into his seat ! solemn worsliip. Vespasian was once oH'or- 
 of judgment, on purpose that he might dis-l mg a sacrifice there, at a time when he had 
 courage his accusers. So Ciunanus was con- | some secret thought in his mind ; the priest, 
 demned for those flagitious actions, of which whose name was Basilides, when he, over and 
 both he and Felix had been guilty, and peace over, looked at the entrails, said, " Vespasian, 
 was restored to the province.' whatever thou art about, whether the building 
 
 of thy house or enlargement of thy lands, or 
 augmentation of thy slaves, thou art granted a 
 mighty seat, very large bounds, and a huge 
 number of men." These doubtful answers 
 were soon spread abroad by fame, and at th. 
 HowKVER, the Jews had patience till Ges- time were explained ; nor was any thing so 
 sius Florus was made jirocuralor. Under, much in public vogue, and very many dis- 
 him it was that the war began. Then Ces- ' courses of that nature were made before him, 
 tius Gallus, the president of Syria, attempted and the more, because they foretold what he 
 to appease it, and tried several battles, but j expected. 
 
 generally with ill success. I Mucianus and Vespasianus went away, hav- 
 
 Upon his death,' wliether it came by fate, 'ing fully agreed on their designs ; the former 
 
 or that he was weary of his life, is uncertain, to Antioch, the latter to Cesarea. Antiocl 
 
 HISTOR. BOOK V. CHAP. X. 
 
 Vespasian had the good fortune, by his reputa- 
 tion, 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. 
 
 [Flavins Vespasianus, whom Nero had 
 chosen for his general, managed the Jewish 
 war with three legions. Histor. b. i. ch. x.] 
 
 The next year, which was employed in a 
 civil war [at home], so far as the Jews were 
 
 is the capital of Syria, and Cesarea the capi 
 tal of Judea. The commencement of Ves- 
 pasian's advancement to the empire was at 
 Alexandria, where Tiberius Alexander made 
 such haste, tliat he obliged the legions to take 
 the oath of fidelity to him on the kalends of 
 July, which was ever after celebrated as the 
 day of his inauguration, although " the army 
 in Judea had taken tliat oath on the fifth of 
 the Nones of July, with that eagerness, that 
 
 concerned, passed over in peace. When Italy ! they would not stay for his son Titus, who 
 was pacified, the care of foreign parts was re- i vvas then on the road, returning out of Syria, 
 vived. The Jews were the only people that ch. Ixxix. Vespasian delivered over the 
 stood out ; which increased tlie rage of [the strongest part of his forces to Titus, to enable 
 Romansl. It was also thought most proper him to finish ^xhat remainetl of the Jewisl* 
 that Titus sliould stay with the army, to pre- j war, Histor. b. iv. ch. IL 
 vent any accident or misfortune which the new 
 
 government might be liable to. • Josephus takes notice in general of thesi many 
 
 TTT • if J . 1 .« .u T„ : 1. i omens of Vespasian's advancement to the empire, and 
 
 [Vespasian had put an end to the Jewish ai^^Unctly adds his own remarkable prediction of it also. 
 war; the siege of Jerusalem was the onlv Of the VVar, b. iii, ch. viii, sect. 3 — 9. 
 „„. • • • !• u I I 'i " This (;///i«»4 % seems to imply that Vespasian was 
 
 enterprise ren.aining, which was a work hard proclaimed cmpe...r in Ju.lea before he was proclaimed 
 
 at Alexandria, :is t)ie whole history of Joseph s implies, 
 
 ' Here seems to be a great mistake about the Jewish and the place where now Vespasian was, which was no 
 affairs in Tacitus. See of the War, book ii, chap, sii, other than Judea, requires also, though the inaugura- 
 sect. 8. tion-day might be celebrated afterward from his first 
 
 » Josephus says nothing of the death of Cestui s ; so proclamation at the great city Alexandria : only then the 
 Tacitus seems to' have known nothing in particular a- N'ones or Ides in Tacitus ai'd tiuetonius must be c>f 
 bout IS June, and not of July. 
 
850 
 
 — >.| 
 
 DISSERTATION III, 
 
 During these months in which Vespasian 
 continued at Alexandria, waiting for the usual 
 set time of the summer-gales of wind, and 
 staid 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. j 
 
 A certain man of tlie vulgar sort at Alex- j 
 andria, well known for the decay of his eyes, 
 kneeled down by him and groaned, and beg- 
 ged of him the cure of his blindness, as by the , 
 admonition of Serapis, the god which this su- 
 perstitious nation worships above others. He 
 also desired tliat the emperor would be pleas- 
 ed to put some of his spittle upon the balls 
 of his eyes. Anotlier infirm man 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 tliem ; and when 
 they were instant with him, he sometimes 
 feared he should have the reputation of a vain 
 person, and sometimes, upon the solicitation 
 of tlie 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 blindness and 
 lameness were curable by the art of man or 
 not? Tiie piiysicians answered uncertainly, 
 that the one had not the visual faculty utter- 
 ly 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 be- 
 ing 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, Cssar would have the glory; if 
 not, the poor miserable objects would only 
 be laughed at. Whereupon Vespasian im- 
 agined that his good fortune would be uni- 
 versal, 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 reco- 
 vered, and the blind man saw immediately. 
 Both these cures" are related to this day by 
 Ihose that were present, and when speaking 
 falsely will get no reward. 
 
 BOOK V, CHAP. I. 
 
 » The miraculous cures done by Vesiiasian are attest- 
 ed to botli by Suetonius in Vespasian (sret. 7) and by 
 Dio (p. i.'17), and seem to me well attested. Our Savi- 
 our seems to have over-ruled the heathen oracle of 
 Serapis to jirocure the divine approbation to Vespasian's 
 advancement to the empire ot Rome, as he suofftst- 
 ed the like approbation to the advamement both of 
 Vesuasiaii and Titus to Josephus; which two were 
 to be his 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 probabilit\, have 
 prevailed over the Jews, and destroyed Jerusalem, as 
 this whole history in Josephus implies. Josephus also 
 everywhere su))iK)ses Vespasian and Titus raised up to 
 command against Judea and Jerusalem, and to govern 
 the Roman tnipi.e by Divine Providence, and not in 
 the ordinary way; as also he always supposes this de- 
 struction a divine judgment on the Jews tor their sins. 
 
 At the beginning of the same year, Titus 
 Ca-sar, who was pitched upon by his father 
 to finish the conquest of Judea, and, while 
 both he and his father were private persons, 
 was celebrated for his martial conduct, acted 
 now with greater vigour and hopes of reputa. 
 tion, the kind inclinations both of the pro- 
 vinces and of the armies striving one with an- 
 other 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 genera!.*' He 
 was received in Judea by three legions, the 
 fifth, and the tenth, and the fifteenth, who 
 were Vespasian's old soldiers. Syria also af- 
 forded him the twelfth, and Alexandria sol- 
 diers out of the twenty-second and twenty- 
 third legions. Twenty cohorts of auxilia- 
 ries accompanied, as also eight troops of 
 horse. ^ 
 
 King Agrippa also was there, and king 
 Sohemus, and the auxiliaries of king Antio- 
 chus, and a strong body of Arabians, who, as 
 is usual in nations that are neighbours to one 
 another, went with their accustomed hatied 
 against the Jews, with many others out of the 
 city of Rome, as everyone's hopes led b'm, of 
 getting early into the general's favour, before 
 others should prevent them. 
 
 He entered into the borders of the enemy's 
 country with these forces, in exact 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 pompously showed his 
 legions ready for an engagement, a 
 
 Chap. XL] The Jews formed their camp ] 
 under the very walls b [of the city] ; and if 
 they succeeded, they resolved to venture far- 
 ther ; but if they were beaten back, that was 
 their place of refuge. When a body of ca- 
 valry were sent against them,'^ and with them 
 
 r This character of Titus agree: exactly with the 
 History of Josephus upon all occasions. 
 
 ' These twenty cohorts and eight troops of horse, are 
 not directly enumerated by Joscp-hus, of the War, b. v, 
 ch. 1, sect. 6. 
 
 • This word in Tacitus, pompously shoued his Jegions, 
 looks as if that pompous show which was some months 
 ;iltcrward, in Josephus, ran in his mind. Of the War, 
 b. V, ch. ix, sect. 1. 
 
 These first bickerings and battlra near the walls of 
 Jerusalem, are at large in Josephus, of the .^ ar, b. v, ch. 
 11. 
 
 « Josephus distinctly mentions these horsemen or ea- 
 l iX', *'^ hundred in number, among whom Titus 
 had Uke to have been slain or taken iirisonpr, of tha 
 War, b. V, ch. ii, sect. 1, 2, 3. 
 
DISSERTATION III. 
 
 851 
 
 cohorts that were expedite and nimble, t!ie 
 fiwlit was doubtful ; but soon afterwards tiie 
 enemies gave ground, and on the following 
 days there were frequent skirmishes before 
 the piates, till after many losses they were 
 driven into the city. The Romans then be- 
 took themselves to the siege, for it did not 
 seem honourable to stay till the enemies 
 were reduced by famine. d The soldiers were 
 very eager to expose themselves to dangers ; 
 part of them out of true valour, and many 
 out of a brutish fierceness, and out of a desire 
 of reward. 
 
 Titus had Rome, and the riches and plea- 
 sures of it, before his eyes ; all which seemed 
 to be too long delayed, unless Jerusalem 
 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 l)een on plain ground; for there were 
 two hills, of a vast height, which were enclos- 
 ed by walls made crooked by art, or [natural- 
 ly] bending inwards, that they might flank 
 the besiegers, and cast darts on them side- 
 ways. The extreme parts of the rock were 
 craggy, and the towers, when they had the 
 advantage of the ground, were sixty feet 
 high ; when they were built on the plain 
 ground they were not built lower than one 
 liundred and twenty feet : they were of un- 
 common 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 cita- 
 del, having walls of its own, which had more 
 labour and pains bestowed on them than the 
 lest. The cloisters wherewith the temple 
 was enclosed were an excellent fortification. 
 
 They had a fountain of water that ran per- 
 petually, and the mountains were hollowed 
 under ground j they had moreover pools'" and 
 cisterns for the preservation of the rain-water. 
 
 They that built this city foresaw, that from 
 the difference of their conduct of life from 
 tlieir neighbours, they should have frequent 
 wars ; thence it came to pass that they had 
 provision for a long siege. After Pompey's 
 conquest also, their fear and experience had 
 taught them generally what tliey should want.S 
 
 * Sufb a deliheration and resolution, with this very 
 reason, that it would be dishouourable to stay til! the 
 Jews were starved out by famine, is in Josephus, ol the 
 War, b. V, ch. xii, sect. 1. 
 
 • This description of the city Jenisalem, its two hills. 
 Us three walls, and four towers, &c. are in this place 
 at large in Josephus, of the War, b. v, ch. iv. Seo iUso 
 Pompey's Siege, Antiq. b. xiv, ch. iv, sect. i. 
 
 f Of these pools, see Josephus, of the VV ar, b. v, ch. 
 xi, sect. 4. The cisterns are not mentioned by him 
 here, th lugh they be mentioned by travellers See 
 Reland's Rilestine, lorn. i. p. 504. 
 
 « This is Tacitus's or the Komans' own hypt>tbcsis, 
 unsupported by Josephuv. 
 
 Moreover, the covetous temper that pre- 
 vailed under Claudius, gave the Jews an op- 
 portunity of purchasing for tnoney '' leave 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 people that retired thither on 
 the ruin of the other cities j for every obsti- 
 nate fellow ran away thither, and there be- 
 came more seditious than before. 
 
 There were three captains, and as many ar- 
 mies. Simon had the remotest and largest 
 parts of the walls under him. John, who was 
 also called Bar Gioras (the son of Gioras), had 
 tlie 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 
 situation, but battles, factions, and burnings, 
 were common to them all ; and a great quan- 
 tity of corn was consumed by fire. After a 
 while, John sent some, who, under the pre- 
 tence of offering sacrifice, might slay Eleazar 
 and his body of troops, which they did, and 
 got the temple under their power. So the 
 city was now 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 happen, 
 ed, as this nation, which is superstitious 
 enough in its own way, would not agree to 
 expiate by the ceremonies of the Roman reli- 
 gion, nor would they atone the gods by sacri- 
 fices 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 light 
 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, that 
 the gods were retiring, and at the same 
 time there was a great motion perceived, as if 
 they were going out of it, which some esteem- 
 ed 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 Judea should obtain the empire 
 of the world, which obscure oracle foretold 
 Vespasian and Titus ; but the generality of 
 the common people, as usual, indulged their 
 own inclinations, and when they had once 
 interpreted all to forebode grandeur to them 
 
 ii 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 Josephus. t\ut is 
 Joscphus's character of Claudius near so bad, as to othtr 
 things also, as it is in Tacitus and Suetonius. Dio ■-ays 
 he was far from oovetousness in particilar The others 
 seem to have misrepresented his meek and quiet tem- 
 per and learning, but without ambition, and his groat 
 Kindness to the Jews as the most contem]itjbie folly, 
 ^ec Antiq. b. xix, ch. iv, sect. 4. He was indeed much 
 ruled at first by a very bad minister, Pallas ; and at last 
 WIS ruled and poisoned by a very bad wife, Agrippina. 
 
 i These prodigies and more are at .arge iu Jtisi-phiis- 
 of the Wav, b. vi, ch. v, sect. 3. 
 
652 
 
 DISSERTATION III. 
 
 selves, adversity itself could not persuade circle itself; whence a commiseration arose. 
 
 tliem to change their minds, though it were 
 from falseliood to truth. k 
 
 We have been informed, that the number 
 of thebe.ieged, of every age and ofbo'h sexes, 
 male and female, was six hundred thousand. I 
 There were weapons for all that could carry 
 them ; and more than could be expected, for 
 
 though the punishments were levelled at 
 guilty persons, and such as deserved to be 
 made the most flagrant examples, as if these 
 people were destroyed, — not for the public 
 advantage, but to satisfy the barbarous hu- 
 mour of one man. 
 
 »*, Since I have set down all the vile ca- 
 
 their number, were bold enough to do so. lumnies of Tacitus upon tlie Christians as 
 
 The men and the women were equally obsti- 
 nate ; and when they supposed they were to 
 be carried away captive, they were more afraid 
 of life than of death. 
 
 Against this city and nation Titus Cassar 
 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 
 tlie duty among the legions ; and there were 
 no farther engagements, until whatever had 
 bten inventtMl for the taking of cities by the 
 ancients, or by the ingenuity of the moderns, 
 was got ready. 
 
 ANNALS, BOOK XV. 
 
 Nero, in order to stifle the rumour [as if 
 he had himself set Rome on tire], ascribed it to 
 those people who were hated for their wicked 
 practices, and called by the vulgar Chrvstians ; 
 these he punished exquisitely. The author of 
 this name was Christ, who in the reign of Ti- 
 berius was brought to punishment by Pontius 
 Pilate, the procurator.™ For the present 
 this pernicious superstition was in part sup- 
 pressed ; but it brake out again, not only over 
 Judea, whence this mischief first sprang, but 
 in the city of Rome also, whither do run from 
 every quarter and make a noise, all the fla- 
 grant and shameful enormities. 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 destroyed 
 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 gar- 
 dens for this spectacle. He also gave them 
 Circensian games, and dressed himself like 
 the driver of a chariot, sometimes appearing 
 among tiie common people, sometimes in the 
 
 i> This interpretation, and the reflections upon it, are 
 in Joseplius, of the War, b. vi, eh. v, sect. 4. 
 
 > The number 600,000 for the besieged is nowhere in 
 Josephiis, but is tliere for the poor buried at the i)ub- 
 lic charge, of the War, b. v, ch. xiii, sect. 7, which miglit 
 be about the number of the besieged, under Ccstius 
 Callus, though there were many more afterward at Ti- 
 tus's siege, as Josephus implies, of the War, b. vi, ch. ix. 
 sect 3. 
 
 ■n This passage seems to have l)een directly taken 
 from Josephus's famous testimony concerning Christ, 
 and the Christians, Antiq. b. xviii, ch. iii, sect. 5, of 
 which see Dissert. 1, before. 
 
 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; I mean Pliny's 
 Epistle to Trajan when he was proconsul of 
 Bithynia ; with Trajan's Answer or rescrip 
 to Pliny, cited by Tertullian, Eusebius, ano 
 Jerome. These are records of so great esteem 
 with Havcrcamp, the last editor of Josephus, 
 that he thinks iliey not only deserve to bn 
 read, but almost to be learned by heart also. 
 
 PLINY'S EPISTLE TO TRAJAN 
 
 ABOUT A. D. 11 2. 
 
 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 ignorance ? 
 I have never been present at the examination 
 of the Christians [by others], on which ac- 
 count I am unacquainted with wliat uses to 
 be inquired into, and what, and how fai 
 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 punishment with strong men ? Whether 
 there be not room for pardon upon repent- 
 ance .''" or whether it may not be an advan- 
 tage to one that had been a Christian, tlia* 
 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 Cl;ristians, I asked them whe- 
 ther they « ere Christians or not.' If they 
 confessed that they were Christians, I asked 
 them again, and a third time, intermixing 
 threatenings with the questions. If the}' per- 
 severed in their confession, I ordered them 
 to be executed.iP for I did not doubt but, let 
 
 ° Till now, it seems, repentance was not commonlj 
 allowed those that had been once Christians; but, 
 though they recanted and returned to idolatry, yet wer« 
 they commonly put to death. This was peisecution in 
 perfection ! 
 
 " This was the just and heavy complaint of the ait 
 eient Christians, th.'t they commonly suffered for thai 
 bare name, wiihout the'pretence of any crimes they 
 could prove against them. This was also persecution 
 in perfection ! 
 
 p Amazing doctrine ! that a firm and fixed resolution 
 of keeping a good conscience sh(nild be thought with 
 out dispute to deserve death, and this bv such compA 
 ratively excellent heathens as P.iny and Tr^an. 
 
 . J' 
 
DISSERTATION III. 
 
 853 
 
 their confession be of any sort whatsoever, 
 this positiveness and inflexible obstinacy de- 
 served to be punished. There have been 
 some of tliis mad sect whom I took notice of 
 in particular as Roman citizens, that tliey 
 mi<»ht be sent to that city.'' After some 
 time, as is usual in such examinations, the 
 crime spread itself, and many more cases 
 came before me. A libel was sent to me, 
 though without an author, containing many 
 names [of persons accused]. These denied 
 that they were Ciiristians now, or ever had 
 been. They called upon the gods, and sup- 
 plicated to your image,'" which I caused to be 
 brought to me for that purpose, with frank- 
 incense and wine ; they also cursed Christ j^ 
 none of which things, it is said, can any of 
 those that are really Christians be compel- 
 led 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 de- 
 nied it again ; that indeed they had been 
 Christians, but had ceased to be so, some 
 three years, some many more; and one tiiere 
 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 mis- 
 take, 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 to 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 requir- 
 ed back again ; after which it was their cus- 
 tom to depart, and to meet again at a com- 
 mon but innocent meal,' which they had 
 left ofiF 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, who were called Deaco- 
 j nesses : but still I discovered no more than 
 I - that they were addicted to a bad and to an 
 extravagant superstition. Hereupon I have 
 put oST any further examinations, and have 
 I recourse to you, for the affair seems to be well 
 worth consultation, especially on account of 
 
 q This was the case of St. I'aul, who, being a citizen 
 of riome, was allowed to " appeal unto Caesar;" and 
 was " sent to Home" accordingly. Acts xxii, 25 — 29 ; 
 XXV, 25 ; xxvi, S.) ; xxvii. 
 
 ' Amazing stupidity ! that the eraperor's image, even 
 
 while he was ahve, should be allowed capable of divine 
 
 worship, even by such comparatively excellent heathens 
 
 as Pliny and Trajan. 
 
 • Take here a parallel account out of the Martyrdom 
 
 I of Polycarp, sect. 9. The proconsul said, " Reproach 
 
 1 Christ. Polycarp replied, " Eighty-and-six years have 
 
 i I now served Christ, and he has never done me the 
 
 I least wrong, how then can I blaspheme my King and 
 
 my Saviour ?" 
 
 « This, mos' probably, must be some Feast ^f Cha- 
 rity." 
 
 '"\ ^ . 
 
 the number" of those that are in danger ; 
 for there are many of every age, of every 
 rank, and of both sexes, who 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 
 stopped and corrected. To be sure, the tem- 
 ples, which were almost forsaken, begin al- 
 ready to be frequented ; and the holy solem- 
 nities, which were long intermitted, begin to 
 be revived. The sacrifices begin to sell well 
 everywliere, 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 ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 TRAJAN'S EPISTLE TO PLINY. 
 
 My Pliny, 
 
 You have taken the method 
 which you ought in examining the causes ot 
 those that had been accused as Christians, 
 for indeed no certain and general form or 1 
 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 pu- 
 nished ; but with this caution, that he who 
 denies hiinself to be a Christian, and makes 
 it plain that he is not so by supplicating to ! 
 our gods, although he had been so formerly, j 
 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 a 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 ac- 
 counts of the affairs of the Romans and Par- 
 thians, 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 now 
 and then followed other historians, or reports 
 concerning the Romans, tlie Parthians, or the 
 
 " Some of late are ver^' loth to believe that the Chris- 
 tians were numerous n the second century ; but this is 
 such an evidence that they were very numerous, at 
 least in Bithynia, even in the beginning of that century, 
 as is wholly undeniable. 
 
do! 
 
 DISSERTATION III. 
 
 Je\v5, during that long interval, he was conn- 
 monly mistaken in them, and had better have 
 kept close to Josephus than hearken to any of 
 his otiier authors or informers. 
 
 III. It also appears liighly probable that 
 Tacitus had seen tlie Antiquities of Josephus, 
 and knew that the most pai t of tlie accounts 
 he produced of the origin of the Jewish na- 
 tion entirely contradicted those Anti()uiues. 
 He also could hardly avoid seeing that those 
 accounts contindicted one another also, and 
 were childish, absurd, and supported by no 
 good evidence whatsoever : as also, lie could 
 hardly avoid seeing that Josephus's accounts 
 in those Antiquities were authentic, substan- 
 tial, and thoroughly attested to by the ancient 
 records of that nation, and of the neighbour- 
 incT nations also, wliich indeed no one can 
 now avoid seeing, that carefidly peruses and 
 considers them. 
 
 IV. Tacitus therefore in concealing the 
 greatest part of the true ancient history of the 
 Jewish nation, which lay before iiim in Jose- 
 phus, and producing such fabulous, ill-j, round- 
 ed, and partial histories, which he had from 
 the heathens, acted a most unfair part ; and 
 this procedure of his is here the more gross, 
 in regard he professes such great impartiality 
 (Hist. b. i. ch. i.), and is allowed indeed to 
 have observed that impartiality as to the Ro- 
 man affairs. 
 
 V. Tacitus's hatred and contempt of God's 
 peculiar people, the Jews, and his attachment 
 to the grossest idolatry, superstition, and 
 astral fatality of the Romans, were therefore 
 so strong in iiim, 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 Roinans. 
 
 VI. Since therefore Tacitus was so bitter 
 against the Jews, and since he knew that 
 Christ was a Jew himself, and that his apos- 
 tles, and first followers were Jews, and also 
 knew that the Christian religion was derived 
 into the Roman provinces from Judea, — it is 
 no wonder that his hatred and contempt of 
 the Jews extended 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 ground- 
 less, 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 upon theirs. 
 
 VII. Since therefore Tacitus, soon after 
 the publication of Josephus's Antiquitits, 
 
 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 with that published in Josephus, a- 
 gainst Apion, from Manetho and Lysiinachus, 
 and nowhere else met with so fully in all an 
 tiquity, it is most probable tliat those Antiqui- 
 ties of Josephus were the very occasion of 
 Tacitus giving us these stories ; as we know 
 from Josephus himself, against Apion, b. i 
 sect. 1, that tlie same Antiquities were the 
 very occasion of Apion's publication of liis 
 equally scandalous stories about them, and 
 which Josephus so thoroughly confuted in 
 these two books, written against him ; and if 
 Tacitus, as I suppose, had also read these two 
 books, his procedure in publishing such stories 
 after he had seen so thorough a confutation 
 of them, was still more highly criminal. Nor 
 will Tacitus's fault be inuch less, though «e 
 suppose he neither saw the Antiquities, nor 
 the books against Apion : because it was very 
 easy for him, then at Rome, to have had more 
 authentic accounts, of the origin of the Jewish 
 nation, and of the nature of the Jewish and 
 Christian religions, from the Jews and Chris- 
 tians themselves, who he owns were very 
 numerous there in his days; so that his pub- 
 lication of such idle stories is still utterly in- 
 excusable. 
 
 V^III. It is therefore very plain, after all, 
 that notwithstanding the encomiums of several 
 of our learned critics upon Tacitus, and hard 
 suspicions upon Josephus, all the (involun- 
 tary) mistakes of Josephus, in all his large 
 works put together, their quality as well as 
 quaJitUy considered, do not amount to i;ear so 
 great a sum as do these gross errors and mis- 
 representations of Tacitus about tlie Jews 
 amount to in a iew pages; so little rea- 
 son have soinc of our later and lesser critics to 
 prefer the Greek and Roman historians and 
 writers to the Jewish, and particularly to 
 Josephus. Such later and lesser critics sliould 
 have learned more judgment and modesty 
 from their great father Joseph Scaliger, when, 
 as we have seen, afterall hisdeeper inquiries, he 
 solemnly pronounces (2>t' £mtvjd. Ter.ip. Pro~ 
 legotn. p. 17), that "Josephus was tlie most 
 ddigent 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 pf Ot^ Jewish Wkights and Measures, pttrticuiarfy ef th f*. 
 Tucntiimed in Josephus' Works. 
 
 Of the Jewish Measures o^ Length, 
 
 Cubit, the standard 
 Zereth or large span, 
 Sinall span, - - . . 
 Palm or hand's breadth. 
 Inch or thumb's breailth, 
 Digit or finger's breadth, 
 Orgyia or fathom, 
 Ezekiel's Canneh or reed, 
 Arabian Cannah or pole, 
 Schoenus, line or chain, 
 Sabbatli-day's journey, 
 Jewish mile, - - - 
 Stadium or furlong, 
 Parasand, - - . - 
 
 Inches. 
 - '21 
 
 10.5 
 
 7 
 
 3.5 
 1 .16 
 
 - 84 
 
 - I '26 
 
 - 168 
 
 icao 
 
 42000 
 
 8400O 
 
 8400 
 
 252000 
 
 VeeU 
 
 - 1 
 
 - O 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - o 
 
 - 
 
 - 7 
 
 - 10 
 
 - 14 
 140 
 
 3500 
 
 7000 
 
 700 
 
 21000 
 
 Inches. 
 
 9 
 
 10.V 
 
 7 
 
 i.ie 
 
 .87£ 
 
 6 
 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 
 Of the Jewish Measures of Capacity. 
 
 Cub. Inches. 
 Bath or Eplia, ... . 807.274 - 
 
 Corns or Chomer, .... 8072.74 
 Soah or Saton, - - . . . 269.091 - 
 Ditto according to Josephus, - 828.28 
 
 Hin, -.134.54 
 
 Ditto according to Josephus, . 414.12 
 Omer or Assaron, - - - . 80-722 - 
 
 Cab, 44.859 - 
 
 Log, 11.21 
 
 Metretes or Syrian firkin, - - 207 
 
 Pints or Pouiub. 
 
 - 27. 8:3 
 
 - 278.3 
 
 9.266 
 
 - 28..^ 
 
 4.4633 
 
 - 14.3 
 
 2.78 
 1.544 
 
 - - .39 
 
 7. 1 25 
 
 Of the Jewish Weights and Coi.s's. 
 
 L 
 Stater, Siclus, or shekel of the sanctuary, the standard, - - 
 Tyrian coin, equal to the shekel, ... ....o 
 
 Bekah, half of the shekel, ........._o 
 
 Drachma Attica, one-fourth, -._...-...o 
 Drachma Alexandrina, or Darchon, or Adarchon, one half, - O 
 Gerah, or Obolus, one-tv/entieth, ........o 
 
 Manel), or Mna — 100 shekels in weight — 21,900 grains Troy. 
 Maneh, Mna, or Mina, as a coin, — 60 shekels, . - - - 7 
 Talent of silver, — 3000 shekels, ........ 375 
 
 Drachma of gold, not more than ....... .0 
 
 Shekel of gold not more than ^ -..-.- . . q 
 
 Daric of gold, ..............1 
 
 Talent of gold, not more than -..-.-. 648 
 
 i 
 
 .1. 
 
 '2 
 
 «s 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1h 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
855 
 
 Vablk of the Jewish IMonths in Joscjihiis and others, with the Si/ro. Mace- 
 donian names Jo.ie])hiis gives them, and the names nf the Julian or Ruman 
 Months corres]>onding to them. 
 
 •-lel3Tew Names. 
 
 (1.) Nisan 
 
 (2.) Jyar 
 
 (3.) Sivan 
 
 (4.) Tamuz 
 
 (5.) Ab 
 
 (6.) Elul 
 
 (7.) Tisri 
 
 (8.) Marchesvan 
 
 (9.) Casku 
 (10.) Tebeth 
 (11.) Shebat 
 (12.) Adar 
 ( ) Veadar, or the 
 
 Syro-Maccdotiian Names, 
 Xanthicus 
 Artemisius 
 Daesius 
 Panemus 
 Lous 
 
 "Gorpiceus 
 HyperberetsBiis 
 Dius 
 Apellasus 
 Audynasus 
 Peritius 
 Dystrus 
 Second Adar, intercalaved. 
 
 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 
 
 _^ 
 
INDEX. 
 
 N. B. THE FIRST NUMBER IN ORDER IS THAT OF THE BOOK; THE SECOND, 
 
 OF THE CHAPTER ; AND THE THIRD, OF THE SECTION, OR SECTIONS. 
 
 Aaros, Antiq. b. ii, ch. xiii, sect. 1; b. xx, ch. x; is 
 made high-priest, b. iii, ch. viii, sect. 1 ; hif. sons, 
 lb. ; his death, b. iv, ch. iv, sect. 7. 
 
 Abassar, or Sanabasser, Antiq. b. xi, c. iv, sect. 6. 
 
 Abbarus, king of the Tyf'SfS Against Apiou, b. i, sect. 
 21. 
 
 ^bdastartus, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, b. i, 
 sect. 18. 
 
 Abdemon, a Tyrian, Antiq. b. viii, a v, 3 ; Against 
 Apion, b. i, sect. 17, IS. 
 
 Abilenago, or Abednego, Antiq. b. x, c. x, 1. 
 
 Abdon succeeds Elon as judge, Antiq. b. v, c. vii, 15. 
 
 Abel, Antiq. b. i, c. ii, 1 ; his sacrifice, ib. 
 
 Abenarig, king of Cliarax Spasini, .■\ntiq. b. xx, c. li, 1. 
 
 Abia, or Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, Antiq. b. vii, c. 
 X, 3, b. viii, c, X, 1 ; succeeds his father, sect. 4; con- 
 quers the ten tribes, b. viii, c. xi, 2, 3. 
 
 Abia, king of the Arabians, Antiq. b. xx, c. iv, 1. 
 
 Abiathar, the son of Ahimelcch, Antiq. b. vi, c. xiv, G ; 
 saves his life, and flies to David, sect, b ; is iiigh- 
 priest, b. vi, c. xiv, 6; and b. vii, c. v, 4 ; ami o. ix, 
 i' ; and c. xi, 8 ; and c. xiv, 4 ; is deprived of the high- 
 priesthood, b. viii c. i, 3. 
 
 Abibalus, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, b. i, sect. 
 17. 
 
 Abigail, Antiq. b. vi, c. xiii, "; married to David, sect. 
 8. 
 
 Abigail, .\masa's mother, Antiq. b. vii, c. x, 1. 
 
 Abiliu, tlie son of Aaron, Antiq. b. iii, c. viii, 1. 
 
 Abijah, or Abia, the son of Relioboain, Antiq. b. vii, 
 c. X, 3: and b. viii, c. x, 1 ; succeeds his father, sect. 
 4 ; conquers the ten tribes, b. vii, c. xi, 2, 3, 
 
 Abilamaradochus, or Evil Meiodacii, Antiq. b. x, c. xi. 
 
 Abimael, Antiq. b. i, c. vi, 4. 
 
 Abimelec'h tyrannizes over the Shechemites, Antiq. b. 
 V, c. vii, 1 ; is expelled, sect. 3 ; he destroys them all, 
 sect. 4 ; is killed by a piece of a mill.stone, sect. 5. 
 
 Abinadab, Antiq. b. vi, c. i, 4; b. viii, c. ii, 5. 
 
 Abiram, .\iitiq. b. iv, c ii, 2. 
 
 .^bishag, a virgin, David's nurse, Antiq. b. vii, c. xiv, 3. 
 
 .'Vbishai, .Xntiq. b. vi, c. xiii, 9. 
 
 Abner. Antiq. b. vii, c. i, 4; son of Ner, c. xiii, sect. 1 ; 
 Saul's kinsman, b. vi, e. iv, 5; general of his army, 
 b. vii, c. i, o; reconciles the Israelites to David, b. 
 vii, c. i, 4 ; is killed, sect. 6. 
 
 Abram, or .Vbraham, the son of Terah, Antiq. b. i, e. 
 vi, 5 ; leaves Chaldea, and goes to Canaan, c. vii, sect. 
 1 ; lives at Damascus, sect. 2 ; advises his sons to plant 
 colonies, c. xv; instructs the Kgyptians in the mathe- 
 matical sciences, e. viii, sect. 2; divides the country 
 between himself and Lot, sect. 3; God v^romises him 
 a son, c. x, sect. 5 ; he beats the x\ssvriaus, c. x ; dies, 
 c xvii. 
 
 Absulom, Antiq. b. vii, c. iii, 3 ; flies to Geshur, c. 
 viii, sect 3 ; is recalled by a stratagem of Joab, sect. 
 4. 5; rebels against David, b. vii, c. ix ; pursues after 
 liim, c. X, sect. 1 ; his army is put to flight, sect. '.' ; 
 hangs on a tree by his hair, ib. ; is stabbed by Joab, 
 and dies, ib. ^ 
 
 Acencheres, king of Egypt, Against Apion, b. i, sect. 
 
 Acenchres, queen of Egypt, ib. 
 
 Achar, or .Achan, is guilty <rf theft, Antiq. b. v, 10 ; is 
 
 punished, sect. 14. 
 Achitophel, or Ahithophel, Absa'om's favourite, Antiq. 
 
 b. vii, c. ix, 2 ; gives evil counsel, sect. 5 ; hangs him- 
 self, sect 8. 
 .\chonius, Antiq. o. xi, c. v, 4. 
 Acme, War, b. i, c. xxxii, (i ; her letters to Antipater and 
 
 Herod, Antiq b. xvii, c. v, 7 ; her death, c. vii. 
 Acmon. son of Araph, or Ishbi, the son of Ob, of the 
 
 race of the giants, attacks David, Antiq. b. vii, c 
 
 xii, 1 ; is killed by Abishai, ib. 
 Acratheus, or Hatach, .\ntiq. b. xi, c. vi, 7. 
 Actium, battle at, Antiq. b. xv, c. v, 1 ; and c. vi, I 
 
 War, b. i, c. xix, 1 ; in the seventh year of HerodS 
 
 reign, .Antiq. b. xv, c. v, 2. 
 Ada, the wife of Lamech, Antiq. b. i, c. i:, 2. 
 Adad, a king of Damascus, Antiq. b. vii, c. v, 2, &a 
 Adam created, Antiq. b. i, c. i, 2; his fall, ib. 
 Ader, or Hadad, an Idumean, Antiq. b. viii, c. vii, 6. 
 Adonias, or Adouijah, pretends lo the crown, Antiq. b. 
 
 vii, c. xiv, 4 ; Uikes sanctuary at the altar, sect. 6, 9: 
 
 demands Abishag to wife, b. viii, c. i, 1, 2 ; is refused, 
 
 sect. 3. 
 ."^doiiibozek, king of Jerusalem, Antiq. b. v, c. ii, 2; 
 
 is made a prisoner, and has his hands and feet cut ofi', 
 
 and dies at Jerusalem, ib. 
 Adoram, .\ntiq. b. vii, e. v, 4 ; and b. viii, c. ii, 9. 
 Adiammclech, Antiq. b. x, c. i, .5. 
 .Adra.s,ir, or Hadadezer, king of Sophene, or Zoba, An 
 
 tiq. b. viii, c. v, 1 ; b. viii, c vii, 6. 
 .■Ebutius, a decuricm, Life, sect. 24. 
 jEgvpt named from a king, Against Apion, b. i, sccL 
 
 15. 
 .Egyptian kings called Pharaohs for ISOflyears, till the 
 
 reign of Solomon, Antiq. b. viii, c. vi, 2. 
 .(Egyptians, famous before all other nations for wisdom, 
 
 Antiq. b. viii, c. ii, 3 ; learned mathematics of .Xbra- 
 
 ham, Antiq. b, i, c. viii, 2; their sacred scribes or 
 
 priests, b':^ii, c. ix, 2; they held it unlawful to feed 
 
 Ciittle, b. ii, c. vii, 5. 
 Egyptians' false prophet put to flight by Felix, Antiq. 
 
 b. XX, e. viii, 6; VVar, b. ii, c. xiii, 5. 
 .lElius Gallus, Antiq. b. xv, c. ix, 3. 
 iEmilius Regulus, Antiq. b. xix, c. i, 3. 
 /Eneas, suniamed Aretas, succeeds ubodas in Arabia, 
 
 Antiq. b. xvi, c. ix, 4. 
 Esopus, a servant, Antiq. b. xv, e. iii, 2. 
 ^Ethiopian commodities were slaves and monkeys, An- 
 tiq. b. viii, c. vi, j, &c. ; and c. Vii, 2. 
 ^Ethiopians bordering on the Arabians, Antiq. b. ix, e. 
 
