-
Contents: THE LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS -- ANTIQUITIES OfTHE JEWS
Volume One.p. iii, Para. 1, [1].
Preface:p. iii, Para. 2, [1].
BOOK I FROM THE CREATION To THE DEATH OF ISAAC..page.32BOOK II
FROM THE DEATH Of ISAAC TO THE EXODUS OUT OFEGYPT..page.60 BOOK III
FROM THE EXODUS OUT Of EGYPT, TOTHE REJECTION OF THAT
Generation..page.87 BOOK IV FROM THEREJECTION OF THAT GENERATION TO
THE DEATH OfMOSES..page.113 BOOK V FROM THE DEATH OF MOSES TO THE
DEATHOf ELI..page.141 BOOK VI FROM THE DEATH OF ELI TO THE DEATHOf
SAUL..page.171 BOOK VII FROM THE DEATH OF SAUL TO THEDEATH Of
DAVID..page.205 BOOK VIII CONTAINING THE INTERVALOf ONE HUNDRED AND
SIXTY-THREE YEARS. FROM THE DEATH OfDAVID TO THE DEATH Of
AHAB..page.237 BOOK IX FROM THE DEATHOF AHAB TO THE CAPTIVITY Of
THE TEN TRIBES..page.275 BOOK XFROM THE CAPTIVITY Of THE TEN TRIBES
TO THE FIRST YEAR OFCyrus..page.299 BOOK XI FROM THE FIRST OF CYRUS
TO THEDEATH Of ALEXANDER THE GREAT..page.321 BOOK XII FROM THEDEATH
OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO THE DEATH Of JUDAS Macca-beus..page.346
BOOK XIII FROM THE DEATH OF JUDAS MACCABEUSTO THE DEATH Of QUEEN
Alexandra..page.376 BOOK XIV FROM THEDEATH OF QUEEN ALEXANDRA TO
THE DEATH Of ANTIGO-NUS..page.408 BOOK XV FROM THE DEATH OF
ANTIGONUS TO THEFINISHING Of THE TEMPLE BY Herod..page.444 BOOK XVI
FROMTHE FINISHING Of THE TEMPLE BY HEROD TO THE DEATH OF ALEX-ANDER
And ARISTOBULUS..pag.475 BOOK XVII FROM THE DEATH OfALEXANDER AND
ARISTOBULUS TO THE BANISHMENT Of ARCHE-LAUS..page.502 BOOK XVIII
FROM THE BANISHMENT Of ARCHELUSTO THE DEPARTURE FROM
Babylon..page.529 BOOK XIX FROM THEDEPARTURE OUT Of BABYLON TO
FADUS, THE ROMAN Procura-tor..page.559 BOOK XX FROM FADUS THE
PROCURATOR To FLO-RUS..page.584 p. iii, Para. 3, [1].
THE WARS Of THE JEWS. VOLUME TWO PREFACE p. iii, Para.
4,[1].
BOOK I. FROM THE TAKING Of JERUSALEM BY ANTIOCHUS EPI-PHANES, TO
THE DEATH Of HEROD THE GREAT..page.607 BOOK.IIFROM THE DEATH Of
HEROD TILL VESPASIAN WAS SENT TO SUBDUETHE JEWS By NERO..page.665
BOOK III FROM VESPASIAN'S COMINGTo SUBDUE THE JEWS TO THE TAKING OF
Gamala..page.711 BOOKIV FROM THE SIEGE OF GAMALA TO THE COMING Of
TITUS TO BE-
-
SIEGE Jerusalem..page.738 BOOK.V FROM THE COMING Of TITUSTO
BESIEGE JERUSALEM, TO THE GREAT EXTREMITY To WHICH THEJEWS WERE
REDUCED..page.772 BOOK VI FROM THE GREAT EXTREM-ITY To WHICH THE
JEWS WERE REDUCED TO THE TAKING OF JERUSA-LEM By TITUS..page.807
BOOK VII FROM THE TAKING Of JERUSA-LEM BY TITUS TO THE SEDITION AT
Cyrene..page.833 p. iii,Para. 5, [1].
FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AGAINST APION -- An EXTRACT CONCERNINGHADES p.
v, Para. 1, [1].
FOOTNOTES -- PUBLISHER'S NOTES. -- INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ByThe Rev.
Henry Stebbing, D.D. p. v, Para. 2, [1].
Valuable as are the remains of classical antiquity, theWorks of
Josephus may be placed, at least, on a level withthe most esteemed
monuments of ancient learning. While thehistorians of Greece and
Rome inform us of events connectedwith perishable states and
polities, the annals of the Jew-ish people enable us to trace the
progress of dispensa-tions, the importance and stability of which,
instead ofdiminishing, are perpetually on the increase. p. v,
Para.3, [1].
The writings of Josephus may be classed under the twoheads of
historical and controversial; the former compre-hending the
Antiquities, and the Wars of the Jews; and thelatter, his treatise
against Apion, and some essays of mi-nor character. his earliest
production was the history orthe memorable and terrific war which
ended in the downfalof his nation. This work seems to have been
commenced withno higher view than that of giving a general and
popularaccount of the scenes in which he had been engaged. It
was,therefore, originally written in Syro-chaldaic, or in thecommon
language of the Jews inhabiting Palestine. When Jo-sephus arrived
at Rome, he found numerous accounts of thewar in circulation. Some
of these narratives were by per-sons who had but limited means of
learning the truth. Oth-ers were the production of men who wrote in
a spirit ofbitter prejudice. Even among those who had some portion
ofthe ability and in formation necessary to such an undertak-ing,
none, perhaps, could be found so thoroughly well pre-pared for the
undertaking as Josephus. Greatly to the bene-fit of posterity,
therefore, he employed his first days ofrepose in the preparation
of his work for a more extendedcirculation. The Greek language was,
at that time under-stood by most persons of even an ordinary degree
of intel-
-
ligence. It was read and spoken commonly among a large por-tion
of his own people. The Septuagint translation of theBible had
rendered it venerable in their eyes, and musthave obliged the
priestly order, to which Josephus be-longed, to cultivate it with
more than ordinary diligence.In this popular and elegant language,
therefore, he putforth his work, and the admiration with which it
was re-ceived confirmed, at once, the opinion of his genius
andmerit entertained by the greatest men of his time.
Hisqualifications were the better estimated from the candourwhich
circumstances, as well as nature, taught him to cul-tivate.
Faithful to the duties of patriotism, he was yetsufficiently awake
to the vices, to the folly and obsti-nacy, of his countrymen. This
enabled him to view and speakof things with a liberal mind. He
manifested a tender re-gret for the fall of his nation, well
calculated to con-ciliate the affections of the people whose
sufferings heshared; but he had too much gratitude not to refrain
fromviolating the dignity of those by whom they had been
con-quered, for he was in the daily habit of experiencing
theirbounty and their tolerance. The real defects of his
work,moreover, were not such as could be readily detected bypopular
readers. They consisted chiefly of errors in theearly part of the
narrative, and were confined to a periodof Jewish history, the
interest of which would be greatlydiminished by the awful grandeur
of that which describedthe fall of the commonwealth. p. v, Para. 4,
[1].
The second great work of Josephus occupies the first placein the
modern editions of his writings, but was not com-posed till about
eighteen years after the History of theJewish Wars. This
interesting production of his maturedmind was undertaken with the
desire of giving to the worlda narrative which might remove the
prejudices entertainedagainst his nation. He was evidently
ambitious of imitatingthe celebrate classical historians, and of
relating theevents, so dear to the memory of his people, in a
stylewhich might render the subject acceptable to the learnedand
accomplished of all nations. This feeling was natural,and in many
respects laudable. But it exposed him to dan-gers peculiar to the
matters of which he had to treat.There was one grand and
authoritative source of informa-tion. It bore the seal of Divine
inspiration, and had beenreceived, from generation to generation,
as the sublime re-cord of God's dealings with his people. To this
primaryfountain of information an honest historian must
necessar-ily have turned with profound reverence. From this he
must
-
have felt it his duty to draw the most important parts ofhis
narrative; nor could he regard it as allowable, weshould have
supposed, to place any other source of intelli-gence in competition
with one so superior to the ordinaryfoundations of historical
truth. p. vi, Para. 1, [1].
But Josephus had designed his work for the use of
Gentilereaders. He was anxious to inspire them with respect for
afaith hitherto despised. In order to effect this, he deemedit
necessary to modify certain parts of his narrative, lestthe naked
facts might strengthen, rather than allay, theprejudices which it
was his object to overcome. Such, atleast, is one of the supposed
reasons of those discrepan-cies which exist between the history of
Josephus and thatof Scripture. That he was justified in even the
minutestdeparture from the plain statements of the Bible, few
be-lievers in revelation would venture to assert. But he hashad
many apologist; and it has been suggested that, in histime, there
were other sacred books existing, besides thosereceived into the
canon of Scripture, and which, though notof equal authority, were
not withstanding held in greatreverence by the Jewish people. It is
also observed, thatthe Rabbinical traditions were regarded, at this
period, asof indisputable weight; and, still further, that it is
notknown whether he took as his authority the original text ofthe
Hebrew Bible, or a version, or paraphrase.* p. vi,Para. 2, [1].
[* De ipso Josepho non est praetereundem quod ex
sacrisHebraeorum litteris suas translaturum se est pollicitus,neque
subtrahendo quicquam, neque addendo, id eum pari fidenon
praestitisse. Eodem consilio, quo Persis nuper Hierony-mus
Xaverius, Jesuita, interpolatam a se evangelicam dedithistoriam,
etiam Graecis ille rerum in V. Testamentogestarum transmisit
memoriam. Nonnulla, quae erant in Can-none, supprimens, alia (ut
quum Salomoni verba gratia proXL. regni anni) LXXX. tribuit, et in
numero talentorum ar-genti,ad templi usum a Davide relicto, 1
Chron. xxii, 14,centum millia pro mille millibus substituit.
Minuitans,atque de Scriptis Apocryphis non pauca adjiciens, uti
inejus de Moyse trienni, de eodem juvene cum AETHIOPIBUS bel-lum
gerente, de Tharbi, reghis AETHIOPUM filia, connubiumejus
expetente, it aliis ejusdem farinae narrationibus li-cet
perspicere. Jacobus Usserius, in Epis. ad Lud. Capel-lum, p.42.] p.
vi, Para. 3, [1].
These suggestions are worthy of attention, but they do not
-
completely exonerate the historian from the charge of hav-ing
either weakly yielded too much to the desire of con-ciliating his
readers, or made a bad estimate of the valueof the materials before
him. It has been thought by somethat he might frequently write from
mere memory. This couldonly be excused on the supposition that he
could not, attimes, get access to the necessary documents, a
notionwhich seems plainly contradicted by the fact, that he wasthe
keeper of the sacred books, the possession of whichmust have
enabled him readily to correct any error admittedinto the first
impression of his work. p. vii, Para. 1,[1].
It would be difficult, indeed, to advance an argument
suf-ficiently strong to clear him from the charge of not
havinggiven that constant attention to the simple narrative ofthe
Bible, which might have prevented those discrepancies,and therefore
errors, to be found in his Antiquities. Butwhile it must be
acknowledged that his apologists havescarcely succeeded in their
plea, it is almost equallyclear that he has been criticised by
others with to greatstrictness and asperity. "Baronius," says
Casaubon, "neveromits any opportunity of abusing Josephus. But if
all hiserrors, I do not speak of those in which he departs
fromScripture, and for which he cannot be excused, were put
to-gether, they would scarcely amount to a hundredth part ofthose
admitted by Eusebius alone, either into his Chroni-cle, or other
portions of his works." * Whatever construc-tion, however, may be
put upon the fact, that the unin-spired writer is wanting in a
close adherence to the Biblenarrative, there is this valuable
lesson to be drawn fromsuch discrepancies, Scripture remains alone,
in its sepa-rate and sublime authority. Apart from, and infinitely
ex-alted above, all other sources of information, the verypride and
imperfections of those who would imitate or rivalit, serve but the
more to prove its Divine excellence. Butfor the variations in
Josephus, he might imperceptibly havebeen set up as equal to
writers chosen by God to describehis ways and doings. The
Antiquities would have become asubstitute for the Bible; and some
men would probably haverejoiced to exchange the plain and succinct
account, theexquisite beauty of which is only completely visible
tospiritual understandings, for the classical and brightly-coloured
style of the mere historian. It is, perhaps, inthe simple
circumstance, that he aimed only at being anhistorian, that he
sought to imitate models framed in aspirit, and fitted for
materials, wholly different to those
-
peculiar to his subject, that we may most readily find thecause
of the errors with which his work may be fairlycharged. He
paraphrased and adorned the general statementof facts, not with the
desire of falsifying, but by yield-ing to his literary tastes, and
to those of the people forwhom he wrote. The temptation under which
a writer labours,when detailing sublime and mysterious occurrences,
andwhich, though convinced of their truth himself, he trembleslest
others may doubt is of no ordinary kind. He fears lestthe mode of
his relating the facts should be wanting inearnestness and dignity.
They have appeared to him brightand noble under the shining light
of his own imagination;and he easily yields to the flattering
suggestion, that byits use he may make the record, in this its
somewhat modi-fied structure, more acceptable than it was likely to
be inits simpler form. p. vii, Para. 2, [1].
[* Fabricii Bibliotheca Graeca, Art. Jos.] p. vii, Para.3,
[1].
So far was Josephus from being regarded by ancient Chris-tian
writers as a wilful offender against the veracity ofhistory, that
he is commonly honoured in their treatiseswith the name of
Philalethes, or, the lover of truth. *That he was not ignorant of
the importance of fidelity, asthe first characteristic of a good
historian, is evidentfrom his own remarks. Speaking, in his life,
of one who hadviolated the truth, he says, "I have a mind to say a
fewthings to Justus, who hath himself written a history con-cerning
these affairs; as also to others who profess towrite history, but
have little regard to truth, and are notafraid, either out of
ill-will or good-will to some per-sons, to relate falsehoods. These
men do like those whocompose forged deeds and conveyances, and
because they arenot brought to the like punishment with them, care
not forthe truth." At the conclusion of the eleventh chapter ofthe
tenth book of the Antiquities, he says, "Now as to my-self, I have
so described these matters as I have foundthem and read them. But
if any one is inclined to anotheropinion about them, let him enjoy
his different sentimentswithout any blame from me." But the
personal character of awriter must not be passed over in the
estimate taken of thehonesty of his narrative. In this respect
Josephus mayclaim honourable attention. The predominant sentiment
ofhis writings is veneration for God and his providence, nordoes he
omit any opportunity of showing the value of integ-rity, or the
supreme beauty of holiness. His faults may,
-
therefore, fairly be ascribed to somewhat of timidity onthe one
side, and of literary vanity on the other. Most ofthe errors with
which he has been charged are clearly ref-erable to these sources.
Of the others, which cannot be soaccounted for, there are some that
appear to have origi-nated in the different opinions which
prevailed among theJews of his time, and threw no small obscurity
over por-tions of the Scripture narrative; while the
remainder,whether omissions or statements plainly opposed to the
in-spired history, must be left without conjecture, and arebetter
disposed of by the acknowledgment that such discrep-ancies cannot
be accounted for, unless by suppositionswhich involve us in new
difficulties. p. viii, Para. 1,[1].
[* Fabricii Bibliotheca Graeca, Art. Jos. Eusebius,
theecclesiastical historian, speaks of him as worthy of allcredit,
lib. iii. C. 9. Sozomen names him as equally cele-brated among the
Romans and the Jews, Hist. Eccles. Lib. i.c. l. And Evagrius speaks
of his history as copious, andhighly valuable, lib. v. c. 24] p.
viii, Para. 2, [1].
It is somewhat curious that the two severest critics ofJosephus
should be the Romanist historian Baronius, and thesceptic Bayle;
the one little attentive to the rules ofhistorical evidence, and
readily admitting into his workwhatever the flood of common
tradition cast up; the otheranxious only to discover differences in
the language ofthose who acknowledged the divinity of revelation,
that hemight, by attacking them separately, destroy the
treasureequally dear to both. The latter, in a pretended fit
ofzeal, observes, "I have been long indignant against Jo-sephus,
and those who spare him on this subject. A man whomade open
profession of Judaism, the law of which wasfounded on the divinity
of Scripture, dares to recountthings otherwise than he read of them
in the book of Gene-sis. He changes, he adds, he suppresses
circumstances; in awork, he puts himself in opposition to Moses in
such a man-ner that one of them must be a false historian."
Thisstatement involves a gross injustice, and is as illogicalas it
is unjust. Two writers may assuredly disagree in somepoints,
without exposing themselves to the sweeping chargeof falsehood as
their general character. If disagreement ina few instances should
oblige us to consider, that of thewriters so differing only one can
be worthy of credit, andthat, consequently, the rest ought to be
regarded as unde-serving of any attention, the number of historical
refer-
-
ences would soon be diminished to such a degree, that thenext
step would be the annihilation of history altogether.The fact is,
that wherever human inquiry begins, human er-ror will be
introduced, in greater or less proportions.There will, accordingly,
be discrepancies in the statementof witnesses; but, except in the
points where they pre-cisely differ, they may be in such general
harmony, thateach may strengthen the cause of each, and neither the
onenor the other notwithstanding their occasional contradic-tions,
merit the charge of injustice or dishonesty. A veryslight
comparison of the most esteemed historians will af-ford ample
illustrations of this fact. The experience gath-ered in the
collection of evidence of any kind tends to thesame purpose, and
plainly shows that several witnesses to anarrative may differ in
many minor points, yet be highlydeserving of credit as to the main
and more importantfacts. p. viii, Para. 3, [1].
Such are the two great historical works of Josephus. Theyare
followed by his celebrated treatise on the Antiquitiesof the Jews,
a production not less admired than his formervolumes for elegance
of style and copiousness of learning.* Jerome speaks of it with
astonishment, and declares him-self unable to tell how a Jew,
confined as the learned ofhis nation were to the study of their own
books, shouldhave become so extensively acquainted with Grecian
litera-ture. The object of the work was to defend the Jews
againstthe scorn of Gentile Philosophers and infidels. Apion,
andothers, had attempted to throw ridicule on their high
pre-tensions to antiquity. Their history, it was said, occupiedno
place in the records of those great writers to whom theworld looked
for information. It was almost unknown: whilethat of the Egyptians,
Carthaginians, Greeks, and others,filled the volumes of authors
read and admired in everycorner of the earth. Josephus produced
facts, as well asarguments, in confutation of this species of
attack. Thenations, he contended, to whose writers the appeal had
beenmade against his own, were indebted for all their learningto
those more ancient countries with which the Jews hadearly
intercourse. They were known, moreover, to have beensingularly
inattentive to the careful chronicling ofevents. This is abundantly
proved by the contrary, in re-gard to the Jews, there were but
twenty-two books acknowl-edged by the nation, and these had the
seal of remote an-tiquity, and the authority of works written by
men in highpublic offices, and endowed with the richest gifts of
Di-vine wisdom. The whole argument is worked out in a masterly
-
and lucid style; nor could even the modern reader find amore
powerful statement in favour of the authenticity ofthe ancient
Scriptures, or of the great truths of Jewishhistory. p. ix, Para.
1, [1].
[* Eusebius speaks of this work as worthy of great esteem,and as
containing answers to the calumnies of Apion, thegrammarian, and
others who had endeavoured to cast doubtsupon the origin of the
Jews. Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. 9.]In the second part of the
treatise, the writer enters uponthe task of answering those more
general accusationsagainst the Jews, which contributed so greatly
to renderthem objects of hatred among the proud and ignorant
Gen-tiles. Their laws and customs, the ordinary conduct oftheir
affairs, the most conspicuous features of their per-sonal
character, had all afforded topics of insulting com-ment. Josephus
answers his assailants with a keen and com-prehensive view of the
odious follies of which they werethemselves guilty, and then shows
that the customs whichhad provoked their scorn rested upon
principles which mer-ited the most profound respect. p. ix, Para.