 V, 3. 
 .\gag, king of the Amalekites, Antiq. b. vi, c. vii, 2 ; i« 
 
 killed, sect. 5. 
 A^ar, or Ilagar, and Ishmael, are sent away by Abra- 
 ham, Antiq. b. i, c. xiii, 5. 
 Aggeus, or Maggai the prophri, .\ntiq. b. xi, c. iv. .5 
 
 7 ; he propnecies at the rebuilding of the temple, 
 
 ib. 
 .\gone3, or games every fifth year, in honour of Ca^ar 
 
 instituted by Herod, Antiq. b. xv, c. viii, 1 ; War, b. 
 
 i, c. xxi, 8 ; at the finishing Cesarea, Antiq. b. xvi, 
 
 e.v. I. 4_^ 
 
T 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Agrippa's ,'Marcus the Roman) bountj' towards the Jews, 
 Antiq. xii, ili, t' ; is splendidly entertained bv Herod, 
 xvi, ii, 1; makes eiqual returns to him at'SjTiope, 
 sect. I'; his expedition to the Bosphorus, ib. : his 
 speech to the Jews at Jerusalem, War, ii, xvi, 5, 4 ; 
 he confirms their privileges, Antiq. xvi, ii, ,5 ; his let- 
 ter to the Ephesians, in favour of the Jews, c vi, 
 sect, 4 ; and to those of Cvrene, sect. b. 
 
 Agrippa the Great, or Elder,' Htrods grandson, Antiq. 
 xvii, ii, 2 ; and xviii, v, 4 ; War, i, xxviii, I ; his va- 
 rious adventures, Antiq. xviii, 5, 4, &c. ; is manacled 
 and imprisoned, c. vi, sect G ; his future Uberty and 
 happiueis foretold, sect. 7 ; is released and made lord 
 of two tetrarchies, with the title of king, sect. 10; 
 gives Caius a sumptuous entertainment at Rome, c. 
 x%-iii, sect. 7: is sent by the senate to Claudius, xix, 
 iv, 1, i; his advice to Claudius, ib. &c. ; is sent back 
 to the kingdom, c iv, sect. 1 ; Claudius bestows on 
 him almost all the dominions of his grandfather, c. 
 V, sect. 1 ; his culogium, c. vii, sect. 5; his bounty 
 towards those of Berytus, sect 5 ; he treats several 
 kings sp'endiily, c. \Tii, sect. 1 ; entertains Cesarea 
 witn shows, and appears himself upon the stage in a 
 magnificent dress, and is applauded as a god, sect. '.'; 
 dies soon after an unnatural death, ib. ; his death and 
 children. War, ii, xi, 5, 6, 
 
 Agrippa, his son by C\7iros, War, ii, xi, 6; did not im- 
 mediately succeed in his father's kingdom, Antiq. 
 xix, ix, 2; Claudius gave him that of his uncle He- 
 rod [of Chalcis], xx, v, 2; War, ii, xii, 1 ; to which 
 he added the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias, c. 
 vii, sect. 1 ; he is hurt by a sling-stone at tlie s:ege' of 
 Garaala, iv, i, 3 ; his letters to Josephus, Life, sect. 
 C4; his famous speech to the Jews, to dissuade them 
 from a war with the Romans, War, ii, xvi, 4, o. 
 
 Agrippa, sou of Felix and Drusilla, Autiq. xx, vii, 2. 
 
 Agrippa Fonteus slam, War, vii, iv, 3. 
 
 Ahab, king of Israel, Antiq. vii, xiii, 1 ; is reproved 
 by Elijah, sect. 8 ; fights with Iienhadad, and beats 
 him, c. xiv, sect, 1, 4ic ; pardons him, sect. 4; is af- 
 terwards k lied liiraself by the iivrians, c. xv, sect. 5 ; 
 his sons, ix. 6, .i. 
 
 Ahaziah, his son, Autiq. viii, xv, 6; and ix, il, 2; vi 
 sect. 3. 
 
 Ahaziah, king of Judah, Antiq. ix, vi, 3. 
 
 Ahaz, ki.ig of Judah, Antiq. ix, xii, 2. 
 
 Ahijah, the prophet, Antiq. viii, vii, 7; liis propliecy, 
 X, iv, S. 
 
 Ahikam, Antiq. x, ix, 1. 
 
 Ahimaaz. the son of Zadok, Antiq. vii, ix, 2; ex, 
 sect- 4, 5; higli-pricst, x, viii, ti. 
 
 Ahimeleoh. or Achimelech the priest, or high-priest, 
 slain by the order of Saul, Aniiq. vi, xiii, 4. &c. 
 
 Ahitub, Antiq. viii, i, 5. 
 
 .\liitophcl, or Achitophel, Antiq. vii, ix ; gives evil 
 counsel, sect. 5 ; hangs himself, sect. S. 
 
 Ai besieged, Antiq. v, i, 12; taken, sect. 15. 
 
 Aizel, ofL'zal, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Alans, War, vii, vii, 4. 
 
 Albiuus, procurator of Judca, Antiq, xx, ix, I. 
 
 Alcimus, or Jacimus. the wuked high-priest, .\ntiq. 
 xiii, ix, 7; calumniates Judas before Demetrius, c.x, 
 sect. 1 : dies, sect. 6. 
 
 Alcyon, a physician, Autiq. xix, i, 20. 
 
 Alexander Lysimachus, the alabarch, Antiq. xviii, vi, 
 5 ; and xix', v, 1 ; and xx, v, 1. 
 
 -Mexander, the son of Alexander by GlaphjTa, War, i, 
 xxviii, 1. 
 
 Alexander, the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiq. 
 xiii, li, 1; surnamed Balas, ib. in nute ; king of Sy- 
 ria, sect. 2 ; his letter to Jonathan, ib. ; engages in a 
 battle with Demetrius, sect.- 4 ; demands rtolemy 
 Philcmeter's daughter in marriage, c iv, sect. 1 ; is 
 killed in Arabia, aud his head sent to Ptolemy, sect. 
 S. 
 
 Alexander and Aristobidus, Herod's sons, put in prison, 
 Antiq. xvi, x, 5; strangled by their fa:her's order, c 
 xi, sect. 6; War, i, xxvii, 6.' 
 
 Alexander, the son of Ari^tobulus, Antiq. xiv, iv, 5 ; 
 War. i, viii, 7; troubles Syria, Antiq. xiv, iv, J; 
 makes war upon the Romans, War, i, viii, 5 ; is 
 conquered by liabinus, ib. ; killed by Pompey's or- 
 der, Antiq. xiv, vii, 4 ; War, i, ix, 2. 
 
 Alexander Janneus succeeds his brother Aristobulus, 
 War, i, iv, 1 ; a sedition raised against him, Antiq. 
 xiii, xiv, 2, &c. ; his exjiedition against Ptolemais, c. 
 xii, sect. 2 ; he is called Thracidas, for his barbarous 
 cruelty, c. xiv, sect. 2; dies of a quartan ague, after 
 three years' sickness, c. xv, sect, 5 ; War, i, iv, i> ; his 
 sons, Hvrcanus and Aristobulus, Antiq. xiii, xvi ; 
 War, i, v, 1. 
 
 Alexander the Great, succeeds his father Philip, Antiq. 
 xi, xi'i, 10; conquers Darius, sect. 5 ; pursues his vii.>- 
 torics through Asia, ib. ic. ; sends a letter to the 
 high-jiriest at Jerusalsm, ib. ; goes himself to Jerusa- 
 
 lem, sect. 5 ; his dream, ib. ; he adores the name of 
 Oodon the high-priest's forehead, ih. ; enters the tern 
 pie, ih. ; grants privileges to the Jews, ib. ; the Pam- 
 nhylian sea gives way to his army, Antiq. ii, xvi, 5 
 his arms and armour kept in the temple of Diana, al 
 Elj-mais, xii, ix, 1 ; his empire divided after his death, 
 c i. 
 
 Alexander, the son of Phasaelus and Salampsio, Antiq. 
 xviii, V, 4. 
 
 Alexander (Tiberius) succeeds Caspius Fadus as procu 
 rstor of Judea, Antiq. xx, v, 2; War, ii, xi, 6; is 
 made procurator of Egypt, ii, xv, 1 ; c. xviii, sect. 
 7; is niade chief commander of the Koman army 
 under Vespasian, iv, x, f ; ani vi, iv, 5. 
 
 Alexander Zebina, king of Svria, is conquered by An- 
 tiochus Grypus, and dies,.A'ntiq. xiii, ix, ". 
 
 Alexandra, Alexander Janneus's widow, holds the ad 
 ministration, after his death, Antiq. xiii, xvi, l ; falh 
 sick and dies. sect. 5, 6 : her eulogium, ib. 
 
 Alexandra, daughter of Hvrcanus, wife of Alexander, 
 the son of Aristobulus. livrcanus's brother, and mo- 
 ther of another Aristobulus and Mariamne, Antiq. 
 xy, ii, 5 ; writes a letter to Cleopatra, ib. : >ends the 
 plc^lres of her son and daughter to Antonius, by the 
 advice of Dellius, sect. 6; is I'eignedly reconciled to 
 Herod, sect. 7 ; is susjiectcd by Herod, c. iii, sect. 2 : 
 prepares to 11 y into Egjpt, ib. ; bemoans the death of 
 Aristobulus, sect, 4; acquaints Cleopatra with the 
 snares of Herod, and the death of her son, sect. 5: is 
 put into prison, sect. 9; her indecent beh.iviour to- 
 wards her daughter Mariamne, c vii, sect. 4 ; is kill- 
 ed by Herod's order, sect. 8. 
 
 Alexandra, daughter of Phasaelus and Saiampsio, .Au- 
 tiq. XVIII, V, 4; is married to Timius C\-pnus, ib. 
 
 Alexandria's causeway to the inland Phar'os, seven fur- 
 long's long, .Antiq. xii, ii, 12 ; a great part of thatcit? 
 assigned to the Jews, xiv, vii, 2 ; the Jews declared 
 its ciiizens on a brazen pillar bv Julius Ciear. c. x, 
 sect 1,2. 
 
 Alexas, Salome's husband, Antiq. xvii, i, 1 : War, i 
 xxviii, 6. 
 
 Alexas Selcias, .Alexas's son, Antiq. xviii v, 4. 
 
 .-Misphragmuthosis, or Halisphragmuthosis, king o5 
 Eg>pt. Against .\pion, i, sect. 14. 
 
 .\litunis, a Jew, Life, sect. 3. 
 
 Alliance between Ptolemy and Antiochus, Antiq. xii, iv. 
 
 Altar of incense, Antiq. iii, vi, 8; of burnt-offering 
 made of unhewn stone. War, v, v, 6 ; Against .\nion, 
 i, sect. 22. 
 
 Amad,?tha, or Hammadetha, .\ntiq. xi, vi, .i, 12. 
 
 Amalekites attack the Israelites, Antiq. iii, ii, 1 ; are 
 conquered and plundered, sect. 4, 5. 
 
 Aman, or Haman, theeneray of the Jews, Antiq. xi, vi, 
 15 ; his edict against the 'Jews, sect. 6; he orders a 
 gallons to be erected for Mordecai, sect. 1(1; is oblig- 
 ed to honour Mordecai, ib. ; his malicious design it 
 laid before the king, sect. 1 1 ; his edict countermand 
 ed, secu 12; he is liimsclf hanged on the gallows, 
 sect. 13. = 5 . 
 
 -Vmarinus, or Oniric king of the Israelitics, -Intiq. viii^ 
 xii, 0. 
 
 .\masa, general of the army, Antiq. vi, x, 1 ; and xi, 1 ; 
 the son of Jether, c. xv, sect. 1 ; killed by Joab, ib. 
 c xi, sect. 7. 
 
 .\masias, or .Vmaziah, king of Judah, Antiq. ix, viii. 
 4 ; o. ix, sect. 1 ; makes war on Jehoash, king of Is- 
 rael, sect. 3 ; is beaten, ib. and murdered iu a conspir- 
 acy, ib. 
 
 Amasias, or Ma.iseiah, king Ahaz's son, slain in battle, 
 .\ntiq. ix, xii, 1. 
 
 Amasias, or Maaseiah, governor of the city, Antiq. x, 
 iv, 1. 
 
 Amalhius, Antiq, i, vi, 2. 
 
 .Ambassadors sent with presents to Hezekiah, .\ntiq. x, 
 ii, 2; ambassadors of the Jews, slain by the -Arabs, x\ , 
 V, 2; this a viohition of the laiv of nations, sect. 3, c. 
 iii, sect. 9; ambassadors had a right to sit among ttw 
 Roman senators in the theatre, xiv, x, G. 
 
 Amba;<sai;e sent by Jouatha-.i to the Lacedemonians, 
 Antiq. xiii, v, 8 . sent by the Jews to Rome, xii, x, 6. 
 
 Ambition and avarice causes of many mischiefs, .\miq. 
 vii, i, 5. 
 
 -Ambivius, (Marcus) procurator of Judea, Antiq. xvi.i 
 ii, 2. 
 
 Amenophis, king of Egypt, .\gaiiist Apion, i, sect. 15, 
 2f;, 32. 
 
 Amesses, queen of Egj'jit, Against .Apion, i, sect. I j. 
 
 -Aminadab, Antiq. vi.'i, 4 ; and xi, iv, 1. 
 
 .Ammonius, Antiq. xiii, iv, 6; killed, ib 
 
 Amnon. David's son, Antiq. vii, iii, 3; falls in love with 
 his sister J'ainar, c. viii, sect, i; is slain by .Vbsaloia's 
 order, sect. 2. 
 
 Amoriti-s given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and 
 t>te half tribe of Maua^seh, Autiq. iv. vii, 3. 
 
 ''9^ 
 
TMDEX. 
 
 Amphitheatre built at Jerusalem, and another in the 
 adjoining plain, by Herod the Great, Antiq. xv, viii, 
 1 ; another at Jericho, xvii, viii, 'V. 
 Amram, Mosts's father. Ant q. ii, ix, 3. 
 Amram, Antiq. xx, i, 1. 
 Ainraphel, Antiq. i, ix. 
 Amutal, or Hamutal, Antiq, x, v, 2. 
 Anacharias, or Rabsaris, a general of Sennacherib An- 
 tiq. x, i, I. 
 Ananclus made high priest, Antiq, xv, ii, 4; deprivei 
 
 of it, c. iii, sect. 1 , restored to it, sect. 3. 1 
 
 Ananias, son of Nebedius, made high-priest, Antiq. xx, 
 V, 2; War, ii, xii, 6 ; c. xvii, sect, t' ; his son Ananiis, 
 c. xii, sect. 6 ; both sent in fetters to Rome, Antiq- 
 XX, vi, 2 ; slain, together with his brother Kzek.ia£, 
 War, ii, xvii, 9. 
 Ananias, (different from the forrr.er,) Antiq. xi, iv, 9 ; 
 
 son of Onias, xiii, x, 4; c. xii, sect. 2. 
 Ananias, the son of Masarabalus, high-priest, War, v, 
 
 xiii, 1. 
 Ananus senior, made high-priest, Antiq, xx, ix, 1 ; his 
 
 eulogium. War, iv, iii, 7. 
 Ananus junior, the son of Ananus, made hi^h-priest, 
 Antiq. xx, ix, 1 ; Life, sect. .38 ; War, iv, iii, 9 ; his 
 speech to the people, sect. IC ; accused of the mur- 
 der of James the Bishop, Antiq. xx, ix, 1 ; deprived 
 of the high-priesthood, ib. ; his death, War, iv. v, 2. 
 Ananus [or Annas], son of Seth, made high-priest, 
 
 Antiq. xviii, ii, 1 ; deposed, sect. 2. 
 Ananus, son of Hamadus, one of Simon's life-g^uards, 
 
 War, V, xiii, 1 ; flies to Titus, vi, iv, 2. 
 Ananus, governor of the temple, Antiq. xx, vi, 2. 
 Ananus, son of Jonathan, War, ii, xix, 5- 
 Anchus, or Achish, kins of Gath, Antiq. vi, xiv, 1. 
 Andreas, captain of Philadelphus's life-guard, Antiq. 
 
 xii, ii, 2, 3, 4 ; Against Apion, ii, sect. 4. 
 Andromachus expelled the court of Herod, Antiq. xvi, 
 
 viii, 5. 
 Androiiicus, son of Messalamus, Antiq. xiii, iii, H. 
 Aner, Abraham's confederate, Antiq. i, v, 2, 
 Ay-yxiutir^xi, or forcible pressure taken olf the Jews 
 
 by Deinetriup, Antiq. xiii, ii, 3. 
 Angels of (iod become familiar with women, Artiq. i, 
 
 iii, 1. 
 fvneliiis, Antiq. xviii, ix, 1, 4, 5; killed by the Banyli- 
 
 nians, sect. 7- 
 Anna, or Hannah, the wife of Elcanah, Antiq. v, x, 2. 
 Annibas, put to death by Fadus, for a mutiny, Antiq. 
 
 XX, i, 1. 
 Aniiius (Lucius) takes Gerasa, War, iv, ix, 1. 
 Annius Minucianus, .\ntiq. xix, i, 3. 
 Annius liufus, procurator of Judea, Antiq. xviii, ii, 2. 
 Anoch, or Enoch, Antiq. i, ii, 2. 
 Anleius kil.ed, .Antiq. xix, i, 15. 
 
 Antigonus governs .Asia, after Alexander's death, An- 
 tiq. xii, i; his fleet beaten by Ptolemy, c. xi, sect. 
 10. 
 An igonus, son of Aristobulus, .Antiq. xlv, iv, 5 ; c. 
 vii, sect. 1 ; impeaches Hyrcanus and Antii).itcr, e 
 viii, sect. 4; War, i, x, ] ; is conquered by Herod, 
 Antiq. xiv, xii, i; invades Judea, by the help of the 
 Parthians, c. xiii, sect, iii ; is re-established m the 
 government, sect, lii; War, i, xiii, 9 ; cuts off Hyr- 
 canub's ears, and causes the death of Pha-aelus, ib. ; 
 surrenders himself to Sosius, Antiq. xiv, xvi, 9; 
 War, i, x> iii, 2 ; is sent in fetters to Marcus Anto- 
 Bius, ib. ; Wi:s the first king whose head was cut off by 
 the llomans, Antiq. xv, i, 2; reigned before Herod, 
 xvii, V, 2. 
 Anti;,'oiius, sou of Hyrcanus 1., and brother of king Aris- 
 tobulus, made commander at the siege of Samaria, 
 Antiq. xiii, x, 2 ; is beloved by his brother, e. xi, sect 
 J ; is watched by the queen and her favourites, and 
 by their calumnies slain, sect. 2; War, i, iii, 2, 3, 4. 
 Antioch is the chief city in Syria, and the third city in 
 the Roman empire. War, iii, ii, 4 ; the Jews made 
 citizens thereof by Seleucus Nicator, Antiq. xii, iii, 
 1 ; it is burnt down. War, viii, iii, 1. 
 Antiochus rebels again.st Demetrius, Antiq. xiii, iv, 7; 
 
 their envy against the Jews, xii, iii, 1. 
 Antioihus, king of Commagene, .Antiq. xviii, ii, 5; 
 and xix, v, 1 ; c. viii, sect. 1 ; War, v, xi, 3 ; and vii, 
 'ii, 1 ; a part of Cilicia, together with Commagene, 
 granted him by Claudius, Antiq. xix, v, 1. 
 Antiochus Cyzicentis, Antiq. xiii, x, 1 ; assists the Sa- 
 maritans, but is put to flight, sect. 2; War, i, ii, 2; 
 is taken prisoner, and put to death by Seleucus, An- 
 tiq. xiii, xiii, 4. 
 Antiochus Dionysius, fourth son of Antiochus Gry- 
 pus, king of Syria, makes an expedition against the 
 Jews, Antiq. xiii, xv, 1 ; War, i, iv, 7. 
 Antiochus the Great, Antiq. xii, iii, 3; his letters in 
 favour of the Jews, ib. &.e.; his wars with Ptolemy 
 Pliilopator and Physcon, ib. ;" marries his daughter 
 Cleopatra to Ptolemy, c. iy, secL 1 
 
 Antiochus Epiphaues .nakes^an expedition into Egypt, 
 Antin. xii, v. 2 ; takes Jerusalem, and plunders tn« 
 temple, sect. 3, &c. ; War, i, i, 1, &c. ; and vi, x ;: 
 goes into I'ersia, Antiq. xiii. vii, 2; d' signs to destroy 
 the Jews upon his return, ib. ; his answers to the Sa- 
 maritans, c. V, sect. 5 ; his impiety, xiii, viii, 2; he 
 dies, and leaves the administration to Philip, xii, ix, 
 1, 2. 
 Antiochus Eupator. his son, invades Judea, Antiq. xii, 
 ix, 4; fights with Judas, ib. ; War, i, i, 5; makes 
 peace with the Jews, Antiq. xii, ix, 7 ; breaks it, ib. : 
 is killed by Demetrius, c. x, sect. 1. 
 Anti> ohiis Grypus, son of Demetrius Soter, Antiq. xiii, 
 
 X, 1 ; his death, c. xiii, sect. 4. 
 Antiochus Philometer, .\ntiq. xiii, xii, 2. 
 Antiochus Pius, son of Antiochus Cyiuceniis, make* 
 war with Seleucus, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 4 ; is slain id 
 battle, ib 
 Antiochus Eusebius, or Pius, the brother of Demetrius, 
 besieges Jerusalem, .Antiq. xiii, viii, 2; raises the 
 siege, sect. 4; makes an expedition against the Par- 
 thians, is defeated and killed, ib. 
 Antiochus, the grandson of Seleucus, and son of .Alex- 
 aiuler, is commonly called The God, Antiq. xii, iii, 
 2 ; is crowned in his youth, xiii, v, 5 ; enters into al- 
 liance with Jonathan the high-priest, sect. 4 ; is .slain 
 by Tryphon, his tutor, c. vii, sect. 1 ; War, i, ii, ). 
 Antiochus, the brother of Seleucus, slain in battle, An- 
 tiq. xiii, xiii, 4. 
 Antiochus Soter, brother of Demetrius, father of Gry- 
 pus, Antiq. xiii, x, 1 ; makes war with Trypho, c 
 vii, sect. 2. 
 Antipas, Herod's son by Malthace, a ."Samaritan, .An- 
 tiq. xvii, i, 3 ; War, i, xxviii, 4 ; is tetrarch of Gali- 
 lee, c. vili, sect. 1 ; c. xi, sect. 4; and i, xxxiii, "; 
 goes to Rome to get to be a kine, Antiq. xvii, ix, 4 ; 
 War, ii, ii, 3 ; what was left him by Herod, Antiq 
 xvii, viii, 1 ; what was given>him by Ccesar, c. xi, 
 sect. 4 ; once declared king by Herod; War, i, xxxii, 
 7- 
 Antipas, one of the royal lineage. Is put in prison and 
 
 slain. War, iv, iii, 4, 5, 
 Antipater, the Idumsan, Herod's father, called Antipas, 
 excites troubles, Antiq. xiv, i. 3 ; is sent ambassador 
 to Areias, by Scaurus, c. v, sect. 1 ; his wife Cyprus, 
 the .Vrabian, and his children, e. vii, sect. 3; his val- 
 our, c. viii, sect. 1 ; he advises Hyrcanus to put him- 
 self under the protection of Aretas, War, i, vi, 2; 
 makes his son Phasaelus governor of Jerusalem, and 
 Herod of Galilee, Antiq. xiv, ix, 2; War, i, x, 4j 
 endeavours to deserve Csesar's favour, c viii, sect. 1 ; 
 and i, ix, 3 ; is honoured by Caesar, and made eitizer. 
 of Rome, Antiq. xiv, viii, 3; War, i, ix, 5; his de- 
 fence against Antigonus, Antiq. xiv, viii, 4.: Wai!, i, 
 X, 2; is made governor of Judea, .Antiq. xiv, viii, 5 
 War, i, X, 5 ; is greatly esteemed among the Jews 
 Antiq. xiv, ix, 2; is poisoned, c. xi, sect. 4; War, i, 
 xi, 4. 
 Antipater, son of Phasaelus and Salampsio, grandson 
 
 of Herod the Great, .Antiq. xviii, v, i. 
 Antipater, son of Salome, impeaches Archclaus before 
 
 Casar, Antiq. xvii, ix, 5. 
 Antipater, son of Herod, Antiq. xiv, xii, 1 ; is sent to 
 Rome to Caisar, xvi, iii, 3 ; VVar, i, xxix, 2 ; e. xxxi, 
 sect. 2 ; while he is there, he, by letters, sets his fa- 
 ther against his brethren, Antiq. xvi, iv, I ; War, i, 
 xxiii, 1 ; c. xxiv, sect. 1 ; his subtilty, Antiq. xvi, vii, 
 2 ; is recalled by Herod, f. iii, sect. 3 ; and xvii, v^_ 1 ; 
 he reigns jointly with his father, c. i, sect. 1 ; is hated 
 by every body, after the slaughter of his brethren, 
 ib. ; attempts his father's life, ib. ; is concerned for 
 him-self, ib.; War; i, xxxi, 3 ; appears before Varus's 
 tribunal, Antiq. xvii, v, 3; War, i, xxxii, 1 ; his plea 
 for himself, ib. ; is put in irons, Antiq. xvii, v, 7; 
 VVar, i, xxxii, 5; is put to death, Antiq. xvii, vii; 
 War, i, xxxiii, 7. 
 Antipater, a Samaritan, Antiq. xvii, iv, 2; War, i, xxx, 
 
 5. 
 .Antipater, Herod's sister's son, Antiq. xvii, i, 3. 
 Antipatris, taken by Vespasian, War, iv, vii, 1 
 Antiphilus, Antiq. xvii, iv, 2; War, i, xxx, a; his let- 
 ter to -Antipater, Herod's son, Antiq. xvii, v, 7. 
 Antonia, Claudius's daughter by Petiiia, v\ ar, ii, xii, 8. 
 Aiitonia, Claudius's mother, and Drusus's wife, lends 
 money to Agrippa the elder, .\ntiq. xviii, vi, 4 ; her 
 eulogium, sect. 6. 
 Antonia, the tower, called Baris before, War, i, iii, 3; 
 
 is taken by Titus, vi, i, 7, &c. 
 Antony, a captain. War, iii, ii, 1, &c. 
 Antony, a centurion, c. vii, sect. 55. 
 .Antony (Mark), his valour, Antiq. xiv, v, 3; War, i, 
 vili, 4; his and Dolabella's decree in favour of the 
 Jews, Antiq. \iv, x, ix, &c. ; he marches into .Asia 
 after Ca.ssius's defeat, c. xii, sect. 2; his letter to Hyr- 
 canus, sect 3 ; to the Tyrians, sect. 4 i he falls in love 
 
INDEX. 
 
 w!lh Cleopntra, c. xiu, secrt. 4; mnnes Phasaehis ana 
 Herod tetrarehs, it). ; orders th ir accusers to be put 
 to death, sect. 5; confers sijjiial favours on Henxl, r. 
 xiv, sect. 4, ') ; sojojinis at Athens, c. xv, sect. 5 ; 
 War, i, xvi, -1 ; his luxury, Antiq. xv, ii, 6. 
 
 .\ntonius (Lucius), Mark Antony's son, sends a letter to 
 the Sardians, in favour of the Jews, Antiq. xiv, x, 1~ 
 
 Antonius Primus, War, iv, xi, 2. 
 
 Anubis, a god, Antiq xviii, iii, 4. 
 
 Apachnas, king of Eg\pt, Against Apion. i, sect. H. 
 
 Apame, Darius's concubine, Antiq. xi, iii, 5. 
 
 Anion. Ambassador for tlie Alexandrians to Caius, An- 
 Tiq. xviii, viii, 1. 
 
 Apollo's temple at Gaza, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 3. 
 
 Apollo's temple in the palace at Rome, War, i, ii, 6. 
 
 ApoUodotus, captain of the Gazeaiw, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 
 5 ; killed, ib. 
 
 Apollonius. son of Alexander, Antiq. xiii, ix, 2. 
 
 ApoUonius Daus, governor of C'oelesyria, Antiq. xiii, 
 iv, 3 ; challenges Jonathan to an engagement, and is 
 defeated, ib. 
 
 Apollonius, governor of Samaria, Antiq. xii, v, 5; c. 
 vii, sect. 1. 
 
 Aponius, Antiq. xix, iv, 5. 
 
 Apophis, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. 14. 
 
 Apsalom, War, ii, xvii, 9. 
 
 Apsan, or Ibza-i, judge after Jephtha, Antiq. v, vii, 13, 
 14. 
 
 Aquila, the murderer of Caius, Antiq. xix, i, 14. 
 
 Arabians circumcise their children when thirteen years 
 old, Antiq. i, xii, 2 ; ten towns taken from them by 
 Alexander, king of tlie lews, xiv, i, 4; Ethiopians 
 are their neighbours, ix, v, 3. 
 
 Arabia borders on J udta, Antiq. xiv, 1, 4; Petra the 
 kinn's residence, ib. ; Zabdiel their I'^rd, c. iv, sect. H ; 
 AraTjians are defeated, xv, v, 5 ; tlieir women are 
 great poisoners, xvii, iv, 1. 
 
 Aavam, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Am, or Haran, the father of Lot, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 
 Arasca, or Nisroch, a temple, Antiq. x, i, 5. 
 
 Ara;es, or Ucsin, king of the S>Tians, Antiq. ix, xii, 1. 
 
 Aranna, or Orona, theJebusite, Antiq. viii, xiii, 1; his 
 thrashing-floor, ib. ; the place where Isaac was to 
 have been sacrificed, and where the temple was after- 
 wards built, i!). 
 
 Archelaus, king of Cappadoeia, comes to Herod, Aniiq. 
 xvi, viii, 6; c. x, sect- 7 ; War, i, xxv, 1, i . ; goes 
 with him to Antioch, ib. ; reconciles Herod to his son 
 Alexander, and to his brother Pheroras, ib. ; War, i, 
 xxv, 5, 4. 
 
 ArchelaiLS, son of Herod the Great, Antitj. xvii, i, 3j 
 c. iv, sect- 3; War, i, xxvii, 4; c. xxxi, sect. 1; is 
 made ethnnreh, Antiq. xvii, xi, J; War, li, vii, 3; 
 marries Glaphyra, Antiq. xvii, xiii, 1 ; War, ii, vii, 
 4 ; is proclaimed king after Herod's death, Antiq. 
 xvii, viii, 2; War, i, xxxiii, 9; his speech to the peo- 
 ple, Antiq. xvii, viii, 4 ; War, ii, i. 1 ; he enilcavours 
 to appease the people, Antiq. xvii, ix, 1, .tc. ; goes 
 to Rome, sect. 3 ; War, ii, ii, 1 ; is accused there by 
 the deputies of the people, Antiq. xvii, xi, 2 ; War, 
 ii, vi, 1, &c. ; is banished to Vienna in Gaul, c. vii, 
 sect. 3 ; his dreams and GlaphjTa's, Antiq. xvii, xiii, 
 5, 4 ; War, ii, vii, 3, 4. 
 
 Archelaus. son of C'helcis, Antiq. xix, ix, 1. 
 
 Arclielaus, son of Magadatus, War, vi, iv, 2. 
 
 Aremraantus, Antiq. x, viii, 2. 
 
 Aretas, king of the Arabians, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 3; and 
 xiv, i, 4 ; and xvi, x, 9; War, i, vi, 2; c. xxix, sect. 
 3; makes an expeJition against .\ristobuIus, .\ntiq. 
 xiv, ii, 1 ; succeeds Obodas, xvi, ix, 4 ; affords suc- 
 lours to Hyrcanus, War, i, vi, 2; impeaches Sylleus, 
 jointly with ;Viitipater, before Caesar, Antiq. xvii, 
 iii, 2. 
 
 Aretas, king of Coelesyria, makes an expedition into Ju- 
 dea, Antiq. xiii, xv, 3. 
 
 Aretas, of Petra, Antiq. xvii, X, 9 ; and xviii, v, 1. 
 
 Arioch, captain of Nebuchidneazar's life-guards, Antiq. 
 x, X, 3. 
 
 Arion, treasurer of Alexandria, Antiq. xii, iv. 7, &c. 
 
 Aristras, or Aristsus, one of Ptolemy Philadelphus's 
 life-guards, Antiq. xii, ii, 4 ; Against Apion, ii, sect. 
 2, 4. 
 
 Aristobulus, son of Hyrcanus I., Antin. xiii, x, 2 ; the 
 first irigh-priest who assumed the title of Kiiiff oft/ie 
 Jews, c. xi, sect. ] ; called PliUldcii, or lover of the 
 Grc-ek-s, sect. 3. 
 
 Aristobulus, son of Alexander Janneus, an enterprising 
 and bold man, A»tiq. xiii, xvi, 1 ; complains of the 
 Pharisees, sect. 2 ; reproaches his motlier Alexandra, 
 sect. 3 ; endeavours to take possession of the kingdom 
 during his mothers life, sect. 5 ; fights with his elder 
 brother Hyrcanus for the crown, xiv, 1, 2; brings 
 him to an accommodation, ib. ; War, i, vi, 1 ; semis 
 a golden vine to Pompey, Antiq. xiv, iii, 1 ; is, with 
 tiis children, brought captive to Rome, by Pom- 
 
 pey, c. IV, sect. 5; escapes out cf prison, but is re- 
 taken and sent back again to Rome by Gabinus, c. vi, 
 sect. 1 ; War, i, vii, 7; c. viii, sect, d ; his firmness in 
 adversity, Antiq. xiv, vi, sect. 1; is poisoned by the 
 partizans of Pompey, c. vii, sect. 4; his children, ib 
 to Aristobulus, son of Herod the Great, Antiq. xv, x, 1 ; 
 7. I marries Bernice, Salome's daughter, xvi, i, 2; is put 
 in prison, c. x, sect. 5'; is accused by his father in an 
 assembly at Berytus, and condeimied, c. xi, sect. 2; 
 is strangled, sect. 6; War, i, xxvii, 6; his children, 
 Antiq. xvii, 1, 2; War, i, xxviii, 1. 
 
 Aristobulus, son of Herod, king of Chalcis, Antiq. xx, 
 viii, 4 ; War, vii, vii, 4. 
 
 Aristobulus, son of Joseph ;md Mariamne, Antiq. xviii, 
 V, 4. 
 
 Aristobulus, son of Aristobulus, and brother to the fa- 
 mous Mariamne, a beautiful youth, is made high- 
 priest by Herod, Antiq. xv, iii, 1,5; is drowned by 
 the secret order of the same Herod, ib. ; War, i, xxii, 
 5;. 
 
 Aristobulus, son of Aristobulus and Hemice, and grand- 
 son of Herod the Great, Antiq. xviii, v, 4. 
 
 Aristocracy the best form of government, Antiq. iv, 
 viii, 17. 
 
 Aristocracy instituted in Judca by Gabinus,\V'ar, i, viii. 
 
 Arithmetic and astronomy came from Chaldea to Egypt, 
 
 and thence into Greece, Antiq, i, viii, 2. 
 Arius, king of the Lacedemonians, sends a letter to 
 
 Onias the high-priest, Antiq. xii, iv, 10 ; c. v, sect. 8. 
 Ark of God, its description, Antiq. iii, vi, 5; taken by 
 
 the Philistines, vi, i, 1 ; restored to the Israelites, 
 
 sect. 2, &c. ; carried to Jerusalem, and lodged in tlie 
 
 house of Obed-edom, after it had been with Amina- 
 
 dab, Antiq. vii, iv, 2. 
 Ark of Noah, where it rested, Antiq. i, iii, 6 ; mention- 
 ed by all barbiuian historians, ib.; its remains loug 
 
 preserved, xx, ii, 3. 
 Arinais, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, se'rt. 15. 
 Armenia eonciuereii by Antonius, Antiq. xv, iv, 3 
 
 C'otys, king of the Lesser Armenia, Antiq. xix, vin, i 
 Armes'ses, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect l,i. 
 Armory of David in the temple, Antiq. ix, vii, 2. 
 Aropheus, or Armanah, Antiq. viii, i, 3. 
 Arphaxfc.i, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 Aruntius (Euaristus), Antiq. xix, i, 18. 
 Aruntius (Paulus), Antiq. xix, i, 14. 
 Arsaces, king of the Parthians, Antiq. xiii, v, 1 1 ; c. 
 
 viii, sect. 4. 
 Artabanus, king of Media, Antiq. xviii, ii, 4. 
 Artabanus, king of the Parthians, Antiq. xviii, iv, 4, 5 ; 
 
 c. ix, sects, 4 ; he flies to Izates, xx, iii, 1 ; is kindly 
 
 received by him, and restored to his kingdom, sect. 
 
 1,2; dies, sect. 5. 
 Artabazes, or Artavasdes, son of Tigranes, is given as a 
 
 present to Cleopatr.i by Antonius, War i, xviii, 5. 
 Artaxerxes, king of tlie Persians, .Antiq. xi, vi, 1 ; his 
 
 edict against the Jews, sect 6 ; contradicted, sect. 12. 
 Artaxias, Itiiig of Annenia, Antiq. xv, v, 3. 
 Artorius cunningly saves his own life. War, vi, iii, 2. 
 Arucas, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 Arudeus, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 Asa, king of Jerusalem, Antiq. viii, xii, 1 ; nukes an 
 
 alliance with the king of Damascus, sect. 4. 
 Asahel killed by Abiier, Antiq. vii, i, 3. 
 Asainoneas, Antiq. xii, vi, 1. 
 
 Asamoneans, the end of their reign, Antiq. xiv. xvi, 4. 
 Asealonites, punished for their stubbornness, Antiq. xii 
 
 iv, 5. 
 .Asermoth, or Hazerm.iveth, Antiq. i, vi, 14. 
 Aserymus, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i, sect. 
 
 18. 
 Ashdod, or Azotus, taken by Jonathan, Antiq. xiii. iv ; 
 
 Its inhabitants plagued on account of the ark of God, 
 
 vi, i, 1. 
 .\shkeiiaz, Antiq. i, vi, 1. 
 Ashiienaz, an eunuch, Antiq. x, x, 2. 
 Ashur, Antiq i, vi, 4. 
 
 Asia, Its convention at Ancyra, Antiq. .xvi, vi, 2 ; Vale- 
 rius proconsul of Asia, xix, i, 20 ; five hundred 
 
 towns of Asia, War, ii, xvi, 4. 
 Asineus and Anileus, two brethren, Antiq. xviii, ix, 1, 
 
 &c. 
 Asofheus or Shishek, king of Egypt, War, vi, x. 
 Asprenas, ."Kntiq. xix, i, 15 ; cut in pieces, sect !.'>. 
 Assemblies forbidden to all at Rome, but to the .lews 
 
 only, by Julius C'arear, Antiq. xiv, x, .^. 
 Ass's head falsely reported by Apion as an object of 
 
 worship among the Jews, Against Apion, ii, sect 
 
 Asiis, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. 14. 
 