2, [1].
The writings of which we have given this brief accountmust have
exercised, in ancient times, no slight degree ofinfluence on the
minds of inquiring men. This is suffi-ciently evidenced by the high
position which their authorcontinued to hold, for many years, in
the court of the mostaccomplished of Roman emperors. * The style
again in whichhe writes shows not only his confidence in the
importanceof the subjects handled, but his expectation of the
mostprofitable results from his labours. Rome, at the periodwhen he
wrote, was filled with men deeply engaged in relig-ious
speculation. The spirit of the ancient times, when waronly
furnished employment for active minds, was rapidly de-parting, or
submitting itself to the influence of a changedestined to present
every principle of society under a newform. Superstition and
philosophy had joined hands. Hostsof theories, of creeds, and
rites, from the farthest cor-ners of the earth, had begun to
establish themselves in themidst of cities and provinces celebrated
for their refine-ment. It was no longer beneath the dignity of the
sternestman to inquire, if not openly, yet secretly, into the
pre-tensions of these novel systems, and to try whether theymight
not present some hitherto neglected means of wardingoff approaching
ills. p. x, Para. 1, [1].
[ * He was, says Sozomen, as highly honoured, by the Ro-
-
mans as the Jews. Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. i.] p. x, Para.2,
[1].
In such a state of the public mind, the common rumoursafloat
respecting the religion of the Jews could scarcelyfail to attract
attention. However despised the people, anddespised especially they
were at this period, so ancient afaith, and one the fundamental
doctrine of which was in ac-cordance with the most approved
philosophers, must stillhave claimed at least a share of the
awakened curiosity.But as yet no work existed from which
information might begained as to the real origin and institutions
of this re-markable nation. The notions commonly entertained
respect-ing them were derived from sources utterly undeserving
ofcredit. Some portions of the Scriptures had been broughtbefore
the notice of a few diligent students; but they werealtogether a
sealed volume to the great mass of those whomight notwithstanding,
have a very sincere desire to becomeacquainted with Jewish
antiquities. There were, moreover,floating traditions which had no
small weight with the massof the people, and the origin of which
could easily betraced to Palestine, and the mysterious oracles of
its in-habitants. This would furnish still stronger motives
forinquiry into their real doctrines and history. That amighty
Deliverer, a lofty Renovator of the human race, wasto arise out of
the East, had long been a well-known reportamong heathen nations.
The boastful claims of the Jews,whose devotion and patriotism would
never allow them tokeep silence on this point; the increasing
importance ofthe Christians, speaking a similar language, and
referringtheir own hopes and triumphs to a Leader sprung from
thisrace; would yet further increase the curiosity of
mankindrespecting the Jews, and render the want of some work
ofauthority every day more perceptibly understood. p. x,Para. 3,
[1].
Josephus had thus an open field for literary exertion.There was
scarcely a subject in that age better calculatedto excite
attention, or reward the writer for his labour.It is not,
therefore, as an obscure author, known only tohis own people, and
owing his limited success to the acci-dental interest taken in his
work by Christians, that Jo-sephus is to be viewed; but as a writer
highly esteemed andpopular in his age through a vast portion of the
civilizedworld, and most probably, therefore, exercising
consider-able influence on religious opinion. It is almost
impossi-ble for us in these days to estimate the value or
assign
-
the rank of such a writer in times and countries like thosein
which he lived. Our Bibles make us intimate from child-hood with
the sublimest passages of ancient lore, with themost wonderful
manifestations of Divine power and grace. Webecome familiar with
the possession of this wealth, and canscarcely persuade ourselves
to think of periods when thesmallest portion of such spiritual
treasures would havebeen viewed as a benefaction of marvellous
worth. The in-formation supplied by Josephus is now, as far as his
Antiq-uities are concerned, already given to the most unlearnedfrom
the first and purest source of sacred erudition; butwhen no such
means of instruction were open, and men hadbeen left for ages in
the dark perplexities of heathen fa-ble, the publication of a work
like his on the origin ofthe only religious system that could
secure the admirationof thoughtful men, must have tended materially
to stimu-late, while it in part satisfied, the new desire of
intel-ligence. p. xi, Para. 1, [1].
The tone in which such of the early Christian writers asspeak of
Josephus allude to his works, afford fair reasonto conjecture that
their circulation had been found usefulto the general cause of
religion. It must indeed have beendifficult for a Gentile reader,
of an active and honestmind, to have studied his pages, and not
felt disposed toinquire for the sequel of the history. The Jew had
his fa-tal prejudices to combat, his present, literal, earthly
pa-triotism, pointing to the soil where his beloved citylately
stood, and bounding even the farthest future withvisions of its
recovered glory. The Gentile, on the otherhand, as he read
Josephus, was free to inquire, whether thesublime plans of Jehovah
might not contemplate an end com-mensurate with the happiness of
universal man. His igno-rance of conventional interpretations was
an advantage tohim; and learning from the uninspired historian the
simplefacts connected with the mightiest dispensations of
Provi-dence, he had new motives for searching the original
rec-ords, and for employing his best efforts in securing tohimself
a name among the people of God. p. xi, Para. 2,[1].
But the writings of Josephus have not lost their use,
not-withstanding the vast advantages now enjoyed in the
generalcirculation of the Bible. They may still be read withprofit
by the careful inquirer. Little need be said re-specting that
portion which refers to the period subsequentto the destruction of
Jerusalem. In regard to this, it is
-
evidently of great importance to possess the account givenby a
contemporary and credible witness. The knowledge ofwhat took place
in an age succeeding that in the events ofwhich we are more
particularly interested, is often power-fully illustrative of the
earlier epoch. Thus what Josephustells us in the narrative of the
Wars throws no small de-gree of light upon the character of his
countrymen, notonly of the period when he wrote, but of that also
whenevery mode of thought, every custom and passion,
derivedunspeakable importance from its connexions, near or
remote,with the awful complication of influences that brought
theRedeemer to the cross. The mind of the people is exhibitedin
many parts of the history with a terrible distinctnessof
delineation. Its most striking features at that timewere evidently
not impressed by any sudden convulsion. Thelines which an age of
suffering and remorse had more deeplyfurrowed had been traced long
before by struggles of heartand spirit, by pride and fear, by
mysterious hopes and ap-prehensions, the fruit of those inwardly
understood warn-ings which, finally despised, left them to
unutterable mis-ery. p. xii, Para. 1, [1].
The account which Josephus gives of the Jewish wars
has,therefore, a manifest use beyond that of merely satisfyingour
curiosity as to facts. It opens the path to inquiriesclosely
connected with the history of our religion, andbrings to light many
of the secret causes which operatedmost powerfully to the
degradation and ruin of God's an-cient people. p. xii, Para. 2,
[1].
Nor has time diminished the interest attached to otherparts of
this author's writings. "The Antiquities," thoughof little value as
history, when compared with the authori-tative accounts of
Scripture, is a work eminently calcu-lated to assist an inquiring
mind in the general investiga-tion of ancient mysteries.
Traditional evidence, tradi-tional interpretations, and the new
facts which may be sup-plied from the full storehouses of national
memory, willnever be despised by those who know how often an
obscurepoint is cleared up when it is discovered what were
theruling sentiments of the period when the narrative waswritten.
While, therefore, it is utterly subversive of theauthority of the
Bible to place tradition upon the samelevel, nor less inconsistent
with sound reason to modifyplain declarations, clearly stated
doctrines, according tothe uncertain temper of human wisdom, it is
surely unwiseto reject those helps for the confirmation or
illustration
-
of sacred history which are known to be profitably used inthe
study of records of every other species. Hence thevalue of
Josephus. He was intimately acquainted with what-ever had been
taught by the learned of his nation. He hadbeen familiarized in
childhood to its superstitions. Thespirit of popular Judaism was
the chief instructor of hislater years; and as a man of education,
he knew wellthrough what revolutions and by what various trials
hiscountrymen had been proved, instructed, and warned of God.Though
from his pages, therefore, it is not often that wecan add to our
stock of positive knowledge, we may in manycases trace by their
help the progress of error, discoverits origin, and estimate the
relative force of those de-plorable corruptions whereby it became
at last so indis-solubly bound up with the national constitution.
p. xii,Para. 3, [1].
However cautiously, moreover, we receive information fromsources
not of the highest authority, where our doing somay modify our
notions in respect to the surer communica-tions, it would be
unreasonable to reject the knowledgewhich, not coming within the
intention of a divine witnessto render, may have been fairly the
subject of interest toa human observer. It is evident that there
must have beennumberless very curious circumstances perpetually
occurringin the period alluded to, but which were not essential
tothe completeness of that succinct narrative of God's pro-ceedings
which the Bible gives. From these the uninspiredhistorian might
readily gather an abundant store of remark-able incidents, and such
as would confer no slight value onhis work in those distant ages
when it would be impossibleto recover, through other means, any
fragment of the past.p. xiii, Para. 1, [1].
We cannot now tell whether Josephus employed to the bestpurpose
the advantages which his position afforded. It isfair to presume
that his good sense and ability led him tosuch an examination of
evidence as prevented the introduc-tion of any thing into his
narrative which had not the bestsupport that tradition could
bestow. If in any case, there-fore, we can consult an ancient
historian with respect andconfidence, Josephus will be read as a
valuable guide to amost important branch of knowledge. Separating
him from theinspired writers by that impassable barrier which a
truereverence for Scripture will infallibly create, we may
yetrefresh ourselves with his vivid descriptions, his ofteneloquent
harangues, and his not unfrequent detail of af-
-
fecting incidents, which almost make us feel and hear thestrong
pulsations of Israel's proud and breaking heart. p.xiii, Para. 2,
[1].