 Assyrian empire overthrown, Antiq. x, ii, 2. 
 
 Astarte's temple, Antiq. vi, xiv, 8; Against Apion, i, 
 
 sect. 18. 
 Astartus king of the Tynans, Against Apion, insect. >i 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Asironomv; for fts imprm-ement the first men lived 
 near a thousand years, Antiq. i, iii, 2 ; came out of 
 C'haklea into E^ypt, and thence into Greece, i, vii, 2. 
 
 Asylum, or right of sanctuary, belonging to some towns 
 in .hidea, Antio. iv, vii. 4. 
 
 Athenians decree honours to Hyrcanus, Antiq. xiv, viii, 
 fi. 
 
 Athenio, Antiq. xii, iv, 3. 
 
 Athenii), a general of Cleopatra, War, i, xix, 2 ; his 
 nerfidiousness, Antiq, xv, v, 1. 
 
 Atnronges, a shepherd, crowns himself king of .luden, 
 Antiq. xvii, X, 7; War, ii, iv, 3; is conquered with 
 his brethren, ib. 
 
 .Atratiniis, Herod's advocate, Antiq. xiv, xiv, 4. 
 
 Augustus' arrival in SjTia, Antiq. xv, x, 3 ; his letter 
 to Herod, xvi, xr, 1 ; holds a council about the af- 
 fairs of Judea, xvii, ix, 5 ; his edict and letter in fa- 
 vour of the Jews, xvi, vi, 1, tzc. ; is angry with He- 
 rod, c. 9, sect 3 ; is reconciled to him by the means 
 of Nicolaus of Damascus, c. x, sect. 8; divides He- 
 rod's dominions. War, ii, vi, 3; his death, Antiq. 
 xviii, iii, 2; W.ir, ii, ix, T. 
 
 Axioramus, high priest, Antiq. x, vii, R. 
 
 Azariah, the prophet, Antiq. viii, xii, 2. 
 
 Azarias, high priest, Antiq. x, viii, 6. 
 
 Azarias, one of David's companions, Antiq. x, x, 1. 
 
 Azarias, a commander under Judas, is defeated by Gor- 
 gias at Jamnia, Antiq. xii, viii, 6. 
 
 Azau, or Hazo, Antiq. i, vi, S. 
 
 Azizus, king of Emesa, Antiq. xx, vii, 1 ; Is circjm- 
 cised, and marries Drusilla, the sister of Agrippa ju- 
 nior, ib. ; dies, c. viii, sect. 4. 
 
 Azofus, or Ashdod, its inhabitants plagued on account 
 of the Ark of God, Antiq. vi, i, 1 ; taken by Jona- 
 than, xiii, iv, 4. 
 
 Azricam, Antiq. ix, xii, 1. 
 
 Baal, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, vi, sect. 21. 
 
 Baal, god of the Tyrians, .Antiq. ix, vi, C. 
 
 Baalis, king of the Ammonites, Antiq. x, ix, ?, 3. 
 
 Baanah the son of Itimmon, Antiq. viii, ii, 1. 
 
 Baaras, a place and a plant there growing. War, vii, vi, 
 3. 
 
 Baasha, king of Israel, Antiq. viii, xii, 3; kills Nadab 
 his predecessor, c. xi, sect. 4 ; dies, c. xii, sect. 4. 
 
 Baba's children prosaj-ved by Costobarus, Antiq. xv, vi', 
 10; afterwards killed by Herod, ib. 
 
 Babylon, derived from Babel, (confusion of languages), 
 Antiq. i, iv, 3 ; taken by Cyrus under the reign of 
 Baltasai-, y, xi, 4 ; the great numtjer of Jews who 
 lived there, xv, ii, 2; and xviii, ix, 1. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's building at Babylon, x, xi, 1 ; its walls was 
 not built by Semirarais; but by Nebuchadnezzar, ac- 
 tording to the testimony of Berosus, Against Apion, 
 i, sect. 19, 20; its walls curiously built Dy Nabonuc- 
 dus, of brick and bitumen, according to the same Be- 
 rosus ib. ; its pensile gardens erectetl by Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, in imitation of the mountains of Media, ib. ; 
 Antiq. x, xi, I. 
 
 Bacchides, Antiq. xii, x, 2 ; c. xi, sect. 1 ; he attacks 
 the Jews, xiii, i, 2, .5 ; he rages against them, and is 
 slain. War, i, i, 2, .'. 
 
 Badezorus, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i, sect. 
 
 Badus, or Bath, a Jewish measure, Antiq. viii, ii, 9. 
 
 Bagoas, an eunuch, Antiq. xvii, ii, 4. 
 
 Bagosts, an enemy of the Jews, Antiq. xi, vii, 1. 
 
 Balak, king of Moab, Antiq. iv, vi, 2, &C. 
 
 Balad.an, king of Babylon Antiq. x, ii, 2. 
 
 Balaam, the prophet, Antiq. iv, vi, 2, &e, ; his ass 
 
 speaks, ib. 
 B.alatorus, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i, sect. 
 
 Baleazanis, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i, sect. 
 
 Ba'as, or Barca, king of .Sodom, Antiq. i, ix, 1. 
 
 Balm, or Balsam, near Jericho, Antiq. xiv, iv, 1 ; and 
 XV, iv, 2, War, i, vi, 6. 
 
 Baltassar, [Belshazzar, or Naboandel, or Nabon.idius], 
 king of I abyloii, Antiq. x, xi, 2; his terrible vision, 
 and Its interpretation, ib, ; his death, ib. 
 
 Balthasar, [Belteshazzar, | Daniel's name, Antiq. x, x, 
 
 Banacates, Antiq. viii, ii, 4. 
 
 Banus, an hermit, Josephus' master. Life, sect. 2. 
 
 Baracliias, Antiq. ix, xii, 2. 
 
 Barak, excited by Deborah, encounters Sisera, Antio. 
 
 v,v,2, &c. ' 
 
 Barbarians, their riches formerly consisted in cattle, 
 
 Antiq ii, xi, 2. 
 Bardanes, king of the Parthians, Antiq. xx, iii, 3: he 
 
 IS slain, ib. ^ ^ 
 
 Bavis, a tower built at Ecbatana, by Daniel, Antio. x, 
 XI, 7. . J » f ) 
 
 Bsmabazus, .Antifj. xi, v'. 4, 
 
 Barsas, king of Gomorrah, Antiq. i, Ix, 1. 
 
 Baruch, well skilled in the Hebrew tongue, and \e<\ 
 with Jeremiah the prophet in Judea at the BabyU • 
 nian Captivity, Antiq. x, ix, I, 2. 
 
 Ba zaphemes, governor in Parthia, War, i, xiii, 1. 
 
 Barzillai, Antiq. vii, ix, 8. 
 
 Basan, or Baasha, king of Israel, Antiq. viii, xii, 3> 
 slays Nadab his predecessor, c. xi, sect. 4. 
 
 Basima, or Basmath, Solomon's daughter, Antiq. viii 
 ii, 5. 
 
 Baskets carried upon the head, Antiq. ii, v, 3. 
 
 Bassus (Ventidius), See Ventidius. 
 
 Bassus (Cecillius, murderer of Sextus CaDsar,) Antiq. 
 xiv, xi, 1 ; War, i, x, lo. 
 
 Bassus (Lucillius), is sent with an army into Judea ; he 
 besieges and takes Macherus, War, vii, vii, 1, 6. 
 
 Baths, hot baths at CalUrrhoe beyond Jordan, Anti(j 
 xvii, vi, v. 
 
 Bathsheba, Antiq. vii, vii, ], 2, 4. 
 
 Bath, or Badus, a Jewish measure, Antiq. vii, ii, 0. 
 
 Bathyllus, War, i, xxxi, 1. 
 
 Bathyllus, Antipater's freedman, Antiq^. xvii, iv, 3. 
 
 Battering-ram, its description, War, iii, viii, 19. 
 
 Battle at Tarricheae, upon the Lake of Gennesareth, 
 War, iii, x, 1. 
 
 Beeltethmus, Antiq. xi, ii, 2. 
 
 Bela, or Zoar, the king of it, Antiq. i, ix, 1. 
 
 Belshazzar, (or Baltasar, or Naboandel. or Nabonadius). 
 ki' g of Babylon, Antiq. x, xi, 2 ; his terrible vision, 
 and its interpretation, ib. ; his death, ib. 
 
 Belteshazzar, Daniel's name, Antiq. x, x, 1. 
 
 Belus, the god of the Tyrians, Antiq. viii, xiii, 1. 
 
 Bfclus, the god of the Babylonians, Antiq. x, xi, 1 ; his 
 temple there, ib. 
 
 Benaiah, a priest by birth, a man of valour, .\ntiq. vii, 
 xii, 4 ; son of Jehoiada, c. v, sect. 4 ; made comman- 
 der of some troops of Solomon, viii, i, 4 ; son of 
 Achillus, c. ii, sect. 3. 
 
 Beneficence, its commendation and reward, Antiq. vi, 
 xiv, 4. 
 
 Bciiha<iad, (or the son of Hadad), king of Syria, be- 
 sieges s^amaria the first time, Antiq. viii, xiv, 1, \'c. 
 the second time, ix, iv, 3 ; falls sick, and is smother 
 ed, by Hazael, sect. 6. 
 
 fienjamites are attacked for their enormous crimes at 
 Gibea, and at last terribtv defeated and cut of?', .'\i> 
 tiq. v, ii, 8 — 11 ; their tribe restored, sect. 12. 
 
 Beoii, Against Apion, i, sect. 11. 
 
 Bernice, daughter of Agrippa senior, Antiq xviii, v, 4 
 she is married to Herod, Agrippa's brother, xix, " 
 
 Bernice, Agrippa's mother, dies, Antiq. xviii, vi, 1. 
 
 Bernice, Archelaus" and Mariamne's daughter, Antirj. 
 XX, vii, 11. 
 
 Bernice, the widow of Herod, marries Polemon, Artiq. 
 XX, vii, 3; leaves him, ib. 
 
 Bernice, Salome's daughter, Aristobulus' wife, Antiq. 
 xvi, i, 2. 
 
 Bernice, Agrippa senior's daughter, and junior's sister 
 in danger of her life. War, ii, xv,.2. 
 
 Bcrnicianus, Herod of Chaleis' son by Bernice, his bro- 
 ther Agrippa's daughter, War, ii, xi, 6. 
 
 Berytus, where the cause between Herod and his sons 
 was debated in a council or court, Antiq. xvi, xi, 2, 
 &c. ; Rom.ins living at Berytus, xvi, x, 8. 
 
 Bethuel, Antiq. i, vi, ,'5. 
 
 Bezaleel and Aholiah, sacred architects, .\ntiq. iii, vi, 
 
 Bigtlran, Antiq. xi, vi, 4. 
 
 Birth-<lay of Ptolemy's son kept by the Syrians, Antiq. 
 
 xii, iv, 7; presents made thereupon, sect. 9. 
 Bobelo, .\ntiq. xi, iv, 9. 
 
 Bocchorus, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, 53. 
 Book of the law found, Antiq. x, iv, 2. 
 Books com)K)sed by Solomon, Antiq. viii, i!,5 ; twenty. 
 
 two most sacred books among the Jews, Against 
 
 Apion, i, 8. 
 Booz, cf Eliine'icch's family, Antiq. v, x, 2; his kind 
 
 ness towaids Ruth, ib. ; he marries her, sect. 4. 
 Br.izen vessels more valuable than gold, Antiq. xi, ir. 
 
 Bride, how she was to part from one that refused to 
 marry her, according to the law of .Moses, Anliq. v, 
 ix, 4. 
 
 Britons, War, vi, vi, 2. 
 
 Britanicus, son of Claudius by Messalina, War, ii, xii, 
 8. 
 
 Brocchus, a tribune, Antiq. xix, iii, 4. 
 
 Brother, a title which .■\lex.auder Balas gave to Jona- 
 than the high priest, .Antiq xiii, ii, 2; the same title 
 was also given him by Demetrius Soter, c. iv, 9. 
 
 Buckle, or button, (a golden one), sent to Jonathan bv 
 Alexander, king of Syria, Antiq. xiii, iv, 4; and by 
 Demetrius, c. v, 4. 
 
 Biikki. son of Abishua, high priest, Antiq. viii, i. 3 
 
.jr- 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Barthus, .Vcro's Greek, secretary, Antirj. xx, viii, 9. 
 Buz, Nahor's sou, Antiq. i, vi, A. 
 
 Cecilius Bassus, the murderer of Sextus Caesar, Autiq 
 
 xiv, xi, 1 ; War, i, x, 10. 
 
 Cesinna, War, iv, xi, 3 ; sent to Vespasian, ib. 
 
 Caesar (Julius), makes war in Egypt, Antiq. xiv, viii, 
 
 1 ; his decrees in favour of tne Jews, c. x, sect, "i 
 
 &c. ; is murdered by Brutus and Cassius, c. xi, s. l'. 
 
 Ccesarea built by Herod, Antiq. xv. ix, 6; it was 6' 6 
 
 furlongs from Jerusalem, xiii, xi, 2 ; War, i, iii, 5. 
 Cfesarean games instituted by Herod, Antiq. xv,' viii, l' ; 
 War, i, xxi, 8; begun at the finishing of Casarea 
 Augusta, Antiq. xvi, v, 1. 
 Ca?sennius Petus, president of Syria, War, vii, vii, 1. 
 Caesonia, wife of Cams, killed by Lupus, Antiq. 'xi'x 
 ii, 4. t - , 
 
 Cain, murders his brother Abel, Antiq. i, ii, 1 ; his pu- 
 nishment, ib, ; he peoples the land of Nod, sect. 2. 
 Caius, the son of Gcrmanieus, is made Emperor, An- 
 tiq. xviii, vi, 9; War, ii, ix, 5, C; puts Tiberias, the 
 grandson of Tiberias the emperor, to death, Antin 
 xviii, vi, 9; his cruelty, c. vii; his behaviour in the 
 eovernment, c. vii, sect. 2; he orders his statue to 
 be erected in the temple at Jerusalem, e. viii, sect. 
 2; graifies Agrippa, and forbids its erection, sect. 8 ; 
 his letter to Petronius, ib. ; he rages against the Jews 
 xix, i, 1; calls himself the brother of Jupiter, ib. ; a 
 conspiracy formed against him, sect. 2 ; the conspi- 
 rators increase in number, sect. 10 ; his death, c. i, 
 sect. H; his threatening letter ti Petronius retarded 
 till he was dead, xviii, viii, 9; War, ii, x, 5; his cha- 
 racter, Antiq. xix, ii, S. 
 Caleb, one that searched the land of Canaan, Antiq. iii 
 xiv, 4; and v, ii, 3. " ' 
 
 Calf (golden) near Daphane, or Dan, War, i, ii. 
 Calleas, Antiq. xvii, 1. 
 Callimander, Antiq. xiii, x, 2, 3. 
 
 Callinicus, son of Antiochus, king of Commairena 
 War, vii, vii, 2 ° ' 
 
 Callistus, a fteed-raan of Caius, Antiq. xix, i, 10. 
 Cambyses succeeds Cyrus, Antiq. xi, li, 2; dies after a 
 
 reign of six years, sect. 2. 
 Camp of the Jews, Antiq. iii, xii, 5 ; of the Assyrians, 
 
 War, v, vii, 3 ; c. xii, sect. 2, 
 Camuel, or Kemuel, Nahor's son, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 Canaan, land of, its description and division, Antiq. v 
 i, 21, 22; Canaanites distress the tribe of Dan, c. iii' 
 sect. 1 ; are spared contrary to the command of r,od^ 
 e. vii, sect. 5; war denounced against them by the 
 tribes of Judea and Simeon, sect. i. 
 Candlestick in the tabernacle, .Vntiq. iii, vi, ". 
 Cantheras removed from the high priesthood, Antiq. xx 
 
 i, 3. 
 Capellus, son of Antyllus, Life, sect. 13. 
 Capito, a centurion, or captain of an hundred sold rs. 
 
 War, vii, v, 6. 
 Capitol, the end of the triumphant shows. War, vii, v, 
 
 6. 
 Captives of the Jews, how many killed, and how many 
 kept alive. War, vi, ix, 2, 3 ; captives carried in the 
 triumph, c. v, sect. 3. 
 C;aptivities of the ten, and of the two tribes, Autiq x 
 
 ix, 7. 
 Careas (Kareah), Antiq. x, ix, 2, 
 Carus, Herod's Cat.amite, ,\ntiq. xvii, ii, 4. 
 Cassander governs Macedonia, after Alexander's death, 
 
 Antiq. xii, i, 1. 
 Cassius Longinus, president of Syria, .4ntiq. xiv, xi, 2 ; 
 and XV, xi, 4; and xx, i, 1 ; favours Antipatcr and 
 Herod, xiv, xi, 2, &c. ; repels the Partliians, and 
 then retires to Judea, c. vii, sect. 3; War, i, viii, 9; 
 is defeated at Philippi, Antiq. xiv, xii, 2. 
 Castles, or citadels, two at Jerusalem, one in the city, 
 and the other by the temple, Antiq. xii, i, 3; and 
 XV, vii, 8; c. viii, sect ."). 
 Castor, the Jew, his cunning trick. War, v, vii, 4. 
 Castration of men or beast forbidden by the law of Mo- 
 ses, Antiq. iv, viii, 40; young men of royal blood 
 castrated by Nebuchadnezzar's order, and among o- 
 thers Daniel the prophet, x, x, 1. 
 Catullus, governor of Lyb a Pentapolitana, War, vii, 
 xi, 1 ; his calumny against the Jews, sect. 2, his 
 death and the divine vengeance on him, sect. 5, 4. 
 Celadus, Antiq xvii, xii, 2; War, ii, vii, 2. 
 Celenderis, War, i, xxxi, 3. 
 Celer, a tribune, Aiitiq. xx, vi, 2 ; he is put to death, 
 
 sect. 3. 
 Celtic legion, Antiq. xix, i, 15. 
 Cendebeus, commander of Antiochus' troops, .\ntiq. 
 
 xiii, vii, 3 ; War, i, ii, 2. 
 Cerealis (Petelius , sent .igainst the Samaritans, War, 
 iii, vii, 3.'; marches towards Hebron, iv, ix, 9; i. or- 
 dered to attack the temple, vi, ii, 5; called to a coun- 
 cil of war about the temple, c. iv, sect. 3. | 
 
 CestiusGallus, president of Syria, Life, sect. 43 War 
 11, x;y, j; he feathers an army against the Jews, War.' 
 
 lenrsec';. 7, &e."' •"^'"'^''^'"' ''■ "*''> ^«^'--'- ^ ' '^ ^^^ 
 
 Chereas (Cassius), is stirred up against Caius, Antia. 
 xix, 1, o, i ; draws others into the conspiracy, sect 
 5; gives Caiustlie hrst blow, sect. 14; is beheaded 
 e. xiv, sect. 5. »>•>-". 
 
 Chagiras, son of Nabateus, War v xi 5 
 
 Chajaman king of ihe Syrians, Antiq.' vii, vi, 3. 
 
 t halool, Antif]. viii, ii, 5. 
 
 Cham, or Ham, the son of Noah, Antiq. i, iv. 1 • hii 
 posterity, c. vi, sect. 2. . . "■» 
 
 Chanaan, or Canaan, the son of Ham, Antin i vi 2 
 his posterity, ib. . 4 . >'. " 
 
 Charan, or Ilaran, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 I Chares, War, iv, i, 4 ; dies, .sect. 9 
 
 Chatura, or Keturah, Abraham's last wife, Antiq. i, xi. 
 
 Chebron, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. 15. 
 
 Chebron, or Hebron, o der than Memphis, (Tanis), 
 
 V\ ar IV, ,x, 7 ; taken by the Israelites, Antiq v, ii, 3. 
 
 i thcdorlaomer, Antiq. i, iv. ^ > '• "• 
 
 Chelbes, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i, sect. 
 
 Chelcias, Antiq. xiii, x, 4 ; c. xiii, sect. 1. 
 
 t helho, or Chilio, .^ntiq. v, ix, 1. 
 
 Cherubim, their shape not known, Antiq viii iii 3 
 
 Chesed, Nahoi-'s son, .Antiq. i, vi, 5, • > ■ 
 
 Chetim, or Kittim, Antiq i, vi, 1. 
 
 Children not always like their parents, Antiq. vi. iii " 
 
 Christ and Christians!, Antiq. xviii, iii, 3. 
 
 Chusarthes or CMusan, the king of .Assyria, oppresses 
 
 the Israelites, .\ntiq. v, iii, 2. 
 Cliusi, or Hu.^hai, Antiq. vii, ix, 2. 
 Chutheans, (people of Cutha), who they were and- 
 
 wnence they came, Antiq. ix, xiv. 3 ; go to amaria. 
 
 X, IX, 7 J hinder the rebuilding of the temple, xi, 1;, 
 
 Cinnainus, Antiq. xx, iii, 2. 
 
 Circumcision is received in Palestine by the Jews 
 Against Apion, i, sect. 22; its institution, Antiq. i, x! 
 llie Arabians circumcise their children after the thii- 
 teeiuh year of their age, c. xii, sect. 5 ; the Syrians 
 m 1 alestme reutived circumcision from the Egyptians 
 according to Herodotus, viii, x, 5; not to be forced 
 upon any body, m the opinion of Josephus, Life, sect. 
 ^3; the Idumeans forced to be circumcised, or leave 
 their country, by John Hyrcauus, xiii, ix, 1 ; the I- 
 tureans forced to be circumcised by Aristobulus, c. 
 
 Classicug, War, vii, iv, 2. 
 
 Claudius Ca;sar, Antiq. xix, ii, 1 • e iii, sect. I ; he is 
 dragged out of a comer to the imperial dignity ib 
 War, 11, xi i ; he is favoured by the army, Amiq. 
 XIX, ly, 5 ; his liberality to Agrippa, c. v. sect. I ; his 
 edict 111 favour of the Jews, sect. 3 ; his letter to the 
 Jews, Antiq. xx, i, 2 ; he dies, e. viii, sect. 1 ; War 
 11, XII, 8 ; his wife and children, ib. 
 
 Clement, Antiq. xix, i, C. 
 
 Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochuj, married to Ptolemv 
 Antiq. xii, IV, ). " 
 
 Cleopatra, wife of Philometer, Antiq. xiii iii 1 2- 
 AgauLst .\pion, ii, .ect. 5 ; she takes i.p arms 'against 
 Ptolemy Lathyrns, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 1; makes an al- 
 liance with -Mexander, sect. 2; takes I'tolemaiv ib 
 
 Cleopatra, wife of Demetrius II, Antiq. xiii vii 1 
 ^ married to Antiochus Soter, sect. 2. ' ' 
 
 Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, meets Antony in Cilicia 
 Antiq. XIV, xiii, 1 ; her cruelty and avarice, xv, iv! 
 1; War, 1, xviii, 4; kills her sister Arsinoe, Antin. 
 
 nVi,'"' ■.' °^'^"'t C?"' ^"'?">' ^ P'"''- "f Arabia anh 
 Juiiea, lb.; tempts Heiod to lie with her, sect «• He* 
 rod conducts her towards Egypt, ib. " ' 
 
 Cleopatra (Selene), besieged by Triganes, Antiq. xiii. 
 xvi, 4 ; W ar, i, v, 5. -1 > 
 
 Cleopatra of Jerusalem, the wife of Herod, Antin xvii 
 I, 3; War, i, xxviii, {. '' ' 
 
 Cleopatra, wife of Klorus, Antiq. xx, xi, i. 
 
 Clitus, author of a rebellion at Tiberias, I ife. 
 
 cuts off his left hand by the order o'f Joiphus ib! 
 
 War, II, xxi, 10. ' ' 
 
 Ckviiis, Antiq. xix, i, 13. 
 Coligua (CneusI, War, vii, iii, 4. 
 Colonies within and without Italy, Antiq. xix v 3 
 Columns, or iiillars in the land of Siriad, .\ntiq. i' ii 3- 
 
 of tlieCormihian oidei in Solomon's pal.ice viii v 
 
 -' ; 111 Herod's temple. War, v, v, 2. ' ' 
 
 Commandments written upon two tables, Antiq iii v 
 
 4; written by the hand of God, sect. 8; not to have 
 
 their very words published, ."leet. 4. 
 Conquests easier gotten than maintained, Antiq. viii^ 
 
 Conscience of good actions is safer to be relied on. 
 th.in on the concealment of evil ones, Antiq ji, iv *• 
 
INDEX. 
 
 CTompiracy against Herixl, Anttq. xv, viil, ^ ; ^Vc. 
 
 Convention of Asia at Ancyra. Antiq xvi, vi, 2; con- 
 vention at Jerusalem, I,ite, sect- 15. 
 
 Coponias, procurator of Judea, Antiq. xviii, i, 1 ; e. ii, 
 sect. 2; War ii, vii;, 1. 
 
 Coracinus, a fish. War, iii, x, 8.) 
 
 Corban, or secret treasure, War, ii, ix, 4. 
 
 Cores, or Korah, raises a sedition against Moses, Antiq- 
 iv, ii, 2; perishes with his faction, c. iii, sect. 5. 
 
 Corinthus, one of Herod's life-guards, Antiq. xvii, iii, 
 2; an Arabian by birth, War, i, xxix, 3. 
 
 Cornelius, Faustus, son of Sylla, Antiq. xiv, iv, 4 ; War, 
 i, vii, 5. 
 
 Cornelius the brother of l^ongus. War, vi, iii, 2. 
 
 Corus, a Jewish measure of 10 Attic meduinni, Antiq. 
 iii, XV, 5. 
 
 Costobarus, an Idumean, Salome's husband, Antiq. xv, 
 viii, 9, 
 
 Costobarus, a ringleader of the robbers, Antiq. xx, ix, 
 4. 
 
 Cotylas, or Zeno, Antiq. xiii, viii, 1 ; War, i, u, 4. 
 
 Cotvs, king of lesser .\rraenia, Antiq. xix, viii, 1. 
 
 Cow, the red cow for purification, Antiq. iv, iv, 6. 
 
 Cozbi, a Midianitish woman, Antiq. iv, vi, 10. 
 
 Coze, or Kose, an idol of the Idumcans before they 
 turned Jews, Antiq. xv, vii, 9. 
 
 Crassus, governor of the east, succeeds Gabinus, Antiq. 
 xiv, vi, 4 ; arrives in Judea and plunders the temple 
 of its treasures, c. vii, sect. 1; War, i, viii, H; per- 
 ishes in an expcdi ion against the Parthians, ib. 
 
 Creation of the world, Antiq. i, ii, 1. 
 
 Crimes are encouraged by indulgence to those that com- 
 mit them, Antiq. vi, vii, 4. 
 
 Crown, or mitre of the high-priest, Antiq. iii, vii, 7. 
 
 Comanus, procurator of Judea, Antiq. xx, v, 2; War, 
 ii, xii, I. 
 
 Curses denounced from mount Eba.\, Antiq. iv, -viii, 44 ; 
 and v, i, 19. 
 
 Cuspius Fadus. procurator of Judea, Antiq. xv, xi, 4 ; 
 and xix, iv, 2 ; xx, i, &c. ; War, ii, xi, 6. 
 
 Customs, or taxes of Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, and Sa- 
 maria, 80)11 talents, Antiq. xii, iv, 4. 
 
 Cypros, king Agrippa's wiffe. War, ii, xi, 6. 
 
 Cvpros, Antipater senior's wife, by whom he had four 
 'children, Antiq. xiv, vii, 3 ; War, i, viii, 9. 
 
 Cypros, Antipater's daughter by Cypros, Antiq- xviii, v, 
 4 ; married to A lexas Selcias, ib. 
 
 Cypros, Herod's daughter, married to Antipater, Sa- 
 lome's son, Antiq. xviii, v, 5. 
 
 Cypros, daughter of Phasaelus and Salampsio, marrie_d 
 to Agr ppa senior, Antiq. xviii, v, 4 , c. v , sect. 2, 3. 
 
 Cyreneus, or Quirinius, Antiq. xvii, xiii, 5 ; and xviii, 
 i, 1 ; War, vii, viii, 1. 
 
 CjTeneans derived from the Laceilemonians, War, ii, 
 xvi, 4. 
 
 Cyrus, king of Persia, Antiq. x, xi, 2, &c. ; purposes to 
 rebuild the Jewish temple, xi, i, 1, &c. ; releases the 
 Jews from their captivity by an edict, sect. 2, 3 ; his 
 death, c. ii, sect. 1. 
 
 Cyrus, the son of Xerxes, callcil by the Greeks Artaxer- 
 xes, made king, Antiq. xi, vi, 1, &e. ; his letter re- 
 scmdiug the edict of Hainan, sect. 12. 
 
 Demons, War, vi, vi, 3. 
 
 Dagon, the god of Ashdod, Antiq. vi, i ; his temple 
 burnt, xiii, iv, 4. 
 
 Damascene colonies transported into Higher Media, 
 Antiq. ix, xii, 3. 
 
 Damascus taken by Tiglathpileser, Antiq. ix, xii, 3 ; 
 taken by the Romans, siv, ii, 3. 
 
 Dan built bv the Danites, Antiq. v, iii, 1. 
 
 Danaus, or Hernaeus king of Egvjit, Against Apion, i, 
 sect. 26. 
 
 Daniel the prophet, Antiq. x, x, 1, &e ; is castrated 
 with his companio.is, ib;' their austerity of life, sect. 
 2 ; Daniel fortells the times of future events, .i). ; tells 
 Nebuchadnezzar his dream and interprets it to him, 
 sect. 3, 1 ; is honoured for it, sect 5 ; his companions 
 are cast into a fiery furnace, ib; Daniel expl.iins the 
 hand-writing upoii the wall, c. xi, sect. 2; is carried 
 mto Media by Darius, sect. 4; is made one of the 
 ^residents of the kingclom, ib. ; a conspiracy against 
 iiim, sect. 5, 6 ; is thrown into the lion's den, sect. 6 ; 
 builds a tower at Ecbatana, sect. 7: the manner and 
 certainty of his prophecies, iK ; his vision of the ram 
 and the he-goat, ib. ; his prophecy of the destruction 
 of the .lews by the Romans, ib ; of the profamtion 
 of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, xii, vii, 6. 
 
 Danda, .^ntiq viii, ii, 5. 
 
 Darius, the son of Astyges, called by another name 
 among the Greeks, .'\ntiq. x, xi, 2, 4. 
 
 Darius, the son of Hvstaspes, made king, AnQq. xi, iii, 
 1 ; makes a splendid entertainment, sect. 2 ; proposes 
 questions to be resolved, ib. : his letters in favour of 
 Zerobatiel, for rebuilding the temple, sect. 8 ; Uas 
 
 ■^^ 
 
 Cyrus's records searched about that temple, Antk^. 
 XI, iv, P ; gives orders for its rebuildinig, ib; his 
 edict against the Samaritans, sect. 9. 
 
 Dathan, .-^ntiq. iv, ii, 1. 
 
 D.ivid's genealogy, Antiq. v, ix, 4 ; is anointed by Sa- 
 muel, vi, viii, 1 ; plays upon tlie harp before .Saul, 
 sect. 2; fights Goliali, vi, ix, 10; c. xi, sect 4; his 
 and Jonathan's friendship, c. xi, sect. 1,6, &e. ; is 
 reconciled to Saul by Jonathan, sect. 2; is in danger 
 of being killed by Saul, sect. 5; his flight, vi, xii, 1 ; 
 c. xiii, .sect, lo; he spares Saul's lUe twice, c xiii, 
 sect. 4, 9 ; promises to assist the king of Gath, c. xiv, 
 sect. 1 ; pursues after the Araalekites, and puts theia 
 to flight, sect, 6; makes a funeral oration for Saul 
 and Jonathan, vii, i, 1 ; is made king of Judah, sect. 
 2; and of the Lraelites, vii, ii. 2; takes Jerusalem, 
 c. iii, sect. 1 ; casts the Jebusites out of it, sect. 2 ; 
 marries several wives, and begets eleven children, 
 sect. 3; conquers the Philistines, c. 4, .sect. 1; has 
 the ark canied to Jerusalem, sect. 2; is reproached 
 by Miehal, sect. 3 ; purposes to build the temple, sect. 
 4 ; his victories, c. v, sect. 1 j his liberality to Me- 
 phibosheth, sect. .5 ; he falls in love with Bathsheba, 
 c. vii, sect. 1 ; causes Uriah to be slain, ib. ; marries 
 Bathsheba, vii, vii. 1 ; is reproved for all by Nathaij 
 tlie prophet, c. vii, sect. 3; his son by Uathsheba 
 dies, sect. 4 ; he mourns for Absalom's death, c. x, 
 sect. 5 ; orders the people to be numljeied, c. xiii, 
 sect. 1 ; chooses the pestilence rather than famine or 
 the sword, ser-t. 2 ; makes great preparations for the 
 building of the temple, c. xiv, sect. 1 ; exhorts Solo- 
 mon to build it, sect. 2, 9 ; divides the priests into 
 twenty-four coui'ses, sect. 7; he dies, c. xv, sect. 2; 
 is burietl with great jjomp, sect. 3; the treasures hid- 
 den in his monument, ib. xiii, viii, 4 ; and xvi, vii, 
 1 ; War, i, ii, 5. 
 
 Day unusually lengthened, .\ntiq. v, 1, 17. 
 
 Debora, .\iitiq. v, v, 3. 
 
 Deceased, what care was taken of them by the Jew^ 
 Against .\pion, ii, sect. 26. 
 
 Decrees of the Romans, ite. in favour of the Jews, 
 Antiq. xiv, viii, ,i; e. x, sect. 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 
 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 2*, 
 25, 26. 
 
 Dedan, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 
 Dellius the wicked, Antiq. xiv, xv, 1 ; and xv, ii, ff; 
 War, i, XV, 5. 
 
 Deluge, Antiq. i, ii', 3, &c. 
 
 Demetrius, alabarch at Alexandria, .Antiq. xx, vii, .". 
 
 Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, joins with Jonathan 
 and Htolemy his father-in-law, and conquers Alex- 
 ander, Antiq. xiii, iv, 7, 8 ; called Nicator, sect. 9 ; 
 his letter in favour of the Jews, ib. ; is hated by An- 
 tiochu-s, c. v, sect. 3 ; breaks friendship with Jonathan, 
 ib. ; is conquered by Antiochus, and flies into f'ilicia, 
 sect. 4 ; is made prisoner by Arsaccs, and released, 
 sect. 11; Trypho rebels against him, c. vii, sect. 1; 
 is hated by the army, e ix, sect. 3 ; is defeated, and 
 flies in vam to Cleopatra his wife, ib j goes thence to 
 Tyre, is made prisoner and dies, ib. 
 
 Demetrius Eurcrus, fourth son of Antiochus Grypus, 
 is made king of Syria, Damascena, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 
 4 ; his assistance desired by the Jews, sect. 5 ; be 
 makes war upon .Alexander, and tvmqucrs him, c. 
 xiv, sect. 1 ; War, i, iv, 4, 5 ; he makes war with hij 
 brother Philip, is carneil prisoner into Parthia, and 
 dies there, Antiq. xiii, xiv, 3. 
 
 Demetrius of Gadara, P.jmpey's freed man, obtains the 
 rebuilding of that city, Antiq. xiv, 4. 
 
 Demetrius Phalereus, keeper ot the iVlexandrian iibra 
 ry, Antiq. xii, ii, 1 ; Against Apion, ii, sect. 4 ; hij 
 
 Eetition to king Philadelphus, Antiq. xii, li, 3; 
 e places the seventy-two uiterpreters near tlie sea 
 side, sect. 2. 
 
 Demetrius Soter, son of Seleucus, made king of Syri^ 
 Antiq. xii, x, I ; puts king .\ntiochus to death,' ib.; 
 sends Bacehides and Niamor against the Jews, sect. 
 2, 4; his character, xiii, ii, 1 ; his letter to Joiiatlian, 
 sect. 3 ; is killed in the war against Alexander, secU 
 4. 
 
 Demoteless, Antiq. xiii, v, 8» 
 
 Diana's temple at Elymais in Persia, .A.ntiq xii, ix, 1 ; 
 Diana's temple in Egypt, xiii, iH, I. 
 
 Dido, queen of the Tjriiins, Against Apion, i, sect. 
 18. 
 
 Diklath, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Dinah, Jacob's daughter, .\ntiq. i, xxi, I. 
 
 Dioelerus, Antiq viii, ii, 3. 
 
 Diodoru.s, son ot .:ason, Antiq. xiii, ix, 2; 
 
 Diodorus, o"- Trjpho, Antiq. xiii, v, 1. 
 
 Dionvsius, tyrant of Tripoli, Antiq. xiv, in, 2. 
 
 Diophantus,' a forger of letters, Antiq. xvi, x, 4. 
 
 Divorce, what are the causes of it, A-ntiq. iv, viii, 23 j 
 whether it be lawful for a w fe to send a bill of di- 
 vorce to her husband, Antiq. xv, viii, 10. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 r);>5^ the Kyrian, Antirj. vi, xii, 4. 
 
 I)0£r5, it is not natural for them to devour the bones 
 with the flesh, Antiq. xi, iv, 9. 
 
 Dolab'-Ua's letter to the l.phesians in favour of the Jews, 
 Antiq, xiv, x, 12. 
 
 Dolesus, War, iv, vii, 2. 
 
 n.-imitia kind to Josephus, Life, sect. 75. 
 
 Domitian, the son of Vespasian, is made regent in his 
 father's ab-ence. War, iv, xi, 1; is kind to Josephus, 
 Life, sect. 75 ; hi'i expedition against the Germans, 
 War, vii, iv, 2. 
 
 Domitius Sabinus, War, v, viii, 1. 
 
 Doris, I'erod's (irst wife, Antiq. xiv, xii, 1 ; is mother 
 of Antipater, ib- xvii, i, 3; War, i, xxviii, 4 ; is ex- 
 pelled tile court, i, xxx, 4. 
 
 Dorians erect Cesar's statute in a Jewish synagogue, 
 Antiq xix, vi, 3; I'etronius' edict against them, ib. 
 
 Dorotheus, Antiq. xii, ii, 11. 
 
 Dortus, Antiq. xx, vi, 2. 
 
 Dositheiis, a Jew, his pcrfidiousness, Antiq. xv, vi, 3. 
 
 Dositheus, a general of tJie Jews, Against .Apion, ii, 
 sect. 5. 
 
 Dove sent out of the Ark, Antiq. i, iii, 5. 
 
 Draco's laws. Against Apion, i, sect. i. 
 
 Drusilla, daughter of Agrippa senior, by Typros, Antiq. 
 .xviii, v, 4 ;" married to A/Jzus, king of Emesa, xx, 
 vii, 1; afterwards to Felix, procurator of Judea, sect. 
 2. 
 
 Drusus her brother, Antiq. xviii, v, 4. 
 
 Drnsus, brotlier of Tiberius, Antiq. xviii, vi, 8. 
 
 Duration of the .Jewish law. Against Apion, ii, sect. 31. 
 
 Eagle, golden eagle pulled down from the front of the 
 
 temple, Antiq. xvii, vi, 3; holding a dragon in his 
 
 claws in the seal of the Lacedemonians, xii, iv, 10. 
 Earthqu.ike, wherein the followers of Dathan and .A- 
 
 birahi were swallowed up, Antiq. iv, iii, 1. 
 Earthquake, a very great one in Judea, Antiq. xv, v, 2. 
 Eating the sinew upon ti«; hip, why refused by the Jews, 
 
 Antiq. i, xx, 2. 
 Ebal, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 Eban, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii, 3. 
 Ebutius, a decurion, \\ar, iii, vii, 3 ; slain in battle, iv, 
 
 i, j. 
 Eclipse of the moon, Antiq. xvii, vi, 4. 
 Ecnibalus, king of Tyre, Against Anion, i, sect. 21. 
 Eglon, king of Moab oppresses the Israelites, .\ntiq. v, 
 
 iv, 1 ; is made a judge, ib. 
 Elab succeeds Baasha in the kingdom of Israel, Antiq. 
 
 viii, xii, 4. 
 Elara, Antiq. i, \i, 4. 
 Elcanah, or Elkanah, Antiq. ix, xii, 1. 
 Elcinah, or Elkanah, Samuel's father, .\ntiq. v, x, 2. 
 Elcias, the high-priest, .Antiq. x, viii, 6. 
 Eleazar's house, Antiq. vii, xv, ". 
 Eleazar's commendation. War, v, vi, I. 
 Eleazar, the son of Aaron, Antiq. iii, viii, 1. 
 El:a2ar, the son of Ananias, high-priest, Antiq. xviii, 
 
 ii, 2 ; War, ii, xvii, '.'. 
 Eleazar, the son of Dineus, Antiq. xx, vi, 1 ; 0. viii, 
 
 sect. 5 ; War, ii, xii, 4. 
 Eleazar, the son of Dodo, .Antiq. vii, xii, 4. 
 Eleazar c.-xst out a demon, Antiq. viii, ii, 4. 
 Eleazar, brother of Jo:izar, made high-priest, Antiq. 
 
 xvii, xiii, 1 ; deprived, ib. 
 Eleazar, brother of Judas Macca'ieus, called .Auran, 
 
 Antiq. xii, vi, 1 ; c. ix, sect. 4 ; is crushed to death 
 
 by an elephant, ib. ; War, i, i, .'J. 
 El-azar, a ring-leader of the robbers, Antiq. xx, i, 1 ; 
 
 War, vii, viii, 1 ; is taken prisoner and sent to Rome, 
 
 Antiq. xx, viii, 5; War, ii, xiii, 2. 
 Eleazar, of .Masada's speech to his garrison. War, vii, 
 
 viii, 6. 
 Eleazar, the son of Moses, Antici ii, xiii, 1. 
 Eleazar, the high-priest in the days of Joshua, Antiq. 
 
 iv, iv, 7 ; he dies, v, i, 20. 
 Eleazar, the high-priest in the days of Philadclphus, 
 
 Antiq. Pref. sect. 5 ; and xii, ii, 4 ; and xvii, xiii, 1 ; 
 
 his letter to Philadclphus, xii, ii, 7; he dies, c. iv, 
 
 sect. 1. 
 Eleazar, treasurer of the temple, .Antiq. xiv, vii, 1. 
 Eleazar, the son of Sanicas' valour. War, iii, vii, 21. 
 Eleazar, the son of Simon. War, ii, xx, 3; and iv, iv, 
 
 1 ; and v, i, 2; c. iii, sect. ] ; and vi, iv, 1. 
 Eleazar, the companion of Simon, dies. War, iv, ix, 
 
 5. 
 Eleazar, commander of the temi)lo, Antiq. xx, ix, 3; 
 
 War, ii, xvii, 2. 
 Eleazar taken prisoner by Rufu?, War, vii, vi, 4. 
 Eleutheri, horsemen so called, W.ir, i, xiii, 3. 
 Elhanan, .\ntiq. vii, xii, 2. 
 Eli the high-priest, Antiq. viii, i, 3; is judge in Israel 
 
 after Samson, Antiq. v, ix, 1 ; his profligate sons, c. 
 
 X, sect 1. 
 Ellakim, .Antiq. x, i, 2. 
 
 Eliashib, the high-priest, Antiq. xi, v, 4, &:c t dies, r. 
 vii, secv. 1. 
 
 Elien, David's son, AnMq. vii, iii, .3. 
 
 Elijah the prophet, .Antiq. \iii. xiii, 2. Sac.; his mira- 
 cles wrought for the widow of Sercpta, ib. ; he pre* 
 sents himself to Ahab, sect. 4 ; foretells r.iin, ib. ; 
 the false prophets are killeil by his order, sect. 6; 
 calls for fire from heaven, ix, ii, 1 ; is taken up, sect. 
 2 ; his letter to king Jehoram, c. v, sect. 2. 
 
 Elimelich, .Antiq. v, ix, 1. 
 
 Elionees, the son of Cantharus, is made high-priest, 
 Antiq. xix, viii, 1. 
 
 l^liphale, or Eliphelet, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii, 3. 
 
 Elisa, .Antiq. i, vi, 1. 
 
 Elisha, the prophet, the son of Shaphat, .Antiq. viii, 
 xiii, 7; aud ix, ii, 2 ; c. iii, sect, 1; his miracles i. .x', 
 iv, 1, (fee. ; his death and eulogium, c. viii, sect. C; his 
 cure of the barren fountain. War, iv, viii, 5. 
 
 Elkanah, or Eleanah, .Antiq ix, xii, 1 . 
 
 Elkanah, or Elcanah, Samuel's father, .\ntiq. v, x, 2. 
 
 Elmodad, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Elon succeeds Ibson as judge, .Antiq. v, vii, 14. 
 
 Elnis, Herod's wife, Antiq. xvii, i, 3; War, i, xxviii, 
 4. 
 
 Elthemus, general of the Arabians, War, i, xix, 5. 
 
 Eluleus, king of the Tyrians, Antiq. i, xiv, 2. 
 
 Kmnos, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii. 
 
 Knnaphen, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii. .". 
 
 Enemies, when conquered, may be lawfully killed, .An 
 tiq. ix, iv, 3. 
 
 Enoch, Antiq. i, ii, 2; c. iii, sect. 2. 
 
 Enoch and Elijah translated, Antiq. ix, ii, 2 
 
 Enos, the son of Seth, Antiq. i, iii, 2. 
 
 Ensigns of the Romans, with Caesar's image, Antiq. 
 xviii, iii, 2; sacrifices offered to them. War, vi, vi, 
 1. 
 
 Epaphroditus, his character, ,\ntiq. Pref. sect. 2; a 
 great friend of .losephus. Life, sect. 75. 
 
 Ephesians, their decree in favour of tlie Jews, Antiq. 
 xiv, X, 25. 
 
 iT^ihod, Antiq. iii, vii, 3. 
 
 Epicrates, .\ntiq. xiii, x, 2, .7. 
 
 Epicureans, their error concerning providence confuted, 
 Antiq. x, xi, 7. 
 
 Epiphanes, the son of Aniiochus, king of Commagena, 
 Antiq. xix, ix, 1. 
 
 Epistle of Jonathan the high-pricbf to the Lacedemo- 
 nians, .Antiq. xiii, v, 8; of Philadclphus for freeing 
 the oaptive Jews, Antiq. xii, ii, 3 ; to Eleazar the 
 high-priest, sect. 4; of Solom(m, and Hiram king of 
 the Tyrians, viii, ii, 6, 7 ; of Xerxes to Esdras, xi, 
 v, 1 ; of Artaxerxes to the governors near Judea, c. 
 vi, sect. 12; of Antlochus the Great, to Ptolemy Epi- 
 phanes, xii, iii, 3; of the .Samaritans to Antiochus 
 Theus c. v, sect. 5 ; of .Alexander Balas to Jonathan, 
 xiii, ii, 2 ; of Ouias to Ptolemy and Cleopatra, e. iii, 
 sect. 1; of Demetrius to Jonathan and the Jews, c. 
 iii, sect. I ; of Demetrius to Jonathan and the Jews, 
 c. iv, sect, y : of Julius t,xsar to the Roman magi- 
 strates, xiv, x, 2, &e. ; of Mark Antony to the Ty 
 rians, c xii, sect. 4. 
 
 Esajah the prophet, -Antiq. ix, xiii, 3 ; and x, i, ,3, 4 ; c. 
 ii, sect. 1, 2: his eulogium, sect. 2; his prophecy 
 concerning the Assyrians, X, xiv; concerning Cyrus, 
 210 years before his reign, xi, i, 2 ; the same read by 
 Cyrus, ib. ; his prophecy conceniiiig the temple ol 
 Onias, War, vii, x, 3. 
 
 Esau, or Edom, Antiq. ii, i, 1 ; his birth, i, xviii, 1. 
 
 Escol, Antiq. i, x, 2. 
 
 Esilras, .-Vnliq. xi, v, 1, &c. ; his grief for the foreign 
 marrriages, sect. 3 ; he reads the law of .Moses to the 
 jieople, sect. 5 ; he dies, ib. 
 
 Essen, or high-priest's breast-plate, Antiq. iii, viii, 5 
 when its shining ceased, sect. 9. 
 
 Essens honoured by Herod, Antiq. xv, x, 5 ; are against 
 swearing. War, ii, viii, 6; their manners, rites, and 
 doctrines described, Antiq. xiii, v, !) ; and xviii, i, 5, 
 War, ii, viii, 2, &c. ; they abstain from anointing 
 themselves with oil, sect. 5; their diligence in read- 
 ing their sacred books, sect. 6; Simon the Essen an 
 inteqireter of dreams, .Antiq. xvii, xiii, 5. 
 
 Esther, Antit^. xi, vi, 2 ; is married to the king, ib. ; is 
 concerned tor the Jews, sect. 7, ".Vc. : invites the king 
 an<l Hainan to an entertainment, sect. 9. 
 
 Ethan, .\ntiq. viii, ii, .i. 
 
 Ethbaal, or Ithobalus, king of Tyre, Antiq. viii, xiii, 1, 
 2; Against Apion, i, sect. 18, 21. 
 
 Ethi, or Ittai the Gittito, Antiq. vii, ix, 2. 
 
 Ethn.irch, (Simon), Antiq. xiii, vi, 6; contracts thenca 
 dated, ib. 
 
 Eihnareh, (Archelaus), Antiq. xvii, xi, 4 ; War, ii, vi 
 5. 
 
 Euartns Cons, Antiq. xvi, x, 2; War, i, xxvi, o 
 
 Euaristis .Arruntius, -Antiq. xix, i, 10. 
 
 Eve created, Antiq. i, i, 2 ; her fall, -sect. 4 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Evi, king of the Mi.'.ianitcs, Antiq. iv, vii, I. 
 
 fivil-Merodacli, Antiq. x,xi, 2 ; Against Apion, i, sect. 
 211. 
 
 Fundus, freed man of Tiberias, Antiq. xviii, vi, 8. 
 
 Eupoiemus' son John, Antio. xii, x, (i. 
 
 Eurydes slanders the sons <>t Herod, Antiq. xii, x, G; 
 War, i, xxvi, 1, &e. ; he returns to his own country, 
 sect. 4. 
 
 Eutyehus, Agrippa's freed man and charioteer, Antiq. 
 xvifl, vi, 5. 
 
 Eutyehus, Tais Csesar's coachman, Antiq. xix, iv, 4. 
 
 Exempt from military service, who, Antiq. iv, viii, 
 41. 
 
 Exorcisms, or forms of casting out demons, composed 
 by Solomon, Antii]. viii, ii, .i. 
 
 Ezeehias, a ringleaiier for the robbers, Antiq. xiv, ix, 2. 
 
 Esekiel the prophet, Antiq. \, v, 1 ; c. viii, sect. 2; is 
 V carried captive into B.ibylon, e. vi, sect. 3; liis pro- 
 phecy concerning the destniction of the Jews, c. vii, 
 sect. ^2 ; his prophecy reconciled to tnat of Jeremiah, 
 ib. 
 
 Fabatus, Caisar's servant, Antiq. xvii, iii, 2; Herod's 
 steward. War, i, xxix, 5. 
 
 Fabius, governor, of Damaseur, Antiq. xiv, xi, 7; War, 
 i, xii, 1. 
 
 Fabinus, a centurion, Antiq. xiv, iv, i : War, i, xii, 
 1. 
 
 Factions, three in Jerusalem, .Antiq. v, i, 4. 
 
 Fadus (Cuspiiis), procurator of Judea, Antiq. xv, xi, 
 4 ; and xix, ix, 2; and xx, 1, &c. ; War, ii, xi, 6. 
 
 Famine in Judea in the I.5th year of Herod's reign, 
 Antiq. xv, ix, 1 ; another in the reign of C!laudius, 
 iii, XV, 3 ; and xx, ii, 6 ; c. v, sect. 2; a dismal fa- 
 mine m Jerusalem, War, v, x, 2 ; c. xii, sect. 3, 
 vi, 5: for Saul's cruelty to the Gibeonites, Antiq. 
 Viii, xii, 1 , at Samaria, xiii, x, 2 ; f^iuiine and pesti- 
 lence, two of the greatest evjls, x, vii, 4. 
 
 Faimius the consul's decree in favour of the Jews, An- 
 tiq. xiv, x, 15. 
 
 Faniiius, a Roman praetor, Antiq. xiii, ix. 10. 
 
 'Fast, observed at Jerusalem, Antiq. xiv, xvi;on the 
 day on which Pompey took Jerusalem, ib. c. iv, 
 sect. 4. 
 
 Fate unavoidable. Antiq. viii, xv, 6; War, v, xiii, 
 7; and vi, i, 8; c. ii, sect. 1, e. iv. sect. S, and c. v, 
 sect. 4. 
 
 Feast of unleavened bread. See pa'^sover. Gu&^ts 
 placed at feasts according to their condition, Antiq. 
 xii, iv, 9; funeral feasts among the Jews, War, ii, i, 
 
 Felicity too great, the cause of many evils, Antiq. viii, 
 X, 7- 
 
 Felix, Antiq. xiv, xi, 7; War, i, xii, i ; brother of Pal- 
 las, and procurator of Judea, Antiq. xx, vii, 1 ; e. 
 viii, sect. .1, War, i, xii,S; e. xiii, sect. 7; he pu- 
 nishes the mutineers, Antiq. xx, viii, 7 ; is accused 
 at Home, sect. 9. 
 
 Festivals of the Hebrews, Antiq. iii, x, 1, &c. ; three 
 great ones, ib. xviii, iv, 3; at those festivals Roman 
 guards were posted at the temple, rt'ar, ii, xii, 1 ; 
 immunity granted them at those festivals bv Deme- 
 trius Soter, Antiq. xiii, ii, 3; celebrated bv the Jews 
 in shining garments, c. xi, sect. 1 ; and on them did 
 no manner of work, iii, x, d', celebrated bv the (jen- 
 tiles in idleness and plea-^ure, i, x^i, 1 ; iio'niourning 
 among the Jews at such times, xi, v, 5 ; nor did they 
 then travel far, xiii, viii, 4 ; Egyptian women ap- 
 peared at such times in public, li, iv, 5 ; wood car- 
 ried on a festival day for the altar. War, ii, xvii, 6 ; 
 festival at dedication of the temple by Judas Macca- 
 beus, Antiq. xii, vii, 7. 
 
 Festus (Porcius>, procurator of Judea, .Antiq. xx, viii, 
 9; he dies, c. ix, sect. I. 
 
 Flaccus (Xorlianus), proconsul, Antiq. xvi, vi ; presi- 
 dent of Syria, xviii, vi, 2. 
 
 flesh of horses, nuiles, &c. forbidden to be brought 
 within the widls of Jerusjilein, Antiq. xii, iii, 4. 
 
 Flics (the god of), i.e. Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, 
 Antiq. ix, ii, 1. 
 
 Florus (Gessiws), procurator of Judea, Antiq. xviii, i, 
 fi ! and xi, xix, 2 ; iiid xx, ix, 5 ; is the cause of th.e 
 Jewish war, c. xi, sect. 1, Lite, secL 6'; War, ii, xiv, 
 S. fi; e. XV, scft. 1, A:c. ; he i- derided by the people, 
 II, XIV, (i; he plunders the citv, sect. 9: he calumni- 
 ates the Jews before Cestius, War, ii, xvi, 1. 
 
 Fontejus Agrippa, killbul by the Seythiius, War, vii. 
 
 Fountain near Jericho, War, iv, viii, 3 ; Is cured by 
 
 tlisha, lb. ; its wonderful virtue, ib. 
 Friends never free from envv. \iuiq. vi, iv, S. 
 Fngiiis (Titus>, War, vi, iv, 3. v, 
 
 Froiifo, War, vi, iv, 3. 
 Fulvia, a lady ilefrauded of her money bv a Jew, An- 
 
 uq. xviii, iii, j. 
 
 ■i D 
 
 ruruis, a centurion, Antiq. xiv, iv, 4; War, i. vH, 
 
 Gaal, protects the Shechemites against Abiiiielcch, An- 
 tiq. V, vii, 5. 
 
 Gaam, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 
 Gabris, or (labares, Antiq. viii, ii, 3, 
 
 Gabinus, Anliq. xiv, iii, 2; e. iv, sect. 1, War, i, vi, 
 6; is made [iresidcnt of Syria, Antiq. xiv, v, ~; 
 War, i, viii, 2. 
 
 Gad, the prophet, .Antiq. vii, xiii, 2, &c. 
 
 Gadara, taken by Vespasian, War, iv, vii, 3; the Ga- 
 darens made prisoners, and killed, iii, vii, 1. 
 
 Gaddis (John), .Antiq. xiii, i, 2. 
 
 (iaiadens, their queen l.aodicc, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 4. 
 
 Galba, Antiq. xviii, G, 9; succeeds Nero, War, iv, ix, 
 !■ ; is murdered in a conspiracy, ib. 
 
 Gallilee, comes all under the Roman dominion, War 
 ;v, i, 1 ; e. 2, sect. .5. 
 
 Galii, cui.-jchs so called, Antiq. iv, viii, 40. 
 
 Gallicaniis, War, iii, viii, ]. 
 
 Oalhis {/Eliiisi, Anliq. xv, ix, ,3. 
 
 Gallus((.'cstius,i, president of Syria, Life, sect. 4; War, 
 ii, xiv, .3. 
 
 Gallus, a centurion. War, iv, i, 5. 
 
 Gallus (Rubrius), War, vii, iv, 3. 
 
 Gamala besieged. War, iv, i, 1, &c. 
 
 (names of the circus, Antiq. xix, i, 4; Olympic games 
 restored by [lerod, xvi, v, 3; Cassarean games insti- 
 tuted by Herod, xv, viii, 1; and xvi, v, i, 1; War, 
 i, xxi, 8; ordained bv Titus on the birth-days of his 
 father and brother, vii, iii, 1. 
 
 Gerrizzim, its temple demolished, Antiq. xiii, ix, 1. 
 
 Gauls, War, ii, xvi, 4 ; possess at home the source of 
 hapiiiness, ib. ; became Heiod's life-guards, i, xx, 3. 
 
 Gaza taken and demolished, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 3. 
 
 (Jazeans, grievously punished by Jonathan, Antiti. xiii, 
 V, 5. 
 
 (Jamellus (Tiberius), Antiq. xviii, vi, 8. 
 
 Gamellus, Herod's friend, cxiielled his court, Antiq 
 xvi, viii, 3. 
 
 Gentile gods, not to be derided, in the opinion of Jo 
 sephus, Antiq. iv, viii, x ; Against Apion, ii, sect. 
 
 Geometrv, invented by the long-lived patriarchs, Antiq. 
 
 i, iii, 9. 
 Gera, the father of Ehud, Antiq. v, iv, 2. 
 Gerastratus, king of the Tyrians, Against .Apion, i, sect. 
 
 Germanicus' house, Antiq. xix, i, 1.5; the father of 
 Caius, xviii, vi, H \ is scut into the east, e, ii, sect. 3 
 is poisoned by Piso, ib. 
 
 Germans described. War, ii, xvi, 4; are enslaved by the 
 Uoin.ans, vi, vi, 2; they mutinv, vii, iv, 2; a Ger- 
 man's iirtdictions concerning Agrippa, Antiq. xviii, vi, 
 7 ; German guard, xix, i, 1. 
 
 Gessius Florus, procurator of Judea. See Florus above. 
 
 Gether, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Giants, Antiq. v, ii, 5; and vii, xii, 1, &c. ; theur re- 
 mains in Hebron, Antiq. iii, xiv, 2 ; and v, ii. 
 
 Gibeah, its inhabiliints guilty of a rape, Antiq. v, ii, 8. 
 
 Gibeonites, by a wile, make a coveiiiiiit with .Joshua, 
 .Antiq. V, i, 16; their fraud detected and (luuishcd, 
 lb. ; they are .satisfied for the atu-mpt of Saul to Slav 
 them, vii, xii, 1. 
 
 Gibcon's stratagem, Antiq. v, vi, 5; he dies, sect. 7. 
 
 Glapliyra, daughter of Arjhclaus, king of C'appidocia, 
 is mirricd to Alexander the .son of Herod, Antiq. xvi, 
 i, 2; c. vii, sect. 2; her enmity with Salome, c. i, 
 sect. 2, &e; War, i, xxiv, 2, &e. ; her pride, ib. 
 her lamentation when her husband was put in chains, 
 Antiq. xvi, x, 7 ; she is sent back a widow to her 
 father, xvii, i, 1 ; she is afterwards maiTicd to Juba, 
 king of Libya, and afterwards to Archelaus, elhnareh 
 of Judea, e. xiii, .sect. 4 ; her dream, and death, ib. 
 
 God, (the ti-ue God), his presence in the tabernacle, 
 Antiq. Ill, viii, 5; his wisdom, and that he cannot 
 be bribed, c. xi, sect. 5; his mercy onlv obtained by 
 religion, v, i, 28 ; his forekn.twledge, and that his de- 
 crees cannot be avoided, iv, iii, 2 ; lijs will is irresi* 
 tible, ii, ix, 2 ; without liis will nothing can happen, 
 e. vi, sect. ,') ; his providence asserted against the Epi- 
 cureans, x, xi, 7 ; that notliing is lonccaled from him, 
 ii, iii, I; it is dangerous to disobey him, vi, vii, 2; 
 whether it is easier to serve Cod or man ? viii, x, 3; 
 he uses beasts to punish the wicked, x, xi, G; judged 
 to bennly the god of the hills by the Syrians, viii, 
 xiv;, .i; is not to be imposed on by the wicked, iv, 
 viii, 38; delights not in sacrifices, but in good men, 
 vi, vii, 4 ; is called on in tiineof danger, by even bad 
 men, xvii, v, t!; foretells futurities, that' men may 
 provide against them, ii, v, 6 ; aflords assisti^nce only 
 when the ca^e is desperate, e. xv, sect. 5 ; delights in 
 thiise that promote his worship, xvi, ii, 4; discovers 
 his iiitft'able name to Moses, ii, xii, 4 ; is by nature 
 
INDEX. 
 
 merciful to the poor, iv, viii,2fi; is omnipresent, ii, 
 iii, 1 ; and vi, xi, 8 ; his bounty the causeof all men's 
 happiness, iv, viii, 2 ; 
 
 Gnds, (false g(Klb) of I.aban stolen, Antiq. i, xix, 9, &r; 
 of Cutha in Persia, brought to Samaria, ix, xiv, 3 ; 
 of the conquered Amalckites, worshipped by Ama- 
 zioh, c. ix, sect. 2; of the heathen not to be cvirsed or 
 blasphemed, in the opinion of .losephus, iv, viii, 10; 
 Against Apion, ii, seot- 24 ; Beelzebub, the god of 
 flies at Ekron, Antiq. ix, ii, 1. 
 
 Goiiathof Gath, a giant, Antiq. vi, ix, 1, &c.; challen- 
 ges the Jews to a single combat, ib.; is slain by David, 
 sect. 5. 
 
 Gomer, and Gomcriies, Antiq, vi, i. 
 
 Gorgias, governor of Jamnia, is put to flight, Antiq, 
 xii, vii, 4 ; has better success afterwards, c. viii, sect 
 6. 
 
 Gorion the son of Josephus, and Simeon the son of Ga- 
 maliel, exhort the people to attack the mutineers, 
 Antiq. iv, iii, 9 ; is put to death, c. vi, sect. 1. 
 
 Gratus, procurator of .ludea, Antiq. xviii, vi, 5 ; puts 
 .Simon, Herod's old slave to death, xvii, Sj C> ; meets 
 Varus coming to Jerusalem, War, ii, v, 2 ; one Gratus 
 discovers Claudius, and brings him o;it to be emperor, 
 Antiq. xix, iii, 1. 
 
 Greeks called old nations by names of theirown, Antiq. 
 i, V, and put the Hebrew names into their own form, 
 c. vi. 
 
 Guards placed about the temple by the Romans, Antiq. 
 XX, V, 3. 
 
 Hadad, king of Syria, Antiq. vii, v, 2, &c. 
 Hadad, or Hadar, an Edomite, becomes Solomon's ene- 
 my, Antiq. viii, vii, 6. 
 Hadadezer, or Hadarezer, king of Sophane, or Zobah, 
 
 Antiq. viii, vii, 6 ; 
 Hagar, and Ishmael, are sent away by Abraham. Antiq. 
 
 i. xiii, 3. 
 Haggai, a prophet after the captivity, Antiq. xi, iv, 5, 
 7 ; he and Zechariali encouraged the Jews to rebuild 
 their temple, ib. 
 Haggith, David's wife, Antiq. vii, xiv, 4. 
 Halicai-nasseans' decree in favour of the Jews, Antiq. 
 
 xiv, X, 23. 
 Haman, an enemy of the Jews, Antiq. xi, vi, .5; his 
 edict against the Jews, ii, the name of Artaxerxes, 
 sect 6 ! he orders a gibbet to be erected for Mordecai, 
 sect 10; is obliged to honour Mordecai, ib. ; the edict 
 is contradicted, sect. 12 ; he is hanged on his own 
 gibbet, sect. 15. 
 Hannah the wife of Elkanah, Antiq. v, x, 2. 
 Haran, the father of Lot, Antiq. i, vi, i. 
 Haran, or Charran, a city of Mesopotamia, Antiq i, vi, 
 
 5. 
 Harlots (common ones), excluded from marriage, .\ntiq. 
 
 iv, viii, 2V. 
 Hatach, or Acratheus, Antiq. xi, vi, 7. 
 Havilah, the son of C'ush, Antiq, i, vi, 2; his country 
 
 Havilah, sect 4. 
 Hazael, king of Syria, Antiq. viii, xiii, 7; and ix, iv, 
 6; he plunders .iu'iea, c. viii, sect. 4; he dies, sect 7- 
 Hazermaveth, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 Hazo, or Azau, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 Heber, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Hebrews, twice carried captives beyond Euphrates, 
 Antiq. x. ix, 7 ; thought by some to have come origi- 
 nally from Egypt, and not from Chaldea, ii, vii, 4 ; 
 not put to servile labour, in the ilays of Solomon, 
 viii, vi, 5 ; of those Hebrews that came to offer their 
 sacrifices from beyond Euphrates, iii, xiv, 3; they 
 have peculiar rules about meats and drinks, iv, vi, 
 8 ; they fight the (^anaan tes against Moses' order, c. i, 
 sect. 1 i ten tribes hved boyoiul Euphrates, and out 
 of the bounds of the Roman empire, xi, v, 2 ; their 
 language and character came near to the Syriac, xii, 
 ii,T; their nouns have all the same formation and 
 termination, i, vi, 2 ; they have but one temple and 
 altar iv, viii, 5 ; met at Shiloh thrice in a year, v, ii, 
 12; only the two tribes under the dominion of the 
 Romans, xi, v, 2; an unexampled sedition among 
 them, iv, ii, 1 ; their wise men in the days of Solo- 
 mon, viii, ii, 5; 
 Hecatontomaelii, Antiq. xiii, xii, 5. 
 Helcias the Great, Antic], xviii, viii, 4. 
 Helcias, treasurer of tlie temple, Antiq. xx, viii, 11. 
 Helena, queen of Adiabene, embraces the Jewish re- 
 ligion, Antiq. xx, ii, 1 ; goes to Jerusalem, sect 6; 
 is buried there, c. iv, sect. 3. 
 Hephizbah, Antiq. x. iii, 1. 
 Hercules' teini>lc. Against Apinn, i, sect. 18. 
 Herennius Capito, governor of Jamnia, Antiq. xviii, 
 
 vl, 3. 
 Hermeus, or Danaus, king of Egypt, Against Apion, 
 
 i, sect. 2G. 
 Hei-od. the son of Antipater, Antiq. xiv, vii, 3 ; *Var, 
 
 ^ 
 
 i, viii, 9; began to rule in Galilee in the 1.5th ar.d 
 [2 itli] year of his age, Antiq. xiv, ix, 2, puts Ezechias 
 and other robbers to death, ib ; War, i, x, 5 ; being 
 accused for it, betakes his trial, Antiq. xiv, ix, 3; 
 makes his escape, sect. 4 ; goes to Sextus Caesar, and 
 is by hiin made governor ot Cnelosyri.a, sect. 5 ; is in 
 favour with Tassius, and the Ron aiis, c. xi, sect 2, 
 1 ; made a governor of S>Tia by him, sect. 4 ; War 
 i, xi, 4 ; puts Malichus to death, sect 6; beats An 
 tigonus out of Judea, Antiq. xiv, xii, 1 ; bribes 
 Mark Antony, sect. 2; is impeaeiied by the Jews, 
 but is notwithstanding made a tetrarch by Antony, 
 c. xiii. sect. 1 ; gets the better of the Jews that oppose 
 him, sect. 2 ; escapes the snares of tlie Parthians, 
 sect. 6, 7 ; the accidents of his Might, sect 8 ; War, 
 i, xiii, 7 ! goes to Egypt, and thence to Rhodes, and 
 thence to Rome, Antiq. xiv, xiv, 2, 3; War, i, xiv, 
 2, 3 ; made king by the Roman senate, at the desire 
 of Antony, Antiq. xiv, xiv, 4; War, ii, xiv, 4; sails 
 back to Judea, and fights against Antigonus, Antiq. 
 xiv, XV, 1 ; takes Joppaand besieges Jerusalem, sect. 
 1,2; War, i, XV, 4 ; takes Sepphoris-, Antiq. xiv, xv, 
 4; conquers his enemies, and the robbers of Judea, 
 sect. 4, .-> ; joins his troops with Antony's at the siege 
 of Samosata, and is received there with great honour, 
 sect. 8, 9; is providentially delivered from great 
 dangers, sect. 11, 13; defeats Pappus, sect. 12; 
 besieges Jerusalem, takes it, makes Antigonus 
 prisoner, and sends him in chains to Antonv, xiv, 
 xvi, 1, 4 ; War, i,xvii, 9, &c; promotes his friends, 
 and destroys those of Antigonus, Antiq. xv, i. ; mar- 
 ries the famous Mariamne, the daughter of Alex- 
 andra c. ii, sect. 5 ; War, i, xvii, 8 ; complains 
 of Alexandra, his mother-in-law, Antiq. xv, ii, 
 7 ; causes his wife's brother, Aristobulus, to be 
 cunningly drownied at Jericho, c. iii, sect. 5; is sum- 
 moned by Antony to take his trial for it, sect. 5 ; 
 brings Antony over to his interest by bribes, sect. 8 ; 
 puts Josei>h to death, sect. 9; is solicited to adultery 
 by Cleopatra, c. iv, sect. 2; makes war against the 
 Arabians by Antony's order, e. v, sect. 1 ; War, i, 
 xix, 1, &c. ; his speech to the army in distress, after 
 he had been beaten, Antiq. xv, 3; War, i, xix, 7l 
 he beats the Arabians in battle, Antiq. xv, v, 4 ; 
 War, i, xix, 6; he puts Hyrcanus to death, Antiq. 
 XV, vi, 2; Herod's commentaries, sect. 3; orders M;i- 
 riamne to be put to death, if he himself come to an 
 ill end, sect. r> ; his presence of mind before .Augus- 
 tus Ca;sar, sect. 6; he is confirmed in his kingdom 
 by Ca?sar, sect. 7 ; War, i, xx, 2, &e ; he entertains 
 Cjpsar magnificently, ib. ; he receives more favours 
 from C.-Psar, iind has his dominions enlarged, Antiq. 
 XV, xi, 3; W.ar, i, xx, 3; he puts Mariamne his wife 
 to death. .Antiq. xv, vii, 4, 5 ; War, i, xxii, 5 ; he is 
 very uneasy at her death, Antiq. xv, vii, 7: War, i, 
 xxii, 6; he is atflicted with a kind of madness by di- 
 vine vengeance, Antiq. xvii, vi, .5; War, i, xxxiii, 
 5 ; departs from the manners and customs of the 
 Jews, Antiq. xv, viii, 1 ; builds theatres and exhibits 
 shows to the people, ib. ; a conspiracy against him, 
 sect 3, iic. ; builds a temple at Samaria, sect 5 ; a 
 palace at Jerusalem, c. ix, sect. 3 ; and a citadel six 
 furlongs from Jerusalem, sect. 4; relieves the people 
 in a great famine, sect 2 ; marries Simon's daughter, 
 sect. 3; his policy, sect 5; he builds Csesarea, sect 
 6 ; he sends his sons to Rome, c. x, sect I ; builds a 
 temjile to Cxsar, sect. 3 ; eases the people of a third 
 part of their taxes, sect. 4; forbids the ))eople to 
 meet together privately, ib. ; keeps his spies, and be- 
 comes one himself, ib.'; honours the Essens, sect 
 5; rebuilds the temple at .lerusalem, c. xi, sect 1; 
 ^Var, i, xxi, 1 ; makes a new law concerning thieves, 
 Antiq. xvi, i, 1, fzc. ; goes to CaDsar, brings home his 
 sons, and marries them, sect. 2 ; entertains .Marcus 
 Agrippa, c. ii, .sect. I ; is in great favour with Agr p- 
 pa, e. ii, sect 1 ; eases his subjects of the fourth part 
 of their taxes, sect 5 ; the quarrels in his family, e. 
 iii, scot. 1 ; he favours .Aiuipater in opposition to 
 the sons of Mariamne, sect. 3 : goes to Aquileia, and 
 hnpeaches his sons, at Home, before Ca;sar, c. iv, 
 sect. I ; is reconciled to them, sect. 4 : War, i, xxiii, 
 3 ; celebrates games in honour of Ca}sar, Antiq. xvi, 
 v, 1; builds towns and castles, sect, ii; builds Ajiol- 
 lo's temple, and renews the tjlympic games, sect. 3 
 War, i, xxi, 12: his temper described, Antiq. xvi, 
 v,4; he opens David's sepulchre, e vii, sect. ); he 
 suspects his kindred, sect. 3 ; he is accused by Syl- 
 leus before Ca?asar, e. ix, sect. 3; his cruelly to his 
 sons, c. xi, sect 1 ; he accuses them in a council at 
 Bervtiis, sect 2; inquires, of Nicolaus of Damascus, 
 what they think of him and his .sons at Rome, seer. 
 3 ; he orders them both to be .strangled, sect b'; pro- 
 vides for their cliildren, xvii, i. 2; his wives and 
 childveii, sect 5 ; xviii, v, 4 ; he contracts inarritigci 
 for Mariamne's children, xvii, i, 2; War, i, xxvui 
 / lo"* 
 
"V 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 fi; alters those contracts, sect. 6 s sends Antipater to 
 t'a>s.ir, Antiq. xvii, iii, 5; War, i, xxix, 2; is made 
 to b?lie\^ tliat his brother Pheroras was poisoned. 
 Antic), xvii, iv, 1 ; War, i, xxx, 1 ; finds the poison 
 was tor hiinsflf, Antiq. xvii, iv, '.' ; War, i, xxx, i' ; 
 tries Antipater, and puts him in chains, Antiq. xvii, 
 V, 7; his bitterness in his oM age, c. vi, sect. 1; lie 
 makes his will, ib. ; his terrible sickness, sect. 5 ; 
 War, i, xxxiii. 1, 5; his barbarous order for mur- 
 dering the principal of the Jews, Antiq. xvii, vi, 5 ; 
 he attempts to murder himself, sect. 7; he alters his 
 will, c. viii. sect. 1 ; his characte'-, ib. ; his death and 
 burial, sect. 1,3; War, i, xxxiii, 8, 9 ; his will open- 
 ed and read, Antiq. xvii, viii. 2; not to take place 
 till confirmetl by ('ss;<r, c. xi, sect. 4. 
 
 Herod, the son of Herod, made tctrarch, Antiq. xviii, 
 ii, I : c. vii, sect. 1 ; War, ii, ix, 1 ; he builds towns 
 in honour of Cassar, ib. ; sends a letter to Capsar, An- 
 tiq. xviii, iv, .5; makes war upon Aretas king of A- 
 rabia, e. v, sect. 1, &c. ; is banished, ib. ; War, ii, 
 ix, 6. 
 
 Herod, half brother to the tetrarch, Antiq. xviii, v, 1. 
 
 Herod, son of Aristobulus, by i?alome, se;-t. 4. 
 
 Herod, son of Aristobulus, by Berenice, Salome's 
 dautrhier, Antiq. xvii, i, 2; War, i, xxviii, 1. 
 
 Herod, Herod's son by Mariamnc, Shimon's daughter, 
 Antiq. xvii, i, 2; c. iii, sect. 2; andxvin, v, 1 ; War, 
 i, xxviii, 4 : c. xxix, sect. 2; he is blotted out of He- 
 rod's will, AVar, i, xxx, 7. 
 
 Herod, Herod's son by Cleopatra of Jen;salem, Anti,^ 
 xvii, i, 3; War, i, xxviu, 1. 
 