The Memoir of this eminent writer, as given by himself,leaves us
nothing to desire in respect to his biography,but some authentic
account of his latter days. There isonly a very vague tradition
that he died in the reign ofDomitian, and shared the fate of his
beloved friend and pa-tron Epaphroditus. But of Epaphroditus
himself too littleis known to give any certainty to this report. It
is possi-ble, therefore, that Josephus was allowed to spend
theclose of his life in some safe retreat, and in the enjoy-ment of
that ample provision for his wants supplied him bythe liberality of
his earlier patrons. p. xiii, Para. 3,[1].
Josephus, we have already seen, was esteemed in the firstages of
Christianity as an author deserving a high degreeof respect for
research and integrity. Pious and learnedmen of later ages have
continued to view him in the samelight. The care bestowed upon
numerous editions of hisworks in the original Greek proves that
they have beendeemed worthy of the attention of the most erudite of
mod-ern scholars. Some passages in his writings have engagedthe
attention of several acute critics, especially that inwhich he
distinctly refers to the actions and character ofJesus Christ. The
controversy thence excited is one of morethan ordinary interest,
but, like many others of a similarcharacter, it is so intimately
connected with questions ofhistory and opinion, that few persons
are competent to forma judgment of the relative worth of the
arguments employed.p. xiv, Para. 1, [1].
The works of Josephus were early translated into English.Thomas
Lodge, who combined in himself the several charac-ters of poet and
physician, was the first who attempted thetask. His version was
published about the year 1602, andanother in the year 1609 and
1620. He died of the plague in1625, and appears to have enjoyed
among his contemporariessome reputation both for talent and
learning. His transla-tion, however, did not, it appears, satisfy
the next gen-eration, as at the beginning of the following century
SirRoger L'estrange, a name better known by it connexion withthat
of Seneca, published a new translation, which obtainedsufficient
favour to secure the circulation of five edi-tions in less than
forty years. The first of these was pub-
-
lished at Oxford in 1700, and the second at London in 1702.The
last edition of this version appeared in 1733; but wasfollowed in
the space of four years by the first edition ofWhiston's
translation, a work which speedily set aside theformer versions,
and obtained for its author not only theapprobation of mere general
readers, but the praise of thelearned as well on the continent as
in England. * p. xiv,Para. 2, [1].
[* Nihilo tamen minus ea Whistono laus debetur, inter om-nes
fere omnium hentium Josephi interpretes nullum tantaingenii et
judicii acie, tantoque studio in vertendis hujusscriptoris operibus
versatum esse. Fabricii BibliothecaGraeca, T. V. lib. iv. c. 8, p.
47.] p. xiv, Para. 3, [1].
That this translation is free from errors, or the bestwhich
could be made, few competent judges will venture toaffirm. But it
would be an equal violation of fair criti-cism to deny that it has
great merits, or that it is equal,on the whole, to any of the
translations from ancientauthors which are most popular among us.
It has been wellobserved by an elegant and acute scholar, that,
whatevermaybe the faults of Whiston, he has in most cases caughtthe
tone and feeling of his author, and that the want ofthis merit
would be but badly atoned for by a much superiordegree of grace and
smoothness. p. xiv, Para. 4, [1].
Readily allowing, however, that an improvement might bemade in
some parts of Whiston's translation, he richly de-serves the
gratitude of the English reader for having puthim in possession of
an author so valuable as Josephus, andwith so little loss as to the
more important objects ofsuch a writer. Through his version
Josephus has been madefamiliar to tens of thousands, who would
otherwise have re-mained ignorant of some of the most awful and
edifying por-tions of Jewish history. The fulfilment of our
Lord'sprophecy respecting Jerusalem, and of earlier
predictionssetting forth the lamentable events which would attend
thefinal apostacy of Israel, is portrayed in the pages of Jo-sephus
with terrible exactness. We may, perhaps, withoutpresumption
ascribe the existence of his works to DivineProvidence; for there
are few persons who have read hisnarrative that have not felt
themselves more deeply im-pressed than ever with the solemn truths
of Scripture, andthe tremendous certainty of the Divine judgments.
p. xiv,Para. 5, [1].
-
THE LIFE of FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. p. 1, Para. 1, [1].
1. THE family from which I am derived is not an ignobleone, but
hath descended all along from the priests; and asnobility among
several people is of a different origin, sowith us to be of the
sacerdotal dignity, is an indicationof the splendor of a family.
Now, I am not only sprung froma sacerdotal family in general, but
from the first of thetwenty-four * courses; and as among us there
is not only aconsiderable difference between one family of each
courseand another, I am of the chief family of that first
coursealso; nay, further, by my mother I am of the royal blood;for
the children of Asamoneus, from whom that family wasderived, had
both the office of the high priesthood, andthe dignity of a king,
for a long time together. I will ac-cordingly set down my
progenitors in order. My grandfa-ther's father was named Simon,
with the addition of Psel-lus: he lived at the same time with that
son of Simon thehigh priest, who first of all the high priests was
namedHyrcanus. This Simon Psellus had nine sons, one of whom
wasMatthias, called Ephlias: he married the daughter of Jona-than
the high priest, which Jonathan was the first of thesons of
Asamoneus, who was high priest, and was the brotherof Simon the
high priest also. This Matthias had a soncalled Matthias Curtus,
and that in the first year of thegovernment of Hyrcanus: his son's
name was Joseph, born inthe ninth year of the reign of Alexandra:
his son Matthiaswas born in the tenth year of the reign of
Archclaus; aswas I born to Matthias in the first year of the reign
ofCaius Caesar. I have three sons: Hyrcanus, the eldest, wasborn in
the fourth year of the reign of Vespasian, as wasJustus born in the
seventh, and Agrippa in the ninth. Thushave I set down the
genealogy of my family as I have foundit described ** in the public
records, and so bid adieu tothose who calumniate me [as of a lower
original]. p. 1,Para. 2, [1].
[* We may hence correct the error of the Latin copy of thesecond
book Against Apion, sect. 8, (for the Greek is therelost,) which
says, there were then only four tribes orcourses of the priests,
instead of twenty-four. Nor is thistestimony to be disregarded, as
if Josephus there contra-dicted what he had affirmed here; because
even the accountthere given better agrees to twenty-four than to
fourcourses, while he says that each of those courses
containedabove 5000 men, which, multiplied by only four, will
makenot more than 20,000 priests; whereas the number 120,000,
-
as multiplied by 24, seems much the most probable, they be-ing
about one-tenth of the whole people, even after thecaptivity. See
Ezra 2:36-39; Nehemiah 7:39-42; 1 Esdras5:24, 25, with Ezra 2:64;
Nehemiah 7:66; 1 Esdras 5:41. Norwill this common reading or notion
of but four courses ofpriests, agree with Josephus's own further
assertion else-where, Antiq. B. VII. ch. 14. sect. 7, that David's
parti-tion of the priests into twenty-four courses had continuedto
that day.] p. 1, Para. 3, [1].
[** An eminent example of the care of the Jews about
theirgenealogies, especially as to the priests. See Against Ap.B. 1
sect. 7.] p. 1, Para. 4, [1].
2. Now, my father Matthias was not only eminent on accountof his
nobility, but had a higher commendation on accountof his
righteousness, and was in great reputation in Jeru-salem, the
greatest city we have. I was myself brought upwith my brother,
whose name was Matthias, for he was my ownbrother, by both father
and mother; and I made mighty pro-ficiency in the improvements of
my learning, and appearedto have both a great memory and
understanding. Moreover,when I was a child, and about fourteen
years of age, I wascommended by all for the love I had to learning;
on whichaccount the high priests and principal men of the city
camethen frequently to me together, in order to know my
opinionabout the accurate understanding of points of the law.
Andwhen I was about sixteen years old, I had a mind to maketrial of
the several sects that were among us. These sectsare three: - The
first is that of the Pharisees, the secondthat Sadducees, and the
third that of the Essens, as wehave frequently told you; for I
thought that by this meansI might choose the best, if I were once
acquainted withthem all; so I contented myself with hard fare, and
under-went great difficulties, and went through them all. Nor didI
content myself with these trials only; but when I was in-formed
that one, whose name was Banus, lived in the desert,and used no
other clothing than grew upon trees, and had noother food than what
grew of its own accord, and bathedhimself in cold water frequently,
both by night and by day,in order to preserve his chastity, I
imitated him in thosethings, and continued with him three years. *
So when I hadaccomplished my desires, I returned back to the city,
beingnow nineteen years old, and began to conduct myself accord-ing
to the rules of the sect of the Pharisees, which is ofkin to the
sect of the Stoics, as the Greeks call them. p.1, Para. 5, [1].
-
[* When Josephus here says, that from sixteen to nineteen,or for
three years, he made trial of the three Jewishsects, the Pharisees,
the Sadducees, and the Essens, andyet says presently, in all our
copies, that he stayed be-sides with one particular ascetic, called
Banus, with him,and this still before he was nineteen, there is
little roomleft for his trial of the three other sects. I
suppose,therefore, that for, with him, the old reading might
be,with them; which is a very small emendation, and takes awaythe
difficulty before us. Nor is Dr. Hudson's conjecture,hinted at by
Mr. Hall in his preface to the Doctor's edi-tion of Josephus, at
all improbable, that this Banus, bythis his description, might well
be a follower of John theBaptist, and that from him Josephus might
easily imbibesuch notions, as afterwards prepared him to have a
favour-able opinion of Jesus Christ himself, who was attested toby
John the Baptist.] p. 1, Para. 6, [1].
3. But when I was in the twenty-sixth year of my age, ithappened
that I took a voyage to Rome, and this on the oc-casion which I
shall now describe. At the time when Felixwas procurator of Judea
there were certain priests of myacquaintance, and very excellent
persons they were, whom ona small and trifling occasion he had put
into bonds, andsent to Rome to plead their cause before Caesar.