 Herod, Agrippa senior's brother, king of Chalcis, An- 
 tiq. xix, v, 1 ; he marries Maviamne, daughter of 
 Josephus by Olympias, king Herod's daughter, xviii, 
 V. 4; he has tlie power over the temple given him 
 by Claudius, xx, i, 3 ; his death and children, e. v, 
 sect. 2 ; War, ii, xi, 6. 
 
 Herod, son of Phasaelus and Salampsio, Antiq. xviii, 
 V, 4. 
 
 Herod, Polemo's brother, king of Chalcis, Antiq. xix, 
 viii, 1. 
 
 Herodias, daughter of Aristobulus, by Bernice, Salome's 
 daughter, Antiq. xviii, v, 1; War, i, xxviii, 1 ; A- 
 grippa senior's sister, and wife of Herod the tetrarch, 
 and envies Agrippa the royal dignity, Antiq. xviii, 
 viii, 1 ; War, ii, ix, 6; follows her husband in 'nis 
 banishment, Antiq. xviii, vii, 2; married to Herod, 
 son of Herod the Great, by Mariamne, Simoii's 
 daughter, c. v, sect. 2; c. vi, sect. 2; afterward 
 married to Herod the former husband's brother while 
 her former husband was alive, c. v, sect. 4. 
 
 Hezekiah, king of Judah, Antiq. ix, xiii, 2; his religi- 
 ous speech to the people, ib. ; his lustration of tlic 
 temple, and solemn celebration of the passover, sect. 
 2, 5; he makes war upon the Philistines, sect. 3; 
 defends himself from Sennacherib, x, i, 1; recovers 
 from sickness, c. ii, sect. 1 ; dies, c. iii, sect. 1. 
 
 Hin, an Hebrew measure, Antiq. iii, viii, ,1. 
 
 HilkiaJi, the high-priest, Antiq. x, v, 1 ; c. viii, sect. 6. 
 
 Hiram, king of Tyre, David's friend, Antiq. vii, iii, 2. 
 
 Hiram, king of Tyre, sends ambassadors to Solomon, 
 Antiq. vii, ii, 6. 
 
 Hiram, king of Tyre, Against Apion, i, sect. 17, 18, 
 21. 
 
 Historians, their duty, Antiq. i, 1. 
 
 Hophni, son of Eli, .Xntiq. v, x, 1 ; he is slain in bat- 
 tle, c. xi, sect. 2. 
 
 House of the forest of Lebanon, Antiq. viii, vi, 5. 
 
 Hoshea, king of Israel, Antiq. ix, xiii, 1 ; he is made 
 a prisoner', c. xiv, sect. 1. 
 
 Huldah, the prophetess, .^ntiq. x, iv, 2. 
 
 Human sacrifice, .Antiq. ix, iii, 2. 
 
 Hur, a prince of the Midianites, .\ntiq. iv, vii, 1; an 
 head of the Ephraimitcs, viii, ii, 3. 
 
 Hu.shai, Antiq, vii, ix, ;2, 6, 7; ex, sect. 4, 5. 
 
 Huz, Antiq. i, vi, .5. 
 
 Hymns, composed by David in various sorts of metre, 
 Anti(|. vii, xii. 3. 
 
 Hyrcanus, son of Joseph Tobias, .\ntiq. xii, iv, 6 ; his 
 artful invention, ib. ; he is sent to Ptolemy, and 
 kindly received by him, sect 7, 9 ; his actions and 
 death sect. 1 0. 
 
 Hyrcanus (John), son cf Simon the Maccabee, escapes 
 being slain, Antiq. xiii, vii, -l ; .ittacks Ptolemy, c. 
 viii, sect. 4; War, i, ii, 3; is made high-priest, .An- 
 tiq. xiii, viii, 1 ; War, i, ii, 3; is besieged by .Anti- 
 ochus, .Antiq. xiii, viii, 2 ; buys a peace with '300 ta- 
 lents taken out of David's sepulchre, sect 3, 4, 5; 
 marches into Syria and recovers the towns that hail 
 been taken away, and renews the alliance with the 
 Romans, Antiq. xiii, ix, 1, 2; Ijcsieges Samaria, 
 takes It and demolishes it, c. x, sect. 2,>; his inter- 
 course witli Ood, ib. ; his dream concerning his sons, 
 e. xii, sect. I ; he was ethnarch, high priest, and pro- 
 
 phet. War, i, 11, 8; his death and eu'ogium, Antliv 
 xiii, X, 7, S. 
 
 Hyrcanus II, son of .Alexander Janncus, made high- 
 piiest, .\ntir|. xiii, xvi, J, 2; War, i, v, 1 ; agrees to 
 leave the civil government to his brother, Antiq. xiv, 
 i, 2 ; his inactive genius, and why he fled to Arct.'s, 
 ib. ; he in vain tiies to bribe Scaurus to be for him, 
 c. ii, sect. 3; pleads against his brother before Pcni- 
 pey, c. iii, sect. 2; recovers the high-priesthood, c. 
 iv,' sect 4; is conflimed therein by Cssar, c. viii, 
 sect. 5; War, i, x, 3; is honoured by the Romans 
 and Athenians, Antiq. xiv, viii, 5 ; and by Julius 
 Cai'sar, x, ii ; is taken prisoner, and has his cars cut 
 oli'by Antigonus, c. xiii, sect. 10; is reic«sed by the 
 Parthians, and returns to Herod, xv, ii, 2; lie is per- 
 fidiously treated, and put to death by him, ib. ; the 
 various adventures of his life, sect. 4. 
 
 Hystapcs, father of Darius, Antiq. xi, iii, 1. 
 
 Jabal, .Antiq. i, i, 2. 
 
 Jabssh, father of Shallura, Antiq. ix, xi, 1. 
 
 Jabesh Oilead demolished, Antiq. v, ii, il. 
 
 Jabin, king of Canaan, enslaves the Israelites, .Antiq. v, 
 ii, II. 
 
 Jacimus, or Alcimus, the wicked high-priest, .Antiq. xii, 
 ix, 7- 
 
 Jacob bom, .Antiq. i, xviii, 1 ; contracts with Laban 
 for Rachel, c. xix, sect. 7 ; he wrestles with an an- 
 gel, c. XX, sect. 2 ; his sons, sect. 8, c. xx, sect. 5 ; he 
 privately departs from Laban, sect. 9 ; his posterity, 
 when they went do»\ n into Egypt, ii, vii, 4 ; he weejis 
 upon sending away his son Benjamin into Egypt, c 
 vi,scct.o; he meets with his brother Esau, i, xx, 3. 
 
 Jacob, son of Sossas, War, iv, iv, 2; and v, vi, 1 ; and 
 vi, viii, 2. 
 
 Jacob, an Idumean, betrays his country, War, iv, ix, 
 6. 
 
 Jadus, or .laddua, son of John, high-priest, Antiq. xi, 
 vii, 2 , he meets Ali xandcr in his pontifical garments, 
 c. viii, sect. 5 ; he dies, sect- 7- 
 
 Jadon, the prophet, Antiq. viii, viii, 5; is killed by a 
 lion, c. ix, sect. 3. 
 
 Jasl, wife of Heber the Kenite, kills Sisera, Antiq. v, 
 V, 4. 
 
 Jeliazicl, the prophet, Antiq. ix, i, 2. 
 
 Jamblieus, the Syrian ruler, Antiq. xiv, viii, I ; War, i. 
 ix, 3. 
 
 James, the brother of Jesus Christ, stoned, Antiq. xx, 
 ix, i. 
 
 Janias, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. 14. 
 
 Japhet, .\n:iq. i, iv, 1 ; what countries his sons posses- 
 sed, c. vi, sect I. 
 
 Jarden, a woodland, surrounded by Bassus, War, vii 
 vi, 5. 
 
 Jared, Antiq, i, i, 2 ; c. iii, sect. 2. 
 
 Jason, or Jtsus, .Antiq. xii, v, 1. 
 
 Jason son of Eleazar, .Antiq. xii, x, 6. 
 
 Javan, Antiq. i, vi, 1. 
 
 Ibhar, or Jeban, son of David, Antiq. vii, iii, 3. 
 
 Ibis, an animal in Egypt that desiroys serpents, Antiq. 
 ii, X, 2. 
 
 Ibzan, a judge of Israel, after Jcphlhah, Antiq. v, vii. 
 15, 14. 
 
 Ide, a freed woman, Antiq. xviii, iii, 4 ; she is hanged, 
 ib. 
 
 Idumeans, Antiq. xii, viii, 1 ; War, iv, iv, 1, 4, .5, 6, 7 • 
 and vii, viii, l ; refuse to give the Israelites pa.s-agc, 
 Antiq. iv, iv, 5 ; turn Jews, xiii, ix, 1 ; are but half 
 Jews, xiv, XV, 2 ; Coze their former idol, xv, vii, 9 ; 
 celibrate the Jewish festivals, xvii, x, 2. 
 
 J,.ban, or Ibhar, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii, 3. 
 
 Jeboslhus, or Ishbosheth, .^aul's .son, is made king, 
 .Antiq. vii, i, 3 ; he is treacherously murdered, c. ii. 
 sect. 1. 
 
 Jecoliah, Antiq. ix, x, 3. 
 
 Jedidiah, kinj; Josiah's mother, Antiq. x, iv, 4. 
 
 Jehiel, one of the posterity of Moses, Antiq. vn, xiv 
 10, II. 
 
 Jchoahaz, king of Judah, Antiq. x, v, 2; he dies in 
 Egypt, ib. 
 
 Jehoaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, Antiq. ix, viii, 1 
 
 Jehoash, son of .\haziah. saved, .Antiq. ix, vii, 1 ; ij 
 made king, sect. 2 ; murdered, c. viii, sect 4. 
 
 Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah, king of Judah, Antiq. x, r, 
 
 Jehoiada, Antiq. vii, ii, 2. 
 
 Jehoi.ida, the high-priest, .Antiq. x, viii, 6. 
 
 Jehoiakim, kmg of Judah, .Antiq. x, v, 2; c. vi; he 
 rebels agiinst the labyioniaii.s, e. vi,s«ct. 2; he u 
 slain by .Vebuchadnezzar, and cast out of the g^te 
 of Jeru alem, sect. 3. 
 
 Jeh(madab, an old friend of Jehu, Antiq. ix, vi, 5, 
 
 Jehdiam, king of Judah, .\ntiq. ix, iv, 1, &c. 
 
 Jehoram, kuig of Izrael, .Antiq. ix, ii, 'i; his exped^ 
 (11) 
 
IXDF.X. 
 
 Hon aftahist the Moabltes, c. iii, sect. 1 ; his distem- 
 per and death, c. v, sect. 2, 3; c. vi, sect. 1. 
 
 •Kliosaphat, the son of Ahitiib, Antiq. vii, v, 4. 
 
 Jchosapliat, a pious kins; of Judah, Antiq. viil, xv, 1 ; 
 and IX, i, 1 ; pardoncil for making an alliance with 
 Ahab, ib, ; his tleet broken to pieces, c. i, sect. 4 ; his 
 death, e. 3, sect. 2. 
 
 Jehoshebah, sister of Ahaziah, king of Judah, .-Xntiq. 
 
 IX, vii, 1. 
 
 Jehu, son of Nimshi, Antiq. viii, xiil, 7 ; is made king 
 of Israel, ix, vi, 1, &c. ; his actions, sect. .>, &c. ; he 
 puts Baal's priests to death, sect. G ; he dies, c. viii, 
 sect. 1 . 
 
 Jehu, the prophet, the son of Hannai, Antiq. viii, xii, 
 3. 
 
 Jenae, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii, ". 
 
 Jephtha puts the Ammonites to (light, Antiq. v, vii, 0, 
 10; sacrifices his daughter, (according to the opiifion 
 of Josephus), ib. ; makes a great slaughter among 
 the Epnraimites, sect. 11. 
 
 Jeremiah, the prophet, .'Xntiq. x, v. 1 ; his lamenta- 
 tion upon the death of Jasiafi, ib. ; his prophecy 
 against Jerusalem, c. vi, sect. 2 ; c. vii, sect. 2, 5, 
 6 ; his scribe Baruch, c. vi, sect. 2 ; he is accused and 
 discharged, ib. ; his prophecy read in the temple c:,o 
 his roll burnt, ib. ; his prophecy of the Jews' re.ease 
 from captivity, c. vii, sect. 5; he is put in prison, 
 and thrown into the dungeon, sect. ?, .i; is left with 
 Baruch in Judea, after Zedekiah's captivity, Antiq. 
 
 X, ix, 1. 
 
 Jericho taken, Antiq. v, i, 5 ; its rebuilder cursed, sect. 
 8; it is plundered by the Romans, xiv, xv, 3. 
 
 Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, conspires against. 'Solomon, 
 Antiq. viii, vii, 7; he is made king of the ten tribes, 
 c. viii, sect. 3, &.c. • erects golden calves, sect, iv ; his 
 hand withered, sect. 5 ; his expedition against Abi- 
 jah, c. xi, sect 2; he dies, sect. 4. 
 
 Jeroboam II. the son of Joash king of Israel, Antiq. ix, 
 X, 1 ; he makes war against the Syrians, ib. •. he dies, 
 sect. 3. 
 
 .lerusalem fciken by David, Antiq. vii, iii, I. &c. ; 
 whence that name was ilerived, sect. 2 ; besieged and 
 taken by the Babyloni.ans, x, xii, 4, &e. ; c. viii, sect. 
 2; besieged and taken by Pompey, xlv, iv, 2, &c. ; 
 oy Heroil, .wdSosius, c. xvi, sect- 2, 4 ; by Ptolemy, 
 the son of I.agus, xii, I ; how many times taken, 
 War, vi, X, B; made tributary to the Romans, An- 
 tiq. xiv, iv, 4 ; levelled with the ground. War, vii, 
 i, 1 ; declared holy, inviolable, .-I'nd free, by Deme- 
 trius, king of Syria, Antiq. xiii, ii, 3 ; two citadels 
 therein, xv, vii, 8 ; who first built it, War, vi, x ; si- 
 tuated in the middle of Judea, iii, iii, .5 ; set on fire by 
 the Romans, vi, viii, 5; a fast kept there yearly, 
 Antiq. xiv, xvi, 4 ; as also when itwas taken by Pom- 
 pey, and by Herod, and Sosius, c. iv, sect. 5; c. iv, 
 sect. 3; c. xvi, sect. 4 ; a Jebusite king of Jerusalem, 
 with four others, make war on the Gibconites, v, i, 
 •7 ; they are put to flight by Joshua, ib. ; Jerusalem 
 described. War, v, iv; Agamst A)iion, i, sect. 22. 
 
 Jerushah, Jotham's mother, Antiq. ix, xi, 2. 
 
 Jessai, the son ^.f Achimaaz, Antiq. vii, xii, 2. 
 
 Jesse, the sou of Obed, and father of David, Antiq. vi, 
 viii, 1. 
 
 Jesus Christ, a tcsiimony to him, Antiq. xviii, iii. 
 
 Jesus the son of Phabet deprived of the high priesthood, 
 Antiq. vi, v, 3. 
 
 Jesus, son of Ananus, his ominous clamour, and 
 death. War, vi, v, 3. 
 
 Jesus, or Jason, Antiq. xii, v, 1. 
 
 Jesus, the son of Sapphias, governor of Titx;rias, Life, 
 sect. 12, 27; War, ii, xx, 4. 
 
 Jesus, brother of Ouias, deprived of the high priest- 
 hood by .Antiocbus Kpiphanes, Antiq. xv, iii, 1. 
 
 Jesus, son of Gamaliel, made high priest, Antiq. xx, ix, 
 4. 
 
 Jesus, the eldest priest after Ananus, VVar, iv, iv, 3 ; e. 
 V, sect. 2; his sjicech to the Idumeaus, c. iv, sect. 5. 
 
 Jesus, son of Damneus, made high priest, Antiq. xx, 
 ix, 1. 
 
 Jesus, son of Gamala, Life, sect. 38, 41. 
 
 Jesus, or Joshua, the son of Nun, Antiq. iii, xiv, 4 ; 
 becomes the successor of Moses, iv, vii, 2; commands 
 the Israelites against the Amalekites, iii, ii, 3 ; pro- 
 phecies in the lifetime of Moses, iv, viii, 46; leads 
 the Israelites to the river Jordan, v, i, 1 ; consults 
 about the partition of the land, sect. 20, &c. ; his 
 speech to the two tribes and half, sect. 25; his death, 
 secU 2;i. 
 
 Jesus, son of Saphat, ringleader of the robbers. Life, 
 sect. 22; War, iii, ix, 7. 
 
 Jesus, son of Thebuthiis, a priest. War, vi, viii, 3. 
 
 Jesus, sor of .losedek, Antiq. xi, iii, 10. 
 
 Jethro the Midianite, Antiq. v, ii, 3. 
 
 Jews governed of old by an aristocracy, Ant'q. xiv, v, 
 4; War, i, viii, 5; lewish priesLs careful to marry 
 
 according to their law. Against Apion, i, sect. 7 : fit 
 Alexandria had equal privileges with the Greeks, 
 War, ii, xviii, 7; are in great danger at Antioch, vii, 
 iii, 5; at Ecbatana, near Galilee, Life, sect. 11; are 
 cut oflfat Cesarea, War, ii, xviii, 1; at Scythopolis, 
 sect 3 ; are in factions on account of the lu!»h-priest- 
 hood, .\ntiq. xii, v, 1 : are killed on the Sabbath day, 
 c. vi, sect. 2; Jews beyond Euphrates, xv, iii, 1 ; at 
 Alexandria in Egypt, and C"y|Tus, xiii, x, 4 ; go to 
 war under Alexander the Great, xi, viii, .5 ; arc car- 
 ried into Egypt by Ptolemy Lagi, xii. i, I ; are ba- 
 nished Rome, xviii, iii, Ii; desire to be a Roman 
 province, xvii, xi, 2; are favoured by Seleucus Ni- 
 cator, xii, iii, 1 ; by Vespasian and Titus, sect 1,2; 
 by Marcus Agrippa, sect. 2; by Antiochus, the Great, 
 ib. ; are shut up in the Hippodrome, but afterwardj 
 released, xvii, viii, 2; pray for the welfare of the 
 Spartans, xiii, v, S ; Antiochus, a Jew, accuses his 
 own father at Antioch, War, vii, iii, 3 ; Jews have 
 privileges granted them by the kings of Asia, Antiq. 
 XV, vi, 1 ; Egyptians and Tyrians chiedy hated the 
 Jews, Again.st Apion, i, sect. 13; Demetrius remits 
 them prirt of their tribute, Antiq. xiii, ii, 3; Jews at 
 Alexandria are allowed an ethnarch, or alabarch,xiv, 
 vii, 2 ; arc allov/cd to gather their sacred collcctiona 
 at Rome, c. k, sect. 8 ; enjoy their liberty under the 
 Rom.ans, only are to pay their taxes, xviii, ii, 2 ; 
 are derived from the same origin with the Spartans, 
 xii, iv, 10; have their own laws under Alexander 
 the Great, xi, viii, .') ; are prohibited to meddle with 
 foreign women, xii, iv, f. ; are very tenacious of their 
 own laws. Against Apion, i, sect. 22; their ambassa- 
 dors' place at Rome in the theatre, Antiq. xiv, x, 6; 
 are numerous at Alexandria, c. vii, sect. 2; at Baby- 
 lon, XV, ii, 2; the form of their government, xi, iv, 
 8 ; their quarrel with the Syrians at Ca>sarea about 
 their privileges, xx, viii, 9; their marriages. Against 
 Apion, ii, sect. 24 ; they had a synagogue at Antioch, 
 War, vii, iii, 3; their privileges under the Romans, 
 Antiq. xvi, ii, 4 ; they send an embassy to Ca.'sar, a- 
 gainst Archelaus, xvii, xi, 1 ; the Asiatic Jews send 
 an embassay to Ca?sar, xvi, vi, i ; a great slaughter 
 of Jews, xviii, ix, 9; War, i, xviii, 3, &c. ; and 
 vii, viii, 6; their calamities in Mesopotamia and Ba- 
 bylonia, Antiq. xviii, ix, 1 ; lieginning of the Jewish 
 war, XX. xi, 1 ; antiquity of the Jewish ri es, xv, ii, 
 4 ; towns in Syria, "Phoenicia, and Idumea, belonging 
 to the Jews, xiii, xv, 4. 
 
 Jczabel, Ahab's wife, Antiq. viii, xiii, 4; is torn to 
 pieces by do<TS, ix, vi, 4. 
 
 Jezaniah, Antiq. x, ix, 2. 
 
 Jidlaph, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 
 Images, or brazen oxen, were not lawful to be made by 
 Solomon, in the opinion of Josephus, Antiq. viii, vii, 
 .5 ; images of animals are against the Jewish la%v, xv, 
 viii; c. ix, .sect 5, VVar, i, xxxiii, 2; to set them up, 
 or consecrate them, was forbidJen the Jews, Antiq. 
 iii, vi, 2 ; and xvi, vi, 2. 
 
 Impostors throughout Judea, Antiq. xx, viii, 5. 
 
 liice!ise only to be offered by the posterity of Aaron, 
 .\ntiq. ixi x, 4. 
 
 Infants murdered in EgA'pt, .\ntiq. ii, ix, 2. 
 
 Innocence makes men courageous, Antiq. xii, vii, I. 
 
 Joab, general of David's army, .^ntiq. vii, i, 3 ; takes 
 the citadel of Jeru.'alem, c.'iii, sect. 1 ; conspires with 
 Adonijah, c. xiv, sect. 4, &c. 
 
 Joathau," or Jotham, high priest, Antiq. viii, i, 3 ; and 
 X, viii, 6. 
 
 Joazor, son of Poethus, high priest, .\ntiq. xvii, vi, 4 ; 
 and xviii, i, 1 ; c. 3, sect. 1 ; is deprived by Arche- 
 laus, xvii, xiii, 1 ; and xviii, 2, 1. 
 
 Johanan, the son of Kareah, Antiq. x, ix, 2; he pur- 
 sues after Ishmacl, sect. .5. 
 
 John Hyrcamis. See Hyrcanus. 
 
 John the Baptist, put to 'death by Herod, Antiq. xviii, 
 
 John, the son of Dorcas, War, iv, iii, .'>. 
 
 John, called Gaddis, Jonathan's brother, is killed. An 
 tiq. xiii, i, 2. 
 
 John, son of Levi, rebuilds Gischala, Life, sect. 10; 
 VVar, ii, xx. fi; and vii, viii, i; an enemy to Jose- 
 phus, Life, sect. 13, &c. ; .sect. 25, War, li, xxi, 1 : 
 aims at absolute dominion, iv, iii, 15, c. vii, sect. 
 1. 
 
 John, son of Sosas, War, iv, iv, 2. 
 
 John the Essen, War, ii, xx, 4; ani iii, ii, i. 
 
 John, son of Judas, high priest, Antiq. xi, vii, 1; mur- 
 ders his brother in the temple, sect. 2. 
 
 John, c.iptain of the Idumeans, killed, VVar, v, vi, 6. 
 
 John, son of Eliasib, Antiq. xi, v, 4. 
 
 John, or Johannan, son of Kareah, Antiq. x, xi, 2; 
 pursues after Ishm.ael, sect. 5. 
 
 JoKlan, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Jonariab, Ammon's kinsman, Antiq. vii, viii, 1 ; son ot 
 Sameas. sect, iii ; he kills a giant, c xii, sect. 2 
 '12^ 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Jonas, the propliet, Antiq. Ix, x, 1, &c. 
 Jonathan, son of Ananus, Antiq. xix, vi, 4 ; refuses the 
 high priesthooil, ib. ; his actions, War, ii, xii, 3, 
 &iC. ; he is murciered by the Sicarii, chap, xiii, s. o. 
 Jonathan, called Apphus, the Maocabee, Antiq. xii, vi, 
 1 J he makes a Icji^ue with Antiochus Eupator, War, 
 i, ii, 1; is surprised by Trypho, and killed, ib. 
 Jonathan, son of Saul, beats a garrison of the Philistines, 
 Antiq. vi, vi, 2 ; reconciles Saul to David, c. xi, sect. 
 Si; his conference with David, sect. 27; is slain in 
 battle by the Philistines, Antiq. vi, xiv, 7. 
 Jonathan, a Sadducee, provokes Hyrcanus against the 
 
 Pharisees, .\ntiq. xiii, x, t, 
 Jonathan, a Jew, challenges the Romans to a single 
 combat. War, vi, ii, 1 ; he is killed by Priscus, ib. 
 Jonathan, the son of Abiather, Antiq. vii, Ix, 2. 
 Jonathan, ringleader of the Sicarii, War, vii, xi, 1. 
 Jonathan, the high priest, murdered by the order of 
 
 Felix, Antiq. xx, viii, 5. 
 Jonathan the Maceabee, made commander of the Jews 
 after Judas, Antiq. xiii, i, 1 ; with his brother Si- 
 mon defeats the Nabateans, sect. 4 ; makes peace with 
 Bacchides, sect. 6; restores the divine worship, c. ii, 
 sect 1, &e. ; defeats Demetrius' captains, sect. 7; 
 renews the league with the Romans and Spartans, c. 
 V, sect. 8 ; his letter to the Spartans, ib. ; he is killed 
 by Tr^'pho, c. vi, sect. 5. 
 'oppa, taken by the llomans. War, ii, xviii, 10 ; demo- 
 lished, iii, ix, 2. 
 Joram, high priest, .'\ntiq. x, viii, 6. 
 Jordan, the Israelites [lass over it, Antiq. i, 3. 
 Josedek, high-priest at the ca^)tivity, Antiq. x, viii, C. 
 Joseph, son of Zacharais, Antiq- xh, viii, 6. 
 Joseph, son of Antipater, Antiq. xiv, vii, 2; War, i, 
 
 viii, 9. 
 Joseph Cabi, son of Simon the high-priest, Antiq. xx, 
 
 viii, 11 ; he is deprived, c ix, sect. 1. 
 Joseph, son of Gainus, is made high-priest, Antiq. xx, 
 
 i, 3 ; lie is deprived, e. v, sect. 2. 
 Joseph, calleil Caiaphas, is made high-priest, Antiq. 
 
 xviii. ii, 2; c. iv, sect. 6. 
 Joseph, the son of a female physician, stirs uj) a sedi- 
 tion at Gamala, Life, sect. 37. 
 Joseph, son of Daleus, War, vi, v, 1. 
 Joseph, the son of Ellemus, officiates for Matthias the 
 
 high-priest, Antiq. xvii, vi, 4. 
 Joseph, a relation of ArchelauSj War, ii, v, 2. 
 .loseph, a tiea-fiuer, Antiq. xv, vi, a. 
 Joseph, son of Gorion, War, ii, xx, 3. 
 Joseph, Herod's uncle, Antiq. xv, iii, 5; he marries 
 Salome, Herod's sister. War, 1, xx, 4 ; he discovers 
 his injunction to kill Mariamne, and is put to death, 
 Antiq. XV, iii, 5 ; War, i, xxii, 4. 
 Joseph, Herod's brother, Antiq. xiv, xv, 4; and xviii, 
 V, 4 ; he is sent into Idumea, xiv, xv, 4 ; War, i, 
 xvi, 1 ; his death, Antiq. xiv, xv, 10 ; War, i, xvii, 
 1,2. 
 Joseph, son of Joseph, Herod's brother, Antiq. xviii, v, 
 
 4. 
 Joseph, son of Tobias, reproaches his uncle Onias, 
 Antiq. xii, iv, 2; goes on an embassy to I'tolemy, 
 ib. ; becomes his tax-gatherer, sect. 4 ; goes to .Syria 
 to gather the taxes, sect. 5 ; his wealth and children, 
 sect. 6; begets Hyrcanus on his brother's daughter, 
 ib. ; dies, sect. 10. 
 Joseph, son of Jacob, his dreams, Antiq. ii, ii, 1, he; 
 he is sold to the Ishmaelites, c. iii, sect. 3 ; liis chas- 
 tity, c. iv, sect. 4 ; he is put in prison, c. v, sect. 1 ; 
 he is released, sect. 4 ; he discovers his brethren, c. 
 vi, sect. 2 ; he tries them, c. v, sect. 7 ; he discovers 
 himself to them, sect. 10 ; his death, c. viii, sect. 1. 
 Josephus, son of Mattathias, made governor of Galilee, 
 War, ii, xx. 4 ; his danger at Tarichea?, c. xxi, sect. 
 3 ; he reduces Tiberius by a stratagem, sect. 8, 9 ; is 
 in gieat danger again, v, xiii, 3; his mother lameiits 
 him as dead, ib. ; his speech to the Taricheans, Life, 
 sect. 29; his strat^agems, sect. 30, 52, 41, 4.-5, .il, 58, 
 63; War, iii, vii, 15; he escapes a great danger, 
 Bcct. 29, 30 ; he goes to Tiberias, sect. 5.) ; his won- 
 derful dream, sect. 42 ; he goes to TarichcT, sect. 5 1, 
 59 ; his father put in chains, v, xiii, 1 ; his love to 
 his country, vi, vii, 2; he is betrayed by a woman, 
 iii, vii, 1 ; he surrenders himself to Nicanor, sect. 4 ; 
 his speech to his comjianions, sect. 5 ; he is in danger 
 of his life, sect. 6 ; he advises the casting of lots, sect. 
 7; he is earned to Vespasian, sect. 8 ; his speech to 
 Vespasian, sf et 9 ; he is honoured by Vespasian and 
 Titus, ib. ; Life, sect 75 ; by Domitian and Doniitia, 
 sect. 75 ; he is set at liberty. War, iv, x, 7 ; his speech- 
 es to the Jews, advising tliem to surrender, v, ix, 2; 
 aiidvi, ii, 1 ; he is accused of a conspiracy, vii, xi, 1 ; 
 Titus gives him lands in Judea, Life, sect'.-^S : he had 
 in all three wives, sect. 75 ; Ids children, sect. 75 ; he 
 was greatly skille<l in Hebrew, and Greek learning, An- 
 tiq. XX, xi, 2 ; of the sect ot the Pharisees, Life sect. 
 
 2; he goes to Rome, sect S; he is made governor oi 
 Galilee, sect. 7; frees the Sepphorites from fcir, 
 sect. 8 ; stays in Galilee, sect. 12; his moderation, 
 sect. 15 ; his design in writing the Antiquites, An- 
 tiq. xiv, i, 1; his diligence in writing history, ib. 
 lie promises other works, Antiq. Pref. sect. 4 ; and 
 XX, xi ; and a book of Jewish customs and their rea- 
 sons, iv, viii, 4 ; when he finished the Antiquities, 
 XX, xi, 2; when he was born. Life, sect. 1 ; his con- 
 duct to Galilee, sect S, &c. ; he appeals to Vespasian, 
 Titus, and others, for the truth of his history. Against 
 Apion, i, sect. 9. 
 
 Joshua, the son of Nun. See Jesus. 
 
 Joshua, son of Sie, high priest, Antiq. xvii, xiii, 1. 
 
 Josiah, king of Judah, his piety, Antiq. x, iv, 1 ; his 
 death, c. v, sect. 1. 
 
 Jotapata besieged, taken and demolished, War, iii, vii, 
 3 — 56. 
 
 Jotham, son of Gideon, his parable to the Shechemites, 
 Antiq. v, vii, 2, 
 
 Jotham, king of Judah, Antiq. ix, xi, 2 ; his deatli, e. 
 xii, sect. 1. 
 
 Ireneus the pleader, Antiq. xvii, ix, 4. 
 
 Iron, harder than gold, or silver, or brass, Antiq. x, x. 
 4 ; blunted by slaughter, xiii, xii, 5. 
 
 Isaac, Antiq. i, x, 5. 
 
 Isaiah. See Esaiah. 
 
 Ishbosheth, son of Saul, is made king, Antiq. vii, i, 3 
 he is murdered by tieaehery, c. ii, sect. 1. 
 
 Ishmael, Antiq. i, x, 4. 
 
 Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, murders Gedaliah, the son 
 of Ahikam, Antiq. x, i\, 3, 4. 
 
 Isis, her temple polluted and demolislied, Antiq. xviii, 
 iii, 4. 
 
 Israel, See Jacob. 
 
 Israelites, numbeied, Antiq. iii, xii, 4; and vii, xiii, I , 
 their religious zeal slackened, v, ii, 7; tliey are car- 
 ried captive into Media and Persia, Antiq, ix, xiv, 1. 
 
 Istob, or Ishtob, king, Antiq. vii, vi, 1. 
 
 Isus, high-priest, Antiq. x, viii, 6. 
 
 Uliam.ir, son of Aaron, Antiq. iii, viii, 1 his family, 
 vii, xiv, 7; it loses the high-priesthood, Antiq. viii, 
 i, 3. 
 
 Ithobalus, or Ethba.al, king of Tyre, Antiq. viii, xiii, 
 1,2; Against .Apion, i, sect. 8, 21. 
 
 Juba, king of Lybia, Antiq xvii, xiii, 4. 
 
 Jiibal, .\iitiq. i, ii, 2. 
 
 Jubilee, Antiq. iii, xii, 5. 
 
 Jucundus, one of Herod's life-guards, raises a calumny 
 against ."Mexander, Antiq. xvi, x, 5. 
 
 Jucundus (^milius). War, ii, xix, 7. 
 
 Jucundus, captain of horse. War, ii, xiv, 5. 
 
 Judadas, oi Dedan, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 
 Judea, it begins at Coreae, Antiq. xiv, iii, 4 ; a great 
 earthquate in Judea, xv, v, 2; its fertility. Against 
 Apion, i, sect. 22; contains 3,00", 000 of acres of 
 good land, ib. ; its description. War, iii, iii; length, 
 breadth, and limits, sect. 5 ; but lately known to the 
 CJreeks, Against Apion, i, sect. 12 : when first so 
 called, Antiq. ix, v, 7 ; abounding with pasture, xv, 
 v, 1 ; War, iii, iii, 2; taken from Arche'aus, and an- 
 nexed to .'-yria, .^ntiq. xviii, i, 1 ; parted byGabinius 
 into live jurisdictions, xiv, v, 4 ; entirply subdued 
 and iiacified by Titus, War, vii, x, i ; made tributary 
 to the Romans, Antiq. xiv, iv, 5. 
 
 Judas, the Essen, a prophet, Antiq. xiii, xi, 2 ; War, 
 i, iii, 4. 
 
 Judas, a Galilean or Gaulonite, the author of a fourth 
 sect among the Jews, Antiq. xviii, i, 1, 2, 6 ; and xx, 
 V, 2 ; War, ii, viii, 1. 
 
 Judas, son of Jairus, is slain. War, vii, vi, 5. 
 
 Judas, son of Aminadab, .\ntiq. xi, iv, 2. 
 
 Judas tiie Maceabee, Antiq. xii, vi, 1 ; succeeds Mat- 
 thias his father, sect. 4, War, i, 1, 3; his speech to 
 his men before a battle, Antiq. xii, vii. 3 ; he is vic- 
 tor, sect. 4 ; he comes to Jerusalem, and restores the 
 temple-worship, sect. 6, iSte.; takes vengeance on the 
 Idumeans and others, xii, viii, 1 ; besieges the citadel 
 at Jerusalem, c. ix, sect. 3; is made high priest, c. x, 
 sect. 6; makes an alliance with the "Romans, ib. ; 
 fights Baccliides, c. xi, sect 1 , is killed in the battle, 
 sect. 2. 
 
 Jndas, son of Chapseus, Antiq. xiii, v, J. 
 
 Judas, son of Sariphus, or Sepphoreus, .Antiq. xviii, 
 X, 5 ; War, i, xxxiii, 2. 
 
 Judas, son of Eliasib, high priest, Antiq. xi, vii, 1. 
 
 Judas, son of Ezeehias, ringleader of the robbers, An- 
 tiq. xvii, x, 4 ; War, ii, iv, 1. 
 
 Judges of the Hebrews, single governors, .\nliq. ix, iv. 
 
 Judges at Jerusalem, the .Sanhedrim, Antiq. xi, i, i> 
 Judges of the council in Syria and Phceiiicia, Antiq. xi, 
 ii, 1; seven inferior judges in every city, but an ap- 
 peal from them to the great Sanhedrim at Jerusalcia, 
 Antiq. iv, viii, 14. 
 
 (-13) 
 
INDEX. 
 
 iuelus, hiffh priest, Antiq. x, viii, 5. 
 
 Julia, or Livia, Augustus Caesar's wife, Antiq. xvi, v, 1 ; 
 ami xvii, i, 1. 
 
 Julia, Caius' sister, Antin.xix, iv, 3. 
 
 Julian of Bithynia, a valiant captain. War, vi, i, R. 
 
 Julius Caesar's letter to the Sidonians, with his and other 
 decrees in favour of the Je«"s. See Deerecs. 
 
 Julius Lupus, Antiq. xjx, ii, 4. 
 
 Julias, commander of a Roman legion, Antiq. xv, iii, 
 7. 
 
 Jupiter Hellenius' temple upon Mount Gerizzim, Autici. 
 xii, V, 5. 
 
 Jupiter the conqueror's temple, Antiq. xiv, iv, .i. 
 
 Jupiter Olympius' temple, Agaiust Apion i, sect- 17 ; 
 his statute, Antiq. xiv, i, 1 . 
 
 Justus, son of Josephus, Life, 75. 
 
 Justus of Tiberias, the historian. Life, sect. C.5 ; 
 when thsT publlished his historj'. ib. ; he is'con- 
 demncd Sy Vespasian, but saved by king A^ippa, 
 Life, sect 74. 
 
 Justus, son of Pistus, stirs up sedition. Life, sect. 9 ; 
 his character, ib. 
 
 [zates, son of Queen Helena, embraces the Jewish reli- 
 gion, Antiq. xx, ii, 1,4; is circumcised, sect. 5; con- 
 quers his enemies, c. iv, sect 1, 2; succeeds Mono- 
 bazus, c. 2, sect. 3 ; he dies, c. iv, sect. 5 ; his chil- 
 dren and bretliren are besieged in Jerusalem, War, 
 vi, vi, 4. 
 
 Kareah, .Antiq. x, ix, 1. 
 
 Kemuel, son of Nahor, Antiq. !, vi, 5. 
 
 Kcturah, .Abraham's last wife, .Antiq. i, xv, 1. 
 
 King, his principal qualifications, Antiq. vii, xv, 2; 
 three duties of a good king, piety towards God, jus- 
 tice towards his subjects, and care of the public wel- 
 fare, ix, xi, 2; need not give an accoimt of his ac- 
 tions in the opinion of .Antony, xv, iii, 8; should be 
 eminen'ly good, vi, xiv, 4. 
 
 King Solomon's palace, Aiiliq, vii, v, 1. 
 
 Kings of David's race, how many, Antiq. x, viii, i 
 
 Kingdom, a reward of virtue, Antiq. vi, viii, 1. 
 
 Kitim, Antiq. i, vi, 1. 
 
 Korah, raises a sedition, Antiq. iv, ii, 2; perishes with 
 his followers, c. iii, sect. 3. 
 
 Laban, son of BeOuiel, Antiq. i, vi, 5; his fraud, c. 
 xix, sea. 7- 
 
 Labour, nothing gotten without it, Antiq. iii, ii, 4. 
 
 Laborosoaichod, or Labosordacus, Antiq. x, xi, 2 ; 
 Against Apion, i, sect. 20. 
 
 Lacedemonians derived from Abraham, as well as the 
 Jews, Antiq. xii, iv, 10; and xiii, v, 8. 
 
 Lamech, Antiq. i, ii, 2. 
 
 Language (abusive) not to be punished with death, An- 
 tiq. xiii, x, 6. 
 
 Languages confounded, Antiq. i, iv, ". 
 
 Laodice, queen of the Gileadites, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 4. 
 
 Laodiceans, their letter to Caius Rubilius, in favour of 
 the Jews, Antiq. xiv, x, i'O. 
 
 Lasthenes, aCrctian, Antiq. xiii, iv, 3, 9. 
 
 Laws given the Israelites by Moses upon Mount .Sinai, 
 Antiq. iii. Sec. ; and iv, vifi, 2, iic. ; to be read on 
 the feast of tabernacles, iv, viii, 12; to be learned 
 by children before all things, ib. ; to be written in the 
 niind and memory, ib. : forbid the punishment of 
 children for their parents' crimes, ix, ix, 1 ; for a re- 
 bellious son to be stoned, xvi, xi, 2 ; martial laws, 
 Against Apion, ii, sect. 29 ; the tabl' s of the law, or 
 ten commandments, Antiq. iii, v, 4; law of Moses 
 translated into Greek under Ptolemy Philadclphus, 
 Antiq. Pref. sect. 3; and xii, ii, 2, ■ c. ; law made by 
 Herod to sell thie^ es to foreigners, x\ i, i, 1 ; law car- 
 ried in triumph at Rome, War, vii, v, 5. 
 
 Laws among the Persians left to the interpretation of 
 seven persons, Antiq. xi, vi, 1. 
 
 Leiitulus' decree in favour of the Jews, Antiq. xiv, x, 
 13. 
 
 Lepidus, killed by Caius, Antiq. xix, i, 6. 
 
 Lepidus (Larcius), War, vi, iv, 5. 
 
 Leprous persons, obtain places of honour among several 
 nations, Antiq. iii, xi, 4; are to live out of cities, by 
 the Samaritan and Jewish laws, ix, iv, 5 ; they re- 
 solve in a famine to go over to the enemy, ib. 
 
 Letters of the alphabet, whether brought 'into Greece 
 by Cadmus and the Phcenicians, Agaiust Apion, i, 
 sect. 2. 
 
 Letters of Solomon, and Hiram and the Tyrians, An- 
 tiq. viii, ii, 6, 7; of Xerxes king ot the Persians to 
 K:'.ra xi, v, 1 ; of Artaxerxes to the governors near 
 Jndea, c. vi, sect. 12; of Antioehus the Great to 
 Ptolemv Epiphanes, xii, iii, 3; of the Samaritans to 
 to .Antioehus Theos, e. v, sect, 5 ; of Alexander Ualas 
 to Jonathan, xiii, ii, 2 ; of Oniiis to Ptolemy and Clco- 
 jiitra, c. iii, sect. 1 ; of Ptolemy and Cleopatra to Onias, 
 sect. 2; of Demetrius to Jonathan and the Jews c 
 
 Iv, sect. 9 : of Julius Casar to the Roman magistrate*, 
 
 xiv, X, 2, &c. ; and to the Sidonians, lb.; of .Mark 
 
 Antony to the Tyrians, c. xii, sect. 4, 5. 
 Levites, exempted from military functions, Antiq. iii, 
 
 xii, 4. 
 Lcvitc's concubine abused by the inhabitants of Gi 
 
 beath, Antiq. v, xi, 8. 
 Levitieal tribe consecrated by Moses, Antiq. iii, xi, 1 
 
 their allowance, iv, iv, 3, &c. ; how many cities be- 
 longed to them, ib. 
 Libenus ISIaximiis. governor of Judea, W. r, vi, vi, 6 
 Liberty granted the Jews by Demetrius, Antiq. xiii, ii 
 
 3. 
 Lib/s, .Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 l.originus, a tribune. War, ii, xix, 7- 
 Longinus" bravery. War, v, vii, 3. 
 Longus, a vioknt Roraai>, kills himself. War, vi, iii, 
 
 2. 
 Lot, Antiq. i, vi, 5; c. ix. 
 Lot's wife, Antiq. i, xi, 1. 
 
 Lucilius Bassus takes Macherus, War, vii, vi, 1 — 6. 
 Lucuilus, .\ntiq. xiii, xv, 4. 
 lupus, governor of .Alexandria, War, vii, x, 2. 
 Lupus, Julius, a conspirator, is put to death, Antiq. 
 
 xix, ii, 4, 5. 
 Lycurgus, Against Apion, ii, sect. 31. 
 Lydda burnt. War, ii, xix, 1. 
 Lysanias, son of Ptolemy, is put to death, Antiq. xv, 
 
 iv, 1 ; War, i, xiii, 1. 
 Lysias, commander of Antochiiis' army, .Antiq. xii, vii, 
 
 2, &c. 
 Lysimachus obtains the government of the Hellespoiit, 
 
 after the death of .Alexander, .Aniiq. xii, i. 
 
 Maacah, Rehoboam's wife, .Antiq. viii, x, 1. 
 Maacahah, sou of Nahor, by his concubine Reuma, 
 
 Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 Maaseiah, sou of Ahaz, slain in battle, Antiq. ix, xii, 
 
 1. 
 Maaseiah, governor of the city, .\ntiq. x, »v, 1. 
 Maccabees, their history, Antirj. xii, i, 1, &c. 
 Macedonians, governed by a Roman proconsul. War, 
 
 ii, xvi 4. 
 M-icheras, Antiq. xiv, xv, 7, 10; War, i, xvi, 6, 7; 
 
 c xvii, sect. 1, &c. 
 Macherus, surrenders to Bassus, in order to set Elcazai 
 
 at liberty, War, vii, vi, 4. 
 Machines, or engiiies of the Romans, War, v, vi, 2; 
 
 for easting stones, of how great force. War, iii, vii, 
 
 25. 
 Machir, Antiq. vii, v, 5. 
 Madai, or Mcdes, Antiq. i, vi. 1. 
 Madiaiiites, or Midiauites, bring Israel into subjection, 
 
 Antiq. V, vi, 1 ; Moses makes war upon tlieiu and 
 
 beats them, iv, vii, 1, thiir women seduce the Israel- 
 ites, c. vii, sect. 6 
 Magician, War, ii, xiii, 5. 
 Magiig, .Antiq. i, vi, 1. 
 Mahalaleel, Antiq. i, iii. 2. 
 Mahlon, son of Elimclech, Antiq. v, ix, 1. 
 Malaleei, Antiq. i, iii, 4. 
 .Malehishua, son of Saul, Antiq. vi, xiv, ". 
 Malchus, or .Malichus, king of the Arabians, Antiq. 
 
 xiii, V, 1; xiv, xiv, 1, &c : War, i, xiv, 1. 
 MaU.hus, a Jewish commander, Antiq. xiv, v, ?; War, 
 
 i, viii, 3 ; c xi, sect. 2, &ic. ; he poisons Autipater 
 
 Antiq. xiv, xi, 4 ; lie is a great dissembler, sect. 4, 3 
 
 he is\iiled by a dexioe of Herod, sect. 0. 
 Malthace, Arcliclaus' mother dies, Antiq. xvii, x, 1 , 
 
 she was a Samaritan, and Herod's wife. War, i, xxviii, 
 
 4. 
 Mambres, or Mamre, .Antiq. i, x, 2. 
 Maiiaem, or Manahem, Antiq. ix, xi, 1. 
 Manahem, an Essen, .Antiq. xv, x. 5. 
 Manahem, son of Judas the GaUlean, Life, secL 5 
 
 War, ii, xvii, 8, &c. 
 Manasses, king of Judah, .Antiq. x, iii, 4, &c. he is 
 
 carried into captivity, sect. 2 ; ho is sent back to his 
 
 kingdom and dies, lb. 
 .Manasses, brother of Jaddus, marries the daughter of 
 
 Sanballet, Antiq. xi, vii, 2, ^Ve. ; he is made high- 
 priest among the Samaritans, xii, iv, 1. 
 Maalius (Lucius), son of Lucius, Antiij. xiii, ix, 2. 
 .Manna rained from heaven, Antiq. iii, i, 6 ; the signifi 
 
 cation of the word, ib. ; a sort of m;uuia fell in Aia- 
 
 bia in the days of Josephus, ib. 
 Mamieus, son (if Lazarus, War, v, xiii, 7. 
 Manoaeh, .Antiq. v, viii, 2. 
 Manslaughter, suspected, how purged among the Jews, 
 
 Antiq. iv, viii, 16. 
 Marcellus. .Antiq. xviii, iv, 2. 
 Marcus, or Murcus, president of Syria, after Sextus 
 
 Cassar, .Antiq. xiv, xi, 1, &c; War, i, x, hj, itc. 
 Maria, a noble woman, eats her own Lhild, War. vi 
 
 iii, iv. 
 
 M4l 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Marlamne, Agrippa senior's daughter by Cypres, An- | Minucianiis (Annius), Antiq. xix, i, iii, R, ie. 
 
 tiq. xviii, V, 4; War, ii, xi, 9. 
 Mariarane, or Miriam, Moses' sister dies, Antiq. iv, iv, 
 
 6. 
 Mariamne, is married to Herod, War, 1, xii, 3; she 
 
 grows aiigrv witli Herod. Antiq. xv, viii, 1, &c. ; 
 
 War. i, xxii, 1'; her temper, Antiq. xv, vii, i; she is 
 
 put to death, serf. 4,5; her eulogium, sect. C; her 
 
 s^ms strangled, War, i, xxvii, 6. 
 M.iriamne, daughter of Josephus and Olympias, Antiq. 
 
 xviii, V, 4. 
 Mariamne, daughter of Simon the high-priest. War, i, 
 
 xxviii, 4. 
 Mariamne, daughter of Agrippa senior, married to 
 
 Arehelaus, Anliq. xx, vii, 1 ; divorced, War. ii, vii, 
 
 4 ; afterwards married to Demetrius, Antiq. xx, vii, 
 
 Marion, tyrant of the Tyrians, Antiq. xiv, xii, 1. 
 Marriage of free men with slaves unlawful among tire 
 
 Jews, Antiq. iv, viii, t'3. 
 Marriage contracts, altered by Herod at Antipater's de- 
 sire, Antiq. xvii, i, 2. 
 
 Marsus, president of Syria, Antiq. xix, vi, 4; c. vii, 
 sect, 2; and c. viii, sect. 1. 
 
 Marsyas, freedman of Agrippa, Antiq. xviii, vi, 3, 7, !''• 
 
 MaruUus, master of the horse, Antiq. xviii, vi, 1 •. 
 
 Margenus, Idng of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i. sect. 
 18. 
 
 Mattathias, great grandson of Asmoueus, the father of 
 the .Maccabees, Anti(i, xii, vi, ] ; refuses to offer sa- 
 crifice to an idol, sect. 2 ; jiersuades the .lews to fight 
 on the Sabbath day, ih. ; exhorts his sons to deleud 
 the law, sect. 3 ; lie dies, sect. 4. 
 
 Mattathias, son of Absalom, Antiq. xiii, v, ". 
 
 Matthias, made high-priest, Antiq. xix, vi, 4. 
 
 Matthias Curtus, one of Josephus' ancestors. Life, sect. 
 1. 
 
 Matthias, son of Margalothus or Mar^alus, Antiq. xvii, 
 vi, 2; War, i, xxxiii, 2; he and his partners are 
 burnt akve, Antiq. xvii, vi, 4. 
 
 Matthias, son of Thcopliilus, made high-priest, Antiq. 
 xvii, IV, 2 ; and xx, ix, 7 ; he is deprived, xvii, vi, 
 4. 
 
 Matthias, Josephus' father. Life, sect. 1. 
 
 Matthias, son of Boethius, calls in Simon to his assis- 
 tance, and is afterwards put to death by him, V\'ar, v, 
 xiii, 1. 
 
 Mathusala, Antiq. i, iii, 4. 
 
 Maximus (Liberius), governor of Judea, War, vii, vi, 
 6. 
 
 Maximus (TrebeUius), Antiq. xix, ii, 3. 
 
 Meal, tlie purest used in the Jewish oblations, .\ntiq. iii, 
 ix, 4. 
 
 Megassarus, War, v, xi, f<. 
 
 Meirus, son of Belgas, War, vi, v, 1. 
 
 Mela, an amb-issador of Arehelaus, Antiq. xvi, x, C. 
 
 Malchisedcc, entertains Abram, Antiq. i, x, 2. 
 
 Memucan, one of the seven princes of I'ersia, Antiq. 
 xi, vi, L 
 
 Mencdemus, the philosopher, Antiq. xii, ii, 12. 
 
 Menelaus, or Ouias, Antiq. xii, vi, 1. 
 
 Menes, or Mineus, built Memphis, Antiq. viii, vi, 2. 
 
 Mens lives had been happy, if Adam had not sinned, 
 Antiq. i, i, 4. 
 
 Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, is highly favoured by 
 David, ."Vntiq. vii, v, 5 ; c. xi, sect. 5. 
 
 Mephramuthosis, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. 
 15. 
 
 Mephres, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. 15. 
 
 Meraioth, son of Joatham, Antiq. viii, i, 3. 
 
 Merbalus, iiing of the Tyrians, Against .\pion, i, sect. 
 
 Mes,i, or Mash, Antiq. i, vi, I. 
 
 Mesiia, king of Moab, Antiq. ix, iii, I. 
 
 Mesheeh, or Mosoch, Antq. i, vi, 1. 
 
 >Iesheeh, one of the three lioly cliildren, Antiq. x, x, 
 
 Messalas, Antiq. xiv, xiv, 4. 
 
 Messalina, wife of Ciautlius, Antiq. xx, \ iii, 1 ; War, 
 
 ii, xii, a. 
 MestTffii, or Mitzraim, Egyptians, .\ntiq. i, vi, 2. 
 Metilius, a Koman commander, War, ii, xvii, ID. 
 Micah the prophet, quoted in Jeremiah, Antiq. x, vi, 
 
 Alicaiah, the prophet, Antiq. viii, xiv, 5 ; he is put in 
 
 prison, ib. 
 Mice, spoil the country of Ashdod, Antiq. vi, i, 1 ; five 
 
 golden, mice, sect. 2. 
 ^ Mica, son of Mephibosheth, Antiq. viii, v, 5. 
 
 Michal, Saul's daughter, married to Da\id, Antiq. vi, 
 
 X, 3 ; she saves David's life, c. xi, sect. 4. 
 Midianitcs. See Madianites. 
 Milcah, wife of Nahor, Antiq. i, vi, 5. '^ 
 
 Milk, wiih the firstlings of the flock, offered by Abel, 
 
 Antiq. i, ii, 1. 
 
 Municianus (.Marcus), Antiq. xix, iv. 
 
 Miracles, a foundation of credibility, Antiq. x, it, 1. 
 
 Misael, one of the three holy children, Antiq. x, x, 1. 
 
 Mithridates, Antiq. xi, i, 5. 
 
 Mithridates, king of Pergamus, Antiq. xiv, viii, 1 
 brings succours to Caesar in Egypt, ib. ; War, i ix, 5. 
 
 Mithridates Sinax, king of I'arthia, Antiq. xiii, xiv, 3 
 
 Mithridates, king of Pontus, dies, Antiq. xiv, iii, 4. 
 
 Mithridates, a Parthian, marries king Artaban us' daugh- 
 ter, .\ntiq. xviii, ix, 6 ; he is taken prisoner, by 
 Anileus, ib. ; and set at lihertv, ib. ; his expedition 
 against t!ie Jews, sect. 7; lie routs .■\nileus, ib. 
 
 Mitzraim, Antiq. i, vi, ->. 
 
 Modius, .^Squiculus, Life, sect. 11, 24, 3fi. 
 
 Monobazus, kmg of Adiabene, Antiq. xx. ii, 1 ; War, 
 ii, xix, 2 ; his death, .-\nti([. xx, ii, 3 ; 
 
 Moon, eclipsed, Antiq. xvii, vi, 4 
 
 Moses, his character, Antiq. Pref. sect. 4 ; his birth 
 foretold, ii, ix, 2, 3 ; how born, and saved alive, 
 sect. 4 ; why called Mouses, or Moses, sect. 6 ; A- 
 gaiiist Apion, i, sect. 31; adopted by Thermuthis, 
 Antiq. ii, ix, 7 ; brought up to succeed lier father, 
 ib. ; tiamples the cro n under his feet, ib. ; he is 
 made general of the Egyptian army, and beats tlie 
 Etiiiopians, c. x, sect. 1, &e. ; he marries Tiiarbis, 
 tlie king of Etniojiia's daughter, sect. 2 ; he flies out 
 of Egipt, c. XI, sect. 1 ; lie assists Raguel's daughters 
 against the shepherds, sect. 2 ; sees the burning bush 
 at Sinai, c. xii, sect. 1 ; is appointed to he the deliv- 
 erer of the Israelites, sect. 5 ; he does miracles, and 
 hears the most sacred name of God, sect. 3, 4 ; he re- 
 turns to Egypt, c. xiii, sect. 1 ; he works miracles 
 before Pharoah, sect. 2, &.c. ; he leads the Israelites 
 out of Egypt, c. XV, sect. 1 ; how many was th'.ir 
 numbers, ib. ; how old he was at that time, sect. 2 ; 
 his prayer to God, c. xvi, sect. 1 ; he leads the Israel- 
 ites through the Red Sea, sect. 2; he makes the 
 bitter water sweet, iii, i, 2 ; he procures the Israelites 
 quails and manna, sect. 5, 6 ; c xiii, he brings wa- 
 ter out of tlie rock, c. i, sect. 7 ; he beats the .li" male- 
 kites, c. iii, sect. 4 ; he brings to the pec. pie the 
 tables of the covenant, c. v, sect. 8; he stays forty 
 days upon Mount Sinai, ib. ; his so long stay causes 
 great doubts and uneasinessamong tlie people,' sect. 7 ; 
 he confers the priesthood on Aaron, c. viii, sect. 1 ; 
 offers sacrifices at the tabeniacle, sect. 6, 10 ; receives 
 laws and commands at the tabernacle, sect. 10 ; con- 
 secrates to God the tribe of Levi, c. xi, sect. I, &c. ; 
 numbers the peoide, c. xii, sect. 4 ; gives orners for 
 their marching, ib. &c. ; sends spies to search the 
 land of Cannan, e. xiv, sect. 1, &c; quells the faction 
 of Corah, iv, ii, 5, &.c. ; his justice, c. ni, sect. 1 ; 
 his jirayer to God, sect. 2; he cleanses the people, c. 
 iv, sect, (i; he destroys Sihon and Og, c. v, sect. 3; 
 he defeats ihe kings of Midian, e. vii, sect. 1 ; he ap- 
 points Joshua to be his suceesuor, sect. 2; his predic- 
 tions before his death, c. viii, sect, 2 ; his song in 
 hexameter verse, sect 44 ; a recapitulation of his 
 laws, c. vii, he binds the Israelites by an oath to <jI> 
 serve them, sect. 45 ; he blesses Joshua, and exhorts 
 him to lead the Israelites courageously into the land 
 of Cannan, sect 47 ; he is suiToiuided with a elouil, 
 and dissappears, sect. 48 ; his deaih greatly lameiited 
 by the jieople for thirtv days, sect. 4y ; he is scandaliz- 
 ed, as afflicted with the leprosy, li:, xi, 4; his great 
 authority, c. xv, sect. 3 ; his books laid up in the tem- 
 ple, x, iv, 2; what (hey eoiilam, Against Anion, i, 
 sect. 8 ; called by Manetho, (.Isursii h, priest of Osiris 
 of Hehopolis, sect. 26 ; allowed by tlie I-Vviitians to 
 lie a divine man, sect. 51 ; the ages in wlueh he lived, 
 ii, sect. 15 ; his virtue and great actions, sect. 15, 16 ; 
 his posterity honoured bv David, .-^utiq. vii, xv, 7. 
 Mosoch, or Me.icch, Anticj.' i, vi, 1. 
 Muciauus, president of Syria, .-Vntiq. xii, iii, 1 ; War, 
 iv, i, 5 ; c. ix, sect. 2 ; c. x, sect. 6, 7 ; and c. xi, sect. 1. 
 Mule, the king's mule, Antiq. vii, xiv, 5. 
 Muiidus ( Deeius), ravishes Paulina, tlic wife of Satur- 
 
 ninus, ,\ntiq xviii, iii, i; 
 Murcus. Sec Marcus. 
 Musical instruments of Ihe Jews, the Cynara Naola, 
 
 and Cymbalum, described, .Vatiq. vii, xii, 5, 
 Mysian war, War, vii, iv, 5. 
 Mytgonus, king of Tyre, Against Apion, i, sect. 21. 
 
 Naamah, an .Animonitess, the mother of Relioboam, 
 Anti(|. viii, viii, 1. 
 
 Naamah, dauglster of Lamee'h. Antiq. i, ii, 2. 
 
 Naash, or NaTiash, king of the .Ammonites, Antiq. vii, 
 vi, 1 ; his war against the Israelites, vi, v, 1. 
 
 Nabal, a foolish man, Antiq. vi, xiii, C. 
 
 Naboandelus, or Nabonadius, or Ualr.-jiar, king of Ba- 
 bylon, Antiq. X, xi, 2; .\gainst Ai>ioii, i, sect. 20. 
 
 Nabol.tssar, or Nabopollassar, king of Babj ion. Against 
 4pion, i, sect. 19- 
 
 (\5) 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ("faboth, Antiq. viii, xiii, 8. 
 
 Nebuchoilonosor, or Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
 Against Apion, i, sect. 19; he conquers a great part 
 of Syria, Antiq. x, vi, 1 ; he lays a tax upon the 
 Jews, ib. ; he takes and sacks Jerusalem, e. vi, sect. 
 3; and c. viii, sect. 1, &c. ; his famous dream or 
 vision, c. 11) ; sect. 3, &c. ; his golden image, sect. 5 ; 
 lie lives among the beasts of the tiekl, sect. G ; he dies, 
 c. xi, sect. 1. 
 
 Nabuzardan, or Ncbuzurdan, plunders and bums the 
 temple, Anti(|. x, viii, 5 ; his other memorable ac- 
 tions, c. ix, sect. i. 
 
 Nacebus, captain of the Arabians, Antiq. xvi, ix, 2 ; c. 
 X, sect. 8. 
 
 Nachor, or Nahor, Antiq. i, vi, 3. 
 
 Nadab, son of Aaron, Antiq. iii, viii, 1, 7. 
 
 Nadab, king of Israel after Jeroboam, Antiii. viii, xi, 
 4. 
 
 Nahum the prophet, Antiq. ix, xi, 3 ; his prophecy 
 concerning Nineveh, ib. 
 
 N^aomi, Elimelech's wife, Antiq. v, ix, 1. 
 
 N'athan, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii, 3. 
 
 Nathan the prophet, Antiq. vii, iv, 4; c. vii, sect. 3, 
 c. xiv, sect. 4. 
 
 Nations dispersed, Antiq. i, v, 1 ; called by new names 
 by the Greeks, ib. 
 
 Nazarites, Antiq. iv, iv, 4; and xix, vi, 1. 
 
 Neapolitans, Life, sect. 24, iv; War, ii, xvi, 2. 
 
 Nechao, or Necho, king of Eg^'pt, Antiq. x, vi, 1 ; lie 
 is conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, it). 
 
 Nehemiah, Antiq. xi, v, 6; his love to his country, ib. ; 
 he exhorts the people to rebuild the walls of Jeru- 
 salem, sect. 7 ; his death and eulogium, sect. 8. 
 
 Nehushta, mother of Jehoiachin, Antiq. x, vi, 5. 
 
 Nephan, or lilhanan, Antiq. vii, xii, 2. 
 
 Nergal-sharezer, .\ntiq. x, viii, i>. 
 
 Neriah, high-priest, Antiq. x, viii, 6. 
 
 Neriglissor, king of Babylon, Against Apion, i, sect. 20. 
 
 Nero, made emperor, Antiq. xx, viii, 2; War, ii, xii, 
 8 ; a most cruel tyrant, Antiq. xx, viii, 2 ; his violent 
 death, War, iv, ix, 2. 
 
 Netir, a Galilean, War, iii, vii, 21. 
 
 Nicanor, Antiq. xii, ii, 11; c. v, sect. 5; War, iii, viii, 
 2, &c. ; sent by Demetrius, against Judas, Antiq. xii, 
 X, 4 ; defeated and killoi!, sect. .5. 
 
 Nicanor, a friend of Titus, wounded with an arrow. 
 War, v, vi, 2. 
 
 N'ieaso, married to Manasses, .\ntiq xi, vii, 2. 
 
 Nicause, or Nitocris, queen of Egypt. Antiq. viii, vi, 
 2. 
 
 Niceteria, or festival for the victory over Nicanor, An- 
 tiq. xii, X, 5. 
 
 Nico, (the conqueror), the name of the principal Ro- 
 man battcring-ram. War, v, vii, 2. 
 
 Nieolaus of Damascus, the Jews* advocate, Antiq. xii, 
 iii, 2 ; and xvi, ii, 2 ; he is sent to Herod by Augus- 
 tus, c. ix, sect. 4 ; his speech before Augustus in fa- 
 vour of Arehelaus, xvii, ix, 6; c. xi, sect, 5; War, 
 ii, ii, 6; he exaggerates, Antipater's crimes, xvii, v, 
 4; War, i, xxxii, 4; his brother Ptolemy, ii, ii, 3. 
 
 Niger of Perea, War, ii, xix, 2; e. xx, sect. 4 ; and 
 iii, ii, 1 ; and iv, vi, 5 ; his wonderful escape, iii, ii, 
 5. 
 
 N'glissar, Antiq. x, xi, 2. 
 
 Nimrod, or Ncbrodes, Antiq. i, iv, 2, &c. 
 
 Nisroch, or Araske, a temple at Nineveh, Antiq. x, i, 
 
 Noe, or Noah, Antiq. i, iii, 1 ; he is saved in tJie ark, 
 sect. 2 ; invocates God after the deluge, s*et. 7 ; Cod 
 answers his prayer, sect, b; laws given to him, ib. ; 
 he is overtaken with wine, c. vi, sect. 5 ; his genea- 
 logy, c. iii, sect. '.' ; his death, sect. y. 
 
 Noinus, of Heliopolis, 180 furlongs from Memphis, 
 War, vii, x, 8. 
 
 Norbanus Flaccus* letter to the Sardinians, in behalf of 
 the Jews, Antiq. xvi, vi, 6. 
 
 Norbanus (another person) slain, Antiq. xix, i, 15. 
 
 Numeuius, sou of Antiochus, Antiq. xiii, v, s. 
 
 Oaths prevails with Saul above natural aflection, An- 
 tiq. VI, vi, 4. 
 
 Obadiah, a protector of the true prophets, Antiq. viii, 
 xiii, 4, &c. 
 
 Obedience to be learned before men iinncrtake govern- 
 ment, Antiq. iv, viii, 2. 
 
 Obodas, king of (he Aianians, Antiq. xiii, xiii, ,'>. 
 
 Octavio, daughter of Claudius, N\'ar, ii, xii, 8. 
 
 Odeas, high-priest, Antiq. x, viii, 3. 
 
 Oded the prophet, Antiq. ix, xii, 2. 
 
 Ug, king of Bashan, Antiq. iv, v, 3 ; his iron ben, ib. 
 
 Oil used in the Jewish oblations, Antiq. iii, ix, 4; oil 
 consumed by the seditious. War, ii, xiii, C; oil pre- 
 pared by foreigners not used by the Jews; Antiq. 
 xii, iii, 1 ; War, ii, xxi, 2. 
 
 Olyrapias, Herod's daughter by Malthace, a Samaritan, 
 
 Antiq. xvii, i, 3 ; she is married to Joseph, the son ul 
 
 Herod's brother. War, i, xxviii, 1. 
 01ym))ius Jupiter's image, Antiq. xix, i, 1, 2. 
 Olympus sent to Rome, Antiq. xvi, x, 1,9; War, i, 
 
 xxvii, 1. 
 Omri, king of Israel, Antiq. viii, xii, .5. 
 On, the son of Peleth, Antiq. iv, ii, 1. 
 Onias, son of Jaddus, succeeds in the high-pri<rst-hood, 
 
 Antiq. xi, viii, 7- 
 Onias, the son of Simon, made high-priest, Antiq. xii, 
 
 iv, 1 ; causes great troublcb, sect. 1 1. 
 Onias, brother of Jesus, or Jason, made high-priest, 
 
 Antiq. xii, iv, 1. 
 Onias and Dositheus, two Jewish captains, saved Egypt 
 
 from ruin. Against Apion, ii, sect. .5 
 Onias, son of Onias, flies into Egypt, and there desire* 
 
 to build a Jewish temple, Antiq. xiii, iii, 1, .) ; War, 
 
 i, i, 1 ; and vii, x, 5 ; his letter to Ptolemy and 
 
 Cleopatra, Antiq xiii, iii, 1 ; their answer, sect. 2 ; 
 
 he builds the temple Onion, sect. 3; that temple is 
 
 shut up, War, vii, x, 4. 
 Onias, a just man, procures rain in a famine by his 
 
 pravers, .'\ntiq. xiv, ii, 1 ; he is stoned to death, ib. 
 Ophellius, Antiq. xiv, xiii, 5 ; War, i, xiii, b. 
 Ophir, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 
 Opobalsamum, Antiq. viii, vi, 6 ; anil xiv, iv, 1. 
 Oracles of the prophets, concerning the destruction of 
 
 Jerusalem, War, iv, vi, 3; c. x, sect. 7; and vi, ii, 
 
 1 ; concerning a great prince to arise in Judea, e. v, 
 
 sect. 4. 
 Oieb, a king of Median, Antiq. v, vi, 5. 
 Orodes, Antii]. xviii, ii, 4. 
 Oronna, or Aruanah, the Jebusite, .-\ntiq. vii, iii, 3 ; 
 
 his thrashing floor, c. xiii, sect. 4 ; where ls.Tac was 
 
 to be offered, and the temple was afterwards built, 
 
 ib. 
 Oqiah, Antiq. v, ix, 1. 
 
 Orus, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. Ifi. 
 Clsaisiph (for Moses), a prie.st at Heliopolis, Against 
 
 Apion, i, sect. 28, .31. 
 Otho made emperor. War, iv, ix, 2 ; he kills himself, 
 
 sect. 9. 
 Oxen, brazen, the Jews forbidden to make them, An- 
 tiq. \iii, vii, o. 
 
 Paconis, king of Media, Antiq. xx, iii, 4 ; rrdcems 
 his wife and concubines from the Ahms, Wat, xii, 
 vii, 4. 
 
 Pacorus, the king of Parthia's son gets possession of 
 Syria, Antiq. xiv, xiii, 5 ; lays a plot to catch II yr- 
 canus and Phasaelus, sect, .t ; marches against the 
 Jews, War, i, xiii, 1 ; he is admitted into Jerusalem, 
 sect. 5; is slain in battle, Antiq. xiv, xv, 7. 
 
 Paitus (Ca;scnniu5), president of Syria, War, vii, vii, 1 
 his expedition into Commagena, ib. 
 
 PageanU, or Pcgmata, at Titus' triumph, War, vii, v. 
 
 Palace at Rome, Antiq. xix, iii, 2. 
 
 Pallas, Herod's wife, Antiq. xvu, i, 3 ; War, i, xxviii, 
 4. 
 
 Pallas, Felix's brother, Antiq. xx, viii, 9; War, ii, xii, 
 8. 
 
 Palm trees at Jericho, very famous, Antiq. ix, i, 2 ; 
 and xiv, iv, 1. 
 
 Pannycliis, the concubine of .Archtlaus, War, i, xxv, H. 
 
 Papiiiius, Ai>tiq. xix, i, f; 4. 
 
 Pappus is sent uito Samaria by Antigonus, Antiq. xiv, 
 XV, 1.'; War, i, xvii, 5. 
 
 I\aradise described, .\ntiq. i, i, 3; a pensile paradise, 
 or garden at Babylon, Against Apion, i, sect. 19. 
 
 Parents' good deeds are advantageous to their children, 
 Antiq. viii, xi, 2; how to be honoured by the law of 
 Moses, Against Apion, sect. 27. 
 
 Parlhians possess themselves of Syria, and endeavour 
 to settle Antigonus in Judea, War, i, xiii, 1, &c. ; 
 their expedition into Judea, Antiq. xiv, xiii, 5 ; they 
 besieged Jerusalem, ib. they take the city and temple, 
 sect. 4; their perfidiousness, sect. 4, 6; War, i, xiii, 
 S, &c. 
 
 Passover, a Jewish festival, Antiq. ii, xiv, 6; and iii, 
 X, 5; and xiv, ii, 1 ; and xiv, ix, 3; the manner rtf 
 its celebration. War, vi, ix, iii ; called the feast of 
 unleavened bread, Antiq. xiv, ii, 1 ; and xvii, ix, 3; 
 War, V, iii, 1 ; on the fourteenth day of Nisan, An- 
 liq. xi, 4, 8; War, v, iii, 1; very numerous sacrifices 
 then offered, and vast numbers come up to it, Antiq. 
 xvii, ix, 3; War, ii, i, 2 ; from the nintljhour to the 
 eleventh, and not less than ten to one psjsclial lamb, 
 vi, ix, 3 ; number of paschal lambs in the days of 
 Cestius, 250, 500, ib. 
 
 Paulina ravished by Mundus, .Antiq. xviii, iii, 4. 
 
 Paulinus, a tribune. War, iii, viii, I. 
 
 Paulinus succeeds Lupus as governor of Alcxandiia, 
 W.ir, vii, X, 5 ; he plunders and shuts up the tcn^pl* 
 Union, ib. 
 
 Hfii 
 
J' 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pausaiiia^, son of C'erastps, miituers millip king of 
 
 Macedon, Antni. i, viii, 1. 
 Peace aiui good laws the greatest blessings, Antiq. vii, 
 
 xiv, 2. 
 Peace, as a goddess, has a temiJe at Home, War, vii, 
 
 V, 7, 3; e. vi, sect. t\. 
 Pedaiiius, War, i, xxvii, ■_' ; and vi, ii, s. 
 Pcliali slays Pekahiah, aiid succeeds him, Antiq. Ix, xi, 
 
 1 ; he (lefeats the king of .ludah, c. xii, sett. 1) he is 
 
 slain by Hoshca, e. xiii, sect. 1. 
 Pekaiah, king of Israel, Antiq. ix, xi, I. 
 Pelcg, Antiq. i, vi, 4. 
 Peiiiunah, Aiitiq. v, x, -. 
 Pentecost, a Jewish festival, Antiq. iii, x, 6; and xvii, 
 
 X, ii, whence it had that name. War, ii, iii, 1 ; vast 
 
 numbers came to it, ib. ; the priests then attended 
 
 the temple in the night, vi, v, 3; the Jews did not 
 
 then take journeys, Anti(i. xiii, viii, 4. 
 Perca, entirely subdued by the Ilomans, War, iv, vii, 
 
 5, 5. 
 Pergamen's decree in favour of the Jews, Antiii. xiv, x, 
 
 Perjury supposed by soine not dangerous, if done by 
 necessity, Antiq. v, ii, 12; dreaded by Joshua and 
 the elders, e. i, secL IC; dreaded also by the peojjle, 
 c. ii, sect. xii. 
 
 Persians, their seven principal families, Antiq. xi, iii, 
 1 ; their king is watch(xl during his sleej), sect. 4 ; 
 their law forbade strangers to see their king's wives, 
 0. vi, sect. 1 ; seven men were the interpreters of their 
 laws, ib. ; their royal robes, sect. 9. 
 
 Pestilence. See Plajjiie. 
 
 Pestilius C'erealis, the proconsul, reduces the Germans, 
 War, vii, iv, t'. 
 
 Petina, the wife of Claudius, Antiq. xx, viii, 1 ; War, 
 ii, xii, 8. 
 
 Petronius, go%'ernor of Egypt, Antiq. xv, ix, 2; he 
 supplies Herod with corn in time of famine, ib. 
 
 Petronius (Publius), is made president of Syria, Antiq. 
 xviii, vii, 2 ; is sent with an army to Jerusalem by 
 Caius, to set up his statues in the temple, c. ix, sect. 
 2, &c ; War, ii, x, 1 ; his endeavours to prevent it, 
 and to save the Jews, with his and their wonderful 
 deliverance, ib. ; his edict against the Dorites, Antiq. 
 xix, vi, 5. 
 
 Phfcdra, Hermi's wife, Antiq. xvii, i, 3. 
 
 Phalian, .Vntipater's brother, Antiq. xiv, ii, 3; War, I, 
 vi, 3. 
 
 Phalan, David's son, Antiq. vii, iii, 3. 
 
 Phalti, sun of Laish, Antiq. vi, xiii, S; and vii, i, 4. 
 
 Phannius, son of Samuel," made high-priest. War, iv, 
 iii, 8. 
 
 Pharaoh, denoted king in the Eg>qitian tongue, Antiq. 
 vi, viii, i.'. 
 