These Iwas desirous to procure deliverance for, and that
espe-cially because I was informed that they were not unmindfulof
piety towards God, even under their afflictions, butsupported
themselves with figs and nuts. * Accordingly Icame to Rome, though
it were through a great number of haz-ards by sea; for as our ship
was drowned in the AdriaticSea, we that were in it, being about six
hundred in number,** swam for our lives all the night; when, upon
the firstappearance of the day, and upon our sight of a ship of
Cy-rene, I and some others, eighty in all, by God's provi-dence,
prevented the rest, and were taken up into the othership. And when
I had thus escaped, and was come toDicearchia, which the Italians
call Puteoli, I became ac-quainted with Aliturius, an actor of
plays, and much be-loved by Nero, but a Jew by birth; and through
his interestbecame known to Poppea, Caesar's wife, and took care,
assoon as possible, to entreat her to procure that thepriests might
be set at liberty. And when, besides this fa-vour, I had obtained
many presents from Poppea, I returnedhome again. p. 2, Para. 1,
[1].
-
[* We may note here, that religious men among the Jews, orat
least those that were priests, were sometimes asceticsalso, and,
like Daniel and his companions in Babylon, Dan-iel 1:8-16, ate no
flesh, but figs and nuts, etc. only.This was like the, or austere
diet of the Christian ascet-ics in Passion-week. Constitut. V. 18.]
p. 2, Para. 2,[1].
[** It has been thought the number of Paul and his compan-ions
on ship-board, Acts 27:38, which are 276 in our cop-ies, are too
many; whereas we find here, that Josephus andhis companions, a very
few years after the other, wereabout 600.] p. 2, Para. 3, [1].
4. And now I perceived innovations were already begun, andthat
there were a great many very much elevated in hopes ofa revolt from
the Romans. I therefore endeavoured to put astop to these
tumultuous persons, and persuaded them tochange their minds; and
laid before their eyes against whomit was that they were going to
fight, and told them thatthey were inferior to the Romans not only
in martial skill,but also in good fortune; and desired them not
rashly, andafter the most foolish manner, to bring on the dangers
ofthe most terrible mischiefs upon their country, upon
theirfamilies, and upon themselves. And this I said with vehe-ment
exhortation, because I foresaw that the end of such awar would be
most unfortunate to us. But I could not per-suade them; for the
madness of desperate men was quite toohard for me. p. 2, Para. 4,
[1].
5. I was then afraid, lest, by inculcating these things sooften,
I should incur their hatred and their suspicions, asif I were of
our enemies' party, and should run into thedanger of being seized
by them, and slain; since they werealready possessed of Antonia,
which was the citadel; so Iretired into the inner court of the
temple. Yet did I goout of the temple again, after Manahem and the
principal ofthe band of robbers were put to death, when I abode
amongthe high priests and the chief of the Pharisees. But nosmall
fear seized upon us when we saw the people in arms,while we
ourselves knew not what we should do, and were notable to restrain
the seditious. However, as the danger wasdirectly upon us, we
pretended that we were of the sameopinion with them, but only
advised them to be quiet forthe present, and to let the enemy go
away, still hopingthat Gessius [Florus] would not be long ere he
came, andthat with great forces, and so put an end to these
sedi-
-
tious proceedings. p. 2, Para. 5, [1].
6. But, upon his coming and fighting, he was beaten, and agreat
many of those that were with him fell. And this dis-grace which
Gessius [with Cestius] received, became the ca-lamity of our whole
nation; for those that were fond of thewar were so far elevated
with this success, that they hadhopes of finally conquering the
Romans. Of which war an-other occasion was ministered; which was
this: - Those thatdwelt in the neighboring cities of Syria seized
upon suchJews as dwelt among them, with their wives and
children,and slew them, when they had not the least occasion of
com-plaint against them; for they did neither attempt any
inno-vation or revolt from the Romans, nor had they given anymarks
of hatred or treacherous designs towards the Syrians.But what was
done by the inhabitants of Scythopolis was themost impious and most
highly criminal of all; * for whenthe Jews their enemies came upon
them from without, theyforced the Jews that were among them to bear
arms againsttheir own countrymen, which it is unlawful for us to
do; **and when, by their assistance, they had joined battle
withthose who attacked them, and had beaten them, after thatvictory
they forgot the assurances they had given thesetheir fellow
citizens and confederates, and slew them all,being in number many
ten thousands ,000 . The like miserieswere undergone by those Jews
that were the inhabitants ofDamascus. But we have given a more
accurate account ofthese things in the books of the Jewish war. I
only mentionthem now, because I would demonstrate to my readers,
thatthe Jews' war with the Romans was not voluntary, but that,for
the main, they were forced by necessity to enter intoit. p. 2,
Para. 6, [1].
[* See Jewish War, B. II. ch. 18. sect. 3.] p. 2, Para.7,
[1].
[** The Jews might collect this unlawfulness of fightingagainst
their brethren from that law of Moses, Leviticus19:16, "Thou shalt
not stand against the blood of thyneighbor;" and that, ver. 17,
"Thou shalt not avenge, norbear any grudge against the children of
thy people; butthou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;" as well as
frommany other places in the Pentateuch and Prophets. See An-tiq.
B. VIII. ch. 8. sect. 3.] p. 2, Para. 8, [1].
7. So when Gessius had been beaten, as we have said al-ready,
the principal men of Jerusalem, seeing that the rob-
-
bers and innovators had arms in great plenty, and fearinglest
they, while they were unprovided of arms, should be insubjection to
their enemies, which also came to be the caseafterward; and, being
informed that all Galilee had not yetrevolted from the Romans, but
that some part of it wasstill quiet; they sent me and two others of
the priests,who were men of excellent characters, Joazar and Judas,
inorder to persuade the ill men there to lay down their arms,and to
teach them this lesson, - That it were better tohave those arms
reserved for the most courageous men thatthe nation had [than to be
kept there]; for that it hadbeen resolved, That those our best men
should always havetheir arms ready against futurity; but still so,
that theyshould wait to see what the Romans would do. p. 3, Para.1,
[1].
8. When I had therefore received these instructions, Icame into
Galilee, and found the people of Sepphoris in nosmall agony about
their country, by reason that theGalileans had resolved to plunder
it, on account of thefriendship they had with the Romans, and
because they hadgiven their right hand, and made a league with
Cestius Gal-lus, the president of Syria. But I delivered them all
outof the fear they were in, and persuaded the multitude todeal
kindly with them, and permitted them to send to thosethat were
their own hostages with Gessius to Dora, which isa city of
Phoenicia, as often as they pleased; though Istill found the
inhabitants of Tiberias ready to take arms,and that on the occasion
following: - p. 3, Para. 2, [1].
9. There were three factions in this city. The first wascomposed
of men of worth and gravity; of these JuliusCapellus was the head.
Now he, as well as all his compan-ions, Herod the son of Miarus,
and Herod the son of Ga-malus, and Compsus the son of Compsus; (for
as to Compsus'sbrother Crispus, who had once been governor of the
city un-der the great king [Agrippa] * he was beyond Jordan in
hisown possessions;) all these persons before named gave
theiradvice, that the city should then continue in their
alle-giance to the Romans and to the king. But Pistus, who
wasguided by his son Justus, did not acquiesce in that resolu-tion;
otherwise he was himself naturally of a good and vir-tuous
character. But the second faction was composed of themost ignoble
persons, and was determined for war. But asfor Justus, the son of
Pistus, who was the head of thethird faction, although he pretended
to be doubtful aboutgoing to war, yet was he really desirous of
innovation, as
-
supposing that he should gain power to himself by thechange of
affairs. He therefore came into the midst ofthem, and endeavoured
to inform the multitude that "thecity Tiberius had ever been a city
of Galilee, and that inthe days of Herod the tetrarch, who had
built it, it hadobtained the principal place, and that he had
ordered thatthe city Sepphoris should be subordinate to the city
Tibe-rias; that they had not lost this preeminence even
underAgrippa the father, but had retained it until Felix
wasprocurator of Judea. But he told them, that now they hadbeen so
unfortunate as to be made a present by Nero to Ag-rippa, junior;
and that, upon Sepphoris's submission of it-self to the Romans,
that was become the capital city ofGalilee, and that the royal
library and the archives werenow removed from them." When he had
spoken these things,and a great many more, against king Agrippa, in
order toprovoke the people to a revolt, he added that "this was
thetime for them to take arms, and join with the Galileans astheir
confederates (whom they might command, and who wouldnow willingly
assist them, out of the hatred they bare tothe people of Sepphoris;
because they preserved their fi-delity to the Romans), and to
gather a great number offorces, in order to punish them." And as he
said this, heexhorted the multitude, [to go to war;] for his
abilitieslay in making harangues to the people, and in being
toohard in his speeches for such as opposed him, though theyadvised
what was more to their advantage, and this by hiscraftiness and his
fallacies, for he was not unskilful inthe learning of the Greeks;
and in dependence on that skillit was, that he undertook to write a
history of these af-fairs, as aiming, by this way of haranguing, to
disguisethe truth. But as to this man, and how ill were his
charac-ter and conduct of life, and how he and his brother were,in
great measure, the authors of our destruction, I shallgive the
reader an account in the progress of my narration.So when Justus
had, by his persuasions, prevailed with thecitizens of Tiberias to
take arms, nay, and had forced agreat many so to do against their
wills, he went out, andset the villages that belonged to Gadara and
Hippos onfire; which villages were situated on the borders of
Tibe-rias, and of the region of Scythopolis. p. 3, Para. 3,[1].
[* That this Herod Agrippa, the father, was of old calleda Great
King, as here, appears by his coins still remain-ing; to which
Havercamp refers us.] p. 3, Para. 4, [1].
-
10. And this was the state Tiberias was now in. But as
forGischala, its affairs were thus: - When John, the son ofLevi,
saw some of the citizens much elevated upon their re-volt from the
Romans, he laboured to restrain them, and en-treated them that they
would keep their allegiance to them.But he could not gain his
purpose, although he did his en-deavours to the utmost; for the
neighboring people ofGadara, Gabara, and Sogana, wth the Tyrians,
got together agreat army, and fell upon Gischala, and took Gischala
byforce, and set it on fire; and when they had entirely de-molished
it, they returned home. Upon which John was so en-raged, that he
armed all his men, and joined battle withthe people forementioned;
and rebuilt Gischala after a man-ner better than before, and
fortified it with walls for itsfuture security. p. 4, Para. 1,
[1].
11. But Gamala persevered in its allegiance to the Romans,for
the reason following: - Philip, the son of Jacimus, whowas their
governor under king Agrippa, had been unexpect-edly preserved when
the royal palace at Jerusalem had beenbesieged; but, as he fled
away, had fallen into anotherdanger, and that was, of being killed
by Manahem, and therobbers that were with him; but certain
Babylonians, whowere of his kindred, and were then in Jerusalem,
hinderedthe robbers from executing their design. So Philip
staidthere four days, and fled away on the fifth, having dis-guised
himself with fictitious hair, that he might not bediscovered; and
when he was come to one of the villages tohim belonging, but one
that was situated at the borders ofthe citadel of Gamala, he sent
to some of those that wereunder him, and commanded them to come to
him. But God him-self hindered that his intention, and this for his
own ad-vantage also; for had it not so happened, he had
certainlyperished. For a fever having seized upon him
immediately,he wrote to Agrippa and Bernice, and gave them to one
ofhis freed-men to carry them to Varus, who at this time
wasprocurator of the kingdom, which the king and his sisterhad
intrusted him withal, while they were gone to Berytuswith an
intention of meeting Gessius. When Varus had re-ceived these
letters of Philip, and had learned that he waspreserved, he was
very uneasy at it, as supposing that heshould appear useless to the
king and his sister, nowPhilip was come. He therefore produced the
carrier of theletters before the multitude, and accused him of
forgingthe same; and said that he spake falsely when he relatedthat
Philip was at Jerusalem, fighting among the Jewsagainst the Romans.
So he slew him. And when this freed-man
-
of Philip did not return again, Philip was doubtful whatshould
be the occasion of his stay, and sent a second mes-senger with
letters, that he might, upon his return, informhim what had
befallen the other that had been sent before,and why he tarried so
long. Varus accused this messengeralso, when he came, of telling a
falsehood, and slew him.For he was puffed up by the Syrians that
were at Caesarea,and had great expectations; for they said that
Agrippawould be slain by the Romans for the crimes which the
Jewshad committed, and that he should himself take the govern-ment,
as derived from their kings; for Varus was, by theconfession of
all, of the royal family, as being a descen-dant of Sohemus, who
had enjoyed a tetrarchy about Libanus;for which reason it was that
he was puffed up, and kept theletters to himself. He contrived,
also, that the kingshould not meet with those writings, by guarding
all thepasses, lest any one should escape, and inform the kingwhat
had been done. He moreover slew many of the Jews, inorder to
gratify the Syrians of Cesarea. He had a mind alsoto join with the
Trachonites in Batanea, and to take uparms and make an assault upon
the Babylonian Jews that wereat Ecbatana; for that was the name
they went by. He there-fore called to him twelve of the Jews of
Cesarea, of thebest character, and ordered them to go to Ecbatana,
and in-form their countrymen who dwelt there, That Varus hathheard
that "you intend to march against the king; but, notbelieving that
report, he hath sent us to persuade you tolay down your arms, and
that this compliance will be a signthat he did well not to give
credit to those that raisedthe report concerning you." He also
enjoined them to sendseventy of their principal men to make a
defense for themas to the accusation laid against them. So when the
twelvemessengers came to their countrymen at Ecbatana, and
foundthat they had no designs of innovation at all, they per-suaded
them to send the seventy men also; who, not at allsuspecting what
would come, sent them accordingly. So theseseventy * went down to
Caesarea, together with the twelveambassadors; where Varus met them
with the king's forces,and slew them all, together with the
[twelve] ambassadors,and made an expedition against the Jews of
Ecbatana. Butone there was of the seventy who escaped, and made
haste toinform the Jews of their coming; upon which they took
theirarms, with their wives and children, and retired to thecitadel
at Gamala, leaving their own villages full of allsorts of good
things, and having many ten thousands of cat-tle therein. When
Philip was informed of these things, healso came to the citadel of
Gamala; and when he was come,
-
the multitude cried aloud, and desired him to resume
thegovernment, and to make an expedition against Varus, andthe
Syrians of Cesarea; for it was reported that they hadslain the
king. But Philip restrained their zeal, and putthem in mind of the
benefits the king had bestowed uponthem; and told them how powerful
the Romans were, and saidit was not for their advantage to make war
with them; andat length he prevailed with them. But now, when the
kingwas acquainted with Varus's design, which was to cut offthe
Jews of Caesarea, being many ten thousands, with theirwives and
children, and all in one day, he called to himEquiculus Modius, and
sent him to be Varus's successor, aswe have elsewhere related. But
still Philip kept possessionof the citadel of Gamala, and of the
country adjoining toit, which thereby continued in their allegiance
to the Ro-mans. p. 4, Para. 2, [1].
[* The famous Jewish numbers of twelve and seventy arehere
remarkable.] p. 4, Para. 3, [1].
12. Now, as soon as I was come into Galilee, and hadlearned this
state of things by the information of such astold me of them, I
wrote to the sanhedrim at Jerusalemabout them, and required their
direction what I should do.Their direction was, that I should
continue there, andthat, if my fellow legates were willing, I
should join withthem in the care of Galilee. But those my fellow
legates,having gotten great riches from those tithes which
aspriests were their dues, and were given to them, determinedto
return to their own country. Yet when I desired them tostay so
long, that we might first settle the public af-fairs, they complied
with me. So I removed, together withthem, from the city of
Sepphoris, and came to a certainvillage called Bethmaus, four
furlongs distant from Ti-berius; and thence I sent messengers to
the senate of Ti-berius, and desired that the principal men of the
citywould come to me: and when they were come, Justus himselfbeing
also with them, I told them that I was sent to themby the people of
Jerusalem as a legate, together with theseother priests, in order
to persuade them to demolish thathouse which Herod the tetrarch had
built there, and whichhad the figures of living creatures in it,
although ourlaws have forbidden us to make any such figures; and I
de-sired that they would give us leave so to do immediately.But for
a good while Capellus and the principal men belong-ing to the city
would not give us leave, but were at lengthentirely overcome by us,
and were induced to be of our
-
opinion. So Jesus the son of Sapphias, one of those whom wehave
already mentioned as the leader of a seditious tumultof mariners
and poor people, prevented us, and took withhim certain Galileans,
and set the entire palace on fire,and thought he should get a great
deal of money thereby,because he saw some of the roofs gilt with
gold. They alsoplundered a great deal of the furniture, which was
donewithout our approbation; for after we had discoursed
withCapellus and the principal men of the city, we departedfrom
Bethmaus, and went into the Upper Galilee. But Jesusand his party
slew all the Greeks that were inhabitants ofTiberias, and as many
others as were their enemies beforethe war began. p. 5, Para. 1,
[1].
13. When I understood this state of things, I was
greatlyprovoked, and went down to Tiberias, and took all the careI
could of the royal furniture, to recover all that couldbe recovered
from such as had plundered it. They consistedof candlesticks made
of Corinthian brass, and of royal ta-bles, and of a great quantity
of uncoined silver; and I re-solved to preserve whatsoever came to
my hand for the king.So I sent for ten of the principal men of the
senate, andfor Capellus the son of Antyllus, and committed the
furni-ture to them, with this charge, That they should part withit
to nobody else but to myself. From thence I and my fel-low legates
went to Gichala, to John, as desirous to knowhis intentions, and
soon saw that he was for innovations,and had a mind to the
principality; for he desired me togive him authority to carry off
that corn which belonged toCaesar, and lay in the villages of Upper
Galilee; and hepretended that he would expend what it came to in
buildingthe walls of his own city. But when I perceived what he
en-deavoured at, and what he had in his mind, I said I wouldnot
permit him so to do; for that I thought either to keepit for the
Romans or for myself, now I was intrusted withthe public affairs
there by the people of Jerusalem. But,when he was not able to
prevail with me, he betook himselfto my fellow legates; for they
had no sagacity in providingfor futurity, and were very ready to
take bribes. So hecorrupted them with money to decree, That all
that cornwhich was within his province should be delivered to
him;while I, who was but one, was outvoted by two, and held
mytongue. Then did John introduce another cunning contrivanceof
his; for he said that those Jews who inhabited CesareaPhilippi, and
were shut up by the order of the king's dep-uty there, had sent to
him to desire him, that, since theyhad no oil that was pure for
their use, he would provide a
-
sufficient quantity of such oil for them, lest they shouldbe
forced to make use of oil that came from the Greeks, andthereby
transgress their own laws. Now this was said byJohn, not out of his
regard to religion, but out of hismost flagrant desire of gain; for
he knew that two sextar-ies were sold with them of Caesarea for one
drachma, butthat at Gischala fourscore sextaxies were sold for
foursextaries. So he gave order that all the oil which wasthere
should be carried away, as having my permission forso doing; which
yet I did not grant him voluntarily, butonly out of fear of the
multitude, since, if I had forbid-den him, I should have been
stoned by them. When I hadtherefore permitted this to be done by
John, he gained vastsums of money by this his knavery. p. 5, Para.
2, [1].