 Pharisees, a sect among the Jews, Antiq. xiii, x, 5 ; and 
 • xviii, i, 2; War, i, v,2; they envy Hyrcanus, An- 
 tiq. xiii, X, 5 ; were opposite to the Sadducees in their 
 principles, sect, ti; their great authority, xvii, ii, 4; 
 especially in the reign of queen Alexandra, xiii, xvi, 
 2; War, i, v, 2; which lasted nine yearn, sect. 4; 
 they refuse the oaths of allegiance to Ccesar and He- 
 xoA, Antiq. xvii, ii, 4; they are fined for it, ib. ; 
 their unwritten traditions, xiii, v, 9 ; c. x, sect. 6 ; 
 their moderation in inflicting punishments, the com- 
 mon people side with them, ib. ; they are most skil- 
 ful in the knowledge of the law. Life, sect. 58. 
 
 Phamaccs, son of Mithridates, Antiq. xiv, iii, 4. 
 
 Phasaelus, son of Antipater, .\ntiq siv, vii, 3; and 
 xvii, i, 3; War, i, viii, 8; his death, Antiq. xiv, 
 xiii, 10; and xv, ii, 1 ; War, i, xiii. Hi. 
 
 Phasaelus, son of Herod, .Vntiq. xvii, i, 5. 
 
 I'lieldas, Antiq, i, vi, 5. 
 
 Pheles, king of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i, sei't. 18. 
 
 Pheroras, Antipatcr's son by Cypres, Antici. xiv, vii, 
 3; War, i, viii, 9; hates Salome's children, Antiq. 
 xvi, vii, 3 ; War, i, xxiv, .5 ; makes Alexander je.ilous 
 of his wife Glaphyra, with Herod his father, Antiq. 
 xvi, vii, 4 ; provokes Herod to anger, c. vii, sect. 5 ; 
 lays the blame upon Salome, c. vii, sect. 5 ; enters 
 into friendship with Antipater, xvii, ii, 4; is hated 
 by Herod, c. iii, sect. 1 ; is ordered to retire to his 
 tetrarchy, sect. 3. 
 
 Pheroras* wife pays the fine laid ujwn the Pharisees, 
 Antiq, xvii, ii, 4 ; she associates with the other court 
 ladies, ib. ; War, i, xxix, i ; Pheroras' freedmen 
 charge her with getting poison, Antiq. xvii, iv, 1 ; 
 she tiirows herself down stairs, sect. 2 ; War, i, xxx, 
 h ; her confes.sion, Antiq. xvii, iv, 2. 
 
 Phideas, the high-priest, .\ntiq. x, viii, fi. 
 
 Philadelplius (Ptolemy), his skill and industry alxmt 
 meehunic arts, Antiq. xiii, ii, 7 ; he proposes i)ro- 
 blems to the seventy -two interpreters, sect. 11 ; he 
 procures the seventy-two interpreters to traiiSiate the 
 law, c ii, sect. 1 — 11. 
 
 Philip, llurod's son bv Cleopatra, Antiq. xvii, i, 3; c. 
 
 li, 9eet. 2; c. iv, sect. 3; War, I, xxviii. 4 ; c. xxxli, 
 sect, i, brother of Archelaus, ii, vi, 3 ; what Hcrnt 
 left him by his will, Antiq. xvii, viii, i ; what Caisar 
 gave him, c. xi, sect. 4 ; tetrarch of Gaul.mitis, and 
 Trachonitis, and Paneas, e. viii, sect. 1 ; e. ix, sect. 
 1; he dies, xviii, iv, 6 ; his eulogium, ib. 
 
 Philip, a Galilean, War, iii, vii, 21. 
 
 Philip, son of Jaeimus, Antiq. xvii, ii. 7, • !,i{e, sect. 
 1 1, 3G ; War, ii, xvii, 4 ; e. xx, sect. i. 
 
 Philip made regent of Syria during the minority of 
 Eupator, Anti(i. xii, ix, 2. 
 
 Philip, king of Syria, Antiq. xiii, iii, 4 ; c. xiv, sect .i. 
 
 Philip, king of .Macedon, is slain, Antiq xi, viii, 1. 
 
 Philipion, son of Ptolemy, nianies Alexandra, the 
 daughter of Aristobulus, Antiq. xiv, vii, 4 ; he is 
 killed by his father, ib. ; War, i, ix, 2. 
 
 I'hiiistines, their chief towns Gaita, Accaron, or Ekron, 
 Askelon, Gath, and Azotus, or Ashdod, Antiq. vi, i, 
 2 ; c. xiii, sect. 10. 
 
 Philo, chief deputy of the Jews, to Caius, Antiq. xviii, 
 viii, 1. 
 
 Philosophy of the Jews, contained in the books of their 
 law. Against .\pion, ii, sect. 4. 
 
 Philostcplianus, Antiq. xiii, xii, 5. 
 
 Phineas, son of Clusothus, War, iv, iv, 2. 
 
 Piiineas, son of Eleazar, slays Zimri and Cosbi, .Antiq. 
 iv, vi, 12; leads the Israelites against the MidianitGs, 
 c. vii, sect. 1 ; his spcecli to the Jews beyond Jordan, 
 V, i, 26 ; he is made high priest, sect. 29 ; the high 
 priesthood returns to his family, .\ntiq. viii, i, 3. 
 
 Phineas, son of Eli, Antiq. v, x, 1 ; he officiates iis high 
 priest, c. xi, sect. 2 ; he is slain, ib. 
 
 Phraates, king of the Parthians, Antiq. xv, ii, 2; his 
 death, xviii, ii, 4. 
 
 Phraataees, the son of Phra.ites, Antiq. xviii, ii, 4. 
 
 Phul, or Pul, king of Assyria, .4ntiq. ix, xi, I. 
 
 Phurini, or Purim, a Jewish festival, xi, vi, 15. 
 
 Phut the planter of Libya, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 
 Pilate (Pontius), the procurator of Judea, occasions tu- 
 mults among the Jews, Antiq. xviii, iii, 1 ; causes 
 a great slaughter of tliem, sect. 1, War, ii, ix, 4; 
 and of the Samaritans, Antiq. xviii, iv, 1; he is ac- 
 cused for it, and sent to Rome, sect. 2. 
 
 Pildash, Antiq. i, vi, 3. 
 
 Pillars, erected hy the children of Seth, in the land of 
 Seriad, Antiq. i, ii, 5 ; pillars of theCorinthi.an order 
 m Solomon's palace, viii, v, 2 ; in Herod's temple, 
 W.ar, V, v, 2. 
 
 Pisi), governor of Rome, Antiq, xviii, vi, 5. 
 
 Pitholaiis, Antiq. xiv, vi, 1 ; c. vii, sect. 3 ; War. i. viii. 
 3, 6, 9. 
 
 Placidus' skirmi«,hes with Josephus, Life, sect. 43, 74 ; 
 his other actions. War, iii, vi, 1 ; c vii, sect. 5, 54. 
 and iv, i, 3 ; c. vji, sect. 4. 
 
 Plague, or pestilence, rages among the Israelites, An- 
 tiq. xii. xi, 5 ; it ceases upon David's repentance, c. 
 xiii, sect. 4 ; another pestilence in Judea, xv, vii, 7. 
 
 Plato, Against Apion, ii, sect. 51 ; he excludes the poets 
 from his eonunonwealth, sect. 36. 
 
 Polemo, king of Cilieia, Antiq. xx, vii, 5. 
 
 Polemo, king of Pontus, Antiq. xix, viii, 1. 
 
 Polity of the Jews after the captivity, Antiq. xi, iv, 8. 
 
 Pollio, a Pharisee, Antiq. xv, i, I. 
 
 Pollio, a Roman, Anti;(. xv, x, I. 
 
 Pompedius, Antiq. xix, i, .5. 
 
 Pompey the Great, goes through SyTia to Dama.sous, 
 Antiq. XIV, iii, 1 ; V\'ar, i, vi, 4 ; and to Jerusalem, 
 Antiq. xiv, iv, 1 ; War, i, vii. I ; the city deliveretl 
 up to him, Antiq. xiv, iv, 2 ; he takes the temjile by 
 force, and kills abundance of the Jews, e. iv, sect. 2, 
 3, 4 ; War, i, vii, 4, &c. ; the Jews send him a gol- 
 den vine, Antiq. xiv, iii, 1 ; he goes into the holy oi 
 holies, a iv, sect. 4; War, i, vii, G; meddles with 
 nothing in the temple, ib. ; he hears the cause between 
 Hyrcanus ai;d Aristobulus, Antiq. xiv, iii, 2; deter- 
 mines it ill favour of Hyrcanus, and makes war upon 
 .'\ristolmlus, sect. 3, &e. ; he flies into Epirus, c. viii 
 sect. 4. 
 
 Pontius Pilate. See I'ilate. 
 
 Poplas, War, ii, ii, 1. 
 
 Popea, Nero's wife, Antiq. xx, vii, 1 1 ; c. xi, sect I ; 
 Life, sect. 5 ; a religious lady, and favourer of the 
 Jews, Antiq. xx. viii, 11. 
 
 Porcius Festus. See Festus. 
 
 Present things, queen Alexandra's care, more than fu- 
 ture, Antiq. xiii, .\vi, 6. 
 
 Presents sent to Joseph in Egvpt, .Antiq. ii, vi, 5. 
 
 Priests, if maime<l, are excluded frotn the altar and tem- 
 ple, Antiq. iii, xii, 2; .Against Apion, i, sect. 31 j 
 are not to marry several sorts of women, Antiq. iii, 
 xii, 2; .Against Apion, i, sect. 7; washed their hamU 
 and feet before they went to minister, iii, (1,2; suc- 
 ceed oue another ai-cording to their eouises, .Vgainst 
 Apion, 2, sect. H ; their allowances, Antiq. iii, ix ; 
 and iv, iv, 3; their courses in number tweiitj-four. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 vO, xiv, 7; Against Apinn, ii, sect. 7; are very nu- 
 merous, ib. ; two families from Aaron's two sons, 
 Antiq. v, vi, 5 ; th ir oliices and employments, 
 Against Apion, ii, sect. 7, 21, 2i!, 2."! ; their sacred 
 garments, Antiq. iii, vii, I, &c. ; VVar, v, v, 7 ; 
 priests and Levites exempted from taxes by Xerxes, 
 Antiq xi, v, 1 ; have places of the greatest trust com- 
 mitted to them, Against Apion, ii, sect. 18; none but 
 priests of the posterity of Aaron, mighl burn incense 
 at the temple, Antiq. ix, x, 4 ; not to drink wine in 
 their sacred garments, iii, xii, 2 ; priesthood a maik 
 of nobility among the Jews, Life, sect. 1. 
 
 Priests among the Egyptians, only kept their lands in 
 the days of Joseph, Antiq. ii, vii, I. 
 
 Priesthood, high, translated from one family to another, 
 Antiq. V, xi, .5 ; of Onias, at Heliopolis, xii, ix, 7; 
 and xiii, x, 4 ; and xx, x, 1 ; vacant at Jerusalem for 
 four years, xiii, ii, 3; during life, excepting under 
 Antiochus Kpiphanes, Aristobulus and Herod, xv, iii, 
 1 ; taken from Jesus, and given to Simon by Herod, 
 c. ix, sect. 5 ; settled upon the family of Aaron, ori- 
 ginally, XX, X, 1. 
 
 Priest, high, not to be the son of a captive woman, An- 
 tiq. xiii, X, .5; high priests went into the temple to 
 otticiate on Sabbath-uays, new moons, and festivals, 
 VVar, xii, vil, 3 ; were to marry a virgin, and not 
 to touch a dead body, Antiq. iii, xii, 2; the high 
 priest desired by Said to prophecy for him, vi, vi, 4 ; 
 nigh priests, with the prophets and sanhedrim, were 
 to determine difficult causes, iv, viii, 14; several 
 high-priests at the same time in latter ages. War, iv, 
 iii, 7; and V, xiii, 1; and vi, ii, 2; to succeed by 
 birth. Against Apion, ii, sect. 23 ; elected by lot 
 among the seditious, Antiq. iv, iii, 8 ; they abolish 
 the regular succession, sect. 6 ; Herod, king of Chal- 
 cis, made the high-priest till his death, xx, i, 3 ; a 
 series of the high-priests from Aaron to the destruc- 
 tion of the temple by Titus, xx, x ; another series 
 from the building of the temple to the captivity, x, 
 viii, 6; lugh priest's robes kept by the Romans, xx, 
 i, I- where they were laid up, xv, xi, 4; and xviii, 
 iv, 5; and XX, i, 1; high priest's ornaments described, 
 iii, vii, 4 ; War, v, v, 7- 
 
 Primogeniture, its privileges sold by Esau, Antiq. ii, i. 
 
 Primus (Antonius), War, iv, ix, 2 ; he marches against 
 
 Vitellius, c xi, sect. 2. 
 Priscus (Tyrankis), War, ii, xix, 4. 
 Priscusshoots Jonathan dead with a dart. War vi, ii, 
 
 in. 
 Pri\ lieges granted the Jews by Alexander the Great, 
 
 Against Apion, ii, sect. 4. 
 Problems, or riddles, proposed by Sampson at his wed- 
 ding, Antiq. v, viii, 6. 
 Prociilus, (Vitellius), Antiq. xix, vi, 3. 
 Prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 
 War, iv, vi, 3 ; and vi, v, 4. 
 Prophecy of Isaiah accomplished, Antiq, xiii, iii, 1. 
 Prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel reconciled, Antiq. 
 
 X, v; 1. 
 Prophecies could not agree to the events, if the world 
 
 were governed by chance, Antiq. x, xi, 2. 
 Prophets, exceptiri; Daniel, chiefly foretold calamities, 
 
 Antiq. x, xij 7 ; how greatly to be esteemed, viii, xv, 
 
 6. 
 Prophets (false ones), suborned by the Jewish tyrants. 
 
 War, vi, v, 2. 
 Proseuchfe, or houses of prayer, among the Jews, Life, 
 
 sect. 54. 
 Prostitution of the hotly, a most heinous crime, Antiq. 
 
 iv, viii, 9. 
 Providence asserted against the Epicureans, Antiq. x, 
 
 xi,7. 
 Prudence requires us to prevent the growing power of 
 
 an enemy, Antiq. iii, ii, 1. 
 Pseudalexander, Antiq. xvii, xii, 1, &c. ; War, ii, vii, 
 
 1, &c. 
 Ptolemy, the administrator of Herod's kingdom, Antiq. 
 
 xvi, vii, 2, &c, ; c. viii, sect. 5 ; c. x, sect. 3 ; Life, 
 
 sect. 26. 
 Ptolemy, the brother of Cleopatra piosoned by her, 
 
 Antiq XV, 4, 1. 
 Ptolemy, the brother of Nicolaus of Damascus, A itiq. 
 
 xvii, ix, 3. 
 Plolemv Epiphanes, Antiq. xii, iii, 3 ; he dies, c. iv, 
 
 sect. 'U. 
 Ptolemy, Euergetes, Philopator, or Eupator, Antiq. 
 
 xii, iii, 5 ; c. iv, sect. 1 ; Against Apion, ii, sect. 3. 
 Ptolemy, thoson of Jamblicus, Antiq. xiv, viii, 1 ; War, 
 
 i, ix,'.'5. 
 Ptolemy Lathyrus, Antiq. xiii, x, 2; War, i, iv, 2; he 
 
 is driven out of his kingdom, Antiq. xiii, xii, 1, &c; 
 
 he makes an alliance with Alexander, and breaks it, 
 
 «. xji, sect. 4; his bold soldiers called Hecatontoma- 
 
 chi, sect. 5; he defeats Alexander's army, lb.; h!s 
 barbarous cruelty, sect. C. 
 
 Ptolemy, sou of Lagus, called Sotor, obtains Egvpt, after 
 the death of Alexander the Great, Antiq. xii,' i ; takes 
 Jerusalem, and carries many Jews into Egypt, ib. 
 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second king of Kgypt of 
 that race, Antiq. i, Pref sect. 3; Au'tiq. xii, ii, 1; 
 Against Apion, ii, sect. 4; he procures a translation 
 of the law of Muses, by the advice of Demetiius I'ha- 
 lerus, Anti(| xii, ii, 1, &c. ; sets a vast number of 
 Jews free, sect. 3 ; sends a letter to Eleazar the high- 
 priest, beet. 4 ; his liberal oblations and presents, sect. 
 7, 14. 
 
 Ptolemy Philomoter, Antiq xii, iv, 11; c. 5, sect 2, 
 xiii, iii, I; Against Apion, ii, sect. 3; he and his 
 queen Cleopatra permit Onias to build the temple 
 Onion, Antiq. xiii, iii, 1, &c. ; he makes an expedi- 
 tion into Syria, c. iv, sect. 3 ; discovers Alexander 
 and Ammonius' plot against him, sect. 6; tiikes his 
 daughter from Alexander, and gives her to Deme 
 trius. Si ct. 7 ; he might have put two crowns upor 
 his head, that of Asia, and that of Egypt, ib. ; he is 
 wounded, anil dies of his wounds, sect. 8. 
 
 Ptolemy, son of Menneus, Antiq. xiii, xvi, 5; and xiv, 
 iii, 2 ; c. xii, sect. 1 ; War, i, iv, 8; c. xiii, sect. 1 ; 
 prince of ( halcis, Antiq. xiv, vii, 4 ; he marries Al 
 exaiidra, ib. 
 
 Ptolemy, the murderer of Simon, the Maccabee, Antic), 
 xiii, vii, 4; he murders John Hyrcaniis' mother, and 
 brother, c. viii, sect. 1 ; War, i, ii, 4. 
 
 Ptolemy Physcon, Antiq. xii, iv, ll; and xiii, ix; 
 Against Apion, ii, sect. 3. 
 
 Ptolemy, War, i, i, 1. 
 
 Pudens'engages in a duel with Jonathan, and is killed, 
 War, vi, ii, 10. 
 
 Punishment of the wieked, a joyful sight to good men 
 Antiq. ix, vi, ti. 
 
 Purple robes worn by the Chaldean kings, Antiq. x, xi, 
 2; by the Persian kings, xi, iii, 2; c. vi, sect lO- 
 Joseph is clothed in purple by Pharaoh, ii, v, 7. 
 
 Pygmalion, king of T>>ie, Against Apion, i, sect IS. 
 
 Pythian, or Apollo's temple, built by Herod, Antiq. 
 xvi, V, 5. 
 
 Quadratus (Ummidius), president of Syria, Antiq. xx, 
 
 vi, 2. 
 Quails are numerous in the Arabian gulf, and fall upon 
 
 the camp of Israel, Antiq. iii, i, 5, 13. 
 Queen of Egypt, and Ethopia, comes to king Solomon 
 
 Antiq. viii, vi, 3 ; she returns to her own country 
 
 sect. 6. 
 Quintillius Varus, president of Syria. See Varus. 
 Quirinius, or Cyreiiius, sent by Caesar to tax Syria, An 
 
 tiq. xvii. 
 
 Rabsaces (Themasius), Antiq. xi, iii, 5 • 
 
 Rachel, I.aban's daughter, Antiq. i, xix, 7 ; she steals 
 away, and conceals her father's idols, sect. 9, IL 
 
 Ragau, or Reu, son of Phalcg, Antiq. i, vi, 3. 
 
 Ragmus, or Raamah, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 
 Raguel, Moses' father-in-law, Antiq. iii, iii, 1 ; his ad- 
 vice to Moses for the government of the Israelites, c. 
 iv. 
 
 Rahab, an inn-keeper at Jericho, Antiq. v, i, i!, 7 ; hci 
 life saved. 
 
 Rainbow, Antiq. i, iii, 8. 
 
 Ramesses, king of Egypt, Against .\pion, i, sect. 15. 
 
 Rapsaces, or Rabshaketh, cai)tain of the Assyrian army, 
 Antitp X, i, 1 ; his speech to the people of Jerxisalem, 
 sect. 2. 
 
 Rathotis, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect IS. 
 
 Rathynius, or Rheum, .'\ntiq. xi, ii, 1. 
 
 Rationale, or breast-jilate of judgment of tlie high- 
 priest, Antiq. iii, v, 7; c. viii, sect. 9. 
 
 Raven sent out of the ark, Antiq. i, iii, 5. 
 
 Reba, king of the Midianites, Antiq. iv, vii, 1. 
 
 Rebeka, daughter of Bethuel, Antiq. i, vi, 3 ; demand- 
 ed for a wife to Isaac, c. xvi, sect. 1, lic. ; she bears 
 twins, e. xviii, sect 1 ; imposes upon her husband, 
 sect. 6. 
 
 Receni, or Rekem, king of the Midianites, Antiq. iv, 
 viii, 1, 
 
 Records of the Tyrians, Against Apion, i, sect, 17. 
 
 Regulus (Emihus), Antiq. xix, i, 5. 
 
 Uehoboam succeeds Solomon, Antiq. viii, viii, 1 ; he 
 gives the people a rough answer, sect 2; ten tribea 
 revolt from him, sect. 3 ; he builds and fortifies seve- 
 ral towns, c. X, sect. 1 ; he has eighteen wives, and 
 thirtv concubines, ib. ; he dies, sect. 4. 
 
 Remaliah, Antiq. ix, xi, 1. 
 
 Rt))entauce cannot revoke past crimes, Antiq, ii, iv, 4. 
 
 Reu, or Kagau, the sou of Phalcg, or Peleg, Antiq. ii 
 vi, 5, 7. 
 
 Revenues of ("oelesyria, Phcenicia, Judea, and Samariai 
 amounted to 800L) talents, Antiq. xii, iv, i. 
 
 n8"> 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Rezen. king of Syria, Antiq. ix, xii, 1. 
 Hezon, Solomon's enemy, A;iti(|. viii, vii, 6. 
 Uliodes, ielieve<l by Herod, Antiq. xiv, xiv, .". 
 Ricljes, great riches laid uii in David's monument. An- 
 
 tifi- vii, XV, .3. 
 Riddles, or problems between Solomon and Hiram, 
 
 Anticj. viii, v, 5; a riddle proposed by Sampson at 
 
 ids wedding, v, viii, 6. 
 Hipbath, Aniiq. i, vi, 1. 
 Rod of Aaron, Antiq. iv, iv, 2. 
 Roman army described, \\ .ir, iii, v. 
 Roman senate's decree in favour of the Jews, Antiq- 
 
 xiii, ix, 2; and xiv, viii, 5. 
 Roxana, Herod's daughter by Phasdra, Antiq. xvii, i, 
 
 5: War, i, xxviii, 4. 
 Rubriiis Gallus, Antiq. vii, iv, 3. 
 Rue of a prodigious magnitude. War, vii, vi, ,'5. 
 Rufus, Anti(i. xvii, x, 5; War, ii, iii, 4 ; c. v, sect. 2. 
 Ruf\!s, ^au Egyptian,) takes Elcazar prisoner, War, vii, 
 
 vi, 4. 
 Rufus, (Terenlius, or Turnu«,) takes Simon the son of 
 
 Gioras, War, vii, ii ; he is left with an army at Jeru- 
 salem, after it was taken, ib 
 Rumah, or Reumah, Nahor's concubine, Antiq. i, vi, 
 
 Ruth gleans in Boaz's field, Antiq. v, Ix, 2 ; is married 
 by Boaz, and becomes the mother of Obed, the fa- 
 ther of Jesse, sect. 4. 
 
 Sabactas, or Subteeha Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 Sabas, or Seba, Antiq i, vi, 2. 
 Sabathes, or Sabrah, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 Sabbath-ilay kept very strictly by the Esscns, War, ii, 
 viii, ix, Sabbath according to Apion, so called from 
 the Egyptian word Sabo, Against Apion, ii, sect. 2; 
 Sabbath -day so suptTstitiously observed by the Jews, 
 that they came to great mischiefs thereby , Antiq. xii, 
 vi, 2 ; War, i, vii, 3; and ii, xvi, 4 ; they are advis- 
 ed by Matthias to defend themselves on the Sabbath- 
 day, Antiq. xii, vi, "J ; and by Jonathan, xiii, i, 5 ; 
 allowed to repel, but nut to attack an enemy on that 
 day, xiv, vi, 2; and xviii, ix, 2; War, h, xvi, 4; 
 Antioelius a Jew, forces the Jews to break the Sab- 
 bath-day at Antioeh, vii, iii, 5 ; Sabbath-day spent 
 in reading the law, Anticp xvi, ii, 4 ; ushered in, and 
 ended with the sound of a trumpet. War, iv, ix, 12 ; 
 Jews, on the Sabbath-day, dined at the sixth hour. 
 Life, sect. .51 ; the seditious kill the Romans on the 
 Sabbath-day, War, ii, xvii, 1(); unlawful to travel 
 far on the Sabbath-day, Antiq. xiii, viii, 4 ; pretend- 
 ed to be unlawful either to make war or peace on 
 the Sabbaih-day, War, iv, ii, .■? ; not allowed by some 
 even in ease ot necessity, to take arms either on the 
 Sabbath-day, or the evening before. Life, sect. 5~. 
 Sabbattic river. War, vii, v, 1. 
 ^abbeus, Antiq. xiii, iii, 4. 
 
 Sabbiun, discovers Alexander's designs to Herod, An- 
 tiq XV, iii, 2. 
 Babee, or Shobach, captain of the Syrians, Antiq. vii, 
 
 VI, 5. 
 Sabinus, C'a-sar's steward in Judoa, Antiq. xvii, ix, 3 ; 
 War, ii, iii, 2 ; he accu-es Archelaus, Antiq. xvii, ix, 
 4 ; falls heavy upon the Jews, c. x, sect. 1. 
 Sa'mnus, one of the murderers of Caius, Antiq. xix, iv, 
 
 3 ; he kills himself, sect. 6. 
 Sabinus the brother of Vespasian, takes the capitol, 
 
 War, iv, xi, 4 ; is killed by Viteliius, ib. 
 Sabmus, by birth a Syrian, a man of great valour. War, 
 
 vi, i, 6. 
 Sabinus (Domitian), one of the tribunes. War, iii, vii, 
 
 34. 
 Sabtah, or Sahathes, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 Sabtecha, or Sabaclas, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 Sacrifice of Abel was milk, and the firstlings of the 
 Hock, .\ntiq. i, ii, 1 ; sacrifices were eitlier private 
 or public, iii, ix, 1; either all, or p.irt only burnt, 
 ib. ; how the former were oft'ered, ib. ; ho\v tlie lat- 
 ter, sect. 2 ; how sin-ofterings were oft'ered, sect. 3 ; 
 those of swine forbidden, xii, v, 4 ; of those that 
 were for recovering health, iii, ix, 4; Titus desires 
 John not to lea\e oif the Jewish iacrifices, U ar, vi, 
 ii, 1 ; daily saciifice, Antiq. xi, iv, 1 ; War, i, i, 1 ; 
 and vi, ii, 1 ; sacrifices every day for Caesar's prosperi- 
 ty, ii, X, 4; Against Apion, ii, sect. 5; omission 
 thereof the beguming of the Jewish war. War, ii, 
 xvii, 2 ; ofl'erings of foreigners usually received by 
 the Jews, sect. 3 ; the same prohibited by the sediti- 
 ous, sect. 'J i what parts of sacrifice were" due to the 
 priests, Antiq, iv, iv, 4 ; none but Jews to overlook 
 the sacrifices in the temple, xx, viii, 11; sacrifices 
 not to be tasted till the oblation is over, xii, iv, 8 ; 
 not to be brought by the hire of an harlot, iv, viii, 
 9; nieat-ofl'erings joined to bloody sacrifices, Sii, ix, 
 4 ; not to be abused to luxury. Against Apion, ii, 
 iKCt. 25 ; ouj;ht to be entire and without blemish. 
 
 Antiq. iii, xii, 2; of what were bunit-ofTerhigs, c viii, 
 sect. 10; animals noi offered till the eiglit diy aitct 
 their birth, e. ix, sect. 4; wine and oil leseived lor 
 sacrifices consumed by the seditious, VV.ar. v, xiii, 
 6. 
 Sadduc, a Pharisee, stirs up a sedition, Antiq. xviii, i, 
 
 1. 
 Sadducees deny fate, Antiq. xiii, v, 9; are contrary to 
 the Pharisees, c. x, sect. 8 ; obser\ e only the prceeiits 
 of the WTitten law, ib. ; their opinions, Antiq. xviii, 
 i, .'>; War, ii, viii, 14; have the rich men of their 
 side, Antiq. xiii, x, 6. 
 Sadoc, or Zadok, high-priest, Antiq. vii, ii, 2; e. v, 
 icct. 4 ; c. X, sect. 4 ; e. xi, sei t. 8 ; c. xiv, sect. 4 , 
 and viii, i, 5 ; and x, viii, 6. 
 Sadrach, or Shadrach, Antiq. xi, iv, 9. 
 Sages, or wise men among the Israelites, Antiij. viii, ii, 
 
 5. 
 Salampsio, daughter of Herod, married to Phasael, 
 
 Antiq. xviii, v, 4. 
 Salathiel, Zerobabel's father, Antiq. xi, iii, 10. 
 Salatis, king of Egypt, Against .\pion, i, sect. 14. 
 Saleph, Antiq i, vi, 4. 
 Salmana, or Zahnana, captain of the Midianites, Antiq. 
 
 V, vi, 5. 
 Salrr.anassar, or Shalmanezzer, king of Assyria, Antiq. 
 ix, xiv, 1 ; invades Syria and Phcenicia, ib ; carries 
 the ten tribes away into Media and Persia, ib. 
 Salome, Antipater's daughter, Herod's sister, Antiq. 
 xiv, vii, 3 ; War, i, viii, 9 ; charges her husband Jo- 
 seph with adultery, .^ntiq. xv, iii, 9; and xvi, vii, 3 ; 
 sends a bill of divorce to her second husband Costo- 
 barus, xv, vii, 10; envies Herod's sons and theii 
 wives, xvi, i, 2; c. iii, sect. 1, &c. ; she clears her- 
 self, ib. ; Herod forces her to be married to Aloxas, 
 xvii, i, 1 ; she discovers to Herod the conspiracy of 
 Antipator and Pheroras, c. ii, sect. 4 ; War, i, xxix, ' 
 1 ; what Herod left her by his will, Antiq. xvii, viii, 
 1 ; what Cassar gave her, c. xi, sect. 5. 
 Salome, Herod's daughter by Elpis, Antiq. xvii, i, 3. 
 Salome, grand-daughter of Herod the Great, and daugh- 
 ter of Herod Philip, l>y Hcrodias, Antiq. xviii, v, 4 ; 
 she is married to Philip the tetrarch, and afterwards 
 to Aristobulus, the grand-son of Herod, and brother 
 of Agrippa, senior, in. 
 Salt, sown upon the ruins of a demolished town, Antiq. 
 
 V, vii, 4. 
 Salt-tax, and crown-tax, remitted to the Jews by De 
 
 metrius, Antiq. xiii, ii, 3. 
 Samacha, Abcnnerig's daughter, Antiq. xx, ii, 1. 
 Samaralla, Antiq. xiv, xiii, 5; War, i, xiii, 5. 
 Samaria built, Antiq. viii, xii, .■> ; whence its name wa» 
 derived, ib; it is besieged by the Syrians, and wonder- 
 fully relieved, ix, iv, 5 ; a mother there eats he( 
 own son in a famine, sect, 4 ; is besieged again by 
 Hyrcanus, sutt'ers famine, is taken, and levelled with 
 the ground, Antiq. xiii, x, 2, 3 ; War, i, ii, 7. 
 Samaritans, a colony from Cutha in Persia Antiq. ix, 
 xiv, 5; and x, ix, 7; pretended to be the posterity 
 of Joseph, xi, viii, 6; they sometimes deny, and 
 sometimes profess themsehes Jews, ix, xiv, 3 ; and 
 xi, viii, 6; and xii, v, 5 ; they harass the Jews under 
 Onias, the high-priest, c. iv, sect. 1 ; pretend to be 
 Sidonians, e. v, sect. .5; their temple upon Mount 
 Gerizzim, xi, viii, 7; they pollute the temple of Je- 
 rusalem, xviii, ii, 2; thev are enemies to the Jews, 
 xi, iv, 9; and xx, vi, 1 : "they dispute with the Jews 
 in Egypt about their templ'3, xiii, iii, 4 ; they gave 
 Antiochus the title of a god, xii, v, 5. 
 Sainbabas, Antiq. xi, iv, 9. 
 
 Sameas, Poilio's disci}>le, Antiq. xiv, ix, 3 ; and xv, i, 
 1 ; c. X, sect. 4 ; his speech against Herod, xiv, ix, 
 4 ; he is honoured by Herod, ib 
 Samgar, or Semcgar, Antiq. x, viii, 2. 
 Sampsigeramus, king of Emcsa, .^nliq. xviii, v, 4. 
 Sampson's birth, Antiq. v, viii, 4 ; he marries a wo- 
 man of the Philistines, sect. 5 ; kills a lion, ib ; pro- 
 poses a riddle at his wedding, sect. 6 ; burns the Phi- 
 listine's corn, sect. 7: he is delivered up to the Phi- 
 listines, sect. 8 ; he slays them with the jaw-lx)iie of 
 an ass, ib. ; he carries the gate of Gaza away upon 
 his shoulders, sect. 10; he falJs in love with D.alilah, 
 sect. 11 ; he is betrayed by her; he is bound, and his 
 eyes put out, ib. ; he pulls an house down upon the 
 Philistines, and slays three thousand of them, sect. 
 12. 
 Samuel is born and consecratcii to God, Antiq. v, x, 3j 
 God calls to him, sect. 4 ; he conquers the Philistines, 
 vi, ii, 2 ; his sons prove very bad judges, c. iii, sect 
 2; he is ofliended at the people's demanding a king, 
 sect. 3; he tells the people the manners of a kuig.. 
 sect. .5 ; c. iv, sect. 4 ; threatens Saul with the loss c 
 his kingdom, c. vi, sect 2 ; anoint.s David to be King, 
 c. viii, sect. 2; he dies, e. xiii, sect. 5; is raised out 
 of Hades, and foretells .'■aurs death, c. .-iiv, sect. 2. 
 
J" 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 SstiLtuia sanctorum, or holy of holies, Autiq. iii, vi, 
 
 Sanheilrnn at Jerusalem, Life, sect. 12; none could be 
 put to death but by the sanhedrim, Antiq. xiv, ix, 
 
 Saphan, or Shaphan, the scribe, Antiq. x, iv, 1. 
 
 Sapinnius, Antiq. xvi, viii, 5. 
 
 Sapphora, or Ziiipora, Moses' wife, Antiq. iii, iii, 1. 
 
 Sarai, or Sarah, Abraham's wife, Antiq. i, viii, 1 ; she 
 goes with him into Kgypt, c. viii, sect. 1 ; the king 
 falls in love with her, ib. ; her death, e. xiv, sect. 1. 
 
 Sardians their decree in favour of the Jews, Antiu. xiv, 
 X, 24. ' 
 
 Sareas, or Seraiah, high-priest, .Antiq x, viii, 5, 6. 
 
 Sarepta, or Zarephath, its widow, Antiq. viii, xiii, 2. 
 
 Sarmatians invade Mysia, War, vii, iv, 3. 
 
 Satuniius (Seutius), president of Syria, Antiq. xvi, x, 
 8 i e. xi, sect. 5 ; xvii, i, 1 ; c iii, sect. 2; 'aucl c. v, 
 sect, 2; War. i, xxvii, 2. 
 
 Sathrabuz;ans, Antiq. xi, i, 3 ; c. iv, sect. 4, 7. 
 
 Saul, son of Kish, Antiq. vi, iv, 1 ; seeks his fa- 
 ther's asses, and comes to Samuel, ib. ; dines with 
 Samuel, and seventy other, ib. ; Samuel anoints him 
 for king, ib. ; he is actually made king, sect. 5 ; he 
 promises to assist the Gileadites, c. v, sect. 2; is in- 
 augurated again, sect. 4 ; conouers the Philistines, 
 c. vi, sect. 3 ; his wars and family, sect 5 ; he makes 
 war on the Amalekites, c. vii, sect. 1 ; spares Agag 
 against God's command, sect. 2 ; for which Samuel 
 fortells him the loss of his kingdom, sect. 4; his 
 cruel order for murdering Ahimelech and the priests, 
 c. xii, sect. 5, &c. ; being forsaken of God, he con- 
 sults with a necromantic woman, c xiv, sect. 2; his 
 death, sect. 7. 
 
 Saul, a ringleader of the robbers, Antiq. xx, ix, 4. 
 
 Scarus, president of Syria, War, i, vi, 5, &c. ; c. vii, 
 sect. 7; and c. viii, sect. 1; he returns into Syria, 
 Antiq. xiv, ii, 5; he raises the siege of Jerusalem, ib. ; 
 his expedition into Arabia, c. v, sect. i. 
 
 Scopas, general of Ptolemy's army, defeated by A nti- 
 ochus the Great, Antiq. xii, iii, 1. 
 
 Sea. The seventy interpreters wash tlieir hands in the 
 sea before they begin their translation, Antiq. xii, ii. 
 
 Sea, dividedforthe Israelites, Antiq. ii, xvi, 1. 
 
 Seba, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 
 Sebas, the son of Illus, Antiq. vii, xii, 4. 
 
 Sects of the Jews, Antiq. xiii, v, 9; and xviii, i, 2, &c.; 
 Life, sect. 2; War, ii, viii. 2, &e. 
 
 Sedecias,or Zedekiah, afalse prophet, Autic). viii, xv, 4. 
 
 Sedecias, or Zedekiah, king of Judea, Antiq. x, vii, 1, 
 &c. ; revolts from the Babylonians, sect, 5 ; calls for 
 Jeremiah's advice, sect. G ; is carried captive to ba- 
 bylon, c. viii, sect. 2 ; his death, sect. 7. 
 
 Sedltiou among tlie priests, Antiq. xx, viii, 8; sedition 
 of Corah and his followers, iv, ii, 1, J:c. ; of the 
 Israelites, Antiq. iii, xiv, 5 ; is quelled by Joshua, 
 sect. 4 ; sedition at Cesarea between the Jews and Sy- 
 rians, XX, viii, 7- 
 
 Sejanus put to death, Autiq. xviii, vi, 6. 
 
 Seisan, the scribe, Antiq. vii, iv, 4. 
 
 Selene, queen of Syria, otherwise called Cleopatra, 
 Antiq. xiii, xvi, 4. 
 
 Seleucus possesses Syria after the death of Alexander 
 the Great, Antiq. x'ii, i; he is called Nicator (the con- 
 queror), c. iii, sect. 1; his bounty towards the Jews, 
 ib. 
 
 Seleucus Soter, or Philopater, son of Antiochus the 
 Great, Antiq. xii, iv, 10. 
 
 Seleucus, son of .Antiochus Grvpus, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 
 4 ; his death, ib. 
 