14. But when I had dismissed my fellow legates, and sentthem
back to Jerusalem, I took care to have arms provided,and the cities
fortified. And when I had sent for the mosthardy among the robbers,
I saw that it was not in my powerto take their arms from them; but
I persuaded the multitudeto allow them money as pay, and told them
it was better forthem to give them a little willingly, rather than
to [beforced to] overlook them when they plundered their goodsfrom
them. And when I had obliged them to take an oath notto come into
that country, unless they were invited tocome, or else when they
had not their pay given them, Idismissed them, and charged them
neither to make an expedi-tion against the Romans, nor against
those their neighborsthat lay round about them; for my first care
was to keepGalilee in peace. So I was willing to have the principal
ofthe Galileans, in all seventy, as hostages for their fidel-ity,
but still under the notion of friendship. Accordingly,I made them
my friends and companions as I journeyed, andset them to judge
causes; and with their approbation it wasthat I gave my sentences,
while I endeavoured not to mis-take what justice required, and to
keep my hands clear ofall bribery in those determinations. p. 6,
Para. 1, [1].
15. I was now about the thirtieth year of my age; in whichtime
of life it is a hard thing for any one to escape thecalumnies of
the envious, although he restrain himself fromfulfilling any
unlawful desires, especially where a personis in great authority.
Yet did I preserve every woman freefrom injuries; and as to what
presents were offered me, Idespised them, as not standing in need
of them. Nor indeedwould I take those tithes, which were due to me
as apriest, from those that brought them. Yet do I confess,
-
that I took part of the spoils of those Syrians which in-habited
the cities that adjoined to us, when I had con-quered them, and
that I sent them to my kindred at Jerusa-lem; although, when I
twice took Sepphoris by force, andTiberias four times, and Gadara
once, and when I had sub-dued and taken John, who often laid
treacherous snares forme, I did not punish [with death] either him
or any of thepeople forenamed, as the progress of this discourse
willshow. And on this account, I suppose, it was that God, *who is
never unacquainted with those that do as they oughtto do, delivered
me still out of the hands of these my ene-mies, and afterwards
preserved me when I fell into thosemany dangers which I shall
relate hereafter. p. 6, Para.2, [1].
[* Our Josephus shows, both here and every where, that hewas a
most religious person, and one that had a deep senseof God and his
providence upon his mind, and ascribed allhis numerous and
wonderful escapes and preservations, intimes of danger, to God's
blessing him, and taking care ofhim, and this on account of his
acts of piety, justice, hu-manity, and charity, to the Jews his
brethren.] p. 6,Para. 3, [1].
16. Now the multitude of the Galileans had that greatkindness
for me, and fidelity to me, that when their citieswere taken by
force, and their wives and children carriedinto slavery, they did
not so deeply lament for their owncalamities, as they were
solicitous 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 makeuse of the hot-baths of Tiberias for the recovery of
thehealth of his body. Accordingly, I did not hinder him, ashaving
no suspicion of any wicked designs of his; and Iwrote to those to
whom I had committed the administrationof the affairs of Tiberius
by name, that they should pro-vide a lodging for John, and for such
as should come withhim, and should procure him what necessaries
soever heshould stand in need of. Now at this time my abode was in
avillage of Galilee, which is named Cana. p. 6, Para. 4,[1].
17. But when John was come to the city of Tiberias, hepersuaded
the men to revolt from their fidelity to me, andto adhere to him;
and many of them gladly received that in-vitation of his, as ever
fond of innovations, and by naturedisposed to changes, and
delighting in seditions; but they
-
were chiefly Justus and his father Pistus, that were ear-nest
for their revolt from me, and their adherence to John.But I came
upon them, and prevented them; for a messengerhad come to me from
Silas, whom I had made governor of Ti-berias, as I have said
already, and had told me of the in-clinations of the people of
Tiberias, and advised me tomake haste thither; for that, if I made
any delay, the citywould come under another's jurisdiction. Upon
the receiptof this letter of Silas, I took two hundred men along
withme, and traveled all night, having sent before a messengerto
let the people of Tiberias know that I was coming tothem. When I
came near to the city, which was early in themorning, the multitude
came out to meet me; and John camewith them, and saluted me, but in
a most disturbed manner,as being afraid that my coming was to call
him to an ac-count for what I was now sensible he was doing. So he,
ingreat haste, went to his lodging. But when I was in theopen place
of the city, having dismissed the guards I hadabout me, excepting
one, and ten armed men that were withhim, I attempted to make a
speech to the multitude of thepeople of Tiberias: and, standing on
a certain elevatedplace, I entreated them not to be so hasty in
their revolt;for that such a change in their behaviour would be to
theirreproach, and that they would then justly be suspected bythose
that should be their governors hereafter, as if theywere not likely
to be faithful to them neither. p. 7,Para. 1, [1].
18. But before I had spoken all I designed, I heard one ofmy own
domestics bidding me come down, for that it was nota proper time to
take care of retaining the good-will ofthe people of Tiberias, but
to provide for my own safety,and escape my enemies there; for John
had chosen the mosttrusty of those armed men that were about him
out of thosethousand that he had with him, and had given them
orderswhen he sent them, to kill me, having learned that I
wasalone, excepting some of my domestics. So those that weresent
came as they were ordered, and they had executed whatthey came
about, had I not leaped down from the elevation Istood on, and with
one of my guards, whose name was James,been carried [out of the
crowd] upon the back of one Herodof Tiberias, and guided by him
down to the lake, where Iseized a ship, and got into it, and
escaped my enemies un-expectedly, and came to Tarichese. p. 7,
Para. 2, [1].
19. Now, as soon as the inhabitants of that city under-stood the
perfidiousness of the people of Tiberias, they
-
were greatly provoked at them. So they snatched up theirarms,
and desired me to be their leader against them; forthey said they
would avenge their commander's cause uponthem. They also carried
the report of what had been done tome to all the Galileans, and
eagerly endeavoured to irri-tate them against the people of
Tiberias, and desired thatvast numbers of them would get together,
and come to them,that they might act in concert with their
commander, whatshould be determined as fit to be done. Accordingly,
theGalileans came to me in great numbers, from all parts, withtheir
weapons, and besought me to assault Tiberias, to takeit by force,
and to demolish it, till it lay even with theground, and then to
make slaves of its inhabitants, withtheir wives and children. Those
that were Josephus'sfriends also, and had escaped out of Tiberias,
gave him thesame advice. But I did not comply with them, thinking
it aterrible thing to begin a civil war among them; for Ithought
that this contention ought not to proceed furtherthan words; nay, I
told them that it was not for their ownadvantage to do what they
would have me to do, while theRomans expected no other than that we
should destroy oneanother by our mutual seditions. And by saying
this, I puta stop to the anger of the Galileans. p. 7, Para. 3,
[1].
20. But now John was afraid for himself, since his treach-ery
had proved unsuccessful. So he took the armed men thatwere about
him, and removed from Tiberias to Gischala, andwrote to me to
apologize for himself concerning what hadbeen done, as if it had
been done without his approbation,and desired me to have no
suspicion of him to his disadvan-tage. He also added oaths and
certain horrible curses uponhimself, and supposed he should be
thereby believed in thepoints he wrote about to me. p. 7, Para. 4,
[1].
21. But now another great number of the Galileans came to-gether
again with their weapons, as knowing the man, howwicked and how
sadly perjured he was, and desired me tolead them against him and
promised me that they would ut-terly destroy both him and Gischala.
Hereupon I professedthat I was obliged to them for their readiness
to serve me,and that I would more than requite their good-will to
me.However, I entreated them to restrain themselves, andbegged of
them to give me leave to do what I intended,which was to put an end
to these troubles without blood-shed; and when I had prevailed with
the multitude of theGalileans to let me do so, I came to Sepphoris.
p. 7,Para. 5, [1].
-
22. But the inhabitants of this city having determined
tocontinue in their allegiance to the Romans, were afraid ofmy
coming to them, and tried, by putting me upon anotheraction, to
divert me, that they might be freed from theterror they were in.
Accordingly, they sent to Jesus, thecaptain of those robbers who
were in the confines ofPtolemais, and promised to give him a great
deal of money,if he would come with those forces he had with him,
whichwere in number eight hundred, and fight with us. Accord-ingly,
he complied with what they desired, upon the prom-ises they had
made him, and was desirous to fall upon uswhen we were unprepared
for him, and knew nothing of hiscoming beforehand. So he sent to
me, and desired that Iwould give him leave to come and salute me.
When I hadgiven him that leave, which I did without the least
knowl-edge of his treacherous intentions beforehand, he took
hisband of robbers, and made haste to come to me. Yet did notthis
his knavery succeed well at last; for as he was al-ready nearly
approaching, one of those with him desertedhim, and came to me, and
told me what he had undertaken todo. When I was informed of this, I
went into the market-place, and pretended to know nothing of his
treacherouspurpose. I took with me many Galileans that were armed,
asalso some of those of Tiberias; and, when I had given or-ders
that all the roads should be carefully guarded, Icharged the
keepers of the gates to give admittance to nonebut Jesus, when he
came, with the principal of his men, andto exclude the rest; and in
case they aimed to force them-selves in, to use stripes [in order
to repel them]. Accord-ingly, those that had received such a charge
did as theywere bidden, and Jesus came in with a few others; and
whenI had ordered him to throw down his arms immediately, andtold
him, that if he refused so to do, he was a dead man,he seeing armed
men standing all round about him, was ter-rified, and complied; and
as for those of his followersthat were excluded, when they were
informed that he wasseized, they ran away. I then called Jesus to
me by him-self, and told him, that" I was not a stranger to
thattreacherous design he had against me, nor was I ignorant bywhom
he was sent for; that, however, I would forgive himwhat he had done
already, if he would repent of it, and befaithful to me hereafter."
And thus, upon his promise to doall that I desired, I let him go,
and gave him leave to getthose whom he had formerly had with him
together again. ButI threatened the inhabitants of Sepphoris, that,
if theywould not leave off their ungrateful treatment of me, I
-
would punish them sufficiently. p. 8, Para. 1, [1].