 Sella, or Zillah, Lameeli's wife, Antiq. 1, ii, 2. 
 
 Sellura, or Shallum, Antiq. xi, ix, 1. 
 
 Sem, or Shem, Antiq. i, iv, 1 ; his posterity, c. vi, sect 
 4. 
 
 Semegar, or .Sampar, Antiq. x, viii, 2. 
 
 Scmei, or Shemei, the son of Gera, Antiq. vii, ix, 4 ; 
 c. xi, sect. 2 ; and c. xv, sect. 1 ; he is put to death by 
 Solomon, viii, i, 5, 
 
 Semelius, Antiq. xi, ii, 2. 
 
 SemproniuB (Cams), son of Cains, Antiq. xiii, ix, 2. 
 
 Senebar, or Shemebiir, Antiq. i, ix, 1. 
 
 Sennacherib makes war on Hezekiah, Antiq. x, i, 1 ; 
 his death, sect. 5. 
 
 Senate of Rome's decree concerning Oie Jews, Antiq. 
 xii_, X, 6 ; they renew their league with the Jews, xiv, 
 viii, 5 ; another decree of theirs concerning the Jews, 
 t. X, sect. 19. 
 
 Sepphoris burnt, Antiq. xvii, X, 9; token bv Josephus, 
 Life, sect. 67. 
 
 Seriuh, lugh-priest, Antiq. x, viii, 5, 6. 
 
 Serelijeus, Antiq. xi, iii, 10. 
 
 Seron, general of the army of Cceles) ria, Aiitjii. xii, vii, 
 
 Serpent deprived both of speech and feet, Antiq. i, i, 4, ' 
 
 Serug, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 
 Servilius (Publius), his letter to the Milesians in favour 
 of the Jews, .AntU}. xiv, X, 21. 
 
 Sesac. See Shisak. 
 
 Seth, sjn of Adam, Antiq. i, ii, 3; his postenity's iiil- 
 lars in the land of Siriad, ib. 
 
 Sethon, king of Egypt, Against Apion, 1, sect 26. 
 
 Sethosis, or Sesostrls, king of Egypt, Against ApioB, i, 
 sect. 15. 
 
 Seventh day. See Sabbath. 
 
 Seventy-two interpreters sent by Eleazar, the high- 
 priest, with the books of the law, Antiq. xii, ii, 10 ; 
 their arrival at Alexandria, ib. ; they bring with them 
 the law written upon parchment in golden letters, ib.; 
 they wash in the sea before they lall to their work, 
 sect. 12; they finish the translation in seventy-two 
 days, ib. 
 
 Sextus Cifisar, president of Svria, Antiq. xiv, ix, 2, 4 ; 
 War, i, X, 7, <Se. ; he is slain by Cecilius liassus, o. 
 xi, sect. L 
 
 Shadrach, Antiq. x, x, 1. 
 
 Shallum, Antiip ix, ix, 1. 
 
 Shalmanoser. See Saimanasser. 
 
 Shiiraegar, son of .\nath, succeeds Ehud as judge, An- 
 tiq. V, iv, 3. 
 
 Sharezer, Antiq. x, i, 5. 
 
 Sheba, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 
 Shechem, the place of Joshua's habitation, .\ntin. v, i. 
 19,28. ' 
 
 Shecheniites meet Alexander the Great, Antrii- xi, viiL, 
 6; their kmdred with Raguel, Moses' father-in-law, 
 vi, vii, 3. 
 
 Shekel, a coin equal to four Attic dramachse, Antiq. iii. 
 viii, 2. < H . 
 
 Shera, Antiq. i, iv, 1 ; his posterity, c. vi, sect 4. 
 
 .Shemeber, king of Zeboim, Antiq i, ix, 1. 
 
 Shield covered the left eye in war, Antiq. vi, v, 1. 
 
 Shield, a token of league between the Jews and Bo- 
 mans, Antiq. xiv, viii, 5. 
 
 Shimei, son of Gera, Antiq, vii, ix, 4; c xi, stct 
 2 J e. xvii sect. 1 ; put to death by Solomon, viii, i. 
 
 Ships sent to Poiitus and Thrace under Ahaziah, son of 
 .Ahub, Antiq xi, i, 4. 
 
 Shishak, or Sesac, king of Egypt, Antiq. vii, v, 5 ; and 
 viii, vii, 8; c. X, sect. .i. 
 
 Sibas, or Zibaii, Autiq. vii, v, 5; c. ix, sect 3; Saul's 
 freed iii.ui, c. xi, sect. 3. 
 
 Sibbechai, the Ilittite, Antiq. vi, xii, 2. 
 
 Sicarii, or banditti, tJce to Alexandria, War, vii, x, 1 ; 
 cannot be forced to own Ca;sar for their lord, ib. 
 
 Sichon, or Sihon, kiugof the. \morit2s, conquered, Au- 
 tiq. iv, V, 1, &e. 
 
 Sidon, Antiq. i, vi, 2. 
 
 Signs appearing before the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 War, vi, v, 3. 
 
 Silanus, president of Syria, Antiq. xviii, ii, 4. 
 
 Sifts, governor of Tiberias, Life, sect. 17, 33. 
 
 Silas, tyrant of Lysias, Antiq. xiv, iii, 2. 
 
 Silas, an attendant on king Agrijipa, senior, in his ad- 
 versities, Antiq. xviii, vi, 7; and xix, vii, I ; h;- b-.'- 
 coines troublesome to the king, ib. ; lie is kilicil, u. 
 viii, sect. 3. 
 
 Silus, a Babylonian, War, ii, xix, 2; and iii, ii, 4. 
 
 Silo, the Roman captain, Antiq. xiv, xx, 1 — 5- 
 
 Silo, or Shiloh, a town where t.he tabernacle was fixed, 
 Antiq. v, i, 19, 20. 
 
 Silva (Flavius), governor of Judea, War, vii, viii, l; 
 he besieges Masada, sect. 2, 5. 
 
 Silver, of little value in the days of Solomon, Antiq, 
 viii, vii, 2. 
 
 Simeon, son of Gamaliel, War, iv, iii, 9. 
 
 Simou, son of Bothus, made high-priest, Antiq. xv, ix, 
 3; his daughter married to lierod, ib. ; he is de- 
 prived, xvii, iv, 2. 
 
 Simon, son of Camithi, made high-priest, Antiq. x\iii, 
 ii, 2. 
 
 Simon, son of Boethus, sumamed Canthera-^, made 
 high-priest, Antiq. xix, vi, 2; he is deprived, sect 
 4. 
 
 Simon, son of Cathlas, War, iv, iv, 2. 
 
 Simon the Just, Eleazar's brother, high-priest, Antiq. 
 xii, ii, 4 ; c. iv, sect 1, 
 
 Simon, son of Onias the high-priest, dies, Antin. xii, 
 iv, 10. 
 
 Simon, the Essen, a prophet, Antiq, xvii, xiii, 3. 
 
 Simon, son ofGioras, War, ii, xix, 2; and iv, ix, 3; 
 fights will; the Zealots, iv, ix, 5; conquers Idumeii, 
 rect. 7 ; is made prisoner, and reserveii for the tri- 
 umph. War, vii, 2 ; is put to death at the triumph, 
 c. V, .sect 6. 
 
 Simon, brother of Judas and Jonathan, the M.iccabees, 
 beats tlie enemy in Galilee, .Antiq. xii, nii, 2- it 
 
"V. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 made wiptain of the Jews, c. x, sect, 6 ; he makes a 
 speech to them, xiii, vi, j; is made their ^iriiice, sect. 
 3,4; is made high priest, sect. 'j; Wnr, i, ii, '.' ; is 
 killed by Ptolemy his son-in-law, sect. 5. 
 
 Simon, son of Ariniis, War, v, vi, 1. 
 
 Simon, son of Dositheus, Antiq. xiii, ix, 2. 
 
 Simon, captain of the Idumeans at Jerusalem, War, iv, 
 iv, 4. 
 
 Simon, a lifef^aid man to Josephus, Life, sect. 28. 
 
 Simcm, of Jerusalem, Anti(]. xix, vii, 4. 
 
 Simon, a magician, Antiq. xx, vii, 2. 
 
 Simon, a Pharisee, Life, sect. 58. 
 
 Simon Pseltus, Josephus' grandfather, Life, sect. 1. 
 
 Simon, a servant of Herod, assumes the crown, Antiq. 
 xvii, X, 6. 
 
 Simon, son of Saul, War, ii, xviii, 4. 
 
 Simon persuades the people to exclude Agrippa from 
 the temple, Antiq. xix, vii, 4. 
 
 Slmonides Agrippa, Joscjjhus' son, T.ife, sect 76. 
 
 Siphar, the Amonite, .\ntiq. vii, '.x, H. 
 
 Sisera, oppresses the Israelites, Antkj. v, v, 1 ; is killed 
 by Jael, sect. 4. 
 
 Eisines, Antiq. xi, i, 3; governor of Syria and Phte- 
 nicia, c. iv, sect 4, 7. 
 
 Slaughter, the greatest that ever was in one battle, 
 Antiq. viii, xi, 3. 
 
 Sodomites and their associates, conquered by the Assy- 
 rians, Antiq. i, ix. 
 
 Sodomites so wicked, that they are burnt with fire from 
 heaven, Antiq. i, xi. 
 
 Sohemus, tetrarch, Antiq. xvii, iii,2; Life, sect. II. 
 
 Siohemus, king of Emesa, succeeds his brother Azizus, 
 Antiq. xx, viii, 4 ; War, vii, vii, 1. 
 
 Sohemus of Iturea, Antiq. xv, vi, 5: betrays Herod's 
 secret order for killing Mariamne, c. vii, sect, i ; is 
 put to death by Herod, sect. 4. 
 
 Solomon, son of David, Antiq. vii, iii, 5; promise<l to 
 David, c. iv, sect. 4 ; boni, c. vii, sect. 4; artointed 
 and proclaimed king, c. xiv, sect. .5 ; annointcd and 
 proclaimed a second time, sect. 1 1 ; marries Ph;'raoh's 
 laughter, Antiq. viii, ii, 1 ; determines the ease of 
 two harlots, sect. 2; his power, grandeiii, and wis- 
 dom, sect. ^, &c. : the books he wrote, sect. 5; his 
 letter to Hiram, king of Tyre, sect. 6; he builds the 
 temple, sect. 9; and c. iii, his addresses, to God and 
 the people after it was built, c. iv, sect. 2, &c. ; he 
 ofi'ers abundance of sacrifices, sect. 4 ; he builds Ijim- 
 self a royal palace, c. v, sect. I , &c. ; solves the pro- 
 blems, proposed by the king of lyre, sect. 5; Uius 
 says Solomon could not solve them all, ib. : he forti- 
 fies Jerusalem, and builds several towns, c. vi, sect. 
 1 ; lays a tax on the remaining Canaanites, sivl. 5; 
 fits out a fleet, sect. 4; his great riches, c. vii, seet. 
 2 ; his immoderate love of women, sect. J ; his ileath, 
 sect. 8. 
 
 SolymjB, or Salem, the old name of Jerusalem, Antiq. 
 vii, iii, 2. 
 
 So^ihonius, or Zephaniah, the second priest, Antiq. x, 
 vfii, 5. 
 
 Sosibius, of Tarentum, .-^ntiq. xii, ii, 2. 
 
 Sosius a Roman captain in Judta, Antiq, xiv, xv, 9 ; 
 c. xvi, sect. 1 ; joins with Herod against AntJgonus, 
 ib. ; War, i, xvii, 2 ; he takes Antigonus prisoner, 
 and carries him to .\nthony, Antiii. xiv, xvi, 4 ; 
 War, i, xviii, 2, 3. 
 
 Souls of heroes, slain in war, supposed to be placed 
 among the stars. War, vi, i, ,5. 
 
 Speech of Herod to his army, .Vntiq. xv, v, .'i; to the 
 jieople, c. xi, sect. 1 ; sjieech of Moses to L'orah and 
 the people, iv, ii, 4, &c. ; to the people belore his 
 death, c. viii, sect. 1. 
 
 S^iies sent by Moses, to view the l.ind of Canaan, Antiq. 
 iii, xiv, 1, &e. ; by Joshua to Jericho, v, i, 1 ; they 
 bring back a faithful account, sect. 2. 
 
 Spoils of barbarians reposited in Herod's temple, Antiq. 
 XV, xi, .'j. 
 
 Spoils in war to be equally divided between those that 
 fight and those that giiard the baggage, Antiq, vi, 
 xiv, G. 
 
 Stars, supposed to have their virtue from the sun and 
 moon, Antiq. ii, ii, 5. 
 
 Stechus, Antiq. xviii, vi, 7. 
 
 Stephanus, Caesar's servant, Antiq. xx, v, 1 ; War, ii, 
 xii, 2. 
 
 Sterility of the country is one of the punishments for 
 the king's doing ill, Antiq. vii, iv, 4. 
 
 Stratton tyrannizes over Uercea, Antiq. xiii, xiv, 3. 
 Subjects follow the manners of their piiiiccs, Autiq. viii, 
 
 X, 2. 
 Sumober, or Shemeber, king of Zeboim, Antiq. i, ix. 
 
 Supplicants in Syria, used to come with an halter about 
 
 their heads, Antiq. viii, xiv, 1. '^ 
 
 Sur, or Zur, a king of the Midianites, Antiq iv, vii, 1. 
 
 SvUa, a captain of king Agrippa's life-guards. Life, 
 sect, 71. 
 
 Sylleus, an Arabian, first minister to king Obodus, 
 .\ntiq. xvi, vii, ; War, i, xxiv, 6; c. xxvii, sect. 1 ; 
 he goes to Rome, xvi, ir., 2; accuses Herod Ijefore 
 .'\ugustus, see*, .i ; deuiands .~!alome in marri.ige, c. 
 vii, sect. 6; is refused, becau.-e he would not turn 
 Jew, ib. ; is charged with several murders, xvii, iii, 
 2 ; War, i, x, ix, 3 ; is accused before .\ugustus by 
 Nicholaus of lamiscus, Antiq. xvi, x, S ; receiveu 
 sentence of death, sect. 9. 
 
 Synedrion, or S.arhedrim. See Sanhedrim. 
 
 Syrian commodities, Antiq. ii, iii, 5. 
 
 Syrians' hatred to the Jews, War, i, iv, .". 
 
 A Syrian king of Mesopotamia, Antiq. vii, vi, 1. 
 
 Tabernacle built, Antiq. iii, vi, 1 ; its description, sect. 
 
 2 ; its purification, c. viii, sect. ,'5. 
 
 Feast of Tahernacles, a great festiv.-il of the Jews, .An- 
 tiq. viii, iv, I : and xv, iii, 3 ; celebrated in w.ir by 
 the leave of king Antiochus, xiii, viii, 2; celebrated 
 for fourteen days upon the dedication of Solomon's 
 temple, viii, iv,' .5 ; Jews then carry boughs with fruit, 
 whereby Alexander the liigli-pviest w:is pelted, xiii, 
 xiii, .5; Jews then fixed tabernacles in the temple. 
 War, vi, v, 3 ; it is celebrated after the Babylonian 
 captivity, -Antiq. xi, iv, 1 ; c. v, sect. 5. 
 
 Table, (of shew bread) golden, made by Ptolemy, An- 
 tiq. xii, ii, 7, &c. ; with his cups, ana vials, sect. 9. 
 
 Table, Delphic, -Antiq. iii, vi, ~. 
 
 Table in the court of the priests, AnHq. iii, vi, 7- 
 
 Taohas, Anliq. i, vi, 5. 
 
 Tang.anas, .Antiq. xi, iv, 9. 
 
 Tartan, a captain of the .Assyrians, Antiq. x, i, 1. 
 
 Tears, natural signs of great joy or sorrow, Antiq. xii, 
 xii, ii, li). 
 
 Teba, Antiq. i, vi, 5. 
 
 Teninle built upon Mount Gerizzim, .Antiq. x, viii, 7; 
 and xiii, iii, l : like to that at Jerusalem, xi, viii, I. 
 
 Temple built by Herod near Paneas, m honour of Au- 
 gustus, .Antiq. XV, X, 3 ; War, i, xxi, 3. 
 
 Temple of the golden calf. War, iv, i, I. 
 
 Temples in Kgypt, many and different, Antiq. xiii, iii. 
 
 Temples of the Canaanites were to be demolished, An- 
 tiq. iv, viii, 2. 
 
 Tem])les of foreign nations not to be plundered, noi 
 their donations taken away, .Antiq. iv, viii, 10. 
 
 Temple of Hercules and Astarto, at Tyre, Antiq. viii, 
 v, 3. 
 
 Temple of Demus and the Graces at Athens, Antiq. 
 xiv, viii, 5. 
 
 Temple of Belus, at Babylon, .Antiq. x, ix, 1. 
 
 Temple built by Herod at S^naiia, .Antiq. xv, viii, 5. 
 
 Temple (Herou'sJ at Jerusalem described, Antiq. xv, 
 ix, 5, J. 
 
 Teinpie Onion in Egypt, built like that at Jerusalem, 
 Antiq. xii, x, 7 ; and xiii, iii, 1,3; c. x, sect. 4 ; and 
 
 XX, X. 
 
 Temple of Diana, at Elemais, Antiq. xii, ix, 1 ; of 
 Dagon at Ashdod or Azotus, xiii, iv, 4 ; of Apollo 
 at Gaza, c. xiii, sect. 3. 
 
 Temple of Jerusalem rebuilt by Zorobabel, Antiq. xi, 
 i, e. i\', sect. 3, &c. : xx, x ; the Jews hindered ir 
 building it, xi, 2 ; they go on by order of narius, c 
 iv, sect. 1, &c; it is firii>hed in seven years, sect. 7 
 si.vty cubits lower than -Solomon's tem|)le, xv, xi, 1 
 it is plundered by Antiochus Epiphanes, xii, v, 4; 
 taken by Pompey, and its most holy place seen by 
 him, but without detriment thereto, xiv, iv, 4 ; War, 
 i, vii, 6; new built by Herod, .Antiq. xv, xi, 3; 
 burnt by Titus, War, vi, iv, 5, &e. ; Titus goes into 
 the most holy place, sect. 7. 
 
 Temple of Solomon deserilicd, Antiq. viii, iii, 2, &c. ; 
 dedicated by Solomon, sect. 4 ; foreigners could go 
 but to a certain partition wall in Herod's lemple, xv, 
 xi,5; women excluded the two inner courts, ib. ; 
 open to Samaritans and other nations for prayer, xi, 
 iv, 3 ; David's armory in the tenqile, ix, vii, '2 ; tax 
 out of the temple treasure renitted by Demetrius, 
 xiii, ii, 3; Daniel's prophecy of Antiochus" profana- 
 tion of the temple fulfilled, kii, vii. ti. 
 
 Tcjilietus of Garsis, War, v, xi, 5. 
 
 Terah, .Abraham's father, Aiitci. i, vi, .5. 
 
 Teriljuiih, or turpciuiue tree, i-.tar Helxirn, supix)sed as 
 old as the world, War, iv, ix, 7. 
 
 Tercntius, or Turuus Rufi.s, War, vii, ii. 
 
 'leresh, Antiq. xi, vi, ). 
 
 Terilatcs, or Tiridates, king of -Armenia, Antiq. xx, iii, 
 
 3 ; War, vii, vii, ^. 
 
 Tero, an old soldier, Antiq. xvi, ix, 4, <Vc ; War, i, 
 xxvii, 4, &e. ; charged with treason by Trypho, He 
 rod's barber, sect. 5. 
 
 retlimosis, or Thumosis, king of Egvnit, .Against AuJoii, 
 i. U, l,-., 26. o.i . b 
 
 (21) 
 
INDEX. 
 
 retrarehlcs, Antiq. xiii, iv, 9. i 
 
 Thaniar, David's daughter, Antiq. vii, iii, 3. 
 Thamav, Absalom's uaiightei, manicil to Rihoboani, 
 
 Antiq. vii, x, 3. 
 Thaumastus, Antiq. xviii, vi, 6. 
 
 Thcaties erected at Jerusalem, by Herod, Antiq. xv, 
 
 viii, l! War, i, xxi, H; at (.'asurea, Antic], xv, ix, (i. 
 
 Theft, how punished by the law of Mosob, Antiq. iv, 
 
 viii, 27, ikc. 
 Theniasius, Antiq^. xiii, iii, t. 
 J heodoriis, son ot Zeno, Antiq. xiii, xiii, 5 ; War, i, 
 
 iv, a. 
 Thcodosins, Antiq. xiii, iii, 4. 
 Theophilus, son of Ananus, deprived of the high-priest- 
 
 hocid, Antiq. xix, vi, 2. 
 Tlicopliilus, lirother of Jonathan, made high-priest, 
 
 Antiq. xviii, v, 3. 
 Thermus, a Roman ambassador. Against Apion, ii, 
 
 sect 5. 
 Theimusa, Phraataces's concubine, and then wife, An- 
 tiq. xviii, ii, 4. 
 Theudas, an impostor, Antiq. xx, v, 1. 
 Theudion, Iwotlier of Doris, Anti pater's mother, Antiq. 
 
 xvii, iv, 2. 
 Thobel, or Tubal Cain, Antiq. i, ii, 1. 
 Tholomy, son of Sohemus, Antiq. xiv, viii, 1. 
 Thiimosis, or Tcthmosis, king of Egypt, Against 
 
 .\pion, i, sect. 14, 15, 'ifi. 
 1 hrygammes, or Togarmah, Antiq. i, vi, 1. 
 Tiberius Alexander, procurator of Judea, Antiq. xx, v, 
 
 2. 
 Tiberius Alexander, governor of Alexandria, War, ii, 
 xviii, 7; and v, i, 6; he brings Egypt over to Ves- 
 pasian, iv, X, 6. 
 Tiberius the emperor, Antiq. xviii, ii, 4; War, ii, ix,~ 
 2, 5; his dilatory proceeding?, .\nti<i. xviii, vi, 5; 
 his skill in astrology, sect. 9 ; his prognostic of a 6U0- 
 ce.ssor, ib. ; his death, ib. 
 Tibni, Antiq. vi i, xii, 5. 
 Tidal, Anti(). i, ix. 
 
 Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, Antiq. ix, xi, 1. 
 Tigranes, king of Armenia, Anriq. xni, xvi, 4; and 
 XV, iv, 5; and xviii, V, 4; War, i, v, 3; c. xxviii, 
 sect. 1. 
 Tigranes, son of Alexander and Glaphvra, Antiq. xviii, 
 
 V, 4. 
 Timaus, king of Egypt, Against Apion, i, sect. 14. 
 Timidius, .Antiq. xiic, i, 5. 
 Timius, a Cypnot, Antiq. xviii, x, 4. 
 Timotheus, Antiq. xii, viii, 1, 3; he is put to flight by 
 
 Judas, .sect. 4. 
 Tiras, Anti(j. i, vi, 1. 
 
 Tiridates, king of .'Vimenia, .'intiq. xx, iii, 3. 
 Tithes and first fruits, given to the Leviies, Antiq. iv, 
 iv, 3 ; their titlies or tenth parts given to the priests, 
 sect. 4; this law restored by Hezekiah, ix, xiii, 3. 
 Titius, president of Syria, Antiq. xvi, viii, ti. 
 Titus L'assar, son of Vespasian, sent to Alexandria, 
 War, iii, i, 3; he brings a great number of troops 
 to Vespasian, c. iv, sect. 2; his piety towards his la- 
 ther, c. vii, seel. 22 ; he and Vespasi.an take Jotapata, 
 sect. 31 ; his mildness to Josephus, c. viii, sect. K, 9; 
 he is sent against Taricheae, c. x, sect. 1; his v.dour 
 in this expedition, sect. 3 ; his speech to the .soldiers, 
 sect. 4 ; he takes Taricheae, sect. 5 ; he is sent to 
 Rome, with king .\grippa, to compliment Galba, iv, 
 ix, 2 ; the order of nis army, V, ii, 1; he arrives at 
 Jeru.saicm, and is exposed t<i great danger, sect. 1,2; 
 his great valour, sect. 2, A ; his great concern to save 
 Jerusalem, c. ix, sect. 2; and the temple, vi, ii, 4; 
 c iv, sect. 3 ; his speech to his soldiers, c. i, sect. 5 ; 
 he receives acclamations from the army, c. vi, sect. 
 I; his speeches to the Jewish tyrants, sect. 2; lie as- 
 cribes the conquest of the city to ( .od, c. ix, sect 1; 
 he thanks the army and distributes rewanls, vii, ii, 
 3; celebrates his father's and brother's birtli-days, 
 c. iii, sect. 1; is greatly moved at the sight of the 
 ruins of Jerusalem, c. v, sect 2 ; he makes great 
 shows, c. V; sect. 1 ; comes to Antioeli, sect. 2 ; 
 and til Rome, sect. 3; what persons he carried with 
 him for the triumph, ib. ; his approbation of Jose- 
 jihus' history, Lite, sect. 65 ; his generosity to Jose- 
 nhus, sect. ^5, 
 Tobias' sons expelled Jerusalem, War, i, i, 2. 
 "Togarmah, Antiq, i, vi, I. 
 
 Toparchies (three) or prefectures, added to Judea. An- 
 tiq. xiii, iv, 9. 
 Tower of Babel, and the Sibyl's testimony concerning 
 
 It, Antin. i, iv. 
 Trachonites rebel, Antiq. xvi, ix, 1. 
 Traditions, of the Pharisees, unwritten, Antiq. viii, x, 
 
 6. 
 Trajan, captain of the tenth legion. War, iii, vii, 31. 
 Translation of the law, made oy seventy-two elders, 
 Antiq. xii, ii, K ; Against .\pion, ii, sect. 4. 
 
 Treasure (secret) kept in the temple by some of the 
 priests, Antui xi, v, 2. 
 
 Tribes of Israel, and their portions of land determined 
 by lot, .Antiq. v, i, 22. 
 
 Tribute paid out of Judea to Antiochus Pius, Antiq. 
 xiii, viii, 3; great men farm such tributes, xii, iv, 
 5 ; poll-money \mU\ the kings of .Syria by the Jews, 
 xiii, ii, 3; ten thousand drachma? jiaid out of the 
 temple to them, ib. ; three hundred talents paid by 
 Jonathan to Demetrius for tribute, c. iv, sect. 9; 
 Jews freed from paying such tribute by Simon the 
 Maeeabee, c. vi, sect. 6; high priests used to pay 
 twenty lalents tribute to the kings of Egypt out of 
 their own revenues, xii, iv, 1; poll-money and crown- 
 tax, &c. ; forgiven the principal orders of the Jews 
 by Antiochus the Great, c. iii, sect. .% 
 
 Triumphal gate at Rome, War, vii, v, 4. 
 
 Triumphal pi mp described. War, vii, v, 4, .5, tic. 
 
 Trophies give offence to the Jews, .\ntiq. xv, viii, 1, 
 
 Trumpet, its invention and form, Antiq. iii, xii, 6. 
 
 Truth and justice complained to be gone out of the 
 world, .Antiq. xvi, xi, 4. 
 
 Truth and accuracy to be observed bv an historian, 
 Antiq. xiv, i, 1 ; observed accordingly by Joscnhus, 
 Life, sect. 6.5. b J J i . 
 
 Trypho the tyrant, brings young Antiochus back to 
 Syria, Antiq. xiii, v, 3; his perfidious behaviour to 
 the same Antiochus, c. vi, sect. 1; he draws Jona- 
 than into a snare, sect. 1,2; he makes an irruption 
 into Judea, sect. 4 : imposes upon Simon, ib. ; kills 
 Jonathan, sect. 5; he causes Antiochus, whose guard- 
 ian he was, to be killed, c. vii, sect. 1 j he is made 
 king by the army, ib. ; he is killed at Apamia, sect, 
 2. 
 
 Trypho, king Herod's barber, Antiq. xvi, ix, 6, &c ; 
 War, i, xxvii, 5. 
 
 Trypho, king Ptolemy's darling, Antiq. xii, iv, 9. 
 
 Tubal-Cain, Antiq. i, ii, 2. 
 
 Tyrannius Priseus, War, li, xix, 4. 
 
 Tyrannns, deposition against Alexander, Antiq. xvi, x, 
 3; War, i, xxvi, 3 
 
 Tyre, when built, Antiq. viii, iii, ]. 
 
 Tyre, oppressed by Marion, Antiq. xiv, xii, 1. 
 
 Tyre, besieged seven months by Alexander the Great, 
 Antiq. xi, viii, 4. 
 
 Tyre, the name of a castle built by Hyrcanus, Antiq. 
 xii, iv, 11. 
 
 Tynans, their god Baal, Antiq. ix, vi, 6; their ancieni 
 records. Against Apion, i, .sect. 17; thev beat tha 
 Assyrians at sea, Antiq. ix, xiv, 2 ; their "temple of 
 Jupiter Olympius, viii, v, 3 ; Agamst Apion, i, sect. 
 18 ; of Herculus, ib. ; of .\starte, ib. 
 
 Valerian, a deeurion. War, iii, ix, 7. 
 
 Valerius Gratus, procutator of Judea, Antiq. xviii, iii, 
 
 2. 
 Valerius Asiaticus, .\ntiq. xix, i, 14, 20. 
 Varo, president of Syria, Antiq. xv, x, 1. 
 Varus, (Quintilius), president of Syria, Antiq. xvii, » 
 
 2, 6; c. ix, sect. 3; Life, sect. 11 ; War, i, xxxi, .5 ; 
 
 and, ii, iii, 1 ; he comes to succour Sabinus, Anriq. 
 
 xvii, X, 9 : War, ii, v, 1 ; ho punishes the mutineers 
 
 An iq. xvii, x, 1, 9, 10. 
 Vashti, wifeof king .Artaxerxes, Antiq. xi, vi, 1. 
 Vatiniiis, Antiq. xix. i, 1,3. 
 Veils of the tabernacle, Antiq. iii, vii, 7. 
 Ventidius Bassus, bribed by Antigonus, Antiq. xiv, xn, 
 
 6 ; c, XV, sect. 1 ; sent to repel the Parth ans. War, 
 
 i, XV, 2; he kills Paeorus in battle, and defeats the 
 
 Parthians, Anliq. xiv, xv, 7. 
 Veranius, Antiq. xix, iii, 4. 
 
 Vespasian and Titus' generosity towards the Jews, .An- 
 tiq. xii, iii, 2; his wars in Judea, War, book iii, and 
 
 iv, at large. 
 Victory does not depend on numbers, but on valour, 
 
 Antiq. i, x, 1 ; and on piety towards God, Antiq. xii, 
 
 vii, 1. 
 Vindex rebels against Nero, War, iv, viii, 1. 
 Vine ;?olden) in Herod's temple, Antiq. xv, xiii, 3 ; 
 
 annrhpr sent to R me, xiv, iii, 1. 
 Vinicius (Marcus), Antiq xix, i, 14. 
 Virtue, its own reward, Antiq. iv, viii, ?. 
 Virtues (royal), Antiq. vii, xv, 2. 
 Vitellius, president of Syria, Antiq. xv, xi, 4 ; War, vii, 
 
 iv, 2 ; he is highly treated by the Jews, Antiq. xviii, 
 
 iii, 3 ; c. v, sect. 3 ; his expedition against Aretas, ib. ; 
 
 is ordered by Tiberius to enter into an alliance with 
 
 Artabanus, e. iv, sect. 4. 
 Vitellius is made emperor after Otho, War, iv, ix, 9 
 
 he is slam, c. xi, sect. 1. 
 Vitellius I'roculus, Anliq xix, vi, 3. 
 Uinminius yuadiatus, president of Syria, Antiq. xx, vi, 
 
 2. 
 Unexpected events the most shocking, Antiq. v, ix, 3. 
 Unleavened bread. See P<-issover. 
 (221 
 
 ~Y. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Voice heard in the temple, War, v'., v, 5. 
 
 Vologesses, king of Farthia, Antiq. xx, iv, 2: War, vii, 
 
 V, .'; c. vii, sect. 5; he ilcciares war against Izates, 
 
 Antiq. xx, iv, 2. 
 Volumnius, procurator of Syria, Antiq. xvi, ix, 1; c. 
 
 xi, sect. 3; War, i, xxvii, 1, 2. 
 Vonones, Antiq. xviii, li, 4. 
 Vow of Jephtha to sacrifice his daughter, neither lawful 
 
 nor acceptable to fJod, Antiq. v, vii, 10. i 
 
 (ires, Antiq. viii, ii, .1. i 
 
 Uriah slain, Antiq. vii, vii, 1. | 
 
 Urias, high-pries', Antiq, x, viii, P. 
 Uz, Antiq. i, vi, 4, .0. 
 Uz^ah, smitten by God, for touctiing the ark, Antiq. 
 
 vii, iv. 2. 
 Uzziah, or Azari.ih kingof Judah, Antiq. ix, xi, .1 ; his 
 
 acts and encomium, c. ix, sect. 3; he burns incense 
 
 in the temple, sect. -1 ; he i:: smitten with the leprosy 
 
 for usurping the priest's oifiee, ib. 
 
 War not begun with foreign nations till ambassadors 
 are sent, Antiq. iv, viii, 41 ; and v, ii, 9. 
 
 War (laws of) among the Jews, Antiq. iv, viii, 41, &c. ; 
 .\gainst Apion, ii, sect. 30. 
 
 War (Jewish) whence Kgun, War, ii, xiii ; c. xiv, sect. 
 4 ; c. XV, sect. 5: c. xvii, stct. I, &c. 
 
 Water of Bethlehem, ofiered to God by David, Antiq. 
 vii, xii, 4. 
 
 Water (sea). See Sea. 
 
 Witch, or necromantic woman of Kndor, comforts Saul, 
 Antiq. vi, xiv, 3 ; her eulogium, sect. 4. 
 
 Women's power, Autiq. xi, iii, rt ; their cunning in pre- 
 venlinj; accusations, ii, v, 5; tlieir dress torhidden 
 men, iv, viii, 43: foreign wonu-n not to be niedciled 
 with by Jews, xii, iv, fi; when divorced, cannot 
 marry another without tiu-ir former husband's con- 
 sent, XV, vii, iO; Persian women, or wives, not to 
 bo seen by strangera, x, vi, 1 ; not allowed to be wit- 
 nesses, iv, viii, 15. 
 
 Xanthicus, the S)To-Macedonian name of the Jewish 
 month Nis.-»n, Antit). i, iii, 5 ; and so elsewhere. 
 
 Xerxes succeeds Darius, Antiq. xi, v, I ; his letter to 
 Ezra, ib. 
 
 Xylophoria, a Jewish festival when they carried wood 
 to the temple for the saeritices. War, li, xvii, 6. 
 
 t'ear, two beginnings of Jewish years, Antiq. i, i, 3. 
 Vear ^Ureat), a period of six hundred commou years, 
 Antiq. i, ii, 9. 
 
 Zabdiel, a prince of the Arabians, Vntiq xiii, iv, 8. 
 
 Zabidus, an Idiunean, Against Apion, ii, sect. 10. 
 
 Zachariah, king of Israel, Antiq. ix, x, 3 ; his death, c 
 xi, sect. 1. 
 
 Z:!Chariah, son of Jehoiada, a prophet, is stoned, An 
 tiq. ix, viii, 3. 
 
 Zachariah the prophet, Antiq. xi, iv, 5, 7. 
 
 Zacharias, son of liaruch. War, iv, v, 4; he is mur 
 dered in the temiile, ib. 
 
 Zacharias, son of i^halck. War, iv, iv, 1. 
 
 Zachariah, son of Ah;iz, is slain by Maasciah, Antiq. 
 ix, xii, 1. 
 
 Zadoc, orSailoc, high-priest, Antiq. vii, ij ; c. v, sect. 
 4; c. x,soct. 4; c, xi, sect. 8; c. xiv, sect 4; and 
 viii, i, 3 ; and x, viii, 6. 
 
 Zalmunna, a captain of the Midianites, Antiq. v, vi, 3. 
 
 Zainaris, a Babylonian Jew, Antiq. xvii, ii, 3. 
 
 Zarcpheth, or Sarepta, the widow's habitation, Anti(|. 
 viii, xiii, 2. 
 
 Zealots, War, iv, iii, 9, 13, 14 ; c. iv, sect. 5, &c. ; c. 
 V, sect. 1,5; and vii, viii, I . 
 
 Zcb, or Zeeb, captain of the Midianites, Antiq. v, vi, 5. 
 
 Zebudah, mother of Jehoiakim, Antiq, x, v, 2. 
 
 Zedekiah, a false prophet, Antiq. viii, xv, 4. 
 
 ZeiJekiah, king of Judah, Antiq. x, vii, 4, ,'. c. ; he re- 
 volts from the Babylonians, sect. 2; calk for Jere- 
 miah's advice, sect. 6 ; he is carried captive to Ba- 
 bylon, e. viii, sect. 2; his death, sect. 7. 
 
 Zeb'ina (Alexaiuler), king of Syria, is conquered by An- 
 iiocfius Gry|)us, and dies, Antiq. xiii, ix, 3. 
 
 Zebul, Antiq. v, vii, 4. 
 
 Zeno, styled Cotylas, tyrant of Philadelphia, Antiq. 
 xiii, vii, 1. 
 
 Zonodoras, Anfiq. xv, x, 1, &c. ; War, i, xx, iv; his 
 death, Anfiq. xv, x, 3. 
 
 Zcrah, an EiJuopian king, Antiq. viii, xii, 1 ; defeated 
 by Asa, sect. 1, 2. 
 
 Zeruiah, .Antiq. vi, xiii, 9. 
 
 Zuxis, Antiq. xii, iii, 4. 
 
 Ziba, Saul's freed man, Antiq. vii, v, 2. 
 
 Zillah, I arntch's wife, Antitj. i, ii, 2. 
 
 Zimri, jirincc of the SimeoijUes, Antiq. iv, vi, 10; hij 
 speech against .Moses, sect. 1 1 . 
 
 Zimri kills Elah, Antiq. viii, xii, 4, 5 ; his death, ib 
 
 Zipporah, Moses' wife, Antiq. iii, li, 1. 
 
 Zizus, an Arabian, Antiq. xiii, xiv, ,3. 
 
 Zoba, (king of), Antiq. vii, vi, 1. 
 
 Zoiius, a tyrant, Antiq. xiii, xii, 2. 
 
 Zorobabcl, Antiq. xi, i, 5; c. iii, sect 1, A-o. 
 
 Zur, king of the Miilianites, Antiq iv, <ii, ";. 
 
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