23. At this time it was that two great men, who were underthe
jurisdiction of the king [Agrippa] came to me out ofthe region of
Trachonius, bringing their horses and theirarms, and carrying with
them their money also; and when theJews would force them to be
circumcised, if they would stayamong them, I would not permit them
to have any force putupon them, * but said to them, "Every one
ought to worshipGod according to his own inclinations, and not to
be con-strained by force; and that these men, who had fled to usfor
protection, ought not to be so treated as to repent oftheir coming
hither." And when I had pacified the multi-tude, I provided for the
men that were come to us whatso-ever it was they wanted, according
to their usual way ofliving, and that in great plenty also. p. 8,
Para. 2, [1].
[* Josephus's opinion is here well worth noting: - Thatevery one
is to be permitted to worship God according tohis own conscience,
and is not to be compelled in mattersof religion: as one may here
observe, on the contrary, thatthe rest of the Jews were still for
obliging all those whomarried Jewesses to be circumcised, and
become Jews, andwere ready to destroy all that would not submit to
do so.See sect. 31, and Luke 11:54.] p. 8, Para. 3, [1].
24. Now king Agrippa sent an army to make themselves mas-ters of
the citadel of Gamala, and over it Equieulus Mo-dius; but the
forces that were sent were not enow to encom-pass the citadel quite
round, but lay before it in the openplaces, and besieged it. But
when Ebutius the decurion, whowas intrusted with the government of
the great plain, heardthat I was at Simonias, a village situated in
the confinesof Galilee, and was distant from him sixty furlongs,
hetook a hundred horsemen that were with him by night, and acertain
number of footmen, about two hundred, and broughtthe inhabitants of
the city Gibea along with him as auxil-iaries, and marched in the
night, and came to the villagewhere I abode. Upon this I pitched my
camp over againsthim, which had a great number of forces in it: but
Ebutiustried to draw us down into the plain, as greatly
dependingupon his horsemen; but we would not come down; for when
Iwas satisfied of the advantage that his horse would have ifwe came
down into the plain, while we were all footmen, Iresolved to join
battle with the enemy where I was. NowEbutius and his party made a
courageous opposition for sometime; but when he saw that his horse
were useless to him in
-
that place, he retired back to the city Gibea, having lostthree
of his men in the fight. So I followed him directywith two thousand
armed men; and when I was at the cityBesara, that lay in the
confines of Ptolemais, but twentyfurlongs from Gibea, where Ebutius
abode, I placed my armedmen on the outside of the village, and gave
orders thatthey should guard the passes with great care, that the
en-emy might not disturb us until we should have carried offthe
corn, a great quantity of which lay there: it belongedto Bernice
the queen, and had been gathered together out ofthe neighboring
villages into Besara; so I loaded my camelsand asses, a great
number of which I had brought along withme, and sent the corn into
Galilee. When I had done this, Ioffered Ebutius battle; but when he
would not accept of theoffer, for he was terrified at our readiness
and courage, Ialtered my route, and marched towards Neopolitanus,
becauseI had heard that the country about Tiberias was laid wasteby
him. This Neopolitanus was captain of a troop of horse,and had the
custody of Scythopolis intrusted to his care bythe enemy; and when
I had hindered him from doing any fur-ther mischief to Tiberias, I
set myself to make provisionfor the affairs of Galilee. p. 8, Para.
4, [1].
25. But when John, the son of Levi, who, as we before toldyou,
abode at Gischala, was informed how all things hadsucceeded to my
mind, and that I was much in favour withthose that were under me,
as also that the enemy weregreatly afraid of me, he was not pleased
with it, as think-ing my prosperity tended to his ruin. So he took
up a bit-ter envy and enmity against me; and hoping, that if
hecould inflame those that were under me to hate me,. heshould put
an end to the prosperity I was in, he tried topersuade the
inhabitants of Tiberias and of Sepphoris, (andfor those of Gabara
he supposed they would be also of thesame mind with the others,)
which were the greatest citiesof Galilee, to revolt from their
subjection to me, and tobe of his party; and told them that he
would command thembetter than I did. As for the people of
Sepphoris, who be-longed to neither of us, because they had chosen
to be insubjection to the Romans, they did not comply with his
pro-posal; and for those of Tiberias, they did not indeed sofar
comply as to make a revolt from under me, but theyagreed to be his
friends, while the inhabitants of Gabaradid go over to John; and it
was Simon that persuaded themso to do, one who was both the
principal man in the city,and a particular friend and companion of
John. It is true,these did not openly own the making a revolt,
because they
-
were in great fear of the Galileans, and had frequent
expe-rience of the good-will they bore to me; yet did they
pri-vately watch for a proper opportunity to lay snares for me;and
indeed I thereby came into the greatest danger, on theoccasion
following. p. 9, Para. 1, [1].
26. There were some bold young men of the village ofDabaritta,
who observed that the wife of Ptolemy, theking's procurator, was to
make a progress over the greatplain with a mighty attendance, and
with some horsemen thatfollowed as a guard to them, and this out of
a country thatwas subject to the king and queen, into the
jurisdiction ofthe Romans; and fell upon them on a sudden, and
obliged thewife of Ptolemy to fly away, and plundered all the
car-riages. They also came to me to Tarichese, with four
mules'loading of garments, and other furniture; and the weight
ofthe silver they brought was not small, and there were fivehundred
pieces of gold also. Now I had a mind to preservethese spoils for
Ptolemy, who was my countryman; and it isprohibited * by our laws
even to spoil our enemies; so Isaid to those that brought these
spoils, that they ought tobe kept, in order to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem withthem when they came to be sold. But the young men
took itvery ill that they did not receive a part of those spoilsfor
themselves, as they expected to have done; so they wentamong the
villages in the neighborhood of Tiberias, andtold the people that I
was going to betray their country tothe Romans, and that I used
deceitful language to them,when I said, that what had been thus
gotten by rapineshould be kept for the rebuilding of the walls of
the cityof Jerusalem; although I had resolved to restore
thesespoils again to their former owner. And indeed they wereherein
not mistaken as to my intentions; for when I hadgotten clear of
them, I sent for two of the principal men,Dassion, and Janneus the
son of Levi, persons that wereamong the chief friends of the king,
and commanded them totake the furniture that had been plundered,
and to send itto him; and I threatened that I would order them to
be putto death by way of punishment, if they discovered this
mycommand to any other person. p. 9, Para. 2, [1].
[* How Josephus could say here that the Jewish laws for-bade
them to "spoil even their enemies, while yet, a littlebefore his
time, our Saviour had mentioned it as then acurrent maxim with
them, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor, andhate thine enemy," Matthew
5:43, is worth our inquiry. Itake it that Josephus, having been now
for many years an
-
Ebionite Christian, had learned this interpretation of thelaw of
Moses from Christ, whom he owned for the true Mes-siah, as it
follows in the succeeding verses, which, thoughhe might not read in
St. Matthew's Gospel, yet might hehave read much the same
exposition in their own Ebionite orNazarene Gospel itself; of which
improvements made by Jo-sephus, after he was become a Christian, we
have alreadyhad several examples in this his life, sect. 3, 13, 15,
19,21, 23, and shall have many more therein before its conclu-sion,
as well as we have them elsewhere in all his laterwritings.] p. 9,
Para. 3, [1].
27. Now, when all Galilee was filled with this rumor, thattheir
country was about to be betrayed by me to the Romans,and when all
men were exasperated against me, and ready tobring me to
punishment, the inhabitants of Tarichee didalso themselves suppose
that what the young men said wastrue, and persuaded my guards and
armed men to leave mewhen I was asleep, and to come presently to
the hippodrome,in order there to take counsel against me their
commander.And when they had prevailed with them, and they were
gottentogether, they found there a great company assembled
al-ready, who all joined in one clamor, to bring the man whowas so
wicked to them as to betray them, to his due punish-ment; and it
was Jesus, the son of Sapphias, who princi-pally set them on. He
was ruler in Tiberias, a wicked man,and naturally disposed to make
disturbances in matters ofconsequence; a seditious person he was
indeed, and an inno-vator beyond every body else. He then took the
laws ofMoses into his hands, and came into the midst of the
peo-ple, and said," O my fellow citizens! if you are not dis-posed
to hate Josephus on your own account, have regard,however, to these
laws of your country, which your com-mander-in-chief is going to
betray; hate him therefore onboth these accounts, and bring the man
who hath acted thusinsolently, to his deserved punishment." p. 10,
Para. 1,[1].
28. When he had said this, and the multitude had openlyapplauded
him for what he had said, he took some of thearmed men, and made
haste away to the house in which Ilodged, as if he would kill me
immediately, while I waswholly insensible of all till this
disturbance happened;and by reason of the pains I had been taking,
was fallenfast asleep. But Simon, who was intrusted with the care
ofmy body, and was the only person that stayed with me, andsaw the
violent incursion the citizens made upon me, awaked
-
me, and told me of the danger I was in, and desired me tolet him
kill me, that I might die bravely and like a gen-eral, before my
enemies came in, and forced me [to kill my-self], or killed me
themselves. Thus did he discourse tome; but I committed the care of
my life to God, and madehaste to go out to the multitude.
Accordingly, I put on ablack garment, and hung my sword at my neck,
and went bysuch a different way to the hippodrome, wherein I
thoughtnone of my adversaries would meet me; so I appeared
amongthem on the sudden, and fell down flat on the earth,
andbedewed the ground with my tears: then I seemed to them allan
object of compassion. And when I perceived the changethat was made
in the multitude, I tried to divide theiropinions before the armed
men should return from my house;so I granted them that I had been
as wicked as they sup-posed me to be; but still I entreated them to
let me firstinform them for what use I had kept that money which
arosefrom the plunder, and, that they might then kill me if
theypleased: and upon the multitude's ordering me to speak,
thearmed men came upon me, and when they saw me, they ran tokill
me; but when the multitude bade them hold their hands,they
complied, and expected that as soon as I should own tothem that I
kept the money for the king, it would be lookedon as a confession
of my treason, and they should